Even as a fox he had standards, and eating what was essentially rat fell far below them.
It was nearing the time where he would have needed to once again move farther afield to find new sources of energy that his first visitor came calling.
He was taking a siesta beneath his favorite tree. He had grown to roughly the size of a large retriever by this point in time and had decided a break from his near constant struggle against the rat hordes was needed.
It was during this time a flash of red erupted from the center of the meadow, a telltale sign of devil teleportation, if he recalled the details correctly.
Sniffing the wind, a hint of perfume reminiscent of an arctic sea breeze caressed his nose.
Barely moments later, a young woman dressed as an archetypical magical girl seemed to pop into existence in front of him.
"Hello, little Leon!" Serafall Leviathan bubbled out before registering the large fox in front of her.
"Not so little anymore! You've gotten so big, Dai-tan!" Leon snorted in response, the terrible pun causing his inner human to facepalm despite the humor.
He stood, shaking off any possible dirt before circling his spot twice, then dropping back to the ground lazily.
Tapping the dirt beside him with his paw, he gestured for the maou to sit, which she promptly did with no hesitation.
It was a strange sight to see for any casual observer, a magical girl cuddling up against the side of a large fox.
Leon wrapped his tail around her, laying it in her lap for her to stroke as she giggled and babbled about mundane things, how cute her beloved So-tan is most of all.
As frightening of an existence as Serafall was, Leon knew from his prior world's knowledge two very important facts.
First, if she wanted him dead, as he was now, he would have died without even knowing it, so fearing for his life was a pointless exercise in anxiety.
Second, she really just wanted some friends, and so Leon, despite the surprise of her sudden and unexpected appearance in his domain, simply acted as if his old friend was dropping by.
The alternative was blinding terror, so he opted to bury that portion, and grunt, woof, and grumble occasionally in response to Sera's one sided conversation.
She eventually seemed to run out of words to say, and the two sat in companionable silence for some time as she continued stroking the fur on his tail, though he eventually noticed her eyes and mind seemed to be in a far off place.
Flexing the prehensile nature of his appendage, Leon used the tip to lightly tickle her beneath her chin, bringing her back to the present with a smile.
She fought in the devil civil war, so Leon felt it was no surprise that she perhaps had some form of PTSD despite her personality.
Perhaps that same personality was an extension of some form of trauma, though Leon had no way to verify such speculation. Regardless, he much preferred pretty women to smile.
They both remained silent from then on, Serafall eventually falling asleep as she cuddled deeper into Leon's soft and fluffy fur.
He didn't mind. She was beautiful, and she obviously needed the rest if she was passing out so easily.
The pair remained that way until the sun began truly falling below the horizon, painting the sky in various shades of pink, purple, and blue.
Leon regretted having to wake his visitor, since he had gotten rather lonely in the forest by himself, something he only realized now that another person had come to visit, but she would eventually have to leave and night was creeping up on them.
He would simply have to go back to slaughtering innocent woodland creatures to keep his mind off of his lack of companionship.
Raising his snout, he pressed his wet nose into Serafall's ear and huffed gently causing her to quickly wake with a squeal as she leapt from her resting position. Leon huffed in his equivalent of laughter as she wiped the feeling from her ear as she glared down at him.
"Dai-tan, that was mean!" Leon simply rolled his eyes before gesturing with his nose towards the sky. Serafall puffed her cheeks out in a pout.
"Dai-tan still didn't have to wake me up in such an icky way!" He simply gave another roll of his eyes.
Sitting up, he took a moment longer to balance himself before propping himself up on his hind legs and gave her nose a lick, causing her to giggle and wipe her face again.
"Leon! So bold!" She faux blushed. Leon snorted, staring intently at her lips to get his message across. 'Just wait, you only think that was bold.' His look caused her to giggle once more before stroking his head and taking a step back.
"You'll have to earn that one! Keep getting stronger, and maybe one day! I'll come visit again soon!" With a little wave, and a flick of Leon's tail in acknowledgment, a burst of red light illuminated the meadow once more as Serafall departed.
She became his most regular visitor over the course of the next three years, taking at least one day out of each month to check in and spend time with him. If he was honest with himself, Serafall Leviathan was the reason he remained sane in that forest.
For some unknown reason, all of the major leaders that had been present at his birth had stopped by several times to check in on him over the years.
Sirzechs Lucifer stopped by twice, both times attempting to persuade him to join his little sister, Rias', peerage.
Leon had nearly scoffed in his face, even as a fox, though he was thankfully able to keep the condescension from the suggestions from his visage.
Peerage members were essentially slaves.
Even if the Gremory family treated their members as family, a servant was still a subordinate to their master, and both Leon's human and yako side recoiled in disgust at the idea of being subjected to another's influence.