The Underworld, Familiar Forest.
When a red magic circle manifested at the entrance of the forest, the figures of Leon and Ravel appeared from within.
Both were born of pure-blooded Devil families and were not strangers to the Familiar Forest. Since they hadn't come to search for familiars this time, they didn't wander slowly as Leon had when he brought his peers before. Instead, they unfurled their Devil wings and wings of fire, flying straight into the air toward the deepest part of the forest.
Along the way, their blatant flight naturally drew the attention of the monsters within the forest. However, once Leon released the magic power fluctuations of an Ultimate-class Devil without reservation, most of the monsters immediately scurried into hiding, not daring to show their heads. This allowed the two to smoothly enter the core area of the forest, arriving before a massive lake.
This lake was far larger than the one Leon had stumbled into with Yukino Yukinoshita and the others when they encountered the Hydra. Standing on the shore, it was impossible to see the opposite side; one could only see the horizon blending with the night sky. To an uninformed observer, it might seem they had encountered a sea rather than a lake.
"Miss Tiamat! Leon Eligos requests an audience!"
Landing by the lakeshore, Leon called out directly toward the water. His voice echoed across the surface like a resonant chime.
Splash—
The next second, a loud sound of rushing water erupted from the lake.
The tranquility of the surface was suddenly shattered as a colossal figure emerged from the depths, sending up massive plumes of spray that filled Leon and Ravel's vision.
It was a giant dragon covered in scales as blue as the firmament.
The dragon exuded an overwhelming sense of presence. The dragon breath radiating from its body was so conspicuous and powerful that Ravel, standing behind Leon, couldn't help but grow tense.
"Is... is that the legendary Queen of Dragons, the strongest among the Five Dragon Kings, the one known as the 'Chaos Karma Dragon,' Tiamat?"
Overawed by the massive size and crushing presence, Ravel's body trembled involuntarily.
"Don't be nervous, it'll be fine."
Leon patted Ravel's shoulder to comfort her, though his eyes never left the colossal figure.
Emerging from the spray, the azure dragon slowly opened its eyes as if being roused from a nap. Its massive vertical pupils fixed onto Leon.
"So it's you, kid."
A voice Leon had heard once before rumbled from the dragon's mouth.
Immediately after, the azure dragon took flight. As it flew toward the shore, its form began to shift. By the time it landed in front of Leon, the dragon had vanished, replaced by a mature woman with beautiful, long azure hair.
"Aren't you supposed to be training in your own territory? What brings you here?"
Tiamat had a cold aura, but her tone when speaking to Leon was quite familiar, as if they were long-time acquaintances.
"You even know about me coming to the Underworld for special training?" Leon was somewhat taken aback.
"Ajuka told me." Tiamat sized Leon up, as if looking for any obvious changes. "He thought you might come to me for help with your training, so he notified me in advance, asking me to give you a hand within my power."
Leon nodded in realization.
But why would that Great Satan think I might ask Tiamat for training?
Did he think I would look for a powerful being to spar with to improve my combat skills?
That wasn't impossible. After all, among the people Leon knew, Tiamat was likely the strongest outside of the Great Satans. If he wanted a powerful opponent for sparring, he really might have ended up at Tiamat's doorstep.
"The one behind you should be from the Phenex family, right?" Tiamat noticed Ravel. "I smell a familiar scent of flames. Besides the Phoenix, it seems no other Devil can emit this kind of scent."
"Greetings, respected Dragon King Tiamat," Ravel immediately bowed. "I am the eldest daughter of the Phenex family, Ravel Phenex. I am currently Lord Leon's 'Rook.' I ask for your guidance."
"Oh? The young lady of the Phenex family actually became this little guy's servant?" Tiamat was surprised at first, then smiled. "You certainly know how to invest."
Clearly, Tiamat, who lived in the Underworld and had deep ties with Devils, immediately saw through the Phenex family's calculations.
"The Eligos peerage is indeed worth such an investment. Even I feel that once they grow up, they will be quite extraordinary. Cherish this relationship and opportunity."
Tiamat spoke calmly, and Ravel nodded in deep agreement.
Although they hadn't been together long, Ravel had already seen the immense potential of the Eligos peerage, especially Leon, the "King" himself. Therefore, even without Tiamat saying so, Ravel intended to assist Leon wholeheartedly to ensure the Eligos peerage rose to prominence in the Devil world.
For her, this was not just a duty as a servant but a necessary move to add a significant chapter to her own life experiences.
"If you need me to train you, I don't mind stepping in," Tiamat turned back to Leon. "But I should warn you: I'm not good at holding back. If you want me to train you, you'd better be prepared for the possibility of being burnt to ashes."
Hearing this, Ravel felt a chill. She could tell Tiamat wasn't joking; she was serious.
She was a dragon, after all—a being referred to as a crystallization of power. As a species naturally powerful and worshiping strength, asking them to pull their punches was an incredibly difficult task.
Dragons were powerful and temperamental. Once they entered a combat state, they rarely restrained themselves. Most of the time, they fought with everything they had, not knowing the meaning of "mercy."
Whether it was humans or Devils, in the eyes of a dragon, they were fragile races. Asking them not to crush an ant was simply asking too much.
Of course, Tiamat was the strongest of the Dragon Kings and was even worshipped as the Primordial Goddess of the Ocean in Mesopotamian mythology; she wasn't as crude or bloodthirsty as common dragon species. But she was still a dragon. If she became too immersed in the fight, it was entirely possible she would strike too hard.
