"Ugh... mmmph..."
The man knocked unconscious by Kaiser woke up.
He found himself lying inside a huge magical circle, surrounded by many mysterious patterns and writings.
Standing side by side before him, Kaiser and Kuroka looked down at him lying on the ground, as if viewing a piece of scrap about to be discarded.
This greatly frightened him, causing him to struggle desperately.
Unfortunately, not only were his struggles futile, he couldn't even make a sound.
Kuroka had cast a spell on him, sealing his movements and voice, leaving him only able to make muffled noises.
"Let's begin," Kaiser gestured to Kuroka.
"Truly pitiful, nya," Kuroka said to the man lying in the magic circle. However, her actions were not slowed at all, instantly channeling Demonic Power into the circle, activating the ritual.
"Hum..."
The magic circle immediately emitted a bright glow, enveloping the unfortunate fellow.
As if sensing something, he struggled even more fiercely, but still to no avail.
Soon, the ritual began to take effect, causing the man's entire body to glow.
"————"
The man seemed to be in great pain, screaming desperately, yet still unable to produce any sound.
Under these circumstances, a pair of dragon wings suddenly unfolded from the man's back with a "pop".
They were white dragon wings, very similar in shape to the Divine Dividing. However, unlike the flawless and beautiful pure whiteness of the Divine Dividing, both the wing bones and membranes appeared inorganic, more like mechanical wings rather than dragon wings.
This was his Sacred Gear, a lower-tier version of the Divine Dividing. Like Twice Critical, it was a relatively ordinary Sacred Gear capable of halving the power of an opponent upon contact.
Under the ritual's effects, this Sacred Gear was being slowly extracted from its original host, causing the man to roll around in agony.
Neither Kaiser nor Kuroka paid attention to the man himself. Instead, they stared at the pair of dragon wings, watching closely as the wings were gradually separated from their host.
Normally, this process would take some time.
If Raynare were hosting this ritual, it would surely not be completed quickly.
However, with Kuroka—a Nekomata comparable to an Ultimate-class Devil—hosting the ritual, its progress was greatly accelerated.
After just a few minutes, the pair of dragon wings were completely extracted, floating above the magic circle. Their original host convulsed a few times before immediately losing all signs of life, dying right there.
"Done," Kuroka casually waved her hand, sending out a burst of Demonic Power that struck the corpse lying on the ground, causing it to vanish without a trace. At the same time, she said to Kaiser, "The rest is up to you, nya."
After all, Kuroka wouldn't know how to handle what came next.
Kaiser didn't waste any words either, stepping directly into the magic circle and approaching the white dragon wings.
Flipping his palm, a blue gem appeared in his hand.
It was precisely the gem knocked off Vali's armor.
"This gem contains an extremely faint trace of the White Dragon Emperor's power," Kaiser explained. "Though very weak, it is still the White Dragon Emperor's power, holding a trace of the Divine Dividing's characteristic ability."
"If we embed it into these dragon wings and let them absorb the gem's power, perhaps the dragon wings can evolve and gain the same characteristics as the Divine Dividing."
This wasn't just wishful thinking.
In the original story, the current Red Dragon Emperor who fought Vali in the battle between red and white had done precisely this.
Since Sacred Gears could respond to the host's intentions, absorbing their thoughts to grow and evolve, as long as one's intent was strong enough and thoughts intense enough, even incredible feats could be achieved.
The current host of the Red Dragon Emperor once embedded a jewel knocked from Vali into his own Sacred Gear in order to defeat him. Ultimately, by paying an enormous price, he successfully absorbed the White Dragon Emperor's power and gained the ability of "halving."
Since such a possibility exists, then Kaiser doing this is not impossible.
Of course, it's merely a possibility.
"If it's another Longinus of the same rank and deeply connected to the White Dragon, then it's indeed possible to succeed after paying a heavy price."
Kuroka poured cold water on Kaiser's enthusiasm.
"But what you're using now is merely an ordinary Dragon Wing. Although it is a lower-level Sacred Gear subordinate to Divine Dividing, its rank and status are worlds apart from the Heavenly Dragons. Can such an ordinary Sacred Gear truly absorb the power of a Heavenly Dragon, whose rank vastly surpasses its own?"
Even if it's just a sliver, it is still a Heavenly Dragon's power, standing at the pinnacle of the dragon race, second only to the Dragon God. Could a pair of ordinary dragon wings truly absorb that power and successfully seize its ability?
That was a point Kuroka greatly doubted.
Moreover...
"Indeed, if one's willpower is strong enough, a Sacred Gear might resonate with its host's will and evolve—but that's only a possibility. If Sacred Gear evolution were truly so simple, there wouldn't be just thirteen Longinus."
This was also a point worth doubting.
Considering all this, Kuroka seriously questioned the feasibility of the matter.
Besides, even if it succeeded, then what?
As Kuroka was thinking this, Kaiser's voice reached her ears.
