Leon could guess the subsequent developments without needing Sona Sitri to explain them.
With two high-caliber Devil Kings present to steady the situation and the four descendants of the Old Devil Kings defeated one by one, the remaining members of the Old Devil King faction were nothing more than a disorganized mob. It was impossible for them to stir up any further trouble.
It was only at this moment that the Gremory and Sitri retinues finally demonstrated the excellence expected of the representative new generation of devils. Working alongside the security forces of the Devil Realm, they apprehended the remaining attackers, forcefully resolving the premeditated strike.
Regrettably, Sirzechs and Serafall were ultimately too merciful. They did not move to directly execute the four descendants, granting them a chance at survival. Consequently, all four managed to flee Kuoh Academy, their current whereabouts unknown.
This was the only regrettable aspect of the battle—to a degree that even Leon felt it was a pity.
"In the original story, the only Old Devil King descendants who attacked the summit were Vali and the descendant of the original Leviathan. The result was one wounded and one dead; one fled while the other was executed. The other two descendants didn't show their faces until subsequent events, where they were eventually killed."
"This time, all four descendants struck simultaneously, yet all four managed to survive and vanish without a trace."
"While the Old Devil King faction has certainly suffered a heavy blow and their strength is far from what it used to be, as long as those four descendants remain, the faction can stage a comeback."
This remained a significant threat to the Devil Realm.
Vali was one thing—he only sought the thrill of battle and held no prejudice against the current Devil Realm. However, the other three had perfectly inherited the arrogance and prejudice of the Old Devil King faction. No matter how many times they were crushed, as long as they lived, they would continue to eye the current regime from the shadows.
It wasn't that Sirzechs and Serafall didn't understand this logic, but their sole weakness was being too merciful and soft-hearted. In some ways, they were even more naive than Ophis or Great Red, as they were constantly striving to accept the Old Devil King faction. They wanted the devils to unite and coexist in peace, rather than having the situation devolve into civil war as it had hundreds of years ago.
Regarding the civil war of the past, Sirzechs had always regretted whether they had been too aggressive at the time, and the other Devil Kings felt the same. They often wondered if they should have been more steadfast in seeking a path to coexistence instead of reaching an ending where devil slaughtered devil.
Only those who had experienced that civil war knew exactly how many compatriots had died and how many like-minded partners had been sacrificed. Recalling the tragedy of that era made it impossible for Sirzechs or Serafall to resolutely strike down these former compatriots and kill them on the spot.
Specifically for Sirzechs, he had personally killed the son of the original Beelzebub. Therefore, after defeating Vali and moving to support the Gremory retinue against the current Beelzebub descendant, he couldn't help but stay his hand.
Fortunately, his strength was so extraordinary that he could easily suppress one or even several Devil King-class entities without even entering his Destruction Form. Otherwise, showing mercy like that would surely have resulted in him being counter-killed by those ruthless descendants.
Leon could only say that he admired Sirzechs and Serafall, but he truly could not approve of their decision to let the tigers return to the mountains this time. Familiar with the original story, he knew that with the exception of Vali, the other three descendants were utter scum.
Reconcile and coexist with people like that? Even if it were possible, Leon would have to stay on guard to avoid being stabbed in the back.
However, this was ultimately the stance of the Devil Kings. Even if Leon didn't approve, he would show respect. In any case, his current strength had improved vastly; even without activating Balance Breaker, he possessed the combat power of a Super Devil King. If he went all out, he was likely invincible against anyone below the Transcendental (God) class. A few remnants of the Old Devil King bloodlines wouldn't be able to threaten him.
Even Vali, who could use Juggernaut Drive, was starting to look insufficient against the current Leon. Admittedly, Juggernaut Drive allowed Vali to briefly possess power rivalling a God, but as long as Leon took care to avoid a direct head-on clash, he could handle it with ease. It was only a matter of minutes; Leon could toy with the White Dragon in his base state until Vali exhausted his energy, leaving him like meat on a chopping block.
Thinking of this, Leon felt at ease.
"What about Yukino and the others?"
Having confirmed the outcome of the summit, Leon finally asked the question he cared about most. "How are the members of my retinue?"
Upon hearing this, Sona Sitri seemed as though she had been prepared for the question, answering without a moment's hesitation.
"They are fine."
Sona first gave Leon the conclusion, offering him peace of mind. Then, she continued slowly.
"Although many of them were not in great condition when we found them, fortunately, they successfully repelled the Hero Faction and escaped the dimensional space, achieving a victory that surprised us all."
Leon couldn't help but smile. "They won?" he murmured to himself.
"Yes, they won," Sona confirmed, her voice filled with praise and admiration. "I have to say, you have recruited an excellent group of retainers. We were all quite shocked this time."
"They wanted to come find you, but we stopped them."
"A win is a win, but those girls were indeed in poor shape, so I had them return to the Chiba estate to recuperate first."
"They are all at the manor now. You can go straight back."
Sona's words finally allowed Leon's heart, which had been in his throat, to settle back into his chest.
"Alright then, I'll head back first and catch up with you all later." Leon was impatient to return.
"There's no rush. Now that you're back, we can rest easy. Lord Sirzechs and Lady Serafall have been sending people to look for you; I need to report your safety to them first to set their minds at ease."
Sona naturally understood Leon's current feelings, so she nodded sensibly, indicating she would handle the aftermath so that he wouldn't be disturbed too much.
Leon nodded, chatted with Sona for a few more moments, and then ended the communication.
