In the vast underground training room, immense magic power surged with roars and loud bangs, activating the barrier set up in the arena, causing a transparent shield to rise.
With a booming sound, the space of the training room was at times bombarded by countless magic projectiles, at times crisscrossed by magic beams, at times saw irregular clumps of magic power run wild out of control, and at times had a dense rain of magic arrows flying, a truly dazzling display of variety.
Leo concentrated on controlling his magic power, imagining various scenes of destruction in his mind, transforming the magic into cannonballs, arrows, beams, and huge clumps, releasing them one by one.
The power of a High-Class Devil is extremely astonishing; a casual magic attack can destroy tall buildings, leaving craters on the ground as if a meteor had fallen. A full-power strike can even wipe out a mountain, and there are few modern weapons that can compare to this destructive power. While not yet comparable to nuclear weapons, it is certainly in the first tier of destructive power below nuclear weapons.
If not for the extremely strong barrier surrounding the training ground, and every brick and tile being made of special, unusually sturdy materials, Leo's reckless destruction would have turned the entire manor into scorched earth in less than ten seconds.
However, despite this terrifying destructive power, Leo seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
"After all, I've only just reached the level of a High-Class Devil. It seems incredibly far away to advance to the next rank."
Feeling the drastic consumption of magic power within him, Leo sighed softly.
Demons are currently divided into five ranks: Low-ranking Demon, Mid-level Demon, High-Class Devil, Highest-level Demon, and Demon Lord.
Low-ranking Demons typically have two wings, corresponding to angels and Fallen Angels, who also have two wings.
Mid-level Demons typically have four wings, corresponding to angels and Fallen Angels, who also have four wings.
By analogy, High-Class Devils have six wings, Highest-level Demons have eight and ten wings, and Demon Lords have the highest rank of twelve wings. The situation is the same for angels and Fallen Angels.
Generally speaking, the more wings one has, the higher the rank and the stronger the power, but this is not absolute.
For example, Leo currently only has two wings, yet his strength has reached the High-Class Devil level. His power is far superior to his rank, which is a common problem for Demons whose progress is too fast.
The speed of power growth is too rapid, causing the Demon's rank not to keep up. This is a common phenomenon among new-generation Demons; it's not just Leo, Sona is the same.
But in reality, Leo's growth rate is not fast at all.
Thanks to half of his pure-blood Demon lineage, Leo possessed magic power far exceeding a Low-ranking Demon from birth. When he officially began cultivating at the age of three, he was already considered a standout among Mid-level Demons. Yet, it took him a full fifteen years to advance to a High-Class Devil, which shows how slow his progress was.
Regarding this, Sona had once comforted him: "Demons have extremely long lifespans; even the lowest-ranking Demons can live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Yet, most Demons in the Underworld never become High-Class Devils before they die. Beings like you and me, born with powerful magic due to our pure-blood Demon lineage, who can become High-Class Devils in just over a decade, are already objects of envy for many."
Indeed, compared to the tens of thousands of years of a Demon's lifespan, fifteen years is so short it can practically be called infancy.
To become a High-Class Devil at this age is basically a privilege of pure-blood Demons. Most mixed-blood, half-blood, or even Demons reincarnated from other species rarely ever touch this realm in their entire lives, showing that Leo is quite fortunate.
But he was simply not satisfied.
He knew how terrifying the top powerhouses of this world were, and he deeply understood what kind of strength would be needed to resolve the crises that would emerge in the future.
High-Class Devil, this was merely the most basic entry ticket for the events that would unfold in the future, and sometimes it didn't even meet the entry requirements.
In the eyes of truly powerful beings, so-called High-Class Devils were actually no different from ants.
Without mentioning anything else, for an eight-winged Highest-level Demon, solving a High-Class Devil would only require one hand, let alone those of Demon Lord rank and above.
Demon ranks are clear and strict, with a large gap between each rank.
Take one of the future Two Heavenly Dragons, the one known as the Red Dragon Emperor: when he was still a Low-ranking Demon, using the Red Dragon Emperor's power, he could double his strength every ten seconds. After two minutes of accumulating this doubled power, his strength reached 8190 times. Yet, this nearly ten thousand-fold increase only allowed him to unleash an attack comparable to a High-Class Devil. This is enough to prove that the power comparison between a Low-ranking Demon and a High-Class Devil is like an ant to an elephant; a difference of two ranks is an insurmountable chasm.
By the same logic, an eight-winged Highest-level Demon, even one who has just advanced, would be at least a hundred times stronger than Leo, who has just advanced to a High-Class Devil. If the opponent is ten-winged, then that's a two-rank difference, also an insurmountable chasm.
At Leo's current rate of progress, breaking through to the Highest-level Demon level might not even be possible in hundreds or thousands of years.
But in the next few years, the entire 뒷세계 will experience turmoil, and by then, even the power of a Highest-level Demon might not be enough to participate. How could Leo be satisfied with his current performance?
"Hmph..."
Gathering the extremely depleted magic power back into his body, Leo exhaled and muttered to himself.
"No way, continuing to get stronger in the old way absolutely won't work."
Indeed, he still had to rely on devil chess pieces and recruiting Retainers with great potential to achieve rapid strengthening.
At least, for Leo, that was the case.
"Let's put training aside for now."
Leo retracted his Demon wings, landed on the ground, and turned to leave.
The most important thing right now was still that cold junior... Sobu High School, class 3-c.
Before the class bell rang, Leo entered the classroom with leisurely steps, receiving greetings from many people.
"Good afternoon, Leo."
"Good afternoon, Erigor."
"Good afternoon, Erigor-kun."
The girls who were originally chatting in groups of twos and threes in the class immediately brightened up when they saw Leo appear, and couldn't help but greet him, their attitudes extremely enthusiastic.
"Hello, everyone~~~"
Leo responded with a beaming smile, his brilliant smile making many girls blush with excitement, but also causing the boys present to grumble inwardly.
"He's a big man, why does he smile so handsomely?"
That overly sunny smile caused the faint hormones on Leo to emanate uncontrollably. Not to mention the girls, even the boys couldn't quite handle it, feeling as if their dark thoughts were somehow exposed, leaving many feeling conflicted.
Unfortunately, they didn't know that such a sunny person, who made others feel ashamed of themselves, was actually the ugly and dark Demon in the hearts of countless people.
But even as a Demon, Leo in this life was a noble descendant with pure-blood Demon lineage. Even if the Erigor Family was almost extinct, that long-inherited nobility still existed in Leo, making Leo's appearance in this life impeccable.
Of course, there were also people who were indifferent to such a Leo.
That was the girl sitting in the corner by the window, reading a book as if no one else was around.
The girl had a beauty no less than Yukinoshita Yukino, with long black straight hair, a white hairband on her head, a very tall and voluptuous figure with ample curves, yet her every move seemed exceptionally quiet. She was a beautiful girl who, even just sitting there silently, could make the boys present involuntarily cast admiring glances.
Looking at this beautiful girl whose beauty and temperament were not inferior to Yukinoshita Yukino, a smile appeared in Leo's eyes, and he actually walked over and sat down beside her.
"Good afternoon. You're still full of artistic temperament today, Kasumigaoka Utaha-kun."
Leo greeted her cheerfully.
"Good afternoon. And you're still that narcissistic self, overflowing with charm, Leo Erigid-kun."
Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her dark red eyes and, without even glancing at Leo, immediately spoke such sharp words that were completely at odds with her quiet demeanor, and had a similar effect to Yukinoshita Yukino's words.