Inside the manor, within a spacious drawing room—
"Guest, please enjoy some tea."
"Guest, please have some sweets."
Ram and Rem each placed a cup of black tea and a plate of pastries before Leon, then retreated behind Tiamat, acting as if they were her serving maids.
They maintained expressionless countenances throughout, appearing entirely incurious about Leon's arrival. Their gazes lingered on him for only a brief moment at the start before they ceased to pay him any further attention.
As for Ravel, she was ignored by the sisters from beginning to end.
No, that wasn't quite right. The sisters were simply indifferent toward Leon and Ravel, rather than being arrogant. Compared to the guests, the sisters clearly prioritized Tiamat, their eyes resting on her most of the time as they stood ready for her command.
Tiamat seemed somewhat helpless in the face of this.
"I say, Ram, Rem, haven't I reminded you many times? There's no need to treat me with such excessive care," Tiamat said with a sigh of resignation. "It's not as if I truly consider you maids. Look at you, you've even put on maid uniforms. You refuse to change out of them when I ask... honestly—"
Ram and Rem appeared quite accustomed to Tiamat's exasperation.
"Ram only wishes to repay Lord Tiamat for saving our lives. Though we know Lord Tiamat has no need for it, this trifle is all we can offer."
"Rem feels the same. Whatever Sister does, Rem shall do. Please, Lord Tiamat, do not trouble yourself over such a small matter."
The two spoke with identical tones. Had the content of their words not differed, they would have seemed like two synchronized recording devices.
"Fine, I can't out-argue you." Tiamat opened her mouth to say more, but recalling the countless times this exact scene had played out in the past, she simply gave up. With a heavy sigh, she said, "Rescuing you two back then was purely accidental. I never expected anything in return. If not for your unique circumstances, I would have entrusted you to the care of someone reliable long ago, rather than leaving you here to tend to this empty house."
Turning to the silent Leon, Tiamat continued:
"As I mentioned before, these sisters hide a terrifying power within them. Especially Rem; once her single horn is manifested, her power surges instantly by an untold magnitude, and she falls into a state of berserk loss of control. That is why I dared not entrust them to just anyone and kept them by my side for the time being."
Upon hearing this, the expressionless Rem lowered her eyes slightly. For the first time, a trace of something that could be called emotion appeared on her.
Ram remained expressionless, but as if she had guessed something, her gaze began to drift toward Leon every so often, as if observing him.
Under these circumstances, Tiamat revealed the final secrets of the sisters to Leon.
"Actually, I know better than anyone that staying with me indefinitely is not good for Ram or Rem."
"It's not just because my lifestyle as a dragon differs greatly from theirs. It's because their condition must be handled by someone capable and trustworthy for them to truly improve."
"That is why I have been introducing them to High-class Devils all this time, hoping they could be reincarnated."
As Tiamat spoke, Leon and Ravel finally understood why she had been trying to "sell" these sisters to someone else.
One reason was the discrepancy in their lifestyles; the other was that both sisters suffered from internal issues.
Rem's problem was clear: once she activated her horn, she would lose control and go on a rampage. In that state, she possessed frightening power, and back in the Oni Village, only the natural-born "Reincarnation of the Oni God," Ram, could stop her.
However, after the village was destroyed, though Tiamat saved them, Ram had been severely wounded in that battle. Her horn—the source of her power—had been severed. This not only caused her strength to wane drastically but also meant she required others to supply her with energy to survive.
Such a Ram could no longer stop a berserk Rem; she even needed someone to sustain her.
Thus, Tiamat had to keep them close, supplying power to Ram while restraining Rem whenever she lost control to bring her back to her senses.
"But if someone could reincarnate them as Devils, both problems would be solved," Tiamat explained her plan.
"The Devil reincarnation ritual, performed by granting Evil Pieces, bestows a new life upon the target, effectively resurrecting them even if they are at death's door."
"Therefore, if someone reincarnates Ram using an Evil Piece, her horn could be restored. She would regain her peak strength, eliminating the need for others to sustain her."
"Simultaneously, the traits granted by the Evil Pieces would bolster Rem's own strength, allowing her to better control herself and reducing the likelihood of losing control."
This was the reason Tiamat wanted to find a master for the Oni twins.
"Unfortunately, the difficulty of reincarnating them is too high. Even though I have sought out many promising Devils over the past ten years, none have succeeded."
Tiamat looked at Leon, her eyes not without a spark of hope.
"If even you fail, then I truly will not be able to find anyone else to help these sisters."
She harbored great expectations for Leon. This caused Leon's expression to turn somewhat subtle as he looked at Tiamat.
"In other words, you already believed I could help them, yet you still made me search for the Tablet of Destinies before you were willing to hand them over?"
Leon was speechless. Wasn't this just a blatant "free ride" for her?
"I only thought you had potential; it didn't mean I would definitely give these girls to you," Tiamat smiled. "You aren't a special case. The others I brought here before also helped me in one way or another before they were given the chance to win these girls over. Asking you to find something for me isn't exactly making things difficult for you, is it?"
While reincarnating Ram and Rem was beneficial for them, Tiamat had saved them and looked after them for ten years. She couldn't just give them away to anyone. At worst, she could simply continue to look after them herself; why force them to become someone's servants?
