What happened after that, Leo could guess without Sona needing to tell him.
With two Maou of that caliber anchoring the defense and all four old Maou descendants defeated, the remaining Old Maou Faction members were just a disorganized mob with no hope of turning things around.
Only then did the Gremory and Sitri peerages finally demonstrate the quality expected of the new generation's leading devils. Working alongside the Underworld's security forces, they mopped up the remaining Old Maou Faction members and put an end to the premeditated assault.
Unfortunately, Sirzechs and Serafall had been too merciful. They hadn't killed any of the four old Maou descendants, giving them the chance to survive, and all four had escaped Kuoh Academy. Their whereabouts were unknown.
That was the only regrettable part of the battle. Even Leo thought so.
In the original story, only Vali and old Leviathan's descendant had attacked the summit. Vali was wounded and fled; old Leviathan's descendant was killed outright. The other two old Maou descendants didn't surface until later events, where they were dealt with one by one.
"This time, all four old Maou descendants attacked simultaneously, yet all four survived and escaped."
"The Old Maou Faction took a heavy blow and is weaker than before, sure. But as long as those four still exist, they can regroup."
That remained a significant threat to the Underworld.
Vali was a non-issue. He only wanted to fight strong opponents and held no grudge against the current Underworld. But the other three had perfectly inherited the old Maou Faction's arrogance and prejudice. No matter how many times they were beaten, as long as they lived, they'd keep eyeing the current regime from the shadows.
Sirzechs and Serafall understood this. But their one flaw was being too merciful, too soft-hearted. In some ways, they were even more naive than Ophis or Great Red, because they kept trying to accept the Old Maou Faction, hoping devils could unite and coexist peacefully rather than repeating the civil war of centuries past.
That civil war was something Sirzechs had never stopped regretting. The other Maou felt the same.
They'd always wondered if they should have been more committed to finding a path of coexistence, instead of letting it devolve into devils slaughtering each other.
Only those who had lived through that war knew how many of their kin had died, how many comrades who'd shared their ideals had been lost.
Remembering the carnage, neither Sirzechs nor Serafall could bring themselves to decisively execute these former countrymen.
Sirzechs especially. He'd killed old Maou Beelzebub's son with his own hands. So when he went to reinforce the Gremory peerage and faced old Beelzebub's descendant, he couldn't help pulling his punches.
Fortunately, his power was so overwhelmingly superior that even without entering his Destruction Form, he could effortlessly suppress one or even several Maou-Class opponents. Otherwise, showing mercy like that would have eventually gotten him killed by those ruthless old Maou descendants.
Leo respected Sirzechs and Serafall. But their decision to let the tigers return to the mountain was something he genuinely couldn't endorse this time.
He knew the original story. Aside from Vali, the other three old Maou descendants were all scum.
Coexist and reconcile with people like that?
Even if it were possible, Leo would always be watching his back around them, wary of getting stabbed.
Still, this was the Maou's call. Even if Leo disagreed, he'd show respect.
Besides, his own strength had grown enormously. Even without Balance Breaker, he had Super Maou-Class combat power. At full strength, he could probably remain undefeated against anything below God-Class. A few old Maou bloodline remnants couldn't threaten him.
Even Vali, who could use Juggernaut Drive, was already a step below Leo now.
Juggernaut Drive could briefly give Vali power rivaling a god, true. But as long as Leo avoided a direct confrontation during those minutes, he could handle it easily. He wouldn't even need Balance Breaker. In his base state, he could toy with the White Dragon until Vali burned through his stamina, and then it would be over.
With that thought, Leo felt at ease.
"What about Yukino and the others?"
Only after confirming how the summit had ended did Leo finally ask about what he cared about most.
"How are my servants?"
Sona seemed to have been prepared for this question. She answered without a moment's hesitation.
"They're fine."
She gave Leo the conclusion first, putting his mind at rest.
Then she elaborated.
"When we found them, a number of them were in pretty rough shape. But they'd managed to repel the Hero Faction, escape the pocket dimension, and win a battle that genuinely surprised all of us."
Leo smiled unconsciously.
"They won?"
He murmured.
"Yes, they won." Sona confirmed it, her voice carrying both admiration and praise. "I have to say, you've gathered an exceptional group of servants. They blew all our expectations away."
"They wanted to go look for you afterward, but we stopped them."
"Winning was one thing, but those girls really weren't in great condition. I had them return to Chiba to rest and recover first."
"They're all at the estate now. You can go straight there."
Sona's words finally let Leo set down the worry he'd been carrying.
"Alright. I'll head back first, then come see you all afterward."
Leo was already itching to get back.
"No rush. Now that you're back, we can relax too. Sirzechs-sama and Sister have been sending people to search for you this whole time. I need to report your safety to them first, so they can stop worrying."
Sona naturally understood how Leo felt right now, so she considerately agreed and said she'd handle the aftermath on her end to keep him from being disturbed too much.
Leo nodded, chatted with Sona for a few more moments, then ended the call.
"Let's go." Leo looked at the two dragon girls beside him and smiled. "Time to introduce you to your seniors."
The two dragon girls had very different reactions.
"Seniors?"
Kanna's eyes darted around, looking cute and innocent on the surface, though she was probably scheming some kind of mischief in her head.
