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As expected, that was exactly the kind of reckless fool Vali was.
"I'll be waiting whenever you come back to take him."
Anos smiled as he spoke.
He was only worried that by then, Albion might no longer be willing to go back with Vali.
After all, his dear friend Ddraig was inside the World Dragon's Jewel. Once Albion entered, he would be able to fight Ddraig every day. If he left, what else would he do?
The battles between the Two Heavenly Dragons throughout history were, in the end, only an extension of the rivalry between Albion and Ddraig.
Now that they could finally fight directly with their dragon souls, the Boosted Gear and the Divine Dividing truly seemed to have lost their reason to exist.
"The power of dragons can certainly lead to the ultimate path of domination, but the most important thing is still your own strength."
Anos left Vali with those final words before vanishing from his sight.
"The most important thing... is my own strength?"
"In other words, he wants me to fully develop the bloodline of that man?"
What an impolite request.
In truth, Vali had always carried a certain psychological barrier in his heart.
Thanks to the bloodline of a true Satan, he had been able to become the strongest White Dragon Emperor in history.
But deep down, he had always resisted that bloodline.
At his current age, if he did not use a Sacred Gear, he might not even be a match for Katerea.
"Now that I cannot keep avoiding it... I have no choice but to face it."
Vali looked at the holy swords disappearing around him. Watching the specks of light scatter across the sky, he felt the massive gap between himself and Anos.
"The bloodline of a true Satan, huh?"
"Using that man's bloodline to defeat that man would undoubtedly be the greatest insult to him."
Vali comforted himself with that thought.
He had indeed lost Divine Dividing.
Developing the power of the true Satan bloodline was now unavoidable. After all, aside from defeating the one who had left a permanent shadow in his heart, Vali also wanted to take Albion back from Anos.
"Wait for me... Since you spared me today from the position of one above me, then when I defeat you someday, I will spare you once as well."
After saying those words, Vali vanished into the night sky.
...
In truth, this was the path most suited to him.
If one wanted to draw out a Sacred Gear's full potential, or even surpass its limits, one first had to push one's own abilities to the limit.
Vali did possess a Sacred Gear mode even stronger than [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive].
It was called [Satan Drive].
That was a form he developed after accepting his Satan bloodline, with Ophis's help. It could reach a level nearly equal to AxA and was close to his strongest state.
At least for the current Vali, he still had a long way to go.
...
Of course, none of that had much to do with Anos.
Because in his eyes, Vali was not that important.
Once Anos had gained the strength to defeat Vali, Vali could no longer catch up to him.
After all, in terms of bloodline and talent, Anos had been modeled after a god from the Dungeon world and then reborn and evolved through the Ark Sphere. He belonged on the same level as the Biblical God and the Infinite Dragon God.
Even when it came to cheats, Vali was not remotely comparable.
So Anos simply wanted to disgust Rizevim a little while also seeing how far Vali could go.
At that moment, on the ground.
Rias, Sona, and the others were anxiously waiting for the result.
"The power of the Red Dragon Emperor. I never expected Anos to also be this generation's Red Dragon Emperor."
Rias walked from one side of the construction site to the other, then back again.
She could feel the red and white lights colliding high in the sky. Although they seemed evenly matched, she was still worried.
"Aren't you worried at all? If something happens to him..."
Rias's worry was normal.
After all, to her, both the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor were existences beyond normal standards.
"First, there is no need to worry. Our worrying will not affect the result."
"Second, I trust Anos."
Sona spoke calmly.
In truth, she had noticed something.
The reason Anos had not killed that fallen angel right away seemed to be that he was waiting for something.
Finally, after the White Dragon Emperor appeared, he chose to act.
In other words, the one he had been waiting for was likely the White Dragon Emperor.
Based on Sona's understanding of Anos, he would not do something he was not confident in.
That meant he had been waiting there for his target only because he had complete certainty.
"You only need to know this. Many things you do not understand, and many things I do not understand either, Anos has already thought through."
Sona sighed as she spoke.
She had felt this very clearly through the work of the Student Council. Ever since Anos returned, the Student Council's work seemed to have become easier.
Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
Although he had only been away for twenty days, to everyone in the Student Council, it felt as if he had been gone for several months.
A Student Council with its president and one without its president were far too different.
"What are you discussing?"
Just as Rias seemed about to say something else, a voice they knew extremely well came from the sky.
It was Anos.
"See? He came back, didn't he?"
Sona spoke as if it were only natural.
Of course, in her heart, she still breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though she had said all that, she had still been worried about Anos. After all, that was the White Dragon Emperor.
"Mm. Let's head back first. There are still two people here who need to be taken care of."
Anos pointed toward Xenovia and Irina, who were still in a dazed state.
People whose faith had been shattered were basically like this.
They would probably need quite some time before they recovered.
...
Anos temporarily settled Xenovia and Irina in the guest rooms of his house.
Then he went to deal with matters involving Rias.
After all, Rias had nothing else to do at the moment, and she herself enjoyed that feeling very much, so she was unusually proactive in that regard.
After everything had settled, Anos sank his mind inward.
Earlier, after defeating the White Dragon Emperor, he had obtained a silver treasure chest. Until now, he had not opened it.
"Let me see what this one gives me."
With a bit of anticipation, Anos opened the silver treasure chest.
[Ding.]
[Silver Treasure Chest opened.]
[Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: Ultimate Weapon Advancement Stone.]
[Ultimate Weapon Advancement Stone: An item that brings any weapon to its absolute limit, then allows it to easily surpass that limit.]
"Mm?"
Anos raised a brow.
Was this a case of receiving exactly what he lacked?
His agreement with Hephaestus had not yet been completed.
In other words, as long as he had this item, once that contract was fulfilled, he could maximize the benefits.
The moment Anos saw it, he had already decided how to use it.
Clearly, surpassing the limits of ordinary iron and surpassing the limits of a divine weapon both counted as surpassing a limit. But one was going from 1 to 2, while the other was going from 1000 to 2000.
There was no need to think about it.
"After completing the objective in the Akame ga Kill world, I'll use this."
Going to another world and using divine power to forge a weapon for Anos. That was the contract between Anos and Hephaestus.
It was precisely because Hephaestus knew of the existence of other worlds, and because Anos possessed the ability to travel to them, that she had been so shocked.
And because Hephaestus knew Anos could travel to other worlds, Hestia had also learned of it.
"Once the major matters here are temporarily handled, I'll go to that world."
Anos did not choose to head there immediately.
Because what he had to do in the world of Devil High School was more important than simply forging a weapon.
"Anos... Anos?"
Rias suddenly murmured softly, as if even in her exhausted, half-asleep state, she still wanted Anos's comfort.
"..."
Anos did not say anything. He merely shifted from their separated position and gently held Rias in his arms.
It seemed she still lacked a little sense of security.
"Hm?"
While holding her like that, Anos suddenly received a request from another world.
[I want to come back and see you. I have something to ask.]
Such a brief message could only have come from Ophis.
"She wants to see me?"
Anos's expression became slightly subtle.
At this time.
In this situation?
But after thinking for a while, Anos gave up on overthinking it.
Forget it.
When Ophis had previously provided energy for Forbidden Heaven inside his body, she had probably already seen him with Ais and Hestia.
As space-time fluctuated, Anos opened the world gate to the Strike the Blood world.
As the gate opened, a petite girl in a black gothic dress walked through it.
Her eyes were calm and still, as if nothing in the world could stir much interest in her.
But that emotion only lasted for a moment. Soon, a trace of confusion appeared on her face.
"What are you doing?"
Looking at Anos's current state, Ophis tilted her head and asked.
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