68 Chapter 068
Feeling a sudden 'rush' permeating his body, Izaya, who had been pretending to sleep with his back facing the door of the room he was being kept in, opened his eyes.
'My patience is pretty limited right now,' said Leon. 'I would advise that you not try the same act with me as you did Yamato...'
'Lord Leon...is that you...?' asked Izaya, appearing shaken as his body ostensibly trembled with anxiety.
'Perhaps I didn't make myself clear,' said Leon, teleporting himself and Izaya to the coast, a few meters above the blackened beach and frigid waters cresting against it, leaving behind an abundance of seafoam.
Seeing where Leon had brought him, Izaya's eyes widened slightly, his pupils contracting as his heart rate spiked. Leon noticed this but didn't say anything, allowing the raven-haired twenty-something to plummet to the ground, landing heavily against it as a wave rolled in.
"I guess you only fool around when it comes to women..." remarked Izaya, clambering to his feet and brushing himself off with a completely different air about him.
'Are you done acting...?' asked Leon.
"To be honest, this was intended to be the prelude," said Izaya, slipping his hands into his pockets and turning to face the horizon, mere minutes from sunrise.
'Tell me, what's your aim?' asked Leon. 'You've gone through the effort of infiltrating the Frontier Expedition Squads and convincing everyone you're a fool. I know you don't possess any hostility toward me, so did Yamato or the people of this Floor do something to offend you...?'
"That's the problem," said Izaya, adopting a faint smile as he explained, "This Floor has no people. It doubtlessly did at one point, but those here now are just sentimental fools. Instead of adapting and seeking to evolve, they're obsessed with a life and lifestyle they've already lost. If we permit such sentiments to take root, they will soon grow into weeds, tangling the feet of those who desire to move forward, mature, and become something more."
'Mmm...I'm not incapable of seeing the point you're trying to make...' said Leon. 'But your actions here have undermined 'my' plans for this Floor. No one desires to reach the top of this Tower more than me, and because of this little stunt, you've become the 'weed' impeding my progress...'
"Then let the curtain fall...!" exclaimed Izaya, spreading his arms wide and smiling fearlessly as he exclaimed, "The greatest achievement any human can hope to attain is sacrificing their life to ensure those who follow have a clearer path! I may have tripped you up now, Lord Leon, but if you are a true leader of men, you will use this incident to leap forward in the future! That is what it truly means to be human...!"
'...'
'Before that, let me ask you something,' said Leon, prompting Izaya to blink a few times before lowering his hands, asking, "What is it you would like to know? The reason I love humanity so? The method I used to steal the warhead right out from under Naoe's nose...?"
Catching Izaya a little off guard, Leon asked, 'How many people were you hoping to kill...?'
"Hmmmmmmm? Do you truly not know~?" asked Izaya, a remarkably shit-eating grin developing across his face.
Spreading his hands and shrugging theatrically, Izaya mused, "And here I was, thinking you had everything figured out..."
'For the most part,' replied Leon. 'It's more that I have all the pieces, but the completed puzzle is some obscure image. As the 'mastermind' behind everything, why don't you tell me what it's supposed to be?'
"Oh, I see how it is..." mused Izaya. "You don't mind that Yamato's plans to reclaim the Fourth Floor will collapse. But, even if they're rubbish, his people are an important workforce you've invested considerable time and resources acquiring..."
"Well, you can rest assured," said Izaya. "I made sure the warhead was far enough away that no one would be caught inside the initial blast but close enough that they would definitely feel its effects. From there, the ingrained fear most Japanese people have of nuclear weapons and the fallout associated with them will compel most to leave. The rest falls on you."
'Yeah...thanks to you, I'm going to have a lot of work to do...' sighed Leon. 'But, so long as no one dies, both Yamato and I could use someone with your particular set of skills. We would have been forced to reevaluate the Fourth Floor's development after the discovery of the warheads anyways, so having one disappear and go off is...convenient...'
"Pfft..."
Though he initially covered his mouth and tried to restrain himself, Izaya eventually gave in and broke out in maniacal laughter. He had planned to approach Leon himself when the time was right, but now that it was clear they were at least reading from the same book, if not on the same page, he couldn't help laughing. As for Leon, he was thinking along the lines of 'the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.'
Thus, a nuclear warhead was detonated to the east of the city, not far from the beach where Leon had teleported Izaya. There was very little damage to the already ruined city itself, but with the wind blowing in from the sea pushing the radiation cloud toward it, not a single member of the reclamation team chose to stay, heralding an end to the project before it could gain any real traction...
...
..
.
[Three Days Later]
"Look on the bright side..." said Leon, half-filling Yamato's intricately designed scotch glass as he argued, "It would have taken decades to reclaim and rebuild that city, even with my support. And, no matter what, it would have never truly belonged to you. Now you can focus on building something new..."
Before Yamato could ask, Leon pulled out a magically-binding contract. His and Yamato's reputations had taken a hit for allowing a nuke to go off. However, once his people heard about the 'deal' they had brokered, those in the Eat would doubtlessly praise Yamato for making the most of a very shitty situation.
