In this battle, Rias truly gave it her all, even performing beyond her normal limits!
Knowing exactly what kind of opponent she was facing, Rias had no intention of holding back, nor did she dare to. From the very beginning, she went into full offensive mode, her demonic power erupting completely. She channeled her Power of Destruction into an endless barrage of magical bullets, firing them toward Leon like a dam that had burst its gates.
The scene was quite similar to the aerial bombardment Vali, the White Dragon Emperor, had unleashed on Leon previously. However, while the magical bullets Vali fired were like heavy artillery shells raining down—capable of leaving a city riddled with holes—Rias's magical bullets were more like machine-gun fire; each was only the size of a softball, but they were infinite in number.
Because these magical bullets were infused with the Power of Destruction, Rias's attack appeared even more imposing than Vali's in terms of sheer momentum. One could feel an extremely high concentration of demonic power in every single projectile. A single shot was enough to overwhelm an ordinary High-Class Devil, let alone a focused barrage of this scale. Any existence below the level of a High-Class Devil would likely be reduced to ashes in an instant.
Unfortunately, Leon was Rias's opponent.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! As a series of violent explosions erupted, the sky above the wasteland was completely thrown into chaos.
Facing Rias's continuous barrage, Leon's response was very simple. He deployed several magic circles in front of him, lining them up like cannon muzzles. He fired an equally vast number of magical bullets to intercept Rias's attacks.
Every collision between the magical bullets triggered a significant explosion. Countless blasts bloomed in the air above the wasteland, the sound popping continuously like firecrackers. The atmosphere vibrated incessantly, creating fierce winds and shockwaves.
These gales and shockwaves didn't just rage in mid-air; they buffeted the ground as well, kicking up a thick sandstorm. For a moment, the area was filled with flying sand and rolling stones, as if a natural disaster had occurred.
"Haa!"
With a sharp cry, Rias spread her hands. Several magic circles appeared spinning, then overlapped with one another. A staggering amount of demonic power gathered within them, erupting into a torrential flood of energy that swallowed countless magical bullets as it roared toward Leon.
The power of this strike was impressive, causing even Leon to raise an eyebrow.
"Impressive. This Power of Destruction truly is something else."
Leon could sense that wherever the torrent of demonic power passed, it didn't just erase the magical bullets in its path; even the air, sand, and rubble seemed to be pulverized and annihilated. They vanished on the spot without a trace, leaving nothing behind. It was terrifying.
The characteristic of "Destruction" was just that tyrannical. Regardless of the target, as long as there wasn't sufficient power to block it, it would be destroyed instantly. Not a single scrap of residue would remain in this world, as if the object had never existed in the first place. This was why Rias's catchphrase when releasing her power was "Be reduced to nothingness."
By relying on this trait, Sirzechs had even claimed the title of the strongest Demon King. He himself was practically an embodiment of the Power of Destruction. Once his true essence, the "Human-shaped Form of Destruction," was unleashed, the quality of his demonic power would soar to ten times that of the original Lucifer. He could even intimidate Chief God-class deities; he was explosively powerful.
While Rias wasn't as broken as Sirzechs yet, she had inherited this trait of Destruction. Even a tiny magical bullet was enough to instantly annihilate a formidable being, making her nearly peerless among High-Class Devils.
Someone like Sona Sitri, for instance, was no match for Rias.
As for Leon, before he had awakened Zenith Tempest—the second strongest Longinus in the world—he likely would have been crushed into dust instantly had he encountered Rias.
In the original story, almost no one of the same rank could defeat Rias in a one-on-one duel. Even Riser, that delinquent noble, had to rely on his cheating immortality to ignore the threat of the Power of Destruction, forcing Rias to concede. Anyone who wasn't using a "cheat" or wasn't higher in level than Rias was simply not her match.
Sirzechs had even stated that in terms of the raw power of Destruction, Rias might surpass him in the future. This was because he was a technique-oriented Devil, whereas Rias was purely a power type.
