Devils Don't Fall in Love, Ch 144-145

Chapter 144 - Think You Can Move?

Everyone present understood exactly what those words meant.

"Oh? You know who I am?"

Riser maintained his sneering expression, seemingly unfazed by Leo's provocation.

But a second later, his face changed.

"The three Phenex brothers—I've heard a thing or two about them," Leo said casually. "The eldest is the heir to House Phenex and a rising star in the Rating Games. Though still a High-Class Devil, he possesses Ultimate-Class strength and has led his team into the top ten. Word in the industry is he'll be promoted to Ultimate-Class soon."

"The second son doesn't participate in Rating Games, but he's an executive in the media world, controlling vast media resources in the Underworld. Quite skilled at manipulating public opinion."

"As for the third son..."

Leo raised his eyes slightly, seeming to scan Riser from head to toe, and smiled.

"I hear you've been active for several years now, participated in quite a few official Rating Games, and your win record is decent. But seeing you in person like this—meeting you really doesn't live up to the reputation."

"After all, what kind of industry newcomer from a noble house acts like a street thug?"

"Your win rate was probably either propped up by your immortal body, or bought with money, right?"

At those words, not just Riser—even Lady Phenex and Ravel's expressions shifted.

Riser lost his composure almost instantly, reaching out at blinding speed to grab Leo's collar.

"You bastard...!"

But fast as he was, others were faster.

With a sudden surge of demonic power and Sacred Gear energy, four figures appeared around Riser simultaneously.

Yukinoshita Yukino appeared on Riser's left, one hand pressed against his waist, her palm radiating intense cold.

"Don't move."

"Move again, and this sword goes through your throat."

Yuuki Asuna appeared on Riser's right. A rapier had materialized in her hand at some point, holy energy pulsing along its blade. She held it to Riser's neck, mere inches from his throat.

"If you don't want that hand anymore, I can take care of it for you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha appeared in front of Riser, shielding Leo. She hadn't moved a muscle, yet Riser's outstretched hand was now trapped in a cube-shaped barrier, like invisible glass handcuffs.

Shiina Mahiru appeared silently behind Riser, her delicate hands spread open, gripping purple flames shaped like a cross—ready to press them into Riser's back at any moment.

The air froze solid. Everyone's expressions changed dramatically.

Sirzechs and Grayfia's eyes widened slightly as they watched the four girls surrounding Riser, their gazes sharp and focused.

Lady Phenex and Ravel were stunned, staring at the girls in pure disbelief.

As for Riser, trapped and restrained by the girls, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

He could clearly feel just how dangerous his situation had become.

The cold radiating from the hand pressed against his waist was terrifying—as if it could freeze even his phoenix flames. The sword at his throat emanated a lethal aura that made even his proud immortal body tremble. He couldn't see what was behind him, but that holy energy and terrible heat cast a shadow of death over him, telling him exactly how frightening it was.

Even the barrier locking his arm was brimming with demonic power, ready to erupt at any moment and crush his limb on the spot. Goosebumps covered Riser's arm, every hair standing on end.

"H-How is this possible...?!"

His mind reeled, screaming internally.

He knew Leo's servants were supposedly a group with immense potential, praised absurdly highly in the industry. But since he'd dared to challenge even Leo himself, he naturally hadn't taken the servants seriously either.

In Riser's view, they were just a bunch of girls who'd been reincarnated as devils for only a few months. How strong could they possibly be, no matter how much potential they had?

In fact, seeing how stunningly beautiful each of them was, he'd felt nothing but contempt. He assumed the rumors were wrong—that Leo had obviously recruited them for their looks, not their potential. Why else would every single one of these supposedly limitless reincarnated devils be such gorgeous women?

He himself had built his peerage with the explicit goal of creating a harem. Every single one of his servants was female. So he figured he understood men's base desires better than anyone, and that Leo was just doing the same thing. All that talk of boundless potential was just hype.

That was one reason Riser looked down on Leo.

It wasn't that he despised Leo for building a harem—after all, he'd done the same thing himself. What right did he have to look down on someone for that?

But extending that harem to include his sister? That crossed a line.

At the end of the day, Riser was deliberately picking a fight because he couldn't stand the idea of his little sister serving some harem-building guy.

Of course, he also genuinely looked down on Leo. The Eligos family had been extinct for who knows how long, their territory left in ruins—utterly pathetic. And Leo was a half-blood devil on top of that. If Riser didn't show contempt and disdain for someone like that, it would be a disservice to his whole villainous young master image.

