Roy opened his entry vault, a dense array of entries filling his view.
With a tap, he synthesized all newly acquired entries to Blue rank.
Counting them, the vault gained 1,261 Blue entries.
"Bit underwhelming," Roy muttered, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
Having tasted the million-spirit haul, his standards for entries had skyrocketed.
Over a thousand Blue entries could barely upgrade one to Gold—hardly satisfying.
"Whatever, small steps," he said, adjusting his mindset.
He pulled a purple cross from his pocket, a spoil from defeating Wapor.
Unlike most Sacred Gears, the Longinus [Incinerate Anthem] didn't vanish with its host.
Instead, it lingered in the world, seeking a new host.
This trait gave Roy a chance to claim it after Wapor's defeat.
Unsealing the purple flame, Roy cast magic to merge it into his body.
"Wait, partner, don't be reckless!" Ddraig's voice rang out.
Startled by Roy's boldness, the usually silent Ddraig panicked.
"Incinerate Anthem's no ordinary Sacred Gear—it's a Holy Relic!"
"With Evil Pieces in you, it's naturally opposed."
"Plus, the Boosted Gear rejects foreign Sacred Gears. Forcing it could hurt you."
"I know," Roy said, undeterred, continuing the absorption.
He opened his attribute panel, unequipping the Boosted Gear and devil-related entries.
All interference factors gone, Roy reverted to a baseline human.
Drawn to his immense power, Incinerate Anthem began fusing willingly.
In mere breaths, it fully integrated.
[Detected foreign power. Convert to Gold Entry?]
[Conversion successful. Acquired Gold Entry: Incinerate Anthem]
[Incinerate Anthem (Gold): Summon purple flames for attack. Flames burn at extreme heat with potent purification, highly effective against devils, Shinigami, etc. Crucifying powerful souls on the cross unlocks Balance Breaker.]
"Not bad," Roy said, toying with a summoned purple flame.
As a Longinus, Incinerate Anthem's power was top-tier.
Against specific races like Hollows or devils, it could punch above its weight, devastatingly so.
Stowing the flames, Roy eyed another Gold Entry in the vault.
[Fated Rival (Gold): Designate a rival to boost training speed, stamina, and mana recovery significantly. Deactivates upon rival's defeat.]
A 5,000% training speed boost, plus dual recovery.
Among Gold Entries, Fated Rival was a heavy hitter.
But activating it required a rival.
"Don't have one," Roy mused, frowning.
A cheater like him, growing stronger daily?
Even a peer today would be fodder next month.
Fated Rival didn't suit him.
"Material it is," he decided.
He also pulled all 1,261 Blue Entries, no hoarding.
After sifting through Red Entries, he upgraded two from last week—Fruit of Life and Fruit of Wisdom—to Gold.
[Fruit of Life (Gold): Training speed + massive vitality and physical boosts.]
[Fruit of Wisdom (Gold): Training speed + massive mental and soul strength boosts.]
"Now that's more like it," Roy nodded, pleased.
Rather than letting Fated Rival gather dust, recycling it for Gold upgrades was a win.
Better yet, Fruit of Life and Fruit of Wisdom complemented each other.
Entry fusion's cooldown ended in ten days.
When it did, these two would be prime fusion material, no hesitation.
"Time for the next training phase," Roy said, re-equipping the Boosted Gear and leaving the classroom.
As he stepped out, Ddraig's grumbling hit.
"Partner, you shut me off again?"
"You were interfering with the Incinerate Anthem fusion."
"You actually fused it?" Ddraig gasped.
"Yup," Roy said, summoning a purple flame.
"Next phase: merging Incinerate Anthem and Boosted Gear's powers."
"Also, Juggernaut Drive's coordination has issues. Let's find a quiet spot to fix it."
"More training? You just fought!"
"That wasn't a fight. Only Vali's Juggernaut Drive was worth noticing."
Ddraig fell silent.
Stuck with Roy, he was cursed for eight lifetimes.
Twenty hours a day, he was powered off, "sleeping."
The few hours awake? Dragged into Juggernaut Drive training.
"Partner, I'm a dragon, but I need breaks!" Ddraig pleaded.
"When I'm strong enough to ditch Juggernaut Drive, you're free," Roy said.
"That 'free' doesn't mean powered off, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Why'd you hesitate?!"
A nearby town to Kuoh.
A black spatial rift opened in an alley, Arthur stepping through.
Scanning the area, he entered a nearby hotel, heading to the top-floor suite.
"Brother, you're back," Le Fay said, looking up from her book, puzzled.
"Where's Vali?"
"Captured," Arthur replied.
"What? For real?" Bikou poked his head from the next room, shocked.
Kuroka, tinkering with vials nearby, was equally stunned.
"You're not joking?" Kuroka asked.
"Do I look like I joke?" Arthur said.
Kuroka stared at his stoic face for two seconds. "Fair, you don't."
Bikou approached. "What happened? Who beat Vali?"
"Red Dragon Emperor Roy," Arthur said.
"Red Dragon Emperor?" Bikou mused. "I keep hearing about him. You and Vali mention him a lot."
"Is this generation's Red Dragon Emperor really that strong? Beating the strongest White Dragon Emperor ever?"
"He's a monster. Vali was no match," Arthur said.
Recalling the crimson light leaking through the shattered barrier, Arthur sighed, his expression finally shifting.
He'd trained hard for days, yet the gap with Roy only widened.
"Now what?" Kuroka asked.
"We're here because Vali invited us," she said. "He's caught. Should we split up?"
Bikou shook his head. "I finally got out. No way I'm going back to that old monkey's lectures."
