In the end, no one doubted it anymore—not after seeing her standing there.
The magic inside her didn't lie.
Sirzechs was the first to speak, eyes narrowing as if he had solved a long-standing puzzle.
"...A vessel, huh?"
"So that's where it was buried."
"No wonder we never managed to locate it all these years."
He then glanced at Izumi, his tone casual but carrying an unmistakable warning.
"Well, now that you've dug it up, you'd better be careful.
The Feast of Blazing Light should be starting soon."
He had seen right through Avrora's nature in one look.
But he wasn't the least bit worried.
Even he—Sirzechs, the current Demon King—could not fully read Izumi.
If anything truly dangerous happened, he was sure Izumi could deal with it effortlessly.
After all, no matter how powerful a True Ancestor was, they were only at the level of an upper-rank Maou.
Comparable to Serafall, perhaps—but far from beyond Izumi's reach.
Izumi only smiled at Sirzechs's warning.
"I'm not worried. Either way—she's someone I've decided to take."
"No one is going to stop me."
Hearing that much confidence, Sirzechs laughed.
"Well then, it seems there's nothing left for us to do."
"Looks like we made a trip for nothing."
Izumi didn't comment, simply returning a small smile.
Meanwhile, Avrora—after drinking a bit of Asia's blood—finally looked satisfied.
"From today onward, you are mine, okay~?"
Avrora proudly declared ownership of Asia.
However, Asia refused without hesitation.
"No. Asia belongs to Izumi-sama. Not to anyone else."
Avrora froze on the spot.
Right. She had forgotten that part.
She peeked toward Izumi—only to see him talking with a group of demons.
"D-Demons!"
"S-so many demons!"
"Uuu... scary..."
And so, despite being a so-called True Ancestor, she hid behind Asia like a frightened kitten.
Asia and Lefay both stared blankly.
Aren't True Ancestors supposed to be strong...? Why is she terrified of demons?
They didn't know the truth.
It wasn't Avrora who was afraid—it was the Original inside her that was panicking.
Especially after sensing the overwhelming destructive aura coming from Sirzechs.
That magic instantly reminded the Original of the ancient war—
The terror of being dominated by the Maou of the old demon era.
She didn't know who Sirzechs was, but his power was unmistakable.
He was someone she absolutely couldn't provoke.
The Original's consciousness was sealed by Izumi, but she could still whisper her fears into Avrora's mind.
Usually, Avrora ignored her.
But this time, even she could sense the threat.
So the silly, cute True Ancestor curled up and shook.
Her reaction naturally drew everyone's attention.
Izumi couldn't help laughing out of frustration.
"Oi, Avrora—can you at least try to look dignified?"
"Are demons really that scary to you?"
"You're a True Ancestor, for crying out loud!"
Avrora's face flushed bright red.
"S-Shut up!"
Sirzechs let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! She's quite interesting."
"Well, don't blame her."
"She probably inherited some strange fragment of memory."
"In the old era, the True Ancestors were bullied relentlessly by the demon kings."
"Maybe something resurfaced in that vessel of hers."
Sirzechs sighed as he spoke.
A long time ago, vampires were considered part of the demon race.
But their status had been extremely low.
Even with power equal to a high-ranking Maou, they lived under brutal oppression.
If the reformist demons hadn't overthrown the old demon kings, the True Ancestors would still be trembling under their rule today.
To Sirzechs, this vessel probably carried memories of that ancient suffering—that was why she reacted like this.
Izumi nodded thoughtfully.
So that was the story.
He learned something new.
Once Sirzechs understood the situation, he prepared to leave.
But as he activated his teleport magic, something seemed to cross his mind.
He suddenly handed Izumi a dark, glowing mass.
"Oh right, Izumi-kun. Take this."
"It should be useful to you."
Without explaining, he simply tossed it to him and teleported away with Rias and the others.
Izumi blinked, baffled.
He then looked at the black sphere in his hand.
"A Sacred Gear?"
"Black Dragon King, Vritra...?"
The aura of a dragon was unmistakable.
This should be Genshirou Saji's Sacred Gear.
Why was it in Sirzechs's possession?
And in complete form?
Did Saji die somewhere?
Did Sirzechs or someone else pick up the fragments and fuse them?
But weren't some parts with Azazel...?
Questions popped up one after another.
Izumi gave up thinking.
After all, in this world, minor characters dying offscreen was practically normal.
Some random one already got eaten by a Stray Devil—nothing surprised him anymore.
What mattered was that this thing could probably be fed to his system.
He tossed the glowing orb into his system inventory.
He'd deal with it tonight.
For now, he needed to fix the crater in his yard.
Compared to digging one, filling it back in was much easier.
Izumi and Lefay quickly shoveled the soil back, and with a few spells from Lefay, the ground returned to its original state.
Once everything was cleaned up, Izumi grabbed the still-clinging-to-Asia Avrora and returned inside the house.
After dinner, he prepared a room for Lefay and Avrora to stay in.
By the time everything was in order, the night had grown deep.
It had been a long day—
the Three-Faction summit, then digging up Avrora...
Too many things happened at once.
After washing up, Izumi left Avrora in the care of Lefay and Asia.
"Make sure you two wash her thoroughly."
Still wearing Asia's spare clothes, Avrora was shoved into the bath.
Meanwhile, Izumi returned to his room, finally ready to examine the Sacred Gear Sirzechs had tossed at him.
Not that he intended to use it.To him, it was far too weak—Even the Red Dragon Emperor himself wouldn't bother with it, much less Izumi.
He sat down and casually threw the dark orb into his system.
"Alright, system. Give me something decent."
Light flashed.
A moment later, a brand-new object shimmered into his hands.
[You have obtained: Grand Order／Human Order Safeguard Sphere]
Izumi stared.
"…Huh?""Are you serious?""You're actually giving me this?!"
The Human Order Safeguard Sphere—the ultimate astromancy mystic code that converts the celestial ladder into a personal magical circuit.
A Noble Phantasm capable of gathering the mana of the sky, earth, and cosmos—linking every celestial body into a single beam of destructive force.
A certain Captain's signature move.
And his system had casually handed it to him?
"…Is this the terror of Luck EX?"
A slow grin spread across Izumi's face.
He had won.He had absolutely won.
And he loved this kind of reward.