Leon didn't want to stop at B-rank. He couldn't. But to even reach it, to begin that phase—he had to do what the emperor had once done: create a core.
Just like the one he'd made for Elizabeth.
****
Leon's eyes stayed fixed on Elizabeth's sleeping form, his thoughts drifting back, to the human settlement in the trial world.
'That time... I just acted on instinct.'
He remembered it clearly. Elizabeth had suddenly awakened, her body radiating power far beyond what she could handle.
Her veins had glowed, energy thrashing wildly inside her, threatening to tear her apart. There hadn't been time to think, only react.
Driven purely by instinct, Leon had used his Primordial Dragon Art, channeling his own essence into her body and forging three cores within her.
He hadn't known what he was doing back then, only that he had to save her.
But now, after everything he'd learned, he finally understood.
What he had created back then... wasn't just a temporary fix. It was a dormant core.
