"Sacred Gear: Sword Birth," "Zenith Tempest," and "Absolute Demise" were all Sacred Gears that had wielders in the original work.
The difference was that Leo's "Zenith Tempest" and Yukino Yukinoshita's "Absolute Demise" were both Longinus, unique in all the world. As for Asuna Yuuki's "Sword Birth," though it was an extremely rare Sacred Gear, more than one could exist so long as it wasn't a Longinus.
Under the circumstances, Asuna's Sacred Gear being "Sword Birth" shouldn't have been surprising. After all, Leo had already known when he reincarnated her as a Devil that her potential wasn't far behind Yukino's. The Sacred Gear inside her was sure to be an exceptionally powerful and rare type.
Yet when Asuna awakened her Sacred Gear and revealed the power of "Sword Birth," Leo was still astonished.
There was no other reason. He simply hadn't expected one of the Reincarnated Devils under his command to wield a Sacred Gear known as the Natural Enemy of Devils.
A Devil actually wielded a Sacred Gear that was especially effective against Devils?
And one with the Holy Attribute—an even more terrifying Sacred Gear that countered Devils more severely than the Light Power of Angels and Fallen Angels?
What was this supposed to be? We've got a traitor in our midst?
Still, there was no denying that it was a Sacred Gear ideally suited to the "Knight" position.
"It's obvious. Your role in the future will be that of a swordswoman."
Leo smiled at Asuna, who had opened her eyes and was staring dazedly at the Holy Swords appearing all around her.
"With the speed granted by the 'Knight' position, if you can make proper use of the power of these Holy Swords, you might pose an even greater threat to your own kind than Yukino and I do."
Though her Sacred Gear was especially effective against Devils, that didn't mean Asuna would be useless elsewhere.
Devils fought among themselves, and when they did, they could be fiercer than any other race. In the past, the Devil world had been divided between the Old Satan Faction and the Reformist Faction, which had fought a terrible civil war. Many Devils had died in the conflict, and its lingering consequences still caused trouble, with incidents breaking out in the Devil world from time to time.
In the future, the Old Satan Faction would become a major enemy of the current Devil world. When that happened, Asuna would surely shine, becoming a widely celebrated new-generation Devil.
Even setting aside the prospect of civil war, Asuna's power would still come in handy.
After all, the Devil world now had a popular competitive sport: the Rating Game.
It was the most acclaimed competition of the day. From the Satans down to ordinary citizens, all Devils were devoted fans.
Many pure-blood families among the 72 Pillars had died out. After the current Satan, Beelzebub, developed the Evil Pieces to save the Devil population from dwindling further, this competitive sport began to take off.
The main competitors were Devils who served as "Kings." They could lead their peerage in battles against the peerages of other "Kings," competing under different rules to determine the winner. The games showcased the strength of the Kings and their peerages to the upper ranks and the general public, as well as their ability to use the rules to secure victory.
The Rating Game had now become one of the most important ways to determine a Devil's standing. Their performance in the games directly affected how the upper ranks judged them and their peerages. A strong showing and a high evaluation could even lead to a promotion and a noble title afterward.
Throughout history, countless Devils had made a name for themselves in the Rating Games. Countless others had used them to rise through the ranks—from Low-Class Devils to Middle-Class Devils, and from Middle-Class Devils to High-Class Devils—earning the chance to recruit peerages of their own and make their debut as "Kings," just like their masters.
As a result, participating in the Rating Game had become a dream for the new generation of Devils. Even High-Class Devils who were already "Kings" wanted to climb higher through the competition and become Ultimate-Class Devils, the highest rank below the Satans.
Sona Shitori intended to compete in the Rating Games, hoping to achieve one of her dreams through them. Her childhood friend from the Gremory Clan also wanted to dominate the Rating Games.
There were only two requirements to enter the Rating Games: competitors had to belong to a peerage led by a "King," and they had to be adults.
Leo, Sona Shitori, and Rias Gremory had all turned eighteen this year. Before long, they would be able to make their debuts as new-generation Devils and begin preparing to enter the Rating Games.
