Time returned to the present…
"A Super Devil…"
After listening to Yukino's explanation, Leo went quiet for a long moment.
He knew exactly what that meant.
A Super Devil was born when a devil's bloodline mutated—or was altered by some other means—creating a being whose potential far exceeded the limits of their race.
Just as Sharon had said, beings like that could no longer truly be called devils. That was why they were known as Super Devils—those who transcended devils.
History recorded only three confirmed cases.
The first was Rizevim Livan Lucifer—son of the original Maou Lucifer and Lilith, the mother of all devils. Known in the Bible as "Lilith's Son," his demonic power reportedly rivaled or even surpassed his father's.
The second was Sirzechs Gremory, the current Maou Lucifer. He'd inherited the Bael family's Power of Destruction, and through mutation, his very body had become a condensed mass of that destructive force. His power was ten times purer than the original Lucifer's. In his true form, he'd effortlessly slain the sons of the first Maou Beelzebub and Asmodeus. Even gods feared him.
The third was Ajuka Astaroth, the current Maou Beelzebub—creator of the Evil Pieces system and architect of the Rating Game. Born to a branch family of the Astaroth House, ranked twenty-ninth among the Seventy-Two Pillars, he possessed extraordinary talent in formulas and magical systems. During the civil war, he'd killed the daughter of the first Maou Leviathan.
These three were the only confirmed Super Devils in history. Sirzechs stood at the top, feared even by gods. Rizevim was the weakest—he'd vanished during the civil war and no one knew where he'd gone. Still, all three possessed power beyond any ordinary Maou.
Leo remembered what would happen in the future. The world's mythological factions would unite, and a clearer power ranking system would emerge.
Currently, the three factions used simple classifications: Low-Class, Mid-Class, High-Class, Ultimate-Class, and Maou-Class—each corresponding to angels and fallen angels of increasing wing counts, from two to twelve.
But once the factions united and made contact with other worlds, new tiers would be added. A special rank between Ultimate-Class and Maou-Class would emerge for elite devils matching weak Dragon Kings and ten-wing angel executives. Maou-Class would align with twelve-wing Seraphs, twelve-wing fallen angel leaders, and strong Dragon Kings.
Above that came Super Maou-Class—where the current Maou Leviathan and Asmodeus stood. They could overwhelm ordinary Maou so completely that even Maou-Class fighters couldn't safely intervene in their battles.
And at the very top sat the Super Devils—equals to gods and chief gods. The Two Heavenly Dragons belonged here too. This was the world's absolute peak.
Only three beings surpassed even this level. One lay sealed, destined to destroy the world upon release. Another drifted through the Dimensional Gap, rarely appearing. The last wanted nothing more than to leave this world and remained indifferent to everything around her.
Put simply, a Super Devil stood two full tiers above ordinary Maou-Class. Even Rizevim, the weakest of the three, matched or exceeded Super Maou-Class.
When the gap reached two tiers, comparisons became meaningless—like an ant versus an elephant.
That was how Sirzechs, in his true form, had effortlessly slain the sons of the first Beelzebub and Asmodeus. How Ajuka had killed the first Leviathan's daughter without breaking a sweat. Only Rizevim—a fellow Super Devil—had escaped that purge.
Power like that was bound to attract dangerous attention.
At some point, artificial Super Devil experiments had emerged in the devil world—something that would only come to light much later.
Leo had already met another victim of those experiments—someone hiding in this very school building, burying their wounds beneath a peaceful facade.
He hadn't expected Sharon to be one too. From Yukino's description, though, Sharon's experiment was different. A separate group of devils had conducted it.
And theirs had been far more dangerous—more reckless. Why else would Sharon be the only survivor? Even after being injected with Demon Factor and gaining inhuman strength, she'd only reached High-Class Devil level. Nowhere near a Super Devil.
"So that's what it was…" Leo murmured.
"No wonder she wouldn't leave me alone. She wasn't crazy—she'd chosen this path herself."
"I haven't told anyone else," Yukino said once Leo had processed everything. She looked away. "Only you and I know. Do you want to report it?"
Yukino clearly wanted the truth out.
Not out of sympathy for Sharon—she just couldn't stand watching her own people be kept in the dark.
Without this knowledge, Leo would've kept dismissing Sharon as just another lunatic.
The nun was unhinged, sure—but not stupid. Her mind had been twisted by hatred and obsession.
Yukino was warning him not to underestimate Sharon. She also wanted him to see the bigger picture.
The intelligence Leo had received about Sharon was clearly false—and it had come from Sona, or more precisely, the Sitri House. Whether they'd misled him intentionally was anyone's guess.
But one thing was obvious: the devil world's higher-ups knew Leo was digging into Sharon's past. They'd hidden the truth on purpose.
This was Yukino's way of telling him to watch his back. When dealing with scheming superiors, caution was survival.
Leo sensed her concern and chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"Relax. I've been a devil for nearly twenty years. I know this race better than you do."
Devils weren't all filthy and evil like the myths claimed—but that didn't mean such devils didn't exist.
Modern devil society looked civilized because the Four Great Maou had pushed reforms, and Evil Pieces had integrated other races, bringing fresh ideas. But dark secrets still festered beneath the surface.
Artificial Super Devil experiments weren't even the worst of it. The truly explosive dangers were still buried deep underground, waiting to be triggered.
Fortunately, Leo wasn't the type to consider himself righteous. He just wanted to live freely in this world. Otherwise, just the information in his head from the original story would be enough to plunge the entire devil world into chaos.
He would wait for those bombs to go off—but he wouldn't be the one lighting the fuse.
If he someday became a Super Devil or something even stronger, he wouldn't mind stepping in to clear out the things he disliked, making his life as a devil more comfortable.
But for now, his strength wasn't enough to play the hero.
Besides, the leaders of the three major factions were already tired of constant conflict.
Leo knew that before long, they would officially unite and bring this era to an end. When that happened, the mysterious organization lurking in the shadows would finally surface, and the Old Maou Faction would be nothing more than pawns.
"Judging from Yukino's description, Sharon seems to have already made contact with that organization…"
Leo narrowed his eyes, something sharp flickering in their depths.
"Things are getting more and more interesting."
As he smiled, Yukino slapped his hand away in annoyance.
"Don't mess with an injured person, you pervert. You messed up my hair."
Yukino smoothed her long black hair and shot Leo a glare.
"You're entirely mine. What's wrong with messing up your hair?" Leo clicked his tongue, then asked curiously, "That aside, how exactly did you beat that crazy woman?"
"From what you said, it sounded like you were being pushed into a corner the whole time."
Yukino arched an eyebrow.
"It was nothing," she said calmly.
"I just used her own methods against her."