"Good afternoon, Issei Hyoudou."
Lynn greeted the newly awakened Issei Hyoudou.
However, it was clear that the other party was not appreciative.
Upon seeing Lynn, Issei Hyoudou's first reaction was to retreat a few steps, his face full of panic.
"I have no money, and my family has no money! You won't get any ransom by kidnapping me!"
"Hard to say."
"...?"
A question mark rose above Issei Hyoudou's head.
What does that mean?
Could it be that his family is actually very rich?
That's not right either. Why would his mom and dad hide such a thing from him? To make him suffer for no reason?
"Ara ara, Lynn-kun, haven't you explained it to him?"
Just then, a new voice came from outside the door.
Issei Hyoudou looked over. A very familiar figure walked in; it was exactly the third-year senior, Himejima Akeno.
Beside her were Senior Rias, also a third-year celebrity, and the student council president, Senior Sona.
"What... what exactly is the situation?"
Issei Hyoudou became even more confused, his mind recalling various news about Northern Myanmar scams he had seen online.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not a bad person."
Seeing Issei Hyoudou suddenly trembling like a sieve, Lynn raised his hand and summoned a glow of white light.
Illuminated by this white light, Issei Hyoudou's panic suddenly dissipated, and his heart became calm.
"This is..."
"A type of basic Immortal Arts."
Lynn replied and got to the point: "Issei Hyoudou, do you remember our conversation this morning?"
Issei Hyoudou nodded: "Of course I remember."
Lynn continued: "What I said this morning wasn't a lie. Whether it's women or money, I can satisfy you, provided you give me the Sacred Gear inside your body."
Issei Hyoudou, who was happy upon hearing the first half of the sentence, froze for a moment and asked, "What is a Sacred Gear?"
"You can understand it as equipment possessing special power, and you happen to have one inside you." As Lynn spoke, he stepped on the ground, and patterns instantly lit up one after another.
In the center of the basement, a cross suddenly rose. At the same time, light chains extended from the cross, binding Issei Hyoudou's limbs and pulling him up onto it.
"This is..."
Issei Hyoudou became panicked once again.
But under the power of the Immortal Arts, the panic in his heart was continuously dispelled, forcing him into a state of calm.
In this state, he thought of the Immortal Arts Lynn had just activated and the Sacred Gear he mentioned.
Supernatural power.
A term suddenly popped into his head.
Issei Hyoudou, who often read manga, finally realized the truth at this moment.
Lynn, standing before him, was an existence with supernatural powers and wanted the Sacred Gear inside him.
"It seems you roughly understand the situation."
Lynn walked up to Issei Hyoudou: "Think about the big-breasted girlfriend you desire. As long as you help me complete this, never mind one—I can help you find ten."
Issei Hyoudou's gaze sharpened: "Really?"
Lynn nodded: "You will become a permanent friend of our Yukimura Clan, obtain unimaginable wealth, and in the future, even if you grow tired of it, you can use this money to find other women."
Issei Hyoudou had an epiphany: "I, Issei, have drifted for half my life, only regretting not meeting a wise master. If you do not spurn me, I am willing to acknowledge you as my foster father!"
Lynn's eye twitched: "You can shut up now."
Issei Hyoudou: "Roger!"
Squelch—!
As the words fell, Lynn thrust a finger into Issei Hyoudou's shoulder, and the Blood of Evolution surged in.
Although he could directly perform the Sacred Gear plunder ritual...
Under the current conditions, it was better to add an extra layer of insurance.
If Issei Hyoudou's constitution was a bit higher, it could also reduce the pain he suffered, making it easier for Lynn to heal him with Immortal Arts afterward.
...
"I remember now!"
Just as Lynn was preparing the ritual, Himejima Akeno in the back suddenly clapped her hands.
"He's part of the school's Perverted Trio."
"Perverted Trio?"
"That name sounds like I've heard someone mention it before."
Sona and Rias found the name somewhat familiar, but for a moment, they couldn't recall where they had heard it.
"It's the one the girls often talk about; they often go in a group of three to peep at them changing clothes," Akeno replied.
"I see, it's him." Sona now had an impression; as the student council president, she frequently received reports, and someone had mentioned these three to her before.
