"So that's Zenith Tempest?"
Feeling the overwhelming Sacred Gear fluctuations filling the entire space, Ram, who had already retreated far from the center of the battlefield, wore an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"S-So terrifying…!"
Rem couldn't help taking a few steps back, a bead of sweat sliding down her cheek.
The sisters had never seen Leo use Zenith Tempest before. Even Ravel had only witnessed it once, back when she became his servant. And even then, he had merely demonstrated the power of his Balance Breaker without actually fighting. In that sense, this was Ravel's first time truly seeing Leo unleash Zenith Tempest in combat as well, and the shock it dealt the three of them was anything but small.
After all, even without using Zenith Tempest, Leo was already a genuine ten-winged devil. Against Oni-transformed Rem, he wouldn't need a Sacred Gear at all. One finger would be more than enough to put her down. That alone was already terrifying.
And now, facing Miyamoto Musashi, the strongest devil swordswoman, Leo had unleashed Zenith Tempest without the slightest hesitation. Seeing him finally reveal his full power left Ravel and the others deeply shaken.
Only Yukino and the rest immediately noticed something different.
"…Is it just me?" Utaha said hesitantly. "Doesn't his Zenith Tempest feel completely different from before?"
Yukino, Asuna, and Mahiru exchanged glances.
It wasn't her imagination.
They had sensed the change as well.
One of Zenith Tempest's abilities was dominion over the weather. Every time Leo used it, the sky would react first: dark clouds gathering, thunder and lightning raging as the power of the Sacred Gear took hold.
Using that altered weather, Leo's control over natural forces became far more potent. Whether pinpoint strikes or wide-area attacks, everything flowed with the climate itself, achieving an effect far greater than the sum of its parts.
But before, Leo could only dominate the sky. He couldn't completely rewrite the weather.
Now, Yukino and the others could clearly feel it. Not just the artificial "sky" above them, but the entire space itself had changed. The climate had become violent, heavy, and oppressive.
"…This is…?"
If they could sense it, there was no way Musashi couldn't. Her expression shifted.
The air currents had become erratic, the temperature dropping without warning. Heat drained rapidly from her body. Her breath turned white, and her breathing grew labored.
"Something's wrong!"
The moment she realized it, her heart jolted. She raised her blade, ready to strike.
"Don't even think about it!"
Leo had been watching her the entire time. The instant she noticed, he stopped holding back and triggered a power he'd been suppressing all along.
Crack, crack, crack!
The sound made teeth ache.
Musashi stared in disbelief as frost rapidly spread across her body. Ice formed visibly over her limbs, thick layers freezing her in place.
Seeing this, how could she not understand?
The climate of the entire space had already been completely seized by Leo.
He had quietly lowered the atmospheric temperature, steadily draining her stamina while laying a trap, freezing her body without her even realizing it, nearly costing her everything in a single careless moment.
"Boom!"
Without hesitation, Musashi unleashed her sword pressure. Behind her, a massive Niō manifestation rose and stood firm.
"Evil, be cut!"
With a sharp cry, the Niō swung its blade, a single strike blasting away the frost and ice binding her.
"Brat! You almost got me!"
Rolling her shoulders, Musashi charged forward, the Niō looming behind her, rushing straight at Leo as he hovered in the air.
"Didn't you teach me that?" Leo shot back. "All's fair in war!"
As he spoke, he thrust both hands forward, releasing two bolts of lightning that tore through the air toward her.
Musashi raised her blade to cut them down as usual, intending to shatter the attack head-on. But Leo had learned his lesson. He wasn't about to let her have her way again.
Under his control, the lightning suddenly curved at the instant her blade came down. Like twin lightning serpents, they slipped past the edge of her strike and slammed directly into her stunned body.
Boom!
The bolts hit squarely, sending her flying.
Before she could recover, Leo extended his hands again, this time releasing not lightning, but fire. The flames twisted and coiled together midair, rapidly expanding into a sea of fire that surged toward her.
"Ugh…!"
Electric arcs still crawled across Musashi's body, every movement agonizing. But her sheer will carried her through. Ignoring the pain, she raised her blade and slashed downward.
Boom!
