Ophis had gone.
Her departure was swift and direct, without a shred of hesitation. There was no trace left of the being who, moments ago, had been attempting to persuade Leon to join her faction.
She had to leave. Even if she deliberately suppressed her power and reduced her presence, staying in the Dimensional Gap for too long would inevitably alert Great Red, who would eventually track her down.
Thus, after returning the Evil Pieces to Leon, Ophis vanished from the Gap, her destination unknown.
Of course, before Ophis left, Leon had hurriedly asked for a way out of the Dimensional Gap.
Ophis had said nothing, but she left behind the exit portal she had opened to the human world. Her meaning was clear: by passing through this gateway, he could leave the Dimensional Gap.
"Is passing through here all it takes?"
Looking at the portal that remained in the center of the ruined throne room like a black whirlpool, the tense string in Leon's heart finally relaxed, and his joy was plain to see. Now that he had a way out, he no longer felt the same desperate urgency.
"I wonder how things are out there now."
Leon's concern had shifted from his own safety to the well-being of others. It had already been several days since he had accidentally broken through the pocket dimension set by the Hero Faction and been exiled to the Dimensional Gap.
Given how much time had passed, the situation at the summit conference must have concluded. The struggle between his peerage and the Hero Faction couldn't possibly have lasted this long; it had certainly reached its end.
However, Leon couldn't help but worry about the outcome.
The summit conference itself was likely fine. If events followed the original trajectory, it should have ended with a narrow escape. The attack launched by the Old Maou Faction against the leaders of the Three Great Powers would have failed, resulting in no casualties or injuries—save for one person leaving their faction to join Khaos Brigade as a terrorist.
According to the original plot, the Three Great Powers would officially sign a peace treaty after this incident. From then on, they would cease hostilities and even cooperate to promote the development of Heaven, the Underworld, and the Human World, eventually drawing in other mythologies toward world peace.
This was naturally a good thing, and Leon hoped the plot hadn't drifted too far. At least that would mean Rias, Sona Sitri, and the others were safe.
However, the clash between the members of the Eligos Peerage and the Hero Faction was entirely unpredictable.
After all, such an event never happened in the original story. Based on the original timeline, the Hero Faction shouldn't have appeared yet; they were only supposed to emerge after the Old Maou Faction had been eradicated by the Three Great Powers.
But now, because of him, the Hero Faction had appeared early and involved themselves in the struggle between the Current and Old Maou Factions as his enemies. This was a situation without precedent, leaving Leon with no reference material to gauge the outcome.
"As long as Cao Cao isn't there, Yukino and the others should be able to handle the rest of the Hero Faction, right?"
Leon thought with some uncertainty. The Hero Faction was full of talent; every member was a descendant of a hero and almost all were Sacred Gear possessors. Their core combatants had mastered Balance Breaker, making them a force to be reckoned with. However, compared to the Old Maou Faction, the Hero Faction should be considerably weaker.
Because the Hero Faction's philosophy was to defeat supernatural beings as humans—to prove the value of humanity by overcoming the strong from a position of weakness—they focused on training their own bodies and mastering their Sacred Gears. They didn't choose to swallow Ophis's "Snakes" for a shortcut to power like the members of the Old Maou Faction.
With the "Snakes," the Old Maou Faction members had seen explosive growth in their strength. Even Luffy Trix had risen from an eight-winged Ultimate-class devil to a ten-winged Special-class level.
Particularly those who inherited the bloodlines of the original Satans, like Vali, could essentially reach the Maou-class after consuming a "Snake." Thus, the Old Maou Faction had at least three Maou-class combatants: the descendants of Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus.
In contrast, since the Hero Faction didn't use the "Snakes," no one except Cao Cao possessed Maou-class combat power. Aside from Cao Cao, their strongest was likely Siegfried, a top-tier warrior formerly of the Church who inherited the genetic factors of the hero Sigurd and wielded multiple demonic swords, including the formidable Gram.
While Siegfried wasn't Maou-class, at full strength he could likely hold his own against a ten-winged Special-class devil. Against such power, probably only Yukino Yukinoshita in her Balance Breaker or Ram at full power could offer some resistance. Utaha Kasumigaoka in her Balance Breaker might also be able to hold her own without losing too badly.
As for the rest of the Hero Faction, while strong, they weren't too absurd. The only ones to truly watch out for were the possessors of the two high-tier Longinus: "Annihilation Maker" and "Dimension Lost." Against these two, even Ravel with her high-class devil strength would struggle, though her immortality ensured she wouldn't be easily defeated.
Calculating it this way, as long as his peerage members chose their opponents wisely and weren't outmaneuvered, they weren't guaranteed to lose. And in a true emergency, there was still Rem. If Rem entered her Demon Form, her strength would instantly reach the Ultimate-class level; for a short time, perhaps no one in the Hero Faction besides Siegfried could claim victory over her.
In summary, the result of the battle between the Eligos Peerage and the Hero Faction remained unknown.
"At least one thing is certain: those girls are still alive."
