Meanwhile, in the other rooms, the devils from the three servant groups each faced the trials waiting for them. Every chamber unleashed a different kind of assault.
Some encountered swarms of monsters.
Some fell into traps that were nearly impossible to escape.
Some were attacked by mysterious black-cloaked figures, instantly forced into fierce combat as waves of demonic power shook through the rooms.
"Who are these people?!"
Utaha reacted the moment the attackers appeared. Her barrier snapped into place, shielding fellow Rook pieces Koneko and Tsubasa.
Their room held nothing but those enigmatic figures in black robes and hoods. In front of each attacker floated a human-sized magic circle firing every type of spell—light rays, lightning, fire, cutting winds—all hammering against Utaha's barrier and erupting into deafening blasts.
"Are they magicians?"
Koneko, wearing her gauntlets, prepared to rush out, but Tsubasa grabbed her arm.
"They're definitely using magic. They might be from some Stray Magician group. If we charge out now, we'll be overwhelmed and injured for nothing."
Her voice was tight, her expression uneasy.
They stood trapped in the center of the room. Magicians surrounded them on all sides, firing spells in a relentless barrage. Without Utaha's barrier protecting them, they would've been blown apart in seconds.
Koneko recalled her battle against Utaha—when she herself had been hit by concentrated lightning from every direction and collapsed almost immediately. Back then Utaha had held back. These black-cloaked magicians clearly wouldn't.
One mistake now and she wouldn't be getting up again.
Koneko clenched her fists, her young face clouded with dread.
Akeno and Tsubaki faced a similar attack—mysterious black-clad enemies—but this time the assault wasn't magical bombardment from spells. It was pure demonic power.
Black-robed devils filled the room around them, devil wings unfurling from their backs, confirming their identity. Without hesitation they fired volleys of magic bullets like a torrential downpour.
"Who are you people?!"
"Stray Devils? Doesn't seem like it..."
Akeno and Tsubaki floated back-to-back, multiple magic circles forming around them as they held off the barrage. Explosions rippled across the barriers in a continuous storm of light and sound.
Elsewhere, Asuna and Tomoe, and separately Kiba and Ruruko, were forced to battle vicious monsters that filled their rooms—only to find themselves quickly overwhelmed.
"Damn it! These monsters are way too strong!"
Tomoe's katana was crushed between a hellhound's jaws. The creature lunged and spat a blast of fire at her, forcing her to dodge desperately.
"They're way stronger than the ghouls we fought in the Familiar Forest!"
Asuna, however, dispatched a magic wolf, a hellhound, a boar beast, and a bear monster with clean, decisive strikes. The Holy Sword in her hands radiated divine power. Even glancing blows inflicted unbearable pain on the monsters, leaving them heavily wounded or dying on the spot.
"Yuuki-san! Give me one of the Holy Swords you created!"
Tomoe shouted desperately, leaving Asuna momentarily stunned.
"I... I can do that?"
Asuna honestly didn't know whether a Holy Sword she created could be used by someone else—she had never tested it. But she didn't hesitate long. She quickly formed a katana-shaped Holy Sword and tossed it to Tomoe.
Tomoe froze, heart pounding. She was a devil—touching a Holy Sword recklessly should've been suicidal. Forget wielding it; even brushing it might burn her hand to ash. But seeing another devil like Asuna wield one normally, and with her own sword destroyed, she had no choice but to gamble.
She grabbed the sword.
To her shock, the Holy Sword didn't harm her. Instead, once she infused her demonic power into it, a torrent of holy energy erupted outward, forcing the monsters back.
"Yes!"
Overjoyed, Tomoe charged forward. Her blade cut down monsters with the same efficiency Asuna displayed.
She wasn't a Sacred Gear user like Asuna or Kiba, but she came from an exorcist family. Her swordsmanship wasn't on Kiba's level, but in pure technique she was stronger than Asuna. Given a weapon with that level of restraint against monsters, she fought just as fiercely—if not more.
With her new Holy Sword, she carved through monsters with confidence and speed.
By contrast, Yuuto Kiba and Ruruko Nimura were in far more dire straits.
Kiba's Demon Swords lacked the holy power to restrain monsters the way Holy Swords did. He could only use Sword Birth to create different elemental blades to knock them back, but the fight grew harder by the second.
"Ah!"
Ruruko Nimura cried out as a monster sank its fangs into her arm. Blood poured out in frightening amounts, and she crashed to the ground, trembling in pain.
Kiba wanted to rush to her but several monsters blocked the way.
"Sword Birth!"
He stabbed his blade into the ground, pouring demonic power into it. Just like when he fought Asuna, dozens of Demon Swords erupted from the earth, skewering the monsters blocking him.
"Ki… Kiba-san..."
Ruruko was nearly collapsed, clutching her injured arm, tears welling up.
Kiba pulled her behind him, eyes locked on the remaining monsters. His breathing was strained—his earlier burst had drained a large portion of his demonic power.
"This is bad..."
Still, he raised his Demon Sword and prepared to fight again.
Meanwhile, in the room assigned to Mahiru, Reya, and Momo—the three Bishop pieces—the challenge wasn't monsters or attackers.
It was a trap.
The floor turned to quicksand, sucking all three downward.
"Fly! Quick!"
"We can't! It's grabbing us!"
Reya and Momo struggled desperately. Their devil wings flapped wildly, but their legs remained firmly trapped, sinking deeper and deeper.
Mahiru wasn't doing any better. Watching herself being swallowed by the sand, panic flickered through her caramel-colored eyes.
Just a week ago, she'd been a normal high school girl. After reincarnating as a devil she had learned some basic skills under Leo's guidance, but she had no real combat experience. Facing something like this, panic was inevitable.
And quicksand wasn't something ordinary people ever encountered.
For a girl who'd lived a sheltered life, the fact she wasn't screaming outright meant her mental strength was already impressive.
As the sand pulled her down, Mahiru bit her lip.
I haven't even proven I'm someone worth keeping yet. I can't die here…!
That fierce determination ignited something inside her.
"—!!"
A violent roar filled the room as purple flames exploded from Mahiru's body, sweeping outward like a detonating star.
The surge of fire flooded the entire room. The quicksand around her blasted apart, even burning hot enough to fuse parts of it into crystal.
"What… what is that flame?!"
Reya and Momo froze. When the purple fire surged toward them, their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Pure instinct screamed at them to run.
If that fire touched them, they wouldn't just die—they'd vanish without a trace.
Fortunately, Mahiru remembered them at the last second. She forced the flames to split around them. Without that control, the divine and purifying power of the Cross's flames would have erased both girls instantly.
Once the quicksand had hardened into a glassy crater, Mahiru finally withdrew the purple flames.
And then—at the edge of the room—a passage silently opened.
A path forward.
Thanks to Mahiru's outburst, the Bishop trio completed their trial faster than anyone else.
Unfortunately, their ordeal wasn't over yet. Beyond the passage, the next room awaited them… with another trial.
Unaware of all this, Leo and the other two were also facing a challenge.
A trial far more dangerous than any their servants were experiencing.
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200 p.s for extra chapter!
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You can read up to chapter 140 on patreon.com/NiaXD.