I personally made sure all the intruders were handed over to the police officers; had I not done that, they would've died at the hands of my mother or the bodyguards.
It was something I noticed immediately; they were quick to resort to killing an opponent. The moment they dared to even put the slightest bit of resistance, they immediately began showing killing intent.
"Is there a reason you wanted to let them live so badly?" Leo asked me.
"I just don't like needless deaths." I answered him.
"You know…"
I know… I know, I know that to you it sounds idiotic, but if possible… if it's in my power, I wish to avoid reliving those memories; they're… they're just… I don't want to be reminded of those moments.
Everytime I saw blood, parts of those blocked memories would resurface, making me relive all those unpleasant emotions.
"What are the chances they turn their life around?" Leo asked me.
I knew it was a leading question, so I simply refused to answer it.
"I know," I replied.
"If they learn that they can mess with us and get away alive, do you think they'll stop?" My father asked me.
You too?
Why are you all so cruel?
He then tightly hugged me.
"We're not trying to bully you; we care for you, and it's why we're trying to teach you this lesson." He softly whispered as he patted my head.
"People in the fracture… No, all practitioners who use demonic energy or artifacts, all of them… they cannot be trusted; they're the worst of the worst." He reminded me.
"B-but."
"The people who kidnapped you were once our greatest allies; they saved our backs more times than we could ever count. We're just trying to save you from suffering from the same pain we went through." He added before I could say anything back.
I didn't know how to answer that; there really was no comeback, so I simply looked down and thanked them, thanked them for worrying about me. Even though I didn't agree with their methods.
"Thanks."
"No problem." My father replied with a cheerful smile, giving me a positive thumbs up.
I wonder…
"If they survive and escape, how many people will die by their hands?" Leo asked me.
"What?" I was confused by that question.
"Just make an estimate; we'll keep track of it later." He pushed further without giving me time to think.
Do you mean you will literally keep the count?
"Why are you still pushing for that? "I asked him.
"It'll help, probably." He confidently replied with crossed arms.
"Is that how the uncle did it for you?" I asked him.
"Oh, no, no, not at all; I just had to get used to it by trying repeatedly until you stopped feeling anything." He answered.
The image of the cheerful Leo having to kill many of our prisoners suddenly surfaced in my mind; it wasn't a pleasing image, because after each one I could see something bright in his eyes fade, getting replaced by something alien.
Do you even feel anything at this point?
"It gets easier if you read out loud the list of their crimes." He casually commented as he took my hand and dragged me outside.
That doesn't make it better!
Outside the arena was waiting a large, luxurious car; within it was a guest, a young boy younger than us by maybe a couple of years.
He wore expensive colored clothes and had tinted nails and tinted hair.
This guy… does he think we won't notice it, or does he think we're just like him… If it's the latter, then—
"Relax, Luca, relax; there's no need to frown so much; this is a guest."
A. Guest. He repeated using his mouth.
"You probably haven't heard of him, so let me present him to you; he's the son of the mayor of this lovely place. His name is Alria Duxia, and he's twenty-five."
Huh? There's no way that guy is twenty-five.
"A pleasure to meet you." The boy repeatedly bowed down elegantly.
He then reached out with his hands, and I refused to shake hands. Pushing it away.
I don't like this guy… Why do we have to drag him with us?
I saw a part of his smile twitch as his whole body stiffened, but he kept his composure, and especially that annoying smile of his.
"Weren't you the one preaching about sacrificing oneself for the benefit of the family?" Leo whispered to me.
Tch! Sly bastard.
I tolerate Michael because he's family; don't expect me to treat this stranger with the same leniency.
"A pleasure to meet you." I said, forcing a smile.
I forced myself to smile and firmly shook his hand.
"I was always curious how you would be to meet in person; there is barely anything to go by, as you never made a public appearance." He greeted me with enthusiasm, his eyes sparkling with something that sent shivers down my spine.
"When I heard you made the demonic artifact yourself through an undiscovered method, I grew even more desperate to know you in person."