The result was obvious: he'd kicked an iron plate.

"Already losing your cool?"

Leo, protected by his four girls, hadn't moved an inch the entire time. He peered past Utaha's shoulder at the frozen Riser, his voice utterly calm.

"You hurled way worse insults at me, and I kept my cool. So why are you losing yours?"

"You can dish it out, but you can't take it?"

"You even tried to attack? Think you can move?"

Then Leo glanced at Sirzechs and added:

"I hear this guy is Rias's fiancé? Sirzechs-sama, it seems your father's taste isn't very good. No wonder Rias always looks so troubled. This really doesn't seem like the kind of man worthy of the Crimson-Haired Princess of Ruin."

Those words made Sirzechs press his lips together in silence. Riser, meanwhile, had veins bulging on his forehead, humiliated and enraged.

BOOM!

Unable to control his emotions, flames erupted from Riser's body, sending waves of scorching heat rippling outward.

Seeing this, Yukinoshita Yukino and the others' eyes went cold. Demonic power and flames surged from their bodies as well, ready to strike.

"Stop!"

Lady Phenex finally couldn't watch any longer and intervened.

"Mother..."

Riser's flames faltered. He turned to look at his mother, about to say something, but a single glare from Lady Phenex shut him up.

"Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru."

Only then did Leo speak, his voice light.

"Come back."

At his words, the girls exchanged glances, then withdrew their power in unison and returned to stand behind Leo.

Sirzechs and Lady Phenex gazed at the girls, their minds racing.

"These girls... they've already reached this level of power?"

Lady Phenex was shaken.

"They're growing so fast..."

Sirzechs was both impressed and pleased.

Clearly, this brief display by Yukinoshita Yukino and the others had not only shocked everyone—it had exceeded expectations by a wide margin.

Riser Phenex was, after all, a pureblood devil and a debuted High-Class Devil who had won multiple Rating Games. In terms of raw strength, he might even surpass Rias. Yet he'd been effortlessly restrained by a group of human girls who had been reincarnated as devils for only a few months. To anyone who understood the composition of Eligos's peerage, this was astonishing.

Even Ravel's gaze toward Yukinoshita Yukino and the others had changed.

She was about to become a servant under the same King as these girls. Their impressive display was more than enough to completely reshape her view of her future companions.

"Riser." Lady Phenex, newly reminded of the Eligos peerage's potential, fixed her son with a stern look. "Apologize to Mr. Eligos."

"What?" Riser's body, which had just relaxed, instantly tensed again. He practically roared, "Apologize? Why should I?!"

"Why do you think?" Lady Phenex's gaze turned icy. "Think about what you just did. Ask yourself—is that how a son of House Phenex should behave?"

"But I don't agree with this!" Riser protested furiously. "So what if they're a little strong? The Eligos territory is a dump! Why should Ravel have to go suffer there?!"

"And so?" Lady Phenex's expression went completely blank. "Are you questioning my decision?"

"I..." Riser fell silent.

He might be furious about Ravel going off to serve some nobody, but openly defying his mother was something he still didn't dare to do.

Despite Lady Phenex's pleasant demeanor around Leo, anyone who knew her understood that the wife of the current Lord Phenex was anything but gentle. She was iron-willed, someone whose word was law—so domineering that even her husband sometimes didn't dare cross her.

If she hadn't been that way, she never could have single-handedly arranged her daughter's future, overriding her husband's objections to finalize Ravel's placement with Leo.

Knowing his mother's nature all too well, Riser was certain: if he dared openly question her in a setting like this, she would just as easily throw him out of the family.

So Riser wisely shut his mouth—though his displeasure and resentment were still written all over his face.

Leo gave the young thug a glance, then turned to Lady Phenex.

"It seems you haven't unified your family's opinion yet. Perhaps we should end things here for today and discuss this another time."

Lady Phenex's expression tightened immediately.

"No—Riser's opinion doesn't matter." She quickly moved to reassure Leo, sighing. "I've failed to discipline him properly, which is why he's behaved so rudely here."

"Rest assured, I will deal with him thoroughly when we return home."

The look Lady Phenex shot Riser was so cold that his face went rigid.

He knew his mother wasn't just saying that for show. She really did intend to deal with him when they got back.

...His immortal body should hold up, right?

Riser was starting to feel the urge to flee.

But Lady Phenex had already lost interest in him. She signaled to Ravel, who snapped back to attention.

