While Tiamat and Ravel were talking, the battle between the sisters Ram and Rem had already reached its most intense stage.
"Boom!"
Rem, who had been buried beneath shattered stone and rubble, burst straight up from underground like an arrow loosed from a bow, shooting into the sky. The Morningstar in her hand swung out, the thorn-covered iron ball ripping through the air as it smashed toward Ram. It collided violently with the raging winds coiling around Ram's body, the impact turning into surging gusts that swept across the battlefield.
Ram continued reinforcing the wind surrounding her, as if she were clad in armor made of compressed air. Again and again, she deflected Rem's Morningstar. With each lift and sweep of her slender hands, cutting gales were unleashed, slashing toward Rem in midair. The wind tore Rem's clothes apart, sending countless scraps flying.
However, after entering her Oni transformation, Rem's physical strength was on a completely different level from before. The gales that could slice through the ground only managed to shred her clothing when they struck her. Her pale skin remained flawless, without so much as a scratch. She forced her way through the storm, charging straight at Ram as the Morningstar crashed down again and again, battering Ram's wind armor until it wavered on the brink of collapse.
Even so, Ram remained remarkably calm. She continued manipulating the wind, tangling with Rem while constantly releasing wind magic to wear her down. Like a blade scraping against bone, the relentless gales slowly drained Rem's strength, trying to force her back to her senses.
This had always been Ram's way of stopping Rem when she lost control.
The Oni transformation was undeniably powerful, but the burden it placed on the body was just as severe. Extreme bursts of power came at the cost of extreme physical and mental exhaustion. Rem's transformation, which forcibly boosted her across two entire tiers, naturally carried an even heavier toll. As long as Ram could withstand Rem's attacks, it was only a matter of time before Rem burned herself out, slipped out of the Oni state, and regained her sanity.
That was how Ram had always helped her sister. Even after ten years, she still chose the same method.
If Tiamat were the one fighting, it would be a completely different story.
The strongest Dragon King, rumored to be on the verge of Super Devil level, wouldn't need to bother with attrition against a Rem who had only barely reached the Ultimate-Class Devil level after transforming. She could simply crush her head-on with raw strength.
Over the past decade, whenever Rem lost control, Tiamat would rush in and knock her out with a single punch. Clean, brutal, and effortless.
Ram couldn't compare to Tiamat. With Tiamat choosing not to intervene, all she could do was grind Rem down little by little like this.
"They're really impressive, those two sisters."
As Tiamat and Ravel watched the fight intently, a voice sounded behind them, making both of them pause.
Only then did they remember—there was still someone else present.
"Leo-sama!"
Ravel quickly turned around, calling out to the man walking toward them.
Tiamat also looked over—and immediately noticed something different about him.
"You…"
She stared at Leo as he approached with a relaxed expression, clearly wanting to say something, yet hesitating.
"What? Don't recognize me anymore?"
Leo stopped beside them, smiling. He looked in a great mood, with no obvious change at first glance.
But Tiamat was a Dragon King. Her senses were absurdly sharp.
What others couldn't detect, she noticed almost instantly.
"Your body has changed dramatically," she said, studying him more closely. "Your scent, the feeling you give off—it's completely different from before."
The more she observed him, the more astonished she became.
There was a natural, seamless quality to Leo now, as if he had undergone an evolution of life itself. Even his presence felt far stronger than before. His face seemed unchanged, yet his features were more refined on closer inspection. His eyes were brighter, and even standing casually, he exuded a distinct aura. His limbs looked sturdier, his physique approaching perfection.
None of this had existed in the Leo she knew.
If the old Leo felt like a free spirit, then the current one felt transcendent.
Tiamat's instincts told her something fundamental had changed within him—not just a boost in power, but something deeper.
Leo didn't deny it.
"There's been quite a change," he said with a sigh of emotion. "This time, the gains were substantial. No—huge would be more accurate."
After all, taking in two servants with high potential at once had triggered an enormous feedback. There was no way his gains could be small.
Those two high-potential servants pushed Leo's demonic power past the eight-wing threshold, officially reaching ten wings. His wings increased once more, turning him into a true ten-wing devil, second only to the supreme twelve-winged rank—nearly the pinnacle among devils.
Now, even without using the power of Zenith Tempest, Leo in his normal state was no weaker than Lafei Trix had been after consuming Ophis' Snake. If he faced that obsessive Old Maou Faction fanatic again, he might not even need his Sacred Gear to defeat him. The growth in his base strength was immense.
Zenith Tempest itself had been strengthened twice more, on top of the previous enhancement gained when he took in Ravel. The world's second-strongest Sacred Gear had now been reinforced three times in total. It might very well no longer be inferior to the so-called strongest Longinus, the True Longinus.
And yet, that wasn't even the biggest surprise.
What truly astonished Leo was the reward labeled "Race (Perfect)."
Through the feedback of "Race (Perfect)," Leo realized that not only had his body been remodeled, but his very existence as a devil had been perfected.
What did that mean?
Simply put, he had become a devil without precedent—a perfect devil, no longer burdened by the inherent weaknesses of the race.
Light power wielded by angels, fallen angels, and exorcists of the Church… holy weapons like Holy Swords, Holy Spears, and Holy Crosses… even Magic Formula, items, and methods designed specifically to counter devils—none of them were his weaknesses anymore.
