Leon smiled as he saw Loki's terrified expression, the god's earlier confidence completely shattered.
"How could you be here?!" Loki screamed, his voice cracking with panic. "
"Why wouldn't I be here?" Leon teased, his smile never wavering. But even as he smiled, those watching could sense the rage and hatred burning beneath the surface.
The tone made Loki stumble backward even further.
"Did you really think your little games would last forever?"
Around them, the others watched in stunned silence. Issei struggled to sit up despite his injuries, hope flickering in his eyes. The Gremory peerage stared in amazement at Leon's return.
Kuroka and Koneko, still bound by Loki's restraints, were crying tears of joy. At first they thought they were hallucinating. But Leon was really here free and alive.
"Leon." Koneko whispered, her voice breaking with relief.
"Nya... you came back," Kuroka sobbed, unable to believe what she was seeing.
But Leon's attention remained focused entirely on the god who had tormented him.
"Now then," Leon said, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried clearly across the yard. "I believe we have some unfinished business."
The temperature around them began to drop as Leon's power stirred, no longer bound by oaths and chains. For the first time in weeks, the full force of his strength was free to respond to his emotions.
And it wanted blood.
Loki's panic reached a crescendo as he realized the hopelessness of his situation. Leon stood before him, completely healed his, aura blazing, memories of his humiliation back then resurfaced on his mind.
Desperation overtook pride. Loki raised his hands, focusing every ounce of his strength into a teleportation spell. He had to escape—had to get back to Helheim where he could regroup, plan, find some way to regain the upper hand.
But nothing happened.
"What—?" Loki stared at his hands in confusion, trying again. Still nothing.
"Did you really think," Leon spoke quietly, his voice carrying an edge of cold amusement, "I would let you escape again?"
Loki's eyes widened in horror as understanding dawned.
"You see," Leon continued, taking another step forward, "I've spent my days in that hell, thinking about how to kill you, how to make you suffer."
Each word was delivered with chilling calm, but the underlying fury was unmistakable.
"And now it's time to return the favor."
Loki backed away frantically, but there was nowhere to go.
"Come now," Loki tried to regain some semblance of his usual arrogance, though his voice trembled. "Surely we can reach some understanding. I am a god, after all. There are... arrangements we could make."
But as he spoke, he noticed something that made his blood run cold. Leon's eyes… They were no longer the familiar amber. They had shifted to a deep, burning red that seemed to pierce straight through to his soul.
"What—" Loki began, but the world around him suddenly twisted and warped.
Loki found himself standing in what appeared to be an endless void of dark red sky and black ground.
"What is this? What did you do?"
"This is your hell…"
For the first time since meeting Leon, Loki truly understood how big of a mistake he had done.
He should have just stayed away from this damn human.
But it was too late for regrets now.
In this hell, the god of mischief finally learned what true despair felt like.
=====
Leon stared at the figure of Loki, who now stood motionless with his eyes dilated and unfocused. The god's body remained upright, but his mind was trapped in an endless cycle of torment.
With his grimoire's power, recreating the Tsukuyomi had been simple enough. For Loki, he would experience millennia of torture and suffering in the span of just a few minutes in the real world. Every agony Leon had endured, multiplied and stretched across what would feel like an eternity to the god's consciousness.
Creating the Tsukuyomi-like technique required direct eye contact with the target—hence why Leon's eyes had shifted to that distinctive red. The crimson glow served multiple purposes: it caught the target's attention, ensuring they looked directly at him, and admittedly, it looked intimidating as hell.
Satisfied, Leon turned away from Loki's frozen form. His red eyes faded back to their familiar amber as he looked toward the others.
His gaze fell first on the Gremory peerage—Rias struggling to stay upright, Kiba supporting the unconscious Akeno, all of them battered but alive. Then to Vali, still hovering in his Balance Breaker form, silver armor gleaming. To Issei, broken but fighting to sit up despite his injuries.
And finally, to Koneko and Kuroka.
"I'm back," Leon said, his voice warm and gentle, a stark contrast to the cold fury he'd directed at Loki.
That was all it took.
They ran to him then, throwing themselves into his arms without hesitation. Koneko buried her face against his chest, her small frame shaking with relieved sobs. Kuroka wrapped her arms around both of them, her usual playful demeanor completely abandoned as she clung to the man she'd thought was lost forever.
"Nya... we thought... we thought we'd never see you again," Kuroka whispered, her voice breaking.
"I promised I'd come back."
Koneko pulled back from the embrace, her small hands trembling as they gripped Leon's shirt. Her eyes swam with tears that refused to fall, the weight of guilt crushing down on her chest like a physical force.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, each word scraping against her throat. "I'm so sorry for running away. Because I got caught by Loki, you suffered. You traded yourself for me and I—"
The words tumbled out in a rush, weeks of self-blame and of anguish pouring forth.
