The human world, Kuoh Academy.
As night fell completely, the grounds of Kuoh Academy were devoid of any lingering figures. Only the old school building, situated in the small woods behind the main campus, remained brightly lit, with occasional shadows passing by the windows.
This old building was the location of the Kuoh Academy Occult Research Club—the headquarters of the Gremory peerage.
Unlike Leon, who merely treated Sobu High as a place for activities, the Kuoh Academy where Rias was enrolled was actually operated behind the scenes by her family; it was essentially their private property. Thus, when Rias was commissioned by the upper echelons of the Underworld to take charge of the territory in the human world's Kuoh Town—managing business such as signing contracts with humans, collecting prices, and subjugating Stray Devils with her peerage—she enrolled directly in Kuoh Academy. She even drew her close friend, Sona Sitri, to enroll there as well.
In other words, Rias was the underground queen of this academy. Even if this fact remained unknown to the public, she still enjoyed privileges in many areas—such as claiming an entire old school building as her club's activity area, a feat likely only she could accomplish.
Of course, while Leon's status at Sobu High did not quite reach the level of Rias's at Kuoh Academy, his influence was not far behind. Many high-ranking school officials were part of his network, and some were regular clients of his Devil business. Furthermore, since the influence of a local prominent family like the Yukinoshita house now essentially belonged to him within the school, if he wanted to follow Rias's example and move an entire school building to serve as the Occult Affairs Department's activity room, he could likely make it happen.
However, Leon felt it was unnecessary. He only treated Sobu High as a venue for daily activities; his true headquarters was his own manor. Unlike Rias, who treated all of Kuoh Academy as her personal fiefdom, he felt that having one activity room as a base was sufficient.
At this moment, within the old school building, voices could be heard faintly from several rooms.
Some were discussing the events of the day, some were resting, and others were being treated for their injuries.
Yukinoshita Yukino was in a room that resembled an infirmary, lying on a hospital bed and dressed in loose clothing, looking like someone recently recovered from a serious illness.
Leon sat beside the bed, peeling an apple for her.
"Your injuries have received initial treatment. There are no major issues now, but you still need to rest in bed for a while to fully recover."
Leon chatted with Yukino intermittently.
"Until your injuries are completely healed, we will stay at Kuoh Academy for a while. We'll return to Chiba once you've recovered."
Leon gave a brief overview of the current situation. Yukino listened silently until Leon stopped, then she asked a question.
"What about the others?"
Yukino's inquiry earned a miffed expression from Leon.
"You're the most seriously injured of everyone, yet you have the spare mind to worry about others?" Despite his words, Leon answered her. "Utaha and Mahiru are in the best condition. Neither of them sustained significant injuries; they were just exhausted from overusing their Sacred Gears. They'll be fine after some rest."
"Asuna is fine too. She's a Holy Sword wielder, after all. Whether facing monsters or Devils, she holds a massive advantage and can even provide Holy Swords to her teammates as weapons. So, while she inevitably took some hits when facing the Stray Mages, her injuries weren't serious and were quickly healed. She can already get out of bed."
After finishing with his own peerage, Leon began to describe the status of the Gremory and Sitri peerages.
Their conditions were generally similar to those of the Eligos peerage—some were better, some were worse, but essentially no one was in grave danger.
Toujou Koneko and Yura Tsubasa were under the protection of Kasumigaoka Utaha's barriers the entire time, so they were never really threatened and were in the best state, completely uninjured.
Kusaka Renya and Hanakai Momo likewise had a narrow escape thanks to Shiina Mahiru unleashing the power of the Holy Cross at all costs to clear a path. They only had to step up and protect Mahiru when she collapsed from exhaustion, resulting in minor injuries.
Meguri Tomoe stood out particularly well because Asuna had been providing her with Holy Swords. The two of them fought side-by-side with excellent chemistry, managing to hold out until Leon defeated Leifa and became the new master of the Labyrinth space, using the core to open a passage and come to their rescue.
Himejima Akeno and Shinra Tsubaki had more significant injuries, but as the strongest tier among the peerages, they managed to endure the hardship by watching each other's backs until Rias and Sona arrived with reinforcements.
The most seriously injured were Kiba Yuuto and Nimura Ruruko.
