Rias owed Leo big time.
So did Sona.
Both of them had survived because of Leo. And it wasn't only them. If Leo's servants hadn't been there to help, it was hard to say whether their own servants would have made it out alive.
Utaha, Mahiru, and Asuna had stood out the most during the attack. Because of their actions, most of the Gremory servants and Sitri servants managed to get through the crisis without serious injuries.
As for those who hadn't teamed up with Leo's servants?
Yuuto Kiba and Ruruko Nimura didn't even need to be mentioned. They were still unconscious, not yet out of the danger zone. Even Akeno Himejima and Tsubaki—the two Queen piece holders—had barely survived. Their injuries were severe, second only to Yukino, Kiba, and Ruruko.
So, whether emotionally or logically, both Rias and Sona owed Leo their thanks.
Leo himself, however, didn't think much of it.
"Even without me, you wouldn't have fallen here."
He said it casually, but he genuinely believed it.
He trusted Rias's strength. He trusted Sona's intellect. More than that, he trusted their place in the original story. No matter how bad things got, they would always find a way out.
They were part of the main cast, after all. If they fell to something this minor, it would be embarrassing.
Even more dangerous and terrifying events were waiting for them in the future. If they couldn't handle something like this, how could they deal with the kind of incidents that would shake history itself?
"Still, thanks are necessary," Rias said softly. "Even if not for me, then for my adorable servants."
She didn't know what Leo was thinking. She looked at him deeply and said it sincerely.
"Unfortunately, our match can't be completed now."
After the Old Maou Faction's attack, Rias understood something very clearly. If she really had fought Leo during the day, she would have lost—no, she would have lost ten times out of ten.
There was no helping it. She could never have imagined that the man in front of her had already broken through the High-Class Devil level and reached Ultimate-Class Devil territory.
And he already had eight wings.
He had hidden it far too well.
And that wasn't even the most shocking part.
The most unbelievable thing was his identity as a Sacred Gear user.
"Zenith Tempest. The Longinus ranked second in the world, second only to the legendary strongest Holy Spear. A Sacred Gear said to command weather and nature, even capable of influencing the world itself. I never imagined you were its host."
Even though she had already been shocked once, Rias still couldn't hide the awe in her voice when talking about it again.
Who could have imagined it?
Not long ago, the man standing before her had only barely advanced to High-Class Devil. He was regarded as a pureblood devil, but in truth, he was a genuine mixed-blood of the new generation.
Then his mutated trait awakened, and he skyrocketed in strength—on top of that, becoming the host of such a terrifying Sacred Gear.
"Yeah. You really hid it well."
Even Sona was looking at Leo now, her tone unusually subdued.
She had thought she understood Leo better than anyone else. And yet, he had kept something this big from her.
"Don't look at me like that," Leo said with a dry laugh. "I was just being careful."
He could handle Rias's amazement, but Sona's never-before-seen resentful gaze was harder to deal with.
"Because of my mutated trait, I was already high-profile enough," Leo explained. "If I'd exposed the fact that I'm the host of Zenith Tempest on top of that, I probably wouldn't have had a moment of peace in Chiba."
Chiba wasn't some remote backwater, but it wasn't an especially important place either. Otherwise, Leo wouldn't have been able to act so freely there before even reaching High-Class Devil, smoothly building his devil business and thriving without resistance.
That was because Chiba wasn't like Kuoh Town. It wasn't devil territory—it was under the Church's influence.
And the Church's local strength had its limits.
Even under the Church's pressure, Leo had managed to flourish. That alone showed how constrained their power there was.
In that situation, revealing some of his uniqueness and strength was harmless. It only made the Church wary, discouraging them from suppressing him too hard. That much was obvious from how the Church stopped targeting him after he became a High-Class Devil.
At that point, aside from Sharon—the crazy woman—no one in the Chiba Church wanted to clash with him head-on.
But if Leo had revealed everything, the Church would have reported it to headquarters. Once that happened, stronger forces would be stationed in Chiba. Even Heaven might respond, possibly sending down high-ranking angels.
