BXBX NOVEL Chapter 158 End (I)
Although Valdmor was buzzing with activity, fear, and speculation, Leonardo didn't care about that as he had already considered Arcadia to be a chapter of his life that met its conclusion.
The next morning when he woke up, he gathered his family and followers in a spacious dining hall.
He sat at the head of the table, Leona standing right next to his left side while hugging his arm. As for Pandora, she tossed away all reservations and sat silently on his lap, her head lowered.
After this morning meal that combined over three daily meals into one, Leonardo finally had the time to listen to everything that happened in the past two years of his seclusion. Only, he didn't have much of a reaction other than letting out a soft sigh.
"Let me get this straight, you wish to stay behind and run an underground assassination organization together with Lucas, simply to target the believers of the Arcadian Faith that might rise after I left?"
Leonardo stroked Pandora's silver hair gently, smiling as if she didn't dare look him in the eye while making such a request. Still, Leonardo didn't mind and simply lifted his head to look at Ingrid, "Arrange for Pandora to inherit all of my shares in the energy ore mountain range, that's the least I can help her with."
Ingrid seemed to have expected this, bowing her head. Then, she suddenly thought of something else and asked, "What about the shares of my Tesla's, what to do with them?"
Leonardo thought for a bit and responded, "Just give them to Lucas, and then announce to the world that Ghost Face will be inheriting this organization. Even if they wanted to assassinate him, they'd have to go past his innate martial intent, to begin with."
Leonardo's arrangements were simple.
With Lucas' ability, the support from the Great Grace Republic, the future High Elf Lord, and the resources in hand from becoming Tesla's Chairman, controlling Arcadia is but a matter of time.
Even if his potential was limited to level 50, Lucas would always be safe as no one would even recognize him, let alone deliberately target him. Honestly, even Leonardo couldn't judge whether this was a curse or a blessing.
"Wendy," Leonardo then turned his head to this student of his, but his eyes were a bit different from looking at a student. Wendy's eyes shudder lightly, she blinked once, and looked back at Leonardo calmly.
This was the co-soul.
"Do you need anything?" She furrowed her brows.
"Yeah," Leonardo nodded his head, "I want you to take Ingrid, Juvia, Kieran, and Leona, Aris will transport you guys to House Hestia in the higher realms. Approximately one year from now, Aria will send Ingrid and her daughter to the Core Mainland of this plane, but they will be exempt from enrollment to the Interstellar Supreme Institution. I want you to make use of that event to break into Earth."
"You have my unique method of concealing your cultivation so the planet wouldn't suffer from your energy fluctuations. Search for my mother; Maria Evernight, and hand her the children."
Leonardo didn't say it, but Aria could guess that he implicated his daughter with Nier as well. When Maria learned of his situation, she might make her way to the Core Mainland as well, but that's a matter too far to guess at.
Wendy nodded seriously, as only she and the children who didn't start to cultivate yet could safely make it in and out of the planet without destroying it. At most, everyone will simply reunite somewhere in the Core Mainland due to their interlinked karma.
"It is best if Juvia stayed behind on Arcadia as well," Aria said at this moment, her crimson eyes trained on Leonardo's body. She added, "I can't guarantee her safety if she follows me back, House Hestia will meet its tribulation sooner or later, and I won't be able to protect her while facing at least twelve Immortals."
Leonardo's brows furrowed, "Will you be able to make it out alive?"
Everyone remained silent after Leonardo's question.
Aria stared back into Leonardo's lifeless eyes for a moment before she sighed, recalling that one promise as she asked, "I might have a way, but it's a gamble. However, I need to talk to you alone."
Leonardo nodded without hesitation.
He wouldn't allow the grandmother of his daughter to die if he could do anything to prevent it from happening. Only, this gamble Aria spoke of seemed to be something she came up with on the spot.
"I'll go ahead and transport everyone to the higher realms first," Aria also nodded her small head before looking at everyone in the room.
"Wait a moment please," Ingrid interrupted, sending a few messages with her communication bracelet before fetching out a contract, marking it with her blood signature a moment later. After reviewing the contents of the contract, she nodded to herself with a faint smile.
"I'm ready," she handed the contract over to Pandora, "Lucas only needs to sign this paper and everything will be set. I leave this organization in your capable hands."
Pandora's shoulders trembled lightly as she received the contact.
Juvis sighed with a bitter smile, "Seems like my fate isn't getting me to the higher realms," she shrugged, "Whatever, I was simply trying to escape the gloom of my stupid uncle, but now I can kill him with the snap of a wrist, staying with this stupid girl isn't that bad either."
Ingrid merely smiled faintly without saying anything, she knew that Pandora and Juvia had quite the history together, a pretty complicated relationship.
Juvia then looked at Leonardo, eyes sparkling.
"Master, why don't we go at it one last time in that place before you leave?" This sentence may sound cryptic to everyone around, but both Leonardo and Pandora immediately guessed at Juvia's intentions.
Leonardo could feel Pandora's fist clench on his white coat, so he nodded with a faint smile.
"Alright then, let's get going," Aria rolled her eyes, slashing the void with her claw to open a tall portal that reflected a crimson world of blood.
After bidding their farewell, and an adorable crying session from Leona, everyone left.
Kieran hesitated for a moment as he held onto a wooden platform with a beautiful figurine on top, but he ultimately decided to keep it on himself lest his Godfather lost it during some incident.
He was already a young man, almost eighteen years old. Thus, he was intelligent enough to pick up some clues from the atmosphere, only that his nature is the taciturn silent type.
When everyone passed through, Leonardo patted Pandora while looking at Juvia, "You two can go ahead first, I'll follow soon after."
He wanted to have some alone time with Aria, and the two silver-haired beauties understood clearly, hence they both nodded and disappeared from this verdant in-doors courtyard.
…
"What do you need me to do?" Leonardo gave Aria a look, a faint smile on his face.
Aria narrowed her eyes slightly, "I want to try merging the concepts of the soul pearl, celestial incarnations, and co-soul. However, I'm not sure if this will work, I'm not sure if the seal in your sea of consciousness might obliterate my soul, and I'm not sure if this will have a negative impact on your cultivation in the future."
Leonardo understood. However, it is precisely just like she said, the outcome is quite uncertain and unpredictable. Still, he nodded his head with a calm expression before opening his sea of consciousness and the black gate into his soul.
Aria could also sense the changes. Hence, without any hesitation, she concentrated her split will into a streak of crimson light that left the divine marionette and rushed into Leonardo's mind's eye, heading straight for the soul pearl.
Aria was shocked to see the gigantic black sphere and the nebula-like clusters revolving around it. Then, she felt as though something locked onto her strand of will, and the calm black sea beneath her began to ebb and flow with an ominous rhythm.
'I'm dead!'
She thought in horror.