Reality proved that sometimes things could turn out far more ridiculous than anyone expected.
To Leo, the idea of the Boosted Gear's host going straight-laced was already unbelievable enough. But what Rias said next made him realize that the truly absurd part was still to come.
"That kid's been undergoing daily after-school 'correction' with the student council," Rias said with a helpless smile. "At first, he still dared to look at Akeno and me with those lecherous eyes. Now? He doesn't even dare let that kind of look slip anymore."
"Yuuto actually gets along pretty well with him," she added. "Even though he keeps saying he hates pretty boys and handsome guys, they still end up spending the night together sometimes."
"Oh, right. Before that, Koneko punched him a total of thirteen times. The kind where he gets sent flying and smashes straight through a wall every time."
Just talking about it made Rias laugh.
Unlike Rias and Akeno, who both treated him like a foolish little brother, Koneko Toujou absolutely despised anything perverted.
Leo's earlier warning hadn't just been taken to heart by Sona. Koneko had heard it too, and after Issei Hyoudou joined the Gremory House, she kept her guard up the entire time.
The moment Issei showed even a hint of a lewd expression toward the two older girls, Koneko's fist would fly, sending him crashing into a wall.
Despite her small frame, Koneko was a close-combat Rook piece and a true monster of strength. The kind who could casually lift a massive boulder taller than two people.
Her punches were no joke.
After taking thirteen of them, Issei was genuinely terrified now.
"Sounds like things have been pretty lively for you lately," Leo said at last, breaking into a wry smile after being left speechless for a while.
It wasn't his intention, but he really hadn't expected that a single reminder from him would lead the original protagonist to such a miserable fate.
Leo didn't actually harbor any ill will toward Issei. If anything, he admired him a little.
Sure, the guy was a full-on pervert, but what man wasn't?
Issei was constantly mocked as the embodiment of lust and looked down on by almost every girl. Yet from another angle, his unwavering honesty toward his own desires was oddly admirable.
He was just an utterly ordinary high schooler. Even after obtaining the Longinus known as the Boosted Gear, people still looked down on him. His natural talent was abysmal. After reincarnating as a devil, he couldn't even perform basic magic circle jumps. His demonic power was pitifully low, to the point where he was labeled the weakest Red Dragon Emperor in history.
And yet, despite all that, he stayed true to himself. Through sheer grit and relentless physical training, he kept surpassing his own limits again and again, eventually reaching heights no one could have imagined and earning the recognition of countless opponents along the way.
That was no small feat. Anyone would have to respect it.
At first, Leo hadn't thought much of the pervert either. That changed during the Rating Game against the Bael House, when Issei fought like a real man, trading blow after blow, pushing past his limits for the sake of his convictions, and finally bringing down the Lion King himself.
That moment had genuinely moved him.
After that arc, Leo's view of Issei changed.
It wasn't exactly going from hater to fan, but he definitely stopped hating him.
That was why he'd warned Rias to keep an eye on the Red Dragon Emperor with limitless potential.
First, Rias truly needed a servant like that to help her escape her predicament.
Second… Leo kind of wanted to fight the Red Dragon Emperor himself.
Sooner or later, he and Rias would both debut as part of the new generation of devils. When that time came, they'd take part in debut battles and clash with the most outstanding geniuses from the major families.
The Eligos House servants and the Gremory House servants would inevitably meet in that debut battle, facing each other in a Rating Game.
He wanted to face that miracle-making Red Dragon Emperor head-on, fair and square, on that stage.
That sounded like it would be fun.
The thought alone made the corner of Leo's mouth lift unconsciously.
"It's fine overall," Rias said, unaware of what Leo was thinking. "It's just that Sona is way too strict with him. He's my servant, you know."
Rias's possessiveness was actually pretty strong. The Gremory House had always been famous for cherishing their servants, so even when Issei ogled her shamelessly, she didn't get angry. If anything, she found it amusing.
That lecherous look was a massive turn-off for other girls, but to a devil like Rias, it really wasn't a big deal.
Devils were creatures who stayed true to their desires. What was wrong with that?
Leo himself lived by the same principle, didn't he?
He never hid his intention to build a harem. He had never once considered recruiting male servants. Everyone under him was a beautiful girl. Anyone with eyes could tell what he was after.
And yet, who actually cared?
Powerful devils had that privilege. Devils who followed their desires were only natural. Even figures like Sirzechs, Lady Phenex, and Tiamat didn't mind at all. Some of them even helped him recruit servants proactively.
That alone said everything.
Even Sona Sitri had never shown any issue with it, calmly accepting that all of Leo's servants were girls. To her, it was completely normal.
Leo himself had never doubted that what he was doing was right. Lately, he'd even started doing exactly what Yukino and the others had suspected before: boldly walking into the hot springs and bathing together with them.
At first, Yukino and the others had reacted strongly. But so what?
Just as they'd realized, Leo already considered them his possessions. Protesting was useless.
Once it became clear that resistance was futile, the girls eventually gave in and grew used to bathing with him.
Rias didn't know about any of this, but even if she did, she wouldn't think it was a big deal.
By the same logic, when it came to Issei's dream of becoming a High-Class Devil and openly building a harem, she didn't look down on him at all. If anything, she wanted to support him.
As long as Issei worked hard and kept improving, and eventually became a High-Class Devil, she'd have no problem letting him leave her faction and stand on his own, receiving his own Evil Pieces in the devil world and recruiting the beautiful servants he liked.
