Leon had arrived at that conclusion the moment he truly understood the shape of the world they now lived in.
This was a world where its strongest people had once held power, then had it ripped away. A world living on borrowed strength, running on fumes. If nothing changed, it was only a matter of time before they fell. Not because they lacked will, but because they lacked the means.
Leon could handle the threat, for now. That much he was confident in. But he was not arrogant enough to believe he could do everything alone.
His battles lay higher up the ladder. Against beings that sat at the very top. And he was not there yet.
By his own measure, Leon knew where he stood. Archduke level, give or take. Enough to crush lords, enough and make divine-stage experts wary. But emperors were another matter entirely. Against them, he did not yet trust his odds. Not fully.
He needed time.
Time to grow stronger.
Time to push his own limits.
