Tatsuma said, "Grayfia, you're worrying too much. Power isn't absolute, but in your situation, it can solve most problems."
"Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. If you were to resist using Restia's power, would the Devil higher-ups, led by the Great King faction, really continue to cause trouble?"
"...I don't know." Grayfia replied after a moment of silence.
She truly didn't know the result of resisting to the end because she had never done so. Restia's power is extremely dangerous, even a slight oversight could trigger widespread chaos. To avoid unnecessary sacrifices, Grayfia had been reducing the number of times she used Restia.
"Actually, the answer is quite obvious."
Just then, Tatsuma's voice sounded again.
"Grayfia, let me ask you. Within the Devil ranks, who values bloodline heritage the most?"
"That's right, it's the Devil higher-ups of the Old Satan faction." Tatsuma answered his own question.
"Compared to the Four Great Satans who ascended through power, it's the Devil higher-ups who pride themselves on their bloodline and gain strength and status from it, who value bloodline heritage the most."
"So, here's the question: what kind of situation would lead to the discontinuity or even loss of bloodline heritage?"
Grayfia: "..."
What kind of situation would lead to the discontinuity of bloodline?
War, of course.
The Great War a thousand years ago caused a large number of the Seventy-Two Pillars Devil clans to be wiped out, severing their bloodlines.
The Devil civil war centuries ago also saw the annihilation of Seventy-Two Pillars and unofficial Devil clans, severing their bloodlines.
Thinking of these past examples, Grayfia couldn't help but waver slightly.
Had she really done something wrong?
As Tatsuma and Restia said, was resisting with power the right approach?
As a multitude of thoughts flashed through her mind, Grayfia's pupils flickered slightly, and she was somewhat shaken.
Just then, a click sounded.
The office door was opened, and Sho, with a pair of dark circles under his eyes, walked in quickly.
"Leader, good morning."
"Morning, you look like you haven't had enough sleep."
"...Just a little."
After all, what decent person comes to work at four in the morning?
Suppressing the growing drowsiness in his mind, Sho asked, "Leader, is there anything you need me to do today?"
Tatsuma said, "There's a big mission this afternoon. Call everyone who can be mobilized, the more the better."
"Also, open the warehouse and the underground cells. I'm going to clear out some inventory."
"Yes."
After Sho replied, he turned and left the office, walking towards the outside.
"Let's go, together."
Tatsuma called out to Grayfia, leading her to Akatsuki's warehouse.
The steel gate inscribed with formations slowly opened to both sides, and rows of shelves appeared in sight.
"Inside here are the Hollows, Cursed Spirits and evil spirits sealed away by Akatsuki members."
Taking down a sealed container from the shelf, Tatsuma gave Grayfia a brief introduction.
"Your first task today is to clear out all the Hollows, Cursed Spirits and evil spirits in this warehouse without damaging the sealed containers."
"I understand." Grayfia nodded slightly.
Helping to clear out spirits and the like was something she had promised Tatsuma the previous night. Keeping her word, Grayfia took the sealed container from Tatsuma's hand and opened the lid.
With the seal released, a Cursed Spirit radiating an ominous aura left the container and appeared on the ground not far away. However, before the Cursed Spirit could act, a bullet materialized and engulfed it.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Green Trait: Solid.]
Not bad.
Listening to the system prompt in his ear, a look of satisfaction flashed in Tatsuma's eyes. It proved that the power-leveling plan was feasible.
Leaving the warehouse for Grayfia to handle, Tatsuma parted ways with her and went to the underground prison.
"Leader, I have something to report."
Opening the door to the underground prison, Sho, who had been walking ahead, suddenly spoke.
"Two days ago, when we expelled LCO with the Lion King Agency, we captured a special prisoner."
"A special prisoner?"
"Yes, over here."
Sho led Tatsuma to a single cell not far away and opened the door.
Tatsuma walked inside, and a young girl lying on the bed came into view.
The girl had fair skin, delicate features, and short hair, but her aura was very weak.
Leading Tatsuma to the bedside, Sho began to introduce her identity.
"Her name is Yuuma Tokoyogi. She is the daughter produced by the LCO leader, Aya Tokoyogi, through asexual reproduction."
