Leon understood almost instantly. Shiina Mahiru was likely bothered by the fact that his interaction with her yesterday had indeed been purposeful.
This girl appeared as gentle as an angel, but in reality, her wariness toward outsiders and the world was dialed to the maximum. She possessed a deeply sensitive side, which was why she cared so much about such things.
This was because Mahiru was well aware that, given her looks and reputation, most people—especially men—would approach her with an ulterior motive.
In truth, this applied not only to Mahiru but to all the "unreachable flowers" of the school, including Yukinoshita Yukino. They were all quite conscious of their outstanding appearance; Yukinoshita even had a slight narcissistic streak.
However, among the five "high-altitude flowers" of Sobu High, only Shiina Mahiru was particularly sensitive and guarded about this point.
This was tied to her upbringing, so Leon didn't think her excessive caution was necessarily a bad thing.
Leon had no intention of hiding anything and admitted it directly.
"I think I told you yesterday, Shiina-san," Leon said without looking back. "When a demon sets his sights on you, his goal isn't to fall in love; it's to make you sell your soul."
Mahiru hadn't understood the meaning of those words before, but now she did.
He wanted her to become his servant, to sell her soul and her entire being to him.
"...Why me?" Mahiru was silent for a while before asking. "It's not just because of my looks, is it?"
Previously, she might have thought so. But now she knew that Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuuki Asuna, and Kasumigaoka Utaha were all Leon's servants. He already had three girls whose beauty was not inferior to hers in the slightest. Why would he go to such lengths for her just for the sake of appearance?
Unlike Senpai Yukinoshita and the others, she didn't possess a so-called Sacred Gear. So, what was the reason he chose her?
Indeed, Leon had shared the memory of Mahiru and Eriri lacking Sacred Gears with the others, but he hadn't clarified why he was interested in them.
It wasn't that he didn't want to say; it was simply that he couldn't tell the girls, 'In the world of my previous life, you were characters in anime. I chose you because you were the heroines of your own stories.'
He could reveal his "Mutated" trait or the fact that he possessed the world's second-strongest Longinus, but he would never expose the secrets of his past life.
Therefore, he gave this explanation.
"I believe you possess a potential that others haven't discovered—a sort of destiny or fate force. Its existence dictates that you are meant to be the center of certain things. That is precisely what I value right now."
"...I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."
A flicker of disappointment involuntarily appeared in Mahiru's eyes.
This wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.
What she truly wanted to hear was that specific phrase.
The phrase she had craved to hear her entire life—
And then, she heard it.
"Let me put it another way then."
Leon suddenly stopped, turned around, and faced Shiina Mahiru directly.
Looking into those caramel-colored eyes, Leon smiled.
"I need you. How does that sound?"
Hearing those words, Mahiru froze.
She bit her lip, feeling an emotion burst forth like a broken dam, making her want to cry right then and there.
Yes, she simply wanted to hear those words.
She wanted to know that she was needed by someone, and that she wasn't an "unwanted child," as her mother had said.
If she were alone right now, or in her own room instead of this open space, she might have truly burst into tears.
But for now, she held them back.
"...After becoming your servant, will I no longer belong to myself?" Mahiru whispered.
"Correct. From then on, you belong to me," Leon said very bluntly.
"I assume you won't do anything... strange to me?" Mahiru asked, equally blunt.
"Who knows?" Leon didn't deny it at all, saying with a smile, "Maybe one day I'll feel like doing something."
"How honest." Mahiru raised her eyes to meet Leon's smiling gaze and suddenly gave a small smile herself. "Aren't you afraid of scaring me away?"
"Isn't it natural for a demon to scare people away?" Leon shrugged. "Since I've become a demon, why worry about so much?"
"Following your desires and living as you please—that is what it means to be a demon."
Hearing this, Mahiru truly felt that perhaps being a demon was a good thing.
At the very least, it sounded much easier than being human.
And Leon's next words were equally alluring to her.
"I advise you to think carefully," Leon said calmly. "If you choose to be my servant, you will never have the family bonds you crave."
