When it came to barrier-type Sacred Gears, the first thing Leo thought of was naturally the Longinus-class Sacred Gears.
Among the thirteen known Longinus, one of them specialized in barriers—and on top of that, it was one of the Four Great Longinus.
Dimension Lost, the fourth-ranked Longinus. Known as the strongest barrier-type Sacred Gear, it released an endlessly expanding mist centered on its wielder, sealing anything that entered it and even sending targets into another dimension. Depending on how it was used, it could easily wipe out an entire country—a terrifying ability by any standard.
But Utaha's power didn't resemble Dimension Lost at all. The aura her Sacred Gear gave off hadn't reached Longinus level either. So her Sacred Gear definitely wasn't Dimension Lost.
Aside from that fourth-ranked Longinus, there was one more barrier-type Sacred Gear among the thirteen—the twelfth-ranked Innovate Clear.
Unlike Dimension Lost, Innovate Clear allowed the user to create an ideal world in a separate dimension, complete with living beings. But those beings could only exist inside that created world. It was essentially a simulated world-creation Sacred Gear.
That didn't match Utaha's abilities either, so Leo dismissed that possibility as well.
So then—what other powerful barrier-type Sacred Gears were there?
Leo observed Utaha's Sacred Gear more closely.
The barrier spreading out from her had fully stabilized, enclosing the entire surrounding space.
The moment it formed, Leo felt the sharp separation between inside and outside. The interior was filled with Utaha's demonic power—dense, aggressive magic.
And in just that short period, that magic had already taken on multiple offensive forms. Flames burst out of thin air. Magic bullets shot around the space. Light beams crisscrossed overhead. Magic circles blinked in and out of existence, each one gathering power that locked onto Leo.
This ability reminded him of one Sacred Gear.
A Sacred Gear that could create a barrier in any environment and manifest countless attacks inside it to annihilate any trapped enemy.
Create World, an extremely rare barrier-type Sacred Gear—so rare that it surpassed even Blade Blacksmith and Sword Birth in rarity. No one had been recorded as its wielder for decades.
The original story even mentioned a similar Sacred Gear. Its Balance Breaker dragged opponents into a personal barrier world, then bombarded their minds with illusions. Its name was Dreamlike Curse.
Their relationship was the same as that between Blade Blacksmith and Sword Birth: same category, opposite functions.
Both were barrier-type Sacred Gears, but one overwhelmed enemies with real attacks, while the other broke their minds with illusions. Which was stronger depended entirely on the wielder.
"No wonder the Rook chose her. This Sacred Gear really fits the Rook's traits."
Leo couldn't hide his excitement.
The Rook's trait was overwhelming offense and defense.
If the reincarnated devil excelled at close combat, the trait boosted their strength and durability.
If they specialized in ranged combat, the trait enhanced both attack output and defensive capability.
Utaha, reincarnated as a Rook, had her barrier significantly strengthened. Its defenses skyrocketed—and the attacks generated inside were far more powerful than normal.
Used correctly, combined with her awakened Sacred Gear, Utaha's role in battle would become enormous.
Every devil piece had its own value. A Rook was worth five Pawns—stronger than a Bishop or Knight, which were worth only three.
Aside from the Queen, worth nine Pawns, two Rooks were the highest-value devil pieces. Giving both Rooks to one servant would give them the potential of ten Pawns—surpassing even a Queen.
So whether Utaha could surpass Yukinoshita Yukino, a Longinus wielder, was uncertain—but she would definitely surpass Yuuki Asuna soon enough, since Asuna was still learning swordsmanship.
"So this is what it feels like to become a devil?"
Utaha stared at her hands, marveling at the magic flowing through her body, wide-eyed and curious.
Even more incredible to her was the power she had unleashed. That shimmering barrier around her looked seriously strong.
"Well? How does it feel?"
Leo set aside the urge to research his own current strength and smiled at her.
"It feels amazing." Utaha flicked her hair and declared proudly, "I feel super strong—like I could rule the world."
"Then I suggest you don't take that feeling too seriously." Leo poked a hole in her confidence. "You're only this pumped because your body is overflowing with magic. Wait until daytime—then you'll understand what weakness feels like."
Yukino and Asuna immediately nodded.
They knew exactly what Utaha was experiencing.
But it was just an illusion. Devils were nocturnal by nature—they were strongest at night. But during the day? It was misery. They'd feel weaker than normal humans, sunlight felt awful, and they constantly wanted to sleep. A terrible combination.
Yukino was already used to it, but she still remembered those early days clearly. Asuna had only recently adapted and still shuddered thinking about it.
Both of them were extremely disciplined. If it were someone else, they'd probably spend every school morning sleeping in the classroom or just skip school entirely and stay in bed all day.
That would definitely make the daytime weakness easier to endure.
"So what do I do now?"
Utaha finally calmed down, retracting her devil wings and the barrier. She looked to Leo.
"Do I need to do what Yukino-san and Asuna-san did? Accept summons, form contracts, do devil jobs?"
She looked eager.
"Not yet." Leo immediately crushed her excitement. "Before that, you're doing basic tasks—handing out flyers and such. Once the time is right, you'll be allowed to take official jobs."
"And you need to learn how to use demonic power properly—and how to use your Sacred Gear."
"Also, there's one more thing you need to do first."
Utaha leaned in.
"What is it?"
"Move in," Leo said clearly. "From now on, you're living in this mansion too."
...
That night, with Yukino and Asuna's help, Utaha successfully moved in.
Just like Yukino had been before, Utaha lived alone in a rented apartment so she could focus on writing.
Her family wasn't a prestigious household like the Yukinoshita or Yuuki families. Her parents gave her a lot of freedom, so she didn't have to worry about them interfering or asking too many questions.
She didn't even want to explain anything to them. Better to keep it hidden—it would only worry them.
And so, Utaha quietly moved into Leo's mansion, becoming its third—no, fourth resident.
Miyamoto Musashi only met Utaha after she finished moving in, greeting her casually.
"She's your servant too?"
Utaha narrowed her eyes, giving the same look Yukino had given Leo earlier—like she suspected he only recruited cute girls.
"I wish," Leo said dryly. "But no."
He explained Musashi's identity.
Hearing she belonged to a Maou didn't shock Utaha too much—but hearing she was that Miyamoto Musashi, the strongest swordsman in history, left her completely stunned.
"She's Miyamoto Musashi?" Utaha gaped. "Miyamoto Musashi was a woman?!"
As expected, anyone hearing that for the first time reacted exactly the same.
"That doesn't matter. If it bothers you, just think of me as a wandering swordswoman on a long journey." Musashi smiled brightly as she looked Utaha over. She nodded in approval. "Another good seedling. Not fit for swordsmanship, but with a little training you should handle real combat just fine."
"I'm looking forward to your growth, newbie."
With that, Musashi waved her sleeve and left as effortlessly as she arrived.
Leo then brought the still-shell-shocked Utaha to the study, leaving Yukino to teach her. He headed down to the basement, where Musashi had already gone ahead.
"Start right away?"
Musashi had apparently been waiting for this. She drew her blade eagerly.
Just moments ago, the two had agreed to spar here.
"Let's start."
Leo unfurled his three pairs of devil wings and rose into the air, stirring the air into a storm.
This fight had only one purpose—
to find out exactly how much stronger he had become.