"Thanks for the trouble, Akeno-san."
Stare
Utaha couldn't take her eyes off Akeno's figure.
That body was just unreal!
She glanced down at herself. She had always been pretty confident, but in this match-up, she had to admitshe lost.
Completely.
Noticing Utaha's gaze, Akeno simply smiled softly. But, almost imperceptibly, she straightened her back just a little more, making Utaha even more frustrated.
After teasing Utaha a bit, Akeno led them toward the Occult Research Club located in the old school building.
Along the way, she gave them a guided tour of Kuoh Academy, preventing any awkward silences between them.
—
The Occult Research Club
"President, Mr. Lynn has arrived."
Rias flipped her vibrant crimson hair as she stood up from the couch to welcome them.
"Lynn, welcome to Kuoh Town."
She put on the demeanor of a gracious host, smiling warmly. "Since you've come all this way, let's sit down and chat first."
"Akeno, prepare some tea for our guests."
"Yes, President."
As Utaha sat down, she noticed a petite girl in the corner of the sofa.
Rias introduced her, "This is my servant, Koneko Tojo. She's still in the middle school."
"Nice to meet you, senpais." Koneko greeted them with a monotone voice.
Lynn took a look around, admiring the luxurious decor. Then something struck him. "Rias, you only have two servants?"
Rias paused for a moment before brushing her hair behind her ear with a small smile. "That's right. I prefer quality over quantity, so it's difficult to find suitable members."
Lynn pondered.
'No Kiba Yuuto or the others?'
'Was it because they hadn't been recruited yet? Or was this some kind of butterfly effect due to the crossover setting?'
"This girl must be your servant, then?" Rias's gaze shifted to Utaha.
She had only just sent the Evil Piece yesterday, yet today, Lynn already had a servant.
"They must have been close beforehand," Rias speculated.
"No Sacred Gear fluctuations. No signs of any training."
"She seems like a completely ordinary human..."
"Utaha Kasumigaoka."
Utaha introduced herself confidently, but her eyes inevitably drifted toward Rias's chest.
This master-servant duo...
Her expression turned complicated. Then she glanced at Koneko, and finally, she felt a little better.
Koneko: "?!!"
(Cat instincts: On high alert!)
"I already know why you're here."
After all, they had communicated over the phone yesterday.
Understanding that Lynn had never received formal training in the Underworld's Devil system, Rias pulled out an incredibly thick, black leather-bound book.
It was about the size of two bricks stacked together.
Lynn's eyelids twitched.
"This is 360 Applications of Magic, a standard guide in the Underworld. It contains basic magical techniques."
Rias offered a slight apology. "Sorry, but I can only provide general techniques for now. More advanced skills are usually exclusive to each Devil family."
Lynn nodded in understanding. "This is more than enough."
Just this one book alone would take a long time to go through.
Good thing he had a labor force.
Lynn pushed 360 Applications of Magic toward Utaha with a smile. "It's all on you, Utaha Beast."
"...?"
A big question mark practically appeared over Utaha's head.
Also, what the hell was with that weird nickname?!
She wanted to complain, but since they were on someone else's turf, she had no choice but to swallow her frustration.
She turned to the massive book in front of her, feeling an impending headache.
Well, at least she didn't need to understand it. She didn't even need to learn it.
All she had to do was record it.
Utaha gritted her teeth.
"Fine! Time to copy!"
.
.
.
Time to Show Off, Rias
After obtaining what he wanted, Lynn didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took the opportunity to ask Rias about the current situation in the Underworld.
For exampleThe movements of the Old Maou Faction.
Though Lynn didn't feel any particular attachment to the House of Valifer, nor did he have any intention of avenging them, the fact that he carried this surname was bound to bring him trouble sooner or later.
Like his engagement with the Sitri Clan, andThe revenge of the Old Maou Faction!
He needed to prepare in advance.
While recruiting his own peerage and strengthening his power, he also had to keep an eye on their movements to avoid ending up like his unfortunate familywiped out before they even knew what hit them.
At the end of the day, it all boiled down to a lack of strength.
He needed to speed up his recruitment.
At the very least, he had to reach the level of a Maou as soon as possible.
"Ever since the Valifer extermination incident, the Underworld has intensified its crackdown on the Old Maou Faction."
