[204] Massive Rewards!
[Demon brat, do you really want to become my host?]
"How come? Am I not qualified?"
[Of course, you are qualified. However, you should be self-sufficient by now. Why do you still need my power?]
"Who would find their own power weak? Besides, the rabbit holes of this world run deep."
[You're right, the rabbit holes of this world are deep.]
"So, what's your answer?"
[If you can do it, then choosing you is inevitable.]
"Good."
August smiled. Then, he opened his hand, and a power of darkness emanated.
The power of darkness directly enveloped Issei, slowly condensing into a magic circle.
There were no visible patterns on it, only various runes and spells. This was the method taught by Sirzechs to August for extracting sacred gears from humans forcibly.
Through a special magic circle, sacred gears were forcefully extracted from the human body. During this process, the human host of the sacred gear would experience unbearable pain and, undoubtedly, die after losing the artifact.
"Ah!!!"
A miserable scream echoed to the depths of the soul, but it was futile.
The magic circle operated slowly, and a red dragon shadow was torn out from within Issei.
*ROOOOOOAR!*
In that instant, one of the two Heavenly Dragons known as the Red Dragon Emperor saw the light of day.
The entire Kuoh Town experienced a magic upheaval. The sky above the Kuoh Academy turned into a vortex of magic.
Then, with a dragon's roar, a red dragon gauntlet was pulled out.
At that moment, Issei, already on the brink of death, collapsed to the ground.
Onlookers Hilda and Yolda stared in shock at everything.
Their Lord was indeed too formidable. He effortlessly obtained a sacred gear, and from the looks of it, it was undoubtedly the Boosted Gear, one of the Longinus-type Sacred Gears.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden mission, Tragedy of the Protagonist: Kill the chosen one of this world, Hyoudou Issei, and obtain rewards: Super Draw *1, Advanced Draw *1, Regular Draw *1!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden mission, Lord of the Red Dragon: Seize the Boosted Gear, Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, and obtain rewards: Advanced Draw *5, Regular Draw *10!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission, Red Dragon's Demise: Defeat one of the two Heavenly Dragons of the current generation, the Red Dragon Emperor, and obtain rewards: Advanced Draw *3!]
As the boosted gear merged into August's body, the system notifications followed suit.
August was stunned. He never expected that by defeating Issei and seizing the boosted gear, he would directly complete three tasks, two of which were hidden tasks, and one was the previously triggered Red Dragon's Demise task.
This pleasantly surprised August. It seemed like luck was truly on his side this time. He felt like he hit the jackpot.
[Ding! Triggered side quest, Victory of the Red Dragon Emperor: Defeat the contemporary White Dragon Emperor and claim rewards: Advanced Draw *3!]
August chuckled again. He completed one task, triggered another, and it perfectly overlapped with his second task. Without going into details, defeating Vali once was equivalent to completing two tasks.
This feeling was so enjoyable. August thought, bring on more of these tasks.
[Boost!]
Following that, the gauntlet appeared on August's arm.
August truly experienced the power of augmentation, the surge of strength and the multiplication of magical power.
[Partner, you are quite a monster. Within your body lies such immense magical power and such pure darkness. It's unbelievable.]
"This is far from enough. What I want is to stand at the very top of everything."
[Are you planning to challenge that two? Partner.]
"Challenge? No, I intend to hunt it down."
[You're really bold, Partner.]
Ddraig's words carried a hint of disbelief.
For that particular two, even Ddraig could only look up to. It was the highest-ranking existence in their dragon race. Since its birth until now, that two had occupied the pinnacle of the world's strength, unchallenged.
Even now, when people discussed strength, they tended to forget about that two. It wasn't that they forgot about its existence, it was just a subconscious decision to overlook it.
Faced with an existence that could only be looked up to, and one that offered no hope, the weak could only deceive themselves.
In August's inner mind, there was an area filled with impenetrable darkness.
In this darkness, there was a corner of a lava hell.
On top of the lava, there was a red dragon.
She was the red dragon emperor's soul, one of the two Heavenly Dragons stored in the boosted gear, Y Ddraig Goch.
"It's unbelievable. In his consciousness, I can only reside in a corner of this dark domain, unable to approach even the depths of darkness. Truly unbelievable."
This red dragon directly transformed into a humanoid form, and surprisingly, it wasn't a burly man but a woman.
A queen with red hair, dressed in a crimson gown.
No one could believe that the once uncontested one of the two Heavenly Dragons, the Red Dragon, was actually a woman and a queen-like figure at that.
In the outside world, August looked at Issei's corpse and opened his hand, causing mist to spread.
In a breath, he completely devoured him.
August's attitude towards people like Issei was clear-cut. Either he recruited them into his ranks or eradicated them completely. August didn't want to leave any room for them to come back, seeking revenge and becoming a significant threat.
In Orario, August recruited Bell as a lil bro even though she was a girl. In this world, he finished off Issei mercilessly.
Buzz~
Swoosh~
Coincidentally, at this moment, two magic circles lit up in the distance.
Then, Rias with Akeno, and Sona with Tsubaki, arrived.
When they saw August, especially the gauntlet on his arm, all four of them were stunned.
What was going on?
Where did that unfamiliar magical power go?
And where did he get that boosted gear?
___
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