Chapter 122 - Not Necessarily the Strongest?
The sudden attack by the Old Maou Faction came to an end here.
The process had been dangerous, but after getting through it without major losses, many people gained new insights. They felt they had learned a great deal from the incident.
The servants, in particular, realized that their strength was still lacking. Because of that, they resolved to work harder and continue refining themselves.
Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, and Mahiru were prime examples. Compared to before, the change in their presence was obvious.
Previously, although they had reincarnated as devils and become Leo's servants, they had never truly faced danger. They hadn't experienced a real, life-and-death battle, so their mindset still leaned closer to that of ordinary people.
After this incident, whether it was Yukino and Asuna, who had already been part of Leo's servant group for some time, or Utaha and Mahiru, who had joined more recently, all of them quietly shifted their outlook and began seriously thinking about the future.
Among them, Yukino and Mahiru gained the most from this experience.
Yukino washed away her past humiliation by defeating Sharon, but through Sharon's experiences, she also came to understand just how complex devils could be, along with the darkness that lurked beneath the surface. It made her more thoughtful and composed than before.
Mahiru, on the other hand, had been thrown into the crisis without adequate preparation. She faced danger several times along the way, yet that only strengthened her resolve to prove herself, drawing out a level of willpower she had never shown before.
All of that turned into motivation, pushing them to become stronger.
With this experience under their belts, once they returned, they would likely be able to turn those realizations into real growth. That was especially important, since the fuel that allowed a Sacred Gear to evolve and grow stronger was willpower.
Thanks to this awakening, including Asuna and Utaha, everyone among Leo's servants was bound to enter a period of rapid development.
Changes were happening among the servants of the Gremory House and the Sitri House as well, but that was something Rias and Sona would need to worry about later.
As for today, Rias, acting as the host, decided to take Leo and the others out for a proper outing. The three groups of servants would sit down together, set up a grand table, and properly entertain one another to strengthen their bonds.
The idea was met with enthusiastic approval from everyone, greeted by cheers all around.
After everything that had happened yesterday, it was clear that everyone wanted to relax and celebrate.
And sure enough, after surviving life-and-death situations together, the relationship between the three servant groups had grown much closer.
At some point, Tsubasa had struck up a conversation with Utaha. The two stuck together the entire time, with Koneko following along expressionlessly beside them. It looked just like two older sisters dragging their shut-in little sister out shopping.
Reya Kusaka and Momo Hanakai were also chatting happily with Mahiru. The three even held hands as they walked, making it seem as if they had known each other for years.
Tomoe Meguri, naturally, was talking nonstop with Asuna. They discussed all sorts of topics related to swordsmanship, looking like they had finally found kindred spirits.
As for Ruruko Nimura, she kept sneaking glances at Yuuto Kiba. Whenever Kiba noticed, she hurriedly looked away, her face turning red—clearly the look of a girl experiencing her first crush.
Even Yukino, who had ended up on her own during yesterday's incident, was chatting with Akeno, whom she had fought alongside before. Tsubaki would occasionally chime in as well, as if they were exchanging insights from their daily training.
Leo, Rias, and Sona were more than happy to see all of this.
The purpose of this meeting had been to strengthen their bonds, and judging by how things were progressing, it couldn't have gone any better.
The three of them also talked about the upcoming debut of the new generation of devils. The ones they mentioned were naturally not some background-less newly promoted High-Class Devils, but descendants of pureblood devil families.
Every single one of them came from an extraordinary lineage.
The Bael House, the Agares House, the Astaroth House, the Glasya-Labolas House… each of these was a devil family whose status was second only to the Maou.
The Bael House hardly needed an introduction. Ranked first among the Seventy-Two Pillars, they held the rank of Great King, making them second only to the Maou.
The Agares House was ranked second among the Seventy-Two Pillars, holding the rank of Archduke, their status just below the Maou and the Great King.