"Leo-sama, please don't take my brother's words to heart." Ravel bowed her head in apology. "It is my honor to become your servant, and it is something I choose to do willingly. My brother simply cares too much about me. Please be magnanimous and forgive him this once."

These words weren't entirely insincere.

Originally, she had been somewhat reluctant to serve a man she'd never met before. But this was her mother's decision, and as a daughter of House Phenex, she had to make sacrifices for the family. She had no right to refuse.

But now, much of that reluctance had faded.

The performance by Yukino and the others had dazzled her. She now understood that this peerage truly was, as the rumors said, limitless in potential.

Her mind began to turn, her thoughts quietly shifting.

Leo Eligos, her future master, must be more capable than the rumors suggested if he could cultivate such excellent servants.

If she could have companions like these, joining this group might not be such a bad thing after all.

With that thought, Ravel lifted the hem of her dress again and curtsied to Leo.

"Please, Leo-sama... no, please grant me an Evil Piece, Master."

At Ravel's plea, all eyes turned to Leo.

Leo gazed at the girl bowing before him, then turned his attention to the space where he stored his Evil Pieces.

Inside, nearly every piece was glowing.

The Rook piece shone brightest.

The Pawn pieces were next.

The Knight piece glowed faintest.

What surprised Leo most was the Queen piece. This unique, one-of-a-kind Evil Piece was radiating a glow nearly as strong as the Pawn pieces—almost rivaling the Rook.

Several people had made the Queen piece glow before. Both Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha had caused it to emit a faint light. But their glow had been weak—nothing compared to this moment.

Leo hesitated.

Of everyone he'd met so far, only Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, had made the Queen piece glow brighter than this. Everyone else fell short of Ravel.

"This young lady... is really this suited to becoming a Queen?"

Chapter 145 - Speranza di Briscola

According to Leo's original plan, he had intended to give Ravel the Rook piece.

The Rook and Bishop pieces were the most suitable for Ravel, but Leo had already used both of his Bishop pieces. That left the single remaining Rook as the obvious choice.

But now the Queen piece had also reacted—and that made him hesitate.

After all, his Queen position had never been filled. This was a very unstable situation.

The Queen was different from other servants. Not only was it the strongest Evil Piece, but the Queen also served as the King's most trusted aide. Every King brought their Queen along to any occasion, which was why High-Class Devils who received their Evil Pieces typically used the Queen piece first, bestowing it upon someone they trusted most.

Take Rias, for example—her first servant was her Queen, Himejima Akeno. Sona Sitri's first servant was likewise her Queen, Shinra Tsubaki. They might attend various occasions without their other servants, but the Queen was always by their side. That alone showed the Queen's importance.

Leo now had quite a few servants of his own. If he could finally settle the Queen position, it would greatly benefit both his team management and his servants as a whole.

Unfortunately, he had never found a suitable candidate. Even a Longinus wielder like Yukinoshita Yukino had only caused the Queen piece to react weakly, proving she wasn't particularly compatible with it. As a result, Leo's Queen position had remained vacant.

The same was true of everyone else—either no reaction at all, or only a faint one. The sole exception was Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon. But she was the strongest Dragon King. Even Ajuka Beelzebub, a Super Devil himself, could only become her ally. What qualifications did Leo have to make her his servant?

Now, while Ravel's reaction from the Queen piece didn't quite match Tiamat's, it was second only to hers in intensity. Leo couldn't help but hesitate.

In terms of power, Ravel might not seem particularly outstanding in Leo's current eyes, but she was genuinely a pureblood High-Class Devil. Even Himejima Akeno and Shinra Tsubaki were only at this level as servant devils. For a new-generation devil, having a High-Class Devil-level servant as Queen was already quite good.

In terms of abilities, Ravel could produce Phoenix Tears and possessed the Immortal Body. Even against opponents far stronger than herself, she could stall them—potentially even wear them down completely. There was nothing to fault there.

In terms of intellect, Ravel was a strategist type. Based on her performance in the original story, while her strategies sometimes had flaws, her calculating ability might not be far behind Sona Sitri's. She could absolutely become a core member of the team.

Though Yukinoshita Yukino was also intelligent, her strengths lay more in learning ability and application. In terms of pure strategic planning, she still fell short of Ravel.

Thinking it through, Leo suddenly understood why the Queen piece had reacted so strongly to Ravel.

Because she truly was suited to become a Queen—someone who could assist him in overseeing the bigger picture.

And yet...

Just giving away the Queen like this... I'm not entirely willing.

