After finishing the topic about the gathering, Rias and Tatsuma talked about the trivial matters of their daily lives recently.
"Speaking of which, Stella came to see you once a few days ago when you were in seclusion, Tatsuma."
"Stella?"
"Yes, she said thanks to MAR's help, the Vermilion Empire has found the headquarters of the Liberation Army."
"That's good news."
As if seeing a large number of traits beckoning to him, Tatsuma chuckled and got up from the sofa.
"Rias, do you want to come along?"
"I won't go. I made plans to meet Sona today, and the time is almost here."
"See you later then."
A faint fluctuation of demonic power rose from within Tatsuma, and a magic array appeared beneath him and Est.
In the next instant, the surrounding scenery changed rapidly, and he and Est arrived in front of the Vermilion royal palace.
The soldiers around heard the commotion and rushed over to check the situation immediately.
"You are... Tatsuma-sama!"
"Welcome, Tatsuma-sama!"
Because the last time they came caused quite a stir, most of the Vermilion soldiers recognized Tatsuma.
"Help me call Stella over."
"Please wait a moment."
A woman who looked like a high-ranking military officer ran towards the depths of the royal palace.
A few minutes later, Stella descended from the sky, flapping her wings.
Unlike their first meeting, Stella was dressed casually today.
A white short-sleeved shirt and a black knee-length skirt, looking somewhat simple and plain.
Faint phosphorescence of flames flickered around her. Stella retracted her wings and walked towards Tatsuma with her legs wrapped in black silk.
"Long time no see, Stella."
Tatsuma carefully assessed the young girl's condition.
Because there were many troubles within Vermilion, Stella did not go to the Underworld with Tatsuma and the others. She stayed behind in Vermilion and trained diligently every day. Compared to their last meeting, Stella's aura had visibly increased significantly.
"It seems you've been working very hard recently."
"Compared to you, I'm still far behind." Stella was also sizing up Tatsuma.
Even though he wasn't doing anything, just standing there quietly, she vaguely felt an extremely heavy sense of oppression from him. This was something that wasn't there when they parted last time.
It was clear that during the time they hadn't met, Tatsuma's strength had undergone a qualitative change.
"How on earth do you train? Do you have any useful tips you can teach me?"
"There are no tips, only sweat and effort."
"Alright, it seems I need to step up my game too."
"If you need it, I can set up a Time Barrier for you later."
"Huh? Didn't you say that was very troublesome?"
"I've had some breakthroughs recently, it's not that troublesome anymore."
Tatsuma raised his right hand, and a small barrier emitting Time energy instantly formed.
After upgrading to the Rainbow level, barriers gain different properties depending on the energy injected.
With [Master of Time], Tatsuma could freely control Time energy.
Combining Time energy with Barrier Creation and applying the Time Barrier structure he had previously researched, he could instantly create a brand new Time Barrier.
Not only was the effect powerful, achieving a time ratio of 1:3, surpassing the initial version of the Time Barrier, it could even automatically absorb the Time energy diffused in the air, thus achieving long-term operation.
"Then I'll trouble you."
Being able to have her own Time Barrier, Stella naturally wouldn't refuse.
Leading Tatsuma to the training ground, she asked him to create a Time Barrier around it. After that, she pulled Tatsuma to her room and created a second Time Barrier.
"Hmm, this should be enough." Stella nodded with satisfaction.
With these two Time Barriers, she could have more time for training while ensuring she got enough sleep.
As for the issue of lifespan, after merging with an Evil Piece and becoming a Devil, she had tens of thousands of years to spend. Allocating a portion of it for training would not only pass the time but also make her stronger, killing two birds with one stone.
"Stop giggling, snap out of it."
Seeing Stella looking absent-minded, Tatsuma raised his hand and patted her head.
"I didn't come to find you today just to help you build a Time Barrier."
"I understand."
Stella's expression turned serious, and she became earnest. "You're here to deal with the Liberation Army, right?"
Tatsuma nodded. "I heard you found the Liberation Army Headquarters."
Stella said, "To be precise, it wasn't me, it was MAR that found it."
The Liberation Army was a terrorist organization funded by the United States, and MAR also cooperated with the United States government. Having been on the same side before, MAR had a lot of information about the Liberation Army.
Following Tatsuma's orders, Ladli and Ravel went through the material and helped with the investigation. The investigation concluded last week.
Through MAR's intelligence network, Ladli successfully located the Liberation Army Headquarters and sent people to deliver the information separately to Vermilion and the Akatsuki Headquarters.
However, after Tatsuma finished his training at Akatsuki, he didn't ask Sho about the situation and directly teleported back to the Gremory Main Estate.
This led to the information making a roundabout journey, and ultimately the information about the Liberation Army still reached Tatsuma through Stella.
"The Liberation Army Headquarters is in the Alps."
"It does sound like a place terrorists would choose, no wonder it took so long to investigate."
A faint demonic power appeared on Tatsuma's body.
"Are you ready? We're leaving."
Stella: "?"
So sudden?
Stella was stunned for a moment, wanting to say something more. However, before that, a magic array unfolded beneath her feet first.
The surrounding scenery changed rapidly, and in the next instant, Stella arrived in the Alps.
Numerous mountains were connected, snowflakes fell from the sky, and a cold wind blew in their faces.
Stella blinked, feeling a bit helpless about Tatsuma's efficient actions.
It was a good thing her physical strength was quite good, someone else might not be able to adapt to this temperature change.
"Found it."
Just then, Tatsuma's voice sounded again.
The surrounding scenery changed again, and he brought Est and Stella to the front of a cave entrance.
The entrance was located in the middle of the mountain, with a large number of terrorists armed with hot weapons standing guard around.
"Intruders!"
"Someone go notify the Apostle!"
"Everyone gather! Get ready to act!"
Noticing the appearance of the magic array, the terrorists on guard immediately formed a defense line.
In the next instant, a hail of bullets formed a network of fire, shooting towards the three of them without leaving any gaps.
Est's eyes lit up, and she actively took a step forward, ready to counterattack.
However, at the same time, surging flames rose from Stella's body. Holding her golden greatsword, she swept it through the air. The surging flames turned into several fire dragons, engulfing the incoming bullets and RPGs, and went straight forward.
Boom! Boom...
A series of deafening roars sounded, and these Liberation Army terrorists were wiped out on the spot.
Seeing this, a hint of regret appeared in Est's eyes.
The opportunity to earn contribution points was snatched away.
"Don't worry, you'll have a chance to act."
Tatsuma saw through his contracted spirit's thoughts and reached out to pat her head.
As if to confirm Tatsuma's words, a series of footsteps sounded from the depths of the cave, and a large number of terrorists armed with hot weapons appeared.
"Are there no Blazers?"
Stella walked up.
But just then, a huge power surged from within her body, and her aura increased dramatically.
"Hmm? This is..."
"One of my abilities, I can provide greater power to my Peerage members."
Tatsuma's voice sounded, answering Stella's doubts in advance.
"Then I won't be polite."