Leon's manor, underground training room...
As the day began to brighten, and the white day started to replace the night, illuminating the entire land, Leon was training in the underground room.
It was Saturday, and there was no school, so Leon did not prepare to eat breakfast and head to school after getting up as he usually did. Instead, he came directly to the underground room upon waking up.
"Rumble—"
The ceiling of the underground room churned up a thick, vortex-like dark cloud amidst rumbles like thunder, with streaks of electric light flashing within, making the air in the entire underground room oppressive, as if a storm was approaching.
Leon, with three pairs of devil wings spread, stood beneath the dark cloud. Terrifying aura burned around his body, and magic power poured into the sky like flowing water, causing bolts of fierce thunder to fall like heavy rain.
However, the falling lightning did not directly strike the ground. Instead, it seemed to be guided by an invisible force, gathering all at once around Leon, turning into brilliant, dazzling balls of lightning.
The spherical lightning danced up and down around Leon, extremely stunning, as if obeying the command of the Lord of Thunder, shuttling back and forth through the space of the underground room with great agility.
"Again!"
Leon felt he still had energy, and immediately urged Zenith Tempest, triggering the second attribute—Fire.
In an instant, endless blazing flames appeared out of thin air, bursting forth like an explosion. Yet, under Leon's control, they gathered around his body, just like the lightning, turning into balls of fire.
The lightning balls and fire balls intertwined, making blue-white and crimson the main theme of the underground room.
"Bang!"
The next moment, a lightning ball and a fire ball suddenly collided, causing a roar.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...
As if triggering a chain reaction, the lightning balls and fire balls flying in mid-air immediately became agitated, colliding with each other one by one, stirring up continuous roars.
Flashes of fire and lightning instantly appeared in various directions, making the space around Leon seem like a feast of explosions. There were roars everywhere, and fire and lightning everywhere.
"Hoo..."
It was only when all the lightning balls and fire balls had collided with each other and disappeared in mid-air that Leon exhaled, a smile spreading across his face.
"Zenith Tempest is indeed a Longinus with endless potential. I've only gained the usage memories of its past wielders, making its application more varied and proficient, yet the power of this Longinus has risen several levels. It's truly incredible."
As his use of Zenith Tempest became more proficient, Leon gradually gained a new understanding of the power of the second-ranked Divine Annihilation Tool in this world.
In his opinion, Zenith Tempest had not even reached the Balance Breaker stage yet, and his mastery of it could not be called ultimate. Yet, even so, the power of this Longinus was enough to threaten beings one or two levels higher than Leon. Its destructive power was unimaginably great for something that a human could possess.
"No wonder so many people are puzzled as to why God created such a thing. Setting aside ordinary Sacred Gears, the Divine Annihilation Tools truly have the ability to destroy the world's balance. Being able to eliminate Gods and Maou is not an empty boast. It's hard to believe that God would create such a power that could threaten Himself."
Compared to Zenith Tempest, Leon's devil abilities—which had shocked Sona Sitri and Sharon—were nothing special, or rather, a minor thing compared to a major one.
Of course, if Leon didn't have his current magic power, it would probably be difficult for him to use the power of Zenith Tempest so freely.
After all, the most basic consumption for using a Sacred Gear is stamina, which is why humans can use this power. But if one possesses transcendent power, they can use that power to substitute the consumption.
This is exactly the case for Leon. His magic power is so strong that it can completely replace stamina as the cost for using the Longinus. The stronger the magic power he outputs, the greater the power of the Sacred Gear, and the more enduring its use. This is unlike the Sekiryuutei, who clearly possesses the power to strengthen himself infinitely, yet can barely utilize it due to his own lack of ability, which is simply a waste of a precious resource.
Therefore, Leon's power, which is close to the limit of an Ultimate-class Devil, is also one of the main factors why Zenith Tempest can unleash its current power. This is the foundation for using a Longinus, and naturally, the stronger, the better.
"If I can still get feedback on Sacred Gear proficiency when recruiting new Servants in the future, then getting two more Servants with mid-level potential should be enough for me to utilize Zenith Tempest's power to its maximum."
"If it's a Servant with high-level potential, even one might be enough."
"Then, I can start working toward the next stage and figure out a way to reach Balance Breaker."
Balance Breaker is the ultimate domain of a Sacred Gear, a power that can truly destroy the world's balance.
A Sacred Gear user before reaching Balance Breaker and one after reaching it are completely not on the same level. The latter, even without using the Balance Breaker ability, could probably suppress the former, even giving them a stylish beating.
