037 Love? Not Even Dogs Date!

On the other side, in Leo's estate, in the underground training room...

Leo stood off to the side, watching Miyamoto Musashi instruct Asuna Yuuki.

"Forget about whether it's a Holy Sword or not for now. You should focus on mastering the basics first, starting with how to hold a sword. Once your stance is flawless, then you can learn how to swing it. Teaching you swordsmanship or sword techniques is still too early for you."

Miyamoto Musashi was correcting Asuna Yuuki's grip. She looked casual and carefree, but the moment Asuna's stance was even slightly off, she pointed it out and made her correct it. No matter how subtle or well-hidden the flaw, it never escaped her notice.

"Is this right?"

Under Miyamoto Musashi's guidance, Asuna Yuuki quickly mastered the proper way to hold a sword. The weapon in her hands wasn't a Holy Sword, but a wooden one she had casually created out of Demonic Power. From her appearance alone, anyone could tell the girl was a beginner.

"Right, right, just like that. Hold this position for now." Miyamoto Musashi seemed a little surprised by how quickly Asuna Yuuki caught on, and praised her sincerely. "Miss Yuuki, you're obviously a complete novice, but surprisingly, you've got real potential as a swordswoman."

Clearly, Asuna Yuuki had a fine talent for Kendo. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been chosen by Leo's "Knight" piece.

Miyamoto Musashi taught Asuna Yuuki several stances and tricks. Asuna quickly learned and grew familiar with each one, which made Miyamoto Musashi eager to teach her more.

"In my era, female swordswomen were almost unheard of, so I was an oddity. Even in modern times, they're just as rare. I never expected I'd come across a powerful future swordswoman."

From Asuna Yuuki's performance, Miyamoto Musashi could see her potential, and she became much more invested in teaching her.

Before long, Miyamoto Musashi had started teaching Asuna Yuuki the fundamentals of Niten Ichi-ryu.

Niten Ichi-ryu wasn't a school of swordsmanship that meant wielding two swords. It was a style in which one moved with the sword and adapted to the flow of battle.

Only when facing a powerful enemy or one's fate did one remain calm, assume a stance, and empty one's sword heart. That was Niten Ichi-ryu.

So a swordsman using One-Sword Style could practice Niten Ichi-ryu, as could one using Dual Wielding. Even someone like that easily lost green-haired guy, who carried another sword in his mouth and practiced Three-Sword Style, could use it.

In a way, Asuna Yuuki was indeed suited to learning Niten Ichi-ryu. In theory, her "Sword Birth" could create countless swords, and she could wield them all. A style like Niten Ichi-ryu, which wasn't limited by the number of weapons and could be performed with however many one wielded, would let Asuna make the most of the advantages of "Sword Birth."

Miyamoto Musashi might have realized this, which was why she wasn't teaching Asuna any actual sword moves. She only intended to teach her the basics, then explain the principles and essence of Niten Ichi-ryu, letting Asuna figure it out for herself and eventually develop her own version.

Asuna Yuuki didn't know what Miyamoto Musashi had in mind, but she listened intently.

Watching Asuna Yuuki absorb Miyamoto Musashi's teachings like a sponge, her stance growing more polished and her bearing increasingly that of a swordswoman, Leo could almost see the "Flash," Asuna, who would be known as the Berserk Healer.

"Given how things are going, Asuna should be ready for combat before long, right?"

Leo was quite pleased.

Asuna Yuuki wasn't as talented in Demonic Power as Yukino Yukinoshita. She wasn't among the most outstanding even for a Low-Class Devil, let alone a Middle-Class Devil. But her talent with the sword really was impressive, hardly any less than Yukino Yukinoshita's talent with Demonic Power.

And Yukino Yukinoshita had become capable of fighting in just one short month. If Asuna kept progressing at this rate, she would probably manage about the same.

In a month, Asuna Yuuki should be able to match a stronger Middle-Class Devil. And when facing a Demonic Creature, she might even hold her own against an opponent on the level of a High-Class Devil.

"They're all rare prospects. No wonder they're the heroines of their own stories. I really struck gold."

This gave Leo an idea: perhaps he could keep an eye out for heroine-level characters and choose his peerage members from among them.

People who became heroines in their own stories generally had something exceptional about them. Even if they didn't have high potential as peerage members, they should at least have average potential.

Take Utaha Kasumigaoka, for example. That woman was no ordinary person. And there were the other two High Mountain Flowers at Sobu High School, too. Perhaps he could keep an eye on them as well.

Leo had already paid attention to them before and confirmed that, unlike Yukino Yukinoshita, they didn't have Sacred Gears dwelling within them. But perhaps their potential would be unlocked after he performed Peerage Transformation on them, drawing a Sacred Gear to them in the process?

