Ophis is gone.
He left very decisively and directly, without the slightest hesitation, showing no sign that he had just been trying to persuade Leo and bring Leo into his camp.
She had to leave. Even if she deliberately concealed her power and reduced her presence, as long as she stayed in the Dimensional Gap for too long, the Great Red would still sense her presence and find her here.
Therefore, after returning the Evil Piece to Leo, Ophis left the Dimensional Gap and disappeared without a trace.
Of course, before Ophis left, Leo quickly asked her how to leave the Dimensional Gap.
Ophis said nothing about this, but left behind the entrance to the mortal Human World that he had opened when he left. The meaning was clear: he was telling Leo that by passing through this entrance, he could leave the Dimensional Gap.
"Is it okay to just get through here?"
Looking at the entrance that remained in the center of the dilapidated Throne Hall like a black vortex, Leo finally relaxed and his face lit up with joy.
Now that he had a way to leave, he no longer needed to be in such a hurry.
"I wonder what's going on outside now."
Leo is no longer concerned about his own affairs, but about other people's affairs.
I accidentally broke through the Different Dimension set up by the Hero Faction and was exiled to the Dimensional Gap. This happened several days ago.
Given the length of time that has passed, the situation at the Summit Meeting should have ended by now, and the struggle between his own family and servants and the Hero Faction could not have continued until now; it must have been declared over.
But Leo couldn't help but care about the outcome.
The Summit Meeting went well. If things had unfolded as they did in the original story, it would have ended without serious incident. The attack launched by the Old Satan Faction against the leaders of the Three Factions would have ultimately failed, with no casualties or injuries. Only one person would leave their side and join the Khaos Brigade, thus becoming a member of the terrorist group.
According to the original story, after this incident, the Three Factions will formally conclude a peace agreement and will no longer wage war. They will even cooperate with each other to promote the development of the Heaven, the Underworld, and the Human World, expand their influence, and eventually attract the other Mythological System forces to the Celestial Realm, leading to world peace.
This is naturally a good thing. Leo really hopes that the plot hasn't gone astray, so that at least Rias Gremory, Sona Shitori, and the others should be safe and get through this incident safely.
As for the outcome of the clash between Eligos Peerage and the Hero Faction, that was entirely unpredictable.
After all, such an event did not occur in the original work. If we follow the timeline of the original work, the Hero Faction should not have appeared at all. The Hero Faction would only emerge after the Old Satan Faction's faction was eliminated by the Three Factions.
But now, because of him, the Hero Faction has appeared ahead of schedule and has even become involved in the struggle between the current Demon King Faction and the Old Satan Faction, turning against him. This is a situation that did not occur in the original work, Leo naturally lost the original plot as a reference and could not predict what the situation was like there.
"As long as Cao Cao isn't around, Yukino and the others should be able to handle the rest of the Hero Faction, right?"
Leo thought this with some uncertainty.
The Hero Faction is full of talented individuals; every member is a descendant of a hero and is also a master of Sacred Gear. The main combatants have all mastered Balance Breaker, making them a force to be reckoned with. However, compared to the Old Satan Faction, the Hero Faction is likely much weaker.
Because the Hero Faction ' ideal is to defeat alien races with human bodies, to overcome the strong with the weak, and to prove the value of humanity, they all exhaust their own strength, strive to train themselves, and study Sacred Gear, unlike the Old Satan Faction, who all chose to swallow Ophis's "serpent" in pursuit of power.
After acquiring Ophis's "Serpent," the members of the Old Satan Faction all experienced a surge in power. Even Leif Trix was upgraded from Eight-Winged- winged, Ultimate-Class Devil to a Ten-Winged Class, Special-Class Devil. It was impossible for the others not to increase their power after consuming Ophis's "Serpent."
Especially those who inherited the bloodline of the Old Maou, and like Vali Lucifer, those who were descendants of the Old Maou, could basically reach the Maou-Class after swallowing Ophis's "serpent".
In this way, the Old Satan Faction now has at least three Maou-Class combatants: Beelzebub, Leviathan, and a descendant of Asmodeus.
On the other hand, the Hero Faction, because they did not use Ophis's "serpent," had no Maou-Class Maou-Class power except for Cao Cao.
Aside from Cao Cao, the strongest among the Hero Faction should be Siegfried, a former top warrior of the Church who inherited the genes of the Dragon Slayer Hero Sigurd and wields multiple demonic swords, including the formidable sword Gram, the Demon Emperor.
Although Siegfried's strength is not at the Maou-Class, if he goes all out, he should be able to compete with a Ten-Winged Class Special-Class Devil.
With such strength, among the previous Eligos Peerage, only Yukino Yukinoshita, who had completed her Balance Breaker transformation, and Ram at full power could probably put up a fight. Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had also completed her Balance Breaker transformation, should also be able to put up a fight and not lose too badly.
As for the rest of the Hero Faction, while they are strong, they are not too outrageous. The only ones to be wary of are the two holders of the Top-tier Longinus, namely the hosts of " Annihilation Maker " and " Dimension Lost ".
Even with the strength of High-Class Devil, Ravel Phenex wouldn't fare well against these two. However, Ravel Phenex is immortal, so even if her strength isn't low, she shouldn't be easily defeated.
Based on this calculation, as long as their own followers choose the right opponents and are not outmaneuvered by the Hero Faction, even if they cannot guarantee a win, they are not certain to lose.
The situation is truly critical; Eligos Peerage still has Rem.
Once Rem Oni Transformation, her power will instantly reach the Ultimate-Class Devil. In the short term, apart from Siegfried, probably no one in the entire Hero Faction can claim to be able to defeat Rem.
In conclusion, the outcome of the great battle between Eligos Peerage and the Hero Faction remains to be seen.