And as long as he reaches the Balance Breaker of Zenith Tempest, Leon's strength will be able to contend with Maou-class existences, at the very least.
"Unfortunately, excellent Servants are rare."
Leon retracted the wings on his back and landed on the ground, sighing with emotion.
Forget about Servants with high-level potential, Leon currently knows of only one other person with mid-level potential.
Sona Sitri was indeed correct. Sōbu High is a school with great potential. Besides Yukino Yukinoshita, it likely hides one or two more Sacred Gear users, none of whom have awakened yet.
Sacred Gear users are very rare existences, yet Sōbu High School possesses multiple such hidden talents, which is truly incredible.
This is also why Leon insists on staying at Sōbu High School for his studies. Otherwise, he would have long been considering returning to the Underworld to develop the territory of the Eligos family, which has been neglected for who knows how many years.
"Perhaps I should speed up the process a little."
Thinking of the potential prospect he has been in contact with, Leon felt a bit eager.
"Are you done?"
Yukino Yukinoshita came to the underground room while Leon was deep in thought and walked towards him.
"Almost," Leon snapped out of his thoughts and nodded to Yukino Yukinoshita. He asked, "Are you coming to train too?"
"I'll come after lunch," Yukino Yukinoshita revealed her schedule and then said, "I came to tell you that the new Servant you accepted has woken up."
"Do you want to go see her?"
Hearing this, Leon raised an eyebrow and turned around.
"Let's go, let's welcome our new companion."
...
On the third floor of the manor, in a room that was different from the type Yukino Yukinoshita had used before, yet equally luxurious, the girl sat on the bed, staring at the scenery outside the window, lost in thought for a long time.
Leon brought Yukino Yukinoshita with him to this place. Seeing this scene, he subconsciously lightened his footsteps and movements.
However, the girl seemed to sense the arrival of Leon and Yukino Yukinoshita, and she turned her head to look towards the door.
Her chestnut hair moved with the girl's motion, and then Leon saw a pair of hazel eyes. Although not particularly bright, they were full of a unique luster.
"You are...?"
The girl was also stunned by Leon's outstanding appearance, then asked with confusion. Her voice was clear and soft.
Leon did not answer the girl's question. Instead, he and the silent Yukino Yukinoshita walked into the room, approached the bed, and pulled up a chair to sit down.
"How do you feel?" Leon met the girl's pair of beautiful big eyes, smiled lightly, and said, "Do you have any pain anywhere?"
"Well..." The girl hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. She whispered, "It doesn't hurt, but I feel very tired, and the sunlight doesn't feel very comfortable."
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but show a look of agreement.
She recalled that when she was first reincarnated as a devil, she was also like this. She didn't feel pain, but instead felt that her body was strange. She had no energy during the day and was averse to sunlight.
Now that she had overcome it, it was the newcomer's turn to follow her old path, which gave Yukino Yukinoshita a lot of feelings.
She was an elder now, wasn't she?
She could chat with this Yuuki family's daughter later, letting her know that she had gone through the same experience.
"This is normal, you don't need to worry," Leon did not immediately reveal everything, continuing with a smile, "Once you get used to it, you will feel that you have not only gotten better but also become stronger."
This somewhat chūnibyō statement made Yukino Yukinoshita involuntarily curl her lips.
In contrast, the girl immediately asked.
"Did you save me?" The girl looked eager to know the current situation. She said, "This doesn't seem to be a hospital. Is it some kind of private convalescent facility?"
"Neither," Leon still didn't answer the question the girl was most anxious to know, saying with a cheerful smile, "This is my home. You are currently in one of the rooms in my house, not some private convalescent facility."
"Y-your home?" The girl was somewhat surprised, and also subtly became wary. She asked, "Then who are you...?"
"My name is Leon Eligos, a third-year student at Sōbu High," Leon stopped teasing her. He said, "You can just call me Leon."
"Mr. Leon," the girl did not comply, greeting him with great courtesy. Only then did she introduce herself, "I am Asuna Yuuki. My family lives in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, and I am currently a second-year student at a private aristocratic school there."
She did not reveal the name of the school because she felt it was unnecessary.
After all, she lives in Tokyo and this is Chiba. Even if she mentioned the name of the school, the other party might not know it.
But the girl still disclosed her name and address. This was her way of being cautious yet still choosing to believe that Leon held no malice toward her.
Even if he did, upon hearing her surname, he should hesitate a little, right?
"Yuuki, huh?"
Leon looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of him and sighed with emotion.
"It is indeed a well-known name."