The teleportation circle flared to life deep within Grigori, light shining and hovering until Sho and the four Fallen Angels materialized at the center.
The moment they appeared, Dohnaseek, Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt dropped to their knees, coughing and gasping for air. In seconds, armed guards surrounded them, weapons drawn and wings spread in warning. The four were immediately restrained.
"Thanks for the help, Sho," came a familiar, laid-back voice.
Azazel stepped forward from the shadows, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement and just a hint of disappointment.
Raynare instantly straightened, her expression turning desperate. "Azazel-sama! I was only completing my mission! This man—he forcibly dragged us here!"
Sho crossed his arms, saying nothing.
Azazel let out a short laugh that quickly died, replaced by a sharp glare. "I told him to do that ," he said, his tone suddenly cold. "After the mess you've caused. Do you even realize your actions could've started a war with the Devils?"
Raynare's wings trembled. "But Azazel-sama, I swear—I was just completing the mission you gave me!"
Azazel arched a brow. "Oh really? And what was that mission again?"
"To keep an eye on that Issei kid," Raynare replied quickly, "but he—he was a human with a Sacred Gear! He could have become a threat to us. So I thought it was safer to eliminate him before that happened."
Azazel sighed, rubbing his temple in exasperation. "You were told to observe, not play god. That kind of reckless move almost dragged us into a conflict we can't afford right now."
As Azazel gave a flick of his hand, the guards moved in immediately. The sound of chains clinking echoed through the hall as the four Fallen Angels were restrained.
"Lock all of them up," Azazel ordered flatly.
"Please, Azazel-sama, wait! I was only doing—" Raynare's voice broke into a plea, but her words were drowned out by the sound of footsteps as the guards dragged her away.
Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, and Mittelt didn't even try to defend her.
"It was all her idea!" Dohnaseek snapped.
"She dragged us into this mess!" Kalawarner added bitterly.
Mittelt crossed her arms, glaring. "Yeah, blame her! I told them this was stupid from the start!"
Their voices faded as the group was taken down the corridor, leaving Sho and Azazel alone in the quiet chamber.
Azazel exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks for helping me out, kid. That could've turned into a real headache."
Sho shrugged. "No problem."
Azazel's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me—do the Devil sisters in Kuoh know anything about this incident?"
Sho shook his head. "No. They don't."
"Good," Azazel muttered, relief flickering across his face. "The last thing I need right now is some pointless brawl between Fallen Angels and Devils. It'd just waste everyone's time... especially mine."
Afterall he Busy with Sacred Gears so Getting into fights right now is just a waste of time.
Sho remained silent, waiting for what came next.
Azazel crossed his arms and looked at him thoughtfully. "By the way, how's the Sacred Gear working? Any instability? Feedback? Strange energy surges?"
Sho shook his head again. "No. It's running perfectly fine."
"I see…" Azazel said, a spark of interest lighting up his expression. "In that case—how about we have a little spar? Just a quick one. It will also be able to collect some data From the Sacred Gear."
Sho blinked, tilting his head slightly. "A spar?"
Azazel grinned, his wings spreading slightly. "Don't worry, kid. I'll go easy on you… probably."
"If you're going easy on me, then it's best not to spar," Sho said calmly. "I want to see how strong the head of the Fallen Angels really is. It'll also help me understand how big the gap between us is."
Azazel gave a thumbs-up and said, "Follow me."
They entered a closed, bright white chamber. Sho stood on one side, Azazel on the other.
Sho activated his Sacred Gear, X, and launched the same move as before — releasing a torrent of water that quickly began to fill the chamber. Within some seconds, it was completely flooded, yet Azazel stood in the same spot, completely unfazed. He snapped his fingers, and a magic circle appeared in front of him, instantly absorbing every drop of water.
Azazel stood there with a relaxed smile.
Sho didn't stop. He formed several water balls and fired them rapidly, but each attack was blocked by Azazel's shield, which appeared in mere milliseconds.
Sho could tell his current level of attacks wouldn't do much, but he still wanted to test a bit more.
This time, he used his Water Ball Trap technique, completely surrounding Azazel in a massive sphere of water. But Azazel only smiled, released a wave of his energy, and the water dispersed instantly.
"Kid, don't be too disappointed," Azazel said. "Your attacks are actually strong. You just need a little more time, practice, and experience to direct them properly. Your style is too straightforward — too easy to dodge."
He wanted to guide Sho. He saw potential — Sho was growing, just needed more time. As for how he had defeated the four Fallen Angels, Azazel knew it was mostly because they let their guard down and got subdued easily. In a real battle, everything was fair. Sho had good instincts and strategy, just needed more time to refine them.
