It is not impossible for a person to die and yet have their soul remain inside a Sacred Gear.
Like the white dragon emperor and the Red Dragon Emperor, the souls of their past hosts did not enter Heaven or Hell but remained within the Sacred Gears, becoming part of the curse.
Just as Rias said, Kiba Yuto fell into a silent contemplation after sensing the will of his companions once they had left.
Seeing his complex state of mind, Rias knew that this alone would not be enough to lead him out of the shadows.
After thinking for a moment, Rias said, "Besides you, there was another survivor of that incident back then."
"Is that true?!"
Kiba Yuto asked urgently.
"It's true."
Rias said, "Tosca survived the purge because she possessed a Barrier-type Sacred Gear, and she is currently in a state of suspended animation."
"Tosca... where is she?"
Kiba Yuto asked with an expression that was hard to tell if it was a cry or a smile.
"Galileo Galilei was the true mastermind behind the Holy Sword adaptation experiments," Rias said. "Even though she fell into suspended animation, the barrier was never deactivated. The researchers were forced to hide her away."
"Because of the barrier, she is still safe for now."
"And you have neither the ability to rescue her nor the method to deactivate her barrier."
Saying this, Rias took a sip of tea and continued, "Furthermore, her growth halted after she entered suspended animation, and her body is very weak. Even if the barrier is opened, she will need professional nursing staff."
"Galileo Galilei..."
Kiba Yuto murmured the name again, his eyes filled with hatred and a strange, inexplicable emotion.
At this moment, his heart was in complete turmoil, and he no longer knew what to do.
"Think it over carefully."
Rias finished her tea and then left.
After opening the door, as expected, the Rias of this world was standing outside.
The two returned to the bedroom together, and the Rias of this world sighed, saying, "I hope they can move past this."
"There's still plenty of time, and they aren't that fragile. They'll move past it sooner or later."
Rias smiled, then cupped the other's cheeks and said, "Don't worry. Instead of that, let's do something pleasant."
Hearing this, the Rias of this world stopped overthinking.
It was useless to worry anyway; as long as she kept a close eye, the issues with her peerage would eventually be resolved.
The two girls, with identical faces and figures, kissed passionately.
Their clothes gradually decreased as they became intimate.
Time flew by—
A few days passed, and Rias strolled leisurely through the school.
During this time, the people of Kuoh Academy had become aware that someone who looked exactly like Rias had appeared at school. Seeing them often walking together piqued the curiosity of busybodies.
Although they didn't know Rias's true identity, they roughly guessed they must be sisters or something similar.
Sona had visited a few times before, but she still didn't know Rias's true identity.
However, after seeing the two Riases training, she didn't continue to disturb them.
It was just that the more she learned, the more confused she became about Rias's identity.
After all, with such identical appearances, the Gremory Family's traits were far too distinctive.
Anyone from the Underworld would not mistake them.
So she speculated that it might be a mirror spirit or a similar creature.
And at least a Ultimate-class Devil.
Perhaps a tutor invited by Gremory, or Rias?
That was her guess.
"Phew, what a nice environment."
Sitting on a shaded bench, the plaza was filled with youthful voices—students in PE class.
A subtle fluctuation emanated, and Rias's eyes flickered slightly.
Saji Genshirou was still a human right now, possessing the Sacred Gear 'black dragon vein'.
He liked Sona Sitri, and his dream was a shotgun wedding with her.
However, even in the original story, Sona Sitri only treated him like a younger brother.
But if she could help it, Rias would not allow a man who lusted after a member of her harem to enter Sona's peerage.
Rias didn't object to Sona having male members in her peerage; after all, in the demon concept, peerage members were either servants or family and partners.
Essentially, it had nothing to do with being lovers. She wasn't so petty as to control the other person because of such things or prevent them from having their own social circle.
Sona wasn't her pet, much less the Sona of a parallel world.
But someone with prying eyes for Sona was a different matter.
Having someone with such intentions so close, while not a major threat, was quite annoying.
"Just stay an ordinary person."
While she wouldn't randomly kill innocent people, Rias wouldn't let him become Sona's peerage member like in the original story.
Before long, the bell rang, and the people on the field headed toward the locker rooms.
As Saji Genshirou and several other boys passed by where Rias was sitting, Rias reached out slightly, and a black orb appeared in her hand out of thin air.
"Did you see her? That'sister of Rias'."
"Nonsense, I'm not blind."
"She's really cute."
"Yeah, yeah, she's cool yet full of gentleness. I really want to go over and talk to her."
"Then go ahead."
"Do you have the guts?"
"Forget it, forget it. She's not someone ordinary people like us are qualified to approach."
Saji Genshirou and his small circle of friends laughed and chatted, not paying much mind.
Little did he know that, for certain reasons, he had lost something important.
Soon, a girl appeared before Rias.
It was Sona Sitri.
"I said I sensed the fluctuation of a Sacred Gear, so it was you..."
Sona Sitri's eyes flickered as she spoke.
Rias had been training the Rias of this world all this time, and it was only in the last two days that she had relaxed. She didn't attend classes and instead wandered around the school, becoming a beautiful sight on campus.
This was her first time meeting Rias face-to-face, and she was faintly curious about the black orb Rias was playing with.
"How should I address you?"
Sona Sitri asked.
Although she had asked the peerage of this world's Rias, it was clear that Rias's identity could not be revealed.
This world was large, yet also very small.
If the other Pantheons found out, even if Rias herself didn't care—at worst, she'd just kill Indra and Shiva again.
But for the Underworld, it would cause no small amount of trouble.
At the very least, her identity had to be kept hidden as much as possible.
Therefore, the peerage of this world's Rias had been given a gag order; even Sona Sitri could not be told.
Though curious, Sona Sitri didn't press further and simply asked the person herself after their chance encounter.
"How to address me... hm, that is indeed a difficult question."
Rias chuckled and said, "You can call me... Crimson."
"Crimson?"
A strange name.
Or rather, it didn't sound like a normal name.
Perhaps it was a title?
Like this world's Rias's 'Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess'?
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.