So, Do You Want to Leave?

Stray devil.

As the name suggests, these are devils who have broken away from their kin, are no longer bound by the rules of their society, and run amok in the outside world.

In the Underworld, every high-class devil has the right to receive evil pieces and recruit servants for their peerage. However, precisely because of this, the quality of the servants recruited by high-class devils varies wildly. No one can guarantee that the servants they recruit won't include some unruly individuals.

This is especially true for servants reincarnated from other races. They might undergo a drastic change in personality after gaining power, or they might have been dangerous individuals to begin with, only to have their true nature unleashed once they obtained power, becoming more devilish than the devils themselves.

Most stray devils are such existences. Whether it is because they gained power and refused to be disciplined, felt dissatisfied with the constraints placed upon them, or harbored inappropriate ambitions and evil, they eventually chose to betray their masters—sometimes even murdering them—before becoming masterless devils and fleeing to the outside world.

Simply put, stray devils are fugitives among the devil population; they are dangerous individuals on the wanted list.

"Such a dangerous individual has appeared here?"

Late at night, on the outskirts of the city, at an unfinished entertainment facility, Yukino Yukinoshita appeared and posed the question to Leo beside her.

At this moment, Yukino Yukinoshita had swapped her usual Sobu High School uniform for attire better suited for action.

Her upper body was clad in a simple, unadorned plaid shirt, while her lower body was in cropped jeans. Her long, straight hair, which she usually wore down, was tied into two ponytails, making her look a little less cold and a little more lively.

"If the intel Sona Sitri gave me is correct, then this should be the place."

Leo replied to Yukino Yukinoshita lazily, his hands tucked into his pockets.

He wasn't wearing his school uniform tonight either, opting instead for dark-colored casual clothes: a black short-sleeved shirt, black slacks, and a matching black jacket. His entire aura had shifted; he had transformed from the sunny, cheerful boy of the daytime into a cool youth of the night, giving off the impression of someone shedding a disguise to become a nocturnal assassin.

"They say he's a devil with a cruel personality. Apparently, he was already a piece of trash before he was reincarnated. He had plenty of blood on his hands even before becoming a devil, and after becoming one, he went completely insane. Not long ago, he took advantage of his master being away to murder the colleagues he lived and worked with, then fled the scene. It sent his former master into a rage, leading them to issue a bounty, putting a high price on the head of this ungrateful wretch who abandoned his master."

Leo shared the information he had, causing Yukino Yukinoshita to knit her beautiful brows.

"What was that master thinking? Why would they recruit such a person into their peerage?"

Yukino Yukinoshita expressed her confusion.

By recruiting such a dangerous individual, weren't they afraid that they would be the ones murdered one day?

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't fathom such behavior at all.

"You're being a bit too naive if you think that way." Leo knew exactly what Yukino Yukinoshita was thinking. He tapped her forehead and said, "Do you think all devils are sunny, cheerful boys who hate evil like me? Some devils have methods even more terrifying than what you've read about in books, you know?"

"They don't care at all how many people the person they've set their sights on has killed. To them, humans are just inferior creatures anyway. If someone they've taken an interest in manages to slaughter their way out of that group with ruthless efficiency, they won't feel disgusted—they'll actually admire them."

"So, they reincarnate such people into their peerage, or perhaps they only care about the individual's talent and ignore their character entirely, ultimately sowing the seeds of their own destruction."

Leo felt nothing but disdain for such devils, feeling that they deserved exactly what they got.

"Of course, some servants choose to betray their masters simply out of dissatisfaction." Leo yawned and added, "Some were forced to reincarnate after being scouted by high-class devils, some couldn't accept the reality of becoming a devil and decided to rebel, and others were pushed to their breaking point by their master's oppression and arbitrary bullying. They aren't all just reckless, dangerous criminals."

If it were a stray devil like that, as long as their master wasn't too bloodthirsty, they generally wouldn't be subject to immediate extermination. Instead, they would simply be arrested and brought back for strict discipline.

However, the stray devil this time was not the type with a justifiable reason; they were a pure villain. Their master was not exactly a mild-tempered individual either, so the request was for a direct extermination—no survivors needed.

"The Underworld generally doesn't choose to turn a blind eye to stray devils like this. They are either put on a wanted list or the Underworld commissions devils active in the human world to take them out. You could say they are universally loathed. Other factions also view stray devils as unstable, dangerous factors; whether it's angels or fallen angels, once they are discovered, they choose to eradicate them."

