Chapter 579: Decree
A stunned silence gripped at Pisces' throat.
It wasn't just her. The mystery of who first was had pervaded the people of Earth and their enemies for a long time. But, no one had managed to find the truth.
At this point, one might wonder how it was everyone was so certain about the positions of Elorin, Noah and the mysterious fourth individual.
The truth was that the so-called heroes of Earth were only chosen among the youths. One had to remember that Leonel's first entry to a Zone was vastly different from all the other instances. He was first transported to another world before falling into a coma for several days. Only after this was he able to enter a Zone of his own accord.
If one thought about it, this was completely different from any other experience Leonel had had, and there was a reason for this.
This mysterious world they had been taken to was the core of Earth. The only ones allowed to enter this space had been youths mature enough to make their own decisions but immature enough to not have reached their full potential yet.
As for what criteria a world used to come to this conclusion, it was impossible to tell. But, the more talented a world, the more accurate its judgment would be in this regard.
Ultimately, only youths chosen by the world would gain this chance...
This was where the mysterious fog of that time came into play. Back then, among the youths who had fallen into a coma with him, Leonel received by far the smallest portion of this fog-like energy while Aina received the vast majority.
This mysterious energy was a very special type of Universal Force known as World Force. Its role in that instant of time was to aid in the Awakening of one's ability to their greatest potential.
So then, one might ask why it was Leonel received such a small portion? The answer was obvious, Leonel's ability had awakened long before the Metamorphosis. He simply didn't need this energy. If it wasn't for his father locking his ability away in his youth, it would have grown far beyond the measure it was at currently.
However, such a powerful existence on Earth too early wasn't a good thing either. Leonel's presence alone would have sped up Earth's evolution by too large of a margin. Beyond this, there were various reasons why evolving a powerful ability on a weak world would be a detriment to Leonel as well.
Ultimately, Leonel awoke far earlier than everyone else as a result of this and as such cleared his Zone long before...
How did others know the order? That was by judging who exited first.
However, when receiving his rewards, Elorin learned that he was actually second.
This was the hidden truth. The overseers of that treasured world of white weren't as tight lipped as one would expect... but, Uncle Montez never spoke of Leonel. So, while others found various channels to learn of who second through fourth were, no one ever learned who first was... until this very moment.
"You're lying!" Pisces screeched.
Laymen might not understand the value of the four heroes, but those of the Slayer Legion were painfully aware.
On any other world, these four would be the pillars that upheld the World Spirit. However, on Earth, even though there was no World Spirit to split, these four represented the four most talented youths of their World.
But, what was truly the most shocking to Pisces was that she had no idea Leonel didn't have a fourth of the World Spirit. If it was such wide spread knowledge, there was no way Terrain wouldn't have stumbled upon this information.
So, in the face of such words, it felt as though she was facing a man capable of grasping the fate of their world.
Leonel didn't bother to respond to Pisces, his gaze locking onto Elorin. For this man to force him to stop his forward momentum despite his rage, there was no doubt that he was radiating a large amount of danger. But, Leonel had no intention of letting these matters rest so simply.
If he did nothing, he felt as though his heart would burst from his chest. His blood ran even hotter now than when he used his Scarlet Star Force.
"I won't say it again." Leonel said coldly, looking into Elorin's blue eyes.
Elorin silently scanned Leonel. This man was first?
Elorin had always trusted his intuition, and his intuition told him that Leonel wasn't lying. In fact, if Leonel wasn't in such a rage induced state, he might have not even bothered to speak such words.
"The members of the Slayer Legion can't be casually dealt with by outsiders."
"Outsiders?" Leonel's sneer deepened to the point of being overcast by darkness. "According to my simulations, there's a 97% chance the Slayer Legion is a hidden card that reports directly to the royal family."
Elorin's pupils constricted into pinholes, staring toward Leonel with a tinge of extra alertness.
"If you were an independent organization, not only wouldn't you be at a head with the hidden families, but you would also have allied with Terrain instead of battling them to your near deaths.
"So try me again. Tell me how this Prince of The Empire is an outsider."
Pisces and others who had been in the dark felt as though bells were resonating in their minds. Leonel had no idea he had just revealed a secret kept for centuries, nor did he care. Today, Pisces would die.
Elorin regained his calm after a moment, his gaze becoming indifferent.
"Unfortunately for you, Prince, even if such a thing were true, it would have been a secret maintained for hundreds of years and we would be an organization that only reported directly to The Emperor himself. You, even as a Prince, for the crime of revealing such a matter, would be executed.
"That's how the story would go, no?"
Leonel's expression only became colder.
However, just as he was about to attack, the world suddenly trembled, the sound of a shattering barrier radiating down from the skies.
The energies whined, reality bending and twisting beneath an inconceivable might. And then... a voice that traveled to all corners of their Fold of Reality spoke to them all.
"Under the Decree of Shield Cross Stars, Leonel Morales is to be classified as a Tier 4 Fugitive, found guilty for the crime of colluding with a Variant Invalid.
"The fugitive has two hours to hand himself in, or his charges will be increased to Tier 3.
"The bounty is set to 10 000 kilograms of Fifth Dimensional Urbe."
-End of Book 3