The Jabberwocky was never actually destroyed.
Given the state the Eligos peerage had been in, they simply didn't have the ability to bring down a monster that even the current Lucifer's peerage had struggled to handle.
Yukino and the others weren't like Hyoudou Issei, who could pull off a mid-battle power-up whenever it suited him, even attracting Great Red to merge with him against the Jabberwocky. At that point, the girls had been genuinely desperate.
If not for the fact that the Jabberwocky was a demonic creature, heavily countered by Asuna's holy swords and Mahiru's Holy Cross, and if Yukino and Utaha hadn't been there in Balance Breaker to pin it down while Ram in Promotion and Rem in Oni form tanked damage on the front line, the peerage would have been wiped out in that state, no question.
In the end, it was Ravel, the strategist, who saved the day.
"I noticed the pocket dimension seemed to be having some kind of structural problem. It was becoming very unstable, like a corner had been knocked out. It felt like it could collapse at any moment."
That was Utaha speaking.
As a barrier specialist, her sensitivity to spatial disturbances was far sharper than most. When she'd noticed this and mentioned it, her original intent was to warn everyone to be careful not to shatter the pocket dimension, which would strand them all with no way back to the real world. But Ravel, hearing those words, made an immediate call.
Deliberately destroy the pocket dimension's structure and banish the Jabberwocky.
If you can't beat it, there are only three options: hold out until reinforcements arrive, retreat, or make the enemy disappear. No fourth choice exists.
The Eligos peerage couldn't hold out long enough for help. They had no idea how to leave the pocket dimension on their own. So Ravel chose the most aggressive option without hesitation: collapse the space and send the enemy tumbling into the dimensional rift.
Given the pocket dimension's condition at the time, pulling it off wasn't even that difficult. Not when they had a barrier specialist who'd reached Balance Breaker and another member whose Balance Breaker could transform an entire area into a world of ice and blades. With clever positioning, the plan was entirely feasible.
And so the girls went all in. Following Ravel's instructions, they poured everything they had left into confining the Jabberwocky within a section of space, then had Yukino and Utaha shatter that section. The Jabberwocky was successfully banished.
"...You really went for it, didn't you."
Leo was stunned.
He could roughly guess why the pocket dimension had been so unstable.
First, because the intensity of his battle with Cao Cao had exceeded the space's structural limits. The force of their final clash had fractured the pocket dimension's framework outright, sending both of them tumbling into the dimensional gap. Under those conditions, the remaining space was naturally on the verge of collapse, its structural integrity severely compromised.
Second, because the creator of that pocket dimension, Georg, the wielder of Dimension Lost, had already decided to pull back. In order to preserve the Hero Faction's fighting strength, he'd been forcibly teleporting members out en masse. Each forced transfer placed additional strain on the already-damaged space, making it even more fragile.
On top of all that, Utaha's Balance Breaker could convert an opponent's power from real to illusory. Once the already-unstable dimensional structure lost its reality, and was then hit by the world of ice and blades from Yukino's Balance Breaker, collapse wasn't just possible. It was inevitable.
And so the Jabberwocky was banished. In all likelihood, it had been swept into the dimensional gap just like Leo and Cao Cao, which meant the girls were finally out of danger.
That was the logical conclusion, but Leo was still shaken by the sheer audacity of Ravel's plan.
With the pocket dimension in that state, one miscalculation and it wouldn't have been just the Jabberwocky that got banished. The entire Eligos peerage would've gone for a swim in the dimensional rift.
"Given the situation, we had no choice but to take the gamble. Otherwise we were looking at a total wipe."
Ravel was remarkably composed. Almost cold about it, really, enough to make even Kanna, a Dragon King, shrink back and tuck her chin.
This young lady of the Phenex House had always walked the path of the decisive. In a sense, she shared a certain quality with the Hero Faction: the willingness to accept necessary sacrifices in pursuit of an objective. Getting her to make a risky call wasn't difficult.
Leo gave the girl a long look but said nothing critical.
Decisive or not, Ravel was right. If they hadn't taken that gamble, the only outcome would have been the complete annihilation of the Eligos peerage. Better to try than to accept certain death.
If Leo had been there, he'd have made the same call.
Besides, Ravel had not only committed no fault, she'd achieved something remarkable. She'd successfully banished the Jabberwocky and brought every single member of the peerage back alive. If he were to lecture her about being too ruthless after results like that, he'd be the worst kind of armchair critic.
Leo had no interest in being the sort of person who stood on moral high ground and spewed self-righteous garbage. So he just reached over and patted Ravel on the head with a word of praise.
"Well done, Ravel. That's my servant."
One sentence, and the cold composure on the girl's face dissolved instantly, replaced by a faint blush.
"T-that level of difficulty was child's play, really."
She was clearly embarrassed, yet still insisted on speaking with that haughty air of hers. The sight drew laughter from everyone present, Leo included.
"So how did you all escape the pocket dimension in the end?"
Leo asked his last question while still stroking Ravel's head.
"We used the mist from that Dimension Lost wielder."
Ravel provided the answer.
"Ram analyzed the mist, reverse-traced it to pinpoint the real world's coordinates, and we were able to jump out of the pocket dimension via magic circle and return."
Yukino added a supplementary explanation, prompting Leo to look at Ram.
"I simply felt it could be done, so I did it."
Ram's expression was perfectly calm, but that matter-of-fact attitude only made her seem all the more impressive.
And she had every right to be proud.