Leo lifted his eyelids, looking at the entertainment facility plunged into darkness before him, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"By the way, the church has its own version of this: stray exorcists. They were originally clergy members who eliminated devils in the name of God, but occasionally, some find joy in killing devils, or act like heretical fanatics, disregarding all consequences just to wipe out every devil in the world, finding meaning and pleasure in such acts. Such people are usually expelled by the church that worships God, treated as harmful elements, and dealt with in the shadows—without exception."

"In this era where the three major factions no longer engage in large-scale conflicts or battles, if you encounter a regular exorcist from the church, you might be spared for some reason. But if you run into these stray exorcists out there, they certainly won't turn a blind eye to your existence."

"So, you must remember: when operating out there, your greatest enemy might not be the church, but these strays."

Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath.

This was a realm she had never touched before—a domain truly involving blood and combat—which made it impossible for her not to feel nervous.

Such matters of killing and the unfathomable darkness of these deeds were things she could never have encountered in the past. Now that she was suddenly forced to face them, she couldn't calm her emotions no matter what.

Thus, Yukino Yukinoshita subconsciously changed the subject.

"In other words, anyone could choose to leave their master and become a stray?" Yukino Yukinoshita said, feigning calmness. "Then, are you worried that I might become a stray?"

After all, she hadn't been reincarnated as a devil of her own volition.

Although the result was that Leo had saved her life, setting that aside, Yukino Yukinoshita hadn't been very willing to become a devil in the first place.

That was only natural. Why would anyone choose to be what others called an evil, filthy, and ugly devil when they could be a perfectly good human?

Putting herself in their shoes, Yukino Yukinoshita felt it was perfectly normal for someone to be unable to accept the fact of being reincarnated as a devil and, in order to gain freedom, choose to betray their master and run away.

If she hadn't been saved by Leo, she would never have chosen to compromise and obediently serve as someone else's servant after being forcibly reincarnated as a devil.

Given this, Yukino Yukinoshita became a bit curious, wanting to know if Leo was worried about her betraying him.

As it turned out, there wasn't the slightest bit of worry on Leo's face.

This was because the peerage he reincarnated were somewhat different from others.

Others relied primarily on the power of evil pieces to reincarnate devils. Although Leo also used evil pieces, his peerage transformation trait had long since connected with them. He used the existence of the evil pieces to trigger the conditions for the trait, so the pieces were merely a medium; the one truly unfolding the reincarnation ritual was the peerage transformation trait itself.

And as mentioned before, the Eligos clan's original trait was the ability to influence a warrior's will, but the peerage transformation trait had mutated into the ability to conquer a warrior's soul.

In other words, when the peerage transformation trait took effect and reincarnated Yukino Yukinoshita as Leo's peerage, her soul had already been branded with Leo's mark.

Not only was she Leo's servant in body, but her soul was also his property. Even if she were to die out there, her soul would automatically return to Leo's side to be reclaimed by him.

It was precisely because of this that Leo's peerage would subconsciously feel an affinity for him and find it easy to obey. Once they left his side, they would feel an inexplicable irritability—which was exactly what Yukino Yukinoshita had experienced earlier.

This was the external manifestation of the fact that her soul already belonged to Leo; it was an instinctive reaction.

Unless Leo did something truly excessive that made Yukino Yukinoshita feel genuine revulsion, causing her aversion to override this instinct and lead her to harbor disloyal thoughts, it would be very difficult for her to develop the initiative to leave.

If Leo focused his mind, he could also sense the location of his peerage through their soul connection. Therefore, even if Yukino Yukinoshita were to actually run away, he would still be able to find her.

In short, as long as Yukino Yukinoshita did not hate Leo from the bottom of her heart, Leo had no concerns about her becoming a stray.

Leo looked at Yukino Yukinoshita and suddenly smiled.

"So, do you want to leave?"

Leo answered with a question instead, causing Yukino Yukinoshita's figure to stiffen.

"Tap..."

Before Yukino Yukinoshita could give an answer, the sound of footsteps approached from afar, drawing both of their attention.

"Who is it?!"

The sound of those approaching footsteps stirred up some unpleasant memories in Yukino Yukinoshita's heart, causing her to cry out subconsciously.

The owner of the footsteps did not answer her. Under Leo's deep, steady gaze, the figure slowly stepped out from the darkness.

"...I smell it. It's the scent of my own kind."

A low voice rang out, carrying a hint of amusement, a hint of obsession, a hint of madness, and a hint of danger.

"Did you catch up so quickly? You lapdog of the underworld?"

As the person spoke, their figure slowly entered Yukino Yukinoshita's field of vision, causing her pupils to tremble violently.

The shadow cast on the ground by the other party was also twisted, bearing no resemblance to a human form...