Inside the royal hall, as the beautiful young girl sealed within the crystal coffin appeared, the air seemed to fill with an ancient, solemn atmosphere. It was as if a great history buried in darkness was being recounted—sacred and majestic.
Influenced by this ambiance, Leon didn't pay much attention to the girl's naked body, even though her figure was indeed striking, rivaling even Rias Gremory or Akeno Himejima.
After confirming that there was no longer any lingering breath of the living within her, Leon turned his gaze to an inscription on the side of the crystal coffin.
"Stella Vermillion, the last princess of the Vermillion Kingdom. To seek a path of survival and protect the nation's final dragon lineage, she voluntarily sealed herself here. May the Dragon God protect her."
Seeing this inscription, Leon confirmed her identity.
"As I thought, this girl is the last dragon bloodline of the Vermillion Kingdom."
Leon then turned his eyes to the sword lying beside the girl.
"Then this sword must be the legendary Secret Treasure of the Dragon?"
Unlike Stella Vermillion, who lacked any sign of life and appeared deceased, the sword revealed a powerful draconic aura even while sealed within the crystal coffin. This draconic aura was quite peculiar, possessing a unique rhythm. Unlike other auras that burned like fire, this one manifested as ripples, constantly expanding outward.
This aura even permeated the royal hall and the castle, spreading completely into the outside world. No doubt, it was this aura that had caused Kanna, the lonely young dragon, to stay here for hundreds of years and reach the level of a Dragon King.
"A dragon bloodline and treasure blessed by Great Red and descended upon the Vermillion Kingdom... having such an extraordinary effect isn't too surprising."
Leon rubbed his chin, looking at the naked girl in the crystal coffin, his thoughts racing.
Ophis, on the other hand, had her entire attention captured by the girl and the sword the moment she entered the hall. After staring for a while, she suddenly raised her hand. On that incredibly slender, jade-like hand, a terrifying power was beginning to converge.
"What are you trying to do?"
Leon was instantly jolted awake by the fluctuation of this power. Seeing Ophis's current state, a bad premonition arose in his heart.
As it turned out, his intuition was correct.
"—This is the manifestation of Great Red's kin and a portion of its power."
Ophis didn't look at Leon, but she answered his question nonetheless.
"I am going to destroy it."
In Ophis's completely emotionless voice, there was a sense of absolute certainty. She had come here specifically because she sensed the aura of Great Red's power. Now that she had confirmed the presence of its kin and a portion of its power, it was only natural for her to eliminate it.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Leon hurriedly intervened, saying, "This girl isn't Great Red's kin. She's just a dragon bloodline born from Great Red's blessing—one that has been passed down for many generations. She probably never even met Great Red when she was alive. There's no need to view her as a threat, right?"
If the royal family members of the Vermillion Kingdom—who had gone to such great lengths to seal their bloodline and treasure here—knew that the treasure they sent into the Dimensional Gap had not only failed to meet the Dragon God they worshipped for generations but was instead about to be obliterated by another Dragon God, they probably wouldn't be able to rest in peace.
Leon also felt that letting Ophis destroy it would be a terrible waste, which was why he spoke up to stop her.
However, Ophis didn't seem to see it that way.
"—A dragon bloodline and power born because of Great Red... if left alone, they might become my enemies in the future."
For that simple reason, Ophis wanted to eradicate them.
Leon knew that defeating Great Red was Ophis's life-long wish. As a Dragon God, she, like Great Red, was a being born within the Dimensional Gap. However, Great Red had driven her out to claim the Gap for itself, leaving Ophis homeless and unable to return to her place of birth.
The Dimensional Gap might not seem like a good place to others, but to the unrestrained Great Red and Ophis, it was their birthplace, their home, and their territory. Therefore, Ophis always wanted to return to the Dimensional Gap to regain her original silence.
But the moment Ophis returned to the Gap, Great Red would immediately sense her presence, seek her out, and drive her away again. Thus, throughout the long ages, Ophis had never been able to fulfill her wish.
The reason her simple and innocent personality allowed her to become the joint leader of the Old Satan Faction, the Hero Faction, and other terrorist groups to form "Khaos Brigade" was because these people made a pact with her. As long as she provided them with her power, they would help her return to the Dimensional Gap and defeat Great Red.
In other words, Ophis didn't actually want to be the leader of a terrorist organization, nor did she want to bring chaos to the world or assist the wicked schemes of the Old Satan Faction. Her wish was simple: to defeat Great Red and return to her home. To that end, she agreed to the pact.
As for how much turmoil her leadership or the power she lent them would cause the world, or how much of a threat it would pose to the Three Factions of Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels—none of that was within her consideration. Her simple mind couldn't grasp such complexities; she had no concept of good or evil, only the desire to achieve her goal.
Under these circumstances, seeing a dragon bloodline and treasure born from Great Red's blessing, she naturally viewed them as part of Great Red's strength and wanted to destroy them.
Of course, in Leon's view, the promises made to Ophis by the Old Satan Faction and Hero Faction were essentially like tricking a child.
What kind of existence was Great Red? It was the true strongest being in the world, one that even Ophis couldn't defeat! Both Dragon Gods possessed the power to single-handedly rival all the mythological systems in the entire world combined. If the collective power of all myths might not be their match, how could a mere Khaos Brigade claim they could help Ophis defeat Great Red?
Unless they used underhanded tricks—like how Ophis was targeted and lost most of her power in the original story—a group like Khaos Brigade likely wouldn't even have the right to face Great Red directly.