The Astaroth House ranked twenty-ninth among the Seventy-Two Pillars. On its own, it wasn't particularly outstanding, but it happened to be the main family of the current Maou, Beelzebub. Ajuka Beelzebub's original surname was Astaroth, and he came from a branch family. If he hadn't become a Maou, his status wouldn't have surpassed that of the main house.
As for the Glasya-Labolas House, it was similar. Ranked twenty-fifth among the Seventy-Two Pillars, not especially remarkable on its own, but the current Maou, Asmodeus, came from that family.
Add in the Gremory House and the Sitri House, both of which had also produced Maou…
"So basically, aside from me, everyone else either has a Maou backing them or comes from a Duke family, right?"
Even Leo couldn't help but complain.
He had known from the original story that this generation of debuting devils was extraordinary, but actually experiencing it firsthand—and being part of it—made just how absurd it was sink in.
The Eligos House had once held the rank of Duke. Above it were only the Maou, the Great King, and the Archduke. And yet, somehow, Leo ended up being the one with the lowest status this time. There really was no arguing with that.
If the others were merely descendants of those families, that would be one thing. The problem was that, like Rias and Sona, they were all the next heads of their families. They were the legitimate successors, just like Leo, who was set to inherit the entire Eligos House.
With the same status, the difference in standing became obvious.
"Don't you also have Ajuka-sama backing you?" Rias said.
"It's not the same," Leo shook his head. "Ajuka-sama supports me as an individual. That's completely different from someone backing their own family."
Even if someone came from a branch family and had some distance from the main house, they still shared the same bloodline. That kind of connection was far deeper than simple support.
"But in terms of strength, you should be the strongest of our generation, right?" Sona remarked.
No matter how impressive their backgrounds were, the new generation of devils were still just that—new. Like Rias and Sona, they were all High-Class Devils.
Leo, however, was different.
Even though his rank in the Underworld was still that of a High-Class Devil, his actual strength had long surpassed it. He was effectively on the level of an Ultimate-Class Devil, not to mention the host of Zenith Tempest. He could even fight against ten-wing Ultimate-Class Devils, placing him at least two whole tiers above a normal High-Class Devil.
With that level of power, if he entered a Rating Game right now, he would likely rank near the top.
Of course, that was without factoring in his servants.
In a Rating Game, the participants were the entire servant team led by the King. Under ten-wing Ultimate-Class Devils, even the weakest servants were usually at least High-Class Devil level, and there were no shortage of Ultimate-Class Devils among them.
Compared to that, Leo's servants fell short. Not only was the team far from full, but in terms of quality, only Yukino could barely be considered presentable. The others still needed time to grow.
There was no helping it. Leo had only become a High-Class Devil recently, and he had only received his Evil Pieces a few months ago. Even with tremendous potential, growth still took time.
In that regard, he lagged behind the other new generation devils. Leaving Rias and Sona aside, the other four families had been cultivating servants for over a decade. They were in no short supply of High-Class Devil-level combatants.
And besides…
"My strength might not necessarily be the greatest among the new generation of devils."
That statement made both Rias and Sona freeze.
Sona looked surprised, while Rias seemed to think of something and fell into thought.
Leo smiled faintly. "Musashi-san once told me that this generation has produced a truly terrifying individual. His strength might not be weaker than mine."
Sona aside, Rias immediately spoke up.
"You're talking about the one from the Bael House, aren't you?"
She guessed it right away.
"Looks like you know him," Leo shrugged.
"He's my cousin," Rias said with a wry smile. "His father is the current head of the Bael House, and my mother is the head's half-sister. We're blood-related."
In that situation, Rias naturally knew quite a bit about him.
"But is he really that strong? Strong enough that even you might not be able to beat him?" she asked, clearly shocked.
She knew he was special and exceptional, but she hadn't expected him to be on that level.
"The Bael House's successor, huh?" Sona frowned. "But isn't he known as the most talentless pureblood devil in Bael House history?"
"Maybe," Leo said with a shrug. "He really doesn't have much talent as a devil. But that doesn't mean he can't find another path and grow stronger."
Recalling what he knew about that person, Leo left them with one final remark.
"Just wait and see. That guy is going to shock everyone."