The Power That Threatened the World's Balance

Handing out flyers was the first job every Devil working in the human world had to do.

As mentioned before, in modern times, people no longer went searching for forbidden information themselves as they had in ancient times, then drew magic circles to summon Devils, form contracts with them, and work together. So delivering flyers printed with simplified magic circles to humans had become an essential part of a modern Devil's work.

Usually, this job was done by familiars, and Devils didn't need to do it themselves. But High-Class Devils generally had their servants do basic work for a while to hone their skills. Once they were familiar with the grunt work, they could start using magic circles to formally accept requests from people with desires and earn payment by fulfilling them.

As a novice Devil, Yukino Yukinoshita naturally had to start with this job.

Of course, she didn't have to stand in a crowded place like the various employees on the street, smiling and handing flyers to passersby. She only needed to deliver the flyers to the designated addresses one by one late at night, when no one was around, and slip them into mailboxes or under doors.

"So I just have to deliver the flyers to people's homes while they're asleep?"

Once she learned what the job entailed, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Having a young lady who wasn't good at interacting with people hand out flyers on the street while keeping a smile on her face would have been asking too much of her.

"We can't help it. We can only operate at night. Unlike familiars, we can't work without any trouble both day and night," Leo explained. "Devils can only operate at night. Daytime belongs to angels and God. If you dare hand out Devil Flyers on the street during the day, then pray for good luck if you run into someone from the Church. They definitely won't mind sending an exorcist to take you out."

"Don't make it sound so scary!" Yukino Yukinoshita's face stiffened as she protested. "I don't want to die again!"

Even now, when she thought back to the night Valder had run her through with his spear, Yukino Yukinoshita still felt a lingering fear.

No matter how dangerous an ordeal someone else went through, as long as they survived, it was merely the closest they had ever come to death. But she had actually died once, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience at all.

So Yukino Yukinoshita really didn't want to go through the same thing again.

"Then keep this safe."

Leo suddenly took out a bracelet-shaped object and handed it to Yukino Yukinoshita.

"What's this?"

Yukino Yukinoshita took it, inspecting it as she asked.

"A Light Power Detector. It can detect high concentrations of Light Power nearby. Once it starts beeping, it means either an angel or Fallen Angel is nearby, or a Church exorcist capable of using a Light Weapon has shown up," Leo told Yukino Yukinoshita. "Chiba City is the Church's territory, after all, so it's never convenient for Devils to operate here. Take this with you, and you'll be able to avoid a lot of risks."

Leo had used it when he was young. The Devil who had looked after him back then had brought it from the Underworld. It wasn't particularly valuable, but it was useful.

"You don't need it?"

Yukino Yukinoshita asked, surprised and curious.

"I don't need it anymore." Leo smiled confidently. "These days, the people from the Church should be the ones hiding from me, not the other way around."

Even if Church exorcists could use the angels' Light Power in battle, they wouldn't dare provoke a High-Class Devil without good reason.

No matter how battle-hardened or determined their opponent was, as long as they were still human, still made of flesh and blood, they would have to act in a team to stand a chance of defeating a High-Class Devil.

So unless he ran into some legendary warrior or a top exorcist the Church considered its trump card, Leo could retreat with ease even if he was surrounded, given his current strength.

That was how strong he had been before. Now, not only had his Demonic Power greatly increased, he had also advanced from Two-Wing to Six-Wing. He was far stronger than before, and on top of that, he had awakened Zenith Tempest. The Church personnel stationed in Chiba Prefecture were no longer a threat he took seriously.

"Take this too," Leo said, handing Yukino Yukinoshita another device. "This is an Action Device for detecting suitable clients. Simply put, it scans for the locations of potential customers. Just deliver the flyers wherever the device indicates."

After giving her all the instructions, Leo sent Yukino Yukinoshita on her way.

Yukino Yukinoshita still felt a little uneasy, but she didn't want Leo to think she was weak. So she took a deep breath, spread her Devil Wings, and flew out of the estate.

Leo watched Yukino Yukinoshita leave, then returned to the underground training room.

"Whoosh!"

As six Devil Wings spread out behind Leo, he flew up into the air above the training room once more.

He was about to train his ability to use his Sacred Gear.

"Fire!"

At Leo's command, a tremendous burst of flames erupted around him.

