Obviously, as the primary targets of this plot, the "Kings" of the three peerage teams—Leon and the others—faced a trial in their room that was undoubtedly of the highest difficulty.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a series of atmosphere-shaking roars, monsters emerged from the magic circles that were far larger than ordinary demonic beasts, with appearances that were incredibly grotesque.
There were three monsters in total. Compared to the numbers appearing in other rooms, this was a small count, but these three monsters were, without exception, at least fifteen meters long. With their wings unfurled, they were gargantuan, covered in ochre-red scales, possessing thick limbs and robust physiques. With dual horns atop their heads and eyes filled with malice, they were massive beasts with fangs and blood-red maws.
As they opened their mouths to roar, the temperature in the air rose sharply. Leon and the two girls were blasted by a head-on wave of sound so intense they had to raise their hands to shield their faces. Rias and Sona Sitri's skirts fluttered violently in the wind—a fleeting moment of exposure—though unfortunately, Leon was the only one present to witness it.
"Those are—Vermilion Flame Dragons!"
Rias shouted while resisting the massive oncoming sound wave, completely ignoring her disheveled state.
"Dragons?! To think it would be Dragons—!"
Sona Sitri's face darkened instantly. Even Leon hadn't expected the Old Satan Faction to be so extravagant as to send three Vermilion Flame Dragons just to deal with the three of them.
These were a dragon species that governed fire—genuine fire dragons. They were adept at breathing flames, brave and bold in nature, and highly bellicose. While not the highest-ranking of dragons, any orthodox pure-blooded dragon reached a strength at least equivalent to an High-Class Devil upon reaching adulthood. They were immensely powerful.
"ROAR!!!"
The three Vermilion Flame Dragons roared in succession, instantly locking onto the trio. Violent flames surged in their maws, and in the next second, they unleashed a coordinated blast of scorching breath toward Leon, Rias, and Sona.
Faced with this massive wall of explosive fire, the three did not choose to tank it head-on. Instead, they acted in unison, leaping backward with great force to evade the direct hit.
BOOM!!!
The massive volume of fire slammed into the ground, appearing as if a nuclear bomb had detonated. It kicked up a sea of raging flames that rapidly spread to the surroundings.
"One head each. Resolve this quickly."
Seeing the situation, Leon didn't hesitate. After dropping those words, he halted his backward momentum and lunged toward the Vermilion Flame Dragon nearest to him.
"Suits me perfectly."
Rias was also a person of swift action. Seeing Leon move first, a bold, fearless, and battle-hungry smile appeared on her face. She unfurled a pair of devil wings and soared nimbly into the air, approaching another dragon while weaving through the incoming fire breaths.
"I suppose it has to be this way."
Sona Sitri sighed as she saw her two close friends charge in. She immediately deployed a magic circle in front of her.
She was a tactical fighter, intelligent and calm. She had been interested in tactical research since childhood; while her raw combat ability wasn't as strong as Rias's, she was confident that she could hold a significant, even overwhelming advantage over Rias if she utilized strategy. Her habit was to let her brain spin at high speeds to devise the fastest path to victory, but seeing her two friends charge out without a second thought, she could only sigh and choose a direct offensive.
Of course, being tactical didn't mean she was weak. She was only "weak" in comparison to Rias. As the successor to the House of Sitri, a pure-blooded devil, and a genuine High-Class Devil, even the "weakest" version of Sona was stronger than the Leon who had just promoted a few months ago. She did not fear a direct confrontation.
The opponent was a dragon, a truly powerful enemy that might even be stronger than her. However, since it was a Vermilion Flame Dragon, Sona felt it was impossible for her to lose.
The reason was simple—
"To deal with fire, one naturally uses water."
The magic circle in front of Sona rotated, and a massive pillar of water erupted instantly. The water collided violently with the oncoming mass of fire. After kicking up a vast cloud of steam, it immediately dispersed the flames and struck the final Vermilion Flame Dragon.
"Roar!"
The dragon was hit by the water pillar as if struck by a giant iron hammer. Its massive body was sent flying, crashing into the wall with enough force to make the entire room shake. It must be said that the Old Satan Faction made a significant error in sending a Vermilion Flame Dragon to attack Sona Sitri.
Because Sona Sitri's most prized skill was her superb water technique.
