Tiamat could say with absolute certainty that with everything Leo had right now, he was guaranteed a place in the Underworld's future.
His servants were simply too exceptional. Even putting aside the girl with Absolute Demise, the other two each carried a Sacred Gear of remarkable quality. As long as they mastered their Sacred Gears, both were destined to become Ultimate-Class Devils at the very least—reaching Maou-Class wasn't out of the question.
And the host of Absolute Demise?
A Longinus capable of killing gods and Maou. Unless she died prematurely, how could someone like that ever be weak?
Just these three alone—each with the potential to reach Ultimate-Class—made it impossible for Leo not to stand out in the Underworld. Reviving the Eligos House would be child's play. Even if he did nothing, plenty of upper-echelon devils who recognized his future potential would help him.
As for Leo himself, he was already under heavy observation from the upper ranks because of his mutation trait. More than one Maou had taken interest in him. And if news spread that he also possessed Zenith Tempest—the second-strongest Longinus in the world—he'd shake the entire Underworld overnight.
The more she thought about it, the more cautious Tiamat became—until she finally stepped out to meet Leo personally.
"I'm already looking forward to seeing you all shine in the Rating Game."
With one sentence, Tiamat made it clear just how highly she regarded him.
"No… we still have a long way to go."
Leo sighed as he answered.
He knew that once Tiamat learned about Zenith Tempest, Ajuka Beelzebub would definitely learn about it too.
And once Ajuka knew, the other Maou would quickly follow.
At that point, there was no way to keep his status as a Zenith Tempest host hidden anymore.
"Whatever. If it can't be hidden, then so be it."
Leo accepted it quickly.
He wasn't strong enough to ignore all consequences yet—but he definitely wasn't weak anymore.
According to Miyamoto Musashi, going all-out, Leo could barely fight a newly promoted ten-wing Ultimate-Class Devil. Someone of that caliber was already considered a powerhouse—equal to a high-ranking officer in most factions. That was enough to keep himself safe.
And once he added another servant with moderate potential, he'd fully step into the Ultimate-Class. If he then mastered his Balance Breaker, he'd even gain the strength to face Maou-Class enemies.
Maou-Class.
That was enough to make plenty of people hesitate—and rethink any dangerous ideas.
With that thought, Leo relaxed.
"Meeting the legendary strongest Dragon King this trip… feels like an accomplishment all on its own." Leo smiled at Tiamat. "If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave."
He turned, intending to leave with Yukino and the others.
"Wait."
Tiamat stopped him.
"Don't be in such a rush, kid. I'm not going to eat you." She gave him an exasperated look. "You're the host of the world's second-strongest Longinus. Do you really need to be that afraid of me?"
…Would you listen to yourself?
You're Tiamat, the strongest Dragon King—a living legend who doesn't even take ordinary Maou-Class beings seriously!
Who knows if you'll suddenly switch to dragon form and swallow us whole for a midnight snack?!
Leo grumbled in his heart, but kept a calm face.
"Miss Tiamat must be joking. We only wanted to head back now that we've accomplished our goal."
He pointed at the familiars Yukino and the others were carrying.
"Isn't there still one of you who hasn't contracted a familiar?" Tiamat glanced at Utaha. "If you came all the way here, you must've taken an interest in this lake's creatures. But thanks to the Hydra, everything here has already fled. Finding one now won't be easy."
"How about this? Listen to my request and help me with something."
"If you're willing to hear me out, I'll help that girl contract the familiar that suits her best. And if you complete the task for me, I can even introduce you to servants who match your needs. How about it?"
The first half of Tiamat's offer didn't impress Leo much.
With her mastery over the Familiar Forest, picking out the ideal familiar for Utaha was easy—nothing worth being excited about.
But the second part?
That made Leo raise an eyebrow.
"Servants who match my needs?"
He hadn't expected Tiamat to say something like that.
Which naturally meant there was a reason.
"I know your mutation trait has linked with your Evil Pieces. As long as you use them to recruit high-potential servants, you'll receive feedback from the connection and grow stronger yourself."
Tiamat's blue eyes locked on Leo as she spoke.
"Coincidentally, I rescued two promising children a few years ago. If you help me with this matter, I'll introduce them to you—two potential servants with excellent promise."
Leo's interest sparked instantly.
"What kind of people are they?" he asked. "Or… are they not people, but something like dragons?"
As the ruler of the Familiar Forest and the only one of the Five Great Dragon Kings living comfortably, it wouldn't be strange if she had dragons or magical creatures serving her.
Leo wasn't particularly interested in dragons or monsters—but as he'd said before, he could compromise if the situation was special.
If their potential was high enough, he didn't mind making an exception.
If not, it would be disrespectful to his Servant Conversion trait.
Yukino and the others reacted very differently to this discussion.
"Non-humans can turn into devils too?" Utaha whispered, still new to everything.
"They can." Yukinoshita Yukino, having studied the most among them, answered softly. "As long as it's a living being, it can be reincarnated using Evil Pieces. Humans, angels, fallen angels, dragons, magical creatures, yokai, vampires—anything."
There had even been historical cases of non-living beings reincarnated as devils under special circumstances.
But that was a rare exception, and Yukino didn't mention it.
"So they really might be dragons or monsters?" Asuna muttered.
But Tiamat didn't give a direct answer.
"They're indeed not human," she said, shaking her head. "But they're not dragons or magical creatures either. I won't tell you exactly what they are yet—not before you agree to help. I can only assure you that they're extremely promising."
After a moment of thought, she revealed a bit more.
"Let me put it this way—other devils know about them. Plenty have tried to recruit them. None succeeded."
"The reasons vary. Some failed to persuade them. Others simply gave up."
"And the ones who gave up did so for simple reasons. Some didn't want to use that many pieces at once. Others wanted to—but couldn't."
Leo stiffened slightly.
There was a lot of information in those words—and he understood her meaning immediately.
Her point was clear:
Both of the children she mentioned required multiple Evil Pieces to reincarnate.
And the number of pieces needed is determined by the target's ability and potential. The stronger they are, the more pieces required.
Which meant these two really did have outstanding potential—so much so that some devils couldn't reincarnate them even if they wanted to.
It wasn't impossible.
For example, if a Pawn reincarnation target needed nine Pawn pieces to succeed—
What then?
A set only had eight Pawn pieces.
That made reincarnation fundamentally impossible—unless a Mutation Piece was used.
Likewise, if a Rook, Bishop, Knight, or even Queen wasn't enough to match a target's total value, the reincarnation would fail.
A Queen was equivalent to nine Pawns.
A target worth more than that would always fail.
A Rook was worth five Pawns—two Rooks could only match ten.
A target above that was impossible to reincarnate.
Bishops and Knights were each worth three Pawns—two made six.
Anything above that was also impossible.
Of course, unused Evil Pieces could increase in value as their King grew stronger. If the King was powerful enough, a previously impossible reincarnation could become feasible.
But at minimum, anyone with Evil Pieces was already a High-Class Devil.
For their pieces to be insufficient meant that the target's raw potential was terrifying.
Which meant…
"Let's change locations."
Leo drew a slow, steady breath.
"We need to talk in detail."
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Note: Sorry I fell asleep but here the Extra Chapter!
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You can read up to chapter 124 on patreon.com/NiaXD.