That was why she warned Leon in advance.
However, Tiamat's warning was unnecessary in this context.
"Don't worry, Miss Tiamat. I'm not here for training this time." Leon shrugged. "I'm here to complete the request you gave me last time."
As soon as he said that, Tiamat's eyes lit up instantly.
"You found the Tablet of Destinies?"
Tiamat stared intensely at Leon, a visible look of joy appearing on her frost-like face.
Leon didn't say a word. He simply expanded a magic circle in his hand and summoned the stone tablet he had obtained from Kaguya Shinomiya.
Tiamat's gaze immediately locked onto the tablet and did not move.
"Is this the Tablet of Destinies you've been looking for?"
Leon handed the tablet to Tiamat.
Tiamat took it, gently stroking the patterns on the stone.
"How many years has it been?" Tiamat sighed, unable to hide her delight. "Since I lent you to that damn Welsh Dragon, several thousand years must have passed, right?"
"After several millennia, you are finally back in my hands."
Hearing this, Leon and Ravel finally smiled. Tiamat's words confirmed that this tablet was indeed the treasure she sought to recover.
"It is indeed my lost Tablet of Destinies," Tiamat confirmed with a smile. "Although its power has been exhausted over the long years, as long as it absorbs energy from the stars again, it will one day regain its brilliance."
As a powerful treasure capable of foretelling the future, one of the conditions for using the Tablet of Destinies was that it had to absorb enough astral power, converting the strength of the stars into energy before it could be activated. This required a specific ritual, which was why no one else could wake or use the tablet.
Of course, this wasn't an issue for Tiamat. She was the original owner; she knew exactly what to do.
"I'm impressed you found it so quickly."
Tiamat put the tablet away happily, looking at Leon with wonder. She hadn't held much hope initially. It was only because the Tablet of Destinies had once been held by a previous possessor of "Zenith Tempest that she had reached out to Leon in desperation.
Though she had commissioned him, it was a long-shot investment. Who would have thought that in just a month or two, Leon would successfully retrieve it? It truly shocked and delighted her.
"I also have the Great Satans to thank," Leon said with a smile. "If Lord Sirzechs hadn't mobilized the power of the Devil world to help me search for clues, I wouldn't have been able to find the location of the tablet so quickly."
"I see." Tiamat nodded. "If the power of the entire Devil world was used, then it's not surprising."
Thinking of this, Tiamat became contemplative.
Since this kid can use the power of Devils to retrieve my treasure, could I also use the power of various factions to recover my treasures scattered across the world?
The Tablet of Destinies was just one of many treasures she had lost. Beyond that, many were scattered worldwide, and many had even been collected by major factions and stored in their treasuries.
If there were an opportunity to make the major factions owe her a favor, or force them to fulfill a wish for her, could she get those treasures back?
But how should I go about it? I'll need to plan this carefully...
With these thoughts in mind, Tiamat spoke to Leon.
"Since you've returned the Tablet of Destinies to me, I will naturally keep my promise and hand over those two children I saved to you." Tiamat spoke seriously. "However, I must warn you: if you cannot reincarnate them into Devils, you cannot take them away."
Tiamat had mentioned before that many people had wanted to take those two into their peerages in the past, but all had failed.
Because the potential and abilities of those two had already exceeded the value of ordinary Evil Pieces, they either required Mutation Pieces or the "King" themselves had to possess immense power and expend multiple Evil Pieces to succeed. This had resulted in many people returning empty-handed.
Tiamat didn't mind introducing the children to Leon, and she would even help persuade them to willingly become his servants, but if Leon couldn't reincarnate them, she wouldn't let him take them.
"Among the Devils who tried before, was there really no one with Mutation Pieces, or no one powerful enough to use multiple pieces?" Leon asked.
"Of course there were," Tiamat answered, but shook her head. "It's just that those two are a very special pair of twin sisters. Even if they are willing to become someone's servants, they refuse to be separated. Thus, they set their own condition: both must be taken at the same time, or they won't go with that person."
"Unfortunately, both sisters have their own special traits, and neither can be successfully reincarnated with ordinary Evil Pieces."
"To take them away, one either needs two Mutation Pieces, or one must be a Satan-class being or higher to have the capacity to take them both with multiple pieces."
Hearing this, Leon realized how harsh the conditions were.
If it were just one Mutation Piece, it wouldn't be that hard to find. Approximately one out of every ten High-class Devils possessed a Mutation Piece. However, High-class Devils with two Mutation Pieces at once were few and far between—perhaps they didn't even exist.
In the original story, no one possessed two or more Mutation Pieces simultaneously. Even Rias Gremory only had one "Bishop" Mutation Piece. It was only after she used eight "Pawn" pieces to reincarnate the original protagonist, and due to his unique evolution, that the Pawns inside him sequentially turned into Mutation Pieces, giving Rias multiple Mutation Pieces in her peerage.
In other words, Rias was the only one in the original story who had multiple Mutation Pieces, and that was an acquired development; she only had one at the start.
Under those circumstances, naturally, no one could take the sisters unless they were Satan-class or higher.
And how many of those existed in the Underworld? Even if they did, their peerages were likely already full.
"I'll take you to meet them first," Tiamat said, and Leon nodded.
In his heart, he began to feel a sense of anticipation.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi