This Entertainment Facility hadn't been built long ago, but because no further funding had come through, its completion date kept getting pushed back. The inside was full of trash and construction waste, and the air was thick with a foul stench that made people want to stay away.
But as they walked on, the looks of disgust on both Leo's and Yukino Yukinoshita's faces changed.
The reason was that the stench in the air had gradually turned into a pungent, fishy smell as they went deeper inside.
The Devils' sense of smell told them it was the smell of blood—and there was a lot of it.
Yukino Yukinoshita's expression turned grim, and her face slowly paled.
She saw that great swathes of bright red blood had appeared on the ground at some point. It was a horrifying sight.
Even more horrifying were the scattered bones and tattered clothes atop the bloodstains.
Anyone with half a brain could guess what this scene meant.
"Looks like we're too late."
Leo spoke in a cool, detached tone. It was clear that he was in a terrible mood.
The blood, bones, and clothes scattered across the ground made it obvious: the Stray Devil had already enjoyed quite a few meals.
"That monster deserves to die."
Yukino Yukinoshita was pale, but she gritted her teeth as she said it.
Compared to her and Leo, she felt that the monster they had just encountered was the real Devil—the kind of evil, ugly creature that ordinary people imagined when they heard the word.
"Judging by how tattered these clothes are, the bastards he ate were probably homeless drifters." Leo circled the area, surprisingly calm. "No wonder he went unnoticed until now. If he hadn't preyed on drifters—people whose disappearance wouldn't even be noticed—then the Underworld would've found him long ago."
"Didn't he say he'd captured a girl?" Yukino Yukinoshita recalled and hurriedly asked, "Where is she?"
Leo stopped walking.
Yukino Yukinoshita stopped with him, then saw the most heartbreaking sight of all.
At the very heart of this hellish scene, a girl lay motionless.
She was beautiful, with a slender figure and waist-length chestnut hair. Just as the Stray Devil had said, she was every bit as beautiful as Yukino Yukinoshita.
Unfortunately, blood covered the ground beneath her. Most of her body was intact, but her abdomen was mangled, as if a beast had gnawed at it.
Her breathing had stopped.
In the flower of her youth, she had withered away in this forgotten corner.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
Unable to hold back her emotions, Yukino Yukinoshita unleashed a freezing gust around herself, like a blizzard sweeping through. Ice began to form on the ground beneath her feet.
By contrast, Leo's face, which had been as cold as ice, suddenly showed a trace of surprise before turning strange.
He suddenly raised his hand and conjured a magic circle in his palm.
A crimson Evil Piece flew out of the circle and landed in his hand.
"An Evil Piece?" Yukino Yukinoshita was drawn to the sight. She stared in surprise, then blurted out, "It's glowing!"
It was.
The Evil Piece in Leo's palm was glowing, and its light was intense.
As Leo's peer, Yukino Yukinoshita knew exactly what this meant.
"Even though we're too late, it seems this girl isn't fated to die."
Leo murmured, then stepped forward and crouched beside the girl.
He placed the Evil Piece on her chest and chanted an incantation. The glowing piece shattered into a dense cloud of light particles and sank into the girl's body.
The next instant, the Evil Piece's power took effect. As it transformed the girl's body, the blood beneath her flowed back into her, and the horrific wound in her abdomen healed before their eyes.
The girl began breathing again, and her heart started beating once more, in time with Leo's suddenly powerful heartbeat.
Just as it had when he made Yukino Yukinoshita his peer a month ago, Leo's "Peerage Transformation" trait activated.
[Trait: Peerage Transformation is now in effect...] [Basic Feedback gained—Demonic Power (moderate).] [Advanced Feedback gained—Sacred Gear (proficient).]
In an instant, the Demonic Power in Leo's body surged once again, just as it had a month ago.
The increase wasn't quite as great as it had been when he made Yukino Yukinoshita, who possessed a Longinus, his peer, but it came close. Leo's Demonic Power, already approaching the upper reaches of a High-Class Devil, soared to rank among the best of his level, on the verge of reaching the limit.
At the same time, Leo felt something stir in his mind and even his soul. It was as if his will had suddenly grown much stronger, letting him clearly sense that his control over Zenith Tempest had improved by a great deal.
