(Planet Tithia, The First Elder's Mansion, Leo's POV)

*Slash*

The elders stared at the carved-apart door in stunned disbelief, unable to comprehend that someone had just sliced through its enchanted wood with nothing but raw power.

"Skyshard?"

The Second Elder muttered in confusion, his voice trembling as uncertainty clouded his features.

He could not understand why Leo had barged into the room unannounced, or why his eyes carried such murderous heat?

But the longer he stared, the quicker that confusion melted into fear, because the look that Leo gave them right now was not one of a sane man, but rather a predatory beast ready for a hunt.

'By Lord Soron… He looks like he's ready to kill us all,'

The Second Elder thought, as he nervously glanced towards the Third Elder, who looked at him pitifully, as if he were ready to cry this very instant.

"Thank god you are here Skyshard, we were just talking about you…"

The First Elder said, his tone unconsciously dipping softer than usual, as if his throat instinctively tightened to avoid provoking the beast before him.

"There are some things we wish to discuss with—"

The First Elder continued, however, before he could work his magic with his glib tongue and try to defuse the situation, Leo simply raised his hand….. slowly, deliberately, as he commanded silence without uttering a word.

*Silence*

The First Elder paused mid speech, his expression as bewildered as his colleagues, as he looked at Leo with fear evident in his eyes.

"You've all heard Charles's speech," Leo began, his voice calm yet carrying the kind of authority that didn't ask for attention, but rather seized it.

"Soron isn't here.

Which means I am the acting Sect Master of the Cult Of Ascension until he returns.

And in case any of you are confused about who's in charge…"

He stepped forward, each stride echoing off the marble floor, his boots cutting through the tension like blades through flesh, as he pointed a finger at the First Elder first, before then turning it toward the Second, and finally the Third.

"…let me clear that confusion right here, right now."

His tone sharpened, as the restraint in his voice snapped like a thread pulled too tight.

"What I say in these times of crisis, GOES."

He thundered, his angry voice filling the room, as loose dust from the ceiling began to fall.

"You understand me? You egotistical sons of bitches?"

The pressure of his aura exploded outward, slamming into the three elders like a tidal wave, who began to sweat like they were seated in a sauna.

"I SAID, What I say, GOES!"

Leo roared, as this time, the very table laying between them cracked right down the middle.

*SPLIT*

"And I have no tolerance for dissenters!"

He concluded, as the three elders before him gulped a mouthful of saliva nervously, their faces showing just how shocked they were to be talked down like this by a kid so young.

"Consider this your first and last warning,"

Leo said, his tone lowering but still sounding no less deadly.

"Don't test my patience. Don't block my men. Don't create unnecessary nuisance. Stay out of my way, and I won't mess with you. But delay a single shipment under my command, delay even one man by unnecessarily questioning him about his orders, and I swear to you, I'll cut down every last one of you… down to the final member of your wretched council."

He threatened in a cold, sharp and precise voice, his each word sinking into their hearts like a sharp dagger, as the First Elder clenched his fists beneath the table, his knuckles white from humiliation.

"It's not that we don't want to cooperate with you, Skyshard," he said finally, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Of course we acknowledge your leadership. But we have a duty to the people. We simply wish to ensure their interests are being met."

He argued, as he put on a saintly mask.

"Yes, yes, we are public servants after all—"

The Second Elder added quickly, grasping at the moment.

"The people elected us to represent them, and that's all we are ensuring" the Third Elder followed, his voice faltering halfway through.

However, listening to them talk about the 'people', Leo couldn't help but involuntarily chuckle, as he laughed a hollow, humorless laugh that carried more contempt than mirth.

"Save the drama and lies for the rallies, old men," he said, his tone dripping venom.

"The only people you've ever served are yourselves, and I don't have the patience to play your game of pretend anymore."

He threatened, as he took another step forward, shadows crawling across his face as his killing intent swelled again.

"Charles is DEAD. My mentor is DEAD. And you should all mourn the fact he is dead… because without him here to hold me back, I might just kill every one of you on a whim."

His words struck like thunder, and for a brief moment, none of them dared to breathe.

The Second Elder tried to recover his composure, forcing a smirk he didn't feel, but failed, as looking into Leo's eyes, he felt the words in his throat dissipate before they ever got out.

"The three of us are quite powerful Transcendents, Skyshard. And in case you haven't noticed, there are seven more outside this chamber, alongside eleven Grandmasters. You really think you can take all of us? Especially without your Monarch-tier slaves?"

The First Elder asked, as amongst everyone present here, he was the only one to have a skin thick enough to defy Leo even now, however, contrary to his expectations, Leo did not respond to his veiled threat like he wanted him to, for instead of being intimidated, the Shadow Dragon simply smiled.

"Eh?"

He mused as he looked around confidently, making eye contact with every last man inside and outside the room, as he let them know through his gaze that he had already decided on how painfully he planned to kill every last one of them should they defy him.

"Do I think I can take all of you?" he repeated, his hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. "Really, Mavern?"

The First Elder froze.

No one had called him by his real name in centuries.

At least not in a public setting.

"Did you forget whose blood runs in my veins? Or why am I called the Shadow Dragon?"

He asked, as the tension in the room reached its breaking point.

The Elders had all personally trained him, and hence they understood firsthand just how monstrous his talent really was, and just how big the gap was between him and any other Transcendent within the Cult.

As even working together, they knew in their hearts that they could not take him down.

"This is the second strike for you, Lord First," Leo said softly, his grip on his dagger tightening as if to show that he was at the absolute limit of his patience.

"And I promise there won't be a third. So tread carefully from here onwards."

He warned, as with that last warning, he turned around and began walking away, his footsteps unhurried, his aura leaving cracks in the marble floor.

He didn't need to turn back to know that all three elders were trembling—shaken not by his power, but by the terrifying certainty that the patient Leo Skyshard they once knew was gone.

And that the man now standing in his place…was every bit the ruthless descendent of the Timeless Assassin that a real Dragon was supposed to be.

A man, who had lost both his patience and sanity, and only saw the world in a shade of red and gray.

A man that they could not afford to make an enemy of.

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