Stella remained silent. She didn't react to Leo's words at all, standing there mute, as if she'd lost interest in everything the world had to offer.
Looking at Stella like that, Leo felt a headache coming on.
Ever since she'd seen Great Red in the Dimensional Gap and been completely ignored, the princess had been stuck in this state.
That look of someone whose last hope had been shattered, whose heart had turned to ash, was painful to see.
Leo didn't feel heartbroken over it, but after trying and failing to communicate with her, he'd decided to just bring her out of the Gap first and deal with it later.
He didn't have the luxury of worrying about a new servant's mental state right now. At the very least, he needed to confirm that Yukino and the others were completely safe before he'd have the emotional bandwidth to deal with Stella.
Then there was Kanna. That hatchling was obviously still restless, and knowing her, she'd probably cause trouble before long. He'd need to rein her in and set some ground rules.
With that in mind, Leo opened a magic circle, and the three of them vanished in a flash of red light.
Chiba. The estate's underground chamber.
When the familiar red glow appeared and Leo's group gradually materialized, someone rushed over immediately, hand on the sword at her waist, on full alert.
"Oh, it's you, Leo-sama. Welcome back."
Recognizing who had emerged from the magic circle, the newcomer's wariness gave way to a delighted expression. She released her grip on her blade and came forward.
It was the female sword master who'd been stationed at the estate under Serafall's orders, the woman who'd gradually become the Eligos peerage's guardian: Miyamoto Musashi.
"Yeah. I'm back." Leo looked at the swordswoman, radiant as autumn maples. He nodded while asking, "How are things? Nothing happened at the estate?"
"Not a thing," Musashi replied briskly. "Since the summit, the Old Maou Faction's been crippled, your Eligos peerage sent the Hero Faction packing, and the angel and fallen angel factions are allies now instead of enemies. All the surveillance around the estate has completely vanished over the past few days. No more eyes watching your every move like before."
"Good." Leo wasn't remotely surprised. He simply asked, "Where's Yukino and the others?"
"Them?" Musashi blinked, then smiled. "They really made a name for themselves this time, Leo-sama."
"The price was quite a few of them getting seriously hurt, but after proper treatment over the past few days, everyone's injuries have stabilized."
"Right now, aside from the Oni sisters who are up and handling chores, and Ravel who's in good enough shape to move around freely, everyone else is still resting in bed."
"If you want to find them, just head to their rooms."
Then Musashi's gaze shifted to Kanna, who was busy looking around the underground chamber with curious eyes, and to Stella, who stood in silence. Musashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And who might these two lovely young ladies be?"
The question sounded casual, but a faint edge of sharpness was hidden beneath it.
This swordswoman who had attained the realm of "Zero" could naturally tell that both girls were far from ordinary.
She sensed a thread of threat from each of them, proving that despite their young, delicate appearances, both possessed strength worthy of her caution.
Her eyes even held a glint of interest. And fighting spirit.
"They're new servants I've taken in," Leo said, pretending not to notice Musashi's look. "I'll introduce them properly later."
Before Musashi could respond, Leo felt a stir in his senses and turned toward the chamber's entrance.
Three figures were walking in at the same time.
"Leo-sama!"
Ravel's voice rang out, unable to hide her joy.
"Welcome back, Master."
"Welcome back."
Ram and Rem followed close behind, both bowing toward Leo in perfect sync, every inch the maids welcoming their lord home.
"Yeah. I'm back."
Leo looked over the three familiar faces, studying each of them for a moment, then smiled.
"Looks like none of you are in bad shape. That's a relief."
With Leo's magic detection, he could tell at a glance. All three had stable, steady auras, nothing like someone who'd been seriously injured.
Ravel being fine was no surprise, given her immortal body. She could barely sustain a serious wound if she tried. But if Ram and Rem were also this healthy, it meant that whatever injuries they'd sustained were already mostly healed.
And that was indeed the case.
"Ram and Rem's injuries weren't severe. The battle just drained us more than usual. A bit of rest was all we needed."
Ram stated this matter-of-factly, as if Leo was making a fuss over nothing and the whole affair had been trivial. Her tone was calm, yet somehow managed to convey that familiar blend of pride and sharp tongue.
"Of course Sister wouldn't be hurt by something like that. After all, Sister is very strong."
Rem, as always, heaped unconditional praise on her sister while saying nothing about herself.
"Oh, come on. You two have some nerve."
This time, it was Ravel who called them out without mercy.
"The reason you two are up and about is because your injuries were the worst of everyone's. I pulled strings with my family to get you two bottles of Phoenix Tears so you could recover the night you got back. You were bouncing around fine after that. Don't pretend to be tough in front of Leo-sama."
The smile faded from Leo's face.
He stared hard at Ram and Rem. Both of them immediately looked away, avoiding his gaze.
That actually made Leo laugh despite himself.
"I'll deal with you two later." Leo glared at the twin maids, then turned to Ravel. "Where's Yukino and the others? Can they get out of bed now?"
"They can," Ravel answered like a personal secretary, ready with information on demand. "Their injuries aren't fully healed yet, but they're not severe enough to need Phoenix Tears. Getting up and moving around a bit should be fine."
"Good."
Leo smiled faintly.
"Let's head to the living room. We've got a lot to talk about."