"Setting aside whether your parents would ever give you that affection, even if they did, they could only give you a few decades. A demon's lifespan exceeds ten thousand years. You and the other servants are destined to watch your relatives leave this world one by one."
"The one who will accompany you through the long ages won't be your parents, but me—and your fellow servants under my command."
These words moved Mahiru deeply.
"Partners who will accompany me through the long ages..."
As Mahiru softly repeated the words, Leon had already manifested a magic circle in his palm and took out a Devil Piece.
This piece was flickering with a faint light. Compared to the reaction of the pieces used for Yukinoshita, Asuna, and Kasumigaoka, its reaction was incredibly weak.
Leon gazed at the piece for a moment before finally handing it to Mahiru.
Mahiru already knew what this was from the memories Leon had transmitted; she, too, stared at it for a long time.
In this moment, many scenes flashed through Mahiru's mind.
The sight of herself alone at home as a small child.
The sight of her mother returning home and looking at her with a gaze full of disgust.
The sight of her constantly studying and training to become more excellent, all just to gain her parents' attention.
And the sight of her walking dejectedly in the rain, surrounded by crowds of people but feeling no warmth, only a sense of being abandoned by the world.
"You are an unwanted child."
Those words, which had pierced her soul and shattered her lifelong hopes, still rang sharply in her ears.
So, when Mahiru snapped back to reality, her hand had already reached out toward that crimson Devil Piece, acting ahead of her will.
By accepting this piece, she would no longer belong to herself, but to the man before her.
This was undoubtedly a choice to fall into darkness, wasn't it?
But she seemed to have no other choice left.
"Since the human 'me' is unwanted, then I shall stop being human."
"I am no angel, nor do I wish to be one."
"I... want to be a demon."
Proving that she was not an unwanted existence became Mahiru's new spiritual pillar.
For this, the angel chose to become a demon.
Hum—
In that instant, a strange fluctuation suddenly erupted from Mahiru's body.
"!"
Leon's expression changed instantly, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes like never before.
He was not unfamiliar with this fluctuation.
This was the fluctuation of a Sacred Gear.
And it was the fluctuation of an extremely powerful Sacred Gear.
Just as Mahiru was about to accept the Devil Piece and undergo reincarnation, a Sacred Gear responded to her heart and will, manifesting and dwelling within her body.
In this way, Shiina Mahiru became a new Sacred Gear user.
Then, the Devil Piece she touched erupted with an intense brilliance.
The intensity of that light was not only equal to Yukinoshita Yukino's, but it actually surpassed it!
Bang!
The Devil Piece touched by Mahiru shattered, turning into dense light particles that merged into her body.
A pair of demonic wings suddenly unfurled from Mahiru's back, instantly transforming her originally pure, angelic aura.
And then—
[Trait: Peerage Formation is in effect—]
[Obtained Basic Feedback: Magic Power (Massive Amount).]
[Obtained Advanced Feedback: Rank (Eight Wings).]
[Obtained Extra Feedback: Sacred Gear (Balance Breaker).]
When this information was received by Leon, demonic wings also unfurled from his back.
However, the wings on Leon's back were not a single pair like Mahiru's, nor were they the three pairs he had before. They were a full four pairs!
By reincarnating Shiina Mahiru and bringing her into his peerage, Leon had finally taken that step, becoming an eight-winged Ultimate-class Devil!
Within his body, his magic power—which had been only a step away from the Ultimate-class—surged rapidly. It didn't just cross into the Ultimate-class tier at extreme speed; it continued to climb significantly higher within that tier!
However, even so, Leon's gains did not end there.
In this feedback, the greatest gain wasn't magic power or demonic rank; it was the series of images that suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The "Zenith Tempest" within him was once again touched by an unknown power, transmitting the memories of past users to Leon.
Only, this time, it wasn't images of past users fighting with the "Zenith Tempest," but the experiences they went through when they reached the domain of Balance Breaker.
Some exploded in a moment of desperation.
Some went mad with obsession.
Some rose up in grim determination.
And some gradually forged their true selves through day and night of tireless training, allowing their will to undergo sublimation.
Leon felt as if he were experiencing these things personally, as if he had become the past users themselves, experiencing every nuance of their journeys—
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