The True Longinus—the first and strongest Longinus, the undisputed top-ranked Sacred Gear, and the leader of the Three Great Holy Relics. It was the absolute spear of legend that was said to have slain the Son of God and could supposedly pierce through God Himself.
The reputation of this Sacred Gear was far too immense. If word of its appearance reached the ears of the Church or the Heavens, it would undoubtedly cause a massive upheaval.
This was the only Sacred Gear ranked higher and possessing greater power than Leon's "Zenith Tempest." Moreover, it was a holy weapon—the thing Devils feared most. No one could help but feel a heavy sense of gravity at its emergence.
Miyamoto Musashi's brow furrowed deeply, while Yukino Yukinoshita and the others exchanged glances, seeing the shock reflected in each other's eyes.
Evidently, they had never expected that the person Leon encountered would be the host of the legendary Holy Spear—the only individual capable of suppressing him in the realm of Sacred Gears.
"Why would someone like that become a terrorist and get involved with the Old Maou Faction?"
Even Miyamoto Musashi felt a headache coming on.
However, it was far too early for her to be getting a headache.
"If it were just the appearance of the host of the True Longinus, that would be one thing. The problem is, that's not all," Leon felt compelled to remind her.
"Judging by the spatial technology used in both encounters, their faction likely possesses the host of 'Dimension Lost.' Furthermore, that person is probably the powerful mage who tampered with our Devil flyers."
"Lord Sirzechs also mentioned that the monsters the Old Maou Faction used to attack us last time were artificially created in massive quantities using unknown technology. That is likely the work of the host of 'Annihilation Maker'."
"Do you know what this implies?"
Miyamoto Musashi's expression grew increasingly solemn, bordering on grim.
What did it imply?
What else could it possibly imply?
Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't help but speak up.
"Doesn't that mean three of the four High-Tier Longinus are within that Hero Faction?"
Exactly. That was the reality of the situation.
"True Longinus," "Zenith Tempest," "Annihilation Maker," and "Dimension Lost"—these four Sacred Gears were categorized as High-Tier Longinus. They were the only four currently known Sacred Gears that, depending on how they were used, could destroy a nation or exert a massive influence on the world.
While there were differences in ranking among Longinus, the gap between the other nine was not actually that vast. Ultimately, they were all Sacred Gears on the same level. A difference in rank did not mean the higher-ranked one could crush the lower-ranked one; at most, the former had a greater advantage. Excluding the skill of the hosts, the final winner remained uncertain.
Only these four—True Longinus, Zenith Tempest, Annihilation Maker, and Dimension Lost—were set apart and granted the title of "High-Tier." This was because their power was so overwhelmingly vast and dangerous that there was a literal cliff between them and the rest of the Longinus.
While this didn't mean a regular Longinus would definitely lose to a High-Tier one, the High-Tier Longinus certainly held a massive advantage in a confrontation.
It was only because Leon was the host of "Zenith Tempest"—the Sacred Gear ranked second only to the strongest spear, the "True Longinus"—that he even had the right to be targeted by Cao Cao. Otherwise, with his current strength, he wouldn't have the status to make someone like Cao Cao single him out.
One must realize that Cao Cao's strength was absolutely on the same level as Miyamoto Musashi's, or possibly even higher. After all, he possessed the Balance Breaker, and there was even a hidden power within the True Longinus that surpassed the Balance Breaker.
Facing such a person, Leon was well aware that his current self was not an opponent.
Though the two had fought to a standstill in the pocket dimension, that was firstly because Cao Cao's objective was merely to gather information rather than decide the battle then and there. Secondly, Leon's combat style countered Cao Cao's to a certain extent.
Since Cao Cao was a fragile human, once a disaster-class power began raining down on him, he had to perform perfect dodges and counters to avoid being injured. As a human with a weak constitution, even a glancing blow from the disaster-level attacks of "Zenith Tempest" would leave Cao Cao severely wounded or dead. Consequently, he had to be cautious in the extreme and dared not charge recklessly, which gave Leon a lot of room to maneuver.
The third reason was that Cao Cao had not yet shown his full strength.
Judging by his appearance at the time, he would certainly use his Balance Breaker, and likely even the higher-tier powers of the Holy Spear.
If it were just a Balance Breaker, the current Leon wouldn't be completely helpless. However, in the face of the spear's higher powers, Leon had zero confidence in being able to cope.
