The absolute spear that could pierce anything.
The "True Longinus"—the very first and strongest Longinus. Undisputedly ranked number one among Sacred Gears. The foremost of the Three Holy Relics. A legendary weapon said to have slain even the Son of God… its reputation alone was overwhelming. If the Church or Heaven learned of its appearance, they would inevitably be thrown into an uproar.
That was why its emergence weighed so heavily on everyone present.
It was also the only Sacred Gear ranked higher—and more powerful—than Leo's Zenith Tempest. Worse still, it was a holy weapon, the thing devils feared most. There was no way anyone could treat it lightly.
Miyamoto Musashi frowned deeply. Yukino and the others exchanged looks, shock clear in each other's eyes.
They clearly hadn't expected that the one Leo encountered would be the host of the legendary Holy Spear—the only person capable of suppressing him in terms of Sacred Gears.
"…Why would someone like that become a terrorist, and even get involved with the Old Maou Faction?"
Even Miyamoto Musashi felt a headache coming on.
But she was worrying too soon.
"If it were only the host of the True Longinus, that would be one thing. But the problem is, it's not just that," Leo said, having to remind her.
"Based on the spatial techniques they used both times, there's a strong chance their faction also has the host of Dimension Lost. And the one who tampered with our devil flyer is probably a powerful magician."
"Sirzechs-sama also said that the monsters used by the Old Maou Faction in the last attack were artificially created," Asuna added. "They were produced in large numbers using unknown techniques. It's highly likely that was done by the host of Annihilation Maker."
"Do you understand what that means?" Miyamoto Musashi's expression grew darker by the second.
What did it mean?
Utaha couldn't help but speak up.
"Doesn't that mean… three of the four Top-Tier Longinus are all in that Hero Faction?"
That was exactly the case.
The True Longinus, Zenith Tempest, Annihilation Maker, Dimension Lost… these four Sacred Gears were classified as Top-Tier Longinus. They were the only known Sacred Gears that, depending on how they were used, could destroy an entire nation—or even have a massive impact on the world itself.
While Longinus were ranked in strength, the gap between the other nine wasn't actually that large. At the end of the day, they were all on the same tier. Even a higher-ranked Longinus didn't necessarily mean a guaranteed victory over a lower-ranked one. At most, it meant having a greater advantage. Once the host's abilities were factored out, the outcome was far from certain.
Only these four—the True Longinus, Zenith Tempest, Annihilation Maker, and Dimension Lost—were singled out and given the title "Top-Tier." That was because their power was simply too dangerous, separated from the rest by an insurmountable gap.
Against an ordinary Longinus, their advantage was absolute.
Which was why Cao Cao had chosen to target Leo.
This didn't mean an ordinary Longinus would definitely lose to a Top-Tier one, but the odds were undeniably stacked.
Leo himself was the host of Zenith Tempest, a Sacred Gear ranked just below the True Longinus. Otherwise, with his current strength, he wouldn't even qualify to be targeted by Cao Cao.
After all, Cao Cao's strength was on the same level as Miyamoto Musashi's—possibly even higher.
Not to mention, he still had Balance Breaker. And within the True Longinus, there was power hidden beyond Balance Breaker itself.
Leo knew it very clearly: right now, he wasn't a match for that man.
Even though they had fought evenly in the pocket dimension, that was for two reasons. First, Cao Cao's goal had only been to gather intelligence—he had no intention of deciding the battle then and there. Second, Leo's fighting style naturally restrained Cao Cao to some extent.
After all, Cao Cao was a fragile human. If he took a direct hit from Zenith Tempest's disaster-level attacks, he would have to dodge and respond perfectly to avoid injury.
As a human with a weak physique, even grazing one of Zenith Tempest's calamity-class strikes would result in severe injury—or outright death. That forced Cao Cao to be extremely cautious. He couldn't charge in recklessly, which gave Leo plenty of room to maneuver.
There was also a third reason.
Cao Cao hadn't gone all out.
From the way he looked at the time, it was obvious he would eventually use Balance Breaker—and even push the Holy Spear to an even higher level.