Sacred Gears fed on their users' will and thoughts. As long as those grew stronger, so would the Sacred Gear, and it would also become much easier to use.
Through the feedback from his "Peerage Transformation" trait, Leo had gained proficiency in using Sacred Gears. This effect had been achieved by strengthening the will of the Sacred Gear User—himself.
If Leo had been a novice Sacred Gear User before, he now wielded and understood his Sacred Gear like someone who had spent years, even decades, studying it.
"Another huge leap in power."
Leo's mood, which had soured after arriving here, finally began to improve.
At the same time, the activation of his "Peerage Transformation" trait had allowed him to realize a few more things.
The feedback from his "Peerage Transformation" trait depended on the potential and strength of the peers Leo recruited. Judging by this latest feedback and the previous one, the feedback seemed to fall into three broad tiers.
The first tier was recruiting peers with low potential, like the ordinary people who had once been regular humans before becoming members of Sona Shitori's peerage. Such peers would only give Leo the weakest feedback: probably just one type of basic feedback, and if the feedback was Demonic Power, it might only be a small amount.
The second tier was recruiting peers with moderate potential, such as humans who possessed Sacred Gears, or beings with special abilities or bloodlines. Such peers could give Leo a satisfying amount of feedback, generally including both basic and advanced feedback. If the feedback was Demonic Power, it would be a moderate amount.
The third tier was recruiting peers with high potential, like Yukino Yukinoshita, who possessed a Longinus. Her potential and talent placed her among the best in the world. Such peers would provide three kinds of feedback: basic, advanced, and additional. If the feedback was Demonic Power, it would be a large amount, enough to greatly increase Leo's strength.
This girl was probably a second-tier peer. Leo could already sense a Sacred Gear within her.
Of course, those were only broad categories. There were probably clear differences between peers within the same tier as well.
Take this girl, for example. Although Leo had gained only two kinds of feedback when he made her his peer, and the Demonic Power he received was only a moderate amount, he felt that the increase wasn't far behind the amount he'd gained from Yukino Yukinoshita. It was probably just a little short of being considered large.
And the advanced feedback was substantial too, raising Leo's mastery of Zenith Tempest by several levels. Leo felt this peer was close to the threshold of high potential, and that the only difference between her and Yukino Yukinoshita might be the level of her Sacred Gear.
Yukino Yukinoshita's Sacred Gear was a Longinus. This girl's probably wasn't.
That was only natural. There were just thirteen Longinus, each one unique, with no duplicates. As soon as one appeared, every major faction would set its sights on its wielder. Leo had already been lucky enough to meet Yukino Yukinoshita. There was no way he'd just happen to encounter another one on an ordinary mission.
Leo had never expected all his peers to be as high-quality as Yukino Yukinoshita. That was completely unrealistic. So when he saw that the Evil Piece had reacted almost as strongly as it had to Yukino Yukinoshita, he hadn't hesitated for a moment before deciding to accept the girl.
"She's... all right now, isn't she?"
Yukino Yukinoshita finally came closer and asked quietly.
"Of course." Leo looked up at Yukino Yukinoshita and smiled. "Congratulations. You're about to have another companion."
"You should be the one I'm congratulating, shouldn't I?" Seeing Leo smile eased the heaviness in Yukino Yukinoshita's heart. She folded her arms and gave a soft huff. "You've taken in another beautiful peer. You must be pretty pleased with yourself."
"A little," Leo said with a toothy grin, making no effort to hide it. "What can I say? I'm a Devil who follows his desires."
As he spoke, Leo picked the girl up.
"Let's go. We'll take her back to the estate first."
Leo headed straight outside.
Yukino Yukinoshita lifted her foot to follow, but then noticed a schoolbag where the girl had been lying.
"Is this hers?"
Yukino Yukinoshita thought of the girl's clothes. They looked like a uniform from some prestigious school.
The girl must have been attacked on her way home from school.
Thinking this, Yukino Yukinoshita picked up the schoolbag and saw the name of her future companion on the name tag hanging from it.
"Asuna Yuuki..."
Yukino Yukinoshita froze.
She felt like she'd heard that name somewhere before...
"The young lady of the Yuki Family..."
Yukino Yukinoshita remembered something and frowned.
A moment later, she muttered to herself.
"Another rich girl, huh? That guy sure is lucky..."
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