Absolute Demise

"Clang—"

A wave of crimson radiance rose like a barrier from the magic circle etched into the floor, enveloping Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita as they stood within it.

Yukino Yukinoshita felt her vision gradually consumed by the red light, but it soon dimmed, allowing her sight to return to normal.

When her vision cleared, Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita were no longer in the Sobu High School Service Club room, but in an incredibly spacious underground training chamber.

It was the very same training room located beneath Leo's manor.

"We really did teleport here in an instant..."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked down at the magic circle that had appeared at her feet, identical to the one in the Service Club room, and muttered softly.

"We still have some time before class. Before that, let's get you familiar with your own power and current condition." Leo, long accustomed to such phenomena, snapped his fingers to draw her attention. "Do you remember the knowledge about peerage devils I shared with you on the way to school?"

"Of course." As a top-tier student who ranked first in her grade, Yukino Yukinoshita's memory was naturally excellent. Especially given that the situation concerned her directly, her mind was fully engaged. She replied earnestly, "Including myself, all peerage devils reincarnated as devils are created using items identical to evil pieces, correct?"

"Correct. They are called evil pieces, reincarnation items created by the current Maou Beelzebub to save the dwindling devil population. Only high-class devils who hold a title are granted them." Leo nodded and continued, "According to the classification of the pieces, I hold the role of the king. After registering at the stele located in the lord's castle of any major territory in the underworld or the Maou's castle, I was granted a total of fifteen evil pieces."

"These fifteen pieces consist of one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns."

"Once these pieces are bestowed upon others and they are reincarnated as devils, the peerage devil will gain different characteristics depending on the piece they received."

Leo extended his hand, and a magic circle unfolded above his palm. Crimson pieces flew out one by one, lining up in front of Yukino Yukinoshita.

"The rook's characteristic is astonishing attack power and sturdy defense. They can use an ability called castling, and their value is equivalent to five pawns."

"The bishop's characteristic is demonic power, suitable for peerage members who excel at utilizing magic. Their value is equivalent to three pawns."

"The knight's characteristic is speed, suitable for peerage members who excel in high-speed combat. Their value is also equivalent to three pawns."

"The queen piece has the highest value, equivalent to nine pawns. It possesses the powers of all the aforementioned pieces; whether it be attack power, defense, demonic power, or speed, it is the strongest among all the peerage."

As Leo introduced them one by one, the corresponding pieces flew before Yukino Yukinoshita. Finally, the eight pawns flew over together; these pieces were identical in appearance.

"These are the final pawn pieces. Although their value is the lowest, they are the most numerous. Their characteristic is promotion. They can promote into any of the aforementioned pieces on a field that the king identifies as enemy territory, gaining the corresponding abilities and switching between them at will. They are variables with low presence, but they must never be underestimated."

After Leo finished introducing all the evil pieces, Yukino Yukinoshita understood immediately.

"So... I am your bishop, aren't I?"

Yukino Yukinoshita noticed that among the evil pieces Leo had displayed, only one type was missing: the bishop.

The single queen was still there, the eight pawns were all present, and the two rooks and two knights were also accounted for. Only one bishop remained, and the implication was clear.

"That's exactly it." Leo put away all the evil pieces and smiled. "You are one of my bishops. Your characteristic is demonic power. After reincarnating as a devil, your demonic power has increased significantly, far exceeding that of an ordinary low-class devil."

At this, Leo looked at Yukino Yukinoshita with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

After reincarnating using an evil piece, the quality of a peerage member is not fixed; it is determined by individual potential.

For instance, demonic power. All devils possess it, even those reincarnated as peerage members. However, some gain immense power upon reincarnation, while others remain weak. This primarily depends on whether the reincarnated individual has a talent for it after becoming a devil.

One of the future world-renowned heavenly dragon, known as the red dragon emperor, had such pitifully low demonic power when he reincarnated that he couldn't even perform a magic circle jump. He had to miserably ride a bicycle every night to reach the humans he was supposed to hand out flyers to—talk about lacking dignity.

Yukino Yukinoshita, however, awakened a fairly high level of demonic power upon her reincarnation, already approaching the level Leo had at ten years old.

One must know that his demonic power at age three was already among the best of the middle-class devils, and after seven years of training, it had grown significantly stronger, nearly touching the limit of what a middle-class devil could achieve.