One had been so heavily wounded that he fell into a coma, unconscious and in a state of life or death; the other had fought a bitter battle where she actually had an arm bitten off, her body covered in wounds of varying severity, nearly on the verge of death.
Although Yukino had also been pierced through the abdomen by a Devil Slayer and had a portion of her flesh gouged out, she had handled it in time, immediately sealing the wound with ice to prevent blood loss and secondary trauma.
But those two were different—they truly almost lost their lives. By the time Rias and Sona reached them, the area where Nimura Ruruko lay had become a vast pool of blood and her breathing had stopped. Kiba Yuuto was covered in an unknown number of monsters, all gnawing at his body. This caused Rias and Sona to fly into a violent rage on the spot, refusing to stop until every monster had been blasted into ash.
"Currently, those two have not regained consciousness. Their wounds have only received basic treatment, and they haven't even passed the critical stage yet," Leon explained.
These two were the only ones whose injuries were more severe than Yukino's.
"Rias and Sona are already preparing to return to the Underworld to apply for two bottles of Phenex Tears to treat them."
Phenex Tears are products of the Phenex family, one of the 72 Pillars of Devils—a miracle medicine capable of instantaneously healing any wound.
In the past, the Phoenix was regarded as a sacred beast governing life, revered by humans; its tears could heal any injury, and its blood could grant immortality, with related legends existing in many countries of the human world. As a sacred beast, the Phenex held the rank of Marquis in the Devil world, listed as one of the 72 Pillars—a branch belonging to the Devils and a very famous demonic family.
They are Devils governing fire, wind, and life. Like the legendary immortal bird, they possess flames capable of burning even dragon scales and an undying body that can instantly revive even after being reduced to ash. They also produce Phenex Tears capable of healing any wound, making them highly sought after and of extremely high status in the Devil world.
Nowadays, due to the popularity of Rating Games, Phenex Tears are regarded as an essential item during matches and are often used as items within the games, causing the Phenex family's status to rise even further.
"It's a pity your injuries didn't reach the level where I could apply for Phenex Tears for you; otherwise, I could have used the opportunity to get you some," Leon said jokingly, causing Yukino to knit her beautiful brows.
"I have no desire for the chance to use such a thing," Yukino huffed softly. "Better to leave them for Kiba-kun and Nimura-san; they need them more than I do."
"If Rias or Sona heard you say that, they'd probably be fuming," Leon laughed, then continued, "In any case, no one has any major problems for now. Even Kiba and Nimura should have their wounds healed by Phenex Tears by this time tomorrow. You don't need to worry too much."
"Your task is to rest well and recover quickly, lest others worry about you."
"Even if you don't consider yourself, you should consider me—your Master, who saw you lying on the ground covered in blood. Don't give me a heart attack."
Heaven knows what Leon felt when he saw Yukino lying on the ground covered in blood.
If Yukino were still human, he could have saved her with the Evil Piece reincarnation ritual, allowing her to be reborn as a Devil. But Yukino was already a reincarnated Devil; if she died, she would truly be dead.
Granted, due to the nature of the "Peerage" trait, even if Yukino died, her soul would return to Leon's side. As long as Leon had a way to reshape her physical body, she could be resurrected. But what if even the soul was destroyed?
Then there would truly be no hope.
Therefore, when he saw that scene, Leon's heart had clenched violently.
Fortunately, Yukino was only unconscious, which allowed him to breathe a massive sigh of relief.
Only—
"I thought you would lose to Sharon Holygrade. I didn't expect that by the time I got there, you had already opened the passage to that room and were heading to the next one."
Speaking of this, Leon was also somewhat surprised.
"Even though you lost consciousness in the passage and fainted, failing to reach the next room, it proves you defeated that nun and secured a victory, right?"
Leon really hadn't expected that while heavily injured, Yukino could actually snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, overcome Sharon Holygrade, pass the trial of the first room, and open the passage to the next.
"Well done. You've redeemed yourself for the last failure."
Leon offered Yukino a word of praise.
However, Yukino did not show any signs of joy or happiness. Instead, a layer of gloom clouded her face.
"What is it?"
Seeing this, Leon frowned and asked.
"—I have something I want to tell you."
Yukino was silent for a moment, then looked at Leon.
She then recounted exactly what had happened to her at that time.
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