Thus, while she sought a suitable master for them, Tiamat never intended to give them away for nothing. Otherwise, she could have simply discussed it with Ajuka or the other Satans—surely no one would turn down two Oni girls with such explosive potential.
"Now, it depends on whether you can succeed in reincarnating them."
Tiamat turned her head toward the twins.
"That is the situation. This isn't the first time. I assume you have no objections?"
At Tiamat's words, the sisters glanced at each other before looking collectively at Leon.
"If possible, Ram would prefer to serve Lord Tiamat forever and has no desire to be handed over," Ram said bluntly. "But it is not right to keep troubling Lord Tiamat, and this is for Rem's sake as well. Therefore... Ram has no objection."
"Rem feels the same," Rem said, eyes downcast, though she seemed to steal a glance at Ram. "As long as Sister can recover and we stop being a burden to her and Lord Tiamat, Rem is willing to be reincarnated as a Devil."
At this point, their voices paused briefly before they spoke in alternating sentences.
"However, Ram will only serve the same master as Rem."
"However, Rem wishes to stay with Sister forever and serve the same master."
"If you, the guest, cannot take Ram and Rem together—"
"If you, the guest, cannot reincarnate Sister and Rem together—"
""Then we must ask you to leave.""
The final sentence was spoken by both sisters in unison.
Though their tone wasn't fierce or resolute—rather, it was delivered with a calm, detached attitude—it was precisely because of this that no one doubted their sincerity. Ram and Rem were open to reincarnation as long as Tiamat introduced the candidate, but their sole condition was that they remained together. The candidate had to take them both, or they wouldn't go at all.
This was exactly why every Devil who had sought to claim the sisters in the past had returned empty-handed.
"Well? Shall we try?" Tiamat smiled at Leon.
Leon did not respond immediately. He picked up his tea, took a sip, and then stood up.
Ravel cast her gaze toward her master; Ram and Rem also looked at him instinctively. Under their collective watch, Leon turned his internal gaze toward the space where his Evil Pieces were stored.
There were ten pieces remaining: one "Queen," one "Knight," and eight "Pawns."
At this moment, the "Queen" piece remained silent, and the "Knight" piece glowed with a bright light. However, the brightest among them were the eight "Pawns."
Thus, as a magic circle spun into existence in Leon's palm, two "Pawn" pieces flew out.
Seeing this, putting aside Tiamat and Ravel, Ram and Rem furrowed their brows imperceptibly.
"Pawns"?
Weren't those the most "worthless" pieces?
It wasn't that they looked down on the "Pawn" rank. Although Pawns were the most common, their trait was "Promotion." Once they stepped onto a battlefield designated by the "King," they could transform into any other piece and gain its characteristics—even that of a "Queen."
In other words, any Pawn had the potential to become a temporary Queen, granting them the greatest possible enhancement. But this didn't change the fact that a Pawn, in its base form, was the lowest-value piece.
One must remember that in the past, someone had tried to use eight "Pawn" pieces at once and still failed to reincarnate just one of them. That was for a single person; for two people simultaneously, two "Pawn" pieces were laughably inadequate.
There had even been cases where a "Queen" (worth nine Pawns) and two "Rooks" (worth ten Pawns combined) were used on Ram and Rem together, yet the ritual had still failed.
Unless they were Mutation Pieces, what could a mere two "Pawns" possibly do?
"Accept them."
Leon saw their doubt but said nothing, simply tossing the two "Pawn" pieces toward them. Ram and Rem caught the pieces by reflex. After a moment of silence, they pressed them against their chests.
Thump!
In the next second, the Evil Pieces shattered, turning into countless particles of light that merged into their bodies.
"This—"
Ram and Rem both widened their eyes. They clearly felt a surge of demonic power taking root within them.
"The reincarnation... succeeded?"
While the two were lost in disbelief, a dramatic change erupted on Leon's end.
[Trait: Peerage Formation is in effect—]
[Received Base Feedback: Magic Power (Massive).]
[Received Advanced Feedback: Sacred Gear (Enhancement).]
[Received Extra Feedback: Race (Perfect).]
[Trait: Peerage Formation is in effect—]
[Received Base Feedback: Magic Power (Massive).]
[Received Advanced Feedback: Sacred Gear (Enhancement).]
[Received Extra Feedback: Rank (Ten Wings).]
The moment he received this information, only one thought flashed through Leon's mind:
Holy hell. As expected of potential stocks that Tiamat couldn't stop praising. Two High-Potential retainers.
The moment that thought settled, the magic power within Leon's body swelled violently, rapidly growing stronger. This was an enhancement more sudden and intense than any he had experienced before.
Vast magic power manifested as purple aura, burning around Leon. The shockwave generated in that instant carried tangible force, blowing away everything in his immediate vicinity.
Leon's magic power—which had already spiked when he took Ravel and reached the upper tier of Ultimate-class—shattered its bottleneck under this exaggerated boost. He broke through from the Eight-Wing level directly to the Ten-Wing level.
Swish!
Leon's Devil wings unfurled behind him, slowly transforming from eight wings into ten.
Furthermore, Leon's body was being slowly reconstructed by a mysterious force, undergoing inexplicable changes. The "Zenith Tempest" deep within his soul was further nourished, being enhanced yet again since he had claimed Ravel, granting a massive leap in its power.
And so, Leon closed his eyes, immersing himself in the evolution of his body—
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