"In a terrorist attack a few days ago, Yuuma led a team to attack the Lion King Agency's prison and rescued Aya, who was trapped inside."
"After that, while recovering her strength, Aya abandoned Yuuma."
"If our people hadn't arrived in time, Yuuma would have likely died on the spot. But even so, we still couldn't completely heal her."
"Perhaps the blow of betrayal was too heavy. Yuuma's mind is in a state of self-isolation. No matter what methods we use, we cannot wake her from her sleep."
"That means you still have a lot to learn."
After understanding the whole story, Tatsuma raised his fist and smashed it down.
Bang!
Yuuma, who was lying on the bed, was smashed into the ground.
Bone-deep pain spread throughout her body, and Yuuma, who was still unconscious, let out a scream.
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated Yuuma Tokoyogi and obtained the Purple Trait: Witch Bloodline.]
[Witch Bloodline (Purple): Training effect +400%, Magic power significantly increased, Magic talent significantly increased.]
A Purple Trait, not bad.
Glancing at the newly acquired trait, Tatsuma looked down at Yuuma, who was severely injured and on the verge of death.
The next second, a massive amount of natural energy gathered in mid-air, enveloping Yuuma's body. With a large amount of life force injected, Yuuma's injuries began to heal rapidly.
A moment later, Yuuma opened her eyes, her face filled with confusion and the fear of lingering dread.
Seeing this, Tatsuma nodded slightly. He didn't communicate with her but instead looked at Sho first.
"Did you learn?"
"Le... Learned." Sho replied, dumbfounded.
Although he had known Tatsuma was brutal for a long time, the other party had once again broken through his bottom line today.
Having lived for so long, this was the first time Sho had known that someone could be saved like this.
"It's good that you learned."
Tatsuma didn't pay attention to Sho's reaction and looked at Yuuma, who was still in a daze.
"Do you know who I am?"
"...The leader of Akatsuki, Red Dragon Emperor Tatsuma."
Yuuma stared at Tatsuma for two seconds before giving her answer.
As a powerhouse who had risen in the past two months, various forces had investigated Tatsuma's information.
In order to save Aya, Yuuma had read a lot of information about Japan's powerhouses before her operation. Among them, Tatsuma, who was based in Kuoh Town, was arguably the most prominent.
However, Yuuma didn't expect to not encounter Tatsuma during the terrorist attack, but instead encounter him after being abandoned.
"Was that punch just now from you?"
"Of course."
"Why did you save me? Wouldn't it have been better to just kill me?"
"You want to die?" Tatsuma asked back.
At the same time, a terrifying aura rose from him. As long as Yuuma gave a positive answer, he would deal with her without hesitation.
Seeing this, Yuuma was silent for a moment, then shook her head at Tatsuma. "I don't want to die. I still have something I want to ask my mother... Aya."
"That's good. I can give you a chance."
Tatsuma took out a contract and said, "As long as you sign your name on this and dedicate everything you have to me, I will grant you new power and the opportunity to defeat Aya."
"...I understand."
Yuuma was silent for a moment and reached out to take the contract.
As a clone of Aya, her purpose of birth was to save Aya. But after saving Aya, she was ruthlessly betrayed and abandoned by her.
From that moment on, she had already lost everything. Whether it was the meaning of life or future goals, they were no longer important to Yuuma.
At this moment, she just wanted to find Aya and defeat her personally.
After that...
Various thoughts flashed through her mind, and Yuuma wrote her name on the contract.
"Signed."
"Mm, I see it."
Tatsuma took back the contract, opened his Trait inventory, and chose a Vampire Bloodline.
That's right, he wanted to try the Vampire Bloodline plus his own blood again to see if he could exploit the Harem King trait bug. However, unlike last time's immediate action, he planned to slow down the pace this time and bestow some favors.
After granting the Vampire Bloodline to Yuuma, Tatsuma also gave her an Akatsuki nameplate.
"This nameplate has a mark I left on it. After you find Aya, inject energy into it, and I will receive the message and teleport over directly."
"I understand." Yuuma accepted the nameplate.
"I look forward to your performance."
Tatsuma looked at Sho. "From today onwards, Yuuma is a member of Akatsuki."
"The subsequent search for Aya within Akatsuki will be entirely handled by her."
"Yes."
"Let's go, we'll clear out the cells first."