Zenith Tempest

"Bang!"

With a sound like shattering glass, the anti-human barrier set up around the area was dispelled.

As the one who had cast the barrier, Vaden's death meant it immediately lost its effect and naturally dissipated.

Leo slowly lowered the hand he had raised at some point, the magic circle spinning above it vanishing along with the motion.

As mentioned before, the gap between a high-class devil and a low-class devil is like that between an elephant and an ant. Even though Leo had only recently been promoted to a high-class devil, dealing with a two-wing fallen angel of the same level as a low-class devil was a matter of mere minutes.

The opponent was not someone like Leo, whose rank failed to keep up with his actual strength; his power was perfectly consistent with his rank.

Because of that, Leo found him quite impressive.

"With strength like that, where did you even get the nerve to look down on others, calling them lowly at every turn?"

It just goes to show that no matter which faction you look at, there will always be such insufferably foolish idiots.

Leo quickly cast the thought of such an idiot aside and crouched down in front of Yukino Yukinoshita.

He pressed his fingers against the pulse on her fair neck. After only a moment, Leo confirmed it.

Yukino Yukinoshita had stopped breathing, and her heart had ceased to beat.

She was dead.

Leo's expression did not change in the slightest.

"I had intended to wait a little longer, but since things have turned out this way, you no longer have a choice, Yukino..."

Murmuring this, Leo took out a transparent chess piece as red as blood.

At this moment, the piece was pulsing with light.

An evil piece—a tool that only a high-class devil who has been conferred a title can possess, capable of reincarnating beings of other races into devils and taking them as servants in their peerage.

As long as it is used, one can establish a master-servant relationship and allow the other party to be reincarnated as a devil.

Now that she was already dead, the only way for Yukino Yukinoshita to continue living was to accept the reincarnation ritual and completely abandon her identity as a human.

"Now then, let's begin."

Leo placed the crimson chess piece onto Yukino Yukinoshita's chest and began to chant the incantation.

"In the name of Leo Eligos, I command—"

"You, Yukino Yukinoshita, return your soul to this place to become my servant—"

"Become a devil, and rejoice in your rebirth—"

As the solemn incantation fell, the bright red chess piece at Yukino Yukinoshita's chest immediately emitted a rich glow. It then shattered, transforming into particles of light that merged into the young girl's body.

The reincarnation ritual officially began. The pool of blood that had spread beneath Yukino Yukinoshita flowed back into her body as if time were reversing.

This was the process by which devils recruited their peerage servants.

For anyone else, things would generally be considered finished at this point.

However, the second after Yukino Yukinoshita was recruited as a peerage servant by Leo, an astonishing change occurred within Leo himself.

"Thump-thump—"

As if a force had been generated out of thin air and surged into his body, Leo felt a powerful heartbeat.

His demonic power was burning.

His blood was boiling.

His strength was increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye, causing his eyes to become bright and brilliant.

Then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, Leo received a message.

[Trait: Peerage Transformation, currently taking effect...]

—"Trait."

In the world of devils, this term generally refers to two types of existence.

The first is the distinct characteristics possessed by different evil pieces. When an individual is granted an evil piece and reincarnated as a devil, they acquire the special abilities inherent to that piece, which can be called peerage traits.

The second is the special power passed down through generations only within pure-blooded high-class devil families—an ability that only members of that family can potentially awaken and master.

The 72 pillars of devil families each possess their own special abilities, and these special abilities are the family traits belonging to that family's bloodline.

For example, the Bael clan, ranked first among the 72 pillars, has members who have the chance to awaken a trait known as "Power of Destruction." They can unleash demonic power with destructive attributes, possessing astonishing destructive force.

Sona Shitori has a childhood friend who grew up with her, the little princess of the Gremory clan, Rias Gremory. Her mother came from the Bael clan, and she was very fortunate to awaken the "Power of Destruction" trait. Possessing this destructive demonic power, her strength is second to none even among high-class devils, far surpassing Leo and Sona, who are also high-class devils.

As a member of the 72 pillars of devil families, the Eligos clan naturally possesses its own unique family trait.

According to historical records, the first generation of Eligos possessed the special ability to detect hidden things and influence the will of warriors. Thus, he was known as the war controller, capable of swaying the situation on the battlefield and inspiring the decision-making will of commanders.

The Eligos family trait is related to this; even those who fail to awaken the trait still possess talents in the realm of detection.

