Chapter 501

Because of the mask hanging loosely from beneath his eyes to his chin, it was impossible to tell whether the lips speaking those words were curved or twisted.

Those golden eyes, calmly composed once more, turned away. Leaving Hugo’s range just like that, Leonardo walked leisurely down the empty corridor ahead.

Both hands, clad in white gloves, were folded behind his back beneath the swaying cloak—just as Hugo often did. In contrast to the turmoil of the one left behind, his retreating figure appeared almost cold, devoid of lingering attachment. While Hugo hadn’t yet sorted through everything, Leonardo had already said his piece and moved away as if to create distance again.

Hugo stared blankly at his receding back before slowly lowering the hand he had braced against the wall.

The polished shoes that were about to follow stopped after barely two steps. Still chasing that fading gold with his eyes, he suddenly spoke into the air.

“Then... what about after you win?”

In the empty corridor where only the two of them remained, his low voice echoed more loudly than usual. Leonardo’s steps halted for a moment. Still facing away, he turned his upper body halfway and tilted his head.

“Hm?”

“After that, will you stop coming to see me? Once you’ve obtained everything you want.”

At the same time he asked, Hugo took another step forward, fixing his gaze on those golden eyes. He had no intention of moving until he heard an answer.

He also wanted to ask whether Leonardo had joined the league to see him, or whether their priorities had reversed. Back when he had forcibly added a nonexistent grand prize just to lure Leonardo in, he thought it wouldn’t matter what the goal was—as long as Leonardo showed up. But now, the two seemed distinctly different.

Still, more than anything else, he wanted at least one clear answer.

“Will we still be together then?”

At the sudden question, golden brows lifted slightly. For a few seconds, Leonardo stared back at him. In his view stood a man on the long-stretched carpet, waiting for a verdict with grave seriousness.

Though his frame was large enough to fill the corridor alone, compared to when they first met, something about him now felt... empty. Not in reality, but in the way he carried himself.

Rolling his eyes upward, Leonardo briefly revisited what he had just said.

A faint, humorless chuckle slipped from behind the mask.

Just like a Legion Commander of The Council—thoroughly verifying and preparing for every possible outcome.

He had said he would come to see him throughout the matches, and now Hugo was already asking about what came after. Was it because he lived surrounded by documents where the meaning changed with a single word? Or because he was used to endless meetings that picked apart even the smallest phrasing?

I can’t even say anything.

The way he pressed for answers had no sense of mood. Though... even that side of him was something Leonardo liked.

Last time, Leonardo had been the one to question their relationship. Now, the other stood there, anxious, waiting for an answer. It was... rather enjoyable. He wanted to drag it out a bit longer, to observe that expression—but he knew he wasn’t entirely blameless either.

Sometimes I wonder if there’s even anything I truly know.

It was something that had lingered in his mind all along. And a truth he had deliberately ignored, using the other’s consideration as a shield.

In a way, perhaps he had been seeking absolution.

The time of a child clinging desperately to life and a fleeting moment of an adult passing by—those could never carry equal weight. If anything, he had no right to resent or feel disappointed in Hugo. After all, he too was making the other wait.

And yet, despite knowing that, the reason he still behaved like a troublesome child now was...

Because if I act a little spoiled, maybe it’ll lighten things—just enough that I can stay by his side.

In the end, the one at fault was himself. And though their forms differed, they were clearly saying the same thing.

So at this point, after being spoon-fed this much... shouldn’t he figure it out on his own?

Shaking his head as if dissatisfied, Leonardo answered plainly.

“That depends on you.”

At that, Hugo’s brows furrowed slightly as well. He still couldn’t decide whether he should approach now, or let him go for today.

Leaving behind that ambiguous answer, Leonardo resumed walking at a leisurely pace. Still, the last thing that remained before he turned away—the curve of those golden eyes—seemed faintly amused.

Just as Hugo’s narrowed blue eyes tried to grasp his intent, the white wrist that had been folded behind his back suddenly flicked up and down. That light, swaying gesture carried a strange sense of déjà vu—more than enough to capture his full attention.

