Impressive.
There was no denying it. As the king of the Hellhound Cerberus clan, the Cerberus King's strength was the real deal.
Even ordinary Cerberus already possessed at least High-Class Devil–level power. As their king, he naturally stood far above that.
After the earlier exchange, Leo had already gotten a solid read on his opponent.
Ultimate-Class Devil level.
And not just barely. Ten wings' worth. Calling him an Ultimate-Class Devil almost felt inaccurate. He was closer to a special-grade monster.
That was why, without using his Sacred Gear, even Leo could only fight him to a standstill.
But once the Sacred Gear came into play, that was a completely different story.
"Boom!!!"
With an earth-shaking roar, the flaming poisonous tornado was blown apart by a terrifying thunderstorm. Immediately after, a figure wreathed in blazing white aura slammed straight into the Cerberus King behind it.
It was like a meteor striking the planet.
The resulting shockwave exploded outward.
"Roooaaar!"
The once-dominant Cerberus King was sent flying as if he'd been hit by a falling star, his massive body smashing into a mountain and making the entire peak quake violently.
Boulders and rubble collapsed downward, completely burying his enormous form.
"Bang!"
Eyes blazing with furious savagery, the Cerberus King tried to launch himself toward Leo's position.
But before he could move, Leo had already closed the distance.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Bolts of lightning fired from Leo's body like laser cannons, slamming into the Cerberus King one after another. Blood sprayed everywhere as the beast howled in pain and rolled away.
Before he could even stand up, the blood-soaked Cerberus King lifted his three heads and unleashed fireballs, a storm, and poisonous gas once more.
This time, however, the attacks didn't merge into a flaming poison tornado. They came separately, one after another, roaring toward Leo with overwhelming force.
Leo raised a hand in response, releasing fire, wind, and freezing air to meet them head-on.
Fireballs collided and detonated, sending towering flames and heat waves skyward, igniting the entire mountain.
Storms crashed into each other, giving rise to hurricane-force winds that tore trees from the ground and hurled rocks through the air.
As for the poisonous gas...
It was silently frozen solid by the cold, sealed into an icy mass and rendered completely useless.
Then Leo lifted his other hand.
A flood and a massive lightning strike followed in quick succession.
Just as the Cerberus King tried to struggle to his feet, he was swallowed by rushing water and washed straight down the mountain, trapped in a violent whirlpool below.
The lightning struck next, spreading through the water and turning the vortex into a sea of electricity.
The Cerberus King's agonized howls echoed nonstop, the pain in his voice impossible to hide.
Leo hovered high above, five pairs of devil wings spread wide, mercilessly crushing the Cerberus King below.
"Roooooar!!!"
Covered in wounds, the Cerberus King finally snapped. With a furious roar, he forced his way out of the lightning pool and sprinted toward a pitch-black door that suddenly opened in the sky.
"That is… the Underworld Gate?"
Leo raised an eyebrow.
The Cerberus King could open a gate to the Underworld from the human world?
Was that the reason he'd appeared here in the first place?
Had someone lured him over? Or brought him out of the Underworld directly?
Either way, it was obvious now. He'd been beaten badly enough to lose his nerve and was trying to run.
But...
"Since you're already here, don't think about leaving."
Leo activated the power of Zenith Tempest, channeling the Sacred Gear's energy into the earth.
"Rumble!"
The ground came alive, heaving violently.
Sand, soil, and stone tore free, forming one earthen dragon after another. Roaring as they went, they kicked up clouds of debris and charged toward the Cerberus King.
Just as he was about to dive into the Underworld Gate, the earth dragons caught him from all sides, coiling around his body like massive constrictors.
"Rooooar!!!"
Panicked and enraged, the Cerberus King thrashed wildly. His three heads spewed fire, wind, and poison, blasting the earth dragons apart into sand and rubble.
But under Leo's control, the debris immediately reformed into new dragons. Along with those rushing in from behind, they swarmed over his body, wrapping tighter and tighter.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free and escape through the gate.
"Whoosh!"
Leo left behind a trail of afterimages as he instantly appeared in front of the Underworld Gate, blocking the Cerberus King's final escape route.
"Still trying to run?"
Seeing the beast open its three massive jaws, fire, wind, and poison gathering within, Leo's gaze turned icy.
Without hesitation, he unleashed freezing air, forming massive, razor-sharp ice blades that slashed forward.
"Slash!" "Slash!" "Slash!" "Slash! Slash!"
Each enormous ice blade carved into the Cerberus King's body, ripping through fur and flesh alike.
Blood sprayed into the sky, soaking the ground below in crimson.
"Roooooar!!!"
The Cerberus King's howl was filled with pain far worse than before. Even his struggles and counterattacks weakened visibly.
Being cut again and again by those ice blades felt like execution by a thousand cuts.
If not for the terrifying vitality of the Hellhound King, this barrage alone would have left him barely clinging to life.
"Boom!"
Leo showed no mercy.
