Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Raize stood under icy water, soaking himself in a bathtub filled with cold water to cool down. After taking a deep breath, he silently recited a Mantra in his mind.
"If the heart is clear as ice, the sky may fall without alarm; amid endless change, remain steadfast, calm the spirit and quiet the…"
After a few minutes, Raize circulated the energy within his body, finally calming his agitated body and mind.
But as he cycled the energy within himself, he seemed to feel a strange sensation that hadn't been there before.
What was that…
[Raize, you'd better check your personal panel. Encountering that woman might not be a bad thing.]
Suddenly, the system's familiar voice—absent for a long time—rang out in Raize's mind, reminding him to take a look at his personal status panel.
Raize didn't doubt it. With a thought, he opened his attribute panel directly before his eyes.
One look made his eyebrows rise.
『Name』: Raize Yotsuki
『Race』: Human
『Strength』: 100 (physical power) [+30]
『Constitution』: 120 (vitality, defense, endurance, abnormal resistance, etc.) [+30]
『Agility』: 110 (movement speed, attack speed) [+30]
『Spirit』: 300 (mental activity, willpower, neural reaction speed, perception) [+30]
『Energy』: 350 (positive-aligned energy infused through self-training and external factors, capable of enhancing physical attributes and possessing lethal restraining effects against dark and evil entities)
『Techniques』: Eightfold Thunder Annihilation, Eightfold Thunder Cataclysm
[TL: Changed it from Desolate Judgement to Cataclysm]
『Abilities』: Primordial Sacred Radiance, All-Rounder, Weapon Mastery, Ultra-High-Speed Movement, Lightning Manipulation, Frost Manipulation, Flame Control
All attributes, including the energy within his body, had been significantly strengthened. The strange sensation he had felt earlier was no illusion—it was a real and substantial change.
The energy in his body had transformed into sacred energy. In addition to lightning, it now carried light and holy attributes.
He had also gained a new ability: Primordial Sacred Radiance.
"…Light power? Looks like holy power."
Raize's expression turned blank. He raised his right hand and activated the mutated energy within his body. Dense golden particles of light appeared in his palm, warm and powerful.
After the energy mutated—no, evolved—into sacred energy, not only had the quantity of energy in his body clearly increased, but its quality had also undergone an explosive leap.
[ It seems that woman truly bears you no ill will. Her background is definitely extraordinary. When she entered your body and formed a contract with you last night, I felt the quality of her soul up close—it was like a sun. ]
The system had already been prepared last night to take Raize and flee to another world to avoid this unidentified woman.
But after sensing no malice from her, and out of curiosity about her background, it tacitly allowed Sei's actions toward its host Raize. After all, there were no downsides.
From beginning to end, the woman had shown only goodwill toward Raize. The system was quite curious why she valued him so highly as to form a contract with its host.
"Entered my body… formed a contract!? Then you—!?"
Raize's expression changed as he immediately recalled the scene before he lost consciousness last night, along with the later dream of Sei.
[ Relax. It's not a harmful contract. The price is soul binding—she resides within your body. You've already felt the power she holds; that's the feedback of the contract manifested on you. ]
[ And as long as I don't actively reveal myself, she won't be able to detect me—even if she enters your body. We're not on the same channel, hmph~ ]
The system's words dispelled Raize's worries, but then confusion followed. Who exactly was she, and why would she do this?
Raize didn't believe such a good thing would just fall into his lap without any cost.
[ If you're confused, ask her yourself. Since she formed a contract with you without any malice, even if she doesn't tell you everything, she should at least tell you who she is..]
Hearing the system's suggestion, Raize nodded silently. She possessed power greater than his and yet hadn't harmed him. Now that he'd been unilaterally contracted, it was only reasonable to understand each other.
Both Raize and the system believed her identity was anything but simple, and the power he received was clearly positive light energy.
In this world, beings with such power included angels, elves, and saintesses. Raize's first suspicion was that she might be an angel.
After all, he had experienced the warmth and compassion of her power—it matched his speculation perfectly.
