Rias could have easily recruited someone like Kasumigaoka Utaha, a second-year who was fairly well-known in school. If she had sent an invitation, it was likely that people of influence would have joined her faction without hesitation.
But she didn't do that. Instead, her gaze always lingered on the artifact wielders.
If there were truly that many artifact wielders, they wouldn't have come seeking her, right?
Izumi honestly had no idea how to comment on Rias's behavior.Just like in the original story, Rias's subordinates were all terrifyingly powerful individuals.
There was Issei, the Red Dragon Emperor.Himejima Akeno, a human-fallen angel hybrid.Tojo Koneko, the strongest species of nekomata, on the verge of extinction.Kiba Yuto, wielder of the creation artifact sword.Xenovia Quarta, possessing both the holy sword of destruction and the combined Holy Sword King Durandore.Gasper Vladi, with the spacetime-controlling demonic eye and the reincarnated consciousness fragment of the Demon God Balor.Rossweisse, a Valkyrie from the North.Not to mention Asia, the ultimate healer.
From this alone, one could see just how high Rias's standards were.
The same went for Sona—her team was also packed with artifact wielders.
But now, this world wasn't the same as before; it had merged with countless other worlds.Even Rias 's current faction only had two people.
Kiba Yuto might already be gone, and Gaspar was likely hiding in some corner. After all, vampires in this world had multiple powerful factions.
If Rias expected to recruit a string of potential prodigies like in the original, she was out of luck.Honestly, she should just accept it and move on—completely hopeless.
After staying with Rias for a while and meeting Sona to exchange greetings, Izumi and Asia left the school.By now, night had fallen.
Walking through the quiet streets, Asia was brimming with excitement.
"Sona-senpai and Rias-senpai are surprisingly easy to get along with!""I thought they'd have that typical high-and-mighty attitude.""But they were so approachable!"
Izumi shook his head.
"That's only around people they know. In public, they still have to maintain appearances.""It's better to keep a little distance and act cool."
He smirked. Honestly, once you got to know these high-society girls, you'd realize they all had a bit of a silly side.
Yes, exactly.If Rias hadn't been trying to recruit him, and if they hadn't become acquainted, she probably would've been cold and aloof.In school, she treated others the same way.Or perhaps, if Izumi hadn't been this strong, neither Rias nor Sona would have been so polite.
Power ruled in this world. Everything else was secondary.If you're strong, others are polite. If you're weak… who even cares about you?
As Izumi and Asia walked along the dimly lit street near home, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them: a man with a twisted expression holding a glowing sword.
Izumi's brow twitched. No hesitation—he acted immediately.
Weapons materialized behind him, launching forward in a flurry.They struck mercilessly at the man: the rogue priest Fried Serran, a collaborator with the fallen angels!He had clearly come for Asia.
Asia, startled by Izumi's swift attack, ducked behind him, eyes wide.From his aggressive stance, it was obvious he meant no good.
Freed didn't expect Izumi to move so quickly.This was infuriating for him. Despite being a rogue priest, his strength was considerable.He had been cultivated with Siegfried's genetic factors by the Church, making him no slouch.
As the weapons flew, Freed leaned back and narrowly dodged.
Izumi's expression darkened.
"Who gave you permission to dodge, trash?"
More weapons materialized behind him, faster this time.Freed couldn't keep up—before he could escape, several spears pierced through him.
Even as he died, he never uttered a word.He couldn't comprehend why Izumi had attacked so directly.And… he was just too strong!
Plop.
Freed, a character with plenty of significance in the original story, had now been sent straight to meet his maker.
Asia, tense, asked:
"Izumi-kun… who was that?"
Izumi explained calmly:
"He was collaborating with the fallen angels, meaning he belonged to their faction.""And he's a rogue priest.""He used to be a genius exorcist of the Church and came after you.""So I took him out directly."
Izumi then approached the corpse and picked up the weapon in his hand.A suitable offering—though only part of a holy sword, it would yield something valuable.
He summoned the system and selected the "offer" option.The holy sword vanished, replaced by two special cards in his hand:
[You have obtained a 5-minute Az·Dakaha Trial Card.][You have obtained a 5-minute Exceeders Trial Card.]
Izumi froze.Az·Dakaha? Exceeders? Trial cards?
He had expected random rewards from the system, but this was… unexpected.
Az·Dakaha, from Problem Children, represented absolute evil in the Baphomet cult, one of the strongest godslayers.He possessed the Blessing of a Thousand Magics, the most powerful flame-based blessing, the Ruler of Light, and the ability to negate opponent's blessings with the Simulated Creation Body, Avista!!
Placed in this world, he would be virtually unbeatable.Even in the sandbox world, he ranked among the top three digits. Given his traits, he would surpass even Infinite Dragon Gods or the Great Red!
Izumi's excitement surged.Even if the trial lasted only five minutes, he could wreak serious havoc in this world!
As for the Exceeders Trial Card… he ignored it completely.Who would bother with that when Az·Dakaha was available?