From the performance of "True Longinus" and "Zenith Tempest," one could see that even if the remaining "Annihilation Maker" and "Dimension Lost" were inferior to the first two, they wouldn't be far off since they were also granted the title of "High-Tier."
And three such Sacred Gears, including the Holy Spear itself, were all within that Hero Faction?
Just how terrifying of a force was that?
Especially with the inclusion of the Holy Spear—the threat that weapon posed to Devils was simply too great.
Thinking of this, Miyamoto Musashi could no longer sit still.
"This won't do. I need to report this immediately."
Miyamoto Musashi stood up and addressed Leon and the others.
"Whatever you do, do not leave the manor. Do not give them a chance to attack again."
Leaving those words behind, Musashi ran out of the living room without looking back to contact the Underworld.
Left behind, Leon's group fell into a rather heavy atmosphere.
"Sigh—"
Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke while rubbing her forehead.
"Why does it feel like the world has suddenly become so restless?"
This was exactly what everyone else in the room was thinking.
"What kind of organization could recruit such chaos-seeking terrorists as the Hero Faction and the Old Maou Faction?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked Leon with a frown. "It surely isn't just some group of stray mages, right?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Leon rolled his eyes. "I suspect those stray mage groups are just members of another faction within this organization. Otherwise, so many stray mages wouldn't have appeared during the last attack."
"So, are we being targeted now?" Mahiru Shiina said in a low voice. "That 'Hero Faction' wants to do harm to Senpai?"
"That seems to be the case," Asuna Yuuki said worriedly. "At the very least, they won't act as if the President's 'Zenith Tempest' doesn't exist."
To be precise, the Hero Faction would not ignore the entire Eligos peerage, and even the Old Maou Faction likely viewed them as a thorn in their side.
"Zenith Tempest," "Incinerate Anthem," "Absolute Demise," "Holy Sword Creation ," and "Create World"—having such rare and powerful Sacred Gears gathered under a single Devil's command meant the Eligos peerage couldn't help but attract attention.
This level of attention had already caused significant reactions from the three factions—Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. How much more so for those terrorists who seemed to have explicitly placed themselves on the opposing side?
Whether it was the Old Maou Faction or the Hero Faction, they certainly wouldn't ignore the existence of the Eligos peerage. Even though the peerage had not yet fully matured, they would surely want to nip the threat in the bud to prevent them from becoming a major disaster in the future.
And that was only based on the factors visible on the surface.
Leon knew better than anyone that the entire Eligos peerage, including himself, was far from simple.
His own talent might be average, but with his "Peerage Conversion" characteristic, as long as he had Evil Pieces left, he would grow at a speed that would leave everyone speechless.
Yukino Yukinoshita's talent was in no way inferior to a pure-blood Devil, and her mind was sharp; she had already learned to use powerful magical formulas to create traps. In time, she would surely become a great figure.
Asuna Yuuki had talent in swordsmanship and regenerative abilities.
Utaha Kasumigaoka had the talent to utilize her Sacred Gear effectively.
Mahiru Shiina's Holy Crucifix also hid even greater powers.
An Eligos peerage that gathered such talents had only been developing for a few months, and already they were not inferior to the Gremory or Sitri peerages. Given another year or so, they would definitely be a pillar of the Underworld.
If all of this had already been exposed, the "fun" would only get bigger.
Leon was well aware of this. While the others might not have his self-awareness, they knew the current situation was very unfavorable, and they were exceptionally worried.
They had only been back for a few days and had already been attacked again. What would happen next?
"There's no other way."
As the girls were worrying, Leon spoke up.
"I had planned to suggest this after some time, but now I have to bring it forward."
Leon's words startled the girls.
"What suggestion?" Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Leon. "What do you want to do?"
Leon stood up and met the gazes of everyone present.
"I want to request a leave of absence from school," Leon said. "And all of you should request a leave of absence as well."
Hearing Leon's words, everyone's heart sank.
"—Are we going to run away?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka voiced the thought in everyone's mind.
Leon had previously mentioned the choice Sirzechs had given him, which included going to the Underworld for protection. Consequently, hearing Leon's words, everyone assumed he was compromising.
But—
"Who said we're running away?"
Leon's voice rang out coldly.
"When it comes down to it, it's because our strength is still insufficient that we need to worry like this."
"If we had enough strength, then no matter how much others wanted to mess with us, they would have to consider the consequences first."
"So—"
Leon's gaze swept over each of them as he made his announcement.
"Let's go to special training!"