(Instert Image of Kuroka Here)
Riser, who understood the pure-blood Leviathan's powers, of course wouldn't just sit there and let the water-demon phantoms approach.
"Hmph! Sophistry!"
"'Ancient laws of the Underworld'? That law is the engagement the Underworld arranged between me and Rias!"
He snorted coldly and slashed his arm through the air.
[Phoenix-ryū — Flame Vortex!]
Riser's mouth was tough—but that was all he had left now.
Even after ascending to Ultimate-class, there was no chance he could be Akuto's match.
Akuto's water-demon phantoms surged into Riser's immortal phoenix flame.
Even a slight erosion of that flame made Riser's expression twist.
"Ka—ka—ka—ka!!!"
A chain of detonations boomed; the crimson-gold blaze in the sky dimmed at once.
[There it is!] The host, overexcited, went up on one foot on the desk again.
[Just as Maou Ajuka-sama said! The pure Leviathan water suppresses Phoenix flame!]
[Akuto has fully shown us what a true Leviathan heir is!]
Even from that blunt phrasing, it was obvious the host was shilling for the Reformist Maou. After all, everyone knew: besides Akuto, no "pure-blood Leviathan" could suppress a Phoenix of the same tier.
[Ahem.]
Ajuka coughed lightly and shifted the focus.
[Akuto's bloodline purity is noteworthy, but even more striking is his Sacred Gear.]
[Akuto's case is special. His pure-blood devil lineage wasn't innate—it's a post-awakening mutation. Hence he also possesses what reincarnated or half-blood devils often have: a Sacred Gear.]
Judged by "has a Sacred Gear," he'd be called a half-blood.
But Ajuka's wording made it clear: the current Maou recognize Akuto—whose mutated bloodline was purified—as pure-blood.
[A Sacred Gear?]
[Indeed—after he invoked that red gauntlet, Akuto's strength jumped from High-class to the pinnacle of Ultimate-class in one breath.]
[Ajuka-sama, anything you can share about it?] the host prodded.
[As a matter of fact, yes.] Ajuka paused.
[Recognized by the Four Maou, Akuto's Sacred Gear is the Boosted Gear, a gauntlet housing a Heavenly Dragon–class dragon soul that can, in short bursts, raise the host's power to staggering heights.]
[Boosted Gear? Don't tell me—] The host sucked in a breath.
[Correct—the Red Dragon Emperor's Boosted Gear, one of the Thirteen Longinus.] Ajuka gave the official stamp.
Somewhere inside an eastern pocket dimension—
Seeing that red gauntlet, a silver-haired youth leaned back and laughed to the sky.
"Ha—ha—ha—ha—ha!!"
"The Red Dragon Emperor! It's really the Red Dragon Emperor!"
"Red Dragon Emperor plus a mutated, purified Leviathan bloodline… This Akuto… is worthy to be my rival!"
Vali was delighted. He'd been waiting a long time for his destined enemy.
He considered himself "the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history"—fated to defeat this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. If the opponent were weak, wouldn't that cheapen his legend?
[Vali, restrain yourself. Something about this Red Dragon Emperor is off. Over there… Ddraig seems stronger than before.]
The jewel on Vali's hand—Albion—warned him.
Albion's sense was right. After the system's reinforcement, the Boosted Gear was indeed stronger—beyond standard Heavenly Dragon.
"Stronger? Even better."
"A strengthened rival is the best catalyst for me!"
"If he can do it, why can't I? If we clash, I might push Divine Dividing to a brand-new frontier."
[Very well, Vali. If it's you, perhaps you can bring my power to wholly new heights.]
Albion truly had confidence in Vali.
A host whose base strength already exceeded Ultimate-class—that hadn't appeared in quite some time. With Vali's bloodline and effort, he'd at least reach Maou-class peak in the future—enough to wield Albion's Dragon-class might to the fullest.
"By the way, Kuroka, thanks for calling me over to watch the stream."
"I thought it'd just be a boring woman-snatching farce. Didn't expect news about the Red Dragon Emperor. A welcome surprise."
Vali turned toward the black-haired girl in a black kimono.
Cat ears sat on her head; two black tails swayed at her back—ripe allure blended with playful cuteness.
At Vali's thanks, the nekomata named Kuroka waved lazily, amusement glinting in her eyes.
"No need to thank me, nya~"
"Either way, what I wanted is already set in motion, nya."
"Now that the Red Dragon Emperor is at your side, I figure you'll be thrilled to come with me to pick up Shirone, right?"
