Sirzechs spent several minutes explaining the whole story.
"No matter who wins or loses, this duel will affect many things. To minimize the impact, I want to keep this duel a secret, preferably so that no one else knows."
"Ajuka, do you have a suitable venue that we can use?"
"You really know how to give me a difficult task." Ajuka sighed, feeling a headache.
Sirzechs was a genuine transcendent. As a companion who had grown up together, he knew his strength better than anyone.
As for Tatsuma, he was even more of a heavyweight.
When these two fought together, an ordinary Rating Game space simply couldn't withstand it.
"It seems I can only let you use my private training space."
"Thank you, Ajuka."
"It's nothing. After all, the reason I can be such a relaxed Satan is thanks to you."
Ajuka didn't mind, and took Sirzechs to a deep mountain outside the city, opening the entrance.
Entering the training ground entrance, the surrounding scenery instantly changed.
The deep mountains and forests disappeared, and Sirzechs arrived on a vast plain.
"I didn't expect you to train in private."
Glancing at the newly appeared pits and cracks on the plain, Sirzechs was a little surprised.
Ajuka shrugged, "Saying it's training isn't really accurate. It's mainly to test the effects of artificial Sacred Gears."
"Artificial Sacred Gear?"
Sirzechs thought for a moment and said, "I remember that seemed to be one of Azazel's research results."
Ajuka nodded. "After getting the research data from the Fallen Angels a few days ago, I tried to make one. The effect is pretty good. It can probably increase my strength by 30%, and it has room for optimization."
"30%?!"
Sirzechs was a little surprised after hearing this.
Just as Ajuka knew his strength, he also knew how strong Ajuka was. Being able to increase Ajuka's strength, this increase was already quite significant.
"Speaking of which, do you need a Sacred Gear?" Just then, Ajuka's voice sounded again.
"If I adjust it slightly, that Sacred Gear should be able to be lent to you. With an extra trump card in hand, you'll have a greater chance of defeating Tatsuma later."
"...Then I'll trouble you."
Sirzechs hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He took this battle very seriously. Whether it was for Soul Society or to improve his standing in Grayfia's heart, he didn't want to lose.
"It seems you're very serious."
Ajuka saw Sirzechs's thoughts and took out a phone-like device from his pocket.
Tapping it twice, he had Sirzechs inject demonic power and adjusted the Sacred Gear's frequency.
Half an hour later, Ajuka finished the adjustment, handed the phone to Sirzechs, and explained the usage and effects.
"This Sacred Gear is connected to the power of my Queen, Falak."
"Falak's body is connected to the Underworld, and contains immense energy."
"As long as you activate the Sacred Gear, you can resonate with Falak and gain an all-around boost."
"I understand."
Sirzechs understood the usage and accepted the phone.
At the same time, Grayfia's contact rang.
Sirzechs told her the coordinates and stood in place with Ajuka, waiting.
A minute later, the training ground entrance was opened, and Tatsuma and Grayfia walked in.
"Long time no see, Tatsuma." Sirzechs took the initiative to greet him.
"The last time we met was at the Three Factions Meeting. I didn't expect us to meet again in this way."
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to make a decision by dueling either."
Tatsuma raised his hand and summoned the Boosted Gear, entering the Trinity Balance Breaker state.
"You've really helped me out, Sirzechs. If it was just talking, I might not have been able to convince you."
"Same here."
Sirzechs no longer suppressed his aura, and vast, boundless Power of Destruction surged out.
Crimson demonic power enveloped Sirzechs, and his immense aura clashed head-on with Tatsuma's.
After that, Sirzechs took out the phone he had just received and tapped on it twice.
A dazzling light rose, and a set of black armor appeared on him, with a tail several meters long coiling and twisting behind the armor.
"Sacred Gear?"
Tatsuma raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
"This is an artificial Sacred Gear I just got from Ajuka to defeat you."
Sirzechs explained the origin of the Sacred Gear and simultaneously raised his hand to summon thousands of bullets.
"The so-called battle is about defeating the enemy by any means necessary. Tatsuma, don't blame me for being despicable."
The moment his words finished, Sirzechs launched his attack first, and the overwhelming bullets rained down with a roar.
