For some time now, Utaha Kasumigaoka had been considering the matter of reincarnating as a Devil.
It wasn't that she willingly wanted to be Leon's subordinate or servant, but the knowledge Leon had imparted to her had already clarified the existence of Sacred Gears and the potential situations their wielders could face.
If it were just an ordinary Sacred Gear, it would be fine, possessing only some eccentric ability with little impact. However, if a Sacred Gear's power was too strong, an ordinary human could not control it and would inevitably lose control.
In that case, the Sacred Gear wielder would face only one outcome: being eliminated as a dangerous element.
And according to Leon, the Sacred Gear within Utaha Kasumigaoka was one with considerable power.
In other words, Utaha Kasumigaoka had the potential to lose control and be eliminated as a dangerous element.
Knowing this, how could Utaha Kasumigaoka remain calm?
Thus, she began to find ways to save herself, and her solo approach to the Church during this period was for this very purpose.
The Church members were not unaware that Utaha Kasumigaoka possessed a Sacred Gear, but even Leon couldn't detect what kind of Sacred Gear it was before it awakened or went out of control within her, let alone the Church members.
Leon, at least, could judge through the Devil Piece's reaction that Utaha Kasumigaoka was a rare stock of potential, and because he had been monitoring her for a considerable time, he had also noticed times when the Sacred Gear fluctuations within her intensified. The Church members did not have this advantage.
What if Utaha Kasumigaoka was just the wielder of an ordinary Sacred Gear?
Then there would be little need to recruit her.
Thanks to this, although Utaha Kasumigaoka had contacted Church personnel, the result was less than ideal. They were either speaking in riddles, adhering to the rules of the Underworld and unwilling to reveal too many secrets to her, or they were overtly or covertly attempting to spread their faith, planning to first control Utaha Kasumigaoka and then study the Sacred Gear within her.
If the one contacting the Church were a person lost, unsure of their future path, and overly eager for supernatural power, they might truly have been misled by the Church's usual tactics.
But Utaha Kasumigaoka had accessed knowledge of the Underworld through Leon, which impartially laid out the true nature of the Church, revealing its good side and its evil side—such as various unsavory experiments conducted behind the scenes—preventing Utaha Kasumigaoka from fully trusting the Church.
Over time, unable to gain clear benefits from the Church, and unable to access the Underworld through other channels, Utaha Kasumigaoka had no choice but to turn back and seek out Leon again.
Although Leon was a Devil, and Utaha Kasumigaoka did not fully trust the knowledge he gave her without question, this person had, at the very least, spent two entire years with her. She felt she could be relatively assured with Leon.
Therefore, after much consideration, Utaha Kasumigaoka decided to first observe what life as a Devil was like before making her decision.
That evening, Utaha Kasumigaoka had spent time alone with Leon's two subordinates and talked with them.
When Asuna Yuuki showed her around the manor, Utaha Kasumigaoka subtly inquired about the reasons for her transformation into a Devil and whether she was unhappy after becoming one.
When Yukino Yukinoshita showed her the Devil's work, Utaha Kasumigaoka also talked with her while secretly observing, learning the reasons for her transformation into a Devil.
It was only then that Utaha Kasumigaoka realized that both Yukino Yukinoshita and Asuna Yuuki had become his subordinate servants because they had died and were then revived by Leon.
In the beginning, they were both bewildered and lost, and it was ultimately a mixture of gratitude and reluctant acceptance of reality that led them to embrace the status of subordinate servants.
But now, the two no longer followed Leon solely out of gratitude and necessity. Instead, they were truly attracted by the life they currently lived and everything they possessed. They had unconsciously changed their perspective, trying to live life with a different identity and means to achieve pursuits they couldn't have hoped for in the past.
Utaha Kasumigaoka asked them both what their current pursuits were.
"I want freedom, to look forward to the future, rather than living the kind of life where I could see the end of my life at a glance, like I did in the past."
That was Asuna Yuuki's answer.
"...I've always felt that I wasn't as outstanding as my sister and wasn't valued by my family. If I continued chasing her on the same path as before, I might only ever see her back. So, I want to advance on a path my sister cannot tread."
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's answer.
Both knew that Leon wanted to recruit Utaha Kasumigaoka as a subordinate and were not particularly against her becoming their future companion. Therefore, to help Leon, they chose to reveal their true feelings.
Otherwise, putting Asuna Yuuki aside, with Yukino Yukinoshita's difficult personality, she would never have been so open-hearted with someone she met for the first time.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was moved by the genuine words of these two, and after learning about the life of a Devil and realizing it wasn't as terrible as she had imagined, she made up her mind.
