That day, Yukino had been on her way to Sobu High, riding in her family's car.
Since it was the first day of school, her mother and older sister were with her.
Everything was normal—until, out of nowhere, a dog darted into the street, right in front of their car.
And just as the driver hit the brakes, a boy rushed forward and grabbed the dog, shielding it with his arms.
Everyone panicked—the passengers, the boy, even the owner who'd failed to hold onto the leash.
If nothing changed, a crash was inevitable.
The moment Yukino realized that, something inside her erupted.
And then—something impossible happened.
She would never forget it. That instant was burned into her memory.
First came a howling wind, like a storm sweeping down from the heavens—strong and furious.
Then the temperature plummeted, as though summer had instantly turned to winter, the air filling with pale mist.
A sharp cracking sound followed—like ice forming in an instant.
When the strange phenomenon finally subsided, Yukino noticed her mother and sister trembling violently beside her, hugging their arms for warmth. The car had stopped—frozen in place, mere inches from the boy. His terrified face was clearly visible through the windshield.
The boy himself was shaking uncontrollably, frost clinging to his eyebrows. Later, Yukino heard he'd missed the opening ceremony due to a severe cold.
The car's tires had frozen solid to the pavement, and the entire street was coated in frost. The road, the streetlights, even the nearby buildings—all were dusted with scattered ice and snow.
Everyone present had fallen ill afterward, some even suffering frostbite. Only Yukino remained perfectly fine, standing there in shock, completely unharmed.
The incident had puzzled her for a long time. Surveillance footage later showed a sudden wave of icy wind sweeping down from the sky, freezing everything in its path.
People dismissed it as one of the increasingly frequent extreme weather events—a strange but natural coincidence. Eventually, Yukino stopped thinking about it.
But now, with Leo bringing it up again, a terrifying thought crossed her mind.
"You're saying… all of that happened because of me?"
Yukino stared at Leo in disbelief.
"Don't doubt it. That was you." Leo's tone was firm, leaving her no room for denial. "I was at Sobu High that day, not far from the scene. I can say with certainty—that phenomenon came from you."
"I didn't see it myself, but I felt it—a massive surge of power from where you were."
"That day, your emotions must have pushed you over the edge. You awakened the Sacred Gears sleeping inside you and accidentally released its power."
"And that was also the day the three great factions detected the anomaly—and discovered the Sacred Gear within you."
That was why Leo had chosen Yukino as his first target—to make her his first servants.
He had even stepped in behind the scenes to clean up some of the mess. Otherwise, agents from the Church, stationed nearby, would have already approached her.
Compared to the Church, the fallen angels had been slower to act. Chiba Prefecture wasn't their territory, after all. Even if they noticed, it would take time before they could move.
No one expected that when they finally did, they'd go straight for the kill.
"You were just unlucky," Leo said casually, stirring his tea. "You ran into the faction with the strongest reaction toward Sacred Gear users."
He looked up and smirked. "Among the three factions, the fallen angels are the ones most obsessed with studying Sacred Gears. They even have a central organization called the Grigori, dedicated to researching them—tracking down Sacred Gear users, observing or recruiting them. If someone's power is deemed too dangerous, they send an agent to eliminate the threat."
At those words, Yukino's hands clenched tightly.
"So that's why I was attacked?" she said, her voice trembling with anger. "They just decided I was dangerous and came to kill me? Who gave them that right?"
"Are you sure you aren't dangerous?" Leo asked mildly, pausing to look her in the eyes. "Think about it. What would've happened if your Sacred Gear had gone just a little further that day?"
"Would your mother and sister have only been shivering from the cold? Would those people on the street have escaped with just a few cases of frostbite?"
"What if the temperature had dropped even lower? What if that wave of frost had been stronger? Wouldn't everyone nearby—your family, that street—have been frozen solid, never to wake again?"
Yukino's breath caught in her throat. Her face turned pale.
"That… that couldn't have happened…"
"It could," Leo interrupted flatly, shattering her denial. "If your Sacred Gear is the one I think it is, then yes—it absolutely could."
"If you ever draw out its full power, you could freeze an entire small country, let alone a single street."
He leaned back, voice calm but sharp. "Now tell me, Yukino—are you still sure you're not dangerous?"
Yukino fell silent.
"…So all of this was inevitable, then?" she whispered bitterly, a hollow laugh escaping her lips.
Leo chuckled. "No. Like I said—you were just unlucky. There are plenty of Sacred Gears more dangerous than yours. Devils, angels, and fallen angels all fear that kind of power… but they also crave it. Each side wants to harness it for their own strength."
He tapped the spoon against his cup, continuing casually. "Take the Grigori, for example. Their Governor-General is a fanatic researcher of Sacred Gears. He shelters dangerous wielders, teaching them to control their powers rather than destroying them."
"I'd bet the order wasn't to kill you immediately. The Governor probably told his subordinates to observe first—and only eliminate you if you showed signs of losing control."
Leo's smile turned mocking.
"Unfortunately, that order trickled down through the ranks until it reached a complete idiot—a fallen angel who looked down on humans as filth and couldn't be bothered to 'observe' anyone. Too proud to hide near Church territory, he decided to take the easy route—kill you, and call it a day."
At that, Yukino suddenly remembered something.
"That man…" she said quickly. "Where is he now?"
"Him?" Leo's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Well, he's not in Heaven, and he's not in Hell either. If there's anything left of his soul, it's probably waiting to be reincarnated. Hopefully into something better next time."
Yukino froze, understanding what that meant.
"You… you killed him?"
Leo tilted his head, watching her expression carefully. "Do you think he didn't deserve it? Or are you wondering if I'm too cruel?"
Yukino didn't answer.
In her old life, such things would've been unthinkable—someone killing so casually, speaking of it as if it were nothing. Back then, she would've said it was wrong, that justice belonged to the law.
But now, she knew she wasn't in that world anymore.
"…Are you really a devil?" she asked finally.
It was the same question she'd asked the day before—but this time, she needed the truth.
Leo's smile deepened. Then, behind him, three pairs of black devil wings unfurled, spreading wide under the sunlight.
"Every bit the real thing," he said with a bright grin—far too bright for a devil. "Just like you are now."
Yukino blinked in confusion—then felt it.
An itch along her back. A strange warmth building up—
And before she could process what was happening, a pair of devil wings burst open from her own back.
"Congratulations, Yukinoshita-san," Leo said cheerfully, his tone almost teasing. "The procedure was a complete success."
He raised his cup in a mock toast.
"From today onward, you're my servants—a human reborn as a devil. I'll be counting on you, alright?"
His words echoed in her ears, over and over, leaving Yukino completely speechless.