...
The Villa.
As Leon and Mother's Milk entered, Butcher and the others came to greet them. Knowing Leon was punctual, they had gathered here in advance to wait.
Whoosh—
Mother's Milk didn't say a word.
A chest blast directly blew the heads off a pair of supe male and female who were high on Compound V, completely lost in their ecstasy, and still entangled, right in front of the rest of The Boys.
"What the Wat?!"
Butcher looked bewildered: "Mother's Milk, what did you do?"
"Completely crazy."
Mother's Milk's face split into Butcher's signature wicked grin.
This was just too much fun~
Leon, who was watching the scene unfold from the side, couldn't help but think.
Just then.
By the window of the building across the way.
A figure, nearly naked from the waist down, holding an octopus in a plastic bag, was about to jump out the window and escape. Leon found the figure somewhat familiar.
Bang!
Leon raised his hand and fired a photovoltaic shockwave, blasting the person, the window, and half the wall outwards.
Then.
He gestured to Hughie, who immediately understood, activated his superpower, and teleported away to retrieve the body outside the Villa.
"Leon, why do You have my superpower?"
The Boys saw Leon use a new superpower that they had never seen him use before, yet it felt exceptionally familiar.
Butcher and the others were full of surprise, but they didn't say much.
Starlight, feeling closer to Leon, boldly asked directly.
"My dear, I can do far more than You imagine."
Leon smiled and walked forward, skillfully wrapping an arm around Starlight's slender waist, and whispered into her ear:
"If You want to know, come to my room tonight. I'll teach You how to use your superpower further, just like this."
Saying that.
Leon raised his hand and pointed his palm at the supe Termite, who was cowering in a corner of the Villa's main hall, no bigger than an ant.
With a bang!
What came out of Leon's palm was no longer the photovoltaic shockwave with a large damage radius but scattered power. Instead, it was a concentrated, searing golden beam cannon with a small damage radius but fully focused power.
With just this one shot.
Leon broke Starlight's zero-kill record with her palm shockwave, blasting Termite into dust, leaving only a molten hole two or three fingers wide in the corner of the wall.
Whoosh—
Just then, Hughie, carrying The Deep and his octopus girlfriend Timothy, teleported back into the Villa's main hall.
Seeing this, Starlight quickly pushed Leon away, blushing, and turned around while Hughie's back was still to her and Leon.
Hughie turned around and only saw Starlight with her back to them, her usually fair neck seeming slightly red.
But the other members of The Boys were in a state of meditative emptiness, not saying a word.
Hughie didn't think much of it. Instead, he excitedly threw the semi-conscious Deep in front of Leon.
Like a Hakimi that doesn't eat dead mice but will actively bring a captured dead mouse to its Master to claim credit.
"Leon, what are You going to do with him?"
Hughie asked.
"Annie, what do You think?"
Leon tossed Hughie's question to Starlight. She was the one with the most to say and the most right to decide The Deep's fate, after all, they had a past too painful to recall.
Although she didn't know why Leon asked her, Starlight recalled The Deep's bullying attempt when she first joined The Seven, relying on his seniority.
Though she ultimately wasn't 'bitten' thanks to Queen Maeve's help, a surge of anger still rose in her heart. Starlight kicked out, directly wrecking The Deep's lower body, then discussed with Leon:
"This is the retribution he deserves, but his crime isn't punishable by death. He's just a dim-witted fool. Let him go."
"Okay, Leon?"
Starlight looked at Leon with a hint of pleading in her eyes.
"As You wish, U.S. Sweetheart."
Leon, in front of Hughie, chivalrously bent down, took Starlight's hand, and lightly kissed the back of it.
Starlight wasn't repulsed by this level of intimacy; instead, she smiled, appreciative of Leon's understanding.
Hughie next to them felt the same way.
He shared Starlight's opinion, believing that The Deep didn't deserve to die, and that castrating him was the greatest punishment for his past actions.
However.
As if Leon had seen through Hughie's cuckold thoughts, he released Starlight's hand, straightened up, and said indifferently:
"But—"
"Don't compromise yourself for a moment of kindness. Within reasonable bounds, we should do whatever we want."
After saying that.
Leon shattered The Deep's not-so-smart head with a shield bash. The gruesome scene utterly dumbfounded Hughie.
Starlight, the person involved, also turned her head away with a look of unbearable pity. Although she didn't want to see The Deep's miserable state, she did feel much more relieved inside.
"Oi, the person You're looking for is over here."
Butcher walked to a room door, shaking his head and beckoning to Leon.
"Mm."
Leon nodded, shield in hand, and walked over, ignoring the reactions of the rest of The Boys. They weren't important enough for Leon to care about their feelings.
...
Inside the room.
The TNT Twins were already tied up by Butcher.
As soon as Leon entered.
They looked at him with eyes full of fear, struggling violently, but it was useless.
"Hey, kids, I'm back."
Leon walked up to The TNT Twins like a long-lost friend, greeting them, and simultaneously removed the lollipops that had kept them quiet.
"Le-Leon..."
Once The TNT Twins could speak, they instantly burst into tears, pleading: "The matter in Nicaragua wasn't our fault, we swear to God."
"Oh, that's really nice."
Leon raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his face, and said: "You two have confirmed for me that God is a lying bitch."
【Question: Do You wish to perform today's sign-in?】
'System, You are my God.'
【Ding! Today's sign-in is complete. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining 'Endless Firecrackers'.】
"F*ck!"
'More trash like this!'
Leon was truly at odds with Payback!
"It-it really wasn't our fault..."
Leon's sudden outburst made The TNT Twins feel their chances of survival were slim. They quickly continued to plead for mercy.
"Then whose fault was it, You say?"
"Tell me, and I promise to leave You a way out."
As he spoke,
Leon's face broke into a highly infectious "smile."
"It-it was Black Noir!"
"That's right! It was him!"
"Black Noir forced us!"
"He sold You out to the Russian poet!"
"Please~ Leon, for the sake of being teammates, spare us!"
The TNT Twins clung to this like a lifeline, desperately slandering Black Noir, even though he was already as black as coal.
"Black Noir?"
Leon asked for confirmation, and The TNT Twins quickly nodded in agreement!
"Heh~"
Leon couldn't help but let out a cold laugh: "If Black Noir didn't have Wat backing him, he wouldn't even dare to fart in front of me!"
"But—"
"Since You've said it, I will keep my word and spare You."
Leon turned away in disappointment, gave Butcher a knowing look, then pushed the door open and walked out, no longer interested in what was about to happen.
"Thank You!"
"Thank You very much!"
"Leon, You're a good person!"
The TNT Twins hadn't expected Leon to actually spare them. The relief they felt after narrowly escaping death made them weep with gratitude.
They quickly bossed around Butcher, who was still in the room:
"Leon said he's sparing us!"
"Aren't You going to hurry up and untie us?"
Hearing this.
Butcher walked up to The TNT Twins, shaking his head, and said with a wicked smile: "He spared You, but I didn't say I would spare You."
"Wh-what?"
Butcher's words instantly froze the relieved smiles on The TNT Twins' faces. They bluffed, acting arrogant: "We're Leon's former teammates, how dare You!"
Whoosh—
Before The TNT Twins could finish, Butcher's eyes shot lasers, sending the two to meet their God.
"Tch!"
They're really two idiots, with no common sense at all. It seems Leon is the only normal one in Payback.
If the remaining Mindstorm, whom he had never met, was also a lunatic.
Butcher couldn't help but think this, deepening his suspicion of the information Mallory had given him about Soldier Boy.
