Amano Yuuma touched her lower abdomen, feeling the continuous warmth spreading within, and nodded. "Then we'll try again in a month. I need some time to familiarize myself with my new strength anyway."
The three of them failed to take down Ethan when they were B-rank, both in bed and out of it...
But once all three of them reached A-rank, even if they were still outmatched in bed, their chances of winning a battle outside of bed would be much higher.
Receiving orders from her superior to carry out a mission in Kuoh Town, Amano Yuuma originally planned to seize the opportunity to acquire the Sacred Gear, aiming to enhance her own strength.
Since she couldn't break through her spiritual boundary, she naturally had to find other ways to increase her combat power, and utilizing artifacts was the quickest and most convenient method.
Now that she had discovered Ethan, this treasure of a boy, she wouldn't easily let go. Even the most powerful Sacred Gear couldn't compare to the potential for continuous self-improvement he offered.
Ethan spent a week mastering the Instant Illusion talent and integrating his vastly increased Magic Power.
Having gained the Primal Yin from the three Fallen Angel girls, his Magic Power smoothly reached the level of an Intermediate Sorcerer.
However, the Magic Power Extraction skill in his ability panel remained at Initial Level. Moving forward, reaching A-rank peak in Magic Power would have to rely solely on the dual cultivation ability.
When he was stuck at the A-rank bottleneck, Ethan had already considered how to perfectly achieve dual cultivation (magic and martial arts). After much thought, the current method was the best approach.
He left the Magic Power aspect entirely to the dual cultivation talent to develop autonomously. If destiny favored him, he would become a super magical genius. If not, the martial path he specialized in was still sufficient to make him invincible among his peers.
The dual cultivation ability also boosted his Primal Ki (Qi), and even more so than his Magic Power.
After thoroughly digesting the successful sessions with the three Fallen Angel girls, Ethan reached the pinnacle of the Martial Saint rank. His next step was to charge toward the Martial God rank.
This was only two weeks after Ethan broke through the A-rank bottleneck.
When Rias and the others learned the news, their eyes widened in disbelief.
It was generally understood that the stronger one was, the harder advancement became. Yet, it seemed that for Ethan, the opposite was true; his progress was accelerating.
After a few internal club sparring matches, no matter how incredible it seemed, they had to accept the reality.
Currently, aside from Rias, Ethan had become the strongest combatant in the Occult Research Club.
Compared to the astonishment and confusion of the others, Ethan himself didn't find it surprising. A-rank peak was just that—it wasn't even S-rank.
It was important to remember that while S-rank might sound impressive, it wasn't considered a top-tier combat force.
S-rank, in Devil terms, was equivalent to a High-Class Devil. Beyond the God-Class entities, there were still Ultimate-Class and Devil Kings.
In almost every major faction—Devils, Angels, or races with powerful bloodlines—the younger generation often produced individuals with S-rank power.
Take Rias, for example. She was only seventeen, not even an adult by Devil standards. She hadn't gathered all her Peerage pieces or even participated in the Rating Games, but her personal strength was solidly S-rank.
Among the Hero Faction, there was no shortage of young warriors of high school age who had reached S-rank strength.
Moreover, Ethan was facing a serious problem.
His breakthrough to A-rank relied on the notes left by the Sword Saint of the Miyama family, followed by extensive real-world combat experience.
Now his Primal Ki (Qi) had reached A-rank peak, but he had absolutely no clue how to grasp the 'Dao' (the Way) necessary for the Martial God rank.
Fortunately, the leap from A-rank to S-rank was merely a qualitative change in power, not an alteration of the fundamental nature of life. This meant he didn't need to constantly seek out battles or near-death experiences to break through.
To comprehend the Dao Rhythms, or Martial Will, Ethan not only sparred daily with Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, and Yuuto Kiba, but later even included Sona Sitri's entire Peerage.
It started with one-on-one, then moved to one-on-two, then one-on-three...
In the end, it required five people surrounding Ethan just to have a competitive match.
It was important to note that neither Akeno Himejima nor Sona Sitri's Peerage were weak A-rank individuals; they were all considered prodigious talents.
