"Buzz!"
As the atmosphere hummed, one massive magic circle after another rotated into existence around Leon, who was flying mid-air. Like a series of cannon barrels, they pointed directly at Miyamoto Musashi below.
Vast magical power gathered within each magic circle, instantly transforming into beams of magical energy capable of vaporizing the air. They rained down towards the ground.
Every single one of these magical energy beams was enormous, completely unlike the ones Leon casually released before; the shortest must have been at least two meters, bigger than Leon himself.
Any one of these magical energy beams could shatter a mountaintop or destroy a building. Asuna Yuuki, seeing such terrifying power for the first time, opened her eyes wide, sinking into shock.
"What remarkable magical power."
However, Miyamoto Musashi, the target locked onto by these incredibly powerful magical energy beams, merely uttered a sound of praise.
Immediately afterward, the sword resting on her shoulder moved.
"Boom!"
The instant the flash of the sword appeared, a roar directly echoed through the air.
The blade in Miyamoto Musashi's hand seemed to transform into a strike that cut through time itself. It flashed like a white light, directly cleaving towards the incoming magical energy beams.
One by one, the magical energy beams poured down, only to be swallowed by this simple slash, actually being directly erased by the ephemeral flash of the blade.
Yes, erased.
The moment the sword flash touched the magical energy beams, all the beams, capable of shattering mountaintops and destroying buildings, instantly melted away like winter snow touching a flame.
"That was...?"
Leon's expression subtly changed, his eyes growing solemn.
He had activated Magic Sense the moment he took action, bringing the entire area into his sensory range, striving not to miss any detail of the battle so he could respond promptly.
In his perception, in the instant Miyamoto Musashi swung her sword, the entire space seemed to have been split open, causing the magical energy beams he had released to be sucked into the resulting spatial rift and instantly banished to another world.
But how... how could such a thing be possible?
"Nothing is impossible, Young Master Leon!"
As if knowing what Leon was thinking, Miyamoto Musashi spoke.
"I am actually a very stubborn person. Once I decide to accomplish something, I fully commit to it, ensuring the goal is absolutely achieved."
"In the past, when facing opponents, to avoid losing, I once faked my own death, I once deceived others with smooth talk, and after an unsightly retreat, I would return to challenge the opponent once I was fully recovered."
"It's despicable and shameless, isn't it? But that's just the kind of person I am. Once I have a certain objective, I dedicate my entire existence to it. Only that objective remains in my eyes."
"Therefore, after being reincarnated as a devil and acquiring the magical power to materialize imagination into reality, my sword became something special."
Miyamoto Musashi raised the sword in her hand, pointing it towards Leon mid-air.
"For example, if I want to cut off your right arm, and I am determined to achieve it by any means necessary, then my resulting strike will be the most rational strike."
"It narrows all means used to achieve the goal down to just one: 'swinging the sword', limiting what should be infinite possibilities to a single outcome."
"In this way, any defensive measures you take become useless, and evasion is impossible. The only thing you can do is endure the blow, with no second option for dealing with it."
This was the Buddha's Sword, capable of severing all non-karma, past karma, curses, and misfortunes—the very strike Miyamoto Musashi spoke of that had no excess, dominating time and space.
"Just now, too, when facing Young Master's all-out magical attack, I only had one thought: to deliver a slash that could erase them. The final result was to sever them along with the space itself."
Miyamoto Musashi showed a childlike, innocent smile, as if introducing a child she was immensely proud of.
"This is my sword, my blade, after becoming a devil."
Reducing existence to the ultimate, breaking through infinity to reach zero—Miyamoto Musashi's swordsmanship was precisely such a thing.
"Young Master, you should display your true power, or with the next strike, I might just cleave your head off."
Miyamoto Musashi spoke these words as if joking, but no one who heard it could take it as a joke. Instead, they could clearly perceive the seriousness hidden beneath her smile.
Leon was no exception.
Therefore, he didn't hesitate at all. Just as Miyamoto Musashi said, he brought out his true abilities.
"Rumble—"
The air began to emit a thunderous roar, and heavy dark clouds appeared out of nowhere.
The clouds rolled in, taking less than a second to replace the basement ceiling, transforming it into the sky dominated by Leon.
"Boom!"
Innumerable streaks of lightning rolled within the dark clouds and thundered down, converging on Leon's slowly raised palm, where they were tightly gripped.
In that moment, let alone Miyamoto Musashi, even Asuna Yuuki felt a familiar power fluctuation emanating from Leon.
This was...
"A Sacred Gear?"
Asuna Yuuki was astonished.
"This Sacred Gear fluctuation... could it be a Longinus?"
Miyamoto Musashi was equally surprised. She hadn't expected to see a Sacred Gear, and one of the Longinus rank, on Leon.