"At least one thing is certain: those girls are all alive and well."
Otherwise, their souls would have already found their way back to Leo.
This is why Leo, despite being trapped in the Dimensional Gap, was still able to maintain a certain degree of patience and composure.
If the girls' fates were unknown at this moment, Leo would probably have panicked long ago.
Anyway, let's go back and check on things quickly.
Having made up his mind, Leo prepared to take the sleeping Kanna and the unconscious Stella back to the Human World.
However, to Leo's surprise, someone woke up just as he was about to make his move.
Stella sat up at some point, clutching Leo's coat tightly to cover her beautiful body. Her eyes, burning like flames, were fixed on Leo, no longer empty and devoid of emotion, but revealing obvious scrutiny and vigilance.
"You're awake?" Leo looked at her with some surprise, and noticing the wariness in her eyes, he immediately said, "I am—"
Just as Leo was about to explain the situation to Stella, Stella spoke up.
"I know you are the Devil, the one who awakened me."
Stella's tone was sharp, and she interrupted Leo's speech without any politeness.
The tone wasn't hostile, nor did it have that condescending feel; on the contrary, it gave off a majestic aura, making her seem more like a knight than a princess.
"You even know Devil is?" Leo raised an eyebrow, even more surprised. "I thought you didn't know what Devil was."
According to records, the Vermis Kingdom existed much earlier than the time when angels, Devil, and Fallen Angel appeared. Devil may not have even existed at that time, so Leo was quite surprised that Stella knew about the existence of Devil.
"I didn't know at first," Stella said with a strange coldness, "But I found out after you barged in."
Leo was slightly taken aback.
What does this mean?
"Although I am sealed within the Dragon Crystal, I have not been in a constant slumber."
Perhaps sensing Leo's confusion, Stella said this calmly.
"If anyone trespasses into this Sealed Land, or even enters this royal city, I will briefly awaken."
In other words, Stella actually knew what was happening in the outside world.
Stella knew not only what happened after Leo broke into the castle, but also what happened after she broke free of her seal and her Dragon Bloodline's defensive instincts were activated, causing her to lose control.
Although she was out of control at that time, her consciousness was clear, and she was able to "see" and "hear" everything that was happening in the outside world.
"So, you also know that I have reincarnated you into Devil and taken you as my servant?"
Leo nodded, noticing Stella's less-than-ideal attitude, but he wasn't too bothered and simply stated his opinion directly.
"Family members and servants----"
Stella's grip on the clothes covering her front tightened slightly, and a hint of anger flashed in her eyes as she looked at Leo.
Clearly, she couldn't accept being reduced to this state, nor could she accept Leo's words.
It's not entirely incomprehensible. After all, Stella was the last princess of the Vermis Kingdom. Even though the Vermis Kingdom had perished, she was a genuine member of the royal family in the past, a high-ranking Princess with a noble and great status.
As a result, when she woke up, she found herself transformed from a royal princess into someone else's servant. Such a drastic change in status was not something she could easily accept.
Rather, it's more accurate to say that no one, including the girls in Eligos Peerage, would easily accept suddenly becoming someone else's servant.
Aside from those who voluntarily accepted Leo's Evil Piece and became his servants, weren't the others also initially finding it difficult to accept this fact?
Yukino Yukinoshita and Asuna Yuuki are like that, except that they were able to continue living because Leo saved their lives, so they were able to gradually accept becoming Leo's servants.
Stella, on the other hand, had no reason to accept this.
However, the Princess did not vent her anger and dissatisfaction on the spot. She stared at Leo for a while before speaking again.
What time is it in the outside world right now? What is the current state of the world?
Stella chose to change the subject and first figure out the current situation.
Leo gave the other person a deep look, and then spoke.
"It's too complicated to explain, you'll understand it yourself."
As he spoke, Leo raised his hand and unfolded a magic square above his palm.
He had previously researched methods for imparting memory and knowledge in order to save time in explanations, and now he was simply using them again.
Thus, all the knowledge related to modern times was poured into Stella through the magic square array unfolded in Leo's hands.
Stella felt a sudden rush of heat to her head, and involuntarily released one hand from her clothes. Ignoring the exposed view, she rubbed her forehead, looking uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, unlike others who only needed to know some knowledge about the Underworld, Stella had been asleep for too long and had been gone for too long, so she was completely out of touch with the outside world. Therefore, Leo had to cram most of the common sense of the modern world into her so that she could understand what the outside world was like.
The state of the Heaven, the state of the Underworld, and the state of the Human World ----
The state of Devil, the state of angels, the state of Fallen Angel ------
Even more so, Leo instilled in Stella the basic knowledge of other existing Mythological System, allowing her to understand the current era as quickly as possible.
After a long time, Stella finally absorbed all the knowledge, and the expression on her face changed from discomfort to blankness.
"Has the outside world really become like this?"
Stella murmured softly.
The tone of his voice held disappointment, confusion, and a hint of helplessness.
Our motherland has become a distant past that has not even left its name in history, and everything we once desperately tried to protect has also vanished.
The world I'm in now, though the same as the world I was in before, is no different from it.
The familiar things are gone, replaced only by unfamiliar things that are impacting my sense of loss.
She was no longer the majestic Princess, but merely a widow abandoned by time.
"Hello----"
Suddenly, Stella heard Leo's voice.
Are you crying?
Upon hearing this, Stella reacted abruptly and wiped her eyes.
It was indeed damp there.
I've actually gotten an ant.
"----!"
Stella immediately wiped away her tears, and her gaze toward Leo sharpened.
Despite Stella's overly sharp gaze, Leo smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, you'll find a new place to live."
Leo said this quietly.
"It's with me."