Seeing the resistance falter, he rushed in and drove a fist into the Cerberus King's back.
He wasn't skilled in close combat, but after becoming a Perfect Devil, his physical abilities had improved drastically. With massive demonic power poured into the blow, and striking the Cerberus King's weakest point...
The result was devastating.
The giant body was sent crashing down, slamming hard into the earth.
The ground shook again as thick dust clouds rose, rubble flying everywhere, many stones stained with blood.
"Damn, that felt good. No wonder so many people like fighting up close. One solid punch and everything just clears up."
Leo exhaled deeply in midair, a wide grin spreading across his face.
When the dust settled, the Cerberus King's massive body was revealed once more.
He couldn't get up.
The enormous form lay in a blood-soaked crater. Two of the three heads were unconscious, tongues lolling out, leaving only the middle one whimpering weakly.
Leo descended and landed in front of him.
"So," he said calmly, "what should I do with you?"
Standing before the three-headed beast, each eye nearly as large as his entire body, Leo folded away his five pairs of wings.
One hand remained raised, crackling with violent lightning, ready to strike his head down at any moment.
"Rrrr… whine…"
The remaining head let out a pitiful sound.
There was no trace of savagery or rage left in it. Not even anger.
Only a weak desire to live.
Leo understood immediately.
Begging.
"Well, look at that," he said lightly. "The mighty Cerberus King… scared of dying?"
He didn't find it strange at all.
After all, the moment things went south, the Cerberus King had tried to escape through the Underworld Gate.
It was obvious he didn't want to die.
"Then submit," Leo said after a moment's thought. "Become my familiar and serve me. That's how you live."
Yes, Leo had decided to take him.
A monster strong enough to rival a special-grade devil was too valuable to waste, especially when it was already begging for mercy.
If not for his appearance being completely off his tastes, Leo might've even granted him a Pawn piece and made him a servant.
Unfortunately, a three-headed hellhound wasn't exactly his type.
He only liked beautiful girls.
So this one would have to settle for being a familiar.
"Rrrr…"
The Cerberus King hesitated, until Leo raised his lightning-wreathed hand a little higher.
Immediately, the beast let out a hurried whine and lowered his head.
"Good."
Leo nodded in satisfaction.
Now wasn't the time to form a contract, though.
He was still worried about Rias and Sona's situation, so that would have to wait until everything was over.
"Stay put," he warned, "or else… I'll blast you."
The lightning faded from his hand, replaced by a steady flow of demonic power pressed against the Cerberus King's body.
A demonic mark formed.
With it, Leo could track the Cerberus King's location at any time, and even jump directly to him using a magic circle.
Removing the mark would require demonic power stronger than Leo's.
Which was clearly impossible for the Cerberus King.
Unless someone helped him, there was no chance of escape.
Satisfied, Leo turned to find his servants.
Just as figures flew in from the horizon.
"President!"
"Leo-sama!"
"Master!"
Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru, Ravel, Ram, and Rem. All seven servants arrived together, completely uninjured, flying straight toward him.
"You're all okay?" Leo asked first, relieved.
"We're fine," Ravel said with a shake of her head. "It's all taken care of."
The others nodded in agreement.
Under Ravel's planning, they'd cut through the Cerberus pack as if there were no enemies at all.
With Holy Swords and Holy Relics in hand, and against demonic creatures, the advantage was overwhelming.
Combined with their strength and teamwork, victory had been effortless.
"I'm done here too," Leo said, patting the Cerberus King's bloodied head as he lay in the crater.
"You're not finishing it off?" Yukino asked, glancing at the beast still clinging to life.
"No need. He'll make a decent guard dog," Leo replied casually, quickly changing the subject. "Since these mystery roadblocks are dealt with, let's move. Rias and Sona are probably dealing with something serious."
The girls nodded grimly.
Even without knowing the details, Hellhounds appearing in the human world in organized groups was already enough to signal something major.
"These Cerberus were probably meant to cut off reinforcements," Ravel said thoughtfully. "Not us, but anyone coming from the Underworld."
That made sense.
Someone had attacked Kuoh Town, specifically the Gremory and Sitri servants, and planted destructive Magic Formulas beneath the town.
It was clearly a planned operation.
And if that was the case, intercepting reinforcements was only logical.
Which left one question.
Who was behind it all?
"Let's go."
Leo spread his five pairs of devil wings once more and rose into the sky.
The servants followed, quickly leaving the wounded Cerberus King and the devastated battlefield behind.
The chaos from these battles would definitely cause panic in Kuoh Town.
But that was a problem for later. The Underworld could handle cleanup after everything was over.
They accelerated, turning into streaks of shadow as they headed toward Kuoh Academy.
"We're here!"
Asuna spoke up suddenly, snapping everyone to attention as they looked ahead.
Moments later, the destination came into view.
Kuoh Academy.
But one glance was enough to tell them something was very wrong.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You can read up to chapter 209 on patreon.com/NiaXD.