Leonel stood in the air, the tip of his spear as straight and unmoving as a mountain. It pointed downward, and he seemed to be completely open to strikes from all sides. And yet, those who looked upon him felt a shiver in their souls. This simply wasn't a man who could be attacked easily, regardless of what his current state seemed to be. Many felt that even if Leonel seemed to be on his last breath, he simply wasn't someone that could be provoked.
When Adawarth appeared on the Morales flagship, he unleashed a sigh. He didn't know what to say for a long time and it was only after he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders that he seemed to snap out of it, turning to see Second Nova standing by his side, and to his surprise, Fifth Nova standing on the other.
Fifth Nova never did things like this, but seeing that all three of them were standing here, looking forward toward Leonel, he seemed to feel that they all had all experienced the same thing.
"He's an arrogant bastard, huh?" Second Nova mumbled.
First Nova looked toward Second Nova with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He could sense a hint of bitterness that wasn't normal of this brother of his.
He and Second Nova knew each other quite well. Or, it was more accurate to say that they had once been exceptionally close. Some time within the last three decades, a few years even before Leonel had entered the Void Palace, they had begun to grow apart.
Of course, First Nova could tell that there was some secret that Second Nova was hiding from him, but if the latter didn't want to tell him, it was hard to force him to. For the longest time, First Nova had assumed that this was just Second Nova's way of telling him that he planned to go all out with him during the Heir Wars.
But seeing Second Nova now, Adawarth doubted his previous assumption. In fact, he felt that these last few years for Auran had been more complicated than he knew. However, regardless of all of this, he was far more shocked by Auran's words themselves. He didn't really feel like Leonel was all that arrogant.
"Is he?" Adawarth asked lightly.
Second Nova laughed as though Adawarth had just told the greatest joke he had ever heard. Even Kira, who had spent the most time with Second nova recently, was stunned. She hadn't seen him laugh like this in a very, very long time. Maybe not since they were children.
"Maybe in the beginning he wasn't, but don't you get the feeling from him that he's like someone who started off very serious and then got too bored to keep up the fa?§ade? Just look at him. He's standing all cool and composed right now, but... five... three, two, one."
As though on some sort of cue, Leonel put away his spear and swooped down from the skies, a grin on his face as he swept up Aina. She could only roll her eyes, this guy had really stopped taking things seriously again.
Second Nova began to laugh once more. "I bet you that he's smiled more today than he has any other day since the Heir Wars began.
"It's really when you think about it. Uncle Velasco and Littlest Nova are like two sides of the same coin. Both are supremely arrogant, it's just that one is secluded while the other has a great number of friends. One of them is always focused on their work and can't take a break, while the other is impossibly lazy because everything is beneath his notice. Just looking at them, I can't help but laugh. Both of them look down on the world in their own way and don't put any of us in their eyes."
The more Auran spoke, the uglier Adawarth's expression became.
"Look at you," Auran laughed even harder. "You were always like this, you really don't like to lose, huh?"
"I'm fine with losing-"
Auran's laughter cut him off. "You don't need to lie to me, I know you."
Adawarth's expression became awkward, but watching him laugh like this, he slowly began to smile. It really had been a long time since he had seen Auran laugh, it was as though a burden on his chest had been taken over by someone else. It felt as though he could put his whole faith in someone else now.
In truth, Auran had long since surpassed Adawarth in strength, but he had still suffered so greatly. There was no reason he should have been so confident in Leonel, and yet he was.
The way he saw it, he had already done his very best. Auran had always been a carefree person, it was these burdens that had turned him into a completely different being. However, he was also the type of person to put his all into something and live with the result.
Regardless of what happened from here on out, he knew that he had given his everything, so he would live with it. Plus, there was always the hope that Leonel would actually be able to win. Although he felt that it was slim even with the strength he had shown, Auran hoped that Leonel was still holding back something that could turn the tides when the time came.
At that moment, Adawarth's subordinates began to come out one after another. Suddenly remembering something, Adawarth's expression sharpened as he surged forward, landing by Vega's side as she appeared and taking her hand.
She was in a poor state, but he held her up, ready to escort her to the Morales family.
He knew better than anyone how much she had sacrificed to be with him, but given that he had failed, it was always possible that the Quarius family might try to target them again.
His aura changed and he looked ahead with determination in his eyes.
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