Vol. 6 Ch. 88

So that was what Albert meant when he said, "The people I cared about are no longer here."

Leon had already suspected that Black Elephant Bro had a dark past, but an extermination-level massacre was beyond what he had anticipated.

And those bastards who had committed such atrocities…

Leon only regretted not dealing with them sooner.

To the Shadow, all the races of Samael seemed to be nothing more than test subjects for the Black Dragon Tribe, mere tools to fuel ultimate resentment and negative emotions.

Life was worthless to them, only good for being consumed.

Leon exhaled quietly, pushing thoughts of Shadow out of his mind.

The Divine Stallion Tribe’s judge, after listening to Albert’s story, also fell into silence.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Finally, the judge broke the silence.

"Since we’ve made you recall the past, sir, my condolences for your loss."

Albert didn’t respond—he only gave a small nod, acknowledging the words.

The judge took a deep breath, steadied himself, then turned to the next trial participant.

"Alright, next up—please share your story."

"Understood. I was born in…"

…

Leon was the last to go.

Originally, it would have been easy—he could have just glossed over his life, mentioned a couple of trivial details, and passed the Heart’s Inquiry without a hitch.

But after hearing Safina and Albert’s stories, he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to stir some emotions.

Even though everyone here was ultimately a competitor, fighting to secure one of the limited blessings, Leon felt that if all it took was a few words to ease someone’s pain, why not do it?

His master once told him:

"I don’t ask you to be some great, benevolent saint, Leon.

Just don’t eat meat in front of a starving man.

Don’t talk about a bright future in front of someone dying in their sickbed."

So, when it was his turn to speak, Leon simply gave a brief overview of his life.

He spoke about his past, about how he interacted with his family.

But he didn’t emphasize how happy and fulfilling his life was with Rosvisser and their children.

And, of course, he intentionally omitted his true reason for coming here.

After all, Leon had no idea how strong the Fire Spirit’s blessing truly was, but judging by Constantine’s level a hundred years later…

Leon wasn’t sure if he even needed it.

"Alright, thank you for sharing, sir."

The judge paused, glanced down at his notes, then looked back up with a curious smile.

"I didn’t expect this—both of the only two human participants in this trial happen to be here. What a coincidence."

Upon hearing that, Leon and Safina exchanged glances.

Then, in silent acknowledgment, they gave each other a polite nod.

"Well then, please remain here for a short break. I will return in thirty minutes {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} to inform you all of your individual evaluation results."

With that, the judge stood, tucking his notebook under his arm, and left the room at a leisurely pace.

After he was gone, the other two trial participants also stood up and moved toward the window, quietly chatting.

From their earlier stories, it seemed like they were from similar backgrounds, so their conversation flowed naturally.

Then, a voice broke Leon’s thoughts.

"Thank you, Leon."

Albert.

Leon blinked. "Huh? What are you thanking me for all of a sudden?"

Albert shook his head with a wry smile.

"That human girl, Safina… she said she only has one sibling left, so she avoids talking about him too much.

But you, Leon… you’re the same, aren’t you? Or rather...

You had plenty of things you wanted to say.

If I had a happy family, I would’ve wanted to talk about them, too. So hearing you describe how much you care about your family...

I can tell you held back after listening to our stories. You deliberately avoided talking about your happiness in detail because you didn’t want to rub it in our faces, right?"

This big brute might look like a simple-minded powerhouse, but damn… he’s pretty perceptive.

Leon had no intention of denying it.

"Yeah… but it’s nothing worth thanking me for. It’s just basic human decency."

"If you’ve ever lost family, you’d understand why I did it."

Albert chuckled—this time, not a bitter laugh.

"I’m starting to like you, human brat."

"Oh, right, Albert."

Leon’s expression turned serious.

"That black-robed man who wiped out your Thunder Elephant Tribe—what was his name?"

Albert frowned, digging through his memory before responding.

"It was a very short name… more like a code name."

"I think it was… Shadow?"

"Shadow?"

"Yeah, Shadow. That was his name—wait."

Albert’s eyes narrowed.

"How do you know that?"

Leon looked straight into the black elephant warrior’s eyes.

And then, word by word, he spoke calmly:

"Because not too long ago...

I killed him.

For you.

For your family.

For your tribe."

Albert froze.

For a long moment, he simply stared at Leon, the ordinary-looking human sitting beside him.