"They haven't been seen for quite some time now," Rias shared the latest intelligence while glancing at Utaha, who was busy scribbling away.
'That bookIt doesn't look like an artifact.'
'More like some kind of ability.'
Rias couldn't help but remind, "You're welcome to take that book with you. It's not exactly classified information."
Lynn took a sip of the tea brewed by Akeno and said casually, "No worries, she has to copy it down anyway."
Even though Utaha had only been copying for a short while, Lynn could already feel an influx of magical knowledge about power manipulation filling his mind.
What's more, he realized that his "Archivist Devil" ability was different from Utaha's.
For instance, while Utaha needed her Devil's Grimoire to utilize recorded abilities, he could use them directly.
It was as if the 'Archivist Devil' state was permanently active for him.
Didn't that mean his awakened abilities granted him some sort of additional perks?
Completely absorbed in his newfound insights, Lynn didn't notice the dagger-like glare Utaha was sending his way.
'Easy for him to say while sitting there comfortably!'
'This was nearly 2,000 pages long'
The thought of her bleak future filled with endless copying made the light in Utaha's eyes completely fade.
Why did it have to be a Archivist Devil?!
Ah such deep resentment
Rias looked at Utaha, slightly worried. "Is she really okay?"
Lynn noticed Utaha's pitiful expression and couldn't help but chuckle before turning to Rias.
"Miss Rias, does this book contain any spells related to automatic writing?"
Utaha's head snapped up, her eyes brimming with desperate hope as she stared at Rias.
"There is one."
Rias nodded and thought for a moment before adding, "I believe it's around page 130."
Rustle
The sound of frantic page-turning filled the air.
Seeing this, Lynn took another sip of tea, content with his good deed.
He really was too kindhe simply couldn't bear to see his servant suffer!
"Found it!" Utaha exclaimed in delight.
Rias smiled at her reaction and said, "This spell is fairly simple. If you want, I can give you some guidance while you learn it."
Utaha flashed her a polite smile. "Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary."
She bowed her head once more and resumed writing in the Devil's Grimoire.
Rias blinked in surprise before glancing at Lynn.
Didn't they ask about the spell to make copying easier?
Why is she still writing it out by hand?
"All done!"
Utaha set her pen down, stretched, and then activated her magic with a look of anticipation.
Buzz
The Devil's Grimoire suddenly radiated a dazzling light!
On the page where 'Auto Writing' was recorded, a small white magic circle emerged.
A delicate white quill materialized in midair.
'It worked!'
Utaha cheered inwardly.
It was real magic!
Even though it was just a minor spell, it was still enough to make her excited.
"This is"
Rias' eyes narrowed slightly.
Indeed, it was the 'Auto Writing' spell.
Did she master it just from copying it down? Or was the key factor the act of transcribing itself?
And that strange Grimoire.
Rias had many thoughts racing through her mind as her eyes gleamed with curiosity. She then smiled and praised, "I didn't expect Utaha-san to master 'Auto Writing' so quickly. Lynn-san's servant is quite remarkable."
Then, with a subtle shift in tone, she continued, "If I remember correctly, Lynn-san's residence is quite far from Kuoh Town."
"There's a teleportation spell on page 777. How about learning it now and setting up a marker here? That way, traveling will be more convenient."
Utaha's performance had piqued Rias' interest.
She wanted to see whether Utaha's quick mastery was due to exceptional talent or something else entirely.
The teleportation spell on page 777 was a standard Underworld technique, but its difficulty rivaled some noble bloodline-exclusive magic.
Even she had spent a significant amount of time mastering it.
She didn't believe Utaha could learn it in such a short span.
Lynn immediately saw through her intentions, but he didn't interfere. In fact, he even encouraged it. "Go! Utaha."
Despite only being with him for a little over a day, Utaha already understood what Lynn was implying.
She flipped the book to page 777.
Without hesitation, the white quill started recording.
Rias didn't have to wait long.
As soon as the quill stopped, Utaha, following Lynn's signal, activated her magic.
Buzz
A massive purple magic circle, dozens of times larger than before, appeared above the Devil's Grimoire!
Its intricate runes were enough to make one's head spin.
At least, Utaha had no idea what they meant.
But that didn't mattershe didn't need to understand them!
This was the power of the Archivist Devil!
Rias stared at the magic circle, momentarily stunned.
Her eyes reflected utter disbelief.
