The church basement was sparsely furnished.
Aside from a few candles for light, the most striking feature was the magic circle etched into the floor.
Following Roy's instructions, Issei Hyoudou stepped into the circle.
"What's next?"
"Just stand still."
Roy temporarily unequipped his Soldier entry.
During Raynare's interrogation, he'd used an immortal art to skim her memories.
The Sacred Gear extraction ritual wasn't complicated—essentially, it involved priests performing a ceremony to resonate with Heaven's system.
Two main hurdles existed.
First, it required multiple priests casting divine arts together.
Second, the Sacred Gear holder had to be incapacitated, offering no resistance.
For the first, Roy could swap out his entry, reverting from devil to human.
The second was even simpler.
Glancing at Issei—cluelessly helping despite being sold out—Roy waved and cast a basic divine art he'd just picked up.
Buzz—! Buzz—! Buzz—!
The air trembled as white light blades materialized around Issei.
"Hm?"
Rias's eyes widened nearby.
Hold on, something's off.
With her keen eye, she could tell Roy wasn't using magic but divine arts.
How the hell was a devil pulling off divine arts?
She'd always known Roy had secrets—doubling power, immortal arts, potential awakening, even Kiba-like sword creation.
Up until now, Rias had trusted him enough not to pry.
But this? She couldn't hold back.
A devil wielding divine arts—what are you, a double agent?
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Issei's scream snapped Rias out of her spiraling thoughts.
At the magic circle's center, a cross materialized.
The light blades around Issei flared blindingly and plunged downward.
In an instant, Issei was pinned to the cross, a red orb bursting from his body.
"Done."
Roy caught the orb and absorbed it.
[Foreign power detected. Convert to a gold entry?]
A gold entry!
Hearing the prompt, Roy's eyes lit up as he confirmed.
[Boosted Gear of the Red Dragon Emperor (Gold): A Longinus sealing the soul of the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig Goch. Grants Doubling, Transfer, Penetration, and Blazing Inferno Flames.]
Worthy of a Longinus—no disappointment here.
One entry, four abilities—peak cost-efficiency.
"Roy, did you trick me?"
A weak voice called from nearby.
Roy turned to see Issei, slumped off the cross.
"Trick you how?"
"I'm so tired… I feel like I'm dying."
"You're not wrong."
Roy explained, "Sacred Gears only transfer when their host dies or nears death."
"I used the ritual to rip it out of you. Your life force is almost gone—ten seconds tops before you croak."
"?!!"
Issei's eyes bulged, fury flashing across his face.
But before he could speak, his life flame snuffed out.
[Congratulations on defeating Issei Hyoudou. Gained red entry: 'You're All My Wings.']
Huh?
The sudden prompt caught Roy off guard, a rare look of shock crossing his face.
Counting back, it'd been a month since he first subdued Issei and nabbed the Doubling entry.
But until today, Roy hadn't imagined Issei had another red entry up his sleeve beyond the Boosted Gear.
What insane drop rates.
"Roy, what's next?"
Rias's voice broke in.
"You said no one would die, so you've got a way to revive him, right?"
"Yeah, I'm prepared."
Snapping out of the surprise, Roy equipped the Spirit Healing Bracelet entry.
A white bracelet appeared on his wrist, glowing faintly.
"Your Sacred Gear can resurrect people?"
Rias frowned, puzzled.
"Not normally, but push it further, and it's a different story."
As Roy answered, he poured demonic power into the bracelet.
With a boom, the bracelet expanded, morphing into a massive ring floating behind him.
"Is that… Balance Breaker?!"
Rias gasped.
Balance Breaker—the ultimate state of a Sacred Gear, fully unleashed.
Typically, it required a drastic shift in the wielder's will or desire, strong enough to defy the world's flow. Only a handful across all factions could pull it off.
Rias had faith in Roy, but she hadn't expected him to master Balance Breaker this fast.
"Roy, when did you learn that?"
"From the start."
Roy answered honestly.
Entries were tangible manifestations of talents and powers.
Once registered in his panel, their effects were fully unlocked.
The day he crossed over and awakened his system, Roy had grasped Balance Breaker.
Back then, he was weak—low stamina, no special energy like demonic power.
Without the right conditions, he couldn't activate it.
Later, as he grew stronger, most foes fell in one hit—no need for Balance Breaker.
Today, with a life to save, he finally had a reason to use the Spirit Healing Bracelet's full power.
Manipulating the floating white ring, Roy positioned it above Issei's head.
His drifting soul was forced back into his body, vibrant life force flooding in.
In mere breaths, Issei's life flame reignited.
"Good enough."
Retracting the bracelet, Roy cast an immortal art to stabilize and tune Issei's life flame.
"Next, tweak his memory, and he's back to normal life."
"I'll handle that."
Rias pulled out a magical device, placing it on Issei's head to start editing his story.
Roy opened his entry inventory, eyeing his new prize.
[You're All My Wings (Red): For each woman who falls for you, gain +100% charm and +100% training speed. Caps at 12 boosts.]
[Note: Currently boosted twice, from Koneko Toujou and Sona Sitri.]
Hiss—some big names in there.
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