Rias indeed had reason to thank Leon.
And it wasn't just Rias; Sona Sitri owed him a debt of gratitude as well.
Not only were the two of them saved because of Leon, but even their peerages might not have survived had Leon's own peerage members not been present to assist.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, Mahiru Shiina, and Asuna Yuuki performed exceptionally during this attack. It was precisely due to their proactive intervention that the majority of the Gremory and Sitri peerages were able to survive this catastrophe unscathed.
As for those who hadn't been teamed up with Leon's peerage?
Yuuto Kiba and Ruruko Nimura needed no explanation; they were currently unconscious and had yet to leave the critical danger zone. Even the "Queen" duo of Akeno Himejima and Tsubaki Shinra had experienced a near-death situation. Their injuries were so severe they were second only to Yukino Yukinoshita, Yuuto Kiba, and Ruruko Nimura.
Therefore, by any standard of reason or emotion, Rias and Sona ought to thank Leon.
However, Leon himself seemed somewhat indifferent.
"Even without me, you wouldn't have fallen here."
Leon spoke casually, but he genuinely believed it.
There was no other reason than the fact that he trusted Rias's capability and Sona's intellect. More importantly, he believed that given their status in the "original story," they would be able to turn any disaster into a blessing, no matter how dire the situation.
They were the protagonist groups of the original work, after all. If they fell in such a minor incident, it would be far too degrading.
Much more treacherous and terrifying events were waiting for them to resolve in the future. If they couldn't handle this small matter, how could they even talk about solving the major events destined to be recorded in the annals of history?
"Gratitude is still necessary. Even if not for myself, I must thank you on behalf of my precious servants," Rias said, giving him a long, meaningful look. She had no idea what Leon was thinking.
"It's just a pity that our duel can no longer be completed."
After experiencing the attack by the Old Satan Faction, Rias had come to realize that if she had truly fought Leon during the day, there was a ninety percent—no, a one hundred percent—chance she would have lost.
There was no helping it; she previously could never have imagined that the man before her was hiding himself so deeply.
His personal strength had already broken through the High-class Devil level to reach the Ultimate-class Devil tier, and he even possessed eight wings.
Yet that wasn't the most shocking part. The most staggering realization was his identity as a Sacred Gear wielder.
"Zenith Tempest, the world's second-ranked Longinus. A Sacred Gear second only to the legendary True Longinus, the strongest Holy Spear. It is hailed as a terrifying power capable of controlling the weather and nature, and even influencing the world... I never imagined you were its host."
Even though she had already processed the shock, Rias still couldn't hide the awe in her tone when mentioning it again.
Who could have guessed? This young devil, who only a short while ago had barely managed to promote to High-class, and who was viewed as a member of the pureblood devils despite being a literal half-blood, had not only suddenly awakened a mutation trait to soar to the heavens but was also the wielder of such a powerful Sacred Gear.
"Indeed, you hid it quite well."
Even Sona Sitri looked at Leon, her tone becoming uncharacteristically faint and wistful.
She had thought she was the person who understood Leon best. Who knew that the "little man" she had been watching over had kept such a massive secret from her?
"Don't look at me like that. I was just doing it as a precaution," Leon said with a dry laugh and a helpless shrug, unable to withstand Rias's awe but even less able to handle the unprecedentedly resentful gaze from Sona.
"Because of the mutation trait, I was already high-profile enough. If I had exposed the fact that I am the host of Zenith Tempest, I probably wouldn't have had a moment's peace in Chiba."
Chiba wasn't some remote countryside, but it wasn't a vital location either. Otherwise, how could Leon, before he was even a High-class Devil, have been so overbearing there, smoothly developing his devil business and thriving so successfully?
One must remember that unlike Kuoh Town, which was devil territory, Chiba was Church territory.
Under the suppression of the Church, Leon had managed to flourish. This proved that even if the Church's influence in Chiba was strong, it was limited. Once Leon promoted to High-class, he was hardly targeted by the Church anymore.
At that time, one could say that aside from a madwoman like Shalon, the Church personnel in Chiba had no desire to clash with him head-on.
However, if Leon had exposed his entire hand, the Church would have certainly reported it to headquarters. The headquarters would have taken it seriously and dispatched powerful combatants to Chiba—even the Heavens might have reacted by sending high-ranking Angels.
