The night in Kuoh felt colder than usual. The streets were already quiet, lit only by the dim sidewalk lamps along the route to the school. Ace slipped both hands into his jacket pockets as he walked, his steps tapping softly against the wet asphalt left behind by the afternoon rain.
He was on his way to Kuoh Academy to talk about the cooperation Sona had proposed.
"Sacred Gear… System, do I have a Sacred Gear?"
[Of course, host]
"Seriously… We'll think about it later at home."
Ace reached the school gate. In front of it, Tsubaki and Akeno were already waiting.
"Welcome to Kuoh Academy, Akashi-kun," Akeno said.
"Yeah, uh… who?"
"Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Himejima Akeno."
"My name is Shinra Tsubaki. Nice to meet you."
"Akashi Ace. Nice to meet you both."
They entered Kuoh Academy and walked toward the Occult Research Club. When they reached the building, Akeno knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Akeno opened it and gestured for Ace to step inside.
"We meet again Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri."
"Please have a seat, Akashi-kun," Rias said.
Ace sat down on the sofa. Across from him sat Sona, and Rias took the chair to his right.
"So, what kind of cooperation did you have in mind, Sitri?"
"Just call me Sona. What I want to discuss is information exchange and territory coordination."
She laced her fingers on the table, eyes fixed on Ace without hesitation.
Ace nodded a little, waiting for her to continue.
"Kuoh is our territory. Any supernatural threat that appears here is basically the responsibility of our two clans. The problem is, stray devils and curses have been increasing these past few days."
"Hm… I don't mind, but I want the freedom to take down stray devils or curses without needing your permission."
Sona was about to answer when a voice cut in from the corner of the room.
"Hold on, that doesn't make any sense!"
Saji shouted from behind Sona, standing with the rest of her peerage. He looked genuinely upset, with a mix of frustration and unease written all over his face.
"How can you say something like that so casually? This is Kaichou's territory. Every stray devil or other threat has to go through her approval. You can't just do whatever you want in someone else's area!"
"Well, Sona, Rias? Do you agree?" Ace asked, ignoring Saji completely.
"Don't ignore me!"
"Calm down, Saji," Tsubaki said firmly.
After thinking it over, both Rias and Sona nodded.
"Fine, but you still have to report it to us afterward, and you must not cause us trouble. Is that acceptable?" Rias said.
"Deal."
They shook hands.
Akeno returned with a tray of tea.
"Care for some tea, Kaichou? Sona-sama? Akashi-kun?"
"Sure."
She handed Ace a cup, and he took a sip.
Ace lowered the cup and let out a quiet breath. The tea was warm and fragrant, but his mind was still busy sorting through everything they had just agreed on. A cooperation like this would definitely make his life noisier than usual.
"In that case," Sona said, adjusting her glasses, "we need a dedicated communication channel. At least for reports and coordination."
"You already have my number. Just message me if it's urgent," Ace replied.
Rias leaned forward slightly, her expression more serious than usual. "And one more thing, Akashi-kun. We want to know how far the Sword of Logos will involve themselves in this city."
"Relax," Ace said, crossing his arms. "The Sword of Logos has no intention of taking over your territory. As long as you don't cause chaos, we won't interfere."
Akeno smiled faintly, though her eyes were analyzing him. "Ufufu… bold of you to say. Aren't you afraid of making Kuoh uncomfortable?"
"I'm just being honest."
Across the room, Saji still looked irritated, but Tsubaki held him back from saying anything else. Koneko quietly munched on her snacks, watching Ace with narrowed eyes like she was deciding whether he was dangerous or just annoying.
After a few minutes discussing minor details, Sona finally stood up.
"Then our cooperation officially starts today. Let's hope no one gets harmed."
Ace stood as well. "Sounds good."
They shook hands again. The tension in the room eased, though Saji still looked like he wanted to complain but didn't dare.
Akeno nodded toward the door. "If the discussion is over, I'll escort you to the gate, Akashi-kun."
Ace followed her out. As the door closed, he heard Rias' voice from inside.
"…Sona, are you sure about this?"
"I'm sure," Sona replied calmly. "We need someone who can move before a threat escalates."
Ace's footsteps echoed lightly down the quiet hallway. Akeno walked beside him with her hands clasped behind her back.
"You know," she said, glancing at him, "you attract attention easily. Sona doesn't usually offer cooperation after just one meeting."
"I didn't ask for it," Ace said.
