"With my current rate of progress, I should count as fast among Devils."
Devils lived nearly eternal lives. If one wasn't a supremely gifted pureblood, then so-called training would need to be repeated for decades before it meant anything.
For him to make such strides within a few short years, it was likely that the Hero bloodline played a role too.
One raised his potential cap, the other elevated his aptitude for training.
Hayashi clenched his fist, retracting the Boosted Gear back into his body.
This Sacred Gear that he plundered and converted into a Trait no longer contained the soul of the Red Dragon Emperor—it felt more like an extension of his body.
"Even the Sacred Gear's ultimate technique, Balance Breaker, I can use it now…
But with my current strength, using it would probably kill me instantly."
With a sigh, Hayashi didn't dwell on it further.
To gain this much right after arriving was already far better than the five years he spent wandering outside!
He looked up at the darkening sky, narrowing his eyes.
"Someone's coming—and fast."
The repelling barrier had vanished when Dohnaseek died.
This fluctuation must have caught the attention of someone in Kuoh Town.
Kicking off with both legs like a spring-loaded panther, Hayashi vanished from the park in a flash.
Just over ten seconds after he left the park, a pink silhouette streaked through the air and descended into the area.
Chiyoda Momo frowned slightly at the mess of scattered remains and two corpses.
"Fallen Angel?"
"Magical Girl?"
High in the sky, another Fallen Angel appeared.
Following Dohnaseek's fading aura, Raynare looked down at Chiyoda Momo below.
When she saw Dohnaseek's corpse, her expression turned to shock.
"Human Magical Girl, why did you kill my subordinate?"
Faced with Raynare's accusation, Chiyoda Momo's expression remained unchanged.
"I didn't kill him. I sensed a magical disturbance here and came to investigate."
After speaking, Chiyoda Momo looked up to meet Raynare's gaze.
She calmly countered, "You Fallen Angels—why have you suddenly gathered here?"
Feeling the deadly threat from Chiyoda Momo's presence, Raynare's expression turned rather unpleasant.
Though she looked like an ordinary magical girl, her strength was far above Raynare's—at the very least, she was an Upper-Class Magical Girl.
And as a magical girl, she probably wouldn't lie.
Not wanting to provoke conflict, Raynare immediately gave up on pursuing the truth behind Dohnaseek's death.
"There's no reason why we should explain our purpose here to you. I won't hold today's matter against you."
With a flap of her wings, she backed up a few meters, left a parting remark, and soared into the sky, disappearing from Chiyoda Momo's view.
Watching Raynare leave, Chiyoda Momo didn't try to stop her.
Although she was a Fallen Angel, in a certain sense she still belonged to the Light Faction.
Unless Raynare did something truly outrageous, Chiyoda Momo didn't want to cause trouble with her.
"Didn't even bother to clean up the corpses…"
Sighing softly, Chiyoda Momo then began casting magic to clean up the aftermath.
Two kilometers away, Hayashi gazed from afar at the scene near the park.
Seeing the appearances of Chiyoda Momo and Raynare, his heart began to murmur.
"This is getting messy. Kuoh Town really is a gathering of immortals."
"Magical Girls, Devils, Fallen Angels… I wonder how many factions are hidden in this place."
"When I discovered this place, I didn't expect the waters to run this deep."
Retracting his gaze, Hayashi walked back along the road.
He decided he'd better keep a low profile for now—focus on growth first before stirring things up.
The [Crossing Gate] progress bar was almost full now.
This transmigration ability that had lain dormant for over a decade was finally about to be useful!
Just thinking about it made his steps feel lighter.
Turning toward the nearby Toma Commercial Street, Hayashi prepared to take advantage of the remaining store hours to stock up on useful supplies.
By the time he stepped out with bags in both hands, the sky had already turned dark.
He hadn't walked far from the commercial street when he noticed a red-haired girl standing by the roadside.
The instant she entered his line of sight, Hayashi's gaze was immediately drawn to her.
Her face was flawless, and her fair skin was as smooth as a freshly peeled egg.
Her long crimson hair burned like flames, cascading in soft waves down to her waist.
She wasn't tall—didn't look like she even reached 160 centimeters.
But her figure was near perfection, with voluptuous and well-defined curves radiating fatal allure.
Her white, form-fitting sailor uniform wrapped tightly around her ample chest.
The slightly stretched fabric looked ready to burst at any moment, outlining a breathtaking arc.
Her collar was slightly open, revealing a faint hint of cleavage.
Her waist was slender, barely a handful, accentuating the perfect ratio between her chest and abdomen.
A black pleated skirt just barely covered the edges of her hips. With the slightest movement, it seemed one could glimpse what lay beneath—leaving anyone breathless.
A pair of black thigh-high stockings hugged her legs, the snug fabric highlighting the curves of her thighs.
The slightly indented white skin at the tops of her stockings gave off an enticing charm that made hearts race.
If full marks were a hundred, Hayashi would give this red-haired girl at least ninety-nine—one point deducted only to keep her from getting arrogant.
After a second of daze, Hayashi quickly calmed down.
"Red hair? And that kind of body… is she Rias Gremory?"
"No, wait. Hyoudou Issei hasn't even been turned into a Devil yet. There shouldn't be any connection between us."
The thought that surfaced in Hayashi's mind was quickly pushed down.
The biggest reason he denied she was Rias lay in her "aura."
The youthful and naive temperament she exuded didn't resemble what a pureblood Devil should have.
Meanwhile, the red-haired girl—Naruse Mio—also noticed the handsome boy staring directly at her.
Ordinarily, such behavior would've annoyed her. But to her surprise, she didn't feel that way at all—instead, a sense of shyness bubbled up inside.
Naruse Mio blinked her wine-red eyes and bashfully turned her head, pretending to be aloof and cold.
"Maria said she'd be gone for just a bit, but why has it been so long with no sign of her?"
While she grew increasingly anxious inside, Hayashi was busy searching through his memory for her image.
Although more than ten years had passed, and his strength had improved to the point that he could remember most things,
Memories were still ultimately fuzzy, and given how complicated this world was now, Hayashi couldn't pinpoint her identity.
But there was one thing he could be sure of: the red-haired girl in front of him was definitely a Devil.
Her aura was unmistakably pure—completely different from his own hybrid Devil blood.
And with the Devil aura on him now being neutralized by the Fallen Angel aura, he instead came across more like a pure human.
Just as Hayashi was about to walk up and ask her directly, his steps paused—
He had noticed dark mist gathering in the shadows.
Clusters of cursed energy were condensing and morphing into the shape of three thugs, who began stiffly walking toward Naruse Mio.