As the sequel to High School DxD, the characters in Shin High School DxD were substantially more powerful than their earlier incarnations. After all, by that point in the timeline, Hyoudou Issei had already achieved Transcendent-level strength.
The opponents he faced then included chief gods from various pantheons, legendary dragons, and powerful deities from other worlds.
By that stage of the story, Sairaorg had trained his body and touki to their absolute limits. And Takeyo had now obtained that very same level of fighting spirit.
Of course, Takeyo's current physical fitness still fell short of Sairaorg's peak condition, so the enhancement wasn't quite as terrifying. Yet.
"Hah..."
Takeyo exhaled slowly, his golden eyes shifting toward the crater where Cao Cao lay motionless. The so-called legendary descendant... had been disappointingly weak.
His strength is too limited for someone with such a powerful Sacred Gear.
"Heal."
After assessing Cao Cao's condition with a single glance, Takeyo cast a healing spell toward him.
Cao Cao was valuable, a promising investment who'd already given him a King-level reward on their first meeting. There might be more golden eggs to come from this particular goose.
Besides, he technically owed the guy a Phoenix Tear.
"Koff, "
Cao Cao coughed violently, spitting up a mouthful of blood as his eyes stared blankly at the sky above.
Were all my actions... always within his calculations?
A bitter smile crossed his lips.
It seems my heroic path is still far, far away.
He'd already noticed that Takeyo had been holding back considerably.
The magic circle set up around him required time to absorb ambient spiritual energy before exerting its full strength, giving him enough time to react and defend.
If Takeyo had deployed an instant-activation magic circle instead, Cao Cao's injuries would have been far more severe than they currently were.
Perhaps fatally so.
After throwing the healing spell at Cao Cao, Takeyo had no intention of continuing their conversation.
Instead, he walked toward Jeanne.
"You've worked hard taking care of me these past few days." He smiled gently, reaching out to pat her head. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine now."
"Um?"
Seeing Takeyo approaching, Jeanne's eyes darted away, unable to meet his gaze.
"Don't... don't just stare at people like that," she mumbled quietly, her cheeks coloring.
"No, looking someone in the eyes when thanking them is basic etiquette," Takeyo replied with a slight smile.
"But I'm sorry, I don't belong here."
While stroking Jeanne's hair, Takeyo completed the system task he'd triggered before falling unconscious.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the daily location check-in! Sign-in level: Bronze!]
[Sign-in location: Jeanne's twin-tails.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: Phoenix's Protection (Imperfect Version)]
[Phoenix's Protection: After death, resurrect in phoenix flames and gain greater power. As this is an imperfect version, it can only activate once.
From Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, belonging to the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea.
The original version allows unlimited resurrection through "Continued Phoenix Protection."]
This was the sign-in he'd triggered before losing consciousness. Now he'd simply collected it.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Jeanne snapped out of her daze, processing his words.
"I have to return soon. There are people waiting for me."
Takeyo continued stroking her hair, knowing that Jeanne seemed to have developed feelings for him. He wouldn't deceive her as he had with previous encounters.
"Huh? Go back? Can't... can't you stay here?"
Tears began welling up in Jeanne's eyes. He'd only just woken up, why was he already in such a hurry to leave?
"Jeanne, this is my address." Takeyo sighed helplessly, pulling out a slip of paper. "I'm very grateful for your help. Don't worry, this time it's genuine. If you can't find me there, feel free to level Kuoh Town. I won't complain."
Sometimes being too clingy wasn't ideal, even if it was flattering.
"This..."
Jeanne hesitated for several seconds before accepting the note from his hand.
"If you truly want to be with me, come find me," Takeyo said softly, his gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.
"But before that, if you want to pursue your ambitions... I have no objections."
"Just remember that there's always a place for you in Kuoh Town. You can come anytime."
His words were interrupted by another cough, this one bringing up a mouthful of golden blood.
He'd already learned quite a bit when he'd expanded his perception earlier.
However, there were still some things he needed to confirm personally.
"A place I can go anytime..." Jeanne looked straight into Takeyo's eyes.
She wanted to believe him. She truly believed that Takeyo had no intention of lying to her.
But... couldn't he just stay by her side instead?
"Jeanne, there are friends of mine in that place," Takeyo explained gently. "There are memories I've accumulated over many years in that land. I don't want to abandon all of that."
"But I promise you this, as long as you call for me from the bottom of your heart, I will definitely come to you. Just like last time."
The "last time" referred to the incident with Vishnu.
As Takeyo's voice faded, a man's voice echoed from nearby.
Holding the True Longinus for support, Cao Cao limped toward them, his body still recovering from Takeyo's overwhelming assault.
"In other words, you intend to leave this place?"
Cao Cao's voice was strained but determined.
"That's right. Do you have any objections, Cao Cao?" Takeyo glanced at him with teasing eyes. "Or do you regret not using Truth Idea against me from the start?"
"No, I have no objections," Cao Cao replied with a self-mocking laugh. "The weak aren't qualified to impose their opinions on the strong."
His instincts told him that even if he had used Truth Idea, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Takeyo.
