The answer to Leon's question would not come from these people who are aggressive toward him. Leon didn't bother asking again and simply kept following them silently.

But if the place we arrive at doesn't have Seraphine and Loriel present, there will be chaos.

He had already made his decision. He would take everyone hostage and quickly find his companions through force. These people had crossed a line by taking Seraphine and Loriel—essentially kidnapping them under the pretense of their laws.

They will pay for this mistake.

After another minute of walking through winding corridors, they finally arrived in front of massive, ornate double doors. The group entered without hesitation.

CREAK... THUD!

Inside was a grandiose courtroom with vaulted ceilings and marble columns. However, Leon's focus was entirely on three specific people sitting inside the witness box area, all wearing the same suppression handcuffs as him.

His eyes immediately found Seraphine.

Their gazes met across the distance. She smiled at him—a bittersweet expression tinged with shame, as if she felt responsible for this situation somehow.

There you are. Safe.

Leon knew instantly it was time to act.

Without any warning whatsoever, he released the suppression on his mana core completely.

BOOOOOM!

The handcuffs exploded into dozens of metal fragments that scattered across the floor like shrapnel.

CRASH! CLINK! CLINK!

The sudden, violent burst shocked everyone—the five elite adventurers and Guild Master Aria all jerked in surprise at the sight of the handcuffs bursting.

All five moved to attack him simultaneously—well, that's what they were attempting to do.

However, Leon didn't hold back even slightly.

Transcendent rank Mana Body Enhancement. Transcendent rank Raijin's Descent.

Both activated in mere milliseconds, flooding his body with devastating power.

He layered his Lightning Aura and Wind Aura over himself, then activated multiple speed-enhancing skills simultaneously.

CRACKLE! WHOOOOSH!

Then he dashed forward with explosive force.

BOOOOOM!

A massive sonic boom erupted where he'd been standing, shattering the stone floor and sending cracks spider-webbing outward.

The five people who had been charged with attacking him suddenly found their target completely gone. Only the violent shockwave remained, knocking them backward several meters as Leon vanished from their perception entirely.

"What—?!"

"Where did he—?!"

In the very next second, Leon materialized directly in front of Seraphine, Loriel, and Sylphia.

Made it.

Now that he was closer, Leon took in the rest of the courtroom's occupants. There were only eleven other people present in total.

Ten individuals sat in the audience section, but their seats were extraordinarily luxurious—these weren't common observers. And finally, one mysterious figure sat in the highest chair that clearly denoted supreme authority. Their entire body was covered by elaborate robes, making it impossible to distinguish whether they were male or female. Even their face was concealed behind pristine white masks.

Other than these people, there's no one else here. This is some kind of secret tribunal, not a public trial. Courts aren't supposed to be this empty.

Only after Leon arrived beside the three women did most people in the room actually realize what had just happened—he'd moved faster than their eyes could track.

Leon didn't waste a single second. He opened a portal to his time dimension directly, channeling mana with perfect control.

WHUMMM! SHIMMER!

A silver-white gateway appeared in milliseconds, its edges crackling with spatial energy.

The people in the courtroom immediately started charging toward him. The attackers were the same elite adventurers he'd just left standing in his dust.

In the next instant, Leon's epic sword materialized in his hand from thin air, drawn from his inventory.

SHING!

He unsheathed it and destroyed every incoming attack in one fluid motion—thrown knives, long-range elemental projectiles, everything.

SLASH! CRASH! FWOOSH!

His voice rang out clearly. "All of you, quickly enter the portal! Now!"

Seraphine and Loriel moved immediately without hesitation, trusting him completely. They grabbed Sylphia—who seemed somewhat reluctant—and dragged her toward the gateway.

Seraphine looked back over her shoulder before entering, a hint of genuine worry crossing her beautiful features.

Leon met her eyes, and his expression softened slightly. "Don't worry. I'll be back in no time."

She looked considerably more relieved at his confident words, then stepped through.

FWOOSH!

The portal closed behind them, and all three women vanished to safety.

The entire sequence—from breaking his restraints to sending them away—had happened in barely a second.

The ten council members were now all standing up from their luxurious seats, weapons drawn and ready. Yet strangely, none of them were actively attacking, as if waiting for some specific command or signal.

Among them was a woman with red and purple mixed hair who looked much older and more mature than Aria—clearly the guild master's mother, based on their resemblance.

"YOU ARE DEAD, YOU CRIMINAL!"

The furious shout came from Kaelor, the lion demi-human, as he came rushing directly toward Leon with claws extended and glowing with power.