"Let's go." Leon looked at the two dragon girls beside him and smiled. "I'll take you to meet your seniors."
The two dragon girls had completely different reactions to his words.
"Seniors?" Kanna's eyes darted around. She looked adorable and innocent, but in reality, she was likely plotting some mischief or a prank.
Stella remained silent as before. She didn't even react to Leon's words, maintaining a taciturn demeanor as if she no longer cared for anything in the world.
Looking at Stella, Leon felt a bit of a headache. Ever since seeing Great Red in the Dimensional Gap and being ignored by him, the princess had fallen into this state. That look of a heart turned to ash after the sole hope within was shattered was enough to make anyone feel distressed.
Leon didn't feel distressed per se, but after failing to communicate with her, he could only bring her out of the Dimensional Gap for the time being. He didn't have the luxury of worrying about a new retainer's psychological state right now; at the very least, he had to confirm Yukino and the others were completely unharmed before he would have the heart to deal with Stella's issues.
Then there was Kanna. One look at this young dragon told him she was restless; he didn't know if she would cause some major trouble later, so he had to take her back and discipline her properly.
With those thoughts in mind, Leon deployed a magic circle, and he vanished along with the two dragon girls into a red light.
Chiba, Manor Basement—
When the familiar red light appeared and the figures of Leon's trio slowly emerged, someone immediately rushed over in a defensive stance.
"So it's you, Master Leon. You're finally back." Once she saw clearly who had appeared in the magic circle, the person showed a look of surprise and joy, releasing the hilt of the katana at her waist and stepping forward.
The newcomer was the female swordmaster who had been stationed at the manor under Serafall's orders and who had gradually become the bodyguard for the Eligos retinue—Miyamoto Musashi.
"Yes, I'm back." Leon looked at the gorgeous swordswoman who bloomed like an autumn maple, nodding as he spoke. "How is it? Nothing happened at the manor, right?"
"Nothing at all," Musashi said brightly. "Since the summit, the Old Devil King faction has been severely weakened, and the Hero Faction was repelled by your Eligos retinue. Combined with the fact that the Angels and Fallen Angels are no longer enemies but allies, the scouts around the manor have all vanished over the past few days. It's not like before, with people staring at you from every corner."
"That's good." Leon wasn't surprised by this development at all. He simply asked, "Where are Yukino and the others?"
"Them?" Musashi blinked and smiled charmingly. "They certainly made a name for themselves this time, Master Leon."
"Although the price was that many were seriously injured, after proper treatment and care over the last few days, their conditions have stabilized."
"Currently, aside from the Oni sisters who are handling chores around the manor, and Miss Ravel, who can move around freely because she's in good condition, everyone else is still resting in bed."
"If you want to find them, just go straight to their rooms."
As she spoke, Musashi suddenly turned her gaze toward Kanna, who was looking around the basement, and Stella, who stood silently. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And where did these two lovely young ladies come from?"
Musashi's question seemed casual, but there was a hidden sharpness in her tone that was difficult for others to detect. As a swordmaster who had reached the realm of "Zero," she could naturally tell that these two girls were anything but ordinary. She felt a slight threat from both of them, proving that despite their fragile and youthful appearance, they possessed strength sufficient to keep her on guard.
This made the swordswoman's mind race, and a hint of interest and battle intent flickered in her eyes.
"They are my newly recruited retainers," Leon said, pretending not to notice her gaze. "I'll introduce them to you in detail later."
Before Musashi could respond, Leon's heart stirred, and he turned toward the basement entrance. Three figures appeared simultaneously, walking in slowly.
"Lord Leon!" Ravel's cry contained an unmistakable joy.
"Welcome back, Master."
"Welcome back."
Ram and Rem followed close behind, bowing in unison to Leon like maids welcoming their master home.
"Yes, I'm back." Looking at his three familiar retainers, Leon looked them over and smiled. "It looks like the three of you are alright. That sets my mind at ease."
With Leon's magic detection abilities, he could tell at a glance that their breathing was steady and long, showing no signs of lingering injury. This was expected for Ravel, since she possessed an immortal body and it was difficult for her to be seriously wounded, but seeing Ram and Rem in similar condition meant that even if they had been injured, they had mostly recovered by now.
And that was indeed the case.
"Ram and Rem's injuries were not serious. The exhaustion from the battle was simply a bit high; a period of rest was naturally enough to recover," Ram said as if Leon were making a fuss over nothing. Even though her tone was calm, it gave off a sense of haughtiness and sharp-tonguedness.
"Naturally, Sister would not be in trouble over such a small scene. After all, Sister is the greatest," Rem added, praising her sister while saying nothing of herself.
"Alright, you two have a lot of nerve saying that."
At that moment, Ravel ruthlessly exposed them. "It was precisely because you two sisters had the most serious injuries that I used my family connections to get two bottles of Phoenix Tears. You were healed the very night you returned, which is why you can jump out of bed and act tough in front of Lord Leon now."
Hearing this, the smile on Leon's face vanished. He stared intently at Ram and Rem, causing the twins to simultaneously avert their eyes, breaking contact with him. This made Leon laugh out of sheer exasperation.
"I'll deal with you two later," Leon said, shooting the twin maids a glare. He then turned to Ravel and asked, "What about Yukino and the others? Are they able to get out of bed yet?"
"They can," Ravel replied like a manager with all the answers. "Although their injuries haven't fully healed, they haven't reached the point of needing Phoenix Tears. Moving around a bit is no problem."
"That's good." Leon smiled slightly and said, "Let's go to the living room. We need to have a proper talk."
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