So what if she gave up her human status?
So what if she became a Devil?
So what if she became a subordinate servant?
What's the big deal?
...Well, the last point was still quite hard to accept. If the other person were someone she wasn't familiar with, Utaha Kasumigaoka definitely wouldn't have made this choice.
But since the other person was Leon, someone she had a certain level of "understanding" of, a part of Utaha Kasumigaoka's resistance disappeared.
The remaining part was suppressed by the survival instinct of "not wanting to be eliminated as a dangerous element out of control" and the curiosity of "wanting to access supernatural power and the transcendent world."
As an emerging writer who was recently troubled by the subsequent developments of her own work, Utaha Kasumigaoka also harbored some desire for change and was not lacking in imagination or curiosity, leading her to finally make this decision.
To be honest, the decision was a little impulsive.
At the very least, before coming here, Utaha Kasumigaoka had only intended to observe, not to make an immediate decision.
But now...
"Before I feel regret and want to go back on my word, you should just hurry up and get it over with."
Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke words that could easily be misunderstood, with an attitude of going all in.
"...Alright."
Leon's mouth twitched, but his actions were swift.
He also saw that Utaha Kasumigaoka was making this decision on impulse and truly might regret it and back out later.
Immediately, Leon unfolded a magic circle, summoned a 'Rook' chess piece, and pressed it onto Utaha Kasumigaoka's chest.
Bang!
Before Utaha Kasumigaoka could react, the Devil Piece shattered with a sound, turning into particles that merged into her body.
"Ugh..."
Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression changed.
She felt a mysterious power erupting within her, and she herself was changing in an unknown direction.
Leon immediately received a piece of information.
[Characteristic: Peerage Assimilation, currently active...]
[Gained Basic Feedback—Magic Power (Medium amount).]
[Gained Advanced Feedback—Sacred Gear (Mastery).]
Instantly, the Magic Power within Leon's body surged with the boiling of his blood and the acceleration of his heartbeat.
The magnitude of the increase was still not as great as the one with Yukino Yukinoshita, but compared to the one with Asuna Yuuki, it was also about the same.
This surging Magic Power almost instantly broke through the limit of a High-Class Devil, allowing Leon's Magic Power, which was already close to the current rank's ceiling, to successfully cross the invisible barrier.
However, this Magic Power did not directly reach another level, stopping just before advancing to the next tier—the Ultimate-Class Devil.
"Can't you just cross over completely!"
Leon, feeling the change in his Magic Power, almost cracked up.
But before he could recover from this awkward state, a series of images flashed through his mind.
Similar to the time with Asuna Yuuki, the Advanced Feedback from the 'Peerage Assimilation' characteristic this time also triggered the internal mechanism of the Aura of the Zenith Tempest, turning the experience of its past wielders into memories that flowed into Leon's mind.
Having received this memory, Leon gained more insight and understanding of the Aura of the Zenith Tempest's power, and his understanding of the Sacred Gear gradually evolved from proficient use to complete mastery.
Yes, as of today, Leon had finally achieved complete mastery of the Aura of the Zenith Tempest, which could be considered the state of using it freely.
The increase in Magic Power and the further mastery of the Sacred Gear led to another significant boost in Leon's strength.
This entire scene was observed by Miyamoto Musashi, who was secretly watching the area.
"Such powerful Magic Power! Such strong Sacred Gear fluctuations!"
Miyamoto Musashi did not reveal herself, continuously watching the changes in Leon, exclaiming in amazement and excitement.
"This Magic Power is almost one step away from reaching the Ultimate-Class Devil tier, and these Sacred Gear fluctuations..."
Miyamoto Musashi knew that Leon must have become much stronger.
She was already a little impatient to cross swords with Leon again.
Snap!
As the change occurred in Leon, the change in Utaha Kasumigaoka ended, and a pair of bat-like Devil wings suddenly unfolded behind her.
And then... the Sacred Gear that had been dormant within Utaha Kasumigaoka actually awakened as well.
Buzz!
With a hum, a faint light membrane appeared around Utaha Kasumigaoka.
The light membrane rapidly expanded outward, growing larger while transforming into a substantial barrier.
"This is..."
Asuna Yuuki was stunned.
"A Barrier?"
Yukino Yukinoshita, however, immediately recognized what the barrier was.
Since the basement of the manor had a barrier, Yukino Yukinoshita naturally recognized it.
Leon's attention was also drawn by this sight, and after a moment, he understood.
"The Sacred Gear that creates barriers?"
Information about this type of Sacred Gear immediately flashed into Leon's mind.
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