The man who had just said those words so casually.

Could this be a bluff?

No…

Albert couldn’t find the words to respond. He simply stared blankly at Leon.

Was this another form of comfort?

Before he could gather his thoughts, Safina’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

"You killed Shadow?"

Leon turned toward his fellow human, meeting her gaze.

"That’s right. Judging from your tone… you know about him too?"

Safina’s pupils flickered slightly, as if she were quickly processing something.

After a moment, the corner of her lips curled slightly—not quite a smile, but more of an amused smirk.

However, her long, delicate brows furrowed just a little.

"My brother mentioned him a long time ago. He heard about him from the royal court."

"Is that so…"

"Mm-hmm. But my brother said Shadow was incredibly strong. And you actually managed to take him down?"

Leon shrugged.

"I can’t exactly prove to you that I killed him right now, but after the trials, you can go to the Empire and find an organization called Lionheart Society.

Just say that Leon Casmod sent you. Then a girl with a blue-tipped tail and her almost-boyfriend will meet you and explain everything in detail."

Safina blinked, her beautiful violet eyes flashing with surprise.

Then, she quickly scanned Leon from head to toe, as if reassessing him.

Finally, she gave another sweet, practiced smile.

"Alright then. I was planning to visit the human empire anyway.

Well… either way, thank you, Leon."

Albert finally snapped out of his daze.

He leaned back against his chair, resting his hands on his knees, gazing up at the antique wooden ceiling.

"You… avenged me."

…

Half an hour later, the Divine Stallion Tribe’s judge returned to announce the results of the Heart’s Inquiry trial.

"Mr. Leon, Miss Safina, congratulations. You have both passed this trial.

As for the other three, I’m afraid you did not meet the requirements. The Divine Stallion Tribe will provide arrangements for your return journey. Thank you for traveling so far to participate in the examination. May we meet again in the future."

After making the announcement, the judge then turned to Albert.

This time, his voice no longer carried the cold professionalism from earlier—

Instead, it held genuine warmth.

"Mr. Albert," he said gently. "I believe your wife, daughter, and tribe would not want to see you drown in sorrow like this.

I won’t say much. You’ve probably heard these words a thousand times before.

But please understand.

The dead rest in peace. The living must continue forward.

There is still a future ahead of you. Your value doesn’t end here."

Albert lowered his head, lost in deep thought.

His response, however, was nothing more than a muted, heavy "Mm."

The judge let out a quiet sigh and said no more.

He turned and left the room.

The two trial participants who had failed the evaluation also left—grumbling among themselves, clearly dissatisfied with the results.

With that, only Leon, Albert, and Safina remained.

After a long silence, Safina patted Albert’s shoulder.

"Hey, cheer up. If you don’t feel like talking, let’s just go get a drink. The Divine Stallion Tribe’s entertainment area is open to all trial participants."

Leon blinked. "Uh… I’m not good with alcohol—"

"Then you can sit at the kids' table."

Leon: "?"

"A grown man admitting he has no alcohol tolerance? Unbelievable."

Her lively violet eyes rolled at him in playful exasperation.

"Alright, it’s settled then."

Leon let out a helpless chuckle but agreed.

He didn’t really have anything else to do anyway.

"You two go ahead. I’ll join you in a bit," Safina said.

"Alright."

Leon and Albert left first.

Once their footsteps had faded away, Safina locked the door, then walked over to the window.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a purple crystal.

"I’ve passed the second trial… I should be meeting the Fire Spirit Divine Stallion soon."

A moment later, the crystal glowed, and a young male voice came from within.

"Stay safe."

"Mm. Oh, by the way, guess who I just ran into?"

Silence.

"Come on, guess!"

Silence.

"…Are you really my brother? I feel like our personalities are so different."

More silence.

"Fine, I’ll just tell you—I met the human who killed Shadow."

This time, there was finally a response.

"Leon Casmod?"

"That’s right. He’s also participating in the trials, probably for the Fire Spirit Crystal Core. We might have to face him in the final trial."

A brief pause. Then, the male voice replied,

"If he really killed Shadow, then his strength is undeniable. Be careful, Sis."

"I know. Kaiser, how’s your side going?"

"Carl and his team have relocated the key’s position."

After a short pause, he added,

"It looks like it’s… in the Dragon Race’s territory."