Time returns to the present—
After listening to Yukinoshita Yukino's explanation, Leon fell into a long silence.
"Super Devil—"
He naturally knew what that term meant.
It referred to monsters who possessed potential abilities far exceeding what the Devil race should inherently have, caused by mutations in their bloodline or other aspects.
Just as Sharon had said, it was questionable whether such beings could even be called Devils anymore. Thus, they were referred to as "Super Devil," meaning those who transcend Devils.
In history, three such beings had appeared.
The first was Rizevim Livan Lucifer—son of the original Maou Lucifer and Lilith, the mother of all devils. Known in the Bible as "Lilith's Son," his demonic power reportedly rivaled or even surpassed his father's.
The second was the current Maou Lucifer, Sirzechs Gremory. He inherited the "Destruction" trait from his mother's Bael lineage, and because of a qualitative mutation, his very body became a condensed form of the power of destruction. He possessed power transcending the scope of Maous and Devils alike, with a demonic power density ten times that of the previous Lucifer. After releasing his true form, he easily killed the sons of the original Maous Beelzebub and Asmodeus, possessing a power that could strike awe even into the hearts of Gods.
The final one was the current Maou Beelzebub, Ajuka Astaroth. He was the creator of the Evil Pieces and the architect behind the foundational theories of Rating Games. Exceptionally gifted in magic formulas and programming, he hailed from the Astaroth family, ranked twenty-ninth among the seventy-two pillars. Originally from a branch family, he had killed the daughter of the original Maou Leviathan during the Civil War.
These three were the clearly established Super Devil in the history of the Underworld. Their strengths varied, with the strongest undoubtedly being Sirzechs, whom even Gods feared, and the weakest being Rizevim, who had vanished during the Civil War. Yet, regardless of which one, all possessed power surpassing that of a Maou.
Leon remembered clearly that in the future, the various mythological factions of this world would intersect and unite, leading to a much clearer classification of strength than what existed now.
Currently, among the Three Factions, the ranks were only divided into Low-class Devils (Two-winged Angels/Fallen Angels), Middle-class Devils (Four-winged), High-class Devils (Six-winged), Ultimate-class Devils (Eight-winged, Ten-winged), and Special-Class Devils (Twelve-winged).
However, in the future, when all the mythological forces of the world united and even intersected with other worlds, the power system would undergo a transformation.
Low-class and Middle-class Devils remained equivalent to their respective Angel counterparts.
High-class Devils became equivalent to Six-winged Angels, high-level mages, and the Church's S-rank warriors.
Ultimate-class Devils were equivalent to Eight-winged Angels and Fallen Angels.
Then, between the Ultimate-class and Special-Class Devils, a new "Special-class Devil" rank would emerge in the future, with strength and status equivalent to weak Dragon Kings, Ten-winged Angels, and Ten-winged Fallen Angel cadres.
Only then came the Special-Class Devils, equivalent to the highest-ranking Twelve-winged Angels, Twelve-winged Fallen Angels, and strong Dragon Kings.
Beyond that was the Super Special-Class Devils. The current Maous Leviathan and Asmodeus were at this level, possessing an overwhelming advantage over ordinary Special-Class Devils beings; the intensity of their battles was such that even Special-Class Devils figures could not easily intervene.
And finally, beyond even that, was the Super Devil level. This was equivalent to the God-class or even Chief God-class beings within mythological systems. The Heavenly Dragons, who surpassed the Dragon Kings, also resided at this level. This rank represented the pinnacle of the world's combat power.
There were only three beings in the world who could exceed this level: one was sealed, and his release would mean the end of the world; another had always drifted outside the world, living in the dimensional gap and rarely appearing; and the last was solely focused on leaving this world, currently in a state of total apathy toward all things.
In other words, a Super Devil was an existence two tiers stronger than the generally known Maou level. Even Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the weakest of the Super Devil, was stronger than a normal Maou, rivaling or even slightly exceeding the Super Maou level.
And as had been said before, once a power gap exceeds two levels, the comparison becomes like an ant to an elephant—there is simply no point in comparing them.
This was why Sirzechs could easily kill the scions of the original Maous once he released his true form, and why Ajuka could easily kill the daughter of Leviathan. Only the son of the original Lucifer, Rizevim, being a fellow Super Devil, had managed to survive.
Such terrifying power naturally attracted the dark ambitions of certain individuals.