Leo thought to himself.

The Queen wasn't just the strongest Evil Piece—it was also the only one of its kind, making it extraordinarily valuable.

The Rook, Bishop, and Knight pieces each came in pairs. The Pawn pieces numbered eight. Only the Queen piece existed as a single piece, with a value equivalent to nine Pawn pieces. Except when using both Rook pieces simultaneously, no other piece's value could surpass it.

It could grant a servant the traits of all Evil Pieces, giving them attack power, defense, speed, and demonic power—a comprehensive enhancement across all attributes, designed to create the most perfect and powerful servant.

If Leo hadn't awakened the Servant Conversion trait, hadn't awakened Zenith Tempest—the world's second-strongest Longinus—then he would definitely have chosen to give Ravel the Queen piece.

But now, as an eight-winged devil whose demonic power alone had reached Ultimate-Class Devil level, with combat strength capable of matching a ten-winged devil, Ravel's High-Class Devil strength—which wasn't even outstanding among his current servants—simply wasn't enough.

Under these circumstances, Leo really wasn't willing to use his most precious Evil Piece.

If the Queen piece had the strongest reaction, then maybe I could steel myself and go for it...

But the piece with the strongest reaction was still the Rook.

"Hah..."

In the heavy silence that seemed to thicken the air itself, Leo let out a quiet breath.

The next second, an Evil Piece appeared in his hand.

It was the Rook piece.

In the end, he decided to follow the Evil Pieces' own reactions and give Ravel the piece most suited to her.

"By the name of Leo Eligos, I command—thou, Ravel Phenex, be reborn as my servant."

Leo presented the Evil Piece to Ravel.

Seeing this, Ravel reached out without hesitation and touched the Evil Piece.

"I swear by the name of Phenex—I shall follow my master unto death."

As her words fell, the Evil Piece she touched shattered into countless particles of light that merged into Ravel's body.

Scorching flames immediately swirled around Ravel, releasing a crimson aura.

Because she was already a devil—a pureblood devil, at that—Ravel naturally didn't need to be reincarnated as a devil. She wouldn't involuntarily spread her wings like Yukinoshita Yukino and the others had, nor would she need to adapt to daylight or adjust to her own power.

However, the Rook piece's traits had indeed taken effect within Ravel. Her attack power and defense had undoubtedly been enhanced, making the phoenix flames capable of scorching dragon scales burn even hotter, and her Immortal Body even stronger.

Watching Ravel, Sirzechs and Lady Phenex immediately turned their gazes toward Leo, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Under their observation, Leo himself was undergoing significant changes.

[Trait: Servant Conversion is now active...]

[Acquired basic feedback—demonic power (medium quantity).]

[Acquired advanced feedback—Sacred Gear (enhancement).]

An enormous wave of demonic power emerged from Leo, like an invisible storm that forced everyone around him to step back.

"This demonic power...?!"

Lady Phenex was somewhat shocked. Riser nearly popped his eyes out of his head, his face filled with terror.

"Ultimate-Class Devil!"

And not just any Ultimate-Class Devil.

Under the feedback from Ravel becoming his servant, Leo's demonic power—which had already advanced to Ultimate-Class Devil level—surged again. While it didn't break through to an even higher tier, he had taken a significant step forward within the eight-winged rank.

At the same time, Leo felt the Zenith Tempest within him being filled by a mysterious power, causing the fluctuations it emitted to grow increasingly powerful.

Unlike the Sacred Gear feedback he'd received when recruiting servants before, this time the feedback wasn't about memories or techniques for using the Sacred Gear—it was an enhancement to the Sacred Gear itself.

Sacred Gears used their wielders' thoughts and convictions as nourishment, constantly changing and evolving, growing ever stronger. But through the Servant Conversion trait's feedback, Leo had skipped the conditions normally required to strengthen a Sacred Gear, allowing it to power up directly.

This power...

Leo silently sensed the Sacred Gear within him, feeling earth, water, wind, fire, lightning, ice, and all manner of natural forces.

During this time, Leo had been constantly deepening his understanding of Zenith Tempest, venturing into various dangerous terrains and harsh environments for that purpose. Now, that accumulated understanding erupted alongside the Sacred Gear's enhancement, making him feel as though he had touched another realm entirely.

And so, Leo instinctively stepped into that realm.

BOOM!

The demonic power fluctuations erupting from Leo suddenly transformed into Sacred Gear fluctuations. Pure white aura became a tangible storm that swept through the entire reception hall.

