Rias looked at the pink hearts in Yuma Amano's eyes and strongly doubted if it would be once or a billion times.
Ultimately, whether the little Akira provided its essence was entirely up to her to determine.
To prevent any unexpected complications with Ethan's body, Rias decided to take her time with her bath, keeping an eye on Yuma Amano to prevent her from over-extracting.
After Grayfia returned to the Devil world, the fact and reason for Azazel's death quickly spread. Ethan also began to be the focus of attention for various factions and powerhouses.
This attention wasn't solely due to Azazel's death, but primarily because he was identified as the successor to the contemporary Red Dragon Emperor.
The appearance of the successor to any of the Thirteen Longinus always drew attention.
Due to the deep-seated rivalry between the Red Dragon Emperor and the Vanishing Dragon, their successors were particularly regarded by all races.
The wheel of fate, which should have been set in motion by Issei Hyoudou, began to turn again in a different manner due to the world's self-correction.
Meanwhile, the Fallen Angels were highly dissatisfied with the Devils' response, but when Grayfia released the news that Ethan had used the Juggernaut Drive and was currently in a coma, the Fallen Angels, however unhappy, could only temporarily restrain themselves.
Unless they wished to ignite another war, which the Angel faction would be more than happy to see.
Of course, since Azazel was responsible for his own downfall and was slain by his juniors, the Devil side still secretly offered the Fallen Angels some benefits to quell the situation.
Also, because of this incident, the date for the Three Factions Conference was finally firmly set.
Having already suffered heavy losses from the war, the various factions did not want to see such a situation happen again. Every Devil King-level powerhouse was not only a top combatant but also an excellent genetic resource.
Excellent next generations were essential for the prosperity and strength of a race.
In mid-April, as the weather in Tokyo began to warm, the Azazel incident completely subsided.
The Fallen Angels in the Grand Church shamefully departed from Kuoh Town. The Grand Church, which had repeatedly been used as a Fallen Angel base, was also completely destroyed during the search conducted by Yuuto Kiba's group.
On the tenth day of Ethan's 'coma,' Grayfia visited the Occult Research Club again.
Rias, having been notified in advance, summoned all her servants, awaiting the silver-haired beauty's investigation results.
"Lady Rias, are there still no signs of Lord Akira waking up?"
"No." Rias shook her head. For the past ten days, she had been by Ethan's side almost constantly, even sleeping next to him.
"There are three ways to wake Lord Akira..."
Grayfia mused for a moment, then slowly said, "The first is to find powerhouses of the Dragon God level, or several God-level powerhouses, to temporarily break the seal from the outside in a joint effort. Once Lord Akira's soul and consciousness are freed, the seal can be reapplied."
Rias's expression darkened. Dragon God level powerhouses were virtually impossible to find, and while there were God-level powerhouses among the Devils, asking several to come at once was practically impossible.
"What about the remaining two solutions?"
The silver-haired beauty slowly replied, "I'm not certain if the remaining methods will definitely succeed."
"As long as there is a sliver of possibility, we must try." Rias said with unyielding determination.
Grayfia nodded. "The second method is to try to awaken the Red Dragon Emperor and have him voluntarily push the seal open. If Lord Akira's soul and consciousness are not dormant, he should be able to get out immediately."
Awakening the Red Dragon Emperor was not entirely difficult, but... not difficult...
Rias was momentarily stumped on how to do that.
The silver-haired beauty continued, "There is one more method: increasing Lord Akira's power. If Lord Akira can reach the Ultimate-Class Devil level, there might be a chance he can break free of the seal."
"Just Ultimate-Class Devil?" Akeno Himejima asked doubtfully. "Isn't that seal meant to contain a Heavenly Dragon?"
The others had similar confusion. Could such a powerful seal truly be broken by the power of an Ultimate-Class Devil?
Grayfia shook her head, explaining, "The seal is targeting the Red Dragon Emperor's soul. Lord Akira's soul was only affected by some residual sealing energy. And I did say only a possibility. It might require Satan-Class or even Devil King-level power to succeed."