"Are you serious...?" asked Yamato, glancing between the contract and Leon as if the latter had lost his mind.
Shrugging, Leon reasoned, "Neither of us could have predicted something like nuclear warheads being located. Unfortunately, our previous contract can't be annulled, so I have little choice but to 'compensate' you and your group for violating our agreement and 'expropriating' the Fourth Floor. As such, so long as you sign that agreement, a quarter of this island will be ceded to you and your people to develop as you please, making you Lord Naoe of the Land of Yamato..."
"People are going to accuse me of taking advantage of this situation to cement my position..." remarked Yamato, simultaneously pulling out a pen and signing his name without delay. If he were in Leon's shoes, there's no way in hell he would sign over land so easily. But, since the contract made his new domain a tributary state for the same fifty-year period they would have been developing the Fourth Floor, it wasn't like Leon would receive no benefits. Rather, as the West and the East invariably developed into nations or powerful production centers, the Asheford Kingdom that would be wedged between them, regulating entrance into the Tower, was bound to prosper...
...
..
.
'What the fuck...?'
Since most of the Ralts in the manor had turned into Kirlia, and they now had a total of twenty-six Gardevoir, Leon decided to construct a facility called a Psycharium to help them hone their psychic abilities. He wasn't surprised when the facility permitted him to perform a free summon, but the person who appeared left him speechless. Her features were slightly different due to the world's aesthetic, but Leon instantly recognized the slender, approximately 150cm tall, green-haired, green-eyed girl that had appeared before him as Tatsumaki...
"Are you the person who is supposed to help me summon my sister...?" asked Tatsumaki, wearing a half-lidded expression as she crossed her arms and sized Leon up. Her outfit, consisting of a long-sleeved, form-fitting black dress with four distinctive slits and black heels, left little to the imagination, but Leon didn't feel compelled to gawk as he nodded in affirmation, responding, "That's right," in a curt tone.
"Hmmm..."
Extending her right hand, a green aura enveloped Tatsumaki's body as she exerted an invisible pressure on Leon's. She was planning to teach him a lesson and make him summon her sister right there and then, but not only was her psychic power exponentially weaker than usual, but he felt 'immovable,' something she had only ever experienced with one other person.
"You suppressed my power? Smart..." remarked Tatsumaki, staring down at her right hand and flexing it open and closed a few times. She typically maintained an imperceptible psychic barrier protecting and reinforcing her body to the point she could tank a nuke and casually toss an ocean liner. Now, she doubted she could stop an ordinary punch...
Shaking his head, Leon explained, "It wasn't me, but a byproduct of the summoning process. In this place, people have Levels and stats like in a video game, and while some have much higher potential than others, the starting point is roughly the same."
"In other words, I need to kill monsters and earn experience to regain my strength..." muttered Tatsumaki, recrossing her arms and frowning as she asked, "So, what would you have me do? You called me here for a reason, right? The voice I heard before I was transported here said I would need to perform a job for you in exchange for bringing my idiot sister back from the dead..."
"First off, my name is Leon. Leon Asheford," said Leon, adopting a smile as he added, "Ordinarily, I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but since you immediately attempted to use your psychic powers on me, we'll start with this..."
Pulling out a rolled-up, incredibly antiquated-looking piece of parchment from his Storage, Leon explained, "This is a blank Magic Contract. As the Lord of this place, I have a duty to protect my people. So, in exchange for helping you reunite with your sister, I'll have to insist that you sign this to ensure you don't rampage or renege on your part of the deal..."
Though she furrowed her brows in response to Leon's words, Tatsumaki didn't attempt to argue with him and instead replied, "Whatever. Just tell me your terms already..." while thinking that she would wring his balls like a rag the moment she recovered her power...
...
..
.
"Not that I care, but how do I look...?" asked Tatsumaki, stepping out of the changing room she had been inside for the past ten minutes to reveal a scant dress not all that dissimilar from her previous one. The difference was, rather than all black, the top half was the same emerald green as her hair, while the bottom was glossy white on the outside and a similar green on the interior. For accessories, she had white, three-pronged ornaments framing her head, white stockings, white heels, and an adhesive red 'fin' between her small but well-shaped breasts and shoulder blades. In other words, she looked like a Gardevoir.
Raising his right brow to its limits, Leon, standing with his arms crossed, sincerely replied, "It's almost scary how well it suits you..."
Snorting and crossing her arms, Tatsumaki responded with an apathetic "Whatever..." before asking, "We're going to enter that stupidly enormous Tower now, right? I can't very well be the Captain of your Psychokinetic Maid Squadron if I'm the weakest member..."
"Sure, but, are you ready...?" asked Leon, causing Tatsumaki to tense ever so slightly. However, while the tips of her fingers trembled, her expression was resolute as she responded, "Just get on with it..."
Nodding in affirmation, Leon adopted a comforting smile and said, "This is the first step to you reuniting with your sister..." before separating from his body, placing it in his Storage, and promptly possessing Tatsumaki's. She instinctively shuddered when he entered, but after feeling the warmth and rush of energy that came with the possession, all without losing control of her body, she relaxed considerably...
...
..
.