The flames became a Fire Wave, spreading outward like a scarlet avalanche. In an instant, the entire underground training ground was ablaze, transformed into a sea of fire.

"Water!"

Leo gave another command, and a torrent of water vapor immediately condensed out of thin air, conjuring a towering flood.

It crashed down like a deluge from the heavens, swallowing everything in its path. The sea of fire became an ocean, and countless flames were extinguished.

"Ice!"

The next moment, snowflakes filled the air, and waves of frost descended, sending a blizzard sweeping across the entire training ground.

In an instant, the ocean filling the underground room froze at a visible speed. With a series of teeth-grinding crackles, it turned into a frozen land.

"Thunder!"

Leo raised his hand like a king commanding the world. Astonishing energy surged from his whole body, shaking the ceiling of the underground room and conjuring a rumbling bank of storm clouds out of thin air.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the clouds. Countless bolts of lightning suddenly crashed down, shattering the ice on the ground and ravaging the entire training ground.

The scene was like the legendary apocalypse compressed into this tiny patch of land. It activated the underground room's barrier, leaving it trembling on the verge of collapse.

Before long, Leo summoned fierce winds into the clouds, and tornadoes slammed down one after another. The battered floor shattered into countless fragments that swirled through the air, becoming raging sand and dust storms with the might of a real natural disaster.

"Is this the power of Zenith Tempest, ranked second among all Longinus, surpassed only by the legendary True Longinus?"

Looking at the underground training room, which had nearly become a ruin, Leo himself was shaken.

For those who wielded supernatural powers, manipulating the various elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—wasn't particularly difficult.

For that matter, Leo himself could conjure these Supernatural Phenomena with Demonic Power. But without advanced control over his Demonic Power and a powerful imagination, they were less effective than condensing his power into a barrage of projectiles or beams and firing them.

Even so, Leo was certain that not even the powerful beings who specialized in manipulating elemental forces could cause destruction on the same scale as Zenith Tempest.

Rather than manipulating elements like earth, water, wind, and fire, Zenith Tempest controlled the natural forces associated with them. Its power was, at its core, an ability to interfere with the world and nature.

That was clear from the way Zenith Tempest could command the sky and the weather. Without power on that scale, it wouldn't have been ranked the second-highest Longinus, nor would it have become one of the mere four existing Top-tier Longinus capable of destroying a nation or having a tremendous impact on the world.

"Although my Zenith Tempest has only just awakened, even an Ultimate-Class Devil would probably have to take its destructive power seriously, wouldn't they?"

After his initial shock, Leo grew excited.

"As expected, my greatest gain from taking Yukino as my servant isn't the increase in my Demonic Power or the advancement in my rank. It's the awakening of my Sacred Gear!"

The increase in his Demonic Power and the advancement in his rank had given him the strength to rise among the upper ranks of High-Class Devils. But the awakening of Zenith Tempest had given him the ability to challenge opponents of a higher class and hold his own against those stronger than him!

Leo came to a decision almost instantly.

"As long as I can master Zenith Tempest, my power will definitely be enough to threaten even an Ultimate-Class Devil!"

And that was only what he could achieve by mastering the Sacred Gear.

A Sacred Gear was a power with infinite possibilities. It would continue to change and evolve, feeding on its owner's thoughts and growing ever stronger.

A Sacred Gear's power was driven by its wielder's will, and its strength depended largely on the strength of that will. One day, if its wielder's will became strong enough to defy the course of the world, and his spirit changed so radically that emotions such as happiness, sadness, joy, grief, and fear became fuel, driving the Sacred Gear to its utmost limits, he would reach its ultimate domain—Balance Breaker.

That was a domain of power capable of disrupting the world's balance, a forbidden power known as the realm of taboos.

Once he reached that domain, Leo might be able to stand against the Demon Kings of the Underworld and become one of the world's most powerful beings.

That was what made Sacred Gears terrifying—or, rather, what made Longinus terrifying. The claim that they could destroy God and the Demon Kings was no exaggeration.

So when Zenith Tempest awakened, Leo knew that his future would no longer rest on his Devil powers, but on the world's second-ranked Longinus.

"I have to master Zenith Tempest as quickly as possible. Only then can I get a glimpse of the Balance Breaker realm."

With that thought in mind, Leo continued to unleash the power of his Sacred Gear, ravaging the underground room as apocalyptic roars rang out again and again.