Buzz!
Just then, a red light rose.
Tatsuma reached into his pocket and pulled out a flyer, receiving the information.
The mark he had left on Issei earlier had been triggered.
'You made your move in less than a month, huh? I thought it would last a bit longer.'
After saying goodbye to Satoru and the others, Tatsuma activated the teleportation array on the flyer.
The next second, the surrounding scenery constantly changed, and Tatsuma appeared in a park.
Issei was lying at his feet, blood flowing out from the wound in his abdomen, pooling on the ground.
And the culprit who caused all of this was walking away from Tatsuma towards the outside of the park with her back to him.
"Hmm?"
Sensing demonic power fluctuations from behind her, Raynare turned around and looked over.
"Devil? Why are you here?"
"Guess."
"Playing tricks!"
Raynare snorted coldly, raised her hand, and summoned a light spear, preparing to attack.
However, just then, Tatsuma's figure flickered and appeared in front of her first.
Boom!
Intense pain spread across her body. By the time Raynare reacted, she had already been smashed into the ground.
"Alright, now it's interrogation time." Tatsuma leisurely took out a recording crystal and aimed it at Raynare.
"Dear Fallen Angel-san, I heard you've been quite active in the shadows recently. Could you tell me what exactly you're doing?"
"Damn Devil! Do you think I'll yield because of this little thing?!" Raynare tried to get up and resist.
However, just then, Tatsuma activated Senjutsu and fiddled with her Ki.
The next second, Raynare was enveloped by intense pain as if her soul was being torn apart.
"Stop! Stop quickly!"
"I'm willing to answer your questions!"
Unable to bear the pain, Raynare let out a string of wails and confessed the plan to strip the Sacred Gear in a few words.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Tatsuma turned off the recording crystal and raised his hand, throwing a ball of flame at Raynare.
Green trait + 1, identified as cannon fodder.
Buzz!
Just then, a magic circle unfolded on the ground not far away.
Rias walked out of it, scanned the surroundings, and then looked at Tatsuma.
"Looks like I'm late."
...
"Sacred Gear stripping plan?"
Taking the recording crystal from Tatsuma, Rias's face showed a thoughtful expression.
This matter could be big or small.
To put it broadly, these Fallen Angels are breaking the rules and causing trouble in Kuoh Town, which is a path to death.
To put it narrowly, she didn't know the Sacred Gear holder who was targeted, so she could pretend not to see it and overlook it.
Rias asked, "Tatsuma, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
Tatsuma replied as a matter of course, "Of course, we should just take action. They've already sent the handle to our hands, why should we endure it and let them mess around?"
He had been coveting those Fallen Angels in the Old Church for a long time. Now that the opportune moment had arrived, he naturally wouldn't let it go.
"That's really your style."
Rias agreed.
As a Devil of the Gremory clan, Rias's character was kind. Even if the targeted Sacred Gear holder was a religious worker who had been exiled, she still couldn't just stand by and watch.
Since Tatsuma agreed to save them, then she would lend a hand.
"Speaking of which, what's the situation here?" Rias looked at Issei, who had just been healed by Tatsuma.
"I have some impression of him. He's a student at our school, right? Why would he be targeted by a Fallen Angel?"
Tatsuma said, "He is a Sacred Gear holder."
"No wonder."
Rias inquired, "Do you know what Sacred Gear he holds?"
"A Longinus, the Boosted Gear."
"Eh?!"
"Of course, that will soon be a thing of the past."
Tatsuma lifted Issei and said, "I originally planned to train him, but now there's a better method."
A better method?
Rias seemed to have thought of something and asked, "You want to use the Sacred Gear stripping ritual prepared by those Fallen Angels to strip out the Longinus?"
Tatsuma nodded. "That's right. Anyway, he has no intention of becoming stronger, so I'll take it and use it myself."
Rias asked, "Someone will die, right?"
Tatsuma said, "No one will die. I have a way to solve it."
"...I understand."
Longinus is the highest level of Sacred Gear, possessing the power to annihilate Gods.
As a holder of Longinus, no matter what the host thinks, once exposed, they will inevitably be targeted and fought over by various forces.
Rias had just observed that Issei was just an ordinary person.
Instead of letting him hold the Longinus and get involved in various troubles, it would be better to let Tatsuma take it.
As for whether this aligned with Issei's own thoughts, Rias didn't care. She also had her own selfish motives. Compared to the unfamiliar Issei, she would naturally lean more towards Tatsuma when making a decision.
Rias asked, "When do we make our move?"
"Now."
Tatsuma lifted Issei and spread his wings, flying into the sky.
Seeing this, Rias followed.
The church was on the west side of Kuoh Town. The two of them traveled at full speed and quickly reached their destination.
"Who?!"
"You are... the Gremory clan's heiress?"
"Leave this place, this is not where you should be!"
Sensing someone approaching, three Fallen Angels flew out of the church.
However, just as they were speaking harshly and trying to drive the intruders away, Tatsuma suddenly summoned a black sword. His figure flickered, and he appeared in front of them.
The merciless blade pierced through the three Fallen Angels the next second.
Green trait + 3.
"Not a single one can fight." Tatsuma curled his lip, a little disappointed.
He had thought that these Fallen Angels could at least contribute a blue trait.
"You're too strong." Rias sighed.
Thinking back to the first time she saw Tatsuma, his strength was only at the level of a Mid-Class Devil. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had completed a breakthrough, and his strength had risen to High-Class Devil.
After that, Tatsuma's speed of becoming stronger not only didn't slow down but even kept accelerating.
To this day, even Rias, whose traits had been activated, didn't know Tatsuma's true strength, only that he was terrifyingly strong.