On top of that, not all devils were Leo's allies. There were fallen angels lurking in the shadows who were extremely interested in Sacred Gears.
Naturally, Leo wanted to grow stronger before exposing Zenith Tempest.
"Thanks to the Old Maou Faction, I'm completely exposed now," Leo said with a shrug, looking helpless.
Rias and Sona exchanged glances. They both understood his concerns.
"You really are too eye-catching now," Sona said. After her earlier resentment faded, worry replaced it. "Being the host of Zenith Tempest is shocking enough, but your servants are all abnormal too."
"Blade Blacksmith and Create World are already rare and powerful Sacred Gears. Yet Asuna and Utaha aren't even the most terrifying ones among your servants."
"Incinerate Anthem and Absolute Demise. Ranked eighth and eleventh among the Longinus. Even if they can't compare to Zenith Tempest, they're still Longinus—each with the potential to disrupt the balance of power."
"So many rare and powerful Sacred Gears gathered in one place," Sona continued. "Whether it's Heaven or Grigori, they'll definitely be alarmed."
Just thinking about all of them being on the same team felt absurd. For outsiders who learned of this suddenly, it would be even more unbelievable.
A small new-generation devil group that hadn't even officially debuted yet. Only five people.
And among them—three Longinus and two of the rarest Sacred Gears.
Any one of these Sacred Gears appearing alone would attract massive attention and prompt action from the three major factions. Five together was outright asking for trouble.
Grigori would absolutely make a move. Researching Sacred Gears was their specialty.
Heaven would too. At the very least, the Church would take major action. Otherwise, it would be an insult to the Holy Cross and Holy Swords.
Incinerate Anthem and Blade Blacksmith—one was among the three great Holy Relics, and the other was a Sacred Gear capable of creating Holy Swords. Both were things the Church desperately wanted and deeply cared about.
If they didn't act under these circumstances, that would be far more suspicious.
"You need to be careful, Leo," Rias said seriously. "From now on, you'll be a priority target for all three factions. Trouble may already be on its way. You must be cautious in everything you do."
"Honestly, you should return to the Underworld," Sona suggested. "At least it'll be safer on our own turf."
Both of them were thinking sincerely for his sake, and that warmth eased Leo's heart a little.
But he still shook his head and gave them a reassuring look.
"I'm not who I used to be," Leo said with a confident smile. "I wouldn't call myself unbeatable, but I'm not someone anyone can just push around anymore. Unless one of Heaven's four Seraphim or the fallen angels' Governor personally steps in, if I want to leave, no one can stop me."
As an eight-winged devil, once he activated Zenith Tempest, he could even challenge ten-winged opponents.
Even if top-ranking angels or fallen angel executives acted, he could still barely hold his own.
To truly capture him, anything short of a twelve-winged existence at the highest level was impossible.
And at that level, Heaven only had the four Seraphim. Among the fallen angels, there was only the Governor—at most, the Deputy Governor as well.
The remaining six executives were all ten-winged at best. They could suppress Leo, but crushing him outright and capturing him alive was out of the question.
And that was without Leo even using his true trump card.
Although he claimed that everything was exposed now that Zenith Tempest had been revealed, the truth was different.
After taking in Mahiru as a servant, Leo had already gained new power—an entirely new hidden card.
Lately, he had been quietly refining it, preparing for a moment to shock the world.
If those who were watching him thought he had already revealed everything and came knocking, Leo would make sure to give them a very memorable surprise.
"…As long as you know what you're doing."
Seeing Leo so confident, Sona guessed he had his reasons. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, finally just nodding.
Rias watched Leo, full of confidence. Then she glanced at Sona, who silently expressed her trust in him.
For some reason, Rias suddenly felt a little envious.
Compared to herself, Sona really was amazing.
She had defeated her former fiancé with her own strength, annulled her engagement, and then met someone so powerful and outstanding.
Compared to her own current helplessness, Sona was far more capable.
Unfortunately, good things always belonged to someone else.
Rias sighed quietly to herself and said nothing more.
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