Underworld, capital Lilith.
"Roy's attacking MAR headquarters?!" Sazeks, bleary from an all-nighter, froze at the sudden news.
"Is the intel legit? Could someone be framing him?"
"Highly likely it's true. The U.S. government sent an urgent communique," Gurefia said, placing a parchment on the desk, pointing to a line.
"Five minutes ago, Roy led White Dragon Emperor Vali, top ability user Suzuki Ichiro, and Akatsuki members to MAR's vicinity."
"They immediately began setting isolation barriers and clearing civilians, prepping the battlefield."
"Magnus, host of [Dimension Lost], was visiting MAR. He tried to stop Roy but failed."
"He relayed this to the U.S. government, who contacted us to rein Roy in."
"By the way, Roy gave Magnus nine minutes. As I finish speaking, two minutes remain."
"…Got it," Sazeks said, rubbing his temples, a headache forming.
If it was just Roy, a frame job was plausible.
But with Suzuki Ichiro and Vali there, it was undeniable.
Taking a deep breath, Sazeks pulled out a phone-like magic device, dialing Roy across realms.
Seconds later, Roy's voice came through. "Yo, who's this?"
"Sazeks."
"Oh, what's up?"
"I heard you're hitting MAR HQ. Is this—"
"True," Roy cut in. "I'm in front of MAR now. Isolation barrier's up in 39 seconds."
"Roy, don't be reckless," Sazeks urged. "I get you're pissed at Takanotsume, but MAR's a global powerhouse. Its industries span the world."
"Attacking it, even if you win, screws over countless humans. You're crossing every faction's red line."
"So, after Takanotsume attacks me and poaches my crew, I should just swallow it and pretend nothing happened?" Roy chuckled. "Sazeks, I'm not you. I don't bend for 'peace.'"
"If you think I'm disrupting order, list me as a rogue devil. Send some expendables to kill me."
"For Rias's sake, I won't retaliate—assuming you send enough devils to kill. Otherwise, no promises."
"Roy, stop joking—"
"Time's up. Gotta move," Roy said.
Click.
The call ended.
Sazeks stared at the phone, blood pressure spiking.
Why was Roy so stubborn?
Two more sentences wouldn't kill him.
"Now what?" Gurefia asked. "Brand Roy a rogue devil and cut ties?"
"No way," Sazeks rejected instantly.
Beyond Rias's awkward position, Roy's potential was key.
Two months from human to Transcendent—Roy's fists proved his worth.
"He's the future of devils and a key to world peace," Sazeks said. "Misjudge this, unleash him as a terrorist, and chaos erupts."
"Then what's the plan?" Gurefia pressed.
"…Issue a statement to global factions," Sazeks said after a pause, opting for a half-measure. "Yesterday, Takanotsume remnants, with the Brigade, Night Witches, and Hueco Mundo, attacked Kuoh to sabotage the summit."
He pinned the summit attack on Takanotsume, not the Brigade, giving Biblical factions a justified counterstrike.
Other mythologies would see through it, but it bought time.
"Ugh, more work," Sazeks sighed, covering for Roy.
---
Los Angeles, downtown.
Roy hung up, eyeing the man before him. "Sorry, tattling to the grown-ups doesn't work on me."
Activating Balance Breaker, crimson armor materialized, his aura surging.
"Gonna tuck tail and run like last time? I'll spare you for your status."
"No way, you bastard!" Magnus roared, his aura climbing.
Last time, Roy hit the Claw—a terrorist group, so Magnus let it slide.
But MAR? The USA's biggest arms dealer, openly targeted.
This wasn't attitude—it was a fundamental stance.
No matter how much he valued his life, he couldn't flee.
"Don't think strength lets you do whatever! Behold human ingenuity!"
Magnus activated Balance Breaker, donning black mechanical armor.
Faint spatial ripples formed behind him, hundreds of firearms materializing.
Under his control, they formed ranks, barrels aimed at Roy, firing.
Roy snapped his fingers.
Hundreds of magic arrays spawned, unleashing flames that clashed with the bullet storm.
But something unexpected happened.
Magnus's bullets ignored the flames, piercing the fire to reach Roy.
They struck his Balance Breaker armor, leaving dents and cracks.
"Interesting," Roy said, unbothered by the damage, grabbing a bullet to inspect.
Unlike standard steel, these were black, etched with red runes.
Roy recognized them—Nordic runes.
Le Fay had mentioned them while teaching magic.
Rooted in runes, Prime Rune Magic was among the world's strongest.
With equal mana, it tripled standard magic's power.
But it was brutally hard to learn—most couldn't grasp it.
"Magic-immune material and rune-etched bullets…" Roy mused, chuckling at Magnus. "You sure this is human ingenuity? Smells like Takanotsume tech."
"I'm not dumb enough to spill my cards to an enemy," Magnus snorted, summoning more guns for suppression.
A roar erupted as three steel giants burst from the ground.
Like the bullets, they were black, covered in runes.