Not all Sacred Gears were present from birth. Some might be transferred into their hosts' bodies later on.

Take Leo himself. He strongly suspected that his "Zenith Tempest" had transferred into his body only after he awakened the "Peerage Transformation" trait, making him its host. Otherwise, after being a Devil for so many years, there was no way he wouldn't have noticed a Sacred Gear dwelling inside him.

He had been born a Devil in this life, and a Pure-blood Devil at that. His other half of the bloodline also came from Church exorcists. He could certainly be called exceptional from birth.

If he had possessed a Sacred Gear from birth, it should have awakened long ago. How could it have remained dormant until he became a High-Class Devil, without even the slightest sign of its existence?

His Magic Detection was already quite powerful. If someone had a Sacred Gear inside them, he would be able to detect it. There was no reason he wouldn't notice his own.

For that reason, Leo believed his "Zenith Tempest" must have been drawn to him only when he awakened the "Peerage Transformation" trait, making him the wielder of the second-strongest Sacred Gear in the world.

By the same logic, under the workings of Heaven's Sacred Gear system, unclaimed Sacred Gears could suddenly be drawn to someone, acknowledge them as their master, and take up residence inside them.

If he performed Peerage Transformation on people who became heroines in their own stories and successfully unlocked their potential, they might well become new Sacred Gear users.

"Come to think of it, senpai really knows how to keep her cool. So much time has passed, and she still hasn't activated the Devil Flyer I gave her to summon me."

Leo thought of how Utaha Kasumigaoka had been looking at him more and more as if she couldn't stand the sight of him, and silently grumbled to himself.

Ever since he'd started coming and going freely from the Service Club, and Yukino Yukinoshita had been liable to be at his side wherever he went, the disdain and contempt in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes had only grown stronger.

Utaha Kasumigaoka, who used to call him "Devil-kun" at every turn, now practically called him "perverted Devil-kun" every other sentence. With all that resentment in her, you'd think the Autumn Flower of Sobu High wanted to ask him out.

Too bad. He wasn't looking for a girlfriend. He was looking for servants...

Love?

Not even dogs date!

"Maybe I should shift my focus for now. I really haven't been paying much attention to the other two High Mountain Flowers lately."

That was what one particularly scummy Devil thought.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Leo looked up, as though he had sensed something.

He could feel the special magic circle he had placed on Yukino Yukinoshita entering a semi-activated state in response to the appearance of an enormous amount of Demonic Power.

"That much Demonic Power... Is Yukino finally going all out?"

Leo narrowed his eyes as an idea occurred to him.

He glanced at Asuna Yuuki and Miyamoto Musashi, both still immersed in their lesson, then quietly slipped out of the underground training room, activated the magic circle to teleport, and left the estate.

Boom!

The atmosphere roared.

As a blizzard-like cold front swept across the land, the moisture in the air seemed to be sucked dry. It froze and thundered, and endless ice formed in midair.

The ice masses fused together, quickly forming one iceberg after another. Under the control of the roughly three-meter-tall Ice Princess, they came crashing down toward the ground with terrifying force.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...

The icebergs rained down one after another like meteorites, shaking the earth and unleashing violent shock waves. Even Sharon, who kept leaping aside to dodge, was blown away several times by the frigid, raging winds.

"Ugh...!"

Sharon raised her arms and crossed them in front of her, but she still couldn't stop herself from flying backward like a cannonball and crashing into an iceberg.

In midair, Yukino Yukinoshita, with the Ice Princess hovering behind her, pressed her advantage and continued her assault, wildly pouring out Demonic Power as new icebergs formed around her.

"So this is the power of a Longinus...?!"

Sharon was on high alert, cold sweat even running down her forehead.

She had fought Sacred Gear users before, but this was her first time fighting a Longinus wielder.

Unfortunately, that one fight was enough to put her in dire straits.

"Compared with ordinary Sacred Gears, the power of a Longinus is absurd. They're not even in the same league...!"

Sharon, who could hold her own against a High-Class Devil, had now been driven to the brink by Yukino Yukinoshita. That showed just how terrifying Yukino was after using a Longinus.

The power to destroy gods and Demon Kings was already revealing itself in this battle.

"Yukino!"

At the edge of the battlefield, now transformed into a Frozen Land, Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't help crying out together.

They were shivering in the cold wind, with frost clinging to their clothes, and they were almost at their limit.

"I have to say, you're pretty gutsy to watch a battle in a place like this. Aren't you afraid you'll die?"

At one point, a voice like that reached the ears of the two Yukinoshita women.

At the same time, an invisible barrier rose up and blocked the oncoming cold wind.