Solar Lion and Weapon Nullification—
those were the two brand-new abilities he had gained this time.
Both skills were born from the Solar Authority.
On the surface, Izumi's parameters hadn't changed much.
But he knew better than anyone else—
Right now, his strength was effectively equal to two versions of his former self combined.
And this was only the result of a single Solar Authority.
If he could acquire a few more…
Izumi was confident that it wouldn't take long before he stepped into the realm of irregular Four-Digits, or even Three-Digits.
And if—just if—he managed to fuse Solar Authorities into all twelve of Avrora Florestina's familiars…
Then recreating a Little Garden–class world wouldn't be impossible.
At that thought, Izumi's heartbeat quickened.
By then, his power might even brush against the Two-Digit tier.
"…This is getting ridiculous," he muttered, excitement barely contained.
Meanwhile, Avrora stared at him blankly, her brain clearly lagging behind reality.
"My… my little liooon?!" she cried out.
"Where did my little lion go?!"
Her voice snapped Izumi back to his senses.
He looked at her helpless expression and sighed.
"Sorry, Avrora," Izumi said, scratching his cheek.
"Looks like your little lion doesn't want to leave anymore."
"But it's fine. I've returned the usage rights to you. Functionally, nothing's changed."
As he said that, Izumi suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Since he couldn't drink blood himself, this was the only workaround.
Avrora froze.
Her face turned bright red in an instant.
The moment the familiar's usage rights stabilized, she shoved Izumi away with all her strength.
"W–Wahhh! H-hentai!!!"
Izumi rolled his eyes and decided not to dignify that with a response.
However, Avrora quickly stopped blushing—
because something felt very wrong inside her body.
"Huh…? What's going on…?"
"Little lion, calm down!"
Mid-sentence, her expression turned pale.
She could feel it clearly now.
Lion of Gold had become more terrifying than any of her other familiars.
Not only that—it was completely outside her control.
Her remaining familiars instantly cowered, hiding deep within her, trembling and refusing to move.
Izumi noticed it too.
...
"So that's how it is," Izumi said calmly.
"Avrora, you're simply too weak now. You can't control Lion of Gold anymore."
He smirked slightly.
"Honestly, how embarrassing. You're disgracing the name of a Progenitor."
Despite his teasing, Izumi didn't hesitate.
He directly recalled Lion of Gold back into himself.
If he let it continue rampaging, it would eventually burst Avrora apart.
Her current level was only S+.
There was no way she could endure an SSS-class Lion of Gold.
Once the familiar was withdrawn, the unrest inside Avrora vanished immediately.
The overwhelming magical pressure dissipated as if it had never existed.
Avrora collapsed limply into Izumi's arms, staring at him in a daze.
This was the first time she had ever looked so utterly defeated.
Izumi gently patted her head.
"I'll keep it with me from now on," he said softly.
"When you need it, you can summon it over."
"The contract is already established. I won't return it to your body."
"Otherwise, your other familiars really will rebel."
Lion of Gold was no longer a familiar.
It was now a Star Beast.
A power Avrora simply couldn't control.
Even if she was its former master, it didn't matter.
Unless she herself obtained a Solar Authority, she would never be able to reclaim Lion of Gold.
And even then—
Izumi would still be able to control it.
The little lion now belonged to him completely.
Avrora was nothing more than its former owner.
Hearing this, her eyes instantly filled with tears.
"Wahhh… you're bullying me…"
"You stole my little lion…"
To her, each familiar was like a beloved pet.
And Izumi had just taken one away.
Of course she was going to cry.
Izumi, however, remained perfectly calm.
He pricked his finger, produced a drop of blood, and fed it to her mouth.
"I'm doing this for your own good," he said casually.
"From now on, you won't have to be afraid when you meet the other Progenitors."
"You can still summon the little lion. It's just being raised somewhere else."
"If anyone messes with you, just call it over and steamroll them."
"So relax, Avrora," he concluded.
"It's really not a big deal."
...
After a long session of shameless persuasion, Avrora finally calmed down.
What Izumi said wasn't wrong.
Even though Lion of Gold no longer resided inside her, she could still summon it.
And with that monster backing her up, no one would dare bully her anymore.
Not even—
Ophis.
Thinking that far, Avrora unconsciously straightened her back.
From today onward, she didn't have to fear Ophis anymore!
Watching the clumsy Progenitor get completely talked into it, Izumi finally let out a sigh of relief.
Good. Very good.
This way, if he obtained more Solar Authorities in the future, he could convince her to hand over her other familiars too.
Perfectly reasonable.
And if he ever got his hands on a Solar Authority suitable for Ophiuchus, he could always give that one back to her later.
Though… at that point, Avrora might end up as a Progenitor with no familiars at all.
Izumi's expression turned a little strange.
The Fourth Progenitor, swindled out of all her familiars—
If that story got out, people would laugh themselves to death.
Thankfully, no one really paid attention to this clumsy little vampire anyway.
She had zero ambition to conquer the world.
All she wanted was to eat, sleep until she woke naturally, and occasionally play around with others.
In a word—
Extremely laid-back.
Otherwise, with Izumi's backing and Lion of Gold alone, she really could have bulldozed her way through.
After all, standing behind her now were three SSS-class existences.
Ophis.
Izumi.
And Lion of Gold—now a Four-Digit Star Beast.
Anywhere she went, she could walk sideways without fear.
Izumi watched as the utterly shameless Progenitor ran over to Ophis to show off, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
She probably had no idea how terrifying the figures standing behind her really were.
Shaking his head, Izumi stood up and headed outside.
Seeing him leave, Avrora and Ophis hurriedly followed.
In the main hall, Hestia was playing around with the other girls when she noticed Izumi coming out—this time with two more little girls in tow.
Her eyes widened.
"Izumi-kun, who are these two?"
"Are they also going to explore the Dungeon?"
Her face lit up with excitement.
"That's great! I'll give them my Falna!"
She was genuinely curious—what kind of templates these two lolis had.
Meanwhile, Enju Aihara and the others happily ran over to Avrora and Ophis.
Izumi's expression instantly turned bizarre.
"…Give them your Falna?"
Are you kidding me?
Even if you drained yourself dry, you wouldn't be able to engrave a Falna on these two.