"Then what? Rescue him?" Kuroka asked.
"Only option," Bikou said. "You guys in?"
Le Fay hesitated. "I'll follow Brother."
Arthur paused. "…Let's confirm Vali's location first."
If Vali was in the Underworld or elsewhere, Arthur wouldn't mind helping.
But near Roy? Forget it.
They'd all end up in jail together.
Soul Society, Fifth Division Barracks.
"Captain Aizen, I'm back~" Ichimaru Gin strolled into the captain's office, greeting the man inside.
"One bad news and one worse. Which first?"
"Bad news," Aizen said.
"The Red Dragon Emperor single-handedly wrecked the Brigade's plan. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are dead."
"Single-handedly?" Aizen raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. No help, just him wiping out the White Dragon Emperor and crew," Gin said, wagging a finger, feigning awe.
"Even through a barrier, his aura was terrifying. Gave me a scare."
"Interesting," Aizen chuckled.
"You mentioned the White Dragon Emperor. Didn't he use Juggernaut Drive?"
"He did, but the Red Dragon Emperor's got one too—and it's stronger."
"That explains it," Aizen nodded, accepting the outcome.
"What's the worse news?"
"My equipment detected Hōgyoku traces on the Red Dragon Emperor," Gin said, placing a pocket watch on the desk and pressing a button.
A hologram of a figure in crimson armor projected into the air.
"As expected," Aizen chuckled again.
Gin blinked, surprised. "Captain Aizen, you're awfully calm."
"With the Red Dragon Emperor's potential, he's worthy of the Hōgyoku's approval."
Aizen shook his head. "Not just worthy—guaranteed."
"Odds are, he's already fused with that incomplete Hōgyoku."
Gin frowned. "Now what? Can you beat him, Captain?"
"Gin, we don't need to fight him yet," Aizen said.
Gin tilted his head, confused.
After years of scheming, was Aizen abandoning the Hōgyoku?
As Gin puzzled, Aizen tugged his collar, revealing a blue-black orb embedded in his chest.
"With the Infinite Dragon God's power and Takanotsume's otherworld tech, I've upgraded my half of the Hōgyoku to its complete form."
"As for Rukia Kuchiki's half, let the Red Dragon Emperor have it."
"…That's huge," Gin said, staring at the orb, then clapping.
"Impressive, Captain Aizen, pulling that off so quietly."
"You underestimate the Red Dragon Emperor," Aizen said, smiling.
"He's a nexus of the unknown and miracles."
"To oppose him, assume the worst from the start."
"Like… him checking Grimmjow's memories after killing him."
"Sounds bad," Gin said, stroking his chin.
"Now what? Evacuate Soul Society early?"
"No, stay hidden," Aizen said, shaking his head.
He picked up a brush, writing "Kill" on rice paper.
"The Red Dragon Emperor won't expose us."
"Because us staying in Soul Society brings him the chaos he needs."
Gin paused, lost. "…"
Los Angeles, USA.
A helicopter landed atop a downtown skyscraper.
Radley stepped off, crossing the helipad to the top-floor office.
"The plan failed," she reported to the man inside.
"Roy's strength exceeded expectations."
"He alone defeated Katerea, Wapor, and those two Hueco Mundo Arrancars."
"Even the White Dragon Emperor, joining late with Juggernaut Drive, couldn't land a hit."
"Useless bunch," Shavliar snorted, displeased.
He'd sent Radley to assist, aiming to disrupt the Three Factions' summit.
Devils, angels, Fallen Angels—these Biblical factions had long opposed Takanotsume.
As a Takanotsume remnant leader, Shavliar wanted the summit to fail.
But it was done. No use dwelling.
"Raise the Red Dragon Emperor's threat level to match Ajuka Beelzebub and Sazeks Lucifer—top-tier devils."
"Already done," Radley said, producing a metal sphere.
"I also gathered partial data on the Red Dragon Emperor."
"Not comprehensive, but enough for targeted weapons."
"Good work," Shavliar nodded.
Compared to the Brigade's failures, his sister was reliable.
Taking the sphere, Shavliar pondered. "What's the Mediterranean situation?"
"Chaotic. The Fourth Primogenitor's ruins surfaced, drawing attention," Radley said, snapping her fingers to project images on the wall.
"Neon's Lion King Agency, the Familion Kingdom royals, and Aldegia Kingdom royals formed an expedition team."
"The sealed Camilla vampires sent agents to the three Primogenitors' domains, requesting an alliance."
"Except the Second Primogenitor, the First—Forgotten Warlord—and Third—Chaos Bride—responded, mobilizing."
"The Brigade's Hero Faction is also interested, sending agents with Familion's Crimson Princess to Gozo Island."
"Honestly, too many forces are converging on Gozo. Snatching the Fourth Primogenitor will be tough."
"We have to, no matter how hard," Shavliar said, deep in thought.
The Fourth Primogenitor tied to Holy Annihilation and Takanotsume's legacy.
Failing to secure it would derail their revival plans.
"Contact the U.S. government. Have them send the Machine Emperor's host."
"And Suzuki Ichiro—probe his stance."
"If he wants to break free from the Red Dragon's control, send the Doomsday Cult to assist."
The next day.
As factions reeled from Roy's strength and mobilized, Roy returned to routine, heading to Akatsuki's headquarters.
Summoned, Gojo Satoru and Suzuki Ichiro arrived early at the meeting room.
With a White Entry each, they unlocked their attribute panels.
"This is awakening? Stronger than I expected," Suzuki said, feeling his surged power, then turning to Roy.
"Leader, I have a report."
"Yesterday, MAR's executive director Radley contacted me. She wants me to join MAR."
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