Leon's fingers pressed gently against her lips, silencing her confession.
He leaned down, capturing her lips in a kiss.
When they parted, Koneko felt some of the crushing weight on her chest ease.
"It's not your fault, it never was."
Kuroka's ears drooped against her head as she listened, her usual confidence nowhere to be found. "Nya... we all made mistakes back then."
He pulled both sisters close again, holding them tight.
"If anyone should apologize, it's me. I should have handled things better from the start. Should have sat you both down and explained everything properly instead of letting you discover it the way you did."
"The only one who's really at fault," Leon said, glancing briefly at Loki's frozen form, "is that bastard who thought he could use you to hurt me. But that's over now."
Koneko pressed her face against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. For the first time in weeks, she felt truly safe.
The moment of reunion was interrupted by Vali coughing, his Balance Breaker from was long gone.
"Seeing as you're okay, now" Vali said, his voice carrying that familiar note of studied indifference, "I'll take my leave."
"Thank you, Vali."
"Of course." Vali replied with a slight smirk, though his eyes betrayed a depth of relief he'd never admit to.
Kuroka lifted her tear-stained face from Leon's shoulder, and despite everything they'd been through, that familiar mischievous spark danced in her golden eyes. "Nya~ Vali-kun was really worried about you, Leon. You should have seen how angry he was when he found out what happened."
The White Dragon Emperor's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "I was not worried."
"Sure you were," Kuroka's tail swished with returning playfulness.
"I was not," Vali muttered, but there was no real heat in it.
Leon chuckled softly, hearing the teasing. Oh god how he missed this.
Before Vali could retreat into the sky, he paused. "By the way, what's your plan for him."
The warmth drained from Leon's expression instantly.
When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of absolute judgment.
"Death."
Vali's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Good."
Leon's gaze drifted to the trapped god. "Oh, he will. He definitely will."
Vali's smirk widened then in a burst of silver light and displaced air, he shot into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness above.
Leon's attention shifted to where Issei lay propped against a chunk of broken concrete, his balance breaker form also gone.
The Red Dragon Emperor looked up at him with a mixture of exhaustion and something else—a new understanding that hadn't been there before.
"You need more training,"
Normally, Issei would have groaned or complained about additional workouts, maybe made some joke about perverted motivation being better than actual effort. But his fight against Loki had shown him exactly where he stood in this world's hierarchy—and how far he still had to climb.
Instead, Issei met Leon's gaze directly and nodded. No excuses. No deflection. Just acceptance of the truth.
Leon felt a surge of satisfaction at the response. Somehow, his absence had been good for Issei's growth.
"Good," Leon said, approaching to help Issei to his feet.
As Leon helped Issei to his feet, the Red Dragon Emperor winced and stumbled slightly. "Ow, ow, everything hurts..."
"That's what happens when you fight a god," Rias said, though there was relief in her voice as she watched him stand upright.
"At least you lasted longer than expected," Kiba added with a gentle smile. "Though that's not saying much."
"Hey!" Issei protested weakly. "I got some good hits in!"
Then the sound of hurried footsteps echoed across the yard. Asia came running around the corner of the house, her nun's habit slightly disheveled from rushing. Behind her followed Father Dante, Irina, and Xenovia, all looking equally relieved and concerned.
"Leon-san!" Asia called out, tears of relief streaming down her face. "You're really back! I felt your presence and—oh my!" She stopped short, taking in the devastated yard and Loki's motionless form.
"Leon," Father Dante nodded respectfully, his usually stern expression softened with genuine relief. "We're grateful for your safe return."
"The Lord has answered our prayers," Irina added, clasping her hands together.
Xenovia simply stared at Loki's frozen figure. "Is he dead?"
"Not yet," Leon replied simply.
Kuroka's ears perked up with mischief as she watched the reunion. "Nya~ Issei-kun, you know what this means, right?"
"What?" Issei asked suspiciously.
"More training means less time for your... hobbies," Kuroka purred, her tail swishing with amusement.
Koneko nodded seriously. "No more peeking. No more perverted magazines. Training only."
"And we'll all be watching to make sure you stay focused," Leon added with a knowing look.
The color drained from Issei's face as the full implications hit him. "Wait, wait! That's not fair! I need... I mean... my motivation comes from—"
"From wanting to protect Asia-chan and your friends," Leon finished firmly, though his eyes twinkled with amusement. "Right, Issei?"
Asia blushed deeply while Irina and Xenovia exchanged amused glances. Issei found himself caught between Leon's expectant gaze and the combined stares of every woman present.
"R-right! Protecting Asia and friends! That's totally what I meant!"
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