But facing the dual-cultivating Ethan, especially his ridiculously strong combat instinct, they were all beaten into self-doubt.
One second they were using fierce punches and kicks, and the next, Ethan would spot an opening, conjure a magic circle, and blast them from the side.
When they put up a magic barrier to defend, Ethan would flap his wings and close the distance again, giving them a full-body 'massage'...
With various buff and support spells cast upon himself, his already absurd physical stats completely crushed the group of Devils.
Only Rias and Sona Sitri, who were already S-rank and could suppress him purely with power, were spared being taught a lesson by Ethan.
No, taught a lesson on how to be a Devil.
Through relentless sparring with the beautiful girls day and night, Ethan basically learned how to handle every type of opponent. He also realized that he was indeed better suited to using his body than swordsmanship.
In every battle, using his wings and tail felt more intuitive than using a sword.
It was clear that the Initial Level Sword Heart talent was no match for his inherent Peak-Level Body Technique talent.
[Body Sketching Divine Insight], through Ethan's continuous development, was producing increasingly astonishing results. In terms of martial arts techniques, he could now mostly decipher a move with one glance and copy it with a second glance.
Rias noticed Ethan's fighting style and suggested crafting a pair of gauntlets or knuckles for him as a weapon.
Ethan declined Rias's kind offer. He already had a weapon candidate in mind.
The Longinus (Sacred Gear of the highest rank): Boosted Gear (The Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor). Initially, he was just toying with the idea, but as his strength gradually increased, he realized the true significance of a Longinus.
Issei Hyoudou, a Low-Class Devil, could, with just his Balance Breaker form, knock away Riser Phenex, the third son of the Phenex family (a High-Class Devil). Even after reaching God-level strength, he could still unlock other forms to reverse disadvantageous situations against stronger opponents.
Although every use came with a huge cost, compared to the utility of the Sacred Gear, it was entirely negligible.
The Red Dragon Emperor was definitely one of the top powers in this world, perhaps just one step away from transcending.
Simply being chosen by its will within the Longinus elevated his status so much that even the Devil King's first retainer would address him as Lord (a title of great respect).
The more Ethan learned about the Boosted Gear, the more he felt this particular Longinus was incredibly suitable for him.
Combat style compatibility was one factor.
Secondly, the costs associated with the various modes could be mitigated by his dual cultivation ability, such as lost vitality, and the influence of the Dragon's aura on the host, etc.
Moreover, it wouldn't be retired as Ethan grew stronger; its power would only increase. If he could master the later forms, it could evolve into a full-body armor.
Full-body armor was arguably the perfect gear for Ethan to utilize his body techniques.
Fist, foot, knee, elbow... every attack would be amplified, and it would also provide protective effects.
On Sunday, in the underground space of the Church.
Ethan came here again. First, he engaged in combat training with the three Fallen Angels. After spending half an hour defeating them, he decisively initiated the dual cultivation mode.
Although he hadn't fully subjugated Amano Yuuma, after several probes between the two during this period, they implicitly agreed to cooperate.
Ethan would help them improve their strength and ensure Rias didn't hunt them down.
In return, they would cause no trouble during this time and would serve as sparring partners for Ethan.
Amano Yuuma's heart sank with every sparring session, but since Mitelt and Kalawarner hadn't reached A-rank yet, a sliver of hope still lingered in her mind.
Ethan embraced the tempting, beautiful body. His behemoth pressed firmly against the inner wall of her flower-palace, injecting his scorching essence into Amano Yuuma's body, thus concluding this cultivation session.
"Whew~"
He let out a long, satisfied breath. While caressing the beautiful, panting girl, he asked, "Yuuma-chan, what do you know about Sacred Gears?"
Amano Yuuma, still enjoying the afterglow, stiffened. Had he discovered the purpose of her coming here?
"What do you mean?"
Ethan keenly noticed the shift in the girl's tone. After a moment of thought, he understood.
He had thought that Amano Yuuma's appearance in Kuoh Town a year earlier meant her mission was likely unrelated to the Sacred Gear, but now it seemed he couldn't rely on the original timeline for judgment.