Utaha Kasumigaoka's resolve

Both women nodded and obediently stepped back some distance.

"What, still not coming out?"

Lin Luo spoke calmly. Magic Power surged skyward from his body, making the magma churn violently and even causing the entire volcanic range to tremble slightly.

At that very moment, deep within the magma, an enormous creature opened its eyes.

Those eyes were blood-red, as though flames burned within them.

Its massive body moved, raising towering waves in the magma.

"Roar!"

The next instant, an earth-shaking roar erupted from the volcano.

The sound waves traveled through the earth, visibly distorting the air. Even Akame and Esdeath's expressions changed in the distance.

After becoming Devils, their strength had grown by leaps and bounds.

Yet a mere roar had left them feeling intimidated.

“So this is the King of Danger Beasts. It's actually this powerful.”

Esdeath looked eager to try her hand against it. If not for Lin Luo's orders, she would already have attacked without a second thought.

Bang!

Just then, the entire volcanic crater exploded, and a mountain-sized beast, resembling both a dragon and a serpent yet neither, soared into the air.

Boom!

Immediately afterward, flames swept out in every direction from the beast like raging tidal waves.

The already terrifying temperature began to soar once more.

"Hmph!"

Esdeath snorted and took a step forward, unleashing her freezing power.

Even so, she could still feel the scorching heat rushing toward her.

"So hot!"

"What a powerful Danger Beast," Akame said with an adorably blank expression.

Even so, she made no further move.

Her master had told her to wait, so she would wait.

Above the giant beast's head, however, a flicker of excitement crossed Lin Luo's eyes.

"This really is quite a find. To think this world could produce a Danger Beast capable of rivaling a Supreme-Class Devil."

Across countless worlds, there was never a shortage of extraordinary talents.

Esdeath and Akame were such examples.

If not for the limitations of their world's resources, they could certainly become stronger.

And that was even more true of the Danger Beast before him.

"Roar! Roar!"

The King of Danger Beasts roared repeatedly at Lin Luo, its eyes filled with ferocity and bloodlust.

But it did not attack.

Its instincts told it that the tiny creature before it was extremely dangerous.

Sensing the King of Danger Beasts' hostility, Lin Luo's gaze turned indifferent. “You are indeed strong. No one in this world can threaten you.”

"Unfortunately, you ran into me."

As his words fell, Lin Luo remained poised in the air. With a casual wave of his hand, an enormous pale-blue Magic Circle spread across the sky.

"Roar!"

The King of Danger Beasts' pupils contracted sharply.

The sense of danger had increased countless times since the Magic Circle appeared.

Although it could not speak, its intelligence was by no means inferior to a human's.

Without any hesitation, the King of Danger Beasts shot into the sky.

Towering flames erupted, as though intent on incinerating the heavens and burning Lin Luo to nothing.

Lin Luo watched it all calmly, his gaze indifferent. He merely waved his hand slightly, as though brushing away smoke and dust.

Crackle!

Terrifying lightning illuminated heaven and earth.

The towering flames froze for an instant, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Terrifying lightning engulfed the King of Danger Beasts, its tremendous power erupting as though it would destroy the world.

Before Akame and Esdeath's eyes, most of the volcano was obliterated.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The dazzling lightning vanished.

The King of Danger Beasts let out a resentful wail and plummeted like a meteor.

"This Danger Beast's flames are no ordinary fire. What kind of Imperial Arms should I make?"

Without realizing it, Lin Luo thought of Esdeath's Demon's Extract.

Chapter 26: Utaha Kasumigaoka's resolve

At Lin Luo's home!

Utaha Kasumigaoka and Asia returned together.

During Lin Luo's absence, their days had consisted almost entirely of going back and forth between two places.

They were either sleeping or training.

"Honestly, that perverted master of ours is far too irresponsible. He tells us to train, then disappears himself."

Utaha Kasumigaoka took off her black stockings and massaged her sore, fair toes.

Asia defended him softly. "Lin Luo isn't that kind of person. He must have something important to do."

"Well, that's true..." Utaha frowned and muttered, "But I still get the feeling our lecherous master went out to do something naughty."

Click!

The door swung open, and Lin Luo, back from the Otherworld, said with a smile:

"What, talking behind my back while I'm away?"

"You can't take it that way, my perverted master."

Utaha Kasumigaoka rolled her eyes. "For you, doing something naughty is a compliment."

She deliberately emphasized the word "naughty."

"I suppose you're not wrong."

Lin Luo smiled. "I did take in a few Familiars, after all."

"Just as I thought. I knew our lecherous master wasn't out doing anything proper."

"I'm a Devil. What's wrong with taking in Familiars?"

Lin Luo looked perfectly righteous.

"..."

Utaha Kasumigaoka froze.

That makes so much sense I can't even argue.

Damn this lecherous master.

A Magic Circle flashed in Lin Luo's hand, and he produced a sealed jade flask. "Here, this is a gift for you."

Utaha Kasumigaoka blinked and studied the jade flask. "Master, girls won't like you if you give them things like this, you know?"

"What are you thinking?"

Lin Luo tapped Utaha Kasumigaoka on the head and opened the jade flask's lid. "The real treasure is what's inside."

Looking at the liquid inside, which seethed like magma, Utaha Kasumigaoka swallowed. "Why does it look so dangerous?"

"That's right. You could die."

"My perverted master, you actually want to give me something this dangerous?"

"This is an Imperial Arms, the Essence of the Fire God."

Lin Luo's expression turned serious, and he briefly explained the circumstances behind it.

“So Lin Luo went to the Otherworld?”

Listening nearby, Asia instinctively cried out in surprise.

Utaha Kasumigaoka could no longer stay calm either.

She had known her master was extraordinary, but she had never imagined he operated on such a scale.

After cramming so much knowledge during this time, she was no longer a rookie Devil.

She knew full well that reaching into the Otherworld was something not even the Devil Kings had accomplished.

Yet her master had succeeded.

"And this Imperial Arms can be thought of as a Sacred Gear?"

She looked at the jade flask and asked hesitantly.

"The functions are similar, but its power will depend on how you develop it."

"Master, you're really giving it to me?"

For a moment, emotion shimmered in her eyes, and the love hidden deep within her seemed ready to spill out.

Means that surpassed the Devil Kings, and a Sacred Gear as a gift.

That was far too potent for any Devil to resist.

Lin Luo found Utaha Kasumigaoka's gaze immensely gratifying, but he still held out the jade flask. "So, what will you choose?"

His gaze was deep, as though he were waiting for Utaha Kasumigaoka's answer.

"Drinking it will be dangerous?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka asked hesitantly.

"It could be!"

"But I'll also gain tremendous power, right?"

"That's right!"

After hearing Lin Luo's words, Utaha Kasumigaoka calmed down completely.

Before meeting Lin Luo, she had been an ordinary person apart from her looks.

And now, despite her great talent, all her efforts so far had only just brought her to the rank of a Mid-Class Devil.

In the Underworld, that still placed her at the bottom.

Someone as outstanding as Lin Luo, however...

Was bound to gather powerful Familiars around him.

Asia was a perfect example. Though she was not skilled in combat, the power of her Sacred Gear was plain for all to see.

But she...

"Whew!"

Utaha Kasumigaoka took a deep breath and knelt before Lin Luo, sitting back on her heels.

"???"