Defying their size, they moved with blinding speed, fists crashing toward Roy.
A chilling flash cut through.
Surging mana and flames slashed the giants, blasting them away.
"Tch, not that easy," Magnus said, unleashing massive mana, pushing [Dimension Lost] to its limit.
The severed giants liquefied, enveloping him.
In moments, the liquid formed a 100-meter-tall mech before Roy.
"Pretty cool," Roy said, eyeing the mech thoughtfully.
Magnus himself wasn't strong—Roy could take him in ten moves.
But with rune-etched liquid metal, it was different.
Magic resistance, regenerative fusion, and rune-granted piercing and durability.
[Dimension Lost] gave Magnus power far beyond his own.
More crucially, Roy sensed the metal analyzing his mana, adapting.
Once adapted, its defense against him would jump a tier.
"Red Dragon Emperor! Final warning!" Magnus's voice boomed from the mech. "Take Akatsuki and leave the USA!"
"Yesterday's Juggernaut Drive spooked you, huh?" Roy said, seeing through him, chuckling. "Since you're scared, I'll give you a special show."
Immense mana erupted, piercing the sky.
Air twisted, the ground quaked.
An oppressive chant echoed across the battlefield.
[I awaken as the Red Dragon Emperor, raising the truth of kings to the heavens!]
"You lunatic!" Magnus abandoned negotiation.
Click-click-click.
Cannon ports formed on the mech.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hundreds of mana cannons fired, engulfing Roy.
A chilling flash pierced the mana torrent, bisecting the mech.
"Just messing with you. You took it seriously?" Roy said, appearing beside the mech's lower half, slashing again.
Dozens of flashes tore space, Gram's piercing power shredding the mech to bits.
Before the fragments could reform, Roy approached one, stabbing it.
With a hiss, the fragment warped, reverting to Magnus.
"How?! How'd you find me?!" Magnus gasped.
"Not that hard," Roy chuckled, severing Magnus's limbs and sealing him.
Magnus's hide-and-seek tactic worked initially—Roy couldn't pinpoint him.
But when Magnus panicked, trying to stop the Juggernaut Drive chant, he used too much mana.
Brief as a breath, but Roy's Senjutsu and hyper-perception locked onto the source.
With the enemy located, the rest was easy.
Sealing Magnus, Roy turned to MAR HQ.
He sensed only Magnus as a notable threat inside.
His real target, Shavliar, wasn't there.
"Bad luck," Roy muttered, shaking his head.
Expected, so he wasn't too disappointed.
Entering MAR, Roy followed his senses, soon encountering staff.
Akatsuki's lockdown left these weaker employees no escape.
After a quick exchange, they surrendered, leading Roy to an underground lab.
"Lord Roy, this is where we house beasts and artificial beasts," Kiri, the beast project lead, said, opening a massive underground chamber.
The space held countless cultivation tanks, each containing a magical beast.
The variety was staggering.
Water Leapers, with frog-like bodies and flying fish wings.
Serpent Wasps, three to four meters long, wasp-headed, snake-bodied.
Even near-extinct Bipedal Wyverns, pseudo-dragons, numbered over a dozen.
Plus other beasts Roy hadn't studied but looked formidable.
"Analyzing beast traits, extracting genes and blood for replication, and creating synthetic beasts—that's our department's daily work," Kiri said, sensing Roy's interest.
Driven by survival, she handed over documents, explaining her research.
Roy cut her off, asking, "Where are the artificial beasts?"
"Those rows of Serpent Wasps are all artificial," Kiri said, pointing.
As she spoke, a flash sliced the air.
The tanks holding Serpent Wasps shattered, the beasts cleaved in half, lifeless.
"Eek?!" Kiri yelped, paling. "L-Lord Roy, did I do something wrong?"
"Nope, just testing a hunch," Roy said, checking his entry vault.
That strike killed about 300 artificial Serpent Wasps, yielding 249 White Entries and 2 Green.
Confirmed: killing artificial beasts granted entries.
"Not bad. Your research has potential," Roy said, patting Kiri's shoulder with a friendly smile.
"How many artificial beasts can you produce daily?"
"Er, daily might be tough," Kiri said. "Artificial beasts have a cultivation cycle. Serpent Wasps take a week from embryo to maturity."
She paused, adding, "Quantity's unlimited, though. With enough resources, we can make as many as you want."
"That's solid," Roy nodded, eyeing the remaining tanks.
"Killing these won't mess up your ability to make more, right?"
"No impact," Kiri said. "If you want to kill them, I can open the tanks."
She pointed to a control console. "These tanks are special material. Destroying them means we'd need new ones to cultivate."
"Then open them," Roy said.
"Right away!" Kiri rushed to the console, tapping commands.
Click-click-click.
The tanks opened, starting with the first row, beasts waking from slumber.
As their eyes opened, purple flames appeared.
Incinerate Anthem's searing heat consumed them instantly.
Three minutes later, the lab's beasts were wiped out.
Roy opened his entry vault, sorting the haul.
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