Sirzechs and Azazel confirmed the time and place of the meeting on the spot before bidding each other farewell.
One was a Maou and the other was the Governor General of the Fallen Angels, representing the Devil and Fallen Angel factions respectively. Once they had confirmed the matter, all that remained was to notify their subordinates.
As for the Angels, Azazel would take responsibility for contacting them, confident that they would agree to the talks.
Firstly, because Kokabiel had intended to drag the Church into the mess, Azazel owed the Church and Heaven an explanation. Secondly, with the Devils and Fallen Angels already prepared to sit down and negotiate, the Angels could never sit idly by once they learned of it.
Therefore, the Angels would certainly not be absent from this summit.
While Sirzechs and Azazel discussed the meeting, Leon and Vali remained silent the entire time, merely looking at each other with flickering eyes, lost in their own thoughts.
The two who should have been the protagonists of this scene had unexpectedly been reduced to supporting roles.
However, both tacitly refrained from bringing the matter up again. Even the battle lust that had been burning in Vali's eyes gradually died down.
They knew that with Sirzechs and Azazel present, this fight could no longer continue.
Since that was the case, their personal grievances were no longer important, and there was no need to say more.
Thus, with both Leon and Vali choosing to remain silent, the two went their separate ways without a word.
Vali followed silently behind Azazel, still saying nothing, which caused Azazel to feel a bit helpless.
"Are you dissatisfied with me, Vali?"
Azazel spoke Vali's inner thoughts bluntly.
Azazel's attitude toward Vali had always been this way.
Vali had joined Grigori as a child and could be said to have been raised and trained by Azazel personally.
When his grandfather did nothing but abuse him and his father was utterly useless, it was Azazel who rescued Vali, brought him to Grigori, and nurtured him to this day.
In a sense, Azazel was Vali's true father.
Under such circumstances, Azazel naturally understood this "son" of his perfectly.
"You think I shouldn't have stopped you? That I should have let you keep fighting?"
Azazel spoke without looking back, causing Vali to fall silent for a long moment.
After a while, Vali spoke with a calm expression.
"I know what you're thinking. You simply felt that in my current state, triggering Juggernaut Drive would be a death sentence, so you stepped in to stop it without a second thought, right?"
Just as Azazel understood Vali, Vali understood Azazel.
But clearly, he didn't understand enough.
"I know it's rare for you to find a powerful enemy, and that you would definitely want to settle the score at any cost. But in your current state, do you really think activating Juggernaut Drive would have allowed you to defeat Leon Eligos?"
Azazel spoke in a low tone.
"Even at your peak, you can only use Juggernaut Drive for a few short minutes by relying on your massive mana reserves. In your current condition, how long do you think you could have maintained that power?"
These words made Vali pause in his tracks.
"In your current state, you probably couldn't even maintain Juggernaut Drive for thirty seconds," Azazel said mercilessly. "Even if we ignore the risks of losing control or shortening your lifespan, do you really believe you could have defeated him in thirty seconds?"
Azazel's meaning was clear: he felt that Vali's willingness to win at any cost was one thing, but if he sacrificed everything and still couldn't achieve victory, the problem was even greater.
"My reason for stopping you was simple: I felt that even if you paid such a heavy price, you wouldn't have obtained the final victory. In that case, isn't it better not to fight?"
Azazel's earnest words caused Vali's brow to furrow deeply.
"So, you think I would have lost?"
Vali looked directly at Azazel.
Azazel stopped walking, turned around, and met Vali's gaze.
"If I say yes, will you think I'm looking down on you?"
Azazel answered with a question, which was effectively an affirmation.
Vali, of course, did not think Azazel was looking down on him.
No one understood his strength better than the man before him; after all, he had been raised by him.
Whether it was the method of using the Sacred Gear, the way to achieve Balance Breaker, or the technique of using massive mana to briefly sustain Juggernaut Drive for a few minutes—all of it had been researched and taught to him by this man.
Because of this, even if Vali was unwilling to accept it, he had to listen to those words.
"—Is Leon Eligos really that strong?"
Vali had only this one question.
Could the opponent really have the ability to defeat him, even when he could exert power rivaling a God?
"In terms of raw power levels, he is certainly not your equal."
Azazel spoke with certainty.
His research on Leon was not yet thorough, and he didn't know exactly what level Leon's true strength resided at, but based on the performance of "Zenith Tempest," the world's foremost Sacred Gear researcher could still make some analyses and conjectures.
In Azazel's view, Leon certainly did not possess God-level power yet.
However, Vali hadn't truly reached the God-level either.
"Your Juggernaut Drive still has many flaws. Setting aside its danger and the cost of use, your own ability makes it very difficult for you to perfectly control God-level power."
"Even if you possess God-level power, you will still cause a lot of unnecessary waste during battle because your control isn't perfect, preventing your output from truly reaching the God-level specification. Not to mention that this power has a time limit, and your current condition is far from perfect."
"In my opinion, even if you used Juggernaut Drive, there are still many ways to deal with you in that state."
"One doesn't need God-level power; as long as they have power exceeding the Maou-class, there is a possibility of defeating you—unless they try to face you head-on."
Azazel calmly laid out this series of analyses, leaving Vali speechless.
"I have to say, Leon Eligos's growth rate is truly astonishing. Just a few months ago, he was nothing more than an ordinary High-class Devil, barely even reaching that rank. But once 'Zenith Tempest' awakened as a Longinus, it was as if he completely transformed."
Azazel stroked his chin, speaking with great interest.
"According to feedback from the intelligence networks, there seems to be a reason his growth is so fast. It involves a secret that unfortunately has been jointly suppressed by the upper echelons of the Devil world, making investigation difficult and slow."