The ultimate move Rias would develop in the future, the "Extinguished Star," was something that even Demon King-class beings would have to avoid. If it weren't for the fact that the move was difficult to control, she would have long ago been promoted to a higher rank rather than still being classified as a High-Class Devil.
Current Rias hadn't reached that stage yet, but Leon could certainly feel it. Even though they were both firing magical bullets, if he didn't increase his demonic output to a level that could threaten an Ultimate-Class Devil, he wouldn't be able to block Rias's attacks. It was clear that the Power of Destruction was not something a being of the same level could easily withstand.
However, if one's level surpassed Rias's, blocking the Power of Destruction became much easier.
Take Kokabiel, for example; he could block Rias's full-powered strike with a single hand, even when Rias had been buffed by Issei Hyoudou's Boosted Gear.
Leon's strength was far beyond Kokabiel's. Even without using his Sacred Gear, he was a being of the same status. Facing a Rias who wasn't strengthened by the Boosted Gear, he naturally wouldn't perform any worse than Kokabiel.
Thus, Leon reached out his hand toward the roaring torrent of magical power.
Boom!
The incredible flood of power hit Leon's outstretched palm, releasing a terrifying force as if trying to incinerate him. The massive Power of Destruction surged continuously like a vicious beast, wanting to devour the flesh before it and eliminate the obstacle in its path, causing the crimson demonic energy to flicker frequently like sparks.
To counter this Power of Destruction, Leon's demonic output had reached the level of an Ultimate-Class Devil.
Then, he clenched his hand tightly.
Bang!
The massive torrent of power was instantly crushed by Leon's single hand, as easily as if a dragon of magic had been dispersed before him.
"What?"
Rias's expression changed slightly.
Leon didn't give her a chance to react. He immediately redirected the magic circles in front of him, overlapping them just as Rias had done, and released a massive torrent of demonic power toward her.
With this move, the gap between the two became crystal clear.
At the very least, Sona Sitri, who was watching from the sidelines, keenly noticed that Leon's stacking of multiple magic circles was effortless and second nature. Unlike Rias, who had to shout and charge up, Leon possessed an air of "handling a heavy weight as if it were light."
This was only natural. Before awakening his "Peerage Transformation" trait, Leon knew his talent wasn't as good as the favored geniuses like Rias. He had only barely promoted to a High-Class Devil at the age of eighteen, so his innate talent in demonic power was clearly not exceptionally high. Consequently, he had put a great deal of effort into his techniques for utilizing demonic power.
If Rias was a power type, Sirzechs a technique type, and Cao Cao an ultra-high technique type, then Leon could have been considered a technique type before awakening his trait. Now, however, he possessed both power and technique, lacking in neither.
Especially after receiving multiple feedback reinforcements in strength and technique from Zenith Tempest, Leon's control over his own power had become increasingly refined, reaching a point of absolute mastery.
Therefore, in this exchange, Leon didn't just crush Rias in terms of power; he far surpassed her in technique as well.
Boom!!!
The massive torrent of demonic power struck the magic circles deployed in front of Rias, shattering them layer by layer with a deafening roar before slamming into Rias herself.
Rias was sent flying from the explosion of magical energy, her body smoking. Her skin was scorched grey and black, and she couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood. Her clothes didn't escape either; they were instantly burned into rags, revealing things that should and shouldn't be seen.
"It's not over yet!"
Rias ignored her appearance. Her eyes burned with crimson demonic energy, and a red aura erupted from her body. Spreading her hands, she hurled two massive magical bullets in quick succession, causing them to spiral around each other as they shot toward Leon.
Leon was about to repeat his previous tactic of catching the attack by hand when the two magical bullets suddenly collided with each other right in front of him, exploding directly in his face.
"Using this kind of trick?"
Leon extended one of his devil wings in front of him to block the blast and intercept the chaotic magical shockwave. Then, he reached out again toward the center of the explosion.