"I think I heard Koneko mention it," Rias also remembered: "No wonder he's so interested in women."
Akeno let out a soft chuckle: "I also think it might be that he doesn't know how dangerous the Sacred Gear plunder ritual is. If he knew, he wouldn't have agreed so easily."
He definitely wouldn't have agreed.
If the Sacred Gear plunder ritual hadn't been modified, the moment one lost their Sacred Gear, they would lose their life along with it.
At that point, having money but nowhere to spend it—only a fool would agree.
However, if that price was optimized away, then it was a different story.
Rias stared at Lynn thoughtfully.
"Sona, he seems to be modifying that person."
"Yes, I noticed as well."
"Do the ancient martial families of the Dragon Country have this kind of ability?"
"Hard to say. After all, they are great families with a long history; it wouldn't be strange for them to have anything."
Transforming servants was not an uncommon occurrence.
The most classic example was Vampires; pure-blooded Vampires could transform humans into Vampires through various means.
Furthermore, the Evil chess pieces researched by Demon King Beelzebub also had the effect of transforming bloodlines.
Although she didn't know the principle behind Lynn's method, it was clear that he had the ability to transform servants.
Watching Issei Hyoudou, whose aura had greatly increased, a glimmer flashed in Rias's eyes, and she became increasingly curious about Lynn.
...
On the other side, after strengthening Issei Hyoudou, Lynn officially started the Sacred Gear plunder ritual.
The principle of the ritual was not complicated.
Under normal circumstances, after a Sacred Gear host dies, the central system of the Heavenly Realm receives this information and transfers the Sacred Gear.
But after starting the ritual, the ritual would make the Sacred Gear host enter a near-death state and transmit this signal to the Heavenly Realm system.
When the Heavenly Realm system transfers the Sacred Gear, the ritual would exert its second function, intercepting the Sacred Gear and keeping it in place.
The Heaven System is a creation of the Bible God.
In ancient times, doing this would have surely been detected, and Angels would have quickly arrived to purge the problem.
But times have changed. The Bible God has fallen, and many bugs have appeared in Heaven's central system.
Combined with the Fallen Angels' deep research in this area, a simple ritual can now deceive the central system.
Even if the Angels of Heaven discover an issue, they don't have much energy to spare for such matters.
Having lost the Bible God, the Angels lost their source of new life and can only distribute their limited combat power within their own territories.
In a place like Kuoh Town, which falls under Devil territory, Heaven will not intervene unless a major incident occurs.
The ritual proceeded smoothly, and soon Issei Hyoudou felt his limbs grow cold as a sense of weakness spread through his body.
"Yukimura-san, I feel like I'm dying."
"Your feeling is correct."
Lynn silently accelerated the ritual's progress. "Don't worry, I'll use Senjutsu to help you hold onto your last thread of life."
"As long as you don't go completely cold, I can bring you back. Then, you'll have a big-breasted girlfriend and endless money."
"Oooooooooooooooh!!!"
Issei Hyoudou's spirit instantly rallied.
With his cooperation, the ritual soon reached its end, and a crimson glow flickered on the surface of Issei Hyoudou's body.
Seconds later, a massive sphere of light flew out of Issei Hyoudou's body. His head slumped as he fell unconscious, his aura rapidly draining away like a reservoir with open gates.
Fortunately, thanks to the strengthening from the Blood of Evolution, his vitality was abundant enough that even with the rapid loss, some still remained.
Lynn raised his hand against the other's head, and a dazzling light bloomed in an instant.
Relying on the power of Senjutsu, he directly infused his own vitality into Issei Hyoudou's body.
With the Blood of Evolution acting as a bridge, the process was very smooth, and the Senjutsu also had the effect of stabilizing the soul.
In just a few seconds, Issei Hyoudou's aura stabilized, and there were no more fluctuations of loss.
"Looks like it's over."
Rias and the other two, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward.
They glanced at Issei Hyoudou, who had already slid off the cross and was snoring on the ground.
They looked away, simultaneously turning their gaze toward Lynn and the crimson sphere of light beside him.
"Is this the legendary Longinus?"
"That's right. Next is the fusion."