"If it were just that, it would be fine. What's most interesting is that his eye for talent and his luck are exceptionally good. He has only been a 'King' for a short time, yet his peerage is already filled with such outstanding members, each with extraordinary potential."
"'Incinerate Anthem,' 'Absolute Demise,' 'Holy Sword Creation,' 'Create World'—if they aren't Longinus, they are ultra-rare Sacred Gears second only to them. Damn it, how did he manage to find all these in just a few months?"
Azazel's researcher spirit was burning bright; his eyes were glowing and he seemed eager to experiment, yet he felt frustrated because his interesting research subjects already belonged to someone else. He was much more animated than he had been during his calm analysis.
To be honest, Vali was also interested in those people.
The holders of those Longinus and ultra-rare Sacred Gears all had extraordinary potential. Once they grew up, they would surely provide him with plenty of combat enjoyment.
Unfortunately, they were still very immature. Even Yukino Yukinoshita, who had followed Leon the longest, had not yet reached the realm of Balance Breaker. Their current level was far from enough to be his opponents.
Consequently, Vali was currently only specifically interested in Leon.
"Then what level do you think the current Leon Eligos is at?"
Vali asked the question.
"Him—"
Azazel suppressed his various frustrations and regrets. After pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke.
"Normally, as an Ultimate-class Devil at the ten-wing level, even without using Balance Breaker, he should be able to challenge opponents an entire rank higher just by relying on the power of 'Zenith Tempest'—the second strongest Sacred Gear in the world—thereby exerting power equivalent to a Maou-class, right?"
Vali knew this without Azazel having to say it.
If he himself could explode with Maou-class power after using Balance Breaker, then Leon, who could suppress him, couldn't possibly lack the strength to rival the Maou-class.
"What his Balance Breaker is and what abilities it possesses are currently unclear, but I saw the general manifestation earlier. The initial sign of him activating Balance Breaker was the growth of a sixth pair of wings, raising his mana level to the true Maou-class."
Recalling the scene from earlier, Azazel spoke.
"Based on that manifestation, I can basically confirm that his Balance Breaker is a similar type to yours. Both allow for an explosive release of power upon activation, causing one's strength to skyrocket."
Vali could explode with Maou-class strength upon activating Balance Breaker, and the same was true for Leon. Even his rank as a Devil would rise to the twelve-wing level equivalent to a Maou, becoming a highest-ranking Devil.
And that was just the manifestation of power.
Leon had once cited Azazel's research theories, stating that the possibilities of a Balance Breaker could generally be divided into three types: the Aspect of Sublimation, which strengthens and evolves existing Sacred Gear abilities; the Aspect of the Abyss, where the user pursues their own nature and the nature of the Sacred Gear to a point of madness, merging with the gear; and the Aspect of the Outlier, which cannot be categorized into the first two and belongs to a mutation type.
Simply put, once a Sacred Gear reaches Balance Breaker, it either strengthens its inherent abilities, evolves new abilities based on the original ones, or undergoes an unknown transformation outside those categories.
Vali's Balance Breaker had two changes: one was the explosive release of the Sacred Gear's power to boost his own strength, and the other was the ability to ignore the original ten-second rule, allowing him to use his Sacred Gear's power at will.
In Azazel's view, Leon's Balance Breaker was similar to Vali's; first, it would explosively increase his power and status, and then the Sacred Gear's abilities would also change.
"And regardless of what that change is—whether it strengthens the original ability or evolves a new one—it is certain that the ability will be stronger than what he uses in his normal state."
Azazel's eyes flickered as he spoke with a smile.
"Combining those two factors, I am basically certain. Even if he hasn't surpassed the Maou-class yet, he likely possesses strength enough to crush the Maou-class."
Power that surpasses the Maou-class is also known as Super Maou-class.
Azazel didn't know if Leon had reached that realm yet, but he was certain that even if he hadn't, he wasn't far from it.
Regardless, Leon, who already possessed strength rivaling the Maou-class, would surely have the ability to leap another rank to challenge his opponents if he activated Balance Breaker. Azazel would never believe otherwise.
In summary—
"Perhaps compared to old-guard Maous like Serafall, he might still be a bit lacking. But if someone said he possesses strength surpassing the Maou-class, I would absolutely believe it."
Azazel made this conclusion.
And this was the strength Azazel believed could defeat a Juggernaut Drive Vali, provided the battle wasn't a direct head-on collision.
Leon already possessed that strength.
That being the case, how could an injured Vali possibly win?
"..."
Vali fell into a complete silence.
"Don't worry, you still have a future," Azazel patted Vali on the shoulder, comforting him. "As long as you continue to grow, I believe you won't lose to him."
"But for now, if you both fought with everything you had, the one most likely to lose would ultimately be you."
"So, it's better not to fight him for the time being."
After saying that, Azazel turned around and deployed a magic circle for teleportation beneath himself and Vali.
As Vali was gradually enveloped by the light of the magic circle, his eyes slowly became resolute.
"How could we know that without trying?"
Sorry, Azazel.
Next time, you won't be able to stop me.
Vali did not know that while they were discussing Leon, Leon's side was also discussing him.
"What do you think of that Hakuryuukou (White Dragon Emperor)?"
On the way back to Kuoh Town, Sirzechs did not rush to teleport, but instead asked this question to Leon beside him.
"Doesn't Sirzechs-sama already have an idea?" Leon roughly knew what Sirzechs was thinking and shook his head. "Without a doubt, Vali Lucifer is a blessed individual."
"He is very strong."
"At the very least, in the current Devil world, aside from the four Maous, there shouldn't be anyone who is his match."
This was Leon's evaluation of Vali.
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