A strike capable of subduing time and space itself cleaved through the incoming firestorm, splitting it cleanly apart in a spectacular display.
But instead of dispersing, the divided flames warped, rapidly compressing, then exploded right in front of her.
BOOOOM!!!
A catastrophic blast erupted like a solar flare, engulfing the entire underground chamber.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The girls who had retreated far away screamed as the shockwave and heat blasted toward them, sending them stumbling.
"This is way too dangerous!"
Utaha shouted, instantly deploying barrier after barrier around them, layering multiple defenses to protect everyone.
Outside the barrier, the situation was far worse. The temperature spiked violently, the air itself warping and distorting. The floor smoked under the heat, and the barrier enclosing the chamber was forced into visibility, straining to block the raging flames.
Amid the inferno, only Leo remained untouched, floating high above, flames parting around him as he hovered like a god looking down from the heavens.
"Cough… cough…"
Musashi knelt on one knee beneath the Niō's protection, sword pressure roaring like a storm as she forced back the flames, yet blood spilled from her lips.
Her clothes were torn, her skin scorched black in places. It was obvious she hadn't fully endured that attack.
Even so, it was still shocking.
"She survived that? A Maou's servant is ridiculous…"
Leo muttered.
"And which one of us is ridiculous?" Musashi said with a wry smile as she struggled to stand, pain wracking her body. "It's only been a month, and you've grown this strong. That is what's absurd."
Just one month ago, no matter how hard Leo fought, he had always lost to her. Even wielding Zenith Tempest, the world's second-strongest Longinus, he couldn't escape being overwhelmed by her blade, forced to surrender again and again.
And now… he was suppressing her outright?
The change was unbelievable.
"Do you really think I only trained in the Underworld for a month?" Leo said calmly, looking down at her battered form. "Don't forget, my greatest gain wasn't the training. It was three exceptional servants."
A young lady from House Phenex, and two Oni orphans: one with top-tier mid-level potential, the other two rivaling Longinus holders themselves.
After Servant Conversion and the feedback from their traits, Leo was no longer comparable to who he had been a month ago.
A ten-winged devil with purer blood than even a Maou. A devil approaching perfection. Zenith Tempest itself had undergone multiple enhancements.
How could he still be the same sheltered noble Musashi once suppressed so easily?
Perhaps there was still a gap between him and someone standing just a step below Maou-Class. And Musashi's blade, capable of cutting even time and space, was still terrifying.
But Zenith Tempest, now rivaling even the Holy Spear, was enough to overturn the balance completely.
The difference in strength had reversed.
Now, the stronger one was Leo.
And the battle that followed proved it.
As if to cement his victory, Leo showed no mercy, launching an all-out assault.
He didn't move from the sky, but every gesture shook the world.
Torrential lightning. Seas of flame. Devastating winds. Absolute ice. Crushing earth. Raging floods.
Disasters on the scale of nature itself crashed down upon Musashi, leaving her like a fragile boat in a storm, barely holding on, moments from capsizing.
She had faced such power before, once able to cut through it all with ease.
But not now.
Leo's mastery over Zenith Tempest had reached a profound level. Weather, elements, everything that looked like divine wrath was, in truth, wielded effortlessly at his command.
Her godlike swordsmanship had nowhere left to shine.
He focused on one rule: avoid her blade.
Both himself and every attack he released did the same.
Lightning curved. Flames compressed and detonated. Storms broke into cutting winds. Ice became unseen freezing air. Even earth shattered into flying debris, and water transformed into countless liquid spears.
Impossible to defend against.
"This is… really bad…"
Musashi was gasping, covered in wounds. Blood streamed down her forehead, staining half her face and forcing one eye shut.
"Got you."
Leo raised one hand. Lightning and flame coiled together in his palm, making the air scream.
The attack shot forth, blazing and thunderous, illuminating everything.
"No! Not yet!"
Musashi's single open eye burned with fierce resolve.
"If I can't hit you, then I'll cut everything!"
The Niō behind her stood tall.
"One Blade, Three Bows: break infinity, reach zero!"
The sword rose, sword pressure exploding.
"Shatter!"
The blade fell.
And the world itself was cut apart…
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You can read up to chapter 206 on patreon.com/NiaXD.