'She actually mastered it?'
'And in such a short amount of time??'
Even Akeno and Koneko were drawn in.
As Rias' servants, they were well aware of how difficult this spell was.
A newly reincarnated Devil, with no prior exposure to the supernatural world, had managed to grasp a high-difficulty spell in mere moments.
If this was pure talent, it would be considered heaven-defying.
But clearly, Utaha hadn't 'learned' the spell in the traditional sense.
Rias' gaze fell on the Devil's Book, a smirk forming on her lips. "What an interesting ability."
"Transcription? Or perhaps Record and Replicate?"
"As long as she records knowledge in that book, she can use it."
Lynn clapped. "As expected of the esteemed heiress of the Gremory familyfiguring out Utaha's ability so quickly."
"Let me formally introduce you: Archivist Devil, Kasumigaoka Utaha."
"Archivist Devil" Rias murmured before remarking, "A fitting title."
Taking a deep breath, she asked, "I wonder, Lynn-san, just how far this ability can go?"
Lynn propped his chin on his hands and smirked. "The limit, huh? I'm not entirely sure. Why don't you test it out yourself?"
A mere book on magic techniques wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him.
Time to show off, Rias.
.
.
.
Magic Restoration?
"I see... So that's why you had Utaha-san showcase her ability?"
Rias finally understood, casting a complicated look at Lynn.
Lynn wore a smug expression, as if saying, "You got me."
A mere common magic technique wasn't nearly enough to satisfy him.
He had flipped through that black-covered book earlier.
Too much theoretical knowledge.
A lot of repeated contentlong-winded and tedious.
As for the magic spells inside, most were basic, like "Auto Writing".
The most valuable one was probably "Teleportation Magic"
But there were barely any powerful, wide-range, or highly practical spells.
Since he was already here, Lynn naturally wanted to score some high-level skills.
So when he noticed Rias's growing curiosity about Utaha's ability, he seized the opportunity to push things further.
Might as well take a shotwho knows what he could get?
To be honest, Rias had taken the bait completely.
She was genuinely curious about how far Utaha's "Archivist Devil" ability could go.
With a helpless smile, Rias sighed. "Alright, you win."
"Akeno, bring me the 'Lightning Magic' scroll."
"Yes, President." Akeno didn't hesitate.
She never questioned Rias's decisions.
"Lightning Magic."
Rias slid a parchment scroll toward Lynn. "This is an Ultimate-class spell, the most advanced magic I currently possess."
Lightning?
Lynn casually glanced at Akeno.
If he remembered correctly, her specialty was lightning-based magic.
Rias was really offering up something precious.
Lynn unrolled the scroll and skimmed through it.
Yeah, he had no clue what it meant.
Instantly losing interest, he handed it off to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Your turn, Utaha-beast."
This time, Utaha didn't even react to his nickname. She eagerly took the scroll.
"Whoa!"
Ultimate-class magic!
Just the name alone sounded powerful!
She was seriously impressed with Lynn now.
In just a few words, he got the devil princess to hand over an Ultimate-class spell!
Suppressing her excitement, she opened the scroll.
Dense, incomprehensible text swam before her eyes, making her dizzy.
Yeah... No idea what any of this means...But she knew exactly what to do.
Just copy it!
As she transcribed, Rias explained what Ultimate-class magic meant.
In simple terms, it referred to spells capable of unleashing power on par with a Maou.
"Done!"
Utaha stared at the freshly written text in her Devil's Grimoire, eager to try it out.
She instinctively began channeling magic
"Wait!"
Rias's eye twitched, stopping her just in time.
"Lightning Magic is too destructive. Let's move outside first."
She had nearly witnessed the destruction of the Occult Research Club.
Realizing her mistake, Utaha awkwardly laughed. "Uh... sorry."
Rias shook her head. "It's fine." She then led the way outside.
Behind the Occult Research Club, in an open space.
Utaha's Devil's Grimoire floated in front of her, pages flipping rapidly with a flurry of rustling sounds.
"Lightning Strike!"
Utaha called out firmly.
The pages of the Grimoire froze on a specific spell.
A one-meter-wide blue magic circle formed in the air.
Crackle!
Without hesitation, a thick blue lightning boltabout the size of an oak treeblasted forward!
BOOM!!
The lightning struck the ground, leaving behind a one-meter-wide crater.