Swish!
A tiny magical bullet shot out from within, darting subtly toward Leon's head in a sneak attack that was hard to guard against. Had Leon not already released his demonic perception, he truly might have missed such a small maneuver.
And since he had discovered it, there was only one outcome: he caught it with one hand and crushed it. It didn't cause him even a hint of damage.
"Even that didn't work?!"
Rias bit her lip.
Before she could rally her spirit to attack again, Leon moved. He took a slow step toward Rias, as if walking on air.
However, the moment his foot landed, Leon seemed to melt into the air, vanishing completely. Rias was startled. What shocked her most was that before she could even react, Leon's figure emerged from the air behind her, appearing as if he had shifted through dimensions.
"Alright, let's stop here for now."
Leon patted Rias on the shoulder and spoke with a smile, leaving Rias completely speechless.
Not just Rias, but Sona Sitri, who was watching, was equally stunned.
"Just now... what was that?"
Sona was extremely shocked. As a bystander, Sona could say with absolute certainty that the reason Leon disappeared just now was definitely not because he was too fast, nor was it a spatial technique like a magic circle jump.
It was truly as if he had dissolved into the atmosphere, becoming one with nature. Even his demonic power had merged directly into the air. It felt as though his entire body had dispersed into the atmosphere before re-coalescing behind Rias, creating a phenomenon similar to teleportation.
This definitely wasn't some form of sorcery or magic, nor was it an unknown ritual, and it certainly wasn't an ability Leon possessed before. Therefore, even Sona, who knew Leon quite well, was stunned.
As for Rias, after her initial shock, she fell into silence and then gave a bitter smile.
"As expected, wanting to defeat you is undoubtedly a fantasy for the current me." Rias spoke with a sigh.
"Shouldn't you have known this result a long time ago?" Leon didn't comfort her. He knew Rias didn't need it, so he spoke bluntly. "I'm sure you were mentally prepared, so stop sighing."
"I suppose that's true." Rias quickly composed her emotions. She turned around to face Leon and asked, "What ability was that just now? Teleportation?"
"Something like that." Leon didn't explain in too much detail, offering only a simple clarification. "My Zenith Tempest has two basic abilities: one is weather manipulation, and the other is elemental manipulation."
"In the past, I mostly used Zenith Tempest to mobilize the powers of earth, water, wind, and fire for my own use. But that wasn't the limit of Zenith Tempest; it was my limit."
"Its ability is the manipulation of natural elements, not just the release of natural power. So, as long as the level of mastery over Zenith Tempest is high enough, accomplishing what I just did—merging myself with the wind element—is possible."
This was how Leon could merge himself into the atmosphere and appear instantly behind Rias. Sona's intuition was correct; it truly was as if he had dispersed his body into the air and fused with the atmosphere.
Of course, what Leon truly merged with was the wind, but wind is atmospheric movement, and the two are closely related. If Leon wished, he could now merge himself into fire, into water, or even into the earth, making himself omnipresent.
This was a move Leon had developed after entering various harsh environments alone on the ancient battlefield at the border of the Eligos territory, fully experiencing the ever-changing nature of the world.
In the original story, the host of Zenith Tempest, Dulio Gesualdo, had also developed a technique called "Speranza Bolla di Sapone" (Seven-Colored Hope), which could make people recall memories of important people or things. Leon hadn't managed to figure that one out, so he simply developed his own new technique.
Following that naming convention, Leon named this move "Speranza della Natura" (Hope of Nature).
By using this technique, Leon could even turn himself into the power of nature. Simply put, it was the elementalization used by Logia-type Devil Fruit users in a different "production set" elsewhere.
"That really is amazing." After hearing Leon's explanation, Rias couldn't help but exclaim.
"Ahem."
Leon gave a few dry coughs, his eyes sweeping over Rias's body before he spoke.
"You should probably change your clothes before we talk further."
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