"Sho, let's exchange some hand to hand blows," Azazel suggested, offering a sparring match.
Sho agreed. He sprinted forward, aiming a direct punch. After all, Azazel was experienced — even if Sho tried to feint, it wouldn't work. A straightforward attack would show how he truly fared.
Azazel caught his fist easily and threw him back.
Sho followed up with a flying kick aimed at Azazel's neck, but again, he was thrown aside. He even tried a spinning kick he'd seen in a manhwa, but it was blocked effortlessly
But sho kept on Using moves from Martial Art's afterall fighting someone stronger than yourself always give you reality check and make you realize you are still weak and Pathetic.
By now, Sho knew — the only way he could even land a hit on Azazel was to go into Superman mode.
But Superman Mode is Like a Trump card For Sho so Revealing it unnecessarily isn't a good choice.
"Okay, kid, I think that's enough for today. We can spar some more next time," Azazel said as mentioned some points.
"But here's a pointer—your moves look like you're copying what you've seen. I'll admit, they're perfect copies, but you've never actually trained in them. That's why your attacks lacks essence. I'm not saying you can't copy others, but if you do, make it yours completely. Otherwise, your attacks will always lack true power."
Sho blinked, stunned. How the hell did he know? He did copied moves from real life, some from manhwa, and some from anime — yet Azazel saw right through it.
"Also, Sho, can I ask you to leave your Sacred Gear here for a day?" Azazel said. "I want to check it manually — see if its spell modifications are working properly."
Sho, without hesitation, took out his Sacred Gear and handed it to Azazel.
As they were Conversing Sho asked for a Mental related type magic book, like Erasing memories and replacing it with Another something like that.
After their talk Azazel handed him a basic magic book — not an advanced one why? Because The first core principle of learning any new type of magic, was to start with the basics.
And the second core principle: not everyone can reach the highest level in every branch of magic Since learning the Principles of Different branch of magic takes time and Effort .
Also People are born with different natural affinities, and it's best to focus on the one that suits you naturally instead of getting greedy and trying to master everything and wasting time.
But for Sho, things were different. After leaving Grigori, he teleported back to his warehouse and placed the magic book into the Shop, listing its price at fifty gold coins—then immediately bought it again.
Listing and buying it again was simple. Since the magic book originally came from the Shop, it was considered a system item. And when it came to system-related magic books, the knowledge was instantly absorbed into his mind, saving him the trouble of learning the old-fashioned way turning every page and reading carefully— Understanding every principle of it.
One Touch of magic book on sho head and all knowledge absorbed immediately.
Back in Grigori.
Azazel stood alone when a voice came from behind.
"He's decent," the voice said.
"Oh, Vali. When did you get here?" Azazel asked.
"When you were exchanging blows," Vali replied calmly.
"By the way, Vali," Azazel said, his tone shifting slightly, "I told you to investigate a group known as the Khaos Brigade. Did you find anything?"
He had assigned Vali to look into the group, which seemed to be forming with members from various supernatural factions — a mix that worried Azazel.
"Currently, no information," Vali replied, his expression unreadable.
"I see. Keep investigating," Azazel said.
For a brief moment, he was surprised. It wasn't like Vali to take this long or come back empty-handed. Something felt off, but he brushed the thought aside as they went their separate ways.
Once alone, Vali muttered quietly, "Sorry, Azazel... but I have my own goal." Then, he vanished.
.....
It was nighttime in Kuoh, but currently a bright sun in the sky above Amazon forest, illuminating the waterfall and the surrounding forest in it's sharp rays.
The sound of fists striking stone echoed through the area — Sho was continuously punching a massive rock. His knuckles were bleeding, his skin torn. As his strikes grew faster, a dull crack came from his knuckles.
As for Why?
After returning from Grigori and spending some time at the warehouse, Sho couldn't shake off a deep disappointment in himself. He had never felt this weak before. Every fight he'd ever been in this world, he'd always dominated easily.
He knew he hadn't used Kaiō-ken during the spar, but even if he had, it wouldn't have been enough to push Azazel back. Superman Mode might've done it — but that was his trump card, something that's need to be used in urgent Situations.
The truth was, in his normal state, Sho was still pathetically weak.
Determined not to waste another moment, he called his mom and told her he'd be staying at a friend's house for the night. Then, he came to this isolated place — deep in the Amazon forest, surrounded by trees and a roaring waterfall.
Sho didn't want to waste this surge of Night-time motivation. He wanted to use it — to burn it into fuel for his training.
With each strike, he felt a burning sensation in his knuckles — bones cracking, skin splitting, and pain biting deeper with every punch. But he didn't stop.