Apart from anything else, the mere presence of a Sacred Gear on Leon was enough to cause astonishment.
Because Sacred Gears were unique powers created by God for human use, and only humans were supposed to be chosen by them.
Like Yukino Yukinoshita and Asuna Yuuki, they were Sacred Gear wielders before being reincarnated as devils, which was why they were chosen to become Sacred Gear users.
Leon was a born devil, an alien race who inherited the bloodline of a pure-blood devil. Logically, he shouldn't have been able to be chosen by a Sacred Gear.
"No, Young Master Leon only has half pure-blood devil ancestry. The other half is the bloodline of a human Exorcist!"
Miyamoto Musashi finally reacted, perceiving the truth of the matter.
Because he possessed half-human blood, Leon also had the possibility of being chosen by a Sacred Gear, and it was understandable that he could become a Sacred Gear user.
The only question was...
"A Longinus capable of dominating the sky and natural elements... could that Sacred Gear be...?"
Miyamoto Musashi was indeed a devil who had lived for several hundred years. As a Servant of a Demon Lord, her knowledge and experience far surpassed ordinary people.
However, just as she realized what Leon's Sacred Gear was, Leon had already swung down the Hammer of Thunder in his hand.
"Rumble!"
Amidst the fierce thunder, countless bolts of lightning intertwined, transforming into an angry Divine Hammer. Carrying immense electric light, it struck towards Miyamoto Musashi.
"Bring it on!"
Miyamoto Musashi was not frightened but delighted. Her eyes shone frighteningly bright. Her figure, like a bursting storm, directly confronted the incoming wrath of thunder.
"Sizzle!"
She unleashed a stunningly beautiful strike. The sword flash was as brilliant as ten thousand bolts of lightning, instantly severing the incoming electricity and causing the countless intertwined bolts of lightning to explode on the spot.
"Boom—Boom—Boom—"
Leon seemed not to have expected to solve Miyamoto Musashi with a single strike. Seeing Miyamoto Musashi cleave the furious thunder he released, he immediately and ruthlessly drew down streaks of lightning from the sky, continuously striking Miyamoto Musashi.
Miyamoto Musashi had already drawn the other sword tied to her waist. With both swords dancing in her hands, she unleashed one dazzling sword flash after another at astonishing speed, continually cleaving the lightning and breaking through the electric light.
Seeing this, Leon continued to draw down lightning while raising his other hand, activating the power of 'Zenith Tempest to make the ground vibrate.
The next second, earth and stone rose from the ground, dust permeated the air, and countless clumps of mud and stones coalesced into a colossal Earth Dragon with horns, roaring as it charged towards Miyamoto Musashi.
This scene further confirmed Miyamoto Musashi's conjecture.
"It really is the Longinus ranked second—'Zenith Tempest!"
Miyamoto Musashi finally understood why she felt an impulse worth fighting against in a junior devil.
"One of only thirteen Longinus, and the second-ranked superior Longinus at that! As an opponent, it is more than enough!"
Miyamoto Musashi's fighting spirit was completely ignited. She burst into wild laughter without any concern for her image, and suddenly turned, slashing an incredibly swift and sharp strike towards the charging Earth Dragon.
The sword flash passed. The unadorned strike directly severed the Earth Dragon's head, causing the earth and stone to disintegrate and the dust to fall.
But immediately afterward, the sound of a blazing explosion and a sweeping gale roared.
A rolling wall of fire surged towards Miyamoto Musashi from her left, while a ferocious tornado, like an earth-piercing drill, erupted from her right, forming a pincer attack that roared, engulfing her figure.
"Bang!"
Miyamoto Musashi broke through the flames and the storm, her clothes showing a few tears, but the two swords she wielded struck even more densely. The sword flashes came in rapid succession, actually managing to split the pursuing flames and gale in two, severing them cleanly.
"It's not over!"
Leon pressed his advantage relentlessly, furiously unleashing his magical power, driving the 'Zenith Tempest to the maximum power he could currently control, causing blizzards and great floods to appear in the basement.
The spacious basement instantly transformed into a scene of natural disaster. Ten thousand bolts of thunder fell from the sky, Earth Dragons roared in the dust on the ground, fierce flames rolled like a sky-obscuring sea of fire, and gales swept wildly as if to overturn everything. Additionally, blizzards and great floods raged, creating a spectacle comparable to a corner of the end of the world.
"This... Is this Lord Leon's power?"
Asuna Yuuki, outside the barrier, was dumbfounded. Looking at the figure of the man standing amid the natural disasters, her eyes were filled with both shock and a trace of elusive reverence.
Leon was completely unaware of this, fully immersed in the battle, unleashing the full extent of his learning.