"You broke through? That fast?"
The surprise lasted only a moment before Amano Yuuma accepted it.
In that strange space, Ethan's aura had, at one point, made her believe he had successfully broken through. Now, after half a month, it wasn't surprising that Ethan had reached S-rank.
"Mmm, I broke through in Martial Arts, but I'm still a little behind in Magic Power."
Only after reaching S-rank did Ethan finally understand the distinction between Magic Power and Martial Arts. Unlike Sorcerers, the source of Magic Power that Rias and her group spoke of was based on Imagination, entirely following a path of brute force over skill.
Both the path of the Root/Origin and the Immortal Arts rely on, and then transcend, the Heavens and Earth. Each breakthrough brought a fundamental change in the essence of life.
The so-called High-Class Devils and even Devil Kings could theoretically still be stabbed to death by an ordinary person with a knife.
Well, if they didn't defend themselves or retaliate...
But Ethan had no such weakness. With his current physical condition, ordinary knives and swords couldn't even break his defense, though they were still inferior to magical weapons.
This was one of the key reasons Ethan wanted to acquire the Boosted Gear (Dragon Hand).
Clashing with others' weapons using only his flesh, even with his strongest wings and tail, still put him at a slight disadvantage.
If he could acquire the Boosted Gear, ideally mastering its full armor form, it would provide a massive increase in Ethan's strength, even without other enhancements.
As for the path of the Root/Origin, Ethan decisively gave up on it. He couldn't even fully grasp simple, raw Magic Power, let alone the profound complexities of Sorcery.
He wasn't that greedy. Being able to continuously increase his Magic Power through dual cultivation was already excellent, and this method of cultivation was not low in potential.
It just placed much higher demands on one's innate talent and bloodline compared to the other two paths.
It could be said that talent determined the ceiling, which was likely why this world valued bloodline so highly.
Fortunately, Ethan didn't need to worry about this. As long as there were strong female cultivators, he wasn't afraid of his aptitude lagging behind.
"Mngh..." Amano Yuuma gasped, enjoying the pleasure of the behemoth filling her body.
After adapting for a moment, she asked, "But S-rank in Martial Arts is the end of the line. Do you want to be stuck at S-rank for life?"
"I am working hard on cultivating Magic Power, after all."
Ethan gave a powerful thrust of his hips, drawing a cry of surprise from Amano Yuuma, who could no longer worry about questioning him, focusing only on enduring the long-missed pleasure.
Ethan had no intention of explaining the Immortal Arts. Not only was it still unknown—just a conjecture—but even if he successfully embarked on that path, he would keep it as a trump card.
His S-rank strength was perfectly adequate for the current stage. Even if the Phenex Clan moved up their plans for Rias's marriage, this strength would be enough to win the Rating Game.
On the other hand, Ethan firmly believed that the dual cultivation ability was his foundation. Whether it was suppressing the Cuckold Template, successfully cultivating Magic Power, or even stepping into Martial Arts, everything was related to the dual cultivation ability.
Therefore, he planned to proceed with his original plan.
"Woah... so hot... why does it feel hotter than before..."
After fully injecting his S-rank essence into Amano Yuuma, Ethan picked up the impatient tsundere loli for a new round of cultivation.
Kalawarner moved behind Ethan, helping to accelerate the process so it would be her turn sooner.
As he plunged his behemoth into the tight flower-valley, he asked about the 'dangerous Sacred Gear'.
"Yuuma-chan, Mitelt said your new assignment this time is related to that dangerous Sacred Gear..."
Amano Yuuma touched her swollen lower abdomen, instantly grasping Ethan's intent.
"You want that Sacred Gear?"
"Mmm, you guessed it right away, as expected of Yuuma-chan."
Amano Yuuma's face turned cold. "Since headquarters labeled it dangerous, how could I possibly hand it over to you, an enemy Devil?"
Ethan remained unfazed. If things escalated, it wouldn't be difficult for him to forcibly control Amano Yuuma with his current strength.
"Yuuma-chan, why don't you join us? Fallen Angels can also be reincarnated as Devils, you know."