Leo is the same. While other devils find it difficult to manifest demonic power with detection effects, he finds it very easy to do so.

And when he recently promoted to a high-class devil and received his evil pieces, his family trait suddenly awakened without any warning.

Furthermore, perhaps because his soul originated from another world, his family trait underwent a mysterious transformation.

Peerage Transformation. This was the trait Leo awakened.

As the name suggests, this is a trait that, much like evil pieces, can be used to recruit servants into one's peerage.

The original trait of the Eligos clan was an ability that influenced a warrior's will. However, in Leo, this trait mutated into an ability to conquer a warrior's soul, capable of digitizing it so he could understand and utilize it through the reception of their will.

To use this trait, one must first establish a contract, leveraging it to achieve the goal of recruiting servants.

Therefore, it was only when Leo received the evil pieces that this trait awakened and spontaneously established a connection.

Under these circumstances, when Leo uses evil pieces to recruit servants, his Peerage Transformation trait also takes effect.

Once the Peerage Transformation trait is active, Leo receives a degree of feedback based on the strength and potential of the recruited servant, thereby enhancing his own power.

Now, having recruited his first servant, Leo successfully triggered the Peerage Transformation trait and received a power feedback.

[Obtained basic feedback—demonic power (massive).]

[Obtained advanced feedback—rank (six-wing).]

[Obtained additional feedback—sacred gear (awakened).]

The changes manifested in the very next moment.

As the demonic power within his body surged, three pairs of wings unfurled behind Leo.

His rank as a devil had finally ascended; he was no longer a two-wing, corresponding to a low-class devil, but a six-wing, perfectly matching his true strength.

At the same time, Leo's body rose into the air involuntarily, and various supernatural phenomena began to appear around him.

Blazing flames, ice and snow, storms, floods, flying sand and rocks... all sorts of powers closely related to nature suddenly manifested one after another upon him. They even began to affect the atmosphere and the weather, causing the sky to rumble with thunderous roars as thick, dark clouds rolled in.

"This is...?!"

Leo, who had been rejoicing over the increase in his demonic power and rank, felt his entire body tremble at the sight of this phenomenon.

He understood this phenomenon and realized what was happening to him.

Is there actually a sacred gear residing within my body?

This was something Leo had never anticipated.

Sacred gears are extraordinary powers created by the God of the Bible and housed within specific humans. They are special abilities capable of turning the impossible into reality, allowing ordinary humans to rival devils, angels, and fallen angels.

Leo never imagined that such a thing would be residing within him, and if there were no mistakes, it was an incredibly powerful sacred gear.

It was a sacred gear of the highest order, one of the legendary thirteen known as the Longinus, believed to be capable of destroying gods and devil kings.

"The sacred gear capable of manipulating weather and dominating any natural attribute, ranked second among the Longinus—Zenith Tempest!"

It is one of the top-tier longinus—of which there are only four among all sacred gear—capable of destroying a nation and exerting a massive influence on the world depending on how it is used.

"I am actually the wielder of Zenith Tempest?"

Leo felt a sense of disbelief.

Zenith Tempest... wasn't this the sacred gear belonging to Dulio Gesualdo, the strongest exorcist of the church in the original story?

How could it appear on him?

No, in this life, I have never even heard of the existence of someone named Dulio Gesualdo!

He had dealt with the church quite a few times; if there had been a strongest exorcist who could be called their trump card, it would have been impossible for him not to have heard the name.

Therefore...

"In this life, Dulio Gesualdo simply doesn't exist?"

Leo's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

"Or perhaps, do I actually have some connection to Dulio Gesualdo?"

He was called Leo in this life, while the other was called Dulio. Could this really be a mere coincidence...?

Yet, he had never heard of the Dulio Gesualdo from the original story having any connection to the devil faction...

Thinking of this, Leo couldn't help but look at Yukino Yukinoshita, who had already regained her breath and heartbeat.

Come to think of it, this world had long since diverged from the original story.

People who shouldn't have appeared in this world were here, and if his guess was correct, the sacred gear residing within him should have originally belonged to someone else as well.

"Then there is no need to overthink it."

Leo calmed down, retracting his demonic power and wings, causing the supernatural phenomena involving earth, water, wind, and fire that had been swirling around him to quietly vanish.

The rumbling, churning sky also settled, allowing the dark clouds to disperse.

By the time the crowds reappeared near the station, Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita were no longer there.

It was as if they had never been there at all.