Then, once again, Leonardo stopped.

Tilting his chin upward, he glanced at the corridor ceiling before speaking with an audible sigh.

“Aren’t you coming? I’m hungry.”

The tone, almost coaxing, was deliberate. Along with the teasing flick of his hand—like a crude imitation of something seductive—it was a decisive move that left room open. Completely different from the voice that had told him to remember on his own just moments ago. And effective enough to captivate the man watching him instantly.

Almost at the same time the words ended, Hugo moved. With long strides, he quickly caught up to Leonardo. The distance between them had never been far to begin with. Now that he saw it, someone who could rival anyone in speed had been deliberately slowing down, circling back—try and catch me.

Hugo bit down on the fastening of his cuff and pulled off his glove in one swift motion. Even as he did, he tilted his head, clicking his tongue softly.

Those ever-shifting emotions—so different from his own precisely measured, consistent life—were incredibly difficult to handle. Boiling one moment, turning cold the next, then casting sideways glances as if asking him to come closer... it was impossible to fully grasp.

And yet, because of that, they were vivid. Stimulating. Irresistible.

Drawn helplessly to that unruly existence.

With his bare hand, Hugo firmly grasped Leonardo’s still-swaying wrist. Just like before, he slipped past the glove’s edge, pressing into his palm—and peeled it off entirely, despite the tight fabric protesting.

Now both bare, their palms met naturally. Without either taking the lead, even the lines of their hands aligned, fingers threading together as if they had always belonged that way.

Leonardo glanced down briefly at the contact, but deliberately kept his expression indifferent.

Though his fingers curled in response, he muttered as if pretending not to know,

“I didn’t say to hold hands.”

Hugo clicked his tongue as he looked at that proud profile. Tightening his grip, he pulled him closer.

“What about this?”

Their steps tangled as Leonardo stumbled forward—and the affection left unfinished tipped over his lips.

***

[ Group Stage Match 3, Obsidian Prism Dome ]

<“Lion, you have to find the real body among Shadow’s reflections in the obsidian!”>

<“But that’s impossible with the naked eye—the shadows are splitting too fast. Their numbers are doubling every second.”>

Leonardo’s words—that even if they met for a while, they wouldn’t be able to stay together long—were true.

He was trapped inside a multifaceted dome where light refracted violently from every direction. The audience clutched their betting tickets, watching him in tense silence. A grand heroic anthem swelled in the background, heightening the atmosphere.

<“The split shadows are moving through the mirrors at terrifying speed. Are they looking for an opening?”>

<“Ah—just as we say that! They launch a simultaneous attack from the rear! If that hits, it’ll be devastating!”>

“Boss! Behind you!”

Floating alone amid the writhing afterimages, Leonardo glanced back at Ero’s voice. Sharp, yellow beams scattered like points of light, reflecting through the obsidian mirror labyrinth and flying in from all directions.

Some were real. Some were illusions.

But the number was so overwhelming that distinguishing truth from falsehood was meaningless.

Leonardo didn’t hesitate. Twisting his upper body, he spread his cloak wide. In an instant, he vanished from the audience’s sight and cut through the storm of incoming beams. A golden afterimage shot across the arena faster than sound.

The attacks aimed at him collided midair, triggering a chain of explosions—but not even the edge of his ivory cloak was scorched.

<“Where did he go this time?”>

Hidden within the obsidian, Shadow’s eyes darted wildly in search of the vanished target. Smoke and black debris filled the dome, light refracting chaotically in every direction. There weren’t many places to hide.

As Shadow continued multiplying his copies in real time to expand his vision—

A suffocating heat pierced into his lungs.

<“Ah! At one o’clock from the commentator’s position—Lion has drawn his sword!”>

Shadow’s gaze slid to the right.

At the same moment, the obsidian fortress concealing him began to sizzle and melt.

Through the warped, dripping mirror, a blazing golden inferno closed in.

Those golden eyes snapped wide as Leonardo found his target, raising his right arm.

The burning blade drove forward in a single strike.

Crack—

<“Team JOKER seizes a brilliant victory, conquering even the Obsidian Prism!”>