Even though Leo lost his battle against Miyamoto Musashi, he enjoyed every second of it.
After all, this was the first time he had used Zenith Tempest in a real fight since awakening it. And Musashi had held back the entire time—letting him unleash his full power. With her skill, she could've put her blade to his neck long before he ever brought out the true might of Zenith Tempest.
So despite losing, Leo felt no frustration. If anything, the full release of power had left him feeling refreshed, his thoughts clearer than ever.
But aside from venting a little, there was another reason he wanted this fight with Miyamoto Musashi—he wanted to know exactly how strong he was now.
Sure, he felt like he could fight above his level, but that was just his own impression.
Until now, he'd never fought anyone at Ultimate-Class Devil level. He'd barely even met more than a few High-Class Devils, let alone crossed blades with them. He had no real sense of where he stood.
And Musashi was the perfect person to answer that question—she was a Maou's servant, a centuries-old devil, and someone who had fought more strong opponents than Leo could even imagine.
If anyone could give him a clear answer, it was her.
As expected…
"Leo-sama, your strength is definitely nothing to underestimate. Among the young generation, there aren't many who could fight you evenly." Musashi had clearly guessed what he wanted to know and spoke after thinking for a moment. "And I don't mean just devils. I mean the young talents of all three factions—and even those beyond them."
"Your generation has produced a lot of monsters. For example, the red-haired princess of Gremory House—she inherited the same Power of Destruction trait as the current Maou Lucifer. And other devil clans also have incredible heirs this time around."
"Especially the Bael Clan's current successor—I've met him once. That boy is unbelievable. His family doesn't value him, but his strength is already far beyond his peers."
"The Church has also produced several prodigies who may become top-class exorcists. And the Grigori reportedly trained several extremely powerful Sacred Gear users in recent years—even two Longinus wielders. Their strength completely dominates their generation."
Musashi listed all of these prodigies—and still concluded that only a handful could stand against Leo.
It was an incredibly high evaluation.
"The old you definitely wouldn't have been able to compare to them. But you have Zenith Tempest, the second-strongest Longinus in the world. That changes everything."
Musashi spoke casually, offering a blunt assessment.
"With the performance you just showed, you should be able to compete for a top-five position among your entire generation."
"If you master Zenith Tempest fully and reach your Balance Breaker, then you could even aim for the top three."
"At the very least, a normal Ultimate-Class Devil wouldn't be your match."
Leo thought about this, then asked:
"By 'normal Ultimate-Class Devils,' you mean the eight-wing level, right? What about ten-wing level?"
Musashi hesitated a little before answering.
"If the opponent is a ten-winged Ultimate-Class Devil, then Leo-sama… you'd still be far behind." She answered honestly. "There aren't many ten-winged devils even in the Underworld. Many older devils never reach ten wings. And ten-wing angels and fallen angels are all cadre-level—some can even fight on equal footing with Maou-Class beings. They're far above the eight-wing level."
"You're fairly comfortable using Zenith Tempest, but you haven't reached its peak. Against an eight-wing Ultimate-Class Devil, your chances of winning are high."
"But a ten-wing Ultimate-Class Devil is a different matter. Even against one who just reached that level, your win rate wouldn't be over twenty percent—maybe even less."
The truth was, Leo had awakened Zenith Tempest far too late. It had barely been a month. Being able to control it this well already was thanks to the feedback from Servant Conversion.
With this, he could fight opponents a tier above him—but two tiers was still too much.
If he mastered Zenith Tempest completely, then he might be able to fight a newly ascended ten-wing devil. But comparing himself to someone like Musashi, who was only one step away from Maou-Class… that was pure wishful thinking.
"Of course, that's only my judgment."
Seeing Leo fall silent in thought, Musashi added more.
"My conclusions are based on what you showed today. But Sacred Gear wielders can never be judged with common sense—especially Longinus users. Anything can happen."
A Sacred Gear grew and evolved in response to the wielder's will. Its strength depended heavily on the user's mental state. In moments of despair or determination, Sacred Gear users could explode with terrifying power.
The Red Dragon Emperor from the original story was a perfect example—he repeatedly exceeded his limits, even knocking a cadre-level ten-wing fallen angel flying with a single punch shortly after awakening.
Musashi had seen many Sacred Gear wielders do similar things—turning hopeless situations around with sheer willpower.
That was why she said anything was possible against a Longinus user.
If Leo unleashed a similarly overwhelming will, the second-ranked Longinus might even let him punch around a Maou.
But such explosive bursts were unstable and unreliable. In Musashi's view, counting on that was a bad idea.
"My advice is that Leo-sama should focus on developing his Sacred Gear. Master it completely, reach its limits, and aim for your Balance Breaker."
This was her safest recommendation.
"If you can activate your Balance Breaker, then with Zenith Tempest's rank, even facing a Maou wouldn't be impossible."
If Leo reached his Balance Breaker, he might even be able to fight Musashi herself at full power. The thought excited her.
"I understand." Leo nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. First master my Sacred Gear, then break into Balance Breaker."
It was the fastest path to getting stronger—he would never abandon it.
Of course, he also wouldn't neglect his foundation. The stronger his own demonic power and abilities were, the more effectively he could use his Sacred Gear—and the longer he could maintain a powerful state.
Even after reaching Balance Breaker, the foundation was everything. Without it, he would burn out instantly.
The perfect examples were the current Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor.
The Red Dragon Emperor was the weakest in history—so little demonic power that even after becoming a devil, he couldn't even perform magic circle teleportation. He had to train his body desperately, nearly breaking himself, and still could only maintain Balance Breaker for thirty minutes. And that was without using his Sacred Gear's abilities, or the time would shorten even further.
Meanwhile, the White Dragon Emperor was the strongest in history. Half of his blood came from the deceased original Maou Lucifer. His enormous demonic power and talent let him maintain Balance Breaker for an entire month. Even spamming abilities didn't affect him. The difference was immense.
Leo's foundation wasn't bad either—solid High-Class Devil level. Even using Zenith Tempest so freely just now didn't drain him the way Yukino sometimes ran out of stamina mid-fight. Once he reached Balance Breaker, he might not last a month like the White Dragon Emperor, but he'd definitely fare far better than the Red Dragon Emperor.
But stronger foundations were always better. If he could gain demonic power on par with the White Dragon Emperor and activate Balance Breaker, he would surpass him.
After all, the White Dragon Emperor's Longinus was only the sixth-ranked mid-tier Longinus, while Leo's was the second-ranked upper-tier Longinus. If both had the same foundation and the same Sacred Gear mastery, Leo would absolutely be stronger.
And the White Dragon Emperor's Balance Breaker put him at Maou-Class.
"Before I leave this mansion, Leo-sama may spar with me anytime."
Musashi, seeing that Leo understood everything clearly, relaxed and made a very tempting offer.
"With a sparring partner strong enough, your growth will be much faster."
Leo's eyes lit up.
A fighter nearly at Maou-Class offering constant practice? That was enormous.
"Then I'll be in your care, Musashi-san."
Seeing Leo agree so readily, Musashi grinned in satisfaction.
After that, they returned to their routine—Musashi resumed training Asuna in swordsmanship.
Watching two overwhelming devils battle earlier had lit a fire in Asuna's heart. She trained with more motivation and focus than ever before.
Just like that, time passed, and evening arrived.
As night began to fall, Leo brought Asuna along to attend the final appointment of the day…
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