Furthermore, the devils weren't necessarily all Leon's allies, and there were Fallen Angels in the shadows who were extremely focused on Sacred Gears. Naturally, Leon wanted to wait until he had grown strong enough before revealing the existence of Zenith Tempest.
"Now, thanks to those guys from the Old Satan Faction, I'm completely exposed."
Leon shrugged, looking helpless.
Rias and Sona exchanged a glance and acknowledged Leon's concerns.
"You are indeed too conspicuous now." Sona, having moved past her momentary resentment, began to worry for Leon. "Being the host of Zenith Tempest is shocking enough, but the peerage members under you are each more special than the last."
"Sword Birth and Create World—these two Sacred Gears are already very powerful and rare types. Yet, among your peerage, Asuna and Kasumigaoka aren't even the ones with the most potential."
"Incinerate Anthem and Absolute Demise (Eternal Ice Princess)—the eighth and eleventh ranked Longinus. Although these two can't compare to Zenith Tempest, one of the four top-tier Longinus, they are still Longinus. They possess the potential to break the balance of power."
"The fact that so many rare and powerful Sacred Gears have gathered together will definitely alarm both Heaven and Grigori."
Sona herself found the idea of these people gathering in one team to be exaggerated, let alone those who would suddenly receive this news.
A small Eligos peerage, a young devil group that hadn't even made their official debut yet, consisted of only five people, but they held three Longinus and two exceptionally rare Sacred Gears. It was practically an invitation for others to commit a crime.
Any one of these five Sacred Gears appearing would usually draw widespread attention and cause the Three Great Powers to take action. To have five of them gathered together was unheard of.
Therefore, it was certain that Grigori would move, given that they were researchers of Sacred Gears.
Heaven would also undoubtedly take action. At the very least, the Church would make a major move; otherwise, it would be a sign of disrespect toward the status of the Holy Cross and the Holy Swords.
Incinerate Anthem and Sword Birth—the former being one of the Three Great Holy Relics and the latter being a Sacred Gear that creates Holy Swords—were both things the Church dreamed of and were deeply intertwined with their identity.
If they didn't act, it would only make one worry that some deeper conspiracy was hidden within.
"You need to be careful, Leon," Rias said solemnly, looking at him. "From now on, you will become a primary focus of the Three Great Powers. Trouble might already be on its way to you. You must be cautious in all things."
"I think you should return to the Underworld," Sona suggested further. "In our own territory, it will at least be relatively safer."
The two of them were genuinely thinking of Leon's well-being, which gave Leon some comfort.
However, he shook his head and gave them a reassuring look.
"The current me is not the same as the old me. While I wouldn't call myself invincible, I'm not someone just anyone can push around." Leon smiled with considerable confidence. "If someone wants to target me, unless the Four Great Seraphs of Heaven or the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels acts personally, no one can stop me if I want to leave."
He was already an eight-winged devil. Using Zenith Tempest, he could challenge beings at the ten-wing level. Even if top-tier Angels or Fallen Angel Cadres intervened, he would still have the strength to put up a fight.
To take him down, it was impossible unless a twelve-wing highest-tier existence was dispatched.
And existences of that level in Heaven consisted only of the Four Great Seraphs, and among the Fallen Angels, there was only one Governor-General (and perhaps a Vice Governor-General). The remaining six Great Cadres were all ten-wing level; at most, they could suppress Leon, but they could never hope to one-sidedly crush him and take him alive.
And this was under the condition that Leon hadn't revealed his true trump card.
Although he had exposed the existence of Zenith Tempest and claimed to be "completely exposed," in reality, after taking Mahiru Shiina into his peerage, Leon had gained a new power and a new trump card.
Lately, he had been secretly carving and refining this trump card, preparing for a moment to shock the world.
If those targeting him thought he had shown all his cards and dared to come looking for trouble, Leon would definitely give them a surprise.
"...As long as you know what you're doing."
Seeing Leon's confident expression, Sona guessed he must have some form of reliance. She opened her mouth to speak, but finally just nodded silently.
Rias looked at the self-assured Leon, then at the silently trusting Sona beside him. For some reason, a surge of envy suddenly rose within her.
Compared to herself, Sona was truly impressive.
She could rely on her own strength to defeat her former fiancé and abolish her engagement, and she had encountered such a powerful and outstanding member of the opposite sex. She was far more capable than the current, powerless Rias.
Unfortunately, good things always seem to happen to others...
Rias sighed silently in her heart and stopped speaking.
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