Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 319

Chapter 319: EX 319. Contemplation
As Rachel disappeared back into the palace, Leon’s gaze followed her for a moment before shifting toward the sky. The breeze tugged at his hair, the distant horizon already pulling at his mind. There was truth in what he’d told her, he did need a way to reach the Dragon Mountains, and the only real options were either flying or relying on a vessel.

But a vessel would take days to get there. Worse, if he asked the emperor for transport, Alexander would seize that as an excuse to assign guards or companions. Leon couldn’t have that.

“I really need to learn to fly,” Leon muttered under his breath, stretching out his hand. “But this will have to do.”

In the imperial chamber, Emperor Alexander leaned forward toward his crystal orb, his brow furrowing. “What are you planning, boy?” he said aloud, though Leon couldn’t hear him.

Through the orb’s glow, he watched Leon summon his Void Blade, the dark weapon materializing with its usual ripple of distortion. But then, Leon did something that made Alexander’s eyes go wide. The blade shattered into dozens of sleek, floating shards that began to orbit Leon like fragments of a star.

“Don’t tell me…” Alexander whispered.

The shards flared faintly, lines of black energy coursing through them as they attached themselves to Leon’s limbs, shoulders, and back. With each piece, the faint hum of the Void deepened until his entire frame seemed cloaked in a living armor of shadow and steel.

Leon glanced down at his own handiwork. “It isn’t perfect,” he said, his tone calm but quietly satisfied. “But it’ll have to do.”

Then, the ground beneath him shivered. The shards pulsed once, twice, and then lifted him effortlessly into the air. Leon steadied himself, testing his control, adjusting his balance with a faint smirk.

A gust of displaced wind burst outward as he shot into the sky, slicing through the clouds in seconds.

Alexander just stared at the orb, completely silent. Then he exhaled a long, disbelieving breath. “He went through all that trouble… just so he could go alone?”

The emperor slumped back in his throne, one hand rubbing his temple before a wry smile tugged at his lips. “I never knew a soul-bound weapon could do that,” he murmured.

He didn’t bother giving chase or sending anyone after him. There was no point. Leon Kael was stubborn to the bone, and when he decided on a path, nothing could make him stray from it.

Meanwhile, inside the palace courtyard, Rachel emerged again—this time with Lancelot by her side. She looked around, scanning the open air, her confusion written all over her face.

“Are you sure Leon asked for me?” Lancelot asked, his voice flat, skeptical as ever.

“Yes, he did,” Rachel said quickly, her eyes darting toward the training grounds, then the gates, then the sky. “But where could he be?”

In the throne room, Alexander froze for a moment as the orb continued to glow faintly. He could see Rachel’s puzzled expression, the empty courtyard, the faint shimmer of Leon’s fading flight trail far above the clouds.

A guilty look flickered across the emperor’s face as he waved his hand, dispelling the image. “That’s enough of that for today,” he said softly.

He rose from his throne, the weight of responsibility returning to his expression. “I’ll see if I can help my sister with breaching the barrier.”

And just like that, Alexander vanished, leaving only the fading hum of the crystal orb behind.

****

Leon sliced through the open sky like a dark streak, the shards of his Void Blade humming faintly around him. The world below stretched vast and endless, fields of mist and forests blanketed in faint corruption, and far on the horizon, the jagged spines of the Dragon Mountains.

The air was calm, almost too calm. For a moment, Pandora seemed peaceful, the kind of peace that made one forget the horrors crawling beneath its surface.

Leon tilted slightly, steadying himself midair. The maneuverability wasn’t perfect; the shards weren’t designed for flight. But it worked, barely. He adjusted his center of gravity, dipping low before climbing again. “Needs improvement,” he muttered.

Then a voice echoed lazily in his head.

“The elf girl is going to be upset with you.”

Leon exhaled through his nose. “Racheal?… she’s going to get over it.”

“You lied to her for no good reason,” Originus said. “You could’ve told her why you wanted to go alone.”

Leon frowned, eyes fixed on the horizon. “You know she wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.”

“And what does it matter?” the dragon countered. “It’s not like she could’ve forced you to take someone with you.”

Leon didn’t answer. Because, deep down, Originus wasn’t wrong.

“Of course I’m not wrong,” Originus added smugly.

Leon ignored him, gliding silently for a while as he stared at the pale curve of the clouds. His reflection flickered across a passing layer of mist, calm eyes, messy hair, and a man pretending he had everything under control.

‘Am I a chronic liar?’ the thought surfaced quietly. He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like he enjoyed lying, he just found it easier than explaining himself, especially to the people he cared about. Especially the women. Somewhere along the way, that habit had become reflex.

“You want to sleep with the elf girl, don’t you?”

Leon nearly lost control of the shards, his body tilting midair before he corrected it. “What the hell, Originus?! How does that relate to anything we were talking about?”

“It doesn’t,” the dragon said smoothly. “I was just curious.”

Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Rachel’s only after my body.”

“And is that necessarily a bad thing?”

“For you, it isn’t?,” Leon muttered dryly.

The dragon chuckled in his mind. “Do you know how many goddesses have warmed my bed?”

Leon smirked faintly. “I don’t know. One?”

There was a long pause before a very offended growl echoed in his head.

“F—king prick.”

Leon laughed under his breath, the sound carried away by the wind. The shards around him shimmered brighter as he gained speed, the peaks of the Dragon Mountains finally coming into full view, they were vast, sharp, and cloaked in storm clouds.

Whatever waited for him there, he’d face it alone.