997: Any Time

Any Time

The two metallic birds weren't entirely metallic at all. With a sweep of his Internal Sight, Leonel could see that they had flesh and blood.  0

The answer, then, seemed simple. Weren't these two birds just wearing armor, then? But this wasn't the reality either. The metal wasn't being worn… It *was* them. It was as much their skin as flesh could be. In fact, it seemed that there were a few parts of their bodies that could be classified in much the same way. 

If Leonel didn't have such a dislike of Simeon, upon stumbling upon his first cyborg sighting, he probably would have felt that this was very cool too. However, unsurprisingly, Simeon wasn't a person he liked very much at all. 

Even setting aside what Simeon had tried to do to him, just the fact Simeon treated humans like experimental subjects was enough for Leonel to hate him. Leonel didn't even want to consider what sort of horrid torture these two birds had gone through to reach this state either. 

Leonel's gaze swept by Simeon, landing on Zannos. It didn't take much deduction at all for Leonel to realize that he was likely the one who had shot the arrow. If not for his bloody nose, the bow he was barely holding onto was a dead giveaway. 

However, after looking around some more, Leonel realized that this storm definitely wasn't being caused by these four. This meant that there was a more than 90% probability that they were looking for the creature at the core of all of this just like he was. There was no coincidence that they were in the exact direction Leonel had been heading in considering the sheer vastness of the ocean. 

Leonel's eyes narrowed when he remembered was Simeon's ability was. If he was allowed to get his hands on such a creature and he controlled its genes to come under his command… Just what kind of devastation would that bring?

Remembering back to how Leonel met Little Blackstar, his grip on his spear rotated slightly. Back then, he had almost killed Little Blackstar just to ensure that he never ended in Simeon's hands. Now, it seemed that history was replaying itself. 

The difference here, though was that while Little Blackstar had only been playful, this beast was costing people their lives. 

Leonel had no idea what it was that these hidden families wanted, nor did he understand what their purpose on Earth was. But, what he did know was that when Earth was pushed into a corner facing the people of Terrain, he hadn't seen a single member of their ilk. 

All they had done was show up on Avalon and try to poach away King Arthur and his people. After they failed, they vanished and didn't appear again until now when there were once again benefits to be gained while others were falling and dying in the background. 

These sorts of people… They were the kind Leonel abhorred the most. 

"I'm going to give you two options." Leonel said coldly. "Either get the hell out of my sight, or you fall beneath my blade."

The fluttering red Force around Simeon suddenly surged, his pupils constricting into pinholes. This was most definitely not the Leonel he knew. The Leonel he knew didn't have this edge to him, he didn't have this blood thirsty air. In fact, he didn't have a willingness to kill at all. 

That Leonel was like a lion without its claws or a shark without its teeth. But now… 

Leonel raised his spear, pointing it between Simeon's brows. It was a blatant, undisguised provocation. At that moment, Leonel's aura was palpable. It hung in the air like a violet mist, raising above Simeon's own and suffocating it. 

"Leonel Morales…" Simeon said slowly. 

However, what he hadn't expected was for Adrin to suddenly stand out. 

"Huh? What did you say Simeon?"

Simeon frowned, turning his gaze toward Adrin. The coldness in his eyes made Adrin's own gaze narrow, but the latter didn't back down. All four of these young men were on the same level. On top of that, all of them had entered the Fifth Dimension. Adrin felt no fear for Simeon although the latter's power was great. 

Adrin looked away from Simeon and toward Leonel, suddenly understanding something. 

"I can't let you kill him, Simeon." Adrin finally said. 

"What?" Simeon's voice simmered like hot coals, his red eyes flashing with added menace. 

"Leonel Morales is the name of the man who saved my little sister. I owe him a favor. So, I'll only repeat myself once more. I can't let you kill him, Simeon."

Adrin's own aura began to leak out, a dense blue Force wafting about his body. Though he and Simeon were about the same height, Adrin was far broader, making it seem as though he was towering over Simeon completely. 

"Ha…" Simeon released a cold laugh. "… Did you forget why it was that we came here?"

"All of that is meaningless in the face of my little sister's life." Adrin replied coldly. 

"So you're going to stand in my way no matter what? Do you really want to war against my Brazinger Family?"

"Since when as my Adurna Family been afraid of you all? I'm sure you know best that we're the ones who best counter your Lineage Factor. Do you want to have a try to see how that'll work out for you? I'll give you a sneak peek."

Adrin wasn't wrong. If the Brazinger family was the absolute pinnacle of offense, then the Adurna family was the absolute pinnacle of defense. It almost felt like nature knew they were meant to clash, coloring them both blue and red. 

Adrin turned to Leonel without another glance toward Simeon. 

"Little Nana has told me a lot about you, so consider this my thanks. I won't allow them to interfere and you can take this as repayment. Next time we meet on the battlefield, though, we will most likely be enemies."

Adrin was confident in saying this even if Zannos and Elilar chose to side with Simeon in this matter. When it came to stalling and buying time, no one was his better. 

Leonel gave Adrin a deep look before nodding and shooting off into the distance, his three pillars following closely behind him. 

"… I'll make you regret this, Adrin." 

Simeon's voice had once again returned to neutrality, his Force vanishing and even his twin pair of metallic birds having disappeared. He regained his composure so quickly that it almost felt too ridiculous. 

Adrin's eyes narrowed. "Any time."

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