"Boom!"
In the middle of the tranquil manor, a sudden explosive sound rang out, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
"What was that—?!"
In that instant, Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuuki Asuna, who were sparring in the basement; Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri, who were talking in their room; and even Miyamoto Musashi, who hadn't yet gotten out of bed, all bolted upright and turned their heads in the same direction.
"Wha—What happened?!"
Unaware of the situation, Eriri fell into a panic, having no idea what was going on.
The others were different; they all simultaneously sensed an unusual disturbance.
There was an astonishing amount of magical power.
There was the fluctuation of a Sacred Gear.
Even the atmosphere had suddenly become scorching hot at this moment, causing the temperature within the manor to rise continuously.
The source of all this was concentrated in one place.
"The garden!"
Yukinoshita Yukino shouted and immediately flew toward the garden.
Yuuki Asuna blinked in surprise but quickly followed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha also wanted to rush to the garden, but seeing the flustered Eriri, she sighed and brought her along.
The group of girls arrived at the garden and were immediately struck with shock.
For the garden at this moment was filled with visible purple flames.
The purple fire not only blazed fiercely in the air but also enveloped the entire garden, turning it into a sea of purple flames.
"W-What kind of fire is this?!"
The expressions of Yukino, Asuna, and Utaha were filled with horror.
The moment the purple flames entered their vision, they felt as if they had encountered some kind of ferocious beast; their entire bodies trembled instinctively.
That feeling was somewhat similar to when they saw the Holy Sword created by Yuuki Asuna—a sensation of meeting a natural enemy, a bane to their existence.
"—I never expected to see it here."
At that moment, Miyamoto Musashi's voice drifted over, waking the girls from their shock.
The female swordsman slowly walked out of the western-style building, looking at the purple flames filling the garden with a face full of solemnity.
"Teacher!" Yuuki Asuna hurriedly asked, "Do you know what this purple fire is?"
"Of course. It's quite famous," Miyamoto Musashi said with a mix of wonder and a wry smile. "Though I haven't seen it personally, it is something more terrifying to devils than a Holy Sword. Its existence and its power have long been notorious in the Underworld. There is almost no devil who does not fear it."
"Surely you all have heard its name as well?"
"—Incinerate Anthem."
Upon hearing this name, the faces of all the girls present changed, except for Eriri, who was still in a state of confusion.
"Incinerate Anthem," one of the thirteen Longinus, ranked eighth among all Sacred Gears.
Its fame was indeed immense because, in addition to being a Longinus, it was a Holy Relic.
The Holy Spear, the Holy Grail, the Holy Nails, the Holy Shroud, the Holy Cross—such items are mentioned in myths and legends as holy objects closely related to God, and are things the Heavens and the Church have always enshrined and pursued.
Without exception, they are all holy-attribute items of the highest grade. In terms of holiness alone, even a top-tier Holy Sword cannot compare to them.
Among the currently known thirteen Longinus, three evolved from Holy Relics.
They are: 「True Longinus」, 「Sephiroth Graal」, and 「Incinerate Anthem」.
"Incinerate Anthem" is the Holy Cross among these three great relics. It grants the host the ability to release purple holy fire in the shape of a cross. The purple flames it releases not only possess extremely high temperatures but are also saturated with powerful holy and purifying power. For races like devils, reapers, vampires, and yokai, even a tiny spark can be fatal.
"So, this purple fire is the holy flame released by 'Incinerate Anthem'?"
Yukinoshita Yukino stared at the purple flames, cold air surging around her body, betraying how unsettled she was inwardly.
The eighth-ranked Longinus—this was a Sacred Gear ranked higher than her own "Eternal Ice Princess."
"Why would the host of the Holy Cross appear here?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha held Eriri's hand, her face full of bewilderment.
"Who knows." The solemnity on Miyamoto Musashi's face faded, returning to her usual carefree manner. "You'll have to ask your master about that."
Just as Musashi finished speaking, the purple flames in the garden fluctuated.
As if drawn by something, the flames detached from their positions and surged toward the center.
There, Leon and Shiina Mahiru were holding hands, slowly walking out from the parting purple flames.
The purple fire from the entire courtyard surged toward Shiina Mahiru's body, gradually merging into her.
Seeing this, how could the crowd not understand?
"Shiina-san is the wielder of the Holy Cross?!"
Yuuki Asuna was also stunned now.
