Chapter 386 - Zero

Leonel had never felt so much anger before. He didn't even think about how it was he recognized Aina at all.

Leonel had known for a long time that the face he had come to know wasn't Aina's own. He never once thought of asking her why that was. To him, it simply didn't matter. But, after finding out the truth, his blood boiled and seethed.

He didn't care about what Aina looked like. Even back when he chose her over so many others and hadn't known about her face coverings, she had never been the most beautiful. He simply went with his gut feeling and accepted it.

But now, knowing that someone had done something like this to her, Leonel's visceral reaction was even more violent than it had been when he found out someone had cut something out of him as a mere child.

As for Aina, the last thing she had expected was to meet Leonel here. Despite the effort Leonel had put into spreading his name, she had practically cut off contact with the outside world while she was on the run. Where would she have had the time to converse and learn about the hottest rumors?

However, it was precisely because she was so caught off-guard that her gaze rippled so violently. Something about Leonel's reaction shook her to her core.

After she came to this world, she had hoped to forget everything else. In fact, part of the reason she chose to take off her face covering was as a way of leaving those things of the past in the past.

This scarred face of hers looked nothing like the face Leonel knew. Even if these scars suddenly vanished, she would look like a completely different person. She had thought that even if she ran into Leonel, there was no way he would recognize her. But, she could have never expected that not only would he, but that he would do so, so quickly. It was almost surreal.

As if that wasn't enough to shake her, of all the reactions she expected to find in his gaze, she saw none of them.

There was no disgust, there was no hesitancy, there wasn't even a shred of pity. There was nothing but rage.

Leonel saw red. He was so focused on Aina's face that he hadn't even realized she had been in battle.

When he looked down at her shoulder and saw the yet-to-dry blood dripping down from her already healed wound, his gaze became steely.

Leonel's head turned to Jilniya, his irises flickering with wild violet-red lights.

"You did this?"

SHUUUUUUUUU!

Leonel's fingers left his bowstring.

For an instant, it felt as though everyone was thrust into a land of ice and snow, watching as a relentless hail descended from above.

Jilniya felt too much fear to even move. She was locked down by a 'Style' far beyond her Falls martial arts. It was like her every instinct had been accounted for, like even if she dodged it would only be like jumping into the arms of death.

It was a feeling she would never forget in her life. She knew she had more strength than this, more power than maybe this attack even had to offer. But, for some reason, she didn't dare to use it. It was as though a higher power had commanded her to accept her death. And... before this power... she was nothing.

But...

0:0:0:0

DING!

An energy swirled around the Tower's first floor, snuffing everything out. Even Leonel's arrow vanished into thin air.

The moment the clock hit zero, a central platform elevated from the center of the first floor and a teleportation array flickered. Soon, three forms began to appear.

When they manifested, the first thing everyone noticed was their odd yet valiant dressing. However, Leonel's gaze still carried a bloodthirsty air to it. All he knew was that the appearance of these three stopped his commandment from coming to fruition.

The three figures had been casual. This world was definitely not as interesting as being assigned to the others, but they still had to do their jobs. Since they had been thrust into this boring situation together, they had a sense of comradery amongst one another.

The truth was that they weren't the ones who snuffed out Leonel's attack, that was just a normal function of the tower. They had no idea that they had been wrongly accused by a kid they wouldn't normally give a second glance toward.

But, when they appeared, they felt a savage, relentless aura lock onto them.. Even with their strength, they couldn't help but frown and look toward the source of it.