Kuroka knew Vali too well. Going with her meant a shot at fighting the Red Dragon Emperor—no way a pure battle maniac would pass that up.
"No problem. When do we leave?"
Vali stood at once to pack. Conveniently, Azazel was looking for him too—he could bundle a few errands.
"Don't rush~" Kuroka rolled her eyes.
Of course—anything fun drew instant enthusiasm.
"Oh, Vali, last check—if you're not interested, I'll just go make a baby with the Red Dragon Emperor, nya?" Kuroka pouted.
"Hmph. Not interested! Do what you want with whoever you want! I just want to finish business and go find Akuto!"
"...See? A man with nothing but fight in his head—honestly…"
Kuroka sighed. "Once we get that item called the Evolution Core, we head out."
No sooner had she said that than a monkey youkai stepped through the door.
"Yo, Vali—the traders are in place. Time for us to intercept."
"Heh—something worth five drops of Phoenix Tears… if we get another, we could buy the old man's gold-hoop staff. I wanna see what's so special."
"Hmph. I heard it's a breakthrough item that helps people cross bottlenecks." Vali snorted.
"Only weaklings rely on that trash. I would never use it."
"Once research is done, whoever wants it can have it."
"Move. Work time."
With that, Vali spread eight devil wings and shot toward the nearest teleport point at blistering speed.
Back at the battlefield.
After the chain of Water Demonburst explosions, Riser's aura collapsed sharply.
"Damn it!!!"
BOOM!!
A fierce blaze tore through the water shroud as he forced his way out.
His figure was scorched and wretched, but he hadn't lost combat capability yet.
The Phoenixes' regenerative power was tremendous; they wouldn't fall to only that much damage.
But his defeat was already sealed.
Under cover of the mist, a shadow flickered—
With a resonant thud, Akuto clamped a hand on Riser's shoulder and poured in the purest Leviathan magic without pause.
"—Guh!!!"
Steam billowed outward from Riser's body like a fountain.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
It was a howl of agony like none before.
For a pure-blood Phoenix—flame is life, and life is flame.
As long as Phoenix fire doesn't die, they revive again and again.
Conversely, if the Phoenix flame is snuffed, even without dying outright, it's like half a life is ripped away.
"Don't—don't touch me!"
Riser clawed at Akuto's forearm, gouging deep lines with his nails.
With his power drastically cut, that was all he could do.
"Even if it's only death throes… Riser, I acknowledge you didn't disgrace the Phoenix name."
Akuto's goal was to defeat him, not to make eternal enemies of the Phoenixes, so he didn't humiliate Riser during the fight.
On the point of preserving a pure-blood's honor and a house's face—Riser had done what he should.
So Akuto chose to grant him that last respect.
He let Riser keep that grip on his arm—didn't shake off the hand that still symbolized his fighting will.
Maintaining that hold, Akuto drew out a silvery metal object with his other hand.
A—Holy Cross.
Leviathan water could ravage the body. But that alone wasn't enough to finish an Ultimate-class pure-blood Phoenix.
To defeat a refined-blood Phoenix, you had to inflict equivalent spiritual damage alongside the physical.
What Akuto did now was to supply that spiritual strike.
[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!!!!!]
Under the Red Dragon Emperor's amplification, the silver cross blazed.
"Bye-bye, Riser Phoenix."
BANG!!
Akuto's fist hammered straight along Riser's centerline.
In practically an instant, excess spiritual damage knocked Riser senseless.
[Ding!]
[Plot Mission Complete — World Core Shard Collection.]
[Mission Tier: Purple.]
[Collected Target: Riser]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations—granted a corresponding-tier enhancement (x1).]
[Ding!]
[True Devil Piece (Blue) has advanced to Overrank Piece (Purple).]
[Overrank Piece: The evolved form of the True Devil Piece, granting its bearer the power to break species limits and grow without cease.
While breaking racial caps, it does not alter the user's original lifeform baseline.
The stronger the user's fortune and the more they appear in the story, the greater their growth potential.]
[Note: As King, the host may use retainers' abilities and holds complete control over them.
So long as a target cannot resist, the piece can be forcibly implanted.
Beyond raw power, it's highly covert.
The host can tune the piece's appearance and data to be indistinguishable from standard Devil Pieces.
As long as you don't summon more than the normal count at once, it will never be exposed.
All of the host's existing pieces will auto-convert to Overrank Pieces upon contact with the Overrank Piece Root.]
(End of Chapter)
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