For a while now, Utaha Kasumigaoka had been seriously considering the idea of reincarnating as a devil.
It wasn't that she wanted to become Leo's servant or his subordinate. It was because the knowledge Leo had given her made it clear: Sacred Gears existed, and their users often faced dangerous outcomes.
If it were just an average Sacred Gear, it wouldn't be a big deal—some minor quirks, nothing life-threatening.
But if the Sacred Gear was too powerful, an ordinary human simply couldn't control it. Almost all such cases ended in the wielder going berserk.
And then there was only one outcome: the "dangerous individual" would be eliminated.
According to Leo, the Sacred Gear inside Utaha was definitely not weak.
In other words, she was at real risk of losing control—and being put down.
How could she stay calm after learning something like that?
So she began looking for a way to save herself. Her recent attempts to contact the Church were all for that single goal.
The Church had noticed she was a Sacred Gear user, but even Leo hadn't been able to identify her Sacred Gear before it awakened. The Church had no chance of figuring it out either.
Leo at least had the reaction of his devil pieces to judge that Utaha had potential. And after observing her for years, he'd sensed her Sacred Gear flare a few times. The Church didn't have that advantage.
What if she just had a mediocre Sacred Gear?
Then she wasn't worth recruiting.
As a result, though Utaha met people from the Church, it didn't go well. They either spoke in riddles, refusing to reveal secrets due to "old world rules," or they subtly tried to push faith on her—clearly wanting to control her first, then study her Sacred Gear.
If she had been some confused, desperate person yearning for supernatural power, she might actually have fallen for it.
But she had gotten her first glimpse of the hidden world through Leo, not the Church. His knowledge had shown her both sides—its good and its cruel. Including the shady experiments they carried out in secret.
So she never fully trusted them.
And when the Church gave her nothing useful, and she had no other way into the supernatural world, she naturally circled back to Leo.
He might be a devil, but at least he was someone she had known for two years. She still trusted him more than strangers trying to convert or manipulate her.
So she decided she needed to see devil life for herself before choosing.
Tonight, she'd spent time alone with both of Leo's servants—and talked to them.
When Asuna showed her around the mansion, Utaha subtly asked what had motivated her to become a devil, and whether she ever regretted it.
When Yukino took her to observe devil work, Utaha quietly watched her and asked why she had made the choice.
And only then did Utaha learn the truth.
Both Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuuki Asuna had died—and were brought back to life by Leo. That was why they became his servants.
At first, they were confused and lost, forced to accept reality with a mix of gratitude and helplessness.
But now? They weren't following Leo out of obligation. They genuinely liked the life they now had—the opportunities, the power, the freedom. Without realizing it, both had changed, choosing a new path instead of the suffocating old ones.
Utaha had asked them what they sought now.
"I want freedom. I want a future—not a life where I can already see the ending."
That was Asuna's answer.
"I've always felt inferior to my sister. No one in my family cared much about me. If I kept chasing her from behind on the same path… I'd spend my whole life staring at her back. So I want to walk a road she can't follow."
That was Yukino's answer.
Both girls knew Leo wanted Utaha as a servant—and neither rejected the idea of her becoming a companion. So to help Leo, they spoke honestly about their feelings.
Otherwise, Asuna maybe—but Yukino? There was no way she would spill her heart to a girl she'd just met.
Utaha was moved by their sincerity. And after seeing devil life wasn't as dark as she feared, she made her decision.
Give up her human status?
Become a devil?
Become a servant?
So what?
…Okay, that last part was hard to swallow. If it were with a stranger, Utaha would never even consider it.
But Leo was someone she knew well enough—so the resistance wasn't as strong.
Her survival instinct and curiosity—not wanting to be executed as a berserk risk and wanting access to the supernatural world—pushed away the last hesitation.
As a young novelist recently stressed about her own story, Utaha also felt the urge to change, to try something bold.
Honestly, this decision was impulsive.
At least before coming here, she only planned to observe, not commit.
But now…
"Before I regret this and try to take it back, just hurry up and do it already."
Utaha threw out a line that was way too easy to misinterpret.
"…Fine."
Leo's mouth twitched, but his hands moved quickly.
He could tell she was acting on adrenaline. If he waited, she really might back out.
So he activated the magic circle and summoned the Rook piece, pressing it to her chest.
A sharp crack rang out as the devil piece shattered—turning into particles and sinking into Utaha's body.
"…Ugh…"
Utaha's expression tightened.
She felt a mysterious force erupt inside her, and her entire being began transforming in ways she couldn't understand.
At the same time, Leo received the system feedback.
[Trait: Servant Conversion — Activating…]
[Basic Feedback Gained — Magic Power (Medium).]
[Advanced Feedback Gained — Sacred Gear (Mastery).]
In an instant, Leo's magic surged, roaring through his veins like boiling blood.
It wasn't as extreme as Yukino's rebirth, but it rivaled Asuna's.
That explosive growth pushed him past the upper limit of a high-class devil—shattering the invisible barrier holding him back.
But the power didn't fully cross into the next stage. It stopped right before the threshold—
Right before he became an ultimate-class devil.
"Oh come on. Just go all the way already!"
Feeling that half-step, Leo nearly lost it.
But before he could recover, memories flashed through his mind.
Just like with Asuna, the advanced feedback triggered the internal mechanism of Zenith Tempest. The experiences of its previous wielders poured into him, entering his mind as if he'd lived them himself.
By the time it ended, Leo's understanding had moved from "skilled use" to complete mastery.
Yes—he finally had full control over Zenith Tempest at last.
Between the magic surge and the Sacred Gear mastery, his power had soared once more.
All of this was being watched by someone hiding in the shadows—Miyamoto Musashi.
"What incredible magic… and that Sacred Gear wave!"
Musashi stayed hidden, observing Leo's changes. Awe and excitement flashed in her eyes.
"His magic is just shy of ultimate-class now… and that Sacred Gear fluctuation…"
He had grown again.
And she couldn't wait to fight him.
Snap!
While Leo was changing, Utaha's transformation finished. A pair of bat-like devil wings unfurled behind her.
Then—her Sacred Gear, long dormant—awakened.
bzzzmmm!
A faint layer of light shimmered across her body, expanding outward.
The film grew larger and thicker, solidifying into a barrier.
"What…?"
Asuna froze.
"A barrier?"
Yukino recognized it immediately. There was a barrier in the mansion's basement—she'd seen this kind before.
Leo stared for a moment before understanding clicked into place.
"A Sacred Gear that creates barriers?"
Information about that type of Sacred Gear surfaced in his mind.
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You can read up to chapter 95 on patreon.com/NiaXD.