Dean's transformation didn't go unnoticed.
Issei felt it the moment his older brother walked into the Gremory training ground. "Bro, what happened to you? You're like... radiating power."
"Soul forging," Dean said simply. "Takeshi's been teaching me."
Word spread quickly through the supernatural community. A human without a Sacred Gear who was somehow becoming stronger at an alarming rate. Within a week, Rias called Dean to a formal meeting.
"I've received inquiries from several high-class devils," Rias said, her tone serious. "They're interested in recruiting you. Some want to offer you a position in their peerages. Others want to buy out your contract with me."
"I don't have a contract with you," Dean pointed out.
"Exactly," Rias said. "Which is why they're interested. If you joined one of their peerages, you'd gain access to even more resources and training. You could become stronger faster."
Dean considered the offer. It was tempting. More resources, more knowledge, more opportunities to grow. But he'd learned something important over the past year: real strength came from independence, from finding your own path rather than following the path someone else had laid out for you.
"I'm going to decline," he said.
Rias raised an eyebrow. "Even though you could become stronger?"
"Especially because of that," Dean replied. "If I join a peerage, I become bound to someone else's goals and ambitions. I'd be strong, but I'd be a tool. I'd rather be weaker and free than strong and controlled."
"That's a dangerous philosophy in our world," Rias warned. "There are beings who won't respect your independence. They'll see you as a threat that needs to be eliminated."
"Then I'll deal with that when it comes," Dean said. "But I won't compromise my freedom for power."
Rias studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "I respect that. But I want you to know that if you ever change your mind, or if you need help, my door is always open."
"I appreciate that," Dean said.
Over the next few weeks, several high-class devils attempted to recruit Dean through various means. Some offered money. Others offered knowledge or artifacts. One tried to threaten him, sending a knight to challenge him to a duel.
That encounter proved to be a turning point.
The devil's knight was strong, significantly stronger than Dean in terms of raw power. But Dean had something the knight didn't: understanding. He'd spent months studying how magic worked, how to manipulate energy flows, how to use runes to enhance his abilities. He fought the knight not with raw power, but with technique and cunning.
When it was over, the knight was on the ground, exhausted and defeated, while Dean stood with barely a scratch on him.
Word spread quickly. The powerless human had defeated a high-class devil's knight in single combat. Suddenly, Dean wasn't just an interesting novelty. He was a threat.
More importantly, he was a threat that couldn't be easily controlled.
The recruitment attempts stopped. Instead, Dean began to hear rumors of a new faction forming in the shadows. Supernatural beings who didn't fit into the traditional hierarchy, who didn't have Sacred Gears or high bloodlines, but who had strength nonetheless. And apparently, they were interested in Dean.
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