As an Oni who'd invested her talents in the wrong skill tree, one whom Tiamat had evaluated as a transcendent prodigy, a divine child among the Oni, Ram's aptitude for magic was genuinely exceptional. Her greatest specialty was wind-attribute techniques. Manipulating atmosphere and airflow was routine for her, and both were tangentially connected to how mist formed and behaved. Even though this mist wasn't ordinary vapor but the product of a Longinus, Ram's remarkable talent had allowed her to analyze a portion of its properties and successfully locate the real world's coordinates.
Her innate gift of Clairvoyance spoke to the same point. Ram's sensory talents were nothing short of extraordinary. Since Dimension Lost's mist served as a medium for forced spatial transfer, the fact that she could analyze it to pinpoint the real world's position was, when you thought about it, perfectly logical.
And so, the Eligos peerage successfully repelled the Hero Faction and escaped the pocket dimension alive, achieving an outstanding record of victory.
The cost was heavy. Everyone had sustained serious injuries. Ram and Rem's wounds had been severe enough to require Phoenix Tears. But the fact remained that they had driven back the Hero Faction through their own strength and brought every member home alive. That was indisputable.
Just as Sona Sitri and Miyamoto Musashi had said, the Eligos peerage was likely to make waves across the entire devil world and beyond, turning heads among every faction.
After this battle, the upper echelons of devil society would surely reassess their evaluation of these girls, recalibrating their estimates of the peerage's capabilities.
If not for their injuries requiring rest, and if not for Leo's whereabouts being unknown at the time, the Maou would probably have already summoned them for a public commendation.
The Eligos peerage's performance in this fight was just that impressive.
"You all did an incredible job. Even I'm blown away. Truly."
Leo didn't hold back. He gave the girls a thumbs up, admiration clear in his voice.
"Not long ago, we were terrified because a terrorist group like the Hero Faction had us in their sights. We had to leave school, leave the human world, go to the Underworld for intensive training. All that effort, all that sacrifice, just so we wouldn't be easy targets anymore."
"If we'd chosen to accept the Underworld's protection back then, content with that fragile, hollow peace, today's results would never have happened. We might have already fallen into another one of the Hero Faction's traps by now."
"But we... or rather, you all chose not to do that. You chose to endure that brutal training. And that's why we have these results today."
"I'm glad. We overcame the enemy's schemes and harassment, turned down a fleeting sense of safety, and traded it for a decisive victory."
"We defeated the enemy we once had to hide from, and seized our freedom and peace with our own hands."
Those words struck something deep in every girl present.
Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, and Mahiru especially. Thinking back to those days, they exchanged a smile, a profound sense of accomplishment swelling in their chests.
Back then, the Eligos peerage had been just the four of them. Only they had been there for the training from start to finish. Ravel, Ram, and Rem had all joined later.
So only Yukino and her three companions truly understood how much they'd despised their own weakness back then. How much they'd hated their powerlessness.
That feeling of being at the mercy of forces beyond their control had been suffocating.
It was from that point on that these four girls, all born as ordinary humans, began to change their outlook. They faced reality, embraced their identities as devils, and pursued strength and freedom.
They began to accept training that would have seemed like hell to any ordinary high school girl. They started confronting head-on the dangers that combat brought.
In the end, they conquered themselves, and conquered the enemies they'd once viewed as nightmares.
Thinking this, Yukino and the others couldn't help turning their gazes back to the man who stood there smiling at them with his thumb raised, their hearts stirring once more.
They hadn't forgotten. Everything they had today, they owed to him.
During training, this man had been a demon, showing them no mercy whatsoever. But it was precisely because he'd planned everything so meticulously that they'd been able to transform and achieve their current strength and accomplishments.
This man had changed them. Built them up. Given them everything they'd wanted.
Utaha and Mahiru found their gazes softening as they looked at Leo. Yukino and Asuna needed even less prompting, the emotions inside them swelling with every passing second.
After all, those two had already crossed that line with Leo...
"Oh, Leo-sama."
Just then, Ravel seemed to remember something and spoke up.
"A message just came in from Sirzechs-sama. He says if you've settled in at home, to please pay a visit to Kuoh Academy."
Leo nodded, unsurprised.
"Now that I'm back safe, I should go see Sirzechs-sama."
As for why Kuoh Academy specifically... well, his beloved little sister attended school there, didn't she?
Sona had also mentioned that once things were sorted here, he should swing by her side. Might as well combine the trips.
"Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru, the four of you go back and rest. Ram, Rem, the house is in your hands as usual."
Leo stood up without delay.
"Ravel, I'll leave Kanna and Stella in your care. I'm sure you've guessed by now, but they're the new servants I recruited this time. Once I'm back, we'll throw a celebration and welcome party. We can recognize everyone's performance and introduce them properly."
Leo's words drew every pair of eyes to Kanna and Stella.
"Mm..."
Kanna was her usual timid self, ducking behind Stella immediately.
Stella remained unmoved, ignoring the girls' stares entirely, maintaining her silence.
Seeing this, the girls exchanged a glance but said nothing, simply nodding.
"If you two would follow me, I'll show you around."
Ravel approached the two dragon girls with impeccable manners.
Perhaps it was the ingrained refinement of royalty that made Stella unable to dismiss someone with such thorough etiquette. She pressed her lips together, a touch of discomfort showing, but nodded and followed.
Kanna tried to slip away, but Stella caught her and dragged her along.
The girls said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, each attending to their own matters.
After checking on the state of the estate, Leo left Miyamoto Musashi to watch over things, then headed for Kuoh Academy.