Rumble—
In the mansion's underground training hall, the ceiling dissolved as always into a storm-filled sky, transforming the entire space into Leo's personal domain.
Magic surged from Leo like a roaring inferno, warping the very air around him.
The overwhelming pressure made Miyamoto Musashi, blade already drawn, tense up—though the fighting spirit in her eyes only burned hotter.
In the next instant, her instincts screamed. She shifted aside without a moment's hesitation.
Boom!
A flash of light tore through the air and slammed into the spot she had stood just one second earlier, shattering the floor.
"What…?"
Staring at the newly formed crater, Musashi's expression sharpened.
"Careful, Musashi-san."
Hovering in midair, Leo grinned.
"I'm not the same as before."
He raised his hand. Magic burst out of him like a dam breaking, flooding into Zenith Tempest, making the thunderclouds above swell thicker and darker. Dozens of lightning bolts writhed inside like caged beasts.
Then—blinding streaks tore through the clouds and streaked downward at impossible speed.
Musashi understood instantly.
Lightning—
but not normal lightning.
Ultra-compressed into thin, laser-like lightning threads.
Because they were compressed to the limit, their speed skyrocketed, giving them the destructive force of something moving at nearly the speed of light. Even Musashi could barely track their path with her eyes.
Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom—!
Thunder exploded again and again as the lightning threads struck the ground, carving out craters one after another.
Musashi moved on pure combat instinct, evading each streak by the narrowest margin. When there was no room left to dodge, she swung her blade—
—and sliced a lightning thread clean in half.
"As expected of you. You can even cut that." Leo whistled, then smiled. "How about this one?"
He flared Zenith Tempest again. Heat surged outward, forming a spiraling current of flame around him.
The flames slithered like a dragon, orbiting him with a life of their own.
"Go."
With a flick of his hand, the fire-dragon roared downward, its heat rolling across the battlefield as it chased Musashi.
It wasn't as fast as the lightning threads, but Musashi didn't dare underestimate it.
She sprinted across the ground like a gust of wind, trying to shake it off. But the flame stream seemed truly alive—every time she changed direction, it curved after her instantly.
Forced to face it head-on, she turned and swung, cutting the blazing serpent in two.
Boom!
The severed flames burst apart—
Releasing multiple smaller flame streams that shot outward and slammed into her before she could react.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Fire exploded across Musashi's body, blasting her back more than ten meters before she crashed onto the ground.
"Hiding flames inside the flames?"
Musashi's expression tightened. Her clothes were singed and torn.
"Let's try this next."
Leo didn't slow down. He unleashed the Sacred Gear again—this time with a level of control completely unlike before.
It was as if he had suddenly comprehended something. Instead of focusing only on destructive power like in the past—turning the battlefield into an apocalyptic disaster zone—he now displayed precise, overwhelming mastery.
The lightning threads and flame streams were only appetizers.
Next came raging winds forming countless invisible vortices, appearing all across the field to block Musashi's movement.
The ground beneath her shook violently—sometimes cracking, sometimes rising, sometimes collapsing entirely, sometimes becoming mud or quicksand. She couldn't secure a stable foothold and had to leap into the air, spreading her two pairs of devil wings to fly.
Leo followed up immediately.
Water swirled, compressed, then fired as high-pressure jets.
Cold fog spilled across the field—touching it meant instant ice.
Leo was systematically shrinking Musashi's fighting space, forcing her to deal with lightning-speed attacks from every direction.
Even she began to look a little strained.
"Kenhou Battou—!"
Finally, Musashi snapped.
She stopped holding back.
"One stroke, three prayers—break through infinity and reach zero!"
Behind her, a colossal avatar formed from sword pressure—the Nio statue. It raised its massive blade and struck down.
BOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the entire underground hall, making the barrier tremble as always.
The world itself seemed to split.
Every lightning thread, flame serpent, wind vortex, water jet, and freezing mist was cut apart—erased completely.
The black storm clouds above were cleaved in two, scattering the lightning within as if terrified.
"Stop!"
Seeing the Nio statue raise its blade for another strike, Leo quickly shouted.
Musashi raised an eyebrow but reluctantly lowered her sword, letting the Nio statue fade away.
"I think we could've kept going. Leo-sama, you still had energy to spare."
She actually sounded annoyed.
"This isn't a life-or-death battle. Why would I go all-out?" Leo descended, folding his wings, and rolled his eyes. "If I fought your full power seriously, my entire mansion would be blasted into the sky."
He glanced around.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the training hall barrier.
This wasn't new.
As Leo grew stronger, Musashi had to unleash more of her own power during sparring. Every session pushed the underground barrier closer to its limit.
"At this rate, the barrier really will break," Musashi said bluntly. "We should reinforce it."
They had already gotten used to holding back so they wouldn't shatter it entirely.
If it ruptured, the shockwave from their fight would level the mansion—and maybe half the surrounding area.
"This barrier is already really strong." Leo sighed. "It was built to withstand a full-power battle between ultimate-class devils. Sona even went back to the Underworld to bring several barrier specialists to help set it up."
The barrier was also linked to a terrain-restoration spell. As long as the barrier remained intact, no matter how badly they destroyed the inside, it would return to normal by the next morning.
But if the barrier broke—the restoration spell broke with it. They'd need outside help to fix everything.
"What if I ask Serafall-sama?" Musashi suggested.
"No need." Leo shook his head after thinking. "Since Utaha-senpai now has a barrier-type Sacred Gear, let's make it her assignment. She can handle reinforcing the training hall."
He had no idea how long it would take Utaha to create something stronger than the current setup—but it would be good training.
Seeing Leo had already decided, Musashi didn't argue. She sheathed her sword and changed the subject.
"You've completely mastered Zenith Tempest. Your next step should be the Balance Breaker, right?"
From their fight just now, she was sure he was ready to aim for that ultimate stage.
"What do you think of my strength now? Can I beat a ten-wing level opponent?"
Leo didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked this.
Musashi thought for a moment.
"It would still be difficult," she said honestly. "You've grown immensely stronger, but defeating someone two whole tiers above you without a Balance Breaker is unrealistic."
"But you're already very close to the ten-wing level. You're nothing like before."
Previously, she'd judged Leo strong enough to defeat eight-wing opponents, but still far behind ten-wing ones.
Now his magic was nearing ultimate-class levels, and he handled his Sacred Gear flawlessly. In her eyes, he was approaching that threshold.
"Once you achieve Balance Breaker, most ten-wing opponents won't stand a chance against you. Only the exceptional ones would be able to fight you—and it might even take a Maou-class to match you."
Musashi looked at him with open anticipation.
"So aim for the Balance Breaker as soon as you can, Leo-sama."
Hearing her words, Leo nodded.
It was time for him to move on to the next stage.
====
You can read up to chapter 112 on patreon.com/NiaXD.