"Ladies, do you have any opinions?" Rias's voice rang out again.
Irina and Xenovia exchanged a few quiet words, then shook their heads and replied.
"No problem. Actually, the Church hasn't determined Kokabiel's exact location yet."
"If you can help us find him, that would also be a good thing for us."
"That's good."
Rias nodded slightly, then changed the subject, "Since you two are willing to cooperate, would you be willing to share the information you have?"
"In fact, after hearing your description, I think that serial killer might be a member of the Fallen Angel side."
"This..."
Irina's face showed a difficult expression.
"I hope you can recognize your situation."
Just then, Tatsuma, who had been silent, got up from the sofa.
He raised his hand and touched the Boosted Gear, and a surge of powerful demonic power was injected into it. In the next instant, the Boosted Gear entered its Balance Breaker state, and a fierce aura rushed forth.
"Every word we say now is a notice accompanied by a threat of force."
"If you don't cooperate, then I don't mind being a bit rough and getting the information directly from your minds."
"I knew it would turn out like this." Irina sighed helplessly.
If possible, of course, she wouldn't want to share this information. After all, Rias and the others' current attitude doesn't seem like they're going to be bystanders, but rather are preparing to personally get involved.
However, as the weaker party, she and Xenovia had no right to resist.
Facing Tatsuma's threat of force, Irina ultimately chose to compromise.
"There are only three enemies currently lurking in Kuoh Town."
"The mastermind Kokabiel, the Church traitor Valper Galilei, and the rogue Exorcist Freed Sellzen, who holds the stolen Holy Sword."
"Valper Galilei?!"
After hearing Irina's words, Yuuto, who had been silent, suddenly exuded killing intent.
"You know him?" Irina asked with confusion.
"Of course, I know him." Yuuto's voice was full of resentment.
"I am a survivor of the Holy Sword project."
Irina was silent for a moment, then replied, "I understand what you mean. I am deeply sorry for what happened to you."
"In fact, not long after your batch of experimenters were killed, the Church discovered the problem. It's just that Valper was too cunning and sensed something was wrong in advance and ran away."
Yuuto asked, "What about the researchers other than Valper?"
Irina said, "They were all dealt with on the spot. The Church will not be soft-hearted in such matters."
Yuuto: "..."
In other words, is Valper the only one left of his enemies?
His long-standing goal instantly disappeared by more than half, and a hint of confusion flashed in Yuuto's eyes.
But soon, his expression became firm again.
Researchers or whatever didn't matter. In the end, those people were just accomplices.
As long as Valper, the culprit behind everything, was still alive, he had to find him.
"Tatsuma, President, I have a request."
"I understand what you mean."
Rias nodded slightly and replied, "As long as Tatsuma can find Valper, he will be yours to deal with."
Tatsuma said, "I need a portrait of Valper."
Irina and Xenovia exchanged glances and consciously described the other party's various characteristics. After that, they also introduced Freed's appearance and reminded them.
"Although it's just my guess, I think the serial killer you mentioned earlier is very likely Freed Sellzen."
"That guy is a rogue Exorcist from the Church. He once killed a companion over some verbal dispute. He's a very nasty guy."
"Don't worry, I'm aware."
After Tatsuma responded, he activated Boost.
"Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost Boost!"
A series of mechanical sounds rang out, and the aura on Tatsuma's body rapidly soared at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, without any hesitation, he activated Senjutsu at full power, expanding the detection range to the maximum.
Hundred meters, thousand meters, ten thousand meters...
In just an instant, the entire Kuoh Town was covered within the range of Senjutsu perception.
Filtering out all those insignificant auras, Tatsuma investigated the beings with supernatural powers one by one.
"So strong." Irina's eyes widened in surprise.
"It seems he was holding back before. This is the true power of the Red Dragon Emperor." Xenovia was also shocked.
Although they had just learned that Tatsuma had a means of large-scale detection, before this, the two had thought that Tatsuma's method was to activate a magic circle that had been set up in advance.
But they didn't expect that Tatsuma was actually relying on brute strength to forcefully detect the entire Kuoh Town.
Although the result was the same, the strength revealed behind it was vastly different.
In fact, it wasn't just Irina and Xenovia. Even Yuuto and the others, who had some understanding of Tatsuma's strength, were greatly startled.
The only one present who could still remain calm was Rias, who had heard about the plan in advance yesterday.
"Found them."
Just then, Tatsuma's voice rang out.
"Kokabiel is in the abandoned Church on the west side of Kuoh Town, Valper is on the street four hundred meters south of the school, and Freed... he's near Sakiko."
Night fell.
Soyo came to a park according to the information Tatsuma gave her.
In the center of the park, a figure she had been thinking about for a long time was standing by the fountain.
"Sakiko, long time no see." Soyo walked behind the other party and said.
"Thank you for being willing to meet me today."
"..."
"Please don't be angry with me. I know the way I found you was a bit..."
Sakiko turned around and interrupted, "Don't say those polite words. You came to see me today, you must have something important to say, right?"
"I..."
Soyo's face showed a hesitant expression.
But after a moment of hesitation, she finally made up her mind and spoke her thoughts, "Sakiko, I don't think you're the kind of person who would leave the band without a reason."
"Are you in some trouble? If possible, I'd like to help you."
Sakiko shook her head expressionlessly. "You can't help me."
Soyo's expression became tense. "But I don't want CRYCHIC to end without knowing anything. Sakiko, tell me about the difficulties you've encountered."
"I... and everyone from CRYCHIC will help."
"Let's get through this difficulty and go back to how things were, okay?"
"No."
"Why are you like this!"
Seeing that she couldn't move the other party no matter what she said, Soyo's emotions became a little agitated.
"Why, no matter what, are you unwilling to tell me!"
"Because you can't do it, that's all."
Sakiko shook her head slightly, turned around, and prepared to leave.
"Wait a moment, Sakiko!"
Soyo suddenly panicked and quickly ran over to grab Sakiko's sleeve.
"Give me a chance. I'll do anything I can!"
"Please! Don't go!"
"You really are quite troublesome."
Perhaps because she had received money from Tatsuma, Sakiko wasn't too annoyed at the moment.
Looking at her former friend in front of her, she sighed softly and asked, "Can you bear the weight of my life?"
"Eh?"
"You are just a student, and all your funding comes from your family."
"Given that, are you truly qualified to shoulder the burden of another person's life?"
"I..."
"Don't easily say things you can't do, otherwise, it will not only crush you but also hurt those who have expectations of you."
"..."
Soyo fell into complete silence.
Looking at Sakiko, who was speaking these words to her with a calm face, she finally realized something.
The difficulties Sakiko was facing might be more realistic than she had imagined.