Leo naturally planned to compete. Even though he knew that, if events unfolded as they did in the original work, the whole world would probably descend into chaos before long, making it uncertain whether the Rating Games could go ahead, many children of pure-blood Devil families from this generation were about to make their debuts. A Debut Match for the new generation would likely be held, and he would almost certainly have to take part.
Whether in the Rating Games or the Debut Match, Asuna—with her Holy Attribute Sacred Gear, which countered Devils—would be a powerful trump card.
To Leo's opponents, Asuna might prove just as threatening as he and Yukino, the two wielders of Longinus.
There was just one thing...
"I'll have to figure out how to arrange things for you, too."
Leo's words gave Yukino and Asuna pause.
"Is there a problem?" Yukino asked on Asuna's behalf.
"A small one," Leo replied without hiding anything. "The Eligos Clan is an extremely traditional Devil family. Its members have mostly developed their abilities in the direction of Demonic Power. Almost none of them have pursued close combat."
"You and I are both traditional Devils who rely on Demonic Power, so it's easy for us to find the knowledge we need about studying and using it in the family library."
"The family library also contains some information about Sacred Gears, since quite a few family members throughout history have encountered Sacred Gear Users."
"But when it comes to sword skills and swordsmanship, I doubt the family library has much relevant knowledge at all."
In other words, Asuna could learn to use Demonic Power here, and she could learn to use her Sacred Gear here, too. But her weapon was a sword, and she needed to learn swordsmanship as well as how to use her Sacred Gear.
The family library could teach her how to channel her Sacred Gear's power to create Holy Swords with different attributes and abilities, but it couldn't teach her how to wield a sword or use sound close-combat techniques against an enemy. She would have to learn those things elsewhere.
Neither Leo nor Yukino had much experience with close combat, let alone swordsmanship.
Yukino was at least familiar with some Aikido techniques. Leo, on the other hand, had almost no close-combat skills to speak of.
He might have seemed completely at ease in his last fight with Sharon, effortlessly dodging her relentless attacks with his footwork, but that wasn't due to his physical prowess in close combat. He had relied on Demonic Power.
The Eligos Clan's Demonic Power was exceptionally suited to sensing things. Leo had spread his Demonic Power out at the time and read Sharon's movements, which was why he had been able to dodge so effortlessly.
But that had only worked up to a point. If Sharon had made an unexpected move, Leo might have sensed what she was doing, but his body wouldn't have been able to react in time.
That was why he had eventually resorted to using Demonic Power to form a barrier, block Sharon's attacks, and turn the tables by bombarding her with overwhelming Demonic Power.
All things considered, Leo truly wasn't good at close combat, even though a Devil's physical abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary human.
"If she just needs to learn swordsmanship, that shouldn't be too difficult, should it?"
Yukino furrowed her brow. For a moment, she considered using the Yukinoshita Family's resources to find some Kendo experts to train Asuna.
"True, human swordsmanship isn't useless, but it's designed for humans. It might not suit a Devil," Leo said, having guessed what Yukino was thinking. After considering it for a moment, he added, "This is a good time to ask someone else for help. There's no need to insist on handling it ourselves."
"Ask someone else?" Yukino guessed. "The student council president?"
"Right." Leo nodded. "The Sitri Clan has always supported and sponsored me, and their family has never died out. They should be able to solve this problem."
The Eligos Clan had died out before the Evil Pieces were created, so none of its members had ever become "Kings" and led a peerage. They had never needed to consider the development of their peerages.
The Sitri Clan was different. Since the Evil Pieces were created, countless members of the family had led peerages as "Kings." Their peerages included "Rooks," "Knights," and "Pawns," units that needed close-combat skills. They had surely gathered plenty of relevant knowledge.
Besides, the upper ranks of the Underworld were probably paying even more attention to Leo now, after the report Sona Shitori had taken back with her last time.
If he asked them for support in this area, he would most likely get what he wanted.
It was just knowledge of close-combat techniques, not a family secret like some special method of using Demonic Power. There was no need to hoard it.
Devils valued Demonic Power above all else. They paid little attention to knowledge in other fields. Some arrogant Devils even believed that close combat was something only crude servants needed, and that true Devils should fight with Demonic Power.
"There's no time to waste. I'll contact Sona now," Leo said, standing up. "Yukino, take Asuna around the estate."
Yukino nodded and accepted the task.
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