General Ren Nora’s mansion was at the heart of the central district in Iron Reef, and it was not too far from Leon’s new hotel.

It was a deliberate design by the General so he could respond immediately if the Federation Army tried to pull any mischief in his territory against Leon. Afterall, he was now enemy no. 1 in Omnicore territory.

Compared to the rest of the sprawling Megacity around it, the state-of-the-art smart 5-story mansion of the General looked modest and unassuming.

Leon walked into the mansion unobstructed as the house A.I recognized him.

He walked past the house maids and attendants that were all robots, and then he walked into Ren Nora’s sitting room where he saw the General like usual.

The General when at home was almost always in his sitting room, Leon even suspected whether he slept here.

’Does the ’Glitch’ even needs to sleep?’ He blinked, he realized that he’d never asked Ren Nora about it.

’But everybody needs to sleep right?’

The sitting room was illuminated by the glow of a massive holo-screen, Leon almost rolled his eyes.

The last time that he came here more than 4 months ago to ask for advice before going on Operation Killing Joe, the General wore casual clothing and was idly watching a movie, but this time he was playing a video game.

General Ren Nora wore a simple white singlet and a brown pair of boxers, leaving his lean muscles exposed and rolling across his body like bronze wires.

He sat on his central table where he leaned forward with a subtle smile on his face, his eyes locked onto the match unfolding before him.

His fingers danced across the controller with practiced precision, every movement sharp and deliberate.

’Wait, a controller?’ Leon blinked, stunned. ’It’s not a VR game?’

’This old geezer,’ he glared at him, flabbergasted. ’Who the hell still plays video games with gamepads?!’

Leon shook his head and walked into the sitting room, knowing vividly well that Ren Nora already learned of his presence long ago, then he focused on the holographic screen showing the video game that had the General so engrossed.

On the holoscreen, a character materialized in a burst of hellfire, his yellow and black armor standing out against the arena’s fiery backdrop.

The game was clearly a 1v1 fighting video game.

Right on top of the character that the General controlled was a name- [Scorpion].

’Scorpion huh? That sounds like a great assassin name,’ Leon thought, then his face turned dark. ’I wonder what that bastard is called’.

Across from the General’s character stood another character wearing blue and white armor that was surrounded by swirling shards of ice.

Ren Nora grinned as the announcer’s voice thundered through the speakers.

"Fight!"

Instantly, all hell broke loose and without knowing it, Leon became engrossed as even without sitting down, he watched.

Above the A.I-controlled character is his name- [Sub-Zero].

Sub-Zero lunged first, launching a freezing projectile across the arena.

The General reacted instantly- his thumb flicking the joystick, guiding Scorpion into a swift dodge before countering with a devastating spear attack.

"Get over here!"

Leon flinched. ’What the hell!’

The battle cry echoed through the room as Scorpion’s chained kunai shot across the screen, embedding itself in Sub-Zero’s chest.

The blue-clad warrior was violently pulled forward.

Leon’s eyes gleamed. ’Nice. I can create a chained kunai like that too’.

Ren Nora’s eyes gleamed as he seized the opportunity, controlling his character to unleash a rapid combination of punches, kicks, and sword strikes that sent his opponent reeling.

The match intensified.

Flames and ice clashed across the battlefield as both fighters exchanged brutal attacks. Ren Nora remained completely focused, anticipating every move.

Seeing him like this, Leon felt like chuckling. ’How will his soldiers feel if they see their great leader so engrossed playing some ancient video game?’

But he couldn’t really blame him, the video game though ancient and awkward was truly engaging.

When Sub-Zero’s health bar finally dropped into the danger zone, the General sat up straighter, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Leon was amused. ’What now?’

["Finish him!"]

The words flashed across the screen in blood-red letters.

Without hesitation, the General entered a complex sequence of commands from memory, from wherever he hacked and stole that knowledge from.

Instantly, his in-game character reacted as Scorpion stepped forward, his eyes igniting with infernal fire. In an instant, he ripped away his mask, revealing a flaming skull beneath.

Then a torrent of supernatural flame erupted from his mouth, engulfing Sub-Zero in a blazing inferno.

The arena became filled with fire and smoke. When it cleared, only a charred skeleton remained standing.

"Fatality. Scorpion wins!"

The General shamelessly raised a fist in triumph as the victory music played, Leon found it hard to overlap this current man with the same man that he saw brutally beat a C Rank Ascended 4 months ago, humiliating a Federation General without even giving his all.

Well, to not feel left out, Leon clapped sarcastically to the win.

"Let me guess, this is another ancient, extremely primitive relic that you somehow managed to harvest from the annals of history right?" His voice was reeking with sarcasm.

Finally, the General reluctantly tore his eyes away from the holo-screen and looked at his friend with a grin.

He looked him up and down, then he chuckled. "You look good".

"Huh?"

"You don’t look like a man that’s just waking up from a coma at all, you’re glowing. You’re practically brimming with energy," he grinned and winked at him. "Well, I’m not surprised. You’ve starved her for 4 months".

Leon blinked. "Huh? What are you talking about? Starve who?"

The General just chuckled, making Leon curse under his breath as his face burned red. ’Bastard! Did he spy on us?’

Of course, he knew that Ren Nora did not. The bastard probably just guessed.

Ren Nora already stood up as he went to his wine cabinet to get a bottle of expensive wine and two glass cups.

With his back to him, Leon quickly threw a glance at the holoscreen, using it as a mirror to spy at his face. ’Am I truly glowing?’

He heard Ren Nora chuckle behind him. ’F*ck! Bastard!’

In the end, a few minutes later, the duo sat at the balcony of the mansion in the 5th floor as they stared at the bustling city outside at night.

For a long time, neither of them said a word as they just admired the sight, then Ren Nora finally broke the silence. "So... what? Why did you leave your pretty girlfriend and suddenly visit me?"

Leon glared at him.

The General chuckled at his reaction and continued. "You didn’t come just to see my face and thank me for taking care of you right?"

"Let me tell you now, that girl’s been the only person that stayed with you every single hour when everyone else was gone so you better repay the favor".

The General scoffed and glanced at him. "You think besides her, we had the time to babysit you all day long?" He laughed. "That’s gay".

Leon’s face twitched, feeling like punching the General in the face.

After a few seconds, he exhaled, a complicated expression suddenly clouding his face, then he said.

"I want to visit the Abyssal Scar".

"..."

...

[Special Appreciation to tdragon21 for the Golden Tickets! Thanks for the support man, it’s appreciated.]