Otherwise, their souls would have already sought him out and returned to his side. This was the reason Leon could maintain a degree of patience and calm despite being trapped. If their lives were truly in question, he would have been in a panic long ago.
"Anyway, I should get back and see for myself."
Having made up his mind, Leon prepared to take the soundly sleeping Kanna and the unconscious Stella back to the human world. However, to Leon's surprise, someone woke up just as he was about to move.
"..."
Stella had sat up at some unknown point. She clutched Leon's coat tightly, shielding her body, her eyes—burning like flames—fixed on Leon. They were no longer the empty voids they had been; they revealed a clear sense of scrutiny and wariness.
"You're awake?" Leon looked at her with surprise. Noticing the caution in her eyes, he immediately said, "I am—"
Just as Leon was about to explain the situation, Stella spoke.
"I know. You are a devil, the one who woke me up."
Stella's tone was sharp, unceremoniously cutting him off. Her voice wasn't necessarily hostile, nor did it carry an air of superiority; rather, it felt majestic. She sounded less like a princess and more like a knight.
"You even know about devils?" Leon raised an eyebrow, even more surprised. "I thought you wouldn't know what a devil is."
According to records, the era of the Vermillion Kingdom was much older than the emergence of the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels. It was highly likely that devils hadn't even been born yet during her time.
"I didn't know originally," Stella said with a strange coldness. "But after you broke in here, I knew."
Leon was momentarily stunned. What did that mean?
"Though I was sealed in the Dragon Crystal, I wasn't always asleep." Seeing Leon's confusion, Stella explained plainly. "Whenever someone intrudes upon this sealed land, or even enters this royal city, I wake up for a brief moment."
In other words, Stella actually knew what was happening in the outside world. Not just what happened after Leon entered the castle, but even the events after she broke the seal—how her dragon blood's defensive instincts were triggered and how she lost control. Even though she had lost control then, her consciousness had remained clear, allowing her to "see" and "hear" everything happening outside.
"So, you also know that I've reincarnated you as a devil and taken you as my peerage member?" Leon nodded. He didn't mind her somewhat prickly attitude and spoke quite bluntly.
"Peerage member..." Stella's hand tightened slightly on the clothes covering her, and a spark of anger appeared in her eyes. Clearly, she found it difficult to accept falling to such a status or Leon's choice of words.
It was understandable. Stella was the last princess of the Vermillion Kingdom. Even if the kingdom was gone, she had been a genuine member of royalty—a high and mighty princess of noble status. To wake up and find herself reduced from a princess to someone else's servant was a massive shift in status that no one could accept easily.
In fact, almost anyone would find it hard to suddenly become someone else's servant, including the other girls in the Eligos Peerage. Aside from those who had voluntarily accepted Leon's Evil Pieces, didn't the others find it hard to accept at first too? Yukino Yukinoshita and Asuna Yuuki were like that; it was only because Leon had saved their lives that they could slowly come to terms with it.
Stella, on the other hand, had no such reason to accept it. However, the princess didn't vent her frustration on the spot. After staring at Leon for a long time, she spoke again.
"What era is it now in the outside world? What is the state of the world's power balance?"
Stella chose to change the subject, prioritizing an understanding of her current situation. Leon gave her a deep look before responding.
"It's too much trouble to explain. It's better if you see for yourself."
Saying this, Leon raised his hand and expanded a magic circle above his palm. He had researched methods for imprinting memories and knowledge before to save time on explanations; he was simply using it again.
A flood of knowledge regarding the modern era was poured into Stella's mind through the magic circle. Stella felt her head swell. She involuntarily let go of the clothes with one hand, ignoring her exposed form as she held her forehead in discomfort.
There was no helping it. Compared to others who only needed to know about the Underworld, Stella had been asleep for too long and had been away from the world for far too long. She was completely out of touch with the times. Leon had to dump a massive amount of modern common sense into her head to let her understand what kind of world lay outside.
The state of Heaven, the Underworld, the Human World...
The status of Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels...
Furthermore, Leon even instilled basic knowledge of other existing mythologies so she could understand the current era as quickly as possible. After a long while, Stella finally finished processing the knowledge. The discomfort on her face turned into a blank stare.
"The world outside... has actually become like this?" Stella murmured softly.
Her tone held a mix of loss, bewilderment, and a trace of being overwhelmed. Her homeland had become a distant past that didn't even leave a name in history. Everything she had once fought desperately to protect had perished. The world she was in now, while physically the same as before, was no different from a completely different one. Everything familiar was gone; only strange, alien things remained to shock her existence.
She was no longer that majestic princess. She was merely a spirit forsaken by time.
"Hey—"
Suddenly, Stella heard Leon's voice.
"Are you crying?"
Hearing this, Stella reacted instantly and wiped the corners of her eyes. They were indeed wet. She had actually shed tears.
"—!"
Stella immediately wiped away the tears, and her gaze toward Leon became sharp again. Enduring that piercing look, Leon simply offered a small smile.
"Don't worry. You will find a new place to belong," Leon said quietly. "Right here with me."
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