Facing Akeno Himejima's recruitment, Amano Yuuma's group nodded amicably.
In reality, because Ethan knew some information beforehand, his plan was quite crude and simple, seemingly relying entirely on Rias's attitude for success.
His plan, in a nutshell, was to have Amano Yuuma's group take the blame, feign death, and then observe the reaction of the Fallen Angels.
The blame, naturally, was for the Sacred Gear extraction. The feigned death involved pretending to be discovered and killed by Rias, who managed this territory.
After completing these steps, they would see how the Fallen Angels reacted.
As long as Rias could withstand the fallout, or rather, as long as the Gremory family could handle the pressure, Amano Yuuma's group could emerge with completely new identities, thoroughly breaking free from the Fallen Angel faction.
The prerequisite for all of this was Rias's agreement to cooperate. Therefore, Amano Yuuma and the others naturally couldn't show any disrespect to their future superior.
If only they knew about the upcoming Three Factions' summit and the Fallen Angels' utter disregard for them, they would realize how flawless Ethan's plan was.
Cough, cough...
In reality, the difficulty of the plan lay in persuading Rias. Rias wasn't someone who took on servants casually.
However, things went much smoother than Ethan anticipated. Rias agreed almost immediately after Ethan made his request, with virtually no hesitation.
Her trust and expectation for Ethan were deeper than he had even imagined.
Of course, objectively speaking, Rias had many Evil Pieces, so giving up three Pawns was completely negligible.
Even if she didn't have many pieces, three Middle-Class Fallen Angels represented a considerable combat force.
Ethan had only recently learned that there was a concept of dismissal even after reincarnation as a servant.
However, dismissal required the consent of the master, and not all 'Kings' were willing to let go of obedient and powerful servants.
Therefore, if the cooperation turned sour later, dismissal was always an option. Rias had nothing to lose.
This was also why Ethan was confident in persuading Rias, though none of those reasons ended up being necessary.
As for Amano Yuuma's group...
They had always believed Ethan was also a reincarnated servant using Rias's Evil Pieces. They had initially prepared themselves psychologically to become Ethan's servants.
Now, becoming Rias's servants, their status would be equal to Ethan's, so they naturally had no objections.
Furthermore, they understood better than Ethan what the next head of the Gremory family represented. Strictly speaking, they were gaining an advantage by becoming the servants of such a highly regarded individual.
As for the faction problem, since Amano Yuuma's group were becoming Rias's servants, it was her responsibility to protect her retainers.
Thus, a plan that satisfied all three parties was perfectly conceived and put into execution.
"ROAR!!!"
Just as the atmosphere was pleasant, feeling very much like a new colleague introduction meeting, a soul-shaking roar changed everyone's expression.
Ethan, being the closest, was most affected and was instantly forced to interrupt the ritual.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he looked at the red dragon phantom emerging from Issei Hyoudou's body and said with a solemn expression, "Everyone, be careful. This Sacred Gear is indeed very dangerous."
"How can this be?" Amano Yuuma looked at the scene, her face filled with shock and uncertainty. "The book describing the ritual didn't mention this!"
Rias stared intently at the dragon phantom, which was radiating ferocity despite Issei's closed eyes. "Because that ritual describes how to extract a Sacred Gear, not how to extract a Longinus (Divine Dividing)."
Amano Yuuma was stunned, unable to believe it. "You mean... Impossible. How could a Longinus choose a brat like this?!"
As one of the world's only thirteen Longinus, each possessed terrifying power and its own will. Only they could choose a host; it was impossible to forcibly become their user.
Otherwise, given Issei Hyoudou's power in the original story, even if Rias valued him, he wouldn't have been able to develop safely.
"If we're not mistaken, that should be the soul and will of one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig Goch."
Rias said gravely, "That means the Sacred Gear hosted in that young man is the Longinus known as the Boosted Gear (Dragon Hand)."
"Ara ara..." Akeno Himejima said worriedly. "It seems the extraction ritual provoked Ddraig sealed within the Sacred Gear..."