At the same time, his devil bloodline evolved. He was no longer a half-blood pure devil weighed down by his human side. Instead, he had become a perfect devil whose bloodline could even surpass that of a Maou. His potential skyrocketed, no longer shackled by mediocre talent.
Thanks to this, even his physical strength improved. While it still fell far short of his demonic power—and certainly couldn't match Rem's current Morningstar rampage—it was now on par with races renowned for physical prowess. His agility improved as well, along with his reflexes and neural response, a true rebirth.
With his current bodily potential, Leo could even consider pursuing close-quarters combat. Training his body would be nothing but beneficial, with rapid returns.
Even his self-healing and recovery abilities improved. His vitality surged, his lifespan extended far beyond that of ordinary devils.
It felt as though his entire being had been reforged, as if he had suddenly gained a body capable of anything. Warmth flowed through his limbs, filling him with indescribable comfort.
With this body… if I ran into Cao Cao's True Longinus again, things would definitely turn out very differently, Leo thought, pleased.
Combined with his explosive growth in strength, he now had the confidence to face Cao Cao head-on, force him to go all out—and defeat him.
"I never expected that taking in these two would give me such feedback."
Leo looked at Ram and Rem with unconcealed delight, deeply satisfied with the power they were displaying.
Ultimate-Class Devil strength—among all his servants, that put them at the very top. Only Yukinoshita Yukino might be able to match them, and even then, barely.
And that was without the Pawn piece trait being activated.
The Pawn piece's trait required recognition from the King piece to take effect. Only when the King deemed the battlefield hostile could the Pawn's trait activate, allowing Promotion. At that point, Ram and Rem would become Queen pieces, gaining the traits of all Evil Pieces and receiving comprehensive boosts to attack, defense, speed, and demonic power.
Right now, Leo hadn't acknowledged this battlefield as hostile.
Which meant the sisters' current strength hadn't even been enhanced through Promotion.
Once Promotion occurred, they would become even stronger.
Just thinking about it put Leo in a better mood.
But…
"It's time to end this farce."
The battle between Ram and Rem was growing increasingly violent, to the point it was about to affect them as well. Leo spoke calmly.
"Fine," Tiamat said, having already assessed Ram's condition and fully grasped Rem's rampage. She nodded. "They're your servants now. You handle them."
Her focus had already shifted—from the sisters to Leo himself.
She truly wanted to see just how great the changes in him were.
"Then I'll—"
Seeing Tiamat step aside, Ravel was about to offer her help. Her strength was nowhere near Ram and Rem's, but her Immortal Body gave her the confidence to intervene, at least enough to stall them and ease her master's burden.
Unfortunately, she was stopped again.
"I'll handle it myself."
Leo patted Ravel's shoulder and stepped forward toward Ram and Rem.
"Shh!"
Ten pitch-black bat-like wings unfurled from his back as he took to the air.
"Ten wings…"
Ravel couldn't hide her excitement.
"So it really is ten wings," even Tiamat murmured.
Ten wings—among devils, angels, or fallen angels, this was undeniably the mark of the highest echelon.
Among devils, they were absolute elites, second only to Maou.
Among angels, they stood just beneath the Seraphim, absolute beings in the eyes of believers.
Among fallen angels, they were high-ranking officers, surpassed only by Governors or Vice-Governors.
At a time when most new-generation devils hadn't even caught up to their true rank, Leo—still on the verge of adulthood—had already reached ten wings. That alone was enough to shake the entire devil world.
And yet, what truly shook people was what came next.
"Boom!"
As Leo beat his ten demonic wings and shot toward Ram and Rem, the air exploded outward in a shockwave.
In that instant, his speed was so extreme that only Tiamat could clearly see it. Like a rocket, he broke the sound barrier, the sonic boom ringing out.
The atmosphere churned violently as Leo instantly appeared between Ram and Rem, right in front of them.
"What—!?"
Ram froze, the wind she was about to release stalling reflexively in her hands.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Rem, completely lost to her berserk state, didn't hesitate in the slightest. She roared in fury, swinging the Morningstar as the spiked iron ball howled toward Leo with overwhelming force.
From its sheer presence alone, there was no doubt it could obliterate a small mountain.
Leo's response was absurdly simple.
He reached out with one hand.
"Hmm."
The hum of demonic power.
Purple demonic energy surged like mist around his outstretched hand.
Maintaining that pose, Leo caught the incoming iron ball with a single hand.
There was no deafening explosion.
No terrifying impact.
Before everyone's eyes, the iron ball that struck his slender palm reacted as if exposed to unbearable heat. Like molten metal, it was instantly broken down and dissolved by the smoke-like purple demonic power.
Even Rem, lost in madness, slowly widened her eyes in shock.
In that brief moment of stunned disbelief, Leo's wings beat again. His figure blurred, appearing directly in front of her. His hand, still wrapped in purple demonic power, shifted from a palm to two fingers and tapped her forehead.
"Bang!"
The demonic power surged forward, slamming into her brow.
"Ugh…"
Rem felt as if her head had been struck by a heavy blow. Her consciousness blurred instantly.
The last thing she saw before losing awareness was Leo catching her as she fell.
That embrace… was warm.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You can read up to chapter 196 on patreon.com/NiaXD.