Sirzechs really did act like a caring older brother visiting his sister—or a friendly neighbor dropping by.
He didn't put on any airs at all and quickly struck up a conversation with everyone.
He didn't jump straight into official business, nor did he imdiately ask about what happened the day before. Instead, he asked Rias and the others how they were doing in the human world, whether they were enjoying school, and if they'd run into any difficulties in their daily lives.
He felt far less like a Maou and far more like an overly concerned parent.
Of course, he also hadn't forgotten that his sister's servants—and her childhood friend's servants—were still waiting to be saved.
"We've brought the Phoenix Tears with us," Sirzechs said.
As soon as he spoke, the silver-haired maid who had been quietly following behind him stepped forward.
"Lady Rias, Lady Sona, these are the Phoenix Tears."
The silver-haired maid took out a small box and opened it, revealing two tiny bottles inside.
Almost instantly, Leo sensed it.
The bottles were overflowing with life force, pulsing with astonishing vitality.
"So this is Phoenix Tears?" Leo murmured.
It was his first ti seeing this legendary healing dicine, and he couldn't help taking a closer look.
Rias and Sona, on the other hand, seed familiar with it. They stepped up to the silver-haired maid.
"Thanks, Grayfia," Rias said, nodding.
"Thank you for the trouble, Lady Grayfia," Sona added respectfully.
That difference in attitude was only natural.
This woman wasn't just an ordinary maid.
Put simply, she was Rias's sister-in-law.
Her na was Grayfia Lucifuge—Sirzechs's Queen piece and his wife.
She ca from the Lucifuge House, a family that once served the Old Maou Lucifer. Centuries ago, they had stood with the Old Maou Faction against the reformists. Yet on the battlefield, she fell in love with the reformist hero Sirzechs Gremory. After overcoming countless trials, they ca together.
Now, she was known as the strongest Queen piece in the Underworld, hailed as the "Silver-Haired Annihilation Queen."
At Leo's current level, he could vaguely sense it.
The terrifying demonic power flowing within her body.
It surpassed Maou-Class—and was comparable to, if not greater than, the "Chaos Karma Dragon" Tiamat that Leo had once encountered in the Familiar Forest.
Put simply, the silver-haired maid standing before him was very likely an existence beyond Maou-Class.
Leo wasn't surprised.
After all, Grayfia was widely regarded as soone who could contend with the current Maou Leviathan, Serafall Sitri, for the title of strongest female devil. If not for political circumstances, one of the Maou seats might very well have belonged to her.
Miyamoto Musashi had once said that there were only two won she truly admired.
One was her current master, Serafall Leviathan.
The other was Grayfia Lucifuge.
She had even challenged both of them—especially Grayfia—more than once.
As for the results…
"I got absolutely destroyed. Hahaha."
That was what Miyamoto Musashi had said at the ti, scratching her head with a foolish grin, leaving everyone speechless.
That alone spoke volus about just how strong this silver-haired maid really was.
Even now, the current Maou Leviathan still regarded her as a formidable rival.
Standing face-to-face with one of the strongest female devils in the Underworld, Leo had only one thought.
Confird. Definitely soone I can't ss with.
Absolutely certain of that, Leo promptly stopped looking at her.
anwhile, the mont Rias and Sona received the Phoenix Tears, they were eager to give them to their servants.
However, with a Maou present, they couldn't simply leave. So they handed the Phoenix Tears to their Queen piece holders, asking them to go treat Yuuto Kiba and Ruruko Nimura first.
Sirzechs also had Grayfia accompany them, in case any help was needed.
Soon, only the three King piece holders of the new-generation devils and Sirzechs the Maou remained.
"I've already read your reports," Sirzechs said, finally growing serious. "But I'd still like to hear a detailed account directly from you."
It was clear he placed great importance on this incident—or rather, on the Old Maou Faction.
"Could you report it to in person?"
"I'll do it," Sona said, adjusting her glasses as she stepped forward.
She began recounting the events of the previous day to Sirzechs.
Her explanation was far more detailed than the written report—especially the words spoken by Lafei Trix. Sona repeated nearly every sentence, afraid she might overlook even the smallest clue.
Rias occasionally added details from her own perspective and supplented the information gathered from their servants.
