Chapter 390: Public Enemy Number One
In theory, it was impossible for Dupravel Nuna to reach the vault room from his office in under five minutes, since the elevator ride to the basement itself took 12.
However, being the man beast that he was, Dupravel had torn open the base of the lift with nothing but his bare hands, as he leapt into a dangerous free-fall to reach basement level V faster than what was humanly possible.
And it was perhaps this unconventional leap by Dupravel that saved the Black Serpents from the fate of having their most precious treasure stolen, for although the rest of the vault room was emptied, the invaluable scroll still remained in their possession.
"What happened here? How did the cult members manage to teleport directly inside the vault?" Antonio asked in a huff, as he arrived at the vault room a full thirty seconds after Dupravel had.
By the time he arrived, the cult members left behind were already dead, and the treasures already long gone, as he found himself staring at a mostly empty room, except for a few blotches of red blood.
Dupravel said nothing. He only stared at Antonio with his teeth bared in anger, snarling and hissing like a cornered predator, as if he expected more from his number two.
"Skyshard..." Dupravel muttered, pointing towards the frame, and it was only then that Antonio connected the dots, his eyes narrowing in fury as realization dawned.
"So that’s why you wanted to enter the vault..." Antonio muttered in disbelief, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the Dimensional Portal Frame with eyes wide open.
From the start to the end, he had underestimated Leo and his motivation behind joining the Black Serpents.
His background seemed too clean to suspect him of ties to the cult.
Plus the fact that the cult had tried to kill him twice made him strongly believe that the boy would not be related to them.
However, it seemed like his assumption was wrong.
The cult had definitely grown more sophisticated in how deeply they disguised their men undercover, and with a background this solid, Antonio doubted whether even the Universal Government could sniff a spy out.
"Rodova Instructor Muiyan Faye... you were the one who sent a TV-sized package to Leo Skyshard, were you not?" Antonio recalled, holding the dimensional portal frame in his hands and admiring its craftsmanship momentarily before smashing it on the ground with savage force.
*CRASH*
"Put a hit out on Leo Skyshard. Issue a golden mission within the guild. Anyone who kills Leo Skyshard will be rewarded 700 million MP.
And if anyone can retrieve our stolen treasure partially or in full, they will be paid 10 percent of the treasure’s value for their services.
Additionally, inform the Universal Government that Leo Skyshard is a Cult Operative.
By tomorrow morning, his face should be printed on every newspaper, and he should be branded a traitor.
I don’t want there to be a single planet in the righteous faction where the boy can hide.
I will force him to live the life of a rat from now until we hunt him down," Antonio ordered, as the other Serpent Guild members present in the vault saluted him and bolted out to relay his instructions at once.
"Muiyan Faye.... Time to look into you as well...." Antonio mused to himself, his eyes narrowing as he left the vault in anger, his blood boiling at the loss of nearly 40 billion MP worth of treasure that was now stolen from their vault.
—-----------
The news about Leo’s cult operative status didn’t just spread.
It exploded.
Like wildfire touched by mana, the story of Leo’s betrayal leapt from planet to planet, transmitted through private channels, guild networks, military bulletins, and government alert systems until the name Leo Skyshard began to flash across every major commscreen in the righteous faction.
One notification at a time.
Incoming Secure Transmission...
Sender: Black Serpent Guild.
Priority: Top Urgency
Subject: Cult Operative Confirmation – Leo Skyshard
———
"Hello, this is Leslie from the Universal Government Administrative Office, who am I speaking to?"
Her voice was tired, flat, accustomed to late-night bureaucratic nonsense. But as the transmission loaded and the Black Serpent insignia burned onto her screen, her tone shifted.
"What? Wait... Leo Skyshard? You mean the circuit boy, the champion from Rodova?"
Her words trailed off as she scrolled the attached documentation.
Arrest warrant.
Golden hit.
Cult operative status.
She didn’t say another word. She just began forwarding it up the chain.
