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"What a beautiful cross."
Ingvild's gaze was drawn to the Sacred Cross before her, shimmering with gorgeous, radiant light.
"No... I cannot accept such a precious gift."
After hesitating for a while, Ingvild still chose to refuse.
A Sacred Cross this beautiful, even carrying a trace of special power, was truly not something she felt she could accept.
First, she was a devil. She was destined not to be compatible with a Sacred Cross.
Second, she suffered from sleeping sickness. Even if she had something like this, it would be a waste for her to wear it while unconscious.
Unfortunately, Ingvild's refusal had been within Anos's expectations.
He knew that, in the end, she would agree.
"What if I said this could temporarily relieve your sleeping sickness?"
Anos added calmly.
"Eh?"
Ingvild suddenly raised her head.
What had he just said?
He said it could relieve her sleeping sickness?
The sleeping sickness that countless famous specialists had been completely helpless against?
"And that is not all. My Sacred Cross will not have any harmful effect on devils."
Anos smiled and added again.
Holy attributes did indeed suppress devils.
Under the existing system left by the Biblical God, whether one recited scripture or wore a Sacred Cross, it would cause faint damage to devils.
However, this Sacred Cross was a product of Anos's system.
Although holy attributes were naturally harmful to devils, this was only a divided fragment of the cross. It was still easy for him to control.
"Can... can you really give me something like this?"
Ingvild did not doubt the truth of Anos's words. Perhaps that was one of her charming points.
After all, being easy to deceive did not seem like much of a flaw in a man's eyes, as long as he could deceive her for a lifetime.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I am not an idiot... I will still ask for something in return."
Anos smiled helplessly.
Although he knew Ingvild would definitely agree, he had not expected her to show such a pitiful expression, as if she thought she had done something wrong.
It seemed the illness known as sleeping sickness had indeed tormented her for a long time.
"May I ask... what do you want, Mr. Dragon?"
Hearing that Anos did want something, Ingvild relaxed instead.
If she truly accepted something like this casually, her conscience would surely condemn her.
"I want you to sing a song just for me after your illness is healed. A song meant only for me. One where you put all your energy into it, a song that comes from your heart."
Anos stated his request.
In Ingvild's eyes, it was a request that could hardly be called a request at all.
"Can something like that really count as a request? Or... did Mr. Dragon only say that so I could accept this with peace of mind?"
That was the only possibility Ingvild could think of.
However, Anos really did simply want to hear her sing.
Whether it sounded good or not, Anos had to listen.
After all, he still had to obtain the purple treasure chest.
Besides, leaving the Sacred Cross with Ingvild would also ensure that no one could easily use her as a pawn.
Ingvild's ability suppressed dragonkind far too powerfully. Even Issei Hyoudou in [Dragon Deification] could be easily rendered powerless by her.
And that was not all.
Ingvild could also use positive songs to inspire dragons.
If a Dragon King received that kind of enhancement, it could gain Heavenly Dragon-level combat strength in the blink of an eye.
To those of lower strength, Dragon Kings and Heavenly Dragons might not seem that different.
But in reality, one Heavenly Dragon could fight several Dragon Kings at once.
"What do you think? If you still feel bad about it, singing one song for me every day would also be fine."
Anos added.
He had just heard Ingvild's singing. Whether it was the quality of her voice, the tone, or the emotions within it, everything was top-tier, filled with the most natural and genuine charm.
If she learned a little more technique, perhaps it truly could be called a heavenly voice.
"No... I will not let your kindness go to waste, Mr. Dragon. Singing every day is something I will absolutely do."
Ingvild made that decision.
"All right, all right. Compared to that, I think the first way you should repay me is by changing how you address me. I really cannot accept being called Mr. Dragon."
"My name is Anos Kanzaki. Just like how I call you Ingvild, you can call me Anos. Or you can use whatever way feels comfortable for you, as long as it is not something like Mr. Dragon."
