Seeing that notification pop up so abruptly left Leo a little stunned—but after thinking about it, it actually made sense.
Those two were basically humanoid self-propelled artillery units. Their monster-killing efficiency was absurd. Just Rias's fireball alone could instantly roast dozens of zombie birds into idiots.
And Lux was even more outrageous.
She was firing light cannons.
Light cannons, you know?
Against monster swarms at this density, leveling up was practically effortless. Being surpassed by them was completely normal.
"Good thing I never had any interest in this shitty world to begin with."
Leo glanced at his tattered clothes, let out a cold laugh, and then responded to Rias.
"I already told you—this world is terrifying and bizarre. And yet you still managed to be that careless."
Shaking his head, Leo chose to let the matter drop.
"But let's put that aside. Since things have already come to this, you should've noticed it too, right? As your levels go up, your physical condition and such are recovering as well."
Rias nodded.
"That's true. However, even though I've already reached level 70, I still can't return to my peak condition. Lux is the same. I assume it's similar for you as well."
Kelly nodded too, though she clearly didn't care much. Her strength had long since returned thanks to stat allocation, so it was never a concern for her.
Leo, on the other hand, curled his lips.
Yeah, sorry about not being suppressed at all.
That's right—Leo felt absolutely no suppression on his strength.
"But if I rest for about another hour, I'll be able to resolve this crisis."
Rias gently pressed a hand to her chest as she stated her recovery time, then looked at Leo.
"However, if Mr. Leo, Miss Kelly, and Miss Tsunade are willing to let me absorb your vital energy, I can recover immediately."
A question mark practically popped over Leo's head. He looked at Rias, then at Lux beside her, and couldn't help asking,
"Then why didn't you absorb Lux's vital energy back then?"
Earlier, because the situation was urgent—and because Rias really was enormous—Leo hadn't thought about it. But now Rias was clearly implying that women were also an option…
What was that supposed to mean?
"Because Lux is still a young girl, and my magic depletion back then was already severe. Absorbing her vital energy would have caused serious harm to her body. Since you had already come to rescue us, there was no need to hurt Lux. As for now… well, Lux still has her first kiss. I want her to preserve it, to give it to someone she truly likes."
"?"
Kelly immediately snapped her head around.
"What do you mean! My first kiss is still intact too, you know!"
Rias instantly showed a shocked expression and apologized sincerely.
"I'm sorry. Seeing how close the two of you are, I thought you were a couple."
Leo said nothing. He just stared at Rias in silence, then at Lux, who was now too stunned to speak.
"Um… Rias, what you're saying is…"
Lux looked at Rias in disbelief, while Rias smiled and hugged her warmly.
"Yes. I still want to recruit you as my servant, so of course I want to protect you as much as possible."
What she didn't notice, however, was that when she hugged Lux, a visible flicker of fear passed across Lux's face—quickly suppressed, without being openly shown.
Leo let out a sigh.
"No thanks. That terrifying sensation once was more than enough."
Having his vital energy drained felt amazing in the moment—but afterward, it was unbearable. The intense emptiness made him desperately want Rias to drain him again.
There was no doubt about it: this was a devil's method.
Even if Rias herself didn't intend it, devil magic—or rather, devil instinct—could still produce that effect.
And now, even when staring at Rias's massive breasts, Leo felt completely unmotivated.
So yeah—hard pass.
"This fortress can still hold out for another hour. Just recover properly."
After saying that, Leo carried his gun over to the firing port and began clearing zombie birds together with Kelly, clearly not intending to continue the conversation.
Grinding some experience was the priority.
While encountering these things in the open was a nightmare, with a fortress like this, the zombie birds became the perfect source of experience.
As long as they left a small opening, the birds would desperately try to squeeze in. And all it took was pulling the trigger over and over for them to drop to the ground in droves.
Leo was having a great time killing them. Watching the experience bar steadily rise noticeably improved his mood.
But when he thought about the message from his so-called cheat ability, a thought couldn't help forming in his mind.
"If I send Rias and Lux back… wouldn't that mean I'd become the strongest candidate for this world's Dimension Lord again?"
Once the thought appeared, it completely occupied his mind, making him constantly analyze whether it was feasible.
And yet, the very thought made Leo frown.
Because…
Because he didn't care who this world belonged to in the first place.
If he could leave this hellhole right now, he wouldn't hesitate for a second. Why would he fight over some Dimension Lord title that he didn't even know the use of?
Something felt wrong.
He knew what a Dimension Lord was. He was very clear about it—movies like Marvel and DC had explained it plenty. Basically, the strongest being within a dimension or world.
As long as the dimension didn't collapse, that being would exist eternally.
But dimensions had rules.
Just like Dormammu's Dark Dimension—a place filled with darkness and corruption. Even Dormammu himself couldn't change those rules.
That was the nature of the dimension.
And the Seven Days to Die dimension…
How should he put it?
Live forever in a world full of zombies, with only a handful of mindless NPCs?
He'd rather die.
That kind of immortality was pure torture.
If he could travel to other worlds, maybe it'd be fine. But what if every world had someone like the Ancient One blocking him from entering?
Wouldn't that mean spending eternity stuck in this shithole?
If people could still come to this world, maybe it'd be bearable—but what if they couldn't?
"This is wrong."
As Leo watched his experience bar slowly approach the next level, he subconsciously paid attention. And the instant he leveled up, he felt his desire to drive everyone else away and monopolize the dimension increase slightly.
He was certain: his emotions hadn't changed during this time. Yet at the exact moment of leveling up, his sense of ownership toward this world intensified.
"…This world really is trying to guide us. It wants us to kill each other."
Leo glanced at the Seven Days to Die system interface. That incomplete "game system" sat there coldly, as if foreshadowing something.
"Tch. What a bastard of a world."
He narrowed his eyes. He'd honestly thought that once a few superhuman beings appeared, survival wouldn't be a problem—that no matter how ridiculous this world was, becoming the Dimension Lord wouldn't be too difficult.
Turns out he'd been naïve.
That position was never meant to be easy.
"But what does that have to do with me… A mere mortal competing with these bullshit transcendents? That's a joke."
After steadying his mindset, Leo kept firing. And after accumulating about half a level's worth of experience, Rias spoke from behind him.
"All right, Mr. Leo. I've recovered. Now—it's my turn to perform."
Rias confidently flicked her red hair. Without waiting for Leo or Kelly to respond, she unfolded a barrier that enveloped the steel cabin.
In the next instant, she opened the door, revealing the still-blackened mass of zombie birds pressing against the structure. Yet with the barrier in place, even with the door open, the birds couldn't enter.
Rias snapped her fingers, and countless magic circles appeared around her.
"Damn monsters—witness why I am called the Red-Haired Annihilation Princess."