From Rias's perspective, Sona's "correction" of Issei wasn't just overstepping, it was a bit excessive.
He was her servant, after all. If anyone was going to discipline him, shouldn't it be her?
Of course, Rias was only mildly annoyed. It wasn't enough to make her resent Sona.
She understood Sona's position. As the student council president, school discipline was her responsibility. Given her personality, there was no way she'd tolerate behavior that disrupted order.
After thinking it over again and again, Rias ultimately accepted Sona's corrective education for Issei.
Besides, Issei was already a second-year. Once he graduated from Kuoh Academy, it wouldn't be a problem anymore.
By then, he could do whatever he wanted.
For now, he could just endure it a little. Consider it a harsh training exercise for his willpower and self-control.
"If you're interested in that kid, you can always come meet him sometime," Rias said with a smile, seemingly sensing something.
"There'll be a chance. No need to rush," Leo replied, smiling back without denying it. Then his expression turned serious. "Since the Red Dragon Emperor is now your servant, you need to be careful of the Grigori."
"I've heard the current White Dragon Emperor is among them. And he's incredibly strong."
Rias's smile vanished.
"One of the Two Heavenly Dragons… the White Dragon Emperor?" she murmured.
"That's right." Leo nodded. "The Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor, two legendary dragons once known as the Two Heavenly Dragons."
"They possess power that surpasses even the Dragon Kings. Power that rivals the gods themselves. The strongest legendary dragons beneath the gods."
"Back when devils, angels, and fallen angels were locked in full-scale war, the Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor started fighting each other right on the battlefield, ignoring everyone else. The damage they caused was so immense that the three factions joined forces to defeat them."
"Their bodies were torn apart, and their souls were sealed by God into two Sacred Gears, turning them into Longinus."
"From then on, the hosts of those Sacred Gears inherited their names. Driven by an ultimate rivalry, each generation of Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor became mortal enemies. Whenever they met, it always ended in a fight to the death."
Now, a new Red Dragon Emperor had appeared, within the Gremory House.
When this generation's White Dragon Emperor emerged, conflict was inevitable.
And that White Dragon Emperor belonged to the fallen angel faction, one of the Longinus holders cultivated by the Grigori.
"Is he… that strong?" Rias asked, frowning.
"Very strong," Leo answered without hesitation. "Do you know how the fallen angels' governor describes him?"
Rias listened intently.
'The strongest White Dragon Emperor in history.'
Those words made Rias's expression change.
"That high… of an evaluation?"
Her face grew solemn.
"It can't be helped," Leo said seriously. "Compared to Issei, a normal high schooler with almost no talent and barely any demonic power after reincarnating, his opponent is a born prodigy. He's already mastered Balance Breaker. Even I'm not sure I could defeat him."
It was one of the most dramatic contrasts in the original story.
The current Red Dragon Emperor was the weakest in history.
The current White Dragon Emperor was the strongest.
They weren't even on the same starting line. The gap was so vast it was despair-inducing.
At least, for now.
"Once news of the current Red Dragon Emperor spreads and reaches him, there's no guarantee he won't come knocking himself," Leo warned. "Even if he comes alone, the danger would exceed the last time Lafei Trix led the Old Maou Faction here."
"So you really need to be careful."
With the Gremory House's current strength, even working together, they stood no chance against the current White Dragon Emperor.
Unless Issei pulled off some miraculous power-up, a direct confrontation would be hopeless.
Leo knew that better than anyone. That was why he had to warn Rias.
"I understand," Rias said after taking a deep breath, nodding. "I'll be careful."
What she didn't know was that before the White Dragon Emperor ever arrived, the Gremory House would face a catastrophic disaster of its own.
Besides the White Dragon Emperor, another powerful enemy lurking in the shadows would soon reach Kuoh Town and come after them.
Unknowingly, a full month of special training in the Underworld came to a quiet end.
When the final night's combat training concluded, Leo and the others didn't drag their exhausted bodies back to their tents as usual. Instead, they gathered around a roaring bonfire.
Leo stood with his back to the flames. Before him were the silent figures of the girls, all watching him.
Their bodies were covered in dust and grime. Some even had mud smeared across their faces. Their clothes were torn, and there was nothing left of the "beautiful girl" image others might have had of them.
And yet, every single one of them looked brimming with vitality.
Compared to a month ago, the change was nothing short of a complete transformation.
Especially when faint, oppressive auras occasionally rippled from their bodies, auras strong enough to disturb the surrounding air. They no longer felt like ordinary girls, but like fearsome valkyries.
"Today is the final day of special training," Leo announced.
"Just now, you completed your last session here. This marks the perfect end to this training."
The girls showed no reaction at all.
If it had been them at the beginning of the training, they probably would have breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The reason was simple: the training had been brutal. Inhuman. Every day pushed them to the brink, beating them down until they nearly died, over and over again.
Back then, they'd truly believed they might die during training and never make it back to the human world.
But now, they had fully adapted to the intensity. Time and again, they'd surpassed their limits. What once seemed unbearable had become routine.
Looking back, that earlier misery felt like a distant memory, something that would never happen again.
"Clean yourselves up, girls," Leo said, flashing them a wide grin.
"Then get ready."
"We're heading home."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Note: 500 p.s for an extra chapter
You can read up to chapter 203 on patreon.com/NiaXD.