With that in mind, Raize finished his shower, got dressed, and stepped out. He took out his phone and checked today's schedule. It was Saturday, so there was no school, but there were matters prepared by the Raiden Company that required his personal involvement.
Today, living as casually as usual was clearly impossible.
---
In the living room, the figure Raize wanted to see was sitting obediently on the sofa, though her appearance had once again reverted to the petite form from last night.
Her waist-length hair had returned to a clean, translucent snow-silver color, and her golden pupils locked onto Raize the moment he appeared.
How should he put it? The larger version of Sei made Raize's heart race with an otherworldly beauty, while the smaller version was exquisitely cute—like a delicate doll that made one want to hug her.
Seeing Sei revert to this form made Raize breathe a sigh of relief. Not only had his earlier behavior been embarrassing, but her mature form possessed an inhuman level of charm. Losing control was only natural.
"Aize, breakfast. Hungry!"
Sei spoke bluntly and familiarly, expressing her desire to eat. But in Raize's eyes, she was a soul entity bound to him—did a soul really feel hunger?
Or was she just craving food?
"That can wait. You formed a contract with me without even asking my opinion. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Raize suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, stepped in front of her, and asked solemnly, "What exactly are you? An angel, an elf, or the soul of some famous saintess?"
"Mm… none of those~ Want to guess again? If you get it right, I'll give you a reward~"
Facing Raize's probing question, Sei smiled cutely, her eyes filled with playfulness and delight as she looked at him.
But in Raize's eyes, her delicate, dreamlike little face seemed to glow. When she smiled, it felt like a spring breeze blowing straight into his mind and heart.
So cute… an angel~~
No—wait!! That cheating, shameless affinity aura again!!!
Raize froze for a moment before snapping back to his senses, forcibly tearing himself away from her intoxicating smile.
It wasn't seductive charm, but a deep, instinctive longing for goodness that made him lose focus.
Her affinity aura was simply too strong, making people unconsciously want to get close to her.
Zzzzzzt!!!
In an instant, terrifying lightning burst across Raize's body, violent arcs of electricity leaping and writhing.
But it only lasted for a brief moment. Raize took a deep breath, his expression serious and solemn.
"I can now be certain that you absolutely belong to some kind of exalted existence. I can feel that you have no malice toward me, but please answer my question seriously—what exactly are you?"
He was very calm right now. The other party was clearly an existence he could not possibly contend with at his current level. Since she bore him no ill will, he naturally had no intention of turning hostile first.
But if this exchange continued as it was, he would inevitably end up in a passive position.
Even though she had not actively influenced Raize, his own weakness made it impossible for him to resist her presence.
"I am Sei. The surname Haruhi is something I added myself." Sei looked at Raize's serious face, a special emotion hidden in her eyes as she calmly explained the answer he wanted.
Rather than saying she was hiding it, it would be more accurate to say she never intended to conceal her mysterious identity from Raize.
"As for my identity, I am a god. A god who has already fallen."
A god!?
Raize's heart tightened. Because he had not yet truly witnessed her abilities, he had never let his thoughts wander in that direction.
And she had said a fallen god—combined with her current state as a soul, this part clearly was not a lie.
"The light power that appeared in my body, combined with the warmth I feel from you… what kind of god are you?"
Now that he knew she was a god, the doubts in Raize's heart unraveled. Though shocked by her identity, in a world where gods and devils hid in the shadows, it wasn't impossible that a random maid you passed on the street might actually be a dragon.
What he was truly curious about now was what kind of god Sei was, judging by the power within him and the aura she gave off.
Possible answers surfaced in his mind: a god of light, a sun god, or the highest-tier god of this world—the Biblical God.
A possibility that made Raize's heart beat faster rose to the surface, though he wasn't sure of his own guess.
Yet when he saw the half-smiling gaze of Sei sitting on the sofa, along with her warm smile—
"It seems you've already guessed it."
As one of the supreme beings of this world, the God of the Bible could sense her followers as long as they thought of her with sincerity.
Although Raize himself held no particular faith in gods, as her contractor and being so close to her, the moment her existence crossed his mind, she sensed it.
"N-No way…"
Cold sweat formed on Raize's forehead. His expression showed tension, while his thoughts churned violently.
