Grigori research facilities aren't limited to the Underworld; they are scattered across Japan. Of course, they operate with the full permission of the Japanese Shinto factions, provided in exchange for Grigori's cutting-edge technology.
I found myself visiting one of these newly established facilities in the Kanto region.
The site, reached via a specialized teleportation circle, was tucked away deep in the mountains. The entire perimeter was reinforced with high-level barriers, ensuring that no ordinary hiker would ever accidentally stumble upon the secrets within.
As for why I was there? Simply put, I was acting as an escort.
I stood in an observation room, separated by a thick pane of reinforced glass from a vast, pristine white chamber. Aside from a few racks of equipment in the corner, the space was empty and cavernous.
Beside me, Azazel-sensei leaned into a microphone.
"Are you ready?"
His voice echoed into the chamber, directed at the woman standing in the center.
Lieselotte—or Leisha, as we called her—gave a sharp nod. "Yes. Whenever you are."
Sally and Feena, her two fairy companions, were perched on her shoulders. In Leisha's hands were a pair of magi-guns. They were shorter than her usual rifle, customized by Sensei to suit her new, more aggressive combat style.
Sensei tapped a few commands into his console, and hundreds of volleyball-sized orbs of light flickered into existence throughout the room. They glowed in a vibrant, kaleidoscopic array of red, blue, green, and yellow.
At the sight of them, Sally and Feena sprang into action.
They deployed magical circles, summoning six floating magi-guns and six floating shields. These were the same "flying units" they had used in the Underworld, but Azazel-sensei had given them some significant "Grigori-style" upgrades.
Today's visit was a field test for Leisha's new loadout.
"Starting now," Sensei announced.
The floating orbs pulsed with a blinding intensity. A split second later, a hail of light beams converged on Leisha from every direction.
Leisha didn't hesitate. She threw herself into a backflip, dodging the initial volley as her dual magi-guns cleared her holsters.
"Alright... here we go!"
She pulled the triggers. Twin lances of light erupted from the barrels, piercing through the orbs with pinpoint accuracy. She wasn't just hitting them; she was taking down multiple targets with every sweep of her arms.
The orbs vanished with a sharp vroom of displaced energy.
The remaining spheres didn't stay still. They began to zip through the air at high speeds, firing chaotic beams from above, below, and behind. The volume of fire was so dense there seemed to be no safe place to stand.
And yet, the light-blue shields moved with uncanny grace, intercepting beams inches from Leisha's skin, while the autonomous rifle units systematically picked off the moving targets.
I watched, mesmerized. "Her reaction time... it's even sharper than before."
"Those Rifle Bits and Shield Bits are being piloted by the little ones," Azazel-sensei explained, his eyes glued to the data feed. "But for them to move with that kind of precision, they need to sync with Leisha's spatial awareness. I've enhanced the link between them."
"So that's how she's pulling off those moves?"
"Exactly. Leisha's spatial recognition is borderline abnormal. It's what makes her long-range sniping possible. We've combined the technology of Ast Arde with my knowledge of Artificial Sacred Gears to achieve a higher level of control. A fusion of two worlds... isn't it fascinating?"
I looked over at Sensei. His eyes were literally sparkling. Whenever it comes to R&D, the man becomes a total geek.
The Crimson-Eyed Sniper.
That was Leisha's title. She was a master of long-range engagement, boasting a one-hundred-percent hit rate. The secret lay in her "Eyes" and her terrifyingly high spatial awareness.
In the past, her support from the rear had saved my skin more times than I could count.
But the Leisha standing there now was different. Usually a backline specialist, she was now thriving in the vanguard—a style built for the chaos of a melee. Where she once used a single bolt-action rifle, she now wielded dual pistols, supplemented by the "bits" managed by Sally and Feena.
It wasn't just sniping anymore. It was a torrential rain of precision fire.
Behind the glass, the last of the light orbs were picked off one by one. She hadn't missed a single shot, even while moving at high speeds. The entire exercise had lasted less than two minutes.
As the buzzer signaled the end of the test, Leisha's eyes faded from their intense crimson back to their natural blue. She sheathed her guns and stepped out of the chamber.
I held out a towel for her. "Great work. Here."
"Thank you, Issei," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow.
I tried to keep my eyes level, but I couldn't help it—all that movement had her chest heaving, her generous curves bouncing with every breath. Even back in the other world, Leisha's "assets" had a habit of stealing my attention.
Sally pointed a tiny finger at me. "A-ha! Issei's staring at Leisha's boobs! He's totally ogling her!"
"Ghk—! You caught me!"
"How could I not?! You've been staring the whole time! Pervert! Lecher!" Sally teased, cackling.
I couldn't even defend myself. Because she was right. I am a lecher. I'm a pervert. I am the Oppai Dragon, damn it!
Leisha just smiled gently. "Ufufu. You really haven't changed, have you, Issei? Still a fan of a woman's chest."
"I love them!" I declared with zero shame.
Leisha had always been strangely tolerant of my... tendencies. She looked at me with the kind of affectionate indulgence an older sister shows a troublesome younger brother.
Sensei broke in, looking at the data. "How's the feel? From where I'm sitting, it looked flawless."
"It's perfect," Leisha replied. "The fire rate and the response time are both significantly better than before."
"Yeah!" Feena added. "The link with Leisha-san was much stronger. It made the bits so much easier to handle."
Sensei pulled up a replay on the main screen. "The Rifle and Shield Bits share a lot of logic with the Artificial Sacred Gears I've developed. It made the tuning process much smoother."
"Like Yura's gear from Sona's peerage?" I asked.
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