Everyone present understood exactly what those words meant.
"Oh? You know who I am?"
Riser maintained his sneering expression, seemingly unfazed by Leo's provocation.
But a second later, his face changed.
"The three Phenex brothers—I've heard a thing or two about them," Leo said casually. "The eldest is the heir to House Phenex and a rising star in the Rating Games. Though still a High-Class Devil, he possesses Ultimate-Class strength and has led his team into the top ten. Word in the industry is he'll be promoted to Ultimate-Class soon."
"The second son doesn't participate in Rating Games, but he's an executive in the media world, controlling vast media resources in the Underworld. Quite skilled at manipulating public opinion."
"As for the third son..."
Leo raised his eyes slightly, seeming to scan Riser from head to toe, and smiled.
"I hear you've been active for several years now, participated in quite a few official Rating Games, and your win record is decent. But seeing you in person like this—meeting you really doesn't live up to the reputation."
"After all, what kind of industry newcomer from a noble house acts like a street thug?"
"Your win rate was probably either propped up by your immortal body, or bought with money, right?"
At those words, not just Riser—even Lady Phenex and Ravel's expressions shifted.
Riser lost his composure almost instantly, reaching out at blinding speed to grab Leo's collar.
"You bastard...!"
But fast as he was, others were faster.
With a sudden surge of demonic power and Sacred Gear energy, four figures appeared around Riser simultaneously.
Yukinoshita Yukino appeared on Riser's left, one hand pressed against his waist, her palm radiating intense cold.
"Don't move."
"Move again, and this sword goes through your throat."
Yuuki Asuna appeared on Riser's right. A rapier had materialized in her hand at some point, holy energy pulsing along its blade. She held it to Riser's neck, mere inches from his throat.
"If you don't want that hand anymore, I can take care of it for you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha appeared in front of Riser, shielding Leo. She hadn't moved a muscle, yet Riser's outstretched hand was now trapped in a cube-shaped barrier, like invisible glass handcuffs.
Mahiru appeared silently behind Riser, her delicate hands spread open, gripping purple flames shaped like a cross—ready to press them into Riser's back at any moment.
The air froze solid. Everyone's expressions changed dramatically.
Sirzechs and Grayfia's eyes widened slightly as they watched the four girls surrounding Riser, their gazes sharp and focused.
Lady Phenex and Ravel were stunned, staring at the girls in pure disbelief.
As for Riser, trapped and restrained by the girls, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
He could clearly feel just how dangerous his situation had become.
The cold radiating from the hand pressed against his waist was terrifying—as if it could freeze even his phoenix flames. The sword at his throat emanated a lethal aura that made even his proud immortal body tremble. He couldn't see what was behind him, but that holy energy and terrible heat cast a shadow of death over him, telling him exactly how frightening it was.
Even the barrier locking his arm was brimming with demonic power, ready to erupt at any moment and crush his limb on the spot. Goosebumps covered Riser's arm, every hair standing on end.
"H-How is this possible...?!"
His mind reeled, screaming internally.
He knew Leo's servants were supposedly a group with immense potential, praised absurdly highly in the industry. But since he'd dared to challenge even Leo himself, he naturally hadn't taken the servants seriously either.
In Riser's view, they were just a bunch of girls who'd been reincarnated as devils for only a few months. How strong could they possibly be, no matter how much potential they had?
In fact, seeing how stunningly beautiful each of them was, he'd felt nothing but contempt. He assumed the rumors were wrong—that Leo had obviously recruited them for their looks, not their potential. Why else would every single one of these supposedly limitless reincarnated devils be such gorgeous women?
He himself had built his peerage with the explicit goal of creating a harem. Every single one of his servants was female. So he figured he understood men's base desires better than anyone, and that Leo was just doing the same thing. All that talk of boundless potential was just hype.
That was one reason Riser looked down on Leo.
It wasn't that he despised Leo for building a harem—after all, he'd done the same thing himself. What right did he have to look down on someone for that?
But extending that harem to include his sister? That crossed a line.
At the end of the day, Riser was deliberately picking a fight because he couldn't stand the idea of his little sister serving some harem-building guy.
Of course, he also genuinely looked down on Leo. The Eligos family had been extinct for who knows how long, their territory left in ruins—utterly pathetic. And Leo was a half-blood devil on top of that. If Riser didn't show contempt and disdain for someone like that, it would be a disservice to his whole villainous young master image.
The result was obvious: he'd kicked an iron plate.
"Already losing your cool?"
Leo, protected by his four girls, hadn't moved an inch the entire time. He peered past Utaha's shoulder at the frozen Riser, his voice utterly calm.
"You hurled way worse insults at me, and I kept my cool. So why are you losing yours?"
"You can dish it out, but you can't take it?"
"You even tried to attack? Think you can move?"
Then Leo glanced at Sirzechs and added:
"I hear this guy is Rias's fiancé? Sirzechs-sama, it seems your father's taste isn't very good. No wonder Rias always looks so troubled. This really doesn't seem like the kind of man worthy of the Crimson-Haired Princess of Ruin."
Those words made Sirzechs press his lips together in silence. Riser, meanwhile, had veins bulging on his forehead, humiliated and enraged.
BOOM!
Unable to control his emotions, flames erupted from Riser's body, sending waves of scorching heat rippling outward.
