The Hierarchy of Trait Feedback

This entertainment facility hadn't been built long ago, but because subsequent funding had never followed through, the completion date had been pushed back repeatedly. This left the interior filled with all sorts of trash and waste, and the air was even permeated with a foul stench that made people want to stay far away.

However, as they walked deeper, the expressions of disgust on the faces of both Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita shifted.

This was because the stench permeating the air had gradually transformed into a pungent, metallic scent as they ventured further in.

A devil's sense of smell told them both that this was the scent of blood—and a very heavy scent of blood at that.

Yukino Yukinoshita's complexion had already turned ugly, eventually fading to a pale white.

She saw it: large, vast patches of crimson blood had appeared on the ground at some point, a truly shocking sight.

Even more shocking were the segments of ghastly white bones and tattered pieces of clothing scattered atop these bloodstains.

Anyone with half a brain could figure out what this scene implied.

"It seems we arrived too late."

Leo spoke these words calmly, his tone icy, which made it easy to imagine how poor his mood was.

One only needed to look at the large patches of blood, bones, and clothing on the ground to know that the stray devil had enjoyed quite a few feasts during this time.

"That monster deserves to die."

Yukino Yukinoshita's face was pale, yet she still gritted her teeth as she said this.

She felt that, compared to herself and Leo, the monster from just moments ago was the genuine article—a devil, the kind of evil and ugly existence recognized by the general public.

"Judging by the tattered state of these clothes, the ones eaten by that scum were likely homeless people." Leo circled the area, unexpectedly calm as he said, "No wonder it wasn't discovered until now. If his targets hadn't been these homeless people—who wouldn't be missed even if they went missing and had no one to care for them—he surely would have been discovered by the underworld long ago."

"Didn't he also say he had captured a young girl?" Yukino Yukinoshita remembered this and hurriedly asked, "Where is that girl?"

Leo stopped in his tracks, no longer moving forward.

Yukino Yukinoshita stopped as well, and then she saw the most unbearable sight.

There, in the deepest part of this hellish scene, a young girl lay quietly.

The young girl was very beautiful, with a slender figure and chestnut-colored hair reaching her waist. She was indeed, just as the stray devil had claimed, a beauty not at all inferior to Yukino Yukinoshita.

It was just a pity that she was also covered in blood. While her body was otherwise mostly intact, her abdomen was torn to shreds, as if it had been gnawed on by a wild beast.

Thus, her breathing had already ceased.

At the age of a blooming flower, she had quietly withered away in this forgotten corner.

"Click, click, click—"

Yukino Yukinoshita could not suppress the emotions in her heart. A freezing aura swirled around her like a blizzard, causing the ground beneath her feet to begin icing over.

In contrast, Leo, whose face was usually as cold as ice, suddenly showed a hint of surprise, which then turned into a strange expression.

He suddenly reached out his hand and unfolded a magic circle in his palm.

From within the magic circle, a crimson chess piece flew out and landed in Leo's palm.

"An evil piece?" Yukino Yukinoshita was drawn to the scene. She was stunned for a moment, then widened her eyes and reflexively said, "It's glowing!"

Indeed.

The evil piece resting in Leo's palm was glowing, and the light was quite intense.

As Leo's peerage member, Yukino Yukinoshita knew very well what this phenomenon represented.

"Although we arrived late, it seems this young girl is not destined to die."

Leo said this softly, then stepped forward, arrived in front of the girl, and crouched down.

Then, Leo placed the evil piece in his hand onto the girl's chest and chanted an incantation, causing the glowing piece to shatter and turn into dense particles of light that merged into the young girl's body.

The next second, the power of the evil piece began to take effect. While transforming the young girl's body, it caused the blood beneath her to flow back into her body, and the gruesome wound on her abdomen healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The young girl's breathing returned, and her heartbeat resumed, perfectly synchronizing with the suddenly strong and powerful heartbeat of Leo.

Just as it had been a month ago when he turned Yukino Yukinoshita into his peerage member, Leo's "peerage transformation" trait was triggered.

[Trait: Peerage Transformation, now in effect...]
[Obtained basic feedback -- demonic power (medium amount).]
[Obtained advanced feedback -- sacred gear (proficiency).]

In an instant, the demonic power within Leo surged wildly, just as it had a month ago.

Although the increase was not as significant as the time with Yukino Yukinoshita, who possessed a longinus, it was not far off. It caused Leo's demonic power, which was already at the upper echelon of a high-class devil, to suddenly climb to the top tier of that same rank, nearly touching the barrier of its limit.

At the same time, Leo also felt his spirit and even his soul being touched. It was as if his own will had suddenly become much stronger, allowing him to clearly perceive that his mastery over the zenith tempest within him had skyrocketed.