If it were only Balance Breaker, Leo wouldn't be completely helpless. But in the face of power beyond that, he had no confidence at all.
Judging from the True Longinus and Zenith Tempest alone, even if Annihilation Maker and Dimension Lost were slightly inferior, being called "Top-Tier" meant they were absolutely nothing to scoff at.
And yet, including the Holy Spear, three of these terrifying Sacred Gears were all gathered within that Hero Faction.
Just how terrifying of a force was that?
Especially with the Holy Spear involved—its threat to devils was simply too great.
At that thought, Miyamoto Musashi could no longer sit still.
"No. I need to report this immediately."
She stood up and addressed Leo and the others.
"You absolutely must not leave the manor again. We can't risk another attack."
Leaving those words behind, Miyamoto Musashi rushed out of the living room to contact the Underworld.
Only Leo's group remained, the atmosphere growing heavy and oppressive.
"…Sigh."
Utaha pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Doesn't it feel like the world suddenly got a lot more dangerous?"
That was exactly what everyone else was thinking.
"What kind of organization could gather terrorists like the Hero Faction and the Old Maou Faction under one roof?" Yukino frowned at Leo. "It's not some Stray Magicians group, is it?"
"Obviously not," Leo said, rolling his eyes. "Even those Stray Magicians are probably just another faction within that organization. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many of them involved in the last attack."
"So… we're being targeted now?" Mahiru asked softly. "That Hero Faction won't just ignore the president's Zenith Tempest."
"That's probably it," Asuna said worriedly. "To be precise, the entire Eligos Servant group won't be ignored by the Hero Faction anymore. Even the Old Maou Faction will likely see us as a thorn in their side."
Zenith Tempest, Incinerate Anthem, Absolute Demise, Blade Blacksmith, Create World… so many rare and powerful Sacred Gears gathered under a single devil. There was no way Eligos's servants wouldn't draw attention.
That attention alone had already provoked massive reactions from devils, angels, and fallen angels alike—let alone those terrorists who had clearly positioned themselves as enemies.
Whether it was the Old Maou Faction or the Hero Faction, neither would ignore the existence of Eligos's servants. Even if they hadn't fully grown yet, they would surely want to strangle the threat in its cradle before it became a future catastrophe.
And that was only based on what could be seen on the surface.
Leo knew better than anyone how extraordinary the entire servant group—including himself—really was.
His own talent might be average, but as long as he possessed the trait of Servant Conversion, and as long as he still had Evil Pieces left, he would grow at a speed that left everyone stunned.
Yukino's talent was no worse than that of a pureblood devil, and her mind was even sharper. She was already using powerful Magic Formula as traps. Given time, she would become formidable.
Asuna had talent in swordsmanship and recovery.
Utaha had a natural aptitude for using Sacred Gears.
Mahiru's Holy Cross concealed even greater power.
An Eligos Servant group that had only developed for a few months already rivaled the Gremory and Sitri servant groups. Given another year or two, they would undoubtedly become a pillar of the Underworld.
If all of this had already been exposed, then things would only get far more troublesome.
Leo understood very clearly that the current situation was extremely unfavorable. The others might not grasp it as deeply as he did, but they still knew something was wrong.
They had only just returned, yet they were attacked again. What would happen next?
"There's no choice."
As the girls worried over the situation, Leo finally spoke.
"I was planning to suggest this later, but we have to move it up."
Everyone froze.
"What suggestion?" Yukino asked. "What are you planning to do?"
Leo stood up, meeting everyone's gaze.
"I'm going to request leave from school," he said. "All of you will too."
At those words, everyone's heart sank.
"…Are we running away?" Utaha voiced what they were all thinking.
Leo had previously told them about Sirzechs's options, one of which involved going to the Underworld. So hearing this, they thought he had compromised.
"Who said anything about running?" Leo replied coldly.
"In the end, it's because our strength isn't enough that we're forced to live like this—constantly on edge."
"If we had enough power, then no matter who tried to mess with us, they'd have to think long and hard about the consequences."
"So…"
His gaze swept across everyone as he declared,
"Let's go train."
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You can read up to chapter 171 on patreon.com/NiaXD.