Sho gritted his teeth, swallowing the pain. He didn't know how many times he had hit the rock by now, but the blood dripping from his hands said enough about his determination.
After a while, he stopped and took out a healing potion. One gulp, and his wounds and bones instantly mended.
His thoughts drifted back to his previous life — to the time when he spent most of his days watching anime, reading novels, and going through manhwas. After losing his manhood, he had fallen into depression, and those things were what pulled him out of it. Shows like Dragon Ball Z had given him the motivation to learn martial arts, and he'd joined academies for boxing, taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu, and muay thai.
But he never advanced beyond the basics. Not because he feared pain or lacked discipline — but because of money. Injuries like black eyes, a fractured shin bone, and swollen thighs from kicks kept him out of training for weeks. Healing took time and cost money.
So, he stayed at a basic level. But he had always watched closely — how professionals moved, how they fought. Some styles weren't practical in real battles, but imagination had no limits.
Now, in this magical world, that limitation was gone. With healing potions at his disposal, he could push himself as hard as he wanted — even perform techniques that once only existed in manhwas like Lookism—styles like Aikido and make them for real.
He continued his brutal training — breaking bones through kicks, punches, Running, and jumps, then healing them again with potions. Each cycle pushed his limits a little further. By now, only a few hours remained before morning would arrive in Japan.
Sho's entire body glistened with sweat, his heart pounding hard, but he felt satisfied. This kind of training was exactly what he needed to grow stronger. Yet he knew it still wasn't enough. Breaking and healing bones would toughen him, but not to the level he wanted — he needed something more, something close to Superman's strength.
"System," Sho said, breathing heavily, "you told me my Kryptonian Mode is linked to my Superman suit — my own imagination's manifestation. So if I wanted to change it slightly, would that be possible?"
> It is possible, Host. Since the Superman suit is your own imaginative manifestation, you can completely destroy it and create a new version — or even choose not to have one at all.
However, I strongly suggest you don't. That manifestation isn't just a costume — it's a bridge between you and your Kryptonian power. It helps you stabilize the transformation and control it more easily. In short, it acts as your connection to the source of that strength.
The suit also allows you to switch Kryptonian Mode on and off at will. If you remove or destroy it, you'll remain in Kryptonian form permanently — and the only way to turn it off would be by exhausting your solar energy completely.
Also, if the host loses the on–off control of Kryptonian Mode, the host will need to empty the stored solar energy to turn off Kryptonian mode and then train further to increase overall capacity for solar energy and Using this method might be Too time consuming and will become a little problematic.
Sho understood exactly what the System meant. The on–off mode of his Kryptonian power was actually saving him a lot of time. For example, if he wanted to train while in Kryptonian form, it wouldn't work — his body was already too strong.
He'd have to exhaust all his stored solar energy just to return to human form before he could train properly again to increase his solar capacity. Of course, this entire problem wouldn't have existed if the System's rewards didn't come with penalties but what can he even do about it except for going with flow.
But then, an idea suddenly sparked in Sho's mind. He looked down at his hand.
"What if I just release a tiny bit of Kryptonian power… without wearing the suit? Just a little."
He focused, concentrating on the thought. Immediately, his hand began to glow with a faint blue hue — and within seconds, it started shifting toward the form of his Superman suit.
"No, no… that's too much. Please, listen to me," Sho muttered to himself, trying again. But the same thing happened. The transformation started fully, no matter how small he tried to make it.
That raised a new question. Why was the Superman suit's manifestation so easy, but this isn't?
Then it hit him.
"Superman," Sho whispered. "It's easy because I've seen it — I can visualize it perfectly. That's why I could manifest it so naturally. So all I need… is another visualization."
He closed his eyes, searching for an image that could guide him — a source he could use to anchor this new manifestation. Then it came to him: the image of Izuku Midoriya. He remembered how, in the beginning, Midoriya couldn't use the full power of One for All and had to channel just a tiny bit — first through a finger, then through his hand.
Sho opened his eyes, and his solar energy began to react. The particles around him shimmered as his normal cells started to shift. Blue and red sparks flickered faintly around his hand, and his veins pulsed with raw power and This time Superman suit didn't appear.
"Here it goes," Sho said quietly.
He drove his fist forward — and the massive boulder in front of him shattered into countless fragments, scattering in every direction.
[Ding!]
>Congratulations, Host, for creating a new manifestation of Kryptonian Power.
This mode allows you to channel your power into specific body parts and release it at will.
Also Host Capacity for Solar Energy has increased by 50.
Current charge percentage
[////////////////////] 150%
Daily Task Completed.
Reward: 2 Gacha Tickets.
....