The crimson princess

Pov Dia,

Dia: "Athens is a beautiful city."

I was in Athens to see if this place could serve as a location for a future date with one of my wives.

The architectural style is stunning. In addition, there are guardians of order who protect the city and Athena. If I remember correctly, this order is called the Saints, and the most powerful among them are the Gold Saints.

The energy they draw from is called the cosmos, a power capable of destroying matter.

He exaggerates a bit about their true power by claiming it could recreate the Big Bang, but their abilities should not be underestimated.

I thought I could use their cloth to create the Balance Breaker of the Longinus that I need to develop.

??: "Pegasus Ryūsei Ken!"

I felt a killing intent. Turning around, I saw several attacks aimed at me.

From what I observed, he concentrated a bit of cosmos into his fist, then struck the air, sending the cosmos toward his target.

It was about a dozen attacks per second that I had to dodge.

Dia: "Not bad. But it's too weak to accomplish anything."

I based my counterattack on the design of his attack.

Dia: "Crimson Ryūsei Ken!"

I infused just enough POD into my attack to match the strength of his. However, unlike me, he couldn't dodge and ended up taking every hit.

Dia: "Go back to your goddess and tell her what happened. You will see that attacking me was a grave mistake."

After saying that, I left, heading to a quieter place.

It was around this time that I felt something strange. My POD enveloped my body, instinctively protecting me from something.

The surroundings became eerily calm, as if time itself had stopped.

Dia: "Forbidden Balor View."

It was the only Sacred Gear I could think of capable of making the environment so silent by halting the flow of time.

??: "Hehehe, so many rich people here today. It really is my lucky day."

Turning my gaze toward the voice, I saw someone moving through the crowd, stealing everything of value from people's pockets.

His eyes made it clear that he was the one responsible for creating Forbidden Balor View.

Using my power, I summoned crimson chains that immobilized him on the spot.

??: "What's going on?"

Dia: "To think someone would use such a powerful ability for something so petty. You really have no honor."

As I said that, I couldn't help but imagine him using his power for something far more destructive than pickpocketing.

??: "Who are you? No matter— I don't know how you escaped my power, but it doesn't matter. You can't do anything to me. I possess supreme power."

Dia: "What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you realize you're at a disadvantage? Even with your Sacred Gear, you're far too weak to defeat me."

??: "I am the chosen one of God! I have received His power. Nothing can beat me! You only escaped because you're a filthy witch."

Dia: "First of all, for your information, the Heavenly Father has been dead for over a century. And now, I will kill you for saying such idiotic things."

I used my power to destroy both his body and soul but decided to first separate him from his Sacred Gear.

Dia: "Now listen to me, Forbidden Balor View. If the next time I see you, you have a user as pathetic as him, I will destroy you completely so your power can never be used again."

After that, I let it return to the Sacred Gear allocation system.