Once the crisis was averted, Leon allowed the massive boulder to remain suspended in mid-air while he flew down to land in front of Rias and the others.
"How are you? Are the injuries serious?"
Retracting the ten eye-catching devil wings on his back, Leon inquired while scanning Rias's condition.
"I'm fine, the wounds are basically healed."
Rias was currently being supported by Ravel. Shiina Mahiru and a blonde girl were hurriedly treating the members of the Gremory peerage, allowing their injuries to slowly mend.
"Are... are you alright?"
Rias's physical wounds indeed seemed mostly healed, but her gaze wandered over Leon, looking at his unscathed appearance with a somewhat dazed expression.
It wasn't just her; the others felt the same.
There was no helping it—Kokabiel, who had just brought them to the brink of death, had been effortlessly defeated by the youth before them, someone of their own age. The shock of this reality was simply too great.
In any case, Rias and her group had yet to fully process it.
In contrast, Leon looked perfectly relaxed, as if he had just dealt with an utterly ordinary opponent.
"Do I look like I'm in trouble?" Leon pointed toward the massive boulder in the sky. "The only one in trouble is that guy."
At those words, the expressions of Rias and her peerage became even more complicated.
"——I knew your progress from this special training would be significant, but I didn't expect it to reach this level. It's unbelievable."
Rias gave a wry smile as she spoke.
She had maintained contact with Leon throughout. Due to Sirzechs, she had also paid close attention to Leon's every move in the Underworld. Since Leon hadn't tried to hide anything, Rias knew long ago that this trip to the Underworld hadn't just resulted in growth for the Eligos peerage, but a massive harvest for Leon himself.
Ravel, Ram, and Rem were new retainers he had recruited during this trip. One was the daughter of the Phenex family and a pure-blooded High-class Devil, while the other two were orphans of the Oni race, naturally powerful. With such three excellent talents becoming Leon's retainers, it was obvious how much of a gain this would be for Leon, who possessed the "Retainer-ship" trait.
Given this, Rias had prepared herself for Leon to return much stronger.
However, even she hadn't imagined he would become this much stronger.
Not only had he become a ten-winged devil, but he could also easily defeat a Cadre-class Fallen Angel like Kokabiel, who had survived since the age of myth. Wasn't this level of growth a bit too much?
To be honest, Rias felt a bit demoralized.
Yet, Leon truly didn't think it was a big deal.
"It was alright. Despite being a Cadre of the Fallen Angels, that guy wasn't particularly hard to deal with."
Leon genuinely thought so.
At least, compared to Miyamoto Musashi, who had forced him to use his Balance Breaker to settle things, Kokabiel was indeed not difficult to handle.
The two were comparable in tier—both were extremely close to the Maou-class and capable of facing Maou-class opponents—but in terms of raw combat prowess, Miyamoto Musashi was definitely much stronger than Kokabiel.
After all, Musashi's swordsmanship was far too transcendent; it could suppress time and space, breaking through infinity to reach "Zero." That kind of strike, capable of cleaving the world in two, would force even a Maou-class being to avoid its edge. If one were careless, they might even capsize in a gutter, potentially defeated by Musashi despite her being "weaker."
Kokabiel was much worse off. His greatest expertise was nothing more than the light power of a Fallen Angel. That vast light power might be troublesome for other devils, but for Leon, who had become a Perfect Devil and overcome racial weaknesses, it was merely another combat method.
Thus, Leon could easily defeat Kokabiel, yet could not easily defeat Miyamoto Musashi, who was in the same tier.
Ravel had mentioned before that Miyamoto Musashi had once defeated a Cadre-class Fallen Angel; it just hadn't been Kokabiel.
"In any case, it's good that you're all safe."
Seeing that the injuries of Himejima Akeno and the others had been healed one by one, Leon began to ask his questions.
"Those two are——?"
Leon was referring to the blonde girl currently treating the others, and the blue-haired girl silently receiving treatment while holding a dangerous-looking holy sword.
He had actually recognized who they were, but he still needed Rias to introduce them.
"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced them to you yet."
Rias composed herself and beckoned toward the blonde girl.
"Come over here, Asia."
Hearing this, the blonde girl, who had just finished treating the blue-haired girl, gave a response and ran over flusteredly.
"This is Asia, my new 'Bishop'." Rias smiled at Leon. "Didn't I tell you before that I recently took in two new retainers? One is the current Sekiryuutei I mentioned, and the other is this child."
"Yes, I am Asia Argento." The blonde girl bowed nervously, her hands clasped in front of her. "P-please take care of me."
Leon, naturally, knew this girl.
She was one of the original heroines, formerly a Saint of the Church. Born with the ability to heal others, she was once showered with praise. However, because she had once healed a severely injured devil, she was ostracized by the Church, deemed a heretic, and subsequently exiled, becoming homeless.
Her healing ability came from a Sacred Gear—"Twilight Healing."
It was an ultra-rare Sacred Gear, one of only a few confirmed to exist worldwide. It could heal not only humans and angels, but also devils and fallen angels. It could mend almost any wound, though it could not restore stamina or regenerate lost body parts.
Among all Sacred Gears, the recovery-type was always the rarest, and "Twilight Healing" was the highest and rarest among them, second only to the "Sephiroth Graal" of the Longinus. In terms of value, it even surpassed Sacred Gears like "Sword Birth," "Blade Blacksmith," or "Create World."
Because she possessed this ultra-rare Sacred Gear, in the original story, this blonde girl had once been targeted by ill-intentioned entities. After a series of ordeals, she eventually joined the Gremory peerage alongside Hyoudou Issei to become Rias's "Bishop."