Sirzechs listened intently the entire ti, occasionally asking questions but never interrupting the flow of the report.
As for Leo, he knew he wasn't as ticulous as the two of them—especially with Sona present—so he didn't interject at all, leaving the discussion to them.
However, Sirzechs had no intention of ignoring him.
After listening to Rias and Sona finish, Sirzechs went quiet for a mont. Then he suddenly turned to Leo.
"May I call you Leo?"
The gentle question caught Leo slightly off guard.
"Of course. Please, just call Leo," he replied quickly.
Sirzechs smiled.
"Then, Leo, do you think there was anything particularly noteworthy about this Old Maou Faction attack?" he asked. "Or perhaps… did you notice anything unusual?"
"Anything is fine. Just tell what stood out to you," Sirzechs encouraged.
Leo raised an eyebrow.
After so thought, he decided to reveal a little.
"The thing that stood out the most was whatever that idiot from the Trix House swallowed," Leo said. "That item was clearly abnormal. It pushed soone who was only eight-winged beyond his limits, giving him power comparable to a ten-winged Ultimate-Class Devil."
"I've never seen such an absurd boost from any thod—except a Longinus."
In the past, Leo had ntioned the future one of the Two Heavenly Dragons—the Red Dragon Emperor. When he was still a Low-Class Devil, his power doubled every ten seconds. After two minutes, it reached 8,190 tis its original strength.
Yet even that nearly ten-thousandfold increase only allowed him to unleash an attack on the level of a High-Class Devil.
That proved how insurmountable the gap between two tiers truly was.
Even a single-tier difference ant a disparity of dozens or even hundreds of tis in power, making cross-tier battles extraordinarily difficult.
A Longinus could achieve such feats, which was why it was considered a power that disrupted balance.
But if sothing other than a Longinus could do the sa…
It was impossible not to take it seriously.
"So I'd like to ask you, Sirzechs-sama," Leo continued, subtly guiding the conversation. "Based on your knowledge, what kinds of enhancent thods could overturn such a level gap?"
Sirzechs fell into thought.
A trace of gloom flashed through his eyes, as if he'd recalled sothing unpleasant, but it quickly vanished.
"It's not that such thods don't exist…" he said slowly. "But the ones I know of don't match what you described Lafei Trix using."
Leo understood imdiately.
Sirzechs either couldn't imagine it—or didn't dare to.
In that case…
"I can tell you what was inside that bottle Lafei Trix took out," Leo said, eting Sirzechs's gaze.
"It was a black serpent in gaseous form."
He spoke each word clearly.
"A black serpent biting its own tail—The Snake. The Ouroboros."
The mont he said it, Sirzechs's expression changed.
"The Ouroboros?"
Not just Sirzechs—even Rias and Sona paled.
"T-That isn't—"
"Calm down."
Sirzechs's once-gentle voice carried a hint of sternness—and an imperceptible pressure that instantly settled Rias and Sona down.
A heavy silence filled the Occult Research Club room.
Sirzechs remained silent, his expression shifting as he pondered sothing.
After a while, he exhaled softly and returned to his usual deanor.
"Thank you for your help, Leo," Sirzechs said sincerely.
Leo shook his head.
"I'm glad it could help."
Leo knew Sirzechs had already realized sothing—and understood what kind of existence was lurking behind this.
He didn't dare say more.
Those truths were secrets among secrets. Even the three major factions were still unaware. Only the fallen angels' Governor had sensed sothing amiss and begun investigating in secret.
If Leo revealed sothing that even the three factions hadn't noticed, it would only invite suspicion toward himself.
So he could only point out the most crucial piece.
The Ouroboros.
That symbol alone was enough.
After all, in the entire world, there was only one existence that could truly bear that na.
"I'll inform the devil world's upper echelon imdiately and convene a focused discussion," Sirzechs said, looking around the room. "During this ti, all of you must be extra cautious. Don't let yourselves be targeted again and dragged into danger."
"Yes," Rias and Sona replied together, nodding.
"Would you accompany for a walk?" Sirzechs then turned to Leo and extended the invitation.
As if he'd expected it, Leo accepted without hesitation.
"It would be my honor."
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500 p.s for extra chapter
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