Anos sighed.
Mr. Dragon was really not something he liked.
His surname was not Dragon.
"Then... would Anos be all right?"
Ingvild secretly glanced at Anos, seemingly a little nervous and shy because of this.
Yes.
Why was Anos able to call her Ingvild so naturally from the very beginning?
"That is fine. Let us go with that."
As Anos spoke, he handed over the Sacred Cross.
In a certain sense, the Sacred Cross would truly display its greatest effect only after being distributed to everyone.
However, at the current stage, the Sacred Cross still had a more important use for Anos, so he had no intention of dividing it widely yet.
"Thank you... Thank you."
Regardless of whether this Sacred Cross worked or not, Ingvild felt that she should always wear it.
Only then could she properly respond to Anos's feelings.
After putting on the Sacred Cross, Ingvild's eyes widened slightly.
A faint golden light flowed from the Sacred Cross, naturally merging into Ingvild's body.
Aside from the original effects of the Longinus, the Sacred Cross also had auxiliary effects that could break certain curses and negative conditions.
Although this meant Est seemed to have fewer things to do, Est would soon welcome rebirth. Anos was more willing to allow weapon evolution to tools with the potential to break through their limits.
"It seems to be working."
Anos smiled and nodded.
It was within expectations. There was nothing to be surprised about.
"Yes. Yes, it is... Anos."
Compared to Anos, Ingvild could naturally feel the changes in her own body far more clearly.
The fatigue and weakness that had always existed within her body had been completely removed.
"Since you have recovered, properly prepare for your transfer. We can talk about the rest after you come to school."
Anos looked at the Sacred Cross with satisfaction.
After all, the place where it hung was a little subtle.
He did not know whether Ingvild had done it intentionally.
If she knew that Anos could actually sense the Sacred Cross he had divided away from himself, perhaps she would not have done that.
...
After talking with Ingvild for a while and agreeing that she would sing a solo song for him when they had the chance next time, the two temporarily parted ways.
As for Anos...
There was still one matter he had to handle.
It could be called important, but also not that important.
As for why he put it that way.
Compared to the other two factions, this faction was truly not that important. Only an idiot like Kokabiel would act so arrogantly. Just look at how low-profile their Governor-General was.
That was right.
The faction Anos meant was the fallen angel faction.
"You have been hiding there for quite a while. Would you mind coming out, Governor-General of the fallen angels?"
Anos smiled and spoke toward a stone pillar.
The one hiding there was the Governor-General of the fallen angels, Azazel.
"Hm?"
Azazel, who had thought he was hiding perfectly, hesitated for a few seconds before walking out.
It seemed the other party was not only extremely powerful when using Sacred Gears, but also possessed extremely sharp senses even when he was not using them.
"Well, would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?"
Seeing Anos look at him with a subtle expression, Azazel laughed awkwardly.
The other party had easily killed Kokabiel and defeated Vali, who had used Juggernaut Drive. At the very least, Anos would not be weaker than him.
From those two incidents alone, Azazel could clearly tell that Anos was also an extremely domineering and self-centered person.
He did not particularly want to provoke someone like that.
This was what strength brought.
If Anos had only been an ordinary human, Azazel would probably have used hypnosis, brainwashing, and memory erasure in one neat set before taking him away.
"You were passing by? Do you think I would believe that? You simply had your eye on her Sacred Gear, didn't you?"
Anos directly exposed Azazel's purpose.
"Oh my, so I was found out?"
Azazel showed a troubled expression.
Was his purpose that easy to see through?
It seemed the other party's goal was the same as his.
What a shame.
He had easily deceived the girl with his looks and aura.
That really was something only a young man could do.
Azazel felt that if he were a few thousand years younger, he would definitely transform into an even more handsome appearance and compete properly with the young man before him.
Unfortunately...
He felt he had already passed that age and had become a useless old man who only wanted to eat, slack off, and research Sacred Gears.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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