Compared to ordinary demonic power bullets, these were composed of Sirzechs's Power of Destruction, possessing astonishing power.
Once hit head-on, even Satan-class powerhouses would be severely injured, on the verge of death.
Facing this terrifying blow, Tatsuma simply drew out Gram and swung it casually.
Bang!
A thousand-meter-long Destruction slash surged forward. After devouring all the bullets, it continued its momentum towards Sirzechs without diminishing.
"Hmm? This demonic power..."
Sirzechs's expression changed as he realized that the quality of Tatsuma's Power of Destruction was not inferior to his own in the slightest.
His figure flickered, dodging the attack, and Sirzechs changed direction to launch his own attack.
However, at this moment, a vast Time energy rose from Tatsuma, forming a giant barrier that covered the grassland.
Affected by the time barrier, Sirzechs's movement speed instantly decreased significantly. Correspondingly, Tatsuma, accelerated by Time energy, turned into an afterimage, appearing directly in front of him.
Seeing this, Sirzechs reacted immediately, unleashing the Power of Destruction on his body.
With a roar, the crimson demonic power turned into a destructive wave that rushed out in all directions.
"This kind of move is useless against me."
With a thought, Tatsuma activated Myriad Phenomenon Rejection, and a layer of golden light appeared in front of him.
Enduring the incoming Power of Destruction head-on, Tatsuma appeared in front of Sirzechs and swung a punch.
Boom!
Sirzechs turned into an afterimage, smashing a huge crater into the plain below and kicking up a large amount of dust.
But in the next instant, hundreds of red beams, as thin as threads, pierced through the dust and shot towards Tatsuma.
"You realized that dispersed Power of Destruction is useless against me, so you gathered the demonic power?"
Seeing the essence of these attacks at a glance, Tatsuma's expression remained unchanged.
Affected by the time barrier, the closer these destruction beams got to him, the slower they became. Walking through the destruction matrix as if taking a leisurely stroll, Tatsuma appeared in front of Sirzechs.
"Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!"
A series of mechanical sounds rang out, and a vast Time energy surged from Tatsuma.
Without any room to dodge, Sirzechs was hit head-on by this power.
Being inside the time barrier and affected by the enhanced Time energy, even though he was a transcendent-level being, his brain still inevitably experienced a brief blankness.
When he came back to his senses, Tatsuma had already appeared before him, the sword tip resting on his throat.
"...I lost."
Sirzechs was silent for a moment, retracting the demonic power on his body and giving up resistance.
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated Sirzechs and obtained the Gold trait: Power of Destruction.]
[Power of Destruction (Gold): Adds the destruction attribute to energy, greatly increasing destructive power.]
Power of Destruction?
Glancing at the newly acquired Gold trait, Tatsuma's expression became subtle.
Although he had encountered duplicate Purple traits and Red traits before, this was the first time he had gotten a duplicate Gold trait.
After lamenting his not-so-good luck, Tatsuma wasn't too disappointed either.
He was currently in need of traits to upgrade Origin Fruit. Having more Gold traits as materials was a good thing for him.
His gaze left the trait panel, and Tatsuma deactivated Balance Breaker and the time barrier.
Myriad Phenomenon Rejection was activated, and Sirzechs's injuries healed rapidly.
"Thank you."
Sirzechs thanked him, but a hint of helplessness was revealed in his eyes.
As early as the day of the Three Factions Conference, Sirzechs already knew that Tatsuma's strength was not inferior to his own. But he didn't expect that in just over ten days, Tatsuma had become even stronger.
Without even using Juggernaut Drive, he had defeated him who was using an artificial Sacred Gear.
Recalling the sense of powerlessness during the battle just now, Sirzechs, who had been suppressed the entire time, couldn't help but sigh.
Sirzechs asked, "Tatsuma, how in the world do you train?"
Tatsuma thought for a moment and said, "With weights and gravity, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run to finish, and repeat."
Sirzechs: "?"
"Are you kidding?"
Tatsuma shrugged, "No, that's how I usually train. It's up to you whether you believe it or not."
Sirzechs: "..."
I want to believe you, but do you hear what you're saying?
Sirzechs sighed in his heart again, thinking that Tatsuma didn't want to reveal his secrets.