"How can this be?"
"Doesn't she not have a Sacred Gear?"
Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha were both dumbfounded.
"Shi-Shiina-san—?"
Eriri finally snapped out of her confusion. Looking at Shiina Mahiru, who was surrounded by purple flames, she looked completely blank.
What was going on?
Wasn't this junior a normal person just like her?
Why did she suddenly start manifesting divine power in front of everyone?
"It seems that girl was chosen by the Holy Cross."
Miyamoto Musashi looked at Shiina Mahiru with great interest.
Although "Incinerate Anthem" was the eighth-ranked Longinus, it had one major difference from other Longinus.
Other Longinus, including ordinary Sacred Gears, were automatically operated by the Heaven's Sacred Gear System, and even the angels of Heaven could not interfere with their operation.
"Incinerate Anthem" was different. It moved between hosts based on its own will, possessing the characteristic of choosing its user autonomously.
When a previous host died, this Longinus would choose the next host on its own, unlike other Sacred Gears that were randomly selected by the system's operation. Its nature was very peculiar.
Clearly, the girl before them had been chosen by the Holy Cross, transforming from an ordinary mortal into a Longinus possessor after the fact.
"Your luck is truly good, Young Master Leon."
Miyamoto Musashi spoke these words with considerable sentiment to Leon as he slowly approached.
She could already tell that this new host of the Holy Cross had been reincarnated as a devil by Leon and recruited as a peerage servant.
"Actually, I'm quite surprised myself."
Leon held the hand of Shiina Mahiru, whose expression was still somewhat dazed, and smiled helplessly.
He had not expected Mahiru to be chosen by the legendary Holy Cross either.
He had chosen to recruit Shiina Mahiru as a servant to test whether his traits could influence reincarnated individuals to attract unowned Sacred Gears that were currently on standby.
However, since "Incinerate Anthem" possessed the trait of choosing its own host, it was hard to say whether it was attracted by Mahiru's sudden change in disposition before reincarnation or by his own traits.
In other words, while this was a massive surprise, Leon's plan to test his own traits had failed.
Who was he supposed to argue with about that?
Of course, Shiina Mahiru's transformation also happened to validate another thought of Leon's: those who could serve as the female lead in their own stories were indeed the chosen ones.
Going from a common ordinary person directly to a Longinus possessor was a stroke of fortune no less than ascending to heaven in a single step. Aside from those with a protagonist's halo and fate, there was likely no one else who could pull this off.
Thanks to this, the gains Leon received from taking Shiina Mahiru as a servant were simply too immense.
This was a Longinus possessor ranked even higher than Yukinoshita Yukino and one of the three legendary Holy Relics. The feedback Leon received from taking such a person as a servant was undoubtedly greater than when he recruited Yukino.
His own magical power had entered the level of an Ultimate-class Devil—and not just barely, but in a state that had progressed quite a distance.
His own Devil rank had also reached eight wings, equal to his strength.
As for his Sacred Gear—
Thinking of his experience just now, which felt like a dream lasting a thousand years, Leon himself couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.
In a state where he almost forgot whether he was the current wielder of Zenith Tempest or one of its past wielders, the biggest problem that had been troubling him was suddenly solved without any warning.
"Is this what they call the fickleness of fate?"
While Leon sighed with emotion, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop turning up.
Miyamoto Musashi looked at Leon, then at the other girls who served as his peerage, and her estimation of this Eligos peerage team undoubtedly rose to another level.
A new-generation devil actually had two Longinus possessors under him, was a Longinus possessor himself, and his other two Sacred Gear users were also rare and powerful types—
What kind of monster gang was this?
Musashi could no longer imagine what the situation in the Underworld would look like, or what would happen to the balance between the Three Great Powers, once this group of people grew up.
And this peerage team wasn't even full yet; there was still room for future development.
It truly—makes one look forward to it.
"Say hello to everyone, Mahiru."
Leon didn't know what Musashi was thinking; he simply nudged Shiina Mahiru forward.
"—Hello, Senpais."
Shiina Mahiru had shaken off her dazed state. Feeling the unfamiliar power and mysterious changes flowing within her body, and looking at the group of girls before her, she spoke bashfully.
"I am Shiina Mahiru, Senpai—Leon Eligos's [Bishop]."
Saying this, Shiina Mahiru bowed.
"From now on, please take care of me."