"But still…"
"With your current strength, even battling a special-grade cursed spirit wouldn't do much to help you grow."
"Why the obsession with special-grade cursed spirits anyway? Shouldn't you be challenging me instead?"
"Now's not the time."
Kanzaki's reply was calm, bordering on casual.
Perhaps due to the merging of universes, Gojo Satoru's strength here had surpassed his canonical limits.
If they were to fight now, Kanzaki estimated an eighty percent chance of victory—not enough. He'd wait until he could guarantee a hundred.
Buzz.
A red shimmer pulsed to life.
Kanzaki reached into his pocket, retrieving a flyer glowing with magical energy. A mark he had placed on Hyoudou Issei had been triggered.
"Only took a month for that to blow up. Honestly, I thought it'd last longer."
He turned, nodded once toward Gojo and the others, and activated the teleportation array embedded in the flyer.
The scenery around him shifted rapidly, magic folding space.
When it stopped, Kanzaki stood in a park.
At his feet lay Issei Hyoudou, bleeding heavily from a wound in his abdomen. Blood soaked the earth beneath him.
A figure walked away, her back to Kanzaki.
Sensing the magic behind her, Raynare turned and narrowed her eyes.
"A devil? What are you doing here?"
"Take a guess."
"Spare me the riddles."
Raynare scoffed, summoning a spear of light into her hand.
But before she could aim it, Kanzaki flickered into view in front of her.
Boom.
Agony erupted through her body. By the time she processed what had happened, she was already embedded into the ground.
"Alright. Time for a little interrogation."
Kanzaki crouched, holding a recording crystal over her.
"Miss Fallen Angel, rumor has it you've been active behind the scenes lately."
"What exactly are you scheming?"
"You filthy devil! You think a little pain will make me talk?!"
Raynare growled, pushing herself up.
Kanzaki raised his hand. Magic shimmered, then surged into her body, directly twisting her senjutsu flow.
The pain struck instantly, tearing through her nerves like fire through paper. Her eyes rolled back.
"Stop! Please! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Writhing, screaming, Raynare confessed everything—the plot to strip the Sacred Gear from Hyoudou Issei.
"Thanks for your cooperation."
Kanzaki deactivated the crystal and tossed a fireball casually.
Raynare's screams were cut short. An uncommon entry appeared above her remains.
Entry acquired: Weakling.
Buzz.
A teleportation circle glowed nearby.
Rias stepped out of it, scanning the scene before her eyes landed on Kanzaki.
"Looks like I'm late."
Rias held the recording crystal in one hand, frowning thoughtfully.
"Planning to strip a Sacred Gear?"
This was no minor offense.
If made public, these fallen angels would be marked for elimination. Rogue operations in Kuoh were not tolerated.
Then again, if no one knew the artifact's host, the whole affair could be quietly ignored.
"What do you want to do with this?"
"Take them out."
Kanzaki's answer was instant.
"They handed us the proof. Why let them continue like nothing happened?"
He had been eyeing the fallen angels in the old church for a while.
Now that the timing was perfect, there was no way he'd let this slip past.
"That sounds just like you."
Rias nodded.
Though she was of noble blood and held a strong moral code, she wasn't naive.
Even if the Sacred Gear's host was just some nameless regular kid, Rias wasn't going to object to Kanzaki for stepping in—especially if he was going to handle the mess.
Besides, Kanzaki had already healed Hyoudou Issei.
Rias glanced at him, then turned back to Kanzaki.
"I know this one. He's a student at our academy. Why did the fallen angels target him?"
"He is the Sacred Gear wielder."
"I see. Do you know which one?"
"One of the Longinus-class God-killing tools. The Boosted Gear."
"…What?!"
"Not for long."
Kanzaki nudged the unconscious Issei with his foot.
"I was thinking of training him, but now I've got a better idea."
Rias frowned. "You're thinking of using their Sacred Gear extraction ritual?"
"Exactly. He doesn't want to get stronger. So I'll take it."
"That ritual will kill him."
"No, it won't. I have a way to keep him alive."
"…I see."
Rias knew what the Boosted Gear was—a Longinus-Class weapon capable of slaying gods and devils alike. Once someone possessed it, they became a magnet for destruction.
She looked at Issei again. Just a regular kid.
Better for Kanzaki to claim the gear than let Issei be caught in a war he wasn't ready for.
And she wasn't blind to her bias—she trusted Kanzaki more.
"When do we start?"
"Right now."
Kanzaki spread his wings, lifted Issei in one arm, and soared into the sky.
Rias followed close behind.
The old church was located on the outskirts of Kuoh. At full speed, they arrived within minutes.
"Who's there?!"
"You… you're Rias Gremory?!"
"Leave now. This isn't your place!"
Three fallen angels shot out of the church, but they weren't even halfway through their warnings when Kanzaki appeared in front of them, sword in hand.
A single swing.
The air split. The blade passed through all three.
Three green entries appeared immediately.
"Too weak."
Kanzaki looked mildly annoyed.
He had hoped they'd at least be worth a rare-tier entry.
"You're seriously too overpowered."
Rias exhaled.
Not that long ago, Kanzaki was a mid-tier devil and in just a short time, he shot up to high-tier, and then kept accelerating.
Even now, Rias wasn't sure where his ceiling was.
Kanzaki descended. Rias followed him into the church.
Inside, along with the now-defeated fallen angels, were several priests and exorcists.
Like Asia Argento in anime, they had been cast out of the Church for various reasons, and were later recruited by the fallen.
"Die, devils!"
Even in exile, they hadn't abandoned their faith.
Seeing devils appear, they drew their weapons without hesitation.
"You've got guts."
Kanzaki raised his sword, casually slashing the air.
A wave of sword energy ripped forward.
The sound of tearing filled the church.
Every priest and exorcist evaporated in that instant.
Common entries gained: +21. Uncommon entries gained: +5.
Kanzaki looked at the list of new entries forming in his system's warehouse, a satisfied smile on his face.
***
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