For a moment it seemed that Leonel really had every intention of attacking these people.
Those who knew him had expressions that widened in shock. It was one thing to attack Jilniya, but the overseers of these trials were not only outstanding talents from across the universe, but they were most definitely Fifth Dimensional entities at worst. In fact, that was just their speculation from their place at the bottom of a well. For all they knew, these individuals were beyond the Fifth Dimension.
However, judging by Leonel's posture and the fact his aura of rage hadn't dissipated in the slightest, it seemed he really did have every intention of attacking.
It was at the moment he almost acted that Leonel suddenly felt something soft grasp his hand.
He was so unused to the feeling that he was shocked out of his enraged state.
The atmosphere seemed to become several times lighter in the blink of an eye, causing those who had forgotten to breathe to finally heave a sigh of relief. Those who had collapsed to the ground finally relaxed, their minds being released from their shackles.
It was only after this happened that Jilniya suddenly understood the state she had been in. In the blink of an eye, her fear became shock, then shame, then rage. However, there was already nothing she could do.
Leonel shook his head and looked down to find that Aina had grabbed onto his hand.
Well, it couldn't really be described like this. More accurately, she had grasped onto three of his fingers as though she was scared to grab onto anything more. The sight made Leonel involuntarily chuckle.
Aina frowned. "What are you laughing at? Are you trying to die?"
This was the first time anyone had ever heard the Sword Monstress speak. They couldn't have ever expected for her voice to be so soft and pleasing to the ears. It was as though she was caressing their eardrums.
Leonel looked into Aina's eyes curiously.
Aina suddenly became self conscious and looked away. After she had done it, she realized that she was acting out of character.
'It's ugly, I know.'
Aina didn't say these words aloud. But, this was the very first time she had even thought them to herself. It was a surprise to her that her mind even went to such a place.
These scars had been with her all her life. But, they never filled her with disgust toward herself, they only filled her with rage.
After the Metamorphosis began and she realized how she could use them to her advantage, they even became a source of pride for her. It represented her resilience and her hard work.
For all these reasons, she couldn't believe what she had just breathed to life in her thoughts. She had never been such a person.
"It was the Brazinger family, right?"
Leonel's smile vanished once again, his expression hardening.
Aina froze for a moment, but didn't look back toward Leonel.
"Good." Leonel looked away. "I'll make certain to raze them to the ground, then."
Aina remained silent and slowly let go of Leonel's fingers.
From the distance, Anared watched this with a frown. After regaining his bearings from Leonel's previous outburst, he began to calmly analyze the situation. And, quite frankly, he didn't like what he was seeing.
However, Leonel wasn't paying attention to this anymore. He continued to stand by Aina's side, he wasn't going to let her out of his sight again. Everything else that happened from this point on no longer mattered much to him.
The first reason he had agreed to join the Keafir family's quota was in order to find a path toward finding Aina. Beyond that, the only reason he had tried to stand out so much was also for this reason.
Now, as far as Leonel was concerned, nothing else was quite so important. Of course, he would still do his part to repay the Keafir family for their role in helping him find Aina. That was the least he could do, anyway.
The three figures on the platform looked toward Leonel with a frown, wondering where such pressure came from. How could they bothered to care about drama between kids? As a result, they had no idea what had happened here previously.
But, looking at the sorry state most were in, they felt it had something to do with this young man.
Their gazes unconsciously shifted toward the young woman by his side.
By now, Aina had regained her bearing and stood there silently. Though she had let go of Leonel's hand, she at least didn't move away from him. In Leonel's book, that much was a plus.
The three figures were much more experienced than the others here. While these kids only saw ugly, infected scars, they saw…
'A curse?'
They raised their eyebrows.
The only female among the three looked toward Aina with a gratified gaze. She had no idea who Aina was before this moment, but just the simple act of Aina standing before them all completely maskless left her feeling somewhat in awe and a bit protective of this young girl.
Any anger she felt toward Leonel unleashing killing intent toward them was already forgotten.
As they were observing Leonel and Aina, Leonel, too, was observing them.
'Their uniforms are also cool…' Leonel couldn't help but think. He really hoped this wasn't a pattern. If he had to gain enmity with another organization with cool uniforms, it would be too depressing.
At first, it looked as though all three of them, whether male or female, were all wearing skirts. But, upon closer inspection, Leonel realized that this wasn't the case.
The first thing Leonel thought when he realized the truth was…
'Aladdin's pants!'
Leonel smiled, remembering the cartoons his father had introduced him to as a child.
The uniforms of these three all involved the same harem pants Aladdin wore. The mid sections of these pants swept so close to the floor that some could mistake them for skirts without looking closely.
All of their harem pants were a pristine white. In addition, they each had cloth waist belts of a deep black. This cloth wrapped around their waists and then dropped vertically to the ground between their legs.
The exposed face of this cloth was inscribed with white embroidery that depicted similar war scenes to the ones that could be found on the wall of Brave City.
The men were bare chested revealing their toned and chiseled torsos while the woman wrapped a white cloth around her bountiful chest. However, regardless of gender, they all had vibrant neckwear reminiscent of what a pharaoh of ancient times would wear. This large neckwear was a solid block of silver that hung heavily around their shoulders and collarbone.
Each and every one of them exuded a powerful aura. Without Leonel's influence, they easily became the center of attention.. No… they demanded it.