"You can leave if you wish," Cao Cao continued, "but is what you said before actually true?"
"If you can accomplish something I consider worthy of recognition, there's no problem." Takeyo smiled knowingly. "The prerequisite is that you don't casually harm people around me."
Ambition was indeed a poison, something reflected perfectly in Cao Cao's character.
"Then just wait for me," Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, determination burning in their depths. "We're simply lacking the opportunity to prove ourselves to the world."
A human existence like Takeyo suited his philosophy perfectly!
Yes... humanity's potential truly is immense. Perhaps the one who will realize my ambition of exploring humanity's limits isn't me... but Takeyo standing before me!
Of course, Takeyo remained oblivious to how he'd inadvertently completed Cao Cao's life mission.
"Well then, I'll be going first." Takeyo gave Jeanne's hair one final gentle stroke. "If you want to find me, Jeanne, you can come anytime."
With those parting words, Takeyo vanished from Cao Cao's hidden stronghold.
"I didn't sense Ophis's aura anywhere nearby," Takeyo murmured to himself as he materialized elsewhere. "Which means what I just left was likely one of Cao Cao's hidden or temporary bases."
"It's been quite a while since I've seen Ophis. I really do miss her a bit."
Rather than returning directly home, Takeyo headed toward Tiamat's resting place.
Originally, Tiamat's power had been unstable. She'd exerted her full strength during the battle with Vishnu and had nearly been killed on the spot.
Although Takeyo had used the power of World Dragon Kurimo to heal her injuries, given the severity of what she'd suffered, he could only guarantee she wouldn't die from those wounds.
Due to the nature of the Evil Piece system, he could locate his own servants.
However, his servants couldn't locate him, otherwise, Asia and Yuuma Amano would have already brought Ajuka to find him.
What Takeyo didn't expect was that Tiamat wasn't as weakened as he'd anticipated.
In fact, she was extremely energetic.
In... all aspects.
Meanwhile, back at the Hero Faction's headquarters.
With Zhuge Liang's assistance, the small loli tactician, Cao Cao finally stabilized his injuries.
"Jeanne, you really did find a powerful descendant of heroes," Cao Cao remarked with a wry smile.
He'd originally thought himself to be a child of destiny, a man meant to lead humanity into the future and surpass human limitations. Yet he'd been so easily defeated by the man Jeanne had brought.
"By the way, what kind of god did you say he defeated?"
Cao Cao's curiosity got the better of him.
Although Jeanne had mentioned that Takeyo defeated a god, she'd never specified which one.
If he could determine which deity it was, he could at least estimate Takeyo's current strength.
"The god he defeated... I don't know all the details," Jeanne shook her head. "I only know that it claimed to be a supreme god."
She chose to conceal part of the truth.
For instance, she'd witnessed that god's avatar split into ten powerful incarnations and forcibly tear apart a Dragon King's body.
Though she was naive and easily deceived, she understood what it meant for a god system to lose its supreme deity.
Out of a desire to protect Takeyo from unnecessary trouble, she chose to keep that information hidden.
Even though everyone here was her ally, there was always the risk that speaking out could lead to the information being exposed.
"Claimed to be a god?"
Cao Cao smiled faintly.
So he claimed to be a god, did he?
"One day... I will eventually surpass everything with this human body."
He whispered this conviction to himself.
Claiming to be a god...
He didn't think his path was mistaken. If he couldn't even adhere to his own chosen path, what kind of hero's descendant would he be?
However... there was admittedly a small problem with his method of realization.
Though it was a minor issue in some people's eyes, it was an extremely serious and grave problem in the eyes of most others.
This method of dealing with problems was commonly called terrorism.
On Takeyo's side.
"Since Tiamat seems perfectly fine, I'm relieved."
Takeyo emerged from Tiamat's resting place, his legs trembling slightly.
Although he'd been left somewhat drained... in terms of the final result, it was his victory!
This alone proved that his physique had evolved considerably. Even with a seriously injured body, he could still handle Tiamat. The power of his enhanced human bloodline was truly remarkable.
He found a location rich in spiritual energy.
Since he felt that casually acting during this recovery period might aggravate his injuries, it was time to use that item he'd obtained earlier.
Didn't he get something useful for exactly this kind of situation?
Now that he was injured, he could summon someone to protect him. While Asia and Yuuma Amano were both ten-winged angels, they weren't strong enough. Moreover, if the fact that he was being protected by ten-winged angels and fallen angels was exposed, it would cause significant problems.
Whether before or after the tri-faction peace agreement was concluded, such a revelation would be troublesome.
For this reason, he needed to use that item.
"Use: Advanced Heroic Spirit Summoning Circle!"
As Takeyo activated the exquisite parchment engraved with an intricate summoning array, the spiritual energy of the entire land became restless!
"You lie beneath me, entrusting your destiny to my sword."
"Follow the summons. If you obey this will and the laws of heaven, answer immediately!"
"I swear here... I am the good of the world and the evil of the world."
"I am the master of these chains..."
"The heroic spirit bound by contract with you, come forth from the Throne of Heroes, my guardian!"
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