[ Such profound words were naturally incomprehensible to Taurus Hasgard, who looked at Ilias with a puzzled expression, always speaking in riddles.
"Please don't change the subject with incomprehensible answers!"
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Ilias to return to the Sanctuary, the straightforward Taurus decided to use force, even if it meant tying him up and dragging him back!
"Gigantic Ho—"
Before he could finish shouting, little Regulus stood in front of his father, stopping Taurus: "Dad didn't do anything wrong!"
The tender tone made Taurus even more ashamed, so he could only sit down helplessly, grab a grilled fish, and start eating, saying that he wouldn't give up easily. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Even Taurus knows to hate riddlers, can't he just speak openly instead of being so mysterious?"
"Hahaha, the young Taurus seems a bit reckless. Since the other party is the strongest Gold Saint, are you sure you can really beat him?!"
Everyone looked at Taurus, who was stopped by Regulus, and couldn't help but chuckle. Fortunately, he was stopped early; otherwise, the one lying down just now might have been... you.
.....
[ Early the next morning, while Taurus was still sound asleep, Ilias asked his son to cut his hair short! Revealing his handsome and weathered face—!
"Dad, why are you cutting your hair?! You're still going, aren't you? To the Sanctuary—."
Ilias neither denied nor affirmed, only speaking in words that no one could understand: "Just this once, stepping back into the form of a warrior."
"Cough, cough..." As Ilias coughed, his hands were stained with the blood he coughed up.
He was already terminally ill.
"The earth tells me that the man of destiny has arrived."
After an unknown amount of time, Ilias, with short hair, put on the Leo Cloth and sat quietly in front of the tent, waiting for the enemy's arrival.
Soon, a group of Specters emerged from the forest, shouting that they would kill everyone here, only to find the village empty.
"Did you do this?! There's not a single soul in this village."
Facing the Specters' question, Ilias instead asked them: "You claim you want to kill everyone, are you not even sparing children?"
The Frog Specter laughed even more wildly, scoffing with a loud laugh: "Of course, we are the immortal Specter army! The earth will be our territory sooner or later!"
Upon hearing this, Ilias fell silent. With his silence, the entire earth became quiet until a leaf slowly drifted down from the air.
The moment the leaf landed on his hand, the eerie silence was broken, and space was torn into fragments by countless rays of light!
The Specters, who were just showing off their power, also turned into fragments along with the shattered space, emitting painful screams, blood splashing like blooming flowers, and then falling into silence again.
Ilias understood that his enemy was never the Specters in front of him, but... "Right, Wyvern!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Now I finally understand what it means when a seemingly shining star is actually dead! It's not that he doesn't want to return to the Sanctuary, but his body won't allow it."
"Holy cow, he truly lives up to his reputation as the strongest Gold Saint. With a body full of injuries, the punches he throws while sitting can even tear through space!"
Everyone from other worlds couldn't help but gasp. My goodness, at that speed, let alone punch shadows, I'd believe you if you told me he didn't move at all!
As for the power... Heh, a punch that can shatter space, could its power be weak?! Among the Specters who were just cursing, anyone who's still in one piece would be impressive.
.....
〜One Piece World〜
"Even someone as strong as that person can't escape the torment of illness?!"
Whitebeard, hooked up to an IV, watched Ilias cough up blood with a sigh.
Without Devil Fruit abilities, sitting on the ground without moving a step, and under the torment of injuries, he could unleash such powerful punches with just his physical body, which was truly admirable!
Marco, with his pineapple-shaped hair:
"So, the little lion was so angry before because Ilias lost to Wyvern?!"
It seems that Ilias can't even move his body now, so it's not surprising that he lost to Radamanthys.
It's a pity, this seems like a curse, every man hailed as the strongest carries a body full of illnesses!
But there's one thing Marco didn't understand: are those Specters colorblind?!
With such a gleaming Gold Cloth right there, what gave them the courage to face a Gold Saint directly?
.....
[ Wyvern Radamanthys appeared from behind Ilias, bringing a monstrous black flame down into the forest!
On the other side, Hasgard walked with the sleeping Regulus and the evacuating villagers. Regulus slowly woke from his slumber.
What met his eyes was the forest burning fiercely, and at this moment, Radamanthys' subordinate, Balron Lune, appeared before them, also holding back Hasgard.
The little lion, worried about his father's safety, took advantage of this gap to run towards the village!
"My heart is pounding fiercely, a bit like fear... but what am I afraid of?!"
A vague, ominous premonition enveloped him, the same feeling as when his mother left him!
After a long search in the jungle, Regulus pushed aside the dense foliage, and what met his eyes was Radamanthys stepping on Leo's chest.
He mocked Ilias with a wide grin: "You truly underestimate the battlefield. With your terminally ill lungs, do you still think you can beat me?!"
"Absurd!"
With that, he kicked Ilias away. Seeing this, Regulus cried out and ran from the jungle to his father's side: "Dad!! Please wake up!"
Ilias lay weakly on the ground, looking at his son's face: "The old star is about to disappear, and the new star is right here!!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"This must be late-stage lung cancer. He was already spitting blood before the fight. Illness and injury are always the most troubling problems for veterans!"
Everyone was helpless. Even if Ilias could communicate with the earth, even if he was the strongest Gold Saint Leo, he still couldn't escape one point... he was still just a human.
As long as he was human, he couldn't escape birth, old age, sickness, and death. He possessed immense power, but due to his already terminally ill body, he couldn't wield it.
If it weren't for his illness, it's believed that even if Radamanthys was one of the Three Judges, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Ilias so easily!
And now, as Ilias said, the old star is about to fade; this is the inheritance between father and son. An incredibly talented star is rising!
Regulus later truly inherited his father's Leo Gold Cloth, radiating a dazzling light.
.....
[ Seeing the sudden appearance of Regulus, Radamanthys showed no mercy, immediately preparing to kill both of them!
In an instant, a gigantic Wyvern phantom appeared behind him, its horns carrying a violent and ferocious aura, rushing towards the two Leo Saints with boundless power!
But Ilias smiled and said, "Wyvern, your horns cannot kill this child!"
"Lightning Plasma Fist—!"
At this moment, space instantly shattered, and wild winds howled! Even the forest fire consuming the trees was extinguished by Leo's attack.
Then, a faint and gentle voice reached Regulus's ears: "Run, Regulus, your light will shine in the night sky after today!"
Suddenly, a brilliant light illuminated the earth. The forest was already a mess, and Ilias's heart was pierced by the Wyvern's horn!
But his right hand broke off the Wyvern's other horn, and the vanished Regulus was thus saved!
And in a place invisible to Radamanthys, the gentle breeze brought Ilias's final message to Regulus: "Regulus... my physical life has reached its end, but! I still exist everywhere in the world!"
"I exist in everything you observe and feel. Go anywhere freely, that is..."
"What I mean by conversing with the earth!"
The scene returns to the present, and the gears of destiny have brought the former little lion face-to-face with his father's killer! ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Holy cow, to be able to unleash techniques with such a body is already a miracle, and he even managed to break one of Radamanthys's Surplice horns."
Everyone from other worlds also noticed that Ilias hadn't actively moved from the beginning... or rather, his body no longer supported his movement.
His physical body had died, yet he still existed everywhere in the world and could even convey his final wishes to Regulus through the wind. This was the final curtain call for Leo, who could converse with the earth.
.....