That Yukino Yukinoshita possessed such strong demonic power right from the start was certainly bolstered by the characteristics of the bishop piece, but her own talent for demonic power was undeniably high. It was in no way inferior to some pure-blood devils; she was a genuine stock of potential.

She is truly worthy of being the primary heroine in her original world. Whether as a human or a devil, she is an absolute honor student.

With proper training, Yukino Yukinoshita will soon become a qualified middle-class devil combatant—the kind that stands second to none among her peers.

And this is only considering her aptitude as a devil.

Compared to the power truly slumbering within Yukino Yukinoshita, her devilish strength is hardly worth mentioning.

"Now, close your eyes and imagine the strongest thing you can think of in your heart."

The purpose of Leo's visit was to guide Yukino Yukinoshita in awakening the power sleeping within her.

Yukino Yukinoshita subconsciously followed the instructions of her master and closed her eyes.

The strongest thing... is it?

Yukino Yukinoshita thought of one person almost immediately—Haruno Yukinoshita.

That was her sister, the person she had always viewed as her goal and the one she had always wanted to surpass.

She was excellent; Yukino Yukinoshita had that much confidence, but it depended on who she was being compared to.

Compared to her sister, who was known as a perfect superhuman, she was far behind.

For years, Yukino Yukinoshita had lived in the shadow of her excellent sister, so her life had not been a happy one.

At home, just like at school, she had experienced something akin to being ostracized. Because she was neither as beloved as her sister nor able to meet everyone's expectations, she was viewed by those around her as a well-behaved and sensible child—which was essentially synonymous with being cold and unlikable. As a result, Yukino Yukinoshita had always felt constrained.

Therefore, while Yukino Yukinoshita was confident, she was also insecure. She felt she was merely a substitute for her sister, a doll without a self, longing for change yet feeling lost about the future.

Under these circumstances, even though Yukino Yukinoshita clearly knew that, in practical terms, Leo and the fallen angel from yesterday were stronger than Haruno Yukinoshita, she still couldn't help but associate her sister with the concept of the "strongest thing."

This was the result of a deep-seated subconscious, regardless of the facts.

In that very instant, Yukino Yukinoshita's emotions fluctuated uncontrollably, causing the power hidden deep within her to begin to flow.

"Now is the time. Draw out that power."

At the sudden sound of Leo's voice, Yukino Yukinoshita held her breath, reflexively doing as she was told.

"BOOM!"

Instantly, a roar echoed through the air.

The temperature inside the training room plummeted, allowing icy, freezing winds to rage and whip up waves of snow.

Yukino Yukinoshita's clothes fluttered violently. Her eyes were tightly shut, but behind her, a figure appeared out of thin air.

It was a humanoid monster about three meters tall, composed entirely of ice. It looked as if it were wearing a formal gown, possessed four slender arms, and had no mouth or nose on its face. Its left cheek bore six eyes, while its right cheek featured a protruding, thorn-like growth.

"W-what is this?"

Opening her eyes and seeing the Ice Princess standing behind her, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but be startled.

Leo's voice reached her ears at just the right moment.

"This is the true form of the Sacred Gear residing within you."

Leo walked to Yukino Yukinoshita's side, gazing at the three-meter-tall Ice Princess with a slow upward curve of his lips.

"Sacred Gears vary in strength. The strong ones are enough to allow their hosts to unleash power comparable to gods and demon lords, while the weak ones only have a minor impact on daily life."

"Most Sacred Gears fall into the latter category; they can only influence human society at most and cannot affect extraordinary beings like us."

"However, among Sacred Gears, there is a small fraction capable of threatening beings like us, and a rare few even possess the power to annihilate gods and demon lords."

Leo's eyes shone with intensity as he looked at the Ice Princess.

"Those are the highest-grade Sacred Gears—terrifying powers whose movements are strictly monitored by Heaven and the Grigori because of their strength and danger."

"Currently, only thirteen such terrifying powers exist, and each one has the potential to shatter the balance between factions."

"We call them—Longinus."

The Sacred Gear held by Yukino Yukinoshita was exactly the same as Zenith Tempest: it was known as a Longinus.

"Absolute Demise—the eleventh-ranked Longinus. It is a legendary, independently manifested Sacred Gear capable of freezing everything and creating a world of ice crystals."

In the original story, this Longinus belonged to a mage named Lavinia Reni.

But in this world, Yukino Yukinoshita had become its master.