Lynn raised his hand and absorbed the sphere of light into his body.
According to the data provided by the Fallen Angels, this step was the simplest part of the entire Sacred Gear extraction ritual.
It didn't even require the support of a ritual; one only needed to release a wisp of vitality into the light sphere to establish a connection.
However, the moment Lynn absorbed the light sphere and injected his vitality to establish a connection with the Sacred Gear...
The scenery before his eyes shifted.
In the next second, he arrived in a pitch-black world.
Looking up, a dragon far beyond imagination appeared in his sight.
It had massive eyes with blood-red pupils, a pair of huge horns on its head, and scales as fiery red as lava.
"Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig?"
"Obviously, it could only be me."
The corners of Ddraig's mouth curled high into a ferocious smile. "Kid, you've got a lot of nerve. Aren't you afraid that doing this would infuriate me?"
"You look pretty happy to me."
Lynn wasn't flustered at all. "Rather than staying inside an ordinary human who has nothing, you'd prefer someone strong, wouldn't you?"
Ddraig laughed loudly. "You're right. That's why I didn't stop your actions."
Unlike ordinary Sacred Gears.
As one of the Longinus, the Boosted Gear possessed self-awareness and housed Ddraig's soul.
If he wanted to, he could have easily intervened and sabotaged the Sacred Gear extraction ritual.
But he didn't do that.
On one hand, it was because Lynn had prepared protective measures for Issei Hyoudou so he wouldn't die from losing the Sacred Gear.
On the other hand, just as Lynn said, he didn't really like Issei Hyoudou.
The boy was too weak.
So weak he couldn't even hear Ddraig's calls.
If he continued with Issei Hyoudou, it wouldn't be long before the White Dragon Emperor's host found them, and they would die all the same.
In that case, it was better to change hosts.
This way, Issei Hyoudou could live, and he could have a powerful host to hang out with, avoiding falling into a deep sleep again.
...
The exchange between Lynn and Ddraig didn't last long.
Ddraig had pulled Lynn into the consciousness space mainly because he wanted to greet his new host.
After a brief exchange, Lynn's consciousness left the Sacred Gear's space and returned to reality.
"You're awake," Rias's voice sounded.
"Just now, after you fused with the Sacred Gear, you suddenly stood still. Was there a problem?"
"No, everything went very smoothly."
Lynn injected magic power, and a crimson gauntlet quietly covered his right arm, with a jewel embedded on its surface.
"Just now, after the fusion, I was pulled inside by the master of the Sacred Gear to say hello."
"Is this the legendary Longinus?"
Rias curiously observed it for a moment. "I've heard that the Boosted Gear can infinitely strengthen the host's power. Can you do that now?"
"Of course." Unlike the Issei Hyoudou from the original story who knew nothing, Lynn had a sufficiently high starting point.
After his conversation with Ddraig, he had already gained a preliminary grasp of how to use the Boosted Gear.
"Boost!"
As a mechanical voice sounded from the jewel, a powerful surge of energy emerged from within Lynn, and his power suddenly doubled.
"What a strong aura." Rias subconsciously tensed her body, a layer of magic power surfacing on her skin.
Lynn's strength was already not weak.
With the strengthening from the Boosted Gear, even she—one of the top individuals among the new generation of Devils—felt the pressure and needed to release magic power to counter it.
What was even more terrifying was that this was only the first boost.
According to historical records, as long as the host's physical body was strong enough, the Boosted Gear could infinitely strengthen the host's power.
And as the successor of an Ancient Martial Arts Family, Lynn's physical fitness naturally went without saying.
"Boost!"
Ten seconds later, another mechanical voice sounded, and the aura on Lynn's body soared once again.
This time, it was no longer a simple matter of pressure; Rias felt a dense threat of death, as if Lynn could crush her in an instant if he made a move.
"That's probably enough."
Sona also felt the pressure. Pushing up her glasses, she said, "Let's stop the experiment here. If you cause too much of a commotion, it will affect the lives of ordinary people."
"No problem."
Lynn cooperatively put away the Sacred Gear.
One could only say it was truly worthy of being a Longinus; just two boosts gave him power far exceeding his past self.
With Super-speed Regeneration as a safety net, he was now confident in dealing with ordinary Demon Kings or Gods.