And he wasn't alone.

Arthur charged behind him, sword drawn. The masked assassin woman flanked from another angle. Behind them, the nun from their party kept her distance like a proper support caster in a well-coordinated party formation.

Not only that, but Aria herself had drawn her own sword—which blazed with both fire and lightning elements—and joined the assault.

However, Cassandra didn't take even a single step forward. Instead, she calmly walked over and took an empty seat in the courtroom gallery, sitting down gracefully.

I'm not a fighter. I'm the weakest combat-wise in our party anyway. And more than that... I don't want to fight him.

It was her conscious choice. She felt instinctively that she shouldn't engage in this battle. She trusted that feeling completely.

I know these aren't just random feelings. They're threads of fate guiding me.

Leon simply looked at the approaching attackers with cold assessment.

They're so slow to my enhanced perception. Too many openings in their formations. Killing them would be like swatting flies.

His voice came out ice-cold, carrying his first and final warning. The only reason he was offering mercy at all was that he hadn't detected any injuries on Seraphine, Loriel, or Sylphia—and he included the wolf girl specifically because she had gone so far as to help his companions, risking her own life in the process.

If I had found even a single scratch on any of them, I wouldn't bother with warnings. I'd start slaughtering without hesitation.

"Take one more step toward me, and death will be your only reward."

His words were simple, direct, and absolutely lethal in their promise.

These words got an immediate reaction—not from those attacking or those waiting for commands, but from the mysterious figure sitting in the main chair of authority.

"STOOOOOPP!!!!"

The voice was filled with overwhelming power that buzzed through the entire courtroom like thunder, making the very air vibrate.

BZZZZZZT!

Most of the attackers stopped dead in their tracks at the command.

But not everyone.

Aria was no longer among the aggressors—though that wasn't her choice. Her mother, who was considerably stronger, had already forcibly dragged her daughter back the moment she'd seen Aria foolishly attacking this terrifying silver-white-haired man.

That speed he displayed earlier... it gave me genuine chills. My daughter was about to make a fatal mistake.

So she'd pulled Aria out of immediate danger. And the fact that the sixth supreme leader hadn't given any orders told her experienced instincts that something was seriously wrong with this entire situation.

However, one individual didn't stop at all.

Even the word from the 6th supreme just now.

Kaelor, the lion demi-human, had already committed to launching his strongest attack. A massive five-meter-long claw made of molten volcanic energy was forming above his raised hand, radiating intense heat.

WHOOOOSH! CRACKLE!

I heard the order. I could stop my attack right now. But I'm not going to. I want to kill this arrogant bastard, or at least wound him severely.

In his mind, it wouldn't be his fault or mistake—he could claim he'd heard the supreme leader's order too late to halt his technique.

The massive flaming claw began descending toward Leon with devastating force.

Kaelor was grinning with vicious satisfaction while still a couple of meters away from his target.

Leon's expression didn't change at all. Without showing any emotion whatsoever, he said only a single word.

"Foolish."

He teleported instantly to appear directly beside the demi-human, now positioned at point-blank range.

FWOOSH!

Then, without any mercy or hesitation, Leon executed his Skybreaker Draw technique from less than a meter away. His blade was wrapped in a spatial Aura that made the air itself scream.

Yes, I know this is complete overkill. But I don't care anymore. I already gave them fair warning.

The slash happened far too fast for anyone present to properly perceive. Only the smooth metallic sound of Leon's sword sliding back into its scabbard registered clearly.

CLICK...

Along with another sound from above—a wet, meaty noise.

"Idiot," came a horrified whisper from someone.

The nun from their party was the first to notice something wrong. A thin red line had appeared horizontally across Kaelor's face, right at the midsection.

"What is that...?"

She couldn't even finish forming the thought.

In the next instant, the demi-human's body separated completely. Both halves hit the courtroom floor with sickening thuds, blood and internal organs spilling across the pristine marble in a grotesque display.

THUD! THUD! SPLASH!

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream of pure terror erupted from the nun as her legs gave out completely beneath her. She collapsed to her knees, trembling violently.

"KAELORRRRR!!!! NO!"

She wasn't the only one devastated. The assassin woman was covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes—visible above her mask—filled with absolute horror at witnessing the gruesome scene.

Even Arthur's reaction was one of genuine fear. The supposedly heroic party leader took multiple unsteady steps backward, his face pale.

The entire courtroom fell into eerie, suffocating silence.

No one moved. No one spoke. Everyone simply stared at the bisected corpse and the pool of spreading blood.

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