Leonel's casual greeting reached all of their ears. At that moment, everyone's attention shot toward the same teenage boy.
Despite the fact he looked as though he had just crawled out from a garbage dump, he held a certain undeniable valiant air that made him too difficult to ignore.
Leonel yawned again.
This sort of scene, why did it feel so familiar?
Beneath their gazes, Leonel flipped his palm and allowed numerous snowglobes to appear. Afterward, members of the Adurna family began to appear one after another, plopping to the ground as Leonel released them.
"Big Brother Leonel!"
Nana was the first to recover as she wasn't harmed to begin with. While the others were still in a daze, Nana seemed to realize that Leonel must have been the one that saved them.
Leonel smiled lightly, patting the little girl's head. Seeing her childish excitement, he could tell just how much the Camelot Zone had weighed on her mind.
The second of the Adurna family to come to was their oldest and the man that had been responsible for their lives. However, it seemed that he had failed in his task as a guardian fairly badly. And, to make matters worse, his mind was still foggy. He found it difficult to tell whether or not they were still within a Zone.
This elder's name was Matteus. He couldn't help but look toward Leonel with a hint of confusion.
Leonel only smiled. "I hope your Adurna family remembers this favor."
Matteus blinked in confusion. Favor? Wait..
He looked around and seemed to recognize the island they were on. They had escaped? How? Matteus had been absolutely certain that they would all be dead.
"Alright, bye." Leonel waved and seemed set to leave, causing many to be shocked.
Catris' gaze sharpened. Did this boy really not take them seriously?!
"LEONEL!"
The roar cut through the heavy rain and rumbling clouds. Even Leonel couldn't help but look back only to see an infuriated Badger. In fact, the latter's skin had reddened to the point that it seemed to steam beneath the rain.
Leonel frowned slightly. It wasn't only him, but Hutch as well.
It had to be remembered that Mayfly and Badger were sent by Hutch in order save Leonel and the others of the island. It could be said that Badger was thus a person of Hutch's. No matter how you looked at it, him standing out now would only muddy the situation.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Leonel shifted his gaze toward Badger. How could he not tell why the latter was enraged? However, what did Mayfly's death have to do with him? If he should be blaming anyone, it should be Monet for failing to protect her own. And, even if he didn't want to blame Monet, he should then blame the Adurna family for screwing everything up to begin with.
This was a Unique Zone. Deaths were practically inevitable. If the planned dozen had entered, it was likely that the death count would have been the same if not worse.
Badger fumed beneath Leonel's nonchalance, but he soon calmed, his gaze becoming a smothering volcano that was ready to erupt at any time.
Large wings spread from his back. It seemed like he might shoot forward at any moment, ready to risk his life to take Leonel's.
Leonel shook his head and couldn't be bothered. He didn't want to stir up anymore problems. Before he left Earth, he still wanted to destroy the Royal Blue Fort. If these issues blew up instead, he would have to head to Terrain first and deal with it later. This was obviously something he didn't want to do.
Leonel was still worried about his teammates. There was no telling if the Junior Governor Duke had chosen to target his friends in his absence.
In normal times, Leonel would trust James to protect them, but the event of that month taught him that James truly couldn't be counted upon. When it came down to it, James placed the matters of his family above friendship and comradery.
If Leonel thought about it, there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with this approach. If he was asked to choose between his father and his friends, wouldn't the choice be obvious?
Of course, if others heard Leonel's thoughts, they would think him too cold or calculating. How could one so easily make such a choice? But to Leonel, it was just this simple.
However, it seemed that Leonel wouldn't be getting his wish…
"Unauthorized entry into a Zone, hoarding of contraband, and the murder of a fellow soldier."
Leonel's crimes were calmly listed by a familiar feminine voice. He didn't even need to look to know that the person in question was Monet.
Leonel's gaze swept through the crowd to land on the red armored middle-aged beauty.
At this point, Leonel didn't even bother. He took out a talisman. Since he wasn't going to be able to leave here peacefully to do what he needed to do, he would just leave to Terrain now. However, he would remember this.
He was certain that by the time he came back, these Supremes wouldn't be able to handle him even if they banded together as one. By then, no one could stop him from doing what he needed to do.
The expression of those watching changed. Of all the things they expected, for Leonel to say not a word and truly prepare to leave caught them completely off guard.
"Leonel, wait."
"Hm?" Leonel paused.
There was only one person he would even bother to listen to at this point, and that was obviously Hutch.
Though Leoenl was a bit unsatisfied with the way the old man had kidnapped him against his will, delaying his plans to raze the Royal Blue Fort to the ground, he still felt that the retired Supreme was a net positive on his life.
The old man sighed. "Just stay, will you? With me here, who would dare do anything to you? If you want, in a few years, I'll even give my Supreme position to you. I'll see who dares to say anything."
Hearing these words, others were stunned while Leonel just smiled.
"I appreciate the sentiment, old man. But, I think it's best that the Slayer Legion and I part ways from here on."
Hutch shook his head. "They're a bit shameless, but it's still not good to be alone in this new world order. Youths like you need an umbrella to grow beneath."
Leonel grinned. "Shameless is a good word for it. The people I just saved the lives of are now accusing me of crimes. I wonder how many of them would be alive without me?"
Monet's expression turned ice cold, red flames flickering within the depths of her pupils. But, Leonel continued unperturbed.
"And I dunno… Something about that umbrella term makes me itch all over."
With a last smile, Leonel activated the talisman.
"I'll be seeing you old man."