But now, under Leon's reminder, Hyoudou Issei had been noticed by Rias and Sona Shitori ahead of time. He had been recruited by Rias before the original events could take place, and it seemed Asia had also joined the Gremory peerage for reasons other than Hyoudou Issei.
However, Rias did not specifically explain the circumstances of Asia joining her peerage, and Leon did not intentionally ask.
Leon didn't particularly care how it happened; as long as he knew the Saint had joined the Gremory peerage just like in the original story, that was enough.
As for the other blue-haired girl——
"I am Xenovia, a Holy Sword Wielder of the Church."
The other party spoke up before Rias could, introducing herself.
"A Holy Sword Wielder?" Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to have been noticing the holy sword in Xenovia's hand for a long time. Her gaze lingered on the weapon as she said, "In that case, this is a genuine holy sword, right?"
It wasn't strange for Yukinoshita to say this.
Though she had seen many holy swords from Yuuki Asuna, Asuna's swords were created through a Sacred Gear ability. To put it bluntly, those were fakes—imitations.
A true holy sword was a divine weapon that could only be created by master craftsmen reaching the realm of the gods through magic or alchemy. Usually, an eligible wielder for such a weapon would only appear once every few decades.
True holy swords had always been the trump cards of the Church and Heaven, and every Holy Sword Wielder capable of using one was an incredibly precious combat asset.
Now, such a precious asset had appeared here.
"This is Durandal."
Xenovia also knew how conspicuous she and the sword in her hand were to a devil, so she openly displayed the holy sword.
It was an exaggeratedly large sword with an entirely blue body. Its appearance was quite flamboyant, yet Xenovia held it with ease.
"Durandal. Also known as Durendal, a legendary holy sword on par with Excalibur. It is said that in terms of sharpness alone, it is the strongest among holy swords, capable of pulverizing anything it touches. It is a holy sword that can cut through anything, even the 'Destruction' magic of the Bael family is no exception."
Yukinoshita Yukino revealed the true identity of the sword, casting a glance at Rias.
This information was what she had read in books; her words were merely a repetition of those descriptions without adding any personal opinion.
Rias did not deny it, which confirmed the truth of the statement.
To be honest, the holy aura released by this sword was the strongest Yukinoshita had ever seen, far exceeding any holy sword Yuuki Asuna had ever created.
The only thing Yukinoshita had ever seen that could surpass this holy sword in terms of divine power was——
Yukinoshita looked inconspicuously toward Shiina Mahiru, who was running toward the unconscious Hyoudou Issei along with Kiba Yuuto.
The holy power attached to the purple flames released by her "Incinerate Anthem" was the only thing Yukinoshita had seen that could surpass Durandal.
Of course, for Leon, it was a different story.
In his view, whether it was the "Incinerate Anthem" or Durandal, their holy power was not as strong as Cao Cao's True Longinus.
That was the truly strongest holy relic and divine weapon; in terms of holy power, nothing else could compare to it.
"I was sent by the Church to pursue Kokabiel and recover the holy swords he stole." Xenovia explained briefly, then looked up at the massive boulder in the sky, pursing her lips. "Unfortunately, looking at the current situation, my actions were completely reckless."
Xenovia seemed somewhat dejected, looking quite discouraged.
This was not her usual self.
Rias and the others knew how arrogant this Holy Sword Wielder had been when she first arrived in Kuoh Town, even daring to speak boldly to Rias, warning them not to eye the holy swords in Kokabiel's possession.
But in the battle against Kokabiel, she had received a blow far more severe than Rias's.
It wasn't because she couldn't beat Kokabiel.
Xenovia had self-awareness; though she was a rare Holy Sword Wielder, she hadn't reached the level where she could single-handedly resist a Cadre of the Fallen Angels.
What truly crushed her was the news that God was dead.
This news had been blurted out by Kokabiel during the battle.
Before this, the news had been strictly suppressed. Neither Heaven nor the high-ranking members of the Church had allowed anyone below them to know.
Therefore, having learned this news, Xenovia was now in a state of having completely lost her spirit.
No, it wasn't just her; Asia, who also hailed from the Church, was clearly shaken as well.
For those who held God as their faith, the news of His death was absolutely shattering, enough to make them lose the meaning of their lives up to this point.
Compared to this, the near-death experience in front of Kokabiel was nothing.
"You are Leon Eligos, right?" Xenovia forced herself to rally her spirits, speaking to Leon. "I know of you."
"Oh?" Leon raised an eyebrow. "Does a Holy Sword Wielder of the Church recognize an obscure little devil like me?"
"Before, you indeed didn't have the qualifications to be prioritized, but ever since the fact that you are the possessor of 'Lightning Sky's Thunder Prison' was exposed, not just the Church, but Heaven has also been paying close attention to you." Xenovia said frankly, "It is said that even Lord Michael is secretly watching you. It would be weirder if I didn't know you existed."
Hearing this, everyone's expression tightened.
Michael—one of the four Great Seraphs of Heaven, the leader of the angels with twelve golden wings, known as the representative of God.
After God's death, he was the actual supreme leader of Heaven, with a status comparable to the Governor General of the Fallen Angels or the strongest Devil King, Lucifer.
Being secretly watched by such a being wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"That truly is an honor."
Leon, however, appeared completely indifferent.
There were plenty of people watching him now. The Governor General of the Fallen Angels was watching him, and even the leader of the Hero Faction had personally sought him out, so Leon was already used to it.
Unless he were told that the three most unrivaled powerhouses in the world were secretly watching him, only then might he feel surprised. For anyone else to watch him, he would only feel unconcerned.
Therefore, Leon changed the subject.
"For now, let's think about how to deal with the one up there."
Leon pointed to the massive boulder in the sky, causing everyone to nod in silent agreement.
"I'll call Sona and the others in first."
Rias unfolded a magic circle in her palm and began to contact the outside world——
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