Rias nodded. "That's right. We can kill the host chosen by the Longinus, but we cannot forcibly extract it."
"This is indeed the worst-case scenario..." Feeling the considerable damage to his body, Ethan grimaced. "President, is there no other way?"
"To use a Longinus, one must gain Ddraig's approval." Rias rested her chin on her hand, thinking. "Ddraig is still in a deep slumber. That attack just now should be its limit. Perhaps we can wake him up and talk to him."
Sure enough, acquiring the protagonist's Golden Finger is never simple.
Ethan exhaled, calming his emotions, and said gravely, "Then let's talk to him. If it absolutely doesn't work, we'll have to give up."
Hearing this, Amano Yuuma subconsciously said, "Are you planning to just let such a dangerous thing go? What if that brat uses this against..."
"Yuuma-chan, even a Longinus depends on who is using it."
Ethan interrupted her, confident. "By the time he can fully master the Longinus, my strength might already surpass the Heavenly Dragons."
No matter how powerful a Longinus was, it only sealed the soul-will of a Heavenly Dragon and possessed some of its abilities. It couldn't possess the strength of a true Heavenly Dragon.
If one possessed strength exceeding the Heavenly Dragons, the Longinus itself would be irrelevant.
"Surpass the Heavenly Dragons..."
Amano Yuuma murmured, but quickly recovered to object. "No! Do you know what the Heavenly Dragons represent? They are beings more powerful than Devil Kings and Gods! To try to..."
Her words were interrupted again, but this time not by Ethan, but by the awakened Red Dragon Emperor.
"Boy, I heard what you just said. Good resolve."
A deep, mature male voice echoed in everyone's ears. Except for Ethan and Rias, the other four all paled and took several steps back, swaying as if they might collapse at any moment.
With their A-rank strength, they couldn't even withstand a direct confrontation with the Red Dragon Emperor.
"Lord Ddraig Goch, I've long heard your name. I am Rias Gremory, the next head of the Gremory family."
Rias performed a noble's bow, solemnly stating, "I meant no offense. I did not know this young man was your chosen host."
"So, it's a little girl from the Gremory family." The massive dragon eye turned towards Rias. "Your ancestor was partly responsible for sealing me."
The Two Heavenly Dragons originally intruded on the battlefield of the Fallen Angels, Angels, and Devils, devouring many powerful members of all three factions indiscriminately.
They were eventually killed by the remaining forces of the three factions, their souls sealed to form the Boosted Gear (Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet) and the Divine Dividing (White Dragon Emperor's Wings), the two Longinus.
Hearing this history, Rias simply curtsied slightly, not responding.
Ddraig didn't dwell on the matter either; it wouldn't do for others to think he was bullying a child.
"Boy, you were the one who initiated the ritual, correct?"
The soul-will of the Red Dragon Emperor shifted its attention back to Ethan, saying, "Your temperament is quite to my liking. I wouldn't mind being used by you."
Ethan wasn't overly excited; it was clear Ddraig had heard their previous conversation. The next part was the crucial point.
He pondered for a moment before replying, "Red Dragon Emperor, state your demands directly."
"Alright." Ddraig didn't waste time and got straight to the point. "I can become your weapon, but I will not enter a contract with you. If your growth does not satisfy me, I can leave at any time."
Ethan accepted with almost no hesitation. He fundamentally didn't want another soul-will residing in his body, and this suggestion perfectly aligned with his preference.
"Not so fast. That's only the first condition."
Ddraig continued, "If your strength surpasses the Heavenly Dragons, as you claimed, I want you to do one thing for me."
"I will tell you the details when the time comes. I originally intended to slowly cultivate this young man, but now it seems you are more suitable."
Although he didn't know what the task was, Ethan's goal was transcendence. If Heavenly Dragon level strength wasn't enough, he would simply continue to improve.
"I agree." Ethan nodded, earnestly. "Do I need to sign a contract?"
An agreement between powerful beings couldn't rely solely on a verbal promise. There were specialized contract spells for enforcement.
Although, if one's power was great enough, even a contract might not be enforceable.