Seeing this, Yukinoshita Yukino and the others' eyes went cold. Demonic power and flames surged from their bodies as well, ready to strike.
"Stop!"
Lady Phenex finally couldn't watch any longer and intervened.
"Mother..."
Riser's flames faltered. He turned to look at his mother, about to say something, but a single glare from Lady Phenex shut him up.
"Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru."
Only then did Leo speak, his voice light.
"Come back."
At his words, the girls exchanged glances, then withdrew their power in unison and returned to stand behind Leo.
Sirzechs and Lady Phenex gazed at the girls, their minds racing.
"These girls... they've already reached this level of power?"
Lady Phenex was shaken.
"They're growing so fast..."
Sirzechs was both impressed and pleased.
Clearly, this brief display by Yukinoshita Yukino and the others had not only shocked everyone—it had exceeded expectations by a wide margin.
Riser Phenex was, after all, a pureblood devil and a debuted High-Class Devil who had won multiple Rating Games. In terms of raw strength, he might even surpass Rias. Yet he'd been effortlessly restrained by a group of human girls who had been reincarnated as devils for only a few months. To anyone who understood the composition of Eligos's peerage, this was astonishing.
Even Ravel's gaze toward Yukinoshita Yukino and the others had changed.
She was about to become a servant under the same King as these girls. Their impressive display was more than enough to completely reshape her view of her future companions.
"Riser." Lady Phenex, newly reminded of the Eligos peerage's potential, fixed her son with a stern look. "Apologize to Mr. Eligos."
"What?" Riser's body, which had just relaxed, instantly tensed again. He practically roared, "Apologize? Why should I?!"
"Why do you think?" Lady Phenex's gaze turned icy. "Think about what you just did. Ask yourself—is that how a son of House Phenex should behave?"
"But I don't agree with this!" Riser protested furiously. "So what if they're a little strong? The Eligos territory is a dump! Why should Ravel have to go suffer there?!"
"And so?" Lady Phenex's expression went completely blank. "Are you questioning my decision?"
"I..." Riser fell silent.
He might be furious about Ravel going off to serve some nobody, but openly defying his mother was something he still didn't dare to do.
Despite Lady Phenex's pleasant demeanor around Leo, anyone who knew her understood that the wife of the current Lord Phenex was anything but gentle. She was iron-willed, someone whose word was law—so domineering that even her husband sometimes didn't dare cross her.
If she hadn't been that way, she never could have single-handedly arranged her daughter's future, overriding her husband's objections to finalize Ravel's placement with Leo.
Knowing his mother's nature all too well, Riser was certain: if he dared openly question her in a setting like this, she would just as easily throw him out of the family.
So Riser wisely shut his mouth—though his displeasure and resentment were still written all over his face.
Leo gave the young thug a glance, then turned to Lady Phenex.
"It seems you haven't unified your family's opinion yet. Perhaps we should end things here for today and discuss this another time."
Lady Phenex's expression tightened immediately.
"No—Riser's opinion doesn't matter." She quickly moved to reassure Leo, sighing. "I've failed to discipline him properly, which is why he's behaved so rudely here."
"Rest assured, I will deal with him thoroughly when we return home."
The look Lady Phenex shot Riser was so cold that his face went rigid.
He knew his mother wasn't just saying that for show. She really did intend to deal with him when they got back.
...His immortal body should hold up, right?
Riser was starting to feel the urge to flee.
But Lady Phenex had already lost interest in him. She signaled to Ravel, who snapped back to attention.
"Leo-sama, please don't take my brother's words to heart." Ravel bowed her head in apology. "It is my honor to become your servant, and it is something I choose to do willingly. My brother simply cares too much about me. Please be magnanimous and forgive him this once."
These words weren't entirely insincere.
Originally, she had been somewhat reluctant to serve a man she'd never met before. But this was her mother's decision, and as a daughter of House Phenex, she had to make sacrifices for the family. She had no right to refuse.
But now, much of that reluctance had faded.
The performance by Yukino and the others had dazzled her. She now understood that this peerage truly was, as the rumors said, limitless in potential.
Her mind began to turn, her thoughts quietly shifting.
Leo Eligos, her future master, must be more capable than the rumors suggested if he could cultivate such excellent servants.
If she could have companions like these, joining this group might not be such a bad thing after all.
With that thought, Ravel lifted the hem of her dress again and curtsied to Leo.
"Please, Leo-sama... no, please grant me an Evil Piece, Master."
At Ravel's plea, all eyes turned to Leo.
Leo gazed at the girl bowing before him, then turned his attention to the space where he stored his Evil Pieces.
Inside, nearly every piece was glowing.
The Rook piece shone brightest.
The Pawn pieces were next.
The Knight piece glowed faintest.
What surprised Leo most was the Queen piece. This unique, one-of-a-kind Evil Piece was radiating a glow nearly as strong as the Pawn pieces—almost rivaling the Rook.
Several people had made the Queen piece glow before. Both Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha had caused it to emit a faint light. But their glow had been weak—nothing compared to this moment.
Leo hesitated.
Of everyone he'd met so far, only Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, had made the Queen piece glow brighter than this. Everyone else fell short of Ravel.
"This young lady... is really this suited to becoming a Queen?"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
You can read up to chapter 184 on patreon.com/NiaXD.