———
"Hello, this is Alric, the principal of the Rodova Military Academy."
His voice was stern as ever, but it faltered halfway through his sentence, as the arrest warrant flashed before his office screen.
The name flashed first.
Then the bounty.
Then the accusation and finally the attached proofs.
"No... This has to be wrong," he whispered to himself.
But the seal was official.
And the evidence attached was damning.
He stood up and removed his glasses, staring out the window of his office as memories of Leo’s entrance test, his duels, and the last few months began playing in reverse.
As he wondered if his demeanor had all been a lie?
"If true, this will be the biggest blow to Rodova’s reputation since its inception" he mused, rubbing the sweat now pooling on his forehead, as he prayed that this was but a false call.
———
"Hello, this is Su Fan from the Su Clan."
She was on her morning walk when her communicator buzzed.
The moment she saw Leo’s name, her hands froze in midair.
"Interesting," she muttered as she glanced at the bounty, the order and the accusation that the boy she once considered a potential ally to her son Su Yang, was now branded a universal traitor.
"This news will surely have an adverse effect on Su Yang’s growth. I will need to consult with his father on this...." Su Fan mused to herself, as she continued with her morning jog as if nothing happened.
———
"Hello, you have reached the White Lion Guild."
The receptionist answered with a cheerful tone, but her words broke when she saw the red alert scan across the central console.
"Guildmaster! Guildmaster you need to see this!" she shouted, bolting up from her seat.
Dozens of other guild members gathered as the screen flickered to life, Leo’s face plastered across it.
Some gasped.
Some laughed in disbelief.
But the veterans said nothing.
"A 700 million open kill bounty! A guild as small as ours can sustain our operations for the next 50 years without worry if we snatch this reward! We must kill Skyshard!" The guild master said, as he called an emergency meeting of the guild elders and immediately began devising a strategy to hunt Leo Skyshard.
———
"Hello, this is the Clarence Military Academy."
The message came directly to the principal’s office.
Clarence teachers surrounded the digital display as Leo Skyshard’s image flickered onscreen and the bounty dossier on his head updated in real-time.
Status: Wanted.
Affiliation: Cult Operative.
Threat Level: Monarch Tier Potential. Use Lethal Force.
"The boy moved like a ghost during the circuits... Now we know why..... seems like it’s time to bury Rodova’s reputation with this scandal, they were flying too high after their last win" The Clarence principal said, as the smirk on his face widened.
———
"Hello, you have reached Universal Mail Newspaper, how may I help you?"
The journalist on the night shift yawned as he pulled up the headline request, however, looking at the report his eyes widened.
"Are you kidding me? The Leo Skyshard? The undefeated Rodova boy? Cult?"
He didn’t wait for confirmation.
He hit the Publish All Channels button with trembling fingers.
In less than a minute, 417 planets received the headline:
TRAITOR AMONG HEROES: LEO SKYSHARD EXPOSED AS CULT OPERATIVE.
———
"Hello, this is Ladina Horizon, of the Horizon Dominion Group."
She didn’t even finish the sentence before the emergency alert interrupted her line.
A bright red signal pierced through the call.
The face of her sponsored fighter appeared, branded with betrayal.
Ladina’s mouth slowly parted, her perfectly manicured fingers curling into a fist.
"Deploy our PR team! Send a statement denouncing the boy. Now!" she offered, as her assistant looked up in surprise.
"Ma’am?" she asked hesitatingly, however, Ladina only screamed louder.
"I SAID NOW!"
Because unlike the others,
Ladina knew this wasn’t just a betrayal.
It was a scandal.
One that would rock the Horizon Dominion’s reputation to the core if someone dug deeper into their ties with Leo.
And if they didn’t get ahead of it fast, it could burn the group to the ground.
———
By the time the morning sun rose across the outer ring systems, the name Leo Skyshard had already become a curse throughout the universe.
Yesterday’s hero was today’s public enemy number one.