[300 PS = 1 Chapter Bonus]
*
Killing Issei Hyoudou.
At first glance, the idea seemed cruel and unnecessary. After all, he was just a pathetic human, trapped in his own mediocre ambitions and dreams. However, it was precisely because Issei was so unassuming that he was dangerous.
Issei was like fertile ground waiting for the right seed to blossom. That seed, unfortunately, was the combination of Boosted Gear and the Occult Research Club.
The power of Boosted Gear, one of the Thirteen Longinus, was frightening. With the right amount of time and training — or even without them — he could become a monumental threat to any of the Three Factions.
The Welsh Dragon, Ddraig, lay dormant within that human for the time being, and sooner or later, it would awaken. It wasn't a question of "if" but "when".
I had prevented Raynare from finding him, but sooner or later, he would be discovered.
When that happened, Issei would no longer be just an ordinary human; he would be a wild card in the hands of whoever managed to control him.
I could try to be that person, but Issei had a complicated personality to deal with. Having him stare at Raynare's, Rias's, or Sona Sitri's breasts with that lecherous gaze and smirk was not something I wanted.
So, my priority was to eliminate him before any faction recruited him.
What would happen after his death was not my immediate concern. Would his absence leave a power vacuum in Kuoh? Perhaps, but I could fill that void.
There was also another benefit, more strategic for me and less apparent to others—Boosted Gear.
With the Fusion System, I didn't have much interest in obtaining Boosted Gear for myself. However, it was too powerful to simply cast aside. Having that would give me an invaluable advantage in negotiations.
The only problem was that I didn't know how I was going to do it. Removing a user's Sacred Gear wasn't as simple as most people might think.
The Sacred Gears were created by the God of the Bible itself, and even when it was dead, the Sacred Gear reincarnation system still worked. In other words, if I killed Issei in the normal way, the Boosted Gear would remain dormant until reincarnating in another individual. This could take a month or even a hundred years.
Luckily, the key to achieving my goal was sitting on my sofa: Raynare.
The reason for keeping her around, apart from the amusement and strategic value of her alliance, was to gain her trust and have the opportunity to hold in my hands the only individual in all of anime who has ever managed to take the Sacred Gear away from someone.
While she seemed lost in thought, I decided to bring up the subject I had in mind.
"Raynare, I have a rather... strange question."
She arched an eyebrow. "How strange?"
"Well, considering your experience with Sacred Gears and... with the kind of mission you have, I can say that you know a lot about them, right? Even about the possibility of transferring them from one bearer to another."
She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "Transferring Sacred Gears? Of course, I know about that. It's not exactly simple, but there are methods to remove them from their bearers.
The casual tone in which she said this was disturbing, but, at the same time, it showed how much she trusted me — enough not to hesitate in discussing it.
[Ding! The Owner has achieved a "Deep Emotional Bond" with Raynare. Reward: 5 fusion points!]
"Interesting..." I muttered.
"Why are you asking me this?" Raynare questioned, but then her eyes narrowed, and I could see the moment she made the connection. "Ah... So that's it."
"That's what?"
Raynare smiled darkly. "That Hyoudou Issei you mentioned... he has a Sacred Gear, doesn't he? You, like me, can be really cruel when necessary."
"That's the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest," I replied, shrugging. "It's the only law that really matters in this world... So, is there really a method for transferring Sacred Gear?"
She nodded and crossed her legs. "Yes, there is. But... you're aware it's not something anyone can do, right? Sacred Gear transfer rituals aren't simple tasks. They require deep knowledge and, of course, a little sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?"
Raynare laughed. "Nothing in this world is free. I won't give you all the details now so as not to discourage you from your idea, but let's just say there's a price to be paid for wresting a Sacred Gear from a bearer."
I let a smile spread across my face. "There's no price too high."
"If you really want to do it, you'll have to wait for the full moon. I can help you with the preparations, but the execution... that will be entirely up to you."
"Fair enough," I replied, bowing my head slightly in thanks.
Raynare turned around, and this time, there was a serious expression on her face. "Remember, once you take this path, there's no turning back. Are you truly ready to accept that?"
"Don't worry, Raynare. I've killed before," I said.
I hadn't lied. Even though I had only killed beings considered monsters so far, like stray devils and creatures from the hade's underworld, it was still shocking how fragile even these beings with inherently evil natures seemed the moment they realized they were going to die.
That despair in their eyes before I used my hands to crush them would be the same despair I expected to see in Issei's eyes.
*
*
*
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/palmer1998
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
Discord: https://discord.gg/2pn9Twxrng