A sacred gear feeds on the will and thoughts of its wielder; as long as the will and thoughts grow stronger, the sacred gear grows stronger as well, and even becomes much easier to use.

Under the feedback of the "peerage transformation" trait, Leo gained proficiency in using his sacred gear, and the way this effect was achieved was by strengthening his will as the wielder.

Under these circumstances, if Leo had been a novice sacred gear user before, his current mastery and familiarity with the sacred gear were now equivalent to that of a veteran who had meticulously honed it for years, or even over a decade.

"Another great leap in strength."

Leo's mood, which had turned somewhat sour upon arriving here, finally began to improve.

At the same time, the activation of this peerage transformation trait allowed him to perceive much more.

The feedback from the peerage transformation trait is determined by the potential and strength of the peerage members Leo recruits. Combining the feedback from last time with this instance, if there are no surprises, the intensity of the feedback can be roughly divided into three tiers.

The first tier involves recruiting peerage members with low potential, such as those under Sona Shitori who come from ordinary backgrounds and were originally just average humans. This type of peerage member only brings Leo the lowest level of feedback, likely providing only a single basic feedback, and if the feedback is in the form of demonic power, it would only be a small amount.

The second tier involves recruiting peerage members with medium potential, such as humans who possess a sacred gear, or those who possess special abilities or unique bloodlines. This type of peerage member can already provide Leo with sufficiently satisfying feedback. They generally provide two types of feedback: basic feedback and advanced feedback. If the feedback is in the form of demonic power, it would be a moderate amount.

The third tier is recruiting peerage members with high potential, such as someone like Yukino Yukinoshita, who possesses a longinus. Their potential and talent are enough to rank among the top in the entire world. This type of peerage member provides three types of feedback: basic feedback, advanced feedback, and extra feedback. If the feedback is in the form of demonic power, it would be a large amount, enough to significantly boost Leo's strength.

The young girl before him should be a second-tier peerage member; Leo could already sense the fluctuations of a sacred gear within her body.

Of course, these are just broad categorizations; there are likely clear distinctions even within the same tier.

Just like with this young girl, although Leo only received two types of feedback after making her his peerage member, and the demonic power feedback was only a moderate amount, in Leo's estimation, the increase in his demonic power this time was not too far off from the amount he received from Yukino Yukinoshita. It was likely just a hair's breadth away from reaching the "large amount" threshold.

Coupled with the fact that the advanced feedback was also quite substantial, allowing Leo's control over Zenith Tempest to climb several levels, Leo felt that this peerage member was likely approaching the edge of high potential. The only difference between her and Yukino Yukinoshita might simply be the grade of their sacred gears.

Yukino Yukinoshita's sacred gear is a longinus, while this young girl's sacred gear likely is not.

But that is normal. There are only thirteen longinus in total, and each one is unique; there is no second of its kind. Once one appears, that person is immediately targeted by all major factions. Leo was already lucky enough to encounter one Yukino Yukinoshita; how could he expect to run into a second one just by going out on a random mission?

Leo never thought that all his peerage members could be of such high quality as Yukino Yukinoshita; that would be completely unrealistic. Therefore, seeing that the reaction of the evil piece was so significant—hardly any weaker than the time with Yukino Yukinoshita—he did not hesitate at all and decided to take this young girl in.

"Is she... going to be alright?"

Yukino Yukinoshita approached, asking in a low voice.

"Of course." Leo looked up at Yukino Yukinoshita and smiled. "Congratulations, you're going to have another companion soon."

"Shouldn't I be congratulating you instead?" Seeing Leo's smile, Yukino Yukinoshita's heavy mood eased up quite a bit. She crossed her arms and gave a light huff. "You've recruited another beautiful peerage member; you must be very pleased with yourself, right?"

"A little bit." Leo flashed a grin and said without pretense, "Who told you I'm a devil who stays true to his own desires?"

As he spoke, Leo picked the young girl up.

"Let's go. Let's take her back to the manor first."

Leo headed straight outside.

Yukino Yukinoshita lifted her feet, intending to follow, when she noticed a school bag lying where the young girl had been resting.

"Is this her stuff?"

Yukino Yukinoshita recalled the girl's attire; it seemed to be the uniform of some prestigious school.

She must have been attacked on her way home from school, right?

Thinking of this, Yukino Yukinoshita picked up the young girl's school bag and saw the name of her future companion on the name tag hanging from it.

"Asuna Yuuki..."

Yukino Yukinoshita froze.

She felt like she had heard this name somewhere before...

"The daughter of the Yuki family..."

Yukino Yukinoshita recalled something, and her brows furrowed.

A moment later, she muttered to herself.

"To think it's another young lady; that guy really is lucky..."