It's useless; no matter how much you flatter me, you're not going to make up for such a terrible first impression. I bet if I came closer, I could also smell alcohol on you.
"And how was your first impression of me?" I asked him to gauge his feelings.
He was perfectly composed; he was capable of suppressing his own emotions so that they wouldn't leak out during a simple conversation, something that was quite impressive to say the least.
It's my first time not being able to tell if someone is telling the truth or not; it's quite uncomfortable. I never knew you could even do this… definitely a first.
"I'm simply honored to meet such a young and brilliant mind." He replied, cupping his fists and lowering his head.
Brilliant, my ass; you haven't even answered my question.
As the limousine began moving away from the arena, he took out a bottle of champagne from underneath his seat; the glasses were already ready on the edge of our seats.
I originally wanted to refuse the drink, but Leo had other plans; he quickly forced me to drink it by bringing the glass of champagne to my mouth, directly in between my lips.
"So, I suppose you have a lot of questions for us." I said as I put the glass back where it was; this time it was upside down.
I placed my hand over it so that it couldn't be refilled.
"Well, I always wanted to ask, why haven't you visited the fracture all this time?" He asked.
"I've been busy, too busy studying and learning new things." I replied as I exchanged glares with Leonhart.
What's wrong with you today? Why are you acting so strange now? Is this how you act in front of these disgusting freaks?
"I had a few questions regarding the new artifacts you made. First off, is the artifact chosen as the prize of this tournament the best you ever produced?"
Wow, you really are one piece of work.
"Obviously not; that's just standard practice; the best stuff is always reserved for us or our subordinates. We did this way before I even began to extract demonic artifacts." I corrected him.
We would only sell a weapon if we could possibly counter the means to neutralize it or if it were completely harmless against us.
The sling was similar.
It had few tricky restrictions; first of all, it needed the target to be in clear view of the user. When the rock is thrown, if the enemy has more than double the energy spent to activate the sling's ability, he could use it to avoid the sure-hit effect and instead face the rock at less than 3 centimeters off his face.
The timing makes it impossible for grunts to avoid it, but for people on my level, avoiding it wasn't impossible at the very least.
The speed of the rock depended entirely on the user's strength, meaning even with the countermeasures in place, I could never evade the rock thrown by someone like the uncle; when we tried, he almost split my skull open.
"How did you even discover a new method of extraction?" He asked, leaning forward; the stench of his debauched life filled my nostrils, making me recoil backward.
This piece of… Why are you testing your luck so much today? You think you're immune to consequences just because you're the son of… What was it again?
"You should know your place; it's understandable that you may be curious, but in no way in hell would we ever reveal that method to you." Leo intervened; his tone was serious, cold, and full of malice.
I fully agree; know your fucking place.
"Sorry, sorry, I got too ahead of myself there; hopefully you can—"
"Just be careful; the next time you run your mouth, our guards may just end up beheading you." I warned him.
Beheading may be a little excessive here, but if this warning works to keep him off of this topic, I'm more than happy with this.
"So, what do we have in the program today?" I asked Leo.
"We have a bunch of interviews; don't worry, I've got a list of answers you're going to give them. Memorize them as quickly as you can," he said as he passed me a small list of answers written on paper.
"There is still going to be a teleprompter, but it would be better if your answers looked authentic." He added.
"Then after we film whatever ad for the city, we head to the auction house." Leo passed me a small crumpled sheet of paper.
"Do we even have time to be at the auction house?" I asked, worried.
"Don't worry about it; we have plenty of time." He assured me the other man was nodding along like some parrot.
"What do you want to sell?" Leo asked.
"What kind of artifact are you going to sell? "The boy also asked.
"Honestly, I didn't really think this through, but I promised them it would've been a mind-blowing close-range weapon; we should have more than one we could easily toss their way." I replied as Leo slid yet another piece of paper my way.
It was a list; among them were the names of possible artifacts I made, all of them still in their early stage of development, nowhere near their final version.
Yeah, there's no way I'm giving any of these.