THIS YEAR

El'Rion looked at Leonel, but the latter seemed to be in a bit of a daze. Despite this, El'Rion still felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, one that grew stronger every time he hesitated. Even though he felt this way, he didn't move, his expression remaining the picture of indifference. It was hard to tell if this man had any emotion at all. Even after being humiliated like that by the entity, he didn't even so much as clench his fist, nor did he care to take it out on his descendant.

This kind of man was one who had a mind that was impossible to pry into. But interestingly enough, though El'Rion felt that Leonel was quite easy to read as someone who was grieving, he still couldn't seem to grasp the exact depth. As for the depth of what exactly, even this was a blur, as though even making guesses about Leonel's state of mind was impossibly muddled.

At that moment, Leonel suddenly looked up at El'Rion. The height difference between them could only be said to be exceptional, one stood at two meters or so tall, but the other was almost at four. Even so, Leonel's gaze didn't seem to give off the impression of a person who was inferior in any way.

"Why aren't you attacking yet?" Leonel asked coldly.

In a battle like this one, Leonel knew that he couldn't take the initiative. His Ability Index worked best when he had data, and in order to have data his enemy had to take action, only then could he read, react, counter, and force his enemies to regret their choices.

The only reason he had attacked first before was because he had already predicted how El'Rion would react. Others might find this man to be unreadable, but Leonel felt that it was obvious enough, his Emperor's Charm had only made him better at reading people.

El'Rion was a carbon copy of his cousin. The difference was that El'Rion had unmatched talent while Noah did not. This simple difference is what had led to a deviation in the direction their personalities had brought them down.

How had Noah reacted the first time he met Leonel? Of course, he was a stickler for the rules and he had acted in accordance with the law. Unfortunately, that had gotten him beaten within an inch of his life by Leonel because he had dared to touch Aina.

This man was the same.

He was probably ordered to come here by his family, so he had. He wasn't angry with the entity because he felt that it only made sense someone so powerful would have a temper, he also felt there was no need to get angry because he would surpass this individual soon enough. As for taking it out on Shan'Rae? Why would he do something to put his family in a poor situation just for his own personal grudge? He was better than that, and most importantly, the likes of Shan'Rae weren't worth his effort.

He was arrogant, but only rightfully so, and he was the furthest thing from a hypocrite. Although Leonel asked him why he wasn't attacking, he already knew the answer.

Attack Leonel? Why? What would that get him?

Even compared to Shan'Rae, Leonel was even more inferior. Attacking him out of rage would only be like admitting that he had suffered a loss and that he took it more seriously than he did. Of course, that didn't mean that he didn't acknowledge Leonel's victory, he did, and he would also adjust his expectations and future actions such that this wouldn't happen again. However, it wasn't worth attacking over.

It was infuriating, indeed. It was even worse than disdain. Like he had said before, would a passerby disdain a dog for digging into garbage bins for scraps to fill their belly? Of course not, what human would waste their time disdaining a dog? The only appropriate reactions would be indifference, maybe a bit of aversion, but most importantly... they would feel that it was just natural. That's where a dog belonged, digging in the trash, so what was the use of an overblown reaction?

However, this time, Leonel didn't attack, he just stood there, looking up at El'Rion as though he was trying to remember this person's face.

"The Hourglass doesn't do what you think it does," El'Rion explained simply. "Well, it does, but it won't work out in a way you think it will. In addition, the Pluto Race wouldn't be willing."

"Make sure you keep it safe." Leonel replied just as simply. "Soon enough, it'll be mine. The more you stall, the greater price it'll have to pay." Têxt belongs to .

Leonel's meaning was simple. The more time passed, the more time would have to be rewound, and the greater pressure there would be on The Hourglass.

El'Rion looked toward Leonel, but he didn't reply immediately. Both of them seemed to be exceptionally okay with silence. If it wasn't for Leonel's hostility, and the fact that he was too weak, they might have been able to be friends. While he didn't disdain the weak, El'Rion wasn't a fan of the idea of watching such a weak species of people die long before he did.

His gaze flickered. What a peculiar thought that was.

Friends? With a man who had tried to steal the symbol of his Pluto Race? If others found out about this, even just the threat he had levied just now, even his bones wouldn't be left.

But he suddenly felt compelled to change Leonel's mind.

"Do you understand what you are saying?"

"It doesn't matter," Leonel replied simply.

"It does." El'Rion responded. "Do you understand how strong the existence who separated you from my body was?"

Leonel didn't reply, he wasn't a fan of repeating himself. Since he had said it didn't matter, he meant that it didn't matter.

"In order to do what he did, he would have to have the power to ignore the Regulator of your Incomplete World," El'Rion continued as though he didn't need a reply. "If that's not enough of an answer for you, do you have any idea how strong Shan'Rae is? How strong I am?"

Leonel once again didn't reply.

"This year, if converted to your time, I am 14 years old. My strength level, if converted to your understanding, is at the Quasi Sixth Dimension."