Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 359

Chapter 359: EX 359. Malachi’s Saga
Leon had time to spare until the campaign against the Hallow began.

The most he could do in the meantime was clear out corruption clusters, but Eden already had that handled.

Helping would only mean stealing some of the corruption Blessing and Eden needed for themselves, and besides, the energy from those small clusters wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him anyway.

He’d also already solved the issue of the living tether’s corruption, a dangerous phenomenon that could turn any member of the campaign against their allies, so there was nothing left demanding his attention. In short, he was completely free.

Francis seemed to recognize that and nodded approvingly.

“Good,” the Beast Chief said, his deep voice echoing across the silent arena.

“Then why don’t we discuss things at the palace?”

Leon gave a brief nod.

“Fine by me.”

Before anyone could blink, Elizabeth appeared beside him. She was still trying to catch her breath from the sudden shift, one moment she’d been sitting in the stands, the next she was on the stage beside Leon.

Nikko’s eyes brightened as she ran up to her. “Sister, you’re here as well!”

Elizabeth gave a short laugh as Nikko wrapped her in a hug.

She struggled slightly but didn’t push her away. “It’s good to see you again, Nikko,” she said with a faint smile.

Francis watched the reunion with a patient expression before turning back to Leon.

“Is that everyone?”

Leon gave a small shrug.

“Yeah, that should be—”

“Please wait!”

The sudden voice froze the air. Everyone—Francis, Leon, Elizabeth, Nikko, the goat man, the other champions, even the spectators, turned toward the source.

Standing awkwardly a few paces away was the monkey man, Malachi.

He scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin.

“Uh… can I tag along?” he asked, his tone somewhere between bold and embarrassed.

A strained chuckle escaped him right after, but the entire arena stayed silent, hundreds of eyes fixed on the shameless Rank 8 warrior.

****

Malachi had been frozen the moment Leon stepped into the arena.

Something in the man’s presence cut straight through instinct. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t intimidation. It was something deeper, something that felt carved into the bones of the world itself. A quiet, absolute command: Do not offend this one.

And Malachi had no intention of doing so. After all, who on Pandora hadn’t heard the name Leon Kael?

The Corruption Vanquisher.

The Dragon Slayer.

The World’s Rising Hope.

Malachi knew every title, every rumor, every impossible story whispered around campfires. Seeing Leon in the flesh felt like watching a myth breathe.

So when Leon and the Beast Chief Francis began talking, a stray thought crossed Malachi’s mind—light, foolish and irresistible.

‘What would it be like to fight someone like that?’

Not a duel of pride. Not a challenge. Just a spar. A single exchange.

Something to carve into memory forever.

He didn’t mean disrespect. He didn’t want trouble. But when he heard they were heading to the palace, the words spilled out of him instinctively.

“Can I tag along?”

And now, with every eye in the crucible locked on him, he felt his tail curl and his heartbeat crawl up his throat.

‘Surely they won’t be offended… right?’

For a moment it looked like Francis was about to act, primal energy gathering around the Chief’s massive frame.

Malachi tensed, ready to leap for his life if needed. But before anything happened, Leon spoke.

“I don’t see any issue with that.”

The words cut through the building tension.

Francis’ raised hand paused.

The primal energy dissolved back into calm air. A faint smile tugged at his face as he nodded.

“I see no issue as well.”

Leon’s expression didn’t change, but a quiet thought brushed through his mind.

‘Yet you were a second from blasting his head off…’

He couldn’t understand rulers like Francis.

Act first, think later. If he hadn’t stepped in, Malachi would’ve escaped, trained in solitude, come back stronger, and turned the Beast Chief into the perfect antagonist for his personal saga.

Before the idea could run too far, Originus grumbled in the back of Leon’s mind.

‘For a divine stage expert, you have an active imagination.’

Leon shook his head softly.

“It’s just beyond your comprehension.”

Originus sputtered in silence.

Before he could argue, Francis lifted his voice.

“Since we’re complete, it’s time to go.”

Light gathered, bright, clean, and heavy with authority.

It wrapped around Francis, Malachi, Nikko, Elizabeth, and finally Leon himself.

A heartbeat later, they vanished from the arena.

The crucible fell so silent it felt hollow.

Tens of thousands of spectators, a hundred champions, even the air itself seemed stunned.

At the center of the stage, the goat-man announcer blinked in bewilderment.

No script had prepared him for this.

****

The beam of light dropped into the heart of a dense jungle, its glow fading to reveal Francis first, then Nikko, Elizabeth, Malachi, and finally Leon.

Warm, humid air wrapped around them as the forest settled back into its natural rhythm, as if nothing unusual had happened at all.

The place was alive in a way most lands couldn’t manage.

A river cut through the greenery like a silver blade, its surface dappled with light filtering through the towering trees.

Herds of wild beasts gathered at the banks, some small and timid, others massive enough to shake the ground with each step.

Birds circled overhead, calling out to mates or nudging food into the beaks of their young.

But even the beauty of the forest couldn’t compare to the structure rising at its center.

Leon turned his gaze toward it, his senses spreading outward in a smooth, instinctive sweep.

When the information washed back over him, his brows lifted a little.

The palace was enormous, built of ancient stone and shaped with a kind of wild elegance.

Vines spiraled up its walls, but instead of making the place look old or abandoned, they seemed to be arranged deliberately,

woven into the architecture in a way that made the palace feel alive.

A wide garden stretched along the front, filled with vibrant flowers, medicinal herbs, and towering trees shaped into arches.