From Black to Red
There was nothing the Luxnix family could do about it. Alienor had displayed her strength in the most straight forward way possible, and yet she hadn't spoken a single word. They all suddenly understood just what it meant to be a Sector Ranked disciple.
Sparking Star Order looked on blankly, her face pale to an extreme. She felt quite hollow, almost as though the hit of her lack of descendants was landing for a second time…
…
"Little Lion, you're really making your mother worry, here."
Alienor wrapped her arms around her son's, her face matching her words quite perfectly. She still felt uncomfortable leaving things like this. When they returned to the Void Palace, although they would both be in the same place, it wouldn't be a simple matter for her to see Leonel. Not only would she have many responsibilities to return to, but the work that would soon be dropped on Leonel's plate wouldn't be small either.
Unfortunately, she wasn't her husband. She couldn't' move about unhindered in the Void Palace, at least not yet.
She was already worried enough about Leonel going over there, but if she had to worry about Wise Star Order as well, it was a bit much. Content is property © .
"Mom…"
Alienor's ears perked up, expecting to at least hear words of reassurance. But, what she got instead was…
"… How'd you and dad meet? I need ammo on the old man."
Alienor was so caught off guard that she sputtered with laughter, forgetting her worry for a moment. It seemed that her son had been poorly influenced by her husband. They were always saying the most ridiculous things with the worst timing.
As for Leonel, he was very serious with his question. That old man had spent years making fun of him for how often he had failed to ask Aina out. Then, just recently in the Dimensional Cleanse Trial World, Leonel thought he was finally going to get some fatherly advice from his dad, only to find himself on the end of another joke.
That said, his dad had said one meaningful thing back then in the midst of laughing at his pain.
'You spent four years chasing after that little girl, she probably thinks you'll always be there for her whenever it is she wants to come back.'
That was about the only useful thing he said, and he was probably right. But, the old man talked a big game. Leonel wanted to know what sort of pathetic state he really had been.
"The first time I met your father wasn't in a setting you would think. He was one of my mentors when I first entered the Void Palace."
"Ah, so the old man's a groomer. This is good stuff mom, keep it coming."
Leonel was already grinning ear to ear, this start couldn't have been more perfect. He could already think of an endless amount of ammunition from this fact alone.
Alienor laughed. Truthfully, it wasn't like that.
The Velasco of back then did indeed purposely flirt with every woman he came across, about as directly opposite to his own son as you could get, but it was the kind of overt flirting that never went anywhere. There were probably a few airheads who took him seriously and fell head over heels, but Alienor had pretty much ignored him.
"Our relationship remained like that for years until I became a Galaxy Ranked disciple. Back then, your father was in charge of the trips we would take to the Void Battlefields. As Galaxy Ranked disciples, you were obligated to spend at least three months of the year on one.
"Once again, I happened to be under the supervision of your father. I wasn't quite powerful enough to go off on my own like the top geniuses of our Rank, unfortunately. Because Earth hadn't underwent its Metamorphosis, I didn't have access to my Ability, our Emperor's Might Lineage Factor, and most of the strength of the World Spirit was still sealed.
"But, those moments allowed me to get to know your father a little bit more. He had always been a lively man and he was able to protect me from a lot of abuses I would have had to suffer otherwise. I was lucky to have him as a protector."
'Dammit, mom. Don't get lovey dovey on me, I need ammo.'
Though he thought this, Leonel didn't interrupt.
"Still, your father and I could only be considered senior and junior at that point. He was too busy chasing skirts and falling asleep in brothels, there were at least two or three pregnancy scandals going on with him at any given time…"
The more Alienor spoke on it, the more fiery her gaze became, almost as though she was thinking about ripping Velasco a new one when next she saw him.
Leonel grinned. 'Excellent, excellent…'
"… I could never see your father in that way because of his disposition back then. Trying to change a person is a waste of time, they will change when they feel like it and never a second before. Remember, Little Lion, when a person shows you who they are, always be sure to believe them."
Alienor looked off into the distance, the peaceful ambience of the Luxnix estate particularly resonating with her right this moment.
Leonel gazed down at her side profile, but didn't respond directly to this. He just let it sit in his mind, rolling through his thoughts.
"Everything changed that day, though. Your father was so furious that the Void Palace realized that the happy and laughing mentor could actually be a madman when he wanted to.
"Back then, the Void Palace almost fell to its knees. It didn't make much sense. He was a Domain Disciple, but there were countless elders and old Ancestors who had lived so much more life… But it didn't seem to matter to your father…
"That was the day your grandfather died and your father's fury dyed the black of the Void Palace red."