Clang—
A faint fluorescence was currently blooming upon the massive gates, which stood at least twenty meters high. Leon reached out and pressed firmly against the door, but the leaves did not budge an inch.
Boom!
Leon tried releasing a bolt of lightning next, striking the gates head-on. The result remained the same—the doors were immovable, and the flickering fluorescence upon them grew even brighter.
Vaguely, a ritual composed of extremely complex and lengthy patterns manifested on the door, forcing Leon to finally admit one thing.
"These doors have been locked by multiple layers of ultra-high-level sealing rituals. Without undoing those layers one by one, they simply cannot be opened."
That was the reality of the situation.
"Can they really not be opened?"
Still locked inside Leon's soap bubble, Kanna stared at the door with wide eyes, looking as if she were salivating.
"I can feel it; the treasure is right inside those doors. If only we could open them—"
If only these doors could be opened, the Dragon Lineage and the Dragon Secret Treasure, which were as vital as life itself to the Kingdom of Vermillion and slept within this castle, would see the light of day again. That was also what Kanna wanted most. For this reason, despite her loneliness, she had stood guard here for hundreds of years, maturing from a young dragon into a Dragon King-class entity.
Unfortunately—
"I already said they are ultra-high-level sealing rituals, and multiple layers at that. If they could be undone so easily, I wouldn't be standing here worrying," Leon said without looking back. "The complexity of the sealing patterns carved on the door... even a cursory glance makes my head swim. Unless a top-tier Mage or Magician intervenes, I'm afraid even a Super Devil King-class being wouldn't be able to break the seal through brute force."
This sealing ritual might be far from the level the God of the Bible used to seal 666, the Beast of the Apocalypse—which was enough to exhaust it to death—but looking at its specifications, Leon could roughly imagine that it certainly wasn't something a common Mage or Magician could apply. The practitioner who placed this seal would have to be at least comparable to a Devil King-class being, and it wasn't just one person; it would have been multiple people performing a joint ritual to assemble such a multi-layered and complex array of patterns.
To crack such a seal, even a magic expert like Ram or a relentless soul like Yukino Yukinoshita—who had scoured the entire Eligos library—would be scratching their heads. As for brute force, unless a Transcendent-class (God-class) being took action, it simply wasn't possible.
Thus, Leon felt at a loss after finding this place. Even though he felt certain the Dragon Lineage and Dragon Secret Treasure were hidden here, he could only turn back and continue exploring other parts of the castle. He wanted to try and find a way out of this place first before considering the treasures.
Regrettably, even after searching the entire castle and combing through every book left behind, Leon still found no way to escape the Dimensional Gap. Left with no other choice, he could only return here.
"What should I do?"
Leon tried to decipher the patterns on the door, but his head began to ache again after only a few seconds, leaving him troubled.
"Let me out, let me try," Kanna demanded loudly, tapping on the transparent membrane of the soap bubble.
"Fine, fine, you try, you try."
Leon rolled his eyes, too tired to reason with the young dragon anymore. He simply snapped his fingers, deactivating the Balance Breaker and causing the soap bubble to burst instantly.
Emerging from the seal, Kanna wasted no time reverting to her dragon form. She opened her massive maw as if absorbing the free ions in the air, causing arcs of electricity to flicker and flow into her mouth. In the next second, a massive electric breath erupted from Kanna's mouth, turning into a plasma-like pillar of light that slammed violently against the door.
BOOM!!!
Accompanied by a roar that shook the entire castle violently, blinding thunder and flashes of light erupted at the highest level of the fortress, momentarily illuminating the surroundings. When everything settled and the light slowly faded, it revealed... a completely unscathed door.
"..."
The white dragon whelp froze on the spot, looking as if she had suffered a major blow.
"I told you, so why didn't you believe me?"
In contrast, Leon simply waved his hand in front of his face as if clearing dust, his expression entirely calm. Kanna's figure slowly reverted to her young girl form, but she quickly trotted to a corner and squatted down facing the wall.
"Can't get in... can't get in..."
When she first arrived, she was blocked by the castle's barrier and couldn't enter. Now that she had finally made it inside, she was blocked by a door. A dejected Kanna turned pale, radiating a gloomy aura. With her facing the wall and her back to him, the sight grew more pitiful the longer one looked.
"If only Lord Sirzechs were here, or at least Vali or Cao Cao," Leon muttered to himself as he stood before the door.
If Sirzechs were to release his Destruction Form, he would be a genuine Transcendent-class; surely his Power of Destruction could destroy the multiple high-level seals on this door. If Vali used Juggernaut Drive, his output would at least reach the God-class, which could also break the seals—or he could use the "Dividing" ability of the Divine Dividing to weaken the ritual's power. If Cao Cao used his Medusa properly, he might be able to undo the seals directly, and the "Horse" ability among his Seven Treasures might teleport him inside, provided the seals didn't specifically target spatial abilities.
Unfortunately, Leon lacked any such specialized abilities.
"In terms of destructive power, range, specifications, and raw might, my 'Zenith Tempest' is undoubtedly among the strongest tiers of Sacred Gears, but in terms of utility and special properties, it falls far short."
Leon mused inwardly.
"If Issei Hyoudou were here, with the reinforcement from his 'Boosted Gear,' the current me might be able to attempt a brute force breakthrough—"
After taking in Kanna, a Dragon King-class "Pawn," Leon's baseline strength had already reached the half-step Devil King level. He could likely take down Kokabiel without even using his Sacred Gear. Once he utilized the power of "Zenith Tempest," he would probably be a standout even among Devil King-class beings without even activating Balance Breaker—he was much stronger than before. At the very least, taking down a Vali who hadn't activated Juggernaut Drive or a Cao Cao who hadn't used his Balance Breaker wouldn't be too much trouble now.