Grayfia only mentioned this method because Ethan's current power was a hair's breadth away from Ultimate-Class Devil.
Since Ethan could not actively cultivate, a forced external push to break through the bottleneck was possible, but nothing more.
"Because of Lord Akira's unique ability, even if the breakthrough isn't completely successful, stimulating his soul and consciousness increases the possibility of the inside and outside cooperating to escape the seal."
The women nodded, a blush rising simultaneously on their flawless, delicate faces.
The silver-haired beauty was being subtle, but everyone present understood that the last method referred to Dual Cultivation.
"We will first attempt to see if we can awaken the Red Dragon Emperor."
Rias looked at Yuma Amano, Mittelt, and Kalawarner. "Because Dual Cultivation seems to have minimal effect, at least standard Dual Cultivation does little."
Yuma Amano's trio blushed and lowered their heads without speaking.
In the days that Ethan was 'unconscious,' the women took turns washing his body. Whenever it was the trio's turn, the bathroom was always filled with heart-pounding gasps of pleasure.
Yet, after all these days, no significant changes had been observed in Ethan. On the contrary, the three of them had become noticeably more charming and seductive, and their individual strength had grown steadily.
If this continued, Yuma Amano's trio might reach S-class even before Akeno Himejima.
"Lady Rias, if you wish to awaken the Red Dragon Emperor, I suggest you retrieve the original host." Grayfia advised, seeing that Rias had made her decision.
Rias had already informed Grayfia how Ethan acquired the Boosted Gear. The silver-haired beauty was surprised, and her estimation of Ethan increased further.
Compared to a typical successor, where luck accounts for half the success, Ethan's situation was rare, almost unheard of.
Yet, to gain the Red Dragon Emperor's approval under these circumstances proved Ethan's potential.
"Why should we find that boy?"
Rias was puzzled. Issei Hyoudou was now a completely ordinary person. She couldn't imagine how he could be helpful.
"As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. To fully grant the authority of the Longinus, it appears the Red Dragon Emperor's soul is completely dormant and will only awaken when Lord Akira reaches the Dragon God level."
Grayfia stated her theory. "Otherwise, after recovering from the injury, Lord Akira should have actively communicated with the Red Dragon Emperor. The only hope now is that the Red Dragon Emperor still has some residual soul fragments in the original host's body."
The Red Dragon Emperor's appearance that day was prompted by a sense of life danger to the host, and the stripping ritual was aimed at the Longinus, meaning it was aimed at him.
Currently, removing the gauntlet from Ethan's left hand is equivalent to stripping the Sacred Gear. Using that method again is clearly not possible.
Of course, even if it is stripped, without the Red Dragon Emperor's approval, anyone else who obtains it will simply possess an indestructible gauntlet.
"Yuuto, go bring Hyoudou-kun here."
Rias did not hesitate. While taking the Boosted Gear off Ethan's hand, she instructed Yuuto Kiba to fetch Issei Hyoudou.
Before Issei Hyoudou arrived, the women tried various methods.
For instance, intentionally attacking the Boosted Gear, taking turns injecting magic power into it, or constantly trying to communicate with the Longinus using spiritual power...
After much effort, aside from making the disguised gauntlet look wrinkled, nothing was achieved.
"President, I brought him."
"Thank you, Yuuto."
Issei Hyoudou's eyes sparkled at the sight of a room full of beautiful girls. He secretly fantasized about whether his time had finally come.
With great difficulty, he snapped out of his fantasy and asked nervously, "Um... Rias-senpai, what do you need me for?"
Rias glanced at Issei Hyoudou and asked, "Grayfia, what should we do next?"
"I'll handle it. Even if the Red Dragon Emperor does have a residual soul fragment, you wouldn't be able to detect it with your current power."
The silver-haired beauty curiously examined the original successor of the Red Dragon Emperor in this era. He had a nice personality, but seemed a little too simple-minded.
Compared to him, she still felt Ethan was far more suitable to inherit the Boosted Gear.
As the silver-haired beauty approached, Issei Hyoudou's gaze was completely captured by her surging bosom. Before he could activate his brain's save function, his vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.