"Rest well."
Vitan gently placed a kiss on Asia's forehead and left a pre-recorded magic note by the bedside before quietly leaving the villa in Kuoh Town.
In the uninhabited wilderness—the very place where Vitan had fought Vali the previous day.
All around, the scene was a total mess.
Apparently, Sona hadn't yet had time to repair the damage to the area.
"Why has Master suddenly decided to end our time of rest?"
The one following behind Vitan was none other than Radix, now in her human form.
She folded her hands over her stomach, her face filled with confusion.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
Up until yesterday, there hadn't been the slightest sign. But this morning, upon waking, Vitan had told her directly that he now planned to search for the fragments she had lost.
"There's no reason—just because I'm pissed off."
Since there was no one else around, Vitan dropped his usual calm mask and spoke through gritted teeth.
Did anyone really believe he wasn't bothered by yesterday's defeat to Vali?
He knew full well he couldn't beat Vali. He had mentally prepared for that before the fight even started.
But what were his expectations? At the very least, he wanted to force Vali into using his Juggernaut Drive.
And what actually happened?
Vali, already at the level of a Maou, didn't even need to go that far. It was hard enough just to break his defenses.
And even after putting everything he had into breaking through them, he was taken down and seriously injured in a single counterattack.
The truth is—Vitan was extremely proud.
In his eyes, Vali had only reached the level of a Super Devil because of the Vanishing Dragon's power.
Compared to that, his own Radix—a legendary-level grimoire—was far superior to any so-called Sacred Gear.
With his wide range of diverse and powerful abilities, even as an Ultimate-Class Devil, he believed he could rival Vali's Balance Breaker.
But the result had stabbed his pride like a dagger.
Admit that he was inferior to Vali?
If it had been before—before he obtained Radix—he could have accepted that.
After all, Sacred Gears were unreasonable things in this world.
But now, after gaining Radix? Admit that he's weaker?
Absolutely not.
The only reason he was weaker was simply because he hadn't developed Radix's full potential yet.
There was no time to continue lounging around in leisure.
According to the plot, the Three Faction Meeting would begin soon, and Vali would announce his defection during it.
That would be his chance—his moment to reclaim his honor.
All he needed to do now was use this time to furiously improve himself.
Then, at the upcoming Three Faction Meeting, he would defeat him—viciously and thoroughly.
Of course, this wasn't something he could say to Rias and the others. That would just be too pathetic.
"I understand. Once we recover fragments of my power, Master will definitely reach the same level as Sirzechs,"
Radix nodded and continued to follow Vitan as they pressed forward.
They only stopped walking once they reached a wide, flat clearing.
"Come to think of it, Master, shouldn't you report to Miss Grayfia? If you disappear for an entire month without warning, your sister might become quite anxious."
Having crossed through many worlds and recorded their coordinates, Radix had a very clear understanding of how time flowed differently across dimensions.
Traveling from one world to another using Numerology would cause a time offset of about one month.
And even Radix, who wasn't exactly an expert on emotions, could feel Grayfia's affection and concern for Vitan.
So she brought it up.
"How could I possibly forget that? If I didn't tell my sister, she'd definitely give me an earful when I returned."
But after saying this, the corners of Vitan's mouth curled into a mischievous smile.
"Though, whether Sirzechs gets a beating for delivering my message instead of me… well, I wouldn't know."
You think there's no reason why he didn't tell Grayfia personally?
If he were the one to say it, Grayfia would never approve of him leaving.
She'd probably just silently take a month off from work and subject him to some mysterious, exhausting, yet undeniably effective training.
But if he went ahead with it first and left a message with Sirzechs to deliver?
Then when Grayfia flew into a rage, she'd take it all out on Sirzechs—and by the time Vitan got back, her anger would've already burned itself out.
"Let's call that punishment for Sirzechs watching the show yesterday."
Muttering this to himself, Vitan patted Radix on the shoulder.
"Open the gate, Radix."
"Yes, Master!"
At Radix's firm reply, her entire body erupted in a silvery-white light.
At the same time, magic power surged out of Vitan like a dam breaking, pouring violently into Radix.
Just as his magical reserves were about to run dry—
A jet-black door appeared before him. Surrounding it were countless golden runes etched in arcane patterns.
Vitan stepped forward and cautiously reached out to touch the door's cold surface. It felt chilly but otherwise unremarkable.
Bang—!
With a small push, the door creaked open.
And the scene that lay beyond it filled Vitan's vision.
It was not the landscape of any normal world.
No land.
No sky.
No sea.
No forest.
Only endless darkness—and within that darkness, a few faint glowing lights flickering here and there.
"Those lights are the worlds where fragments of my power were left behind. So, Master, where shall we head first?"
Radix's voice now came from her magical tome form, resting at Vitan's neck.
Just opening this door to another world had exhausted Vitan's magic—and Radix had used up almost all of hers as well.
She could no longer maintain her humanoid form and had to revert back into a more energy-efficient magic book.
This was also why Vitan hadn't begun this journey earlier.
After all, having the magic of an Ultimate-class Devil was the bare minimum to even reach another world.
"Let's head to the closest one."
Leaving those words behind, Vitan steadied his mind and stepped through the doorway.
"Darling, where are you going? Maybe I'll follow and see."
As Vitan's figure disappeared into the darkness, a lithe figure followed in his footsteps and was swallowed up by the door as well.
Bang—!