The "Artificial Super Devil Experiment"—it was unknown when this experiment first appeared in the Underworld, but it was a truth exposed only in the later stages of the original story.
Leon had already met another victim of this experiment. That victim was currently hiding in the Old School Building, silently concealing her wounds and trying to immerse herself in a peaceful life.
He hadn't expected Sharon Holygrade to also be a victim of this experiment. However, based on her description, the experiment she participated in was likely different from the one the girl in the Old School Building had endured; it was an experiment conducted by a different group of Devils.
But this experiment was undoubtedly more dangerous and more fundamentally flawed. Otherwise, Sharon wouldn't have been the only survivor. Even after being injected with Devil factors and gaining inhuman strength, she was currently only at the level of a High-class Devil, far removed from the Super Devil level.
"No wonder that woman keeps pestering me. It's not that she's mentally ill; there's actually a specific reason for it..."
Leon muttered thoughtfully.
"I haven't told anyone else about this. Currently, only you and I know," Yukinoshita Yukino said. Seeing that Leon had sorted through his thoughts, she turned her head away and added, "Whether you want to report this is up to you."
Clearly, Yukinoshita Yukino wanted to expose the truth.
It wasn't that she pitied Sharon; she simply couldn't stand seeing her own people being kept in the dark.
If Leon didn't know the truth, he would likely continue to view Sharon as nothing more than a brain-damaged lunatic.
While that nun was indeed a fanatic, she wasn't "brain-damaged" in a medical sense; her psyche was simply warped, dominated by hatred and obsession.
Yukino chose to tell Leon for two reasons: first, to warn him not to underestimate Sharon, and second, so he would be prepared.
After all, the information Leon had previously obtained about Sharon was undoubtedly fake. The source of that intel was Sona Sitri—or rather, the House of Sitri. Whether they were intentionally misleading Leon was something no one knew.
Only one thing was certain: the high-ranking officials of the Underworld likely already knew about Leon's investigation into Sharon and had deliberately concealed the truth.
Warning Leon was her way of telling him to be careful and not to be used by those with hidden agendas.
When facing complex-minded superiors, it was best to maintain a healthy amount of suspicion.
It was with this thought in mind that Yukinoshita Yukino told Leon.
Leon could sense that Yukino was looking out for him. He laughed and reached out, mussing up her hair.
"Don't worry. I've been a Devil for nearly twenty years. I know the nature of this race better than you do."
Granted, the Devils of this world were not all the foul, evil beings depicted in myths, but that didn't mean such Devils didn't exist.
The current Underworld appeared civilized because the four new Maous were pushing for reform and change, and the Evil Pieces had integrated other races and new ideas. But even so, many unsightly things still existed in the shadows of the Underworld.
The Artificial Super Devil experiment was actually nothing. The truly dangerous "landmines" were still buried deep in the soil of the Underworld, waiting for someone to detonate them.
Fortunately, Leon didn't consider himself a "righteous" figure. He only wanted to live a free and unrestrained life in this world. Otherwise, with the information in his head, he could have thrown the entire Underworld into chaos.
He would sit back and wait for those mines to explode, but he would never be the one to light the fuse.
If he became a Super Devil or something even stronger in the future, he wouldn't mind stepping in to clear out the things he disliked and make his life as a Devil more comfortable. But for now, with his current strength, he was far from being able to stick his neck out.
Moreover, the leaders of the Three Factions were actually tired of the constant conflict.
Leon knew very well that before long, these people would officially unite to end the status quo. But when that happened, the mysterious organization hiding in the shadows would also surface. The Old Maou faction was merely their vanguard.
"Based on Yukino's description, it seems Sharon Holygrade has also made contact with that organization..."
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with an indiscernible light.
"Things are becoming more and more interesting."
As Leon chuckled, Yukino grumpily slapped his hand away.
"Don't get handsy with an injured person, you pervert. You've messed up my hair."
Yukinoshita Yukino smoothed out her long black hair and glared at Leon.
"Every part of you belongs to me. What's wrong with touching your hair? In a while, I'll take all of you," Leon quipped, before asking curiously, "By the way, how exactly did you defeat that crazy woman?"
"Based on your description, you seemed to be the one pushed into a corner the whole time, right?"
Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita Yukino's brow arched slightly.
"It was nothing," she said in a calm tone.
"I simply gave her a taste of her own medicine."