Shinji Matou at Your Service

Of course, understanding the situation didn't mean Shinji would accept this kind of provocation. He did possess treasures comparable to the Crimson Fruit, but they were either in use or were Noble Phantasms, bound to his soul and thus not something he could offer in exchange.

"As you said, I don't have any treasures I can offer as compensation."

"It seems that woman doesn't think much of you either."

Ciel smiled triumphantly.

"Since you can't offer anything in return, it's unfortunate, but we can't give you the Crimson Fruit."

"It is unfortunate," Shinji remained calm, "but the issue of spoils only comes after we've defeated the Forest of Einnashe. The immediate concern is penetrating the heart of the forest. On this point, we still have a basis for cooperation."

Ciel's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Are you suggesting...?"

"We join forces to reach the Crimson Core first, and then deal with the Crimson Fruit based on our abilities?"

"That sounds reasonable, but it could just be an excuse," Ciel said, not hiding her suspicion.

Join forces now, only to turn on us later? Who would trust that?

Who's to say you won't slack off, using us as shields, or worse, backstab us at a critical moment?

"This suspicion applies to both sides, doesn't it? Besides, you have three people, and I'm alone—clearly, you have the advantage. Or is the Church's elite Burial Agency afraid of a nobody like me?"

The tables had turned; earlier, Ciel provoked, and Shinji defused the situation. Now, Shinji was provoking, and Ciel was defusing.

"We're not afraid, but I think it's unnecessary to complicate matters. Even without an alliance with you, we can still defeat the Forest of Einnashe. Please leave."

"Are you sure you want me to leave? I've already said I won't give up on the Crimson Fruit. Aren't you afraid I'll come back and launch a sneak attack? Compared to that, moving together makes it easier to keep an eye on each other."

"No, there's an even simpler solution: we could just deal with you here and now."

Ciel shed her diplomatic stance, turning cold as she prepared for battle.

Her opening move was once again the Black Keys, but this time the blades were not the usual silver but a vibrant orange, emitting heat that could be felt even from several meters away.

"The Cremation Rite?"

Shinji thought to himself.

It was a secret technique of the Church and one of Ciel's most frequently used skills. Although labeled as a secret technique, it was essentially a type of magecraft that enhanced weapons with flame attributes, making them far more deadly than ordinary Black Keys.

However, for Shinji, who had integrated the Flame of the Sun into his regular arsenal, it posed no real threat. He remained seated casually, shaking his head nonchalantly.

"If the disparity in strength were significant, this would be an effective tactic. Unfortunately, the gap between us isn't that wide. After all, I have also defeated one of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. If I'm determined to leave, you can't stop me. And if I go all out, it wouldn't be impossible to take one or two of you down with me. Would you still be able to defeat Arcueid afterward?"

"Anyone can make big claims."

Kirei's daughter, Caren, trembled as she dropped the Holy Shroud of Magdalene to the ground, allowing the ominous demonic aura to seep out from within her body. She knew very well that when Shinji mentioned taking down "one or two," he likely had her in mind.

"You'll soon find out if I'm bluffing or not."

As Shinji spoke, he extended a finger, pointing it at Caren from a distance.

A golden bolt of lightning shot out from his fingertip, not only sweeping away the surrounding demonic aura but also directly striking Caren's body, making her tremble all over.

In the next second, Ciel's Black Keys reached their mark. However, no matter how strong the black key was, it couldn't match the speed of lightning. Although both of them had acted simultaneously, Shinji had moved a fraction faster, even finding time to release a second bolt of lightning, shattering the flaming Black Keys.

It was only at this moment that Ciel noticed Caren's condition and cried out in alarm.

"Caren!"

"See? I wasn't bluffing. You have the Holy Shroud of Magdalene, and I have something similar."

The golden lightning was a conceptual representation of Indra's Thunder.

Indra is a protector deity in Buddhism, and vanquishing demons is part of his duties. His divine thunder is the bane of evil spirits. Although Shinji wasn't entirely sure of the specifics of Caren's demonic abilities, it was evident they fell within the scope of this divine thunder's purview.

"That was just a warning. The next time, it won't be so light."

Shinji held a natural fondness for the heroines of the Nasuverse, and he didn't mind lending a helping hand when needed. However, this fondness wasn't enough to make him yield unconditionally. If Ciel and Caren insisted on stopping him, he wouldn't hold back.

"You...!"

Ciel was infuriated. She pulled out an ancient book from her cloak, its dark cover exuding a sacred glow, made from an unknown material.

Sensing the unique aura of a Phantasmal Species emanating from the pages, Shinji's expression slightly changed.

That was Ciel's ultimate trump card, the Seventh Holy Scripture, a treasure on par with Riesbyfe's Holy Shield.

About a thousand years ago, the Church used a unicorn's horn and the soul of a girl who was sacrificed as a human offering, merging them to create the conceptual weapon known as the Seventh Holy Scripture.

In legend, the unicorn's horn was considered a key to interpreting divine will, inscribed with verses that denied reincarnation and carried the concept of Denial of Rebirth and Eternal Non-Existence.

The high-dimensional spiritual entity had immense offensive power; any spirit struck by it would be annihilated, making it the Church's trump card against Roa and the source of Shinji's concern.

Just as Indra's Thunder countered Caren, the Seventh Holy Scripture was also Shinji's natural nemesis. He wasn't confident that his incomplete Third Magic could withstand the Seventh Holy Scripture's effects.

"I absolutely can't let that hit me. It looks like it's time to use some high-powered weapons. Hmm, since Ciel has a more robust immortality than Shishou, I don't need to worry about accidentally killing her and making things irreversible."

Indeed, Ciel did possess a more exaggerated form of immortality, though with certain conditions.

Arcueid couldn't strike at the soul, so every time she fought a Roa incarnation, it was through the destruction of the body. In other words, Ciel had indeed been killed once by Arcueid, truly killed. Her body was later retrieved by the Church as a valuable specimen.

However, no one expected that three years after her death, Ciel would come back to life in the Church's specimen storage. The Church, upon noticing the anomaly, immediately restrained her and conducted a month-long series of experiments. Throughout that month, they tried various methods to kill her, but each time she was slain, her body would immediately regenerate and revive.

Finally, the Church, having no other options, handed her over to the Burial Agency. Due to her immortality, more exaggerated than any monster, she was valued by Narbareck and assigned the seventh seat in the agency.