"Under normal circumstances, it would naturally be difficult to succeed—but I have a method."
What method was it?
Very simple—he would use his own Authority.
The Authority granted Kaiser absolute control over "armaments."
Therefore, as long as the process occurred in his own hands, he could use his Authority to control the entire procedure, helping the Dragon Wing absorb the power within the jewel.
Now that he also possessed the technology to create artificial Sacred Gears, he had a thorough understanding of the workings and operational principles of Sacred Gears and dragon power, and thus knew clearly how to control this process.
Azazel had assumed that after acquiring the information, even if Kaiser wanted to create artificial Sacred Gears, he would start from scratch like himself. He had not imagined Kaiser would directly use an existing Sacred Gear as material, only slightly modifying it to achieve his goal.
Without further delay, Kaiser reached out his hands—one holding the jewel, and the other gripping the Dragon Wing.
Golden patterns faintly appeared on his palms, allowing Kaiser to instantly grasp the properties and structure of both the Dragon Wing and the jewel.
After comparing them with the artificial Sacred Gear information appearing in his mind, Kaiser's hands moved naturally.
He first carved a groove in the center of the Dragon Wing, then immediately embedded the jewel into it.
The Dragon Wing reacted instantly, absorbing the power from the jewel under Kaiser's control.
The jewel immediately began flickering, and the wing membrane of the Dragon Wing also started to glow.
Both contained dragon power, and their natures were fundamentally similar—both possessing the ability to halve the opponent's power. Coupled with their hierarchical relationship of superior and subordinate, their fusion showed no signs of conflict.
Without Kaiser's assistance, these two forces would have either seen the superior devouring the inferior, or the inferior's insufficient power causing it to retreat, resulting in failure to absorb the White Dragon's power.
However, with Kaiser's full control and guidance, the process smoothly progressed to completion.
"Zheng—"
At a certain moment, the Dragon Wing suddenly burst with radiance, undergoing noticeable changes.
The wing bones gradually became pure white and immaculate, the wing membrane gradually turned transparent blue, and the blue jewel embedded at the center was completely absorbed, disappearing without a trace.
"Divine Dividing!"
Kuroka, who had been watching Kaiser's operation from the side, exclaimed aloud.
What appeared before her eyes was clearly Divine Dividing.
"It really worked."
Kaiser also smiled, feeling slightly excited in his heart.
The success of this step confirmed to Kaiser that his idea was entirely feasible.
He wanted to create the fourteenth Longinus.
He wanted to create a second Divine Dividing.
If others knew of this idea, they would undoubtedly consider him insane.
But he had now successfully taken the first step, proving the feasibility of this crazy notion.
However, there was still one crucial step remaining before Divine Dividing could truly take shape.
That was, sealing the soul of a Heavenly Dragon into the Sacred Gear.
Without the soul of a Heavenly Dragon, Divine Dividing could never truly be completed. At most, what would be born here would only be a Sacred Gear that resembled Divine Dividing.
The proof was that although the Sacred Gear in front of him had absorbed the power of the White Dragon, gaining the same traits and abilities as the White Dragon, its power was still vastly inferior compared to the genuine Divine Dividing.
The Divine Dividing could halve the strength of any touched object every ten seconds, absorbing it and converting it into its own power.
The pair of wings before him possessed the same power—halving and absorbing the opponent's strength—but, just like the initial dragon wings, this ability could only be activated once.
Only by sealing the soul of a Heavenly Dragon within it and using the immense dragon power as a support could the Sacred Gear's strength greatly increase.
Unfortunately, there were only two Heavenly Dragons, and the White Dragon, who possessed the ability to halve and absorb power, was even more unique. It was fundamentally impossible for a second Divine Dividing to be created.
Kaiser's wildly imaginative idea seemed to come to an end here, and this was precisely why Kuroka felt that even if the attempt succeeded, it would still be meaningless.
Indeed, Kaiser could neither find another White Dragon nor a third Heavenly Dragon.
However, although he did not have the power of a Heavenly Dragon, he did possess the power of a Dragon God.
"Hmm..."
When Kaiser raised his hand again, causing a pitch-black snake to appear above his palm, connecting head-to-tail, Kuroka was stunned.
"W-What is this?"
Kuroka, who had never seen Ophis's "Snake," merely felt she had witnessed the most terrifying power in the world, causing her heart to tremble uncontrollably.
Kaiser did not look at Kuroka; instead, he gazed at the "Snake" in his hand.
"Ophis possesses the characteristic of 'Infinity,' and her power can easily transform into various forms, allowing any existence to absorb it."
"If that's the case, as long as the power of the 'Snake' is sealed into the Sacred Gear, replacing the Heavenly Dragon's soul as its core, the Sacred Gear will absorb the 'Snake's' power and strengthen itself."
"When that happens, the Divine Dividing will truly take shape."
This was Kaiser's ultimate reliance.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay..