Chapter 284: I Don’t Care If You’re a Monarch

An intense cold lanced through the chamber as the Lotus Maw Monarch and her sect arrived. Their lower snake bodies wiped every seat aside while their Monarch ascended toward her position around the Council floating table.

Laughter surged out as the Eclipse Sect and their Monarch, Zarek, arrived. Crystals formed in the walls of the tower the moment Zarek glided through the air to land beside Sola.

The moment the Faceless Monarch arrived, the ground beneath Leon’s boots elevated and floated. The ring bar formed around him and began spinning as Zarek turned a softened expression toward him.

"Leon Storm."

All the murmurs stopped when he began speaking.

"You have finally proven to the Council of Seol-Mujin that you can balance your Creator self and the Destroyer self your father could not."

The tip of the hair on Leon’s chin touched the chest plate of the blackened war suit as he looked down at his palms. ’Was Dad never able to balance them?’

Memories of his childhood with his father reeled into his mind with every blink. He remembered the day his father held his hands and showed him how to mix the paint well before using it to draw.

"Son, learn to control the storm so you don’t need to do the dirty work after you wake up."

He lifted his head toward the front seat of the Cobalt Sect and saw Lord Hei Yung sitting there with a big smile. ’Does that mean Dad chose the Destroyer side and abandoned the Creator part?’

"Leon Storm, you are now a freed man," Zarek said in a thick voice. He tapped on the table twice before leaning back in his seat.

"I can finally go and visit my family," Leon whispered, his eyes welling up. "Mom, Lily, Zoe. I’m finally coming home."

Clapping sounds echoed from the Zenith Sect as two lords pointed a finger toward Leon on the floating platform.

"What a waste. Setting him free means he will have to join his vegetable family."

A faint thrum pounded in Leon’s chest as the voice seeped into his ears. ’Who said that?’

"If I were him, I would beg the Monarchs to kill me instead of freeing me to join that wretched family of his. Hahaha!"

The blades of the Hi-no-Kami slammed hard on Leon’s back as his spine straightened. A mixture of gold, red, gray, blue, and black glow bled out of his eyes and skin while he scanned the faces of all the sects.

In the lord sect of the Skywardens, Sky stood there laughing uncontrollably, his fingers pointed at Leon. "What a piece of trash I would be if I were mistakenly born in a family like the Storms. I would have killed myself the moment I found out my mother was crippled and blind."

His eyes grew wide as he saw the burning rage in Leon’s eyes. He turned and nodded once at Overlord Luo Fang. "I WOULD HAVE KILLED MY MOTHER AND SISTER IF I WERE TO BE IN LEON STORM’S POSITION!"

In a fraction of a second, the unbreakable ring forming a protective shield shattered as Leon moved a step forward.

A concussive, colorful wave blasted through the tower and shook its walls.

In less than a second, Leon appeared in front of Lord Sky and clamped a hand around his neck.

As the sudden intensity peaked, all the warmth in Lord Hei Yung died when he saw Leon floating in the air holding Lord Sky’s neck. "Leon, STOP!"

A pink filament lashed out of Sola’s hair like a dart, but it dissipated into dust when it slammed against Leon’s back.

A grim grin appeared on Lord Sky’s face as he saw the black Destroyer signature in Leon’s eyes. "DO IT."

A faint flicker of a golden glow tried to mix with the black but became confused entirely and intensified the darkness.

Voices rose in Leon’s head but were instantly muffled by a raging flame sound that caused a sharp, heavy flow of blood throughout his body.

"Leon, don’t listen to him."

"Leon, we are waiting for you."

"Do it and leave, if you want to see the true state of your crippled, blind mother. And the skinny little sister who is now struggling to even breathe!"

In a blur, every face whitened as Leon’s right fist sliced through Lord Sky’s neck with a clean cut.

Wet sounds echoed as blood gushed from the warm, fleshy stump while the head rolled in the air before bouncing on the ground.

Sola slammed both palms on the table and directed a sharp look at the Skywarden’s monarch, who sat there unintrigued. "You were the one who said he is not like his father and blah blah blah. But now see with your own eyes!"

Sharp air hissed out of Leon’s mouth and nose as he shifted his focus from his bloodied arms to the reactions of the Monarchs.

"All of you are monsters!" A loud scream scraped out of him as he focused on the hazy red glow in the Faceless Monarch’s face, burning like wildfire. "You sent me into The Null without telling me the proper timeline that place had in comparison to real life. WHY!"

He surged forward like a flash and appeared right in front of the Monarch’s seat, something no member of the Seol-Mujin had ever done. "You brought me here stating I am freed while most of your own citizens who call themselves rulers and commanders are nothing but a trek of trash!"

Sola’s snake tongue flicked out as she threw a venomous glance at Leon. "SHUT UP, LEON STORM!"

The pink filaments coiled around Leon like constricting vines. "I will show you what I can do if no one else wants to do it!"

Leon’s jaw tightened as the bonds pulled, promising to crush him inward with every passing millisecond.

But a loud voice rose from all five Monarchs. "SOLA, LET HIM GO!"

The moment the grip loosened, Leon dashed upward, crashing through the tip of the tower like an angry bolt of lightning.

All the Overlords and Lords of the Skywardens surged and rose into the air with burning looks on their faces.

The Faceless Monarch rose from his seat and stood on the air until his feet touched the floor. "Let the affected chase after its attacker."

His red robes flapped behind him like a witch’s coat as he dissipated into black motes.

Overlord Luo Fang and his colleagues dashed through the broken upper section of the tower to hunt Leon down.

Just as they appeared in the skies of the Skywardens City, they stopped.

Three Quarions slammed their wings into the air, creating a new barrier that was even harder to cross than the one they had created at the Seol-Mujin border.

"FUCK!" Overlord Luo Fang cursed and clenched his fist as he saw the mother Quarion flapping its wings behind Leon. "Chase after him!"

Countless Skywardens tried to break free from the Quarions’ transparent barrier but ended up getting flipped away like mosquitoes.

The mother Quarion blinked at Leon as the swirling transport vortex was activated.

The burning glow in Leon’s eyes dimmed once as he watched his reflection in the creature’s golden eye.

The glow intensified when he glanced back and saw Overlord Luo Fang in the distance, gesturing like a madman. "Thought you had me cornered."

The blackened layer of the war suit began peeling off, making way for the gold texture as Leon hissed and turned his attention to the swirling vortex. "I’m coming, Thule."