Everywhere around them, the air stilled as the next aura settled into place.
Leon turned toward the source, and his focus narrowed on Nikko.
Light pulsed around her like a living heartbeat, each wave rising higher than the last until the entire hall felt as if it were breathing with her.
She stood at the center of it all, calm, steady and frighteningly radiant.
Leon didn't need to probe with his senses to know what had changed.
Her presence alone told the story.
She was no longer just an S-rank divine stage expert; she had torn through that barrier stepping into SS-rank power.
The force of it pressed against the thick walls of the hall, causing even Malachi to straighten without realizing it.
Leon felt a slow smile touch his face.
Primal energy didn't simply circle her.
It was her.
Every cell in her body carried that ancient, untamed power, dense enough to distort the air. Even with his experience, he found himself studying how it clung to her like a mantle.