In High School DxD, the Biblical God was said to have fallen in the ancient war among the three great factions, weakened after sealing 666, and ultimately perishing together with the original Four Great Satans.
Sei had just said she was a fallen god, which aligned perfectly with the background of the Biblical God.
Raize did not blurt out something foolish like "God, why didn't you die?" Instead, his brain accelerated into deep thought.
First, was the account of the Biblical God being weakened by sealing 666 and then dying together with the original Satans truly accurate?
Could that really cause the complete fall of the strongest existence in this world?
For a god who had created countless Sacred Gears that made heretical gods wary, and who possessed overwhelming power, the original Four Satans were nothing more than weaklings. Even the original Lucifer couldn't stand against her. The idea of her dying together with such opponents was simply laughable.
The novels of High School DxD only glossed over the fall of the Biblical God, but in a mixed multiverse world like this, he absolutely could not rely solely on memories from his previous life to judge her.
The Sephiroth Graal she created even involved the power to reverse life and death. If she really died that easily, it would make no sense at all.
As for the possibility that Sei was lying—yes, it existed, but it was meaningless.
What purpose would there be in deceiving someone as weak as Raize?
"Then as the supremely noble Biblical God, why would you form a contract with a weak human like me? And what is your purpose?"
Raize already believed her identity seven or eight tenths of the way, but he still couldn't understand why the God of Bible—who commanded vast faith across the world—would suddenly approach him last night and contract him.
Her attitude toward him was intimate and trusting. Why?
"At present, I am only a soul. My strength is far from my prime. Forming a contract with you was an inevitable choice. As for my purpose, I hope you will help me protect this world and face the crises that will come in the future."
When explaining why she chose Raize, Sei merely called it inevitable. Though Raize felt dissatisfied and puzzled by that answer, what truly caught his attention was her stated goal.
Protect this world.
Did that mean something was about to happen?
Raize immediately thought of the later-stage otherworld invasion in High School DxD—the so-called ExE World, whose overall combat power far exceeded that of the DxD world.
Later on, even Great Red was beheaded, his corpse left in the dimensional rift.
He also recalled how, in the later stages of the DxD world, all Sacred Gear users and powerful beings were gathered together to face the ExE invasion.
The God of Bible granting so many Sacred Gears to humanity was very likely for that exact reason—to counter the invasion from the ExE world.
Humans were weak, but over long ages, their potential far surpassed that of innate gods and devils.
The God of Bible's fondness for humanity was not without reason. Only humans, with their rich and varied emotions, could truly bring her Sacred Gears to their fullest potential.
"I understand. Since I've formed a contract with you and obtained power, I must fulfill my obligations."
"One last question. The future crisis you mentioned—are you referring to an otherworld invasion?"
As soon as Raize asked this, Sei looked at him with an indescribable emotion, carefully sizing him up from head to toe, making him involuntarily tense.
After all, she was the god of this world. Not being nervous was impossible.
Moreover, Raize had just revealed extremely confidential information—knowledge that no ordinary person should possess. It would be strange if she didn't wonder how he knew so much.
"…Just as I thought, Raize. You truly are a singularity of this world."
Sei's scrutiny held no suspicion or hostility. Instead, it only further confirmed that she had chosen the right person—Raize was exactly the existence she needed and hoped for.
"Yes…"
Sei withdrew her gaze and nodded seriously.
Her answer made Raize breathe a sigh of relief, yet his mood grew heavy. Just as he had thought, once you knew the truth of the world, living peacefully was no longer possible.
He had to grow stronger—quickly. Without strength, he would never feel at ease. Living in constant anxiety like this was unbearable.
Raize remembered that the game he had loaded last night was ready, and he hadn't cleared it yet because of the sudden appearance of this Biblical loli god.
Perfect timing. He could finish the game now and then put everything related to getting stronger back on track.
Having clarified the girl's identity and purpose, Raize temporarily dropped most of his wariness toward Sei. After making her breakfast, he went straight to play his game.
He connected the system-projected game to his room's computer and launched Kirby Star Allies. This was the game Raize intended to play.