The magic trait of the House of Sitri was an extreme proficiency in water. It sounded simple, but the simpler the element, the easier it was to excel. The proof was the current Satan, Serafall Leviathan, who hailed from the House of Sitri. She was said to possess combat power exceeding ordinary Satan-class beings, capable of completely deep-freezing a small nation on a whim.
Serafall was an expert in ice-attribute magic related to water, and Sona had been deeply developing the Sitri family's specialty in water magic, honing her control to an extraordinary level. In other words, the Vermilion Flame Dragon's attribute was severely countered by Sona.
"Let me show you my water techniques."
Sona released a vast aura, using her magic to gather moisture from the air, forming a massive amount of water and causing it to shift form.
In the blink of an eye, Sona created various animals condensed from water: eagles soaring in the sky, great serpents slithering on the ground, fierce lions, packs of wolves, and massive wyverns. She performed this simultaneously, creating different water forms at once. Her mastery of magic manipulation was visible to the naked eye.
"As expected of Sona."
Rias, dodging the explosive flames, couldn't help but marvel. Setting everything else aside, she knew her own control could not compare to this level of technical skill.
Not just Rias; even Leon would have felt inferior seeing this.
He was also the type who excelled at magic manipulation. He knew that because he was only half-devil, his innate magic capacity and talent were weaker than true pure-blooded devils like Rias or Sona. Therefore, back when his magic growth was slow, he valued control above all else.
If power wasn't enough, he would develop on the technical side. With this mindset, Leon could easily manipulate magic bullets, beams, and clusters. He could even control the direction of magic arrows mid-flight to form an encirclement. This level of skill was considered strong even among High-Class Devils.
But compared to Sona, he was still a step behind, something he had lamented many times in the past.
And if even he felt this way, Rias certainly did. She felt that no matter what, she could never achieve that level of precision. Her magic was far stronger than Sona's, and with the addition of her "Power of Destruction" trait, she usually didn't need technique. Simple, raw violent bombardment was enough to solve most problems. Under such circumstances, how could Rias place high value on manipulation technique?
Or rather, even if she did value it, her magical intensity would always far outstrip her technical control. Thus, Rias was a quintessential power-type devil—the vanguard among vanguards.
Seeing Sona using her specialized water magic to nearly overwhelm the Vermilion Flame Dragon, making it howl in pain repeatedly, Rias offered a faint smile.
"I can't lose to you, Sona."
Rias evaded the final wave of flame and flew directly in front of the dragon.
"Be reduced to ash!"
In the next instant, a terrifying magic power erupted from Rias. The aura formed by her magic soared into the sky, its color as vivid a red as her hair—a very dangerous red.
Rias's eyes were filled with crimson magic, looking like flowing fire burning intensely. Her clothes whipped loudly in the wind as a massive cluster of magic power converged in front of her.
BOOM!!!
The cluster of magic shot out directly, hitting the dragon instantly and triggering a deafening explosion. This strike was simple, crude, and devoid of any technicality.
However, this simple and crude strike caused the Vermilion Flame Dragon to disappear without even a chance to scream, vaporized instantly by the red magic power.
One hit!
With a single blow, Rias had crushed a powerful dragon species, causing a Vermilion Flame Dragon with strength comparable to an High-Class Devil to vanish on the spot!
This was the "Power of Destruction"—a force capable of truly erasing an object or an enemy, bringing about the actual phenomenon of annihilation!
In the face of this power, Sona, who had suppressed her dragon from the start, failed to be faster than Rias. It was only after Rias had eliminated her target that Sona used several massive water spears to pierce through her dragon's body, killing it instantly.
"As I thought... I still can't keep up with you, Rias."
Sona retracted her magic, striving to avoid even a sliver of unnecessary consumption. She looked at Rias's figure standing tall amidst the storm kicked up by the red magic bombardment, smiling with a mix of admiration and irony.
The two made eye contact and shared a brief smile. Then, with a tacit understanding, they shifted their gazes toward Leon's direction.
When they looked, both Rias and Sona froze.
"Look, the exit has already opened."
Leon was pointing in a direction, speaking with his usual calm expression. Behind him, the massive body of the Vermilion Flame Dragon had collapsed at some unknown point, smoke drifting from its corpse.
Judging by its appearance, it looked as if it had been dead for quite a while. Seeing this, Rias and Sona's pupils constricted, and they stood rooted to the spot in shock.
The same thought occurred to both of them simultaneously:
"So, the one who solved the enemy fastest wasn't us—it was him."
As this thought surfaced, the way the two girls looked at Leon changed.
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