Amano Yuuma instinctively wanted to refuse, but feeling the heat in her belly and seeing Mitelt and Kalawarner intertwined with Ethan, she hesitated to speak.
Ethan groaned. After a moment, he set the wide-eyed Mitelt down. After the blue-haired onee-san mounted him, he continued, "Yuuma, I'm serious. Not just you, Mitelt and Warnee can join too."
Amano Yuuma was even more shaken. Recalling the various incidents that occurred during her trip back, she almost immediately agreed.
After a long silence, she sighed, finally refusing. "No, if we join the Devil faction, it will be counted as desertion, and we'll drag you all into the Fallen Angels' hunt."
The Fallen Angel faction didn't even stir when you were killed by Rias. It's even less of an issue now that you could become servants of the Gremory family. Once the Three Factions' summit concludes, this won't be a problem at all.
Ethan muttered a few things inwardly, then flashed a hearty smile. "You don't need to worry about that. I have a plan. Hear me out before you decide."
... ...
After hearing his plan, Amano Yuuma was indeed tempted and fully revealed the information about the 'dangerous Sacred Gear'.
In reality, she didn't know much. Azazel's mission for her was simply to monitor Issei Hyoudou. He didn't mention which Sacred Gear was hosted within him or when it was hosted.
"Seriously, no attention at all. You're completely a tool..."
After hearing the details, Ethan couldn't help but criticize, which resulted in Amano Yuuma's face darkening. She squeezed the essence out of him and kicked him out.
Standing outside the large church, Ethan sighed. "It's true that sometimes you shouldn't speak the truth."
Despite being kicked out, his mood was surprisingly good.
Amano Yuuma's intelligence report was virtually useless, but for him, confirming that the Sacred Gear was hosted within Issei Hyoudou was confirmation that the 'dangerous Sacred Gear' was indeed the Boosted Gear (Dragon Hand) Divine Dividing.
The plan to extract the Sacred Gear could now begin.
Before that, he needed to inform Rias.
It would be best to prepare a means of resurrection, as he was about to target a Kuoh Academy student; he shouldn't go too far.
In addition, although Ethan's strength had reached S-rank, his status had not been acknowledged, so he naturally couldn't be granted an Evil Piece.
Thus, if the plan went smoothly, the reincarnation of Amano Yuuma and the others would also need to be entrusted to Rias.
Three days later, under the moonlight, Issei Hyoudou was tied to a strange cross, twisting his body frantically in a futile attempt to break the chains.
"Uesugi and Toujou-senpai... and Rias-senpai and Himejima-senpai..."
He had been sound asleep at home, felt a sudden chill, and opened his eyes to find himself bound. If the people in front of him weren't all familiar faces, he probably wouldn't even be able to speak.
"President, let him stay asleep."
Ethan ignored Issei Hyoudou's cries. Regardless of the outcome, this memory would be erased anyway, so there was no need to waste time.
Rias nodded. A small magic circle appeared in her slender palm, and the newly awakened Issei Hyoudou immediately fell back into a deep sleep.
The midnight bell chimed. Ethan looked up at the sky. "The time has come. We can begin the ritual."
Just then, three dark figures appeared in the sky, their backs adorned with pitch-black wings.
"We arrived just in time, didn't we?"
"Just right. I'll begin the ritual. You wait on the side for a moment."
While Ethan was performing the ritual, Amano Yuuma and the others introduced themselves to Rias and Akeno Himejima.
"Lady Rias, a pleasure to meet you. I am Raynare."
"I'm Mitelt~"
"Kalawarner."
Rias nodded. "No need to be so formal. Little Ethan has already told me about you."
"Thank you, Lady Rias. Then we will proceed according to the plan."
"No rush. Let's see if this Sacred Gear is worthy of Little Ethan first." Rias crossed her arms, perfectly maintaining the demeanor of a pure-blood High-Class Devil. "As Little Ethan's master, I won't accept it if the Sacred Gear is too weak."
"Ara ara~ Please don't worry, everyone. Even if the Sacred Gear isn't up to par, if the three of you are willing to join us, you are more than welcome," Akeno Himejima, as Rias's Queen, added promptly.