And even an Ophis who had lost most of her power remained two levels stronger than beings like the Two Heavenly Dragons. That meant she was two levels above the God-class or Ultimate-class. What did that imply? A gap of two levels is a literal chasm; being two levels above God-class is enough to crush an opponent with one hand.
If an Ophis who lost most of her power was that strong, how powerful was she in her prime? And what about Great Red, who was even stronger?
Therefore, the idea that Khaos Brigade could help Ophis deal with Great Red was, in Leon's eyes, a joke. Even with dirty tricks, success was far from guaranteed.
Ophis, however, didn't doubt it. Instead, she accepted the persuasion of those terrorist groups and became the leader of Khaos Brigade. This showed that her heart was indeed pure; she never imagined she was being lied to, focused only on her goal of defeating Great Red.
Leon strongly suspected that her appearance in the Dimensional Gap at this moment was because she simply couldn't sit still any longer and came to test the waters. The result proved that Great Red was still the dominant force, forcing her to retreat.
If she hadn't sensed Leon's presence—and if Leon hadn't happened to carry a trace of Great Red's aura—she might have already returned to the human world to continue waiting for her unreliable subordinates to help her. Now that she had encountered people or things related to Great Red, it would be stranger if she didn't act.
"How about this," Leon said, seeing Ophis was determined. After a moment of thought, he added, "I will take her as my peerage member, making her leave Great Red's camp. Would that work?"
That's right, Leon had set his sights on the sleeping princess. Not only was she a dragon bloodline blessed by Great Red with a mysterious treasure, but the commotion currently occurring within the space where he kept his Evil Pieces made it impossible for him to let Ophis kill her.
Right now, within that space, one piece was glowing with a brilliant radiance, telling Leon just how suitable a candidate the person before him was for that piece. It wasn't a "Pawn," but a "Knight."
Leon's remaining Evil Pieces were one "Queen," one "Knight," and five "Pawns." If he could take this girl as his "Knight," he would only be a "Queen" and five "Pawns" away from a full set. Leon naturally couldn't let such an opportunity slip by.
"—You, taking her as kin?" Ophis stopped her movements and looked at Leon.
"Exactly." Leon directly took out the "Knight" piece and spoke in front of Ophis. "I won't let her become your enemy. That way, you won't have a reason to target her."
Ophis fell silent. Seeing her silence, Leon wasn't afraid of her refusing. Since this simple and naive Dragon God could be fooled by the terrorists of Khaos Brigade, he should be able to persuade her as well.
Furthermore, he wasn't lying. As long as Ophis didn't move against this dragon bloodline, Leon could guarantee that if she ever went to war with Great Red in the future, his side would definitely not stand with Great Red. At least, that was his plan barring any unforeseen circumstances.
It was unclear if Ophis believed Leon, but after a long silence, she walked up to the crystal coffin. Just as she had broken the seal on the gate earlier, Ophis pressed her hand against the coffin, releasing a snake-like black aura that covered the entire object.
"Bang!"
In the next second, the crystal coffin shattered. The sleeping girl was freed and began to fall slowly toward the floor. Leon quickly stepped forward and caught her.
The smooth touch of her skin almost caused Leon to lose his composure. This was, after all, an incredibly beautiful girl without a stitch of clothing and an explosive figure. Holding her directly in his arms would shake any normal man, let alone a Leon who had already "tasted meat."
However, he quickly regained his focus and glanced at Ophis, who was quietly watching him. He knew Ophis had given her silent consent.
Thus, Leon began to recite the incantation.
"In the name of Leon Eligos, I command—"
"You—Stella Vermillion. To become my servant, let your soul return once more to this place—"
"Become a Devil, and rejoice in your rebirth—"
The crimson Evil Piece shattered, turning into countless light particles that flowed into the girl's body.
[Trait: Peerage Conversion is taking effect...]
[Gained Basic Feedback—Mana (Large Amount).]
[Gained Advanced Feedback—Rank (Twelve Wings).]
[Gained Extra Feedback—Trait: Flame.]
This was another top-tier seed with high potential!
Originally, because he had taken in Kanna, Leon's mana had already surged to a level near the Satan-class. Taking in even a medium-potential peerage member would have pushed him over the threshold to become a true Satan-class. Now, by taking in a high-potential member, the mana in Leon's body surged instantly, effortlessly crossing that critical line.
"Swish!"
The devil wings behind Leon suddenly unfurled. Twelve pitch-black wings—the symbol of the highest-ranking Devils. With this, Leon became an existence truly comparable to a Great Satan.
"Is this the power of the Satan-class?" Leon felt the massive mana flowing through his body.
He had possessed mana of this scale before, but that was forced upward through the power of Balance Breaker, which didn't give him a profound sense of the strength. Reaching the Satan-class truly on his own was a different experience entirely.
"Not only that, I've gained another trait." Leon released mana from his hand, and it burst into intense flames.
Just like with his lightning mana before, after gaining the flame-related trait, Leon could manifest his mana into fire almost instinctively, and its power was incomparable to before. Using this flame mana to drive the power of "Zenith Tempest" to generate fire-based natural energy increased his destructive power several times over.
"Another major leap in strength." Leon retracted the flames, feeling excellent.
If he wasn't certain before, he now had the confidence to rival veteran Super Satan-class existences like Serafall or Grayfia. This meant that in the entire Devil race, perhaps only the two Super-Devils, Sirzechs and Ajuka, could still stand above him.
His strength was now enough to rank within the top three of the current Devil world.
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