And once he activated Balance Breaker, Leon was certain he had the strength to contend with Super Devil King-class beings. Even against veteran Super Devil Kings like Serafall or Grayfia, or the so-called strongest Dragon King, Tiamat, he wouldn't need to feel intimidated. He wouldn't say he could win, but if he didn't want to lose, those powerful women wouldn't find it easy to handle him anymore.
With such strength reinforced by the "Boosted Gear," Leon was confident he could release an attack comparable to the Transcendent-class—the God-class. Such a strike should be able to brute-force the multiple high-level seals and open the door.
But what he didn't have, he didn't have; no amount of wishing would make it appear.
"What to do?"
Leon wracked his brain and finally decided to try a different approach.
Pop!
Leon, who had been standing before the door, suddenly burst apart, turning into a spray of water that filled the air.
"Eh?"
Hearing the movement behind her, Kanna turned her head and saw this scene, looking completely bewildered. The spray of water suddenly halted mid-air, then transformed into a flowing stream, surging toward the gates. His target was clear: the gap beneath the doors.
This was the method Leon had come up with—using "Nature's Hope" to turn into a fluid and slip through the crack. If this didn't work, he truly was out of options. In other words, this was Leon's final hope.
However—
Hum—
As the water was about to touch the gap, the complex multi-layered ritual array manifested again, turning into a solid wall that blocked Leon. Leon felt as if he had slammed into a physical barrier; no matter how he tried to seep through, he couldn't enter the gap.
"—I knew it wouldn't be that simple."
A minute later, the water reformed into human shape. The restored Leon let out a deep sigh. He was truly at his wit's end.
"Must I just give up?"
Leon took a long look at the gates. Though he was unwilling, he was helpless. But he wasn't one for wallowing; once he confirmed that he simply couldn't do it, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
"If this place won't work, I'll find the next. There must be a way out eventually."
If worst came to worst, he would just wander the Dimensional Gap like a blind cat searching for a dead mouse. With luck, he might run into the train that travels between the Human World and the Underworld. Leon didn't believe he would be trapped here for a lifetime.
"Kanna, you—"
Having adjusted his mood, Leon turned around, wanting to say something to Kanna. But before he could finish his sentence, a sudden disturbance interrupted him.
BOOM!!!!!
It was a terrifying roar. The sound was so massive it was more frightening than when Leon had used the Fire Lotus to attack Kanna earlier. It caused the entire castle and even the land outside to instantly vibrate violently, as if struck by an invisible tsunami. Immediately afterward, an unimaginably horrific shockwave swept through the area, shattering walls, collapsing ceilings, and cracking the floors. It was like the mountains were shaking and the heavens were splitting—it was utterly horrific.
"What?!"
Leon was nearly knocked off his feet, forced into a half-kneeling position on the ground, his face full of shock.
"W-what's happening?!"
Kanna was terrified as well, instinctively crouching with her hands over her head, her childish face filled with panic.
BOOM!!!!!
The horrific roar and shockwave struck a second time. The dilapidated castle finally reached its limit and began to disintegrate.
"Go! Get out!"
Leon grabbed Kanna, his ten devil wings unfurling behind him, and he quickly flew out through a collapsed wall. Very soon, the two of them flew out of the castle and into the open. Once outside, they realized it wasn't just the castle—the land itself was disintegrating. Giant fissures, like abysses, appeared across the terrain following the tremors and impacts, carving the earth into several pieces. The once-solid ground fractured instantly, flying off in different directions. Some pieces continued to shatter into stones, drifting into the depths of the Dimensional Gap.
"What on earth is going on?"
Leon pulled Kanna along, flying in mid-air while expanding his magic perception. As he did so, he discovered two incredibly terrifying auras emanating from the depths of the Dimensional Gap. These auras were as vast as the ocean and as heavy as the sky. Even from a great distance, they made Leon's hair stand on end and sent warning bells screaming in his heart.
"Wh-whose aura is this?"
Leon was stunned. Either one of these two auras far surpassed any powerhouse he had ever met; even if all the experts he had ever seen were added together, they might not be able to compare.
Transcendent? God-class?
While Leon had never truly seen a being of that level release their aura at full throttle, he was certain that no matter how strong a God-class was, they would not surpass these two auras. At the very least, he felt that no matter how strong a powerhouse of those two levels was, he should still be able to glimpse their limits.
But with these two auras, Leon couldn't see where their limits lay at all. And that was with them being an unknown distance away. If those two auras were right in front of him... Leon shuddered, not daring to think further.
"So scary—"
It wasn't just Leon; Kanna had clearly sensed something too, and her small body began to tremble.
"What is this? So scary! So scary!" Kanna clung to Leon's body, shaking uncontrollably. She even said in a trembling voice: "A terrifying dragon has appeared!"
Those words made Leon freeze. "A dragon?"
With Kanna mentioning it, Leon realized that both of these auras seemed to be dragon auras.
"Dragons more terrifying than God-class beings—"
Leon's heart suddenly leaped. He roughly knew who those two auras belonged to. Only those two would possess such bottomless auras. Having realized this, Leon's expression became conflicted.
"W-we should go! Let's not stay here!" Kanna urged urgently, not seeing Leon's shifting expression.
"Go?" Leon whispered to himself.
Indeed, if one were to be wise, they should leave immediately. But after taking a deep breath, Leon's expression suddenly became resolute.
"No, we're going over there."
Leon's words left Kanna dazed. "O-over there?" She looked at Leon in disbelief.
"That's right," Leon said calmly.
There might be danger, but he truly had to make this trip. After all, this was the closest opportunity he had ever had to escaping the Dimensional Gap.
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