"You two, my previous words still stand."
Restraining his aura, Lynn looked at Sona and Rias. "As a reward for assisting me in obtaining the Longinus, I owe you each a favor."
Sona shook her head. "We didn't do anything; we just agreed not to interfere with you obtaining the Sacred Gear."
A smile appeared on Lynn's face. "That's enough. After all, this is Devil territory; I still have to show some respect."
Rias raised her hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "Since you put it that way, we'll accept this favor without reservation."
Having witnessed the power Lynn wielded with the Boosted Gear, Rias knew very well how precious this favor was.
Looking at the black-haired youth before her, her eyes flickered with anticipation. "Lynn, if I used this favor to invite you to become my servant, would you agree?"
Lynn replied without hesitation, "Don't count on the servant thing. I have no intention of being a subordinate to a Devil for the time being."
Rias felt a bit of regret. "I thought so."
It was within expectations.
It was just that the temptation of recruiting the Red Dragon Emperor as a servant was too strong, so she couldn't help but ask.
"How do you plan to handle this person?"
After the recruitment failed, Rias looked toward Issei Hyoudou.
"I plan to send him and his family to my hometown."
Lynn picked up Issei Hyoudou and replied, "With the power of the Longinus, I can obtain the authority of the Yukimura Clan head in advance. Using resources to support a few idle people won't be a problem."
Rias understood. "Then he's in your hands."
Having settled Issei Hyoudou's treatment, Lynn didn't stay long and left the basement with him.
"Alright, let's head back too."
After seeing Lynn and the other off, Rias called out to her friend nearby. "A Longinus has appeared in Kuoh Town; this needs to be reported upward."
Sona reminded her, "Lynn-san mentioned before that he wanted to use our connections to meet with a Satan."
Rias hadn't forgotten. "I'll report that as well and leave it to my brother to handle."
Himejima Akeno thought for a moment. "Should we modify the content of the report? Some of the old fossils might have an issue with you."
A Longinus was no ordinary thing.
Discovering a Longinus and not stopping Lynn from obtaining it, but instead easily agreeing to let him have it...
In the eyes of some old fossils in the Underworld, this would be seen as a sign of incompetence and could spark bad rumors.
"Don't worry, that's easy to solve."
A smile appeared on Sona's face. "We just need to note in the report that Lynn possesses strength comparable to a High-Class Devil, and that Rias and I didn't have the ability to stop him."
Rias were thoughtful. "That is a good way."
A human proficient in ancient martial arts with strength comparable to a High-Class Devil had obtained the Boosted Gear.
As long as this report was submitted, with an added note that she had already gained the Red Dragon Emperor's friendship and would further cultivate the relationship...
No matter what thoughts those old fossils had, they would quiet down after seeing this report.
...
On the other side.
After leaving the basement, Lynn took Issei Hyoudou to his home.
With a brief negotiation with Issei Hyoudou's parents, plus a little simple hypnosis trick...
Issei Hyoudou's parents quickly agreed to move.
The pre-prepared Li family staff stepped in, and the family of three soon packed their luggage and got into a private car.
"Lynn, aren't you coming with us?" Issei Hyoudou asked with some confusion.
"I still have some things to do, so I'll stay here for the time being."
Lynn revealed a faint smile on his face: "You guys go ahead and live in China first. I've already arranged accommodations for you. The big-breasted girlfriend you were hoping for is also ready."
Issei Hyoudou's eyes filled with tears: "Lynn, you are truly a good person! I will remember you for my entire life!"
"It's just a fair trade."
Lynn smiled faintly: "I wish you happiness in China, Issei Hyoudou."
The staff from the Yukimura Clan stepped on the accelerator and drove the family of three away from Kuoh Town.
After seeing them off, Lynn headed to the other side of Kuoh Town, in front of a huge villa.
This was his temporary residence in Kuoh Town.
He took out the key, opened the main door, and walked into the living room.
In the living room, a slender woman with fair skin and long black hair was currently sitting there.
Hearing the sound, the cat ears on top of her head twitched twice. She didn't get up, still leaning lazily on the sofa.
"Lynn, I'm hungry, Nya."
...