"I know. Maybe that's why she's interested."
Ace didn't respond. He only raised an eyebrow, which made Akeno laugh softly.
When they reached the exit, she stopped.
"Well then, see you again, Akashi-kun. I hope this cooperation goes smoothly… and doesn't give us headaches."
Ace gave a small wave. "We'll see."
He crossed the school courtyard as the gate slowly closed behind him. The night was still cold, but his steps felt lighter.
While walking home, Ace received a satellite alert about a spaceship entering Earth's atmosphere.
"You've got to be kidding… It's landing pretty far. Let's get this over with so I can go home."
Ace pulled out a bottle-shaped device and another phone, inserted the bottle into a slot, and threw it. The phone expanded into a motorcycle. He pressed a button, and a helmet materialized on the seat. He put it on and sped off toward the landing site.
The night wind hit him as he rode out of the city. Street lamps disappeared, replaced by the dark edges of a forest and empty fields.
He pushed the throttle. Trees blurred past on both sides.
Ace stopped and parked his bike at a safe distance. He approached the crash site carefully and silently.
Hiding in the bushes, he watched the ship.
It was orange, shaped like a V. When its door opened, a short green alien with a boxy head and antennae stepped out. He had a huge mustache, a red jacket with a yellow collar, and a striped tie.
"Why is Bagogo here?"
Ace recognized him immediately. Bagogo, the notorious interstellar dealer of illegal weapons.
"I don't want to deal with that scammer."
Ace created a tiny mechanical bug equipped with a camera and audio recorder. It cloaked itself and flew quietly to Bagogo, sticking to his back.
"Bagogo isn't strong. He's not a fighter, just a merchant. As long as I keep an eye on him, it should be fine."
Ace slipped away carefully and returned to his motorcycle.
"Aliens targeting me wouldn't buy weapons from him, right?"
[Possibly. But, master, even alien nobles would think twice before dealing with Bagogo.]
"Hopefully nothing else happens. Hey author, no more events please, I want to go home."
"…"
"Guess I need more sleep."
He accelerated, eager to reach home as fast as possible.
At Ace's house, while everyone else was already asleep, he was still in the basement trying to awaken his Sacred Gear.
"Alright… if I remember correctly, the method is to focus on my deepest desire."
Ace thought about Lala, Craftbot, and Yuki.
'I have to protect them. I need to get stronger. I have to become a great Galactic King. I need to find strong opponents to fight!'
Ace's left hand began to shine, and once the light faded, a black claw with a claw-shaped emblem appeared on his left hand.
"System, what Sacred Gear is this?"
(The claw looks like Kamen Rider Buffa's zombie claw.)
[This Sacred Gear is a fragment of the power of Gilzea, the Severing Dragon]
"…What?! Gilzea doesn't even exist in this world. How can its power turn into a Sacred Gear?"
[Even if you don't know, sometimes the multiverse isn't stable and things from other worlds end up in this one, or the other way around. A fragment of Gilzea's claw drifted into this world and became a Sacred Gear]
"Isn't Great Red supposed to guard the dimensional gap? How did something like this slip past him? No… more importantly, does this thing have Gilzea's consciousness like Draig and Albion?"
[Relax, host. Your Sacred Gear doesn't have Gilzea's consciousness]
"…How strong would Gilzea be in this world?"
[Stronger than the Heavenly Dragons, but weaker than the Dragon Gods]
(That's what I was thinking, since Gilzea can reverse cause and effect. What do you think?)
"Does it still have weaknesses to sunlight and silver? And actually, why do dragons in Ragna Crimson even have those weaknesses? They're not vampires."
[Those weaknesses no longer exist. The dragons in the world you mentioned, Ragna Crimson, are weak to sunlight and silver because those elements contain substances that affect dragons there. In this world, those substances don't exist, so you're fine]
"Hm… with this Sacred Gear, my training schedule just got even busier."
[In my opinion, you should focus more on training your 24 Tempest Steps and evolve it into the 12 Divine Lightning Steps]
"Why?"
[From the start, you never needed to train your offensive power. With my support and Craftbot's power, you're basically a walking armory. What you need to focus on are things like agility, technique, endurance, and your mind. This Sacred Gear will only boost your attack a bit, but the 12 Divine Lightning Steps will raise your speed and agility to a whole different level]
"I see. Alright… I'll just practice a little with this new Sacred Gear." Ace said before heading back to his room to sleep.