"Danger!"

Sirzechs and Grayfia reacted fastest. Almost the instant something changed in Leo, they simultaneously deployed magic circles, creating a barrier before everyone that blocked the incoming storm.

"What?!"

Only then did the others react, every single one of them staring at Leo with shock written across their faces.

Under everyone's gaze, the Sacred Gear fluctuations emanating from Leo disrupted the world's very flow, causing astonishing changes to manifest in him.

Whoosh!

Bat-like devil wings spread from Leo's back.

There were eight wings in total—and under everyone's stunned gazes, they gradually became ten, causing Leo's demonic power to suddenly cross into ten-winged devil territory!

At the same time, Leo extended his hand. From his palm, bubbles began to float upward.

Inside these bubbles, terrifying phenomena appeared. Some contained raging fire dragons, others whipped up violent winds capable of tearing flesh apart. Some held frost that could freeze everything, others crackled with lightning as mighty as the wrath of gods. And there were other natural phenomena too—each bubble brewing a natural disaster, manufacturing divine punishment.

Looking at this scene, everyone present had the same feeling: if they were thrown into those bubbles and subjected to those countless natural disasters and divine punishments, they would be reduced to ash in an instant, without even bones remaining.

"Wh-What kind of power is this?!"

Riser had completely lost his earlier arrogance. Looking as if he'd been scared senseless, he stumbled backward while crying out involuntarily.

"Sirzechs-sama."

Though Grayfia was also somewhat surprised, she seemed to have guessed something and called out to her master.

"I know, Grayfia."

Sirzechs knew what Grayfia wanted to say. His eyes as he watched Leo were filled with delight and satisfaction.

"That is Balance Breaker."

Yes.

The power Leo was using at this very moment was the Balance Breaker of Zenith Tempest—and also the sub-species Balance Breaker developed by the Church's strongest exorcist in the original story, the ten-winged reincarnated angel, Dulio Gesualdo—Flagello di Colori del Arcobaleno, Speranza di Briscola (Inevitable Punishment of the Holy Angel's Rainbow, Shining Star of the End).

This was a Balance Breaker that could turn the halo of Dulio Gesualdo, a ten-winged reincarnated angel, into four layers, and transform his angel wings from five pairs to six pairs.

After activating this Balance Breaker, Dulio Gesualdo would not only transform from a ten-winged angel to a twelve-winged angel, but could also release countless bubbles to envelop his opponents, subjecting them to various divine punishments and utterly destroying them.

Leo had actually completed this Balance Breaker after recruiting Shiina Mahiru as his servant.

At that time, the extra feedback he'd obtained from Shiina Mahiru was reaching the realm of the Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker—experiencing what Zenith Tempest's previous wielders had gone through when achieving Balance Breaker, undergoing a spiritual transformation, and ultimately defying the flow that permeated this world to bring the Sacred Gear to Balance Breaker.

However, perhaps because he had taken a shortcut, the Balance Breaker Leo had ultimately achieved was very unstable. Not only was it difficult to activate and extremely draining, but it also had other limitations. It couldn't really be considered a completed Balance Breaker.

In other words, what Leo had before was merely an incomplete Balance Breaker—still one step away from the true Balance Breaker realm.

Until this very moment, when the Sacred Gear itself was enhanced and all the insights he'd accumulated while striving for true Balance Breaker erupted at once, Leo finally truly completed his Balance Breaker, recreating the Balance Breaker of Zenith Tempest's wielder from the original story.

Though this wasn't a Balance Breaker unique to Leo, created according to his own needs, being able to reach Balance Breaker had still greatly increased his strength.

After activating this Balance Breaker, Leo's devil wings would increase by one pair, his demonic power would rise by one level, and he could deploy bubbles of varying sizes to imprison his opponents, recreating various natural disasters and divine punishments within them. The power was so great that even an entire nation could be destroyed by it.

Right now, Leo was only letting the bubbles drift within the confines of this reception hall, making each one appear no larger than a palm. But if he wished, he could expand the bubbles to the point where they could envelop the entire Gremory mansion—or even larger.

If he sent countless bubbles throughout Gremory territory, engulfing entire cities or towns wouldn't be impossible either.

At that point, this territory—roughly the size of Honshu—would face devastating destruction, ultimately falling to a state worse than even Eligos territory.

"This is the true power of Zenith Tempest."

Leo, now bearing ten devil wings, smiled.

At last, he truly possessed the qualifications to become a powerhouse.