[lmao, I just keep waking up later and later, so chapters are coming out later and later. I wonder if my sleeping schedule will eventually go full circle. Second chapter coming soon]
It was an intricately woven story, indeed. In fact, it was certain that there wasn't a hint of falsehood in his words as well. Though the truth behind its interpretation might be different, one had to hand it to Raylion. He didn't step outside of his bounds to stretch the facts even by a small measure.
Yet, what these audience members didn't know was that Raylion had sacrificed ten of his so-called brothers in order to allow his words to ring true.
Those three floor sweeper Leonel hung from a tree? The Force Art he drew around them to keep people away would last a few weeks at best. Fourth Dimensional existences could easily last that long without sleep, let alone food or water.
Beyond that, their injuries shouldn't have been severe enough to cause their deaths either, or else Leonel wouldn't have left them there.
It was no wonder Leonel didn't hear anything about those three after the initial instance. Hero Peak had already decided to make them a part of this plot from the very beginning.
Then there were the seven who supposedly died from Leonel's Crafts. Leonel didn't know anything about this, but did that matter? Since when did Raylion and Hero Peak care about whether he was 'in the know' or not?
The truth was that Kaela and the others had already been panicking about this for the past more than day. However, they weren't able to contact Leonel because he had spent his time with Aina all the while. And, unlike with his Aina, he hadn't given Kaela and the others a method of contacting him.
It could be said that the Polished Glass Faction had fallen from the greatest of highs to rock bottom in the blink of an eye. Who would dare to do business with them? They had been blacklisted from the Golden Exchange List. The seven that had died were all from Hero Peak, so normal students didn't dare to risk offending such an existence. Even if they created a perfect product next time, who would care?
It had to be admitted that this plot was sinister indeed. Maybe the most infuriating part was that the target wasn't even Leonel, he just happened to be a useful catalyst.
Humans tended to grow desensitized to things quickly. Hearing about millions dying across the world would never be as impactful as watching one person being murdered right in front of you. This was the truth of human psychology.
Raylion didn't need Leonel's story. Without it, he would still have more than enough evidence to take Valiant Hall down and implement the changes to Valiant Heart Mountain he had always wanted to see.
But, the convenience of Leonel was too good to pass up.
Without Leonel, there would likely still be some resistance to his plans. But, with a public enemy to point to every time, a dark example of what could have been, molding the people to his will would be much easier.
At that moment, Aina was seething with rage. A bloodthirsty aura hung around her, almost forming a crimson fog dotted with blackness. However, just as she moved to stand, she found Leonel lightly pulling her back.
Aina looked back, only to find Leonel looking toward her with a light smile.
There was no anger on his face, no coldness. In fact, he looked toward Aina with the same loving gaze he always gave her. It was as though these matters had nothing to do with him in the slightest.
Leonel wasn't a meat head who flew into a rage at every slight. If Aphestus and the others believed this, Leonel could only say that they weren't as intelligent as he thought that they were. Anyone who believed this, for that matter, was nothing but wrong.
What could make Leonel lose control were only matters related to his Aina and his mother. In fact, even if one insulted his father, he might not even get angry. It was more likely that he'd burst into a fit of laughter as opposed to anything else.
With all the trauma that old man had given him in his life, he deserved some harsh words thrown at his back. By now, Leonel only used the dictionary when he absolutely had to. He kept running into his father's practical jokes. Plus, he was tired of being called 'Seed' and hearing about how great 'Father Overlord' was.
It was a pain in the ass.
But, Raylion hardly mentioned Aina, likely because he couldn't afford to disparage a member of his Peak at such a sensitive time. And, obviously, he hadn't mentioned his mother either.
One might think that Raylion's biggest mistake was provoking Leonel and making him out to be an enemy. But, this wasn't true.
His biggest mistake was provoking Leonel and making him into an enemy… Without first enraging him.
Facing a calm Leonel with a level head? A Leonel with an amused expression in his eye rather than one of rage? It was clear that Hero Peak had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.
Leonel pulled Aina down to his side, placing a palm on her thighs and squeezing gently to reassure her.
"Don't worry about it." Leonel said lightly.
Aina's chest heaved in her rage. Clearly, she hadn't been able to calm down just because Leonel said so. But, seeing the look in his eye, she could only sit obediently.
The voting process went exactly as one would imagine. Even with attempts at refuting Raylion due to lack of evidence, Valiant Hall was still woefully unequipped to handle these matters, having never been challenged in this way before.
With no suspense, Hero Peak won their suit by a landslide. As a freshman, Leonel didn't even have the right to vote and he could only watch as the members of Valiant Hall trembled with rage.
Sael balled her fists, her shoulders trembling. It felt as though everything she was trying to protect was coming crumbling down. In fact, it was the action she took that brought everything to a head.
She couldn't help but be wracked with guilt, embarrassment, and anger. There was only one chance she had to fix all of this.
"Raylion, get down here!" She roared, her aura causing whipping winds to slash across the stone platform.