When Rin specifically called him 'Mr. Avenger', Leo clearly sensed an incredibly terrifying killing intent from this complicated companion of his.
But facing Rin like this, Leo found it hard to say anything to dissuade her.
On one hand, even though Leo had split his personality in two, he was still, fundamentally, an Avenger trying to complete his revenge.
To this day, he had not achieved his long-held wish of getting revenge on the Honkai.
And precisely because of this, Leo knew very well...
—that although Rin was brimming with killing intent, she was already exercising immense restraint over her emotions.
Aponia wasn't a bad person. In Leo's view, her using her [Discipline] to prevent humanity from giving up hope against the Honkai wasn't even a bad thing.
But, in front of the victim who lost her life because of Aponia—was there any point in saying such bullshit?
Leo was certain that if he hadn't drawn [Mind Like Still Water] and [Cold, Handsome Man], giving him the "cheats" to forcibly control his emotional fluctuations and facial expressions, he would 100% have been unable to suppress the hatred in his heart and would have beaten up every person in the organization who praised Otto, long before Otto revealed his true colors.
This was, without a doubt, the worst kind of displaced anger and venting. But for Leo, who held an extreme hatred for the Honkai, watching others praise the Era's number one Honkai lapdog was truly disgusting.
And now, Rin, who was gradually gaining control of the Elysian Realm, already had sufficient control over these memories and Aponia's 'real body'.
She would sooner or later hold the power of life and death over Aponia, yet under these circumstances, Rin still asked for Leo's opinion.
Honestly, Leo was very moved by Rin's gesture.
Resentment still existed in her heart, but at the same time, she had truly let go of her prejudices and regarded Leo, with whom she had once fought, as a companion whose feelings she had to consider.
So, facing such a companion, how could Leo possibly say something like, 'Hey, don't do it'?
"...Hah. Not speaking?"
Looking at the silent Leo, Rin, who had just been exuding an astonishing aura, suddenly seemed to deflate like a popped balloon, clearly becoming much more dispirited.
"I thought you would say some boring, sanctimonious words to persuade me not to kill that woman."
"Actually, I did think about it, but..."
Looking at Rin, who had suddenly become downcast for some unknown reason, Leo said very seriously.
"Regardless of why Aponia did what she did, she indirectly harmed you, even leading to your death. This is an indisputable fact."
"You have the right to take revenge on her. If you need me to, just say the word."
"Um, you two..."
Watching the two of them seriously discussing killing her friend, Elysia, who had been sweating bullets this whole time, said helplessly.
"This might be rude, but..."
"—Can't this wait until you actually meet Aponia?"
"Hah. Meet her first."
Looking at the troubled expression on Elysia's face, Rin gave a sarcastic smile.
"Are you trying to plead for her, Elysia?"
"...No, that's not it."
Elysia shook her head and said to Rin in a gentle voice.
"I just think that, knowing Aponia, she would probably apologize to you when she sees you."
"No matter what you think, she still owes you an apology. Even if you want to do something to her, I hope you'll do it after that."
This time, Rin, not hearing the words she had expected from Elysia, froze for a moment.
Before Elysia spoke, she had thought that this companion of Aponia's would try to find excuses for her.
But Rin having such thoughts only proved she didn't understand Elysia.
Elysia, who loved all people, loved not only her friend Aponia, but also Rin, her friend's sister.
It was because she loved both Aponia and Rin that she could easily put herself in their shoes and draw certain conclusions.
Aponia must have been acting with good intentions at the time. But given her personality, upon realizing her good intentions had led to disaster, she would inevitably feel guilt.
And Rin, as the victim, was still asking her companion's opinion even when she had the chance for revenge. This meant there was still room for maneuver.
After analyzing this, Elysia felt that rather than saying anything to absolve Aponia, which would only provoke the not-yet-extreme Rin, it was better to use these impartial words to lessen Rin's hostility towards Aponia.
With the Elysian Realm already more than half under Rin's control, this was all she could do for her companions.
As for what actions her other companions in the Elysian Realm might take, Elysia could roughly guess.
Psychic MANTISes like Su and Aponia must already know that Elysia had been attacked.
Aponia would act alone, while Su would discuss it with Kevin and come up with a few plans, having them split up to execute their respective tasks.
Su, being a non-combat-oriented MANTIS, would most likely choose to bring Rin's sister, Sakura, over, trying to soften Rin's stance with his superb eloquence and sincerity.
And if Su's plan failed, Kevin would definitely lead a few powerful combat-type MANTISes and launch a surprise assault, taking advantage of the fact that Leo Ash had only activated a part of his binding field to restrain Elysia.
As for Mobius, Griseo, and Vill-V... if possible, Elysia didn't want them to come.
After clashing with Leo Ash, although Elysia was the one who got beaten, Miss Pink Elf♪, sensing she was no match for him, had begun collecting combat data on him the moment she confirmed her impending defeat.
And the Herrscher of Binding before her was clearly far more terrifying than the Herrscher of Binding from their own Era.
The Herrscher of Binding from their Era had mediocre combat power himself, but because he kept his 100-kilometer-radius binding field active at all times, it prevented others from getting close to him.
But the Herrscher of Binding from the next Era was different from his predecessor.
He didn't keep his binding field active at all times.
But—that didn't mean he was easy to deal with.
He had too many tricks up his sleeve, and his combat skills were clearly a product of professional training and life-and-death battles.
Even though they had only fought for a short time, Elysia was certain that if the two generations of the Herrscher of Binding fought one-on-one, the latter would 100% be able to kill the former with ease.
Facing such a strong enemy, Elysia was defeated in an instant. Even if Kevin brought a team, it would be a near-certain death.
At a time like this, if her companions who weren't particularly good at, or simply didn't know how to fight, came here...
It would only result in a few more people being strung up on the cross.
"Ah, your eyes are darting around so quickly. You must be brewing some mischief."
Noticing the change in Elysia's expression, Leo walked up to her, revealing a warm smile.
"What is it? Did Su call, or did Aponia contact you?"
"My, you really know us well."
Facing Leo's probing, Elysia giggled.
"Don't tell me... are we all super popular characters on the outside?"
"Hmm, how to put this..."
Glancing at Elysia's two large buns, Leo said very directly.
"I can't speak for the others, but you are definitely a super popular character."
???
Normally, Elysia, being 'praised' like this, would have used his words to tease him back a bit.
But now, having been beaten by Leo Ash once, Miss Pink Elf♪ couldn't help but feel...
This kid's combat state and normal state are worlds apart.
He's so ruthless when he's beating people up, but he'll still flirt with a pretty girl after the fight is over.
Leo Ash... is this kid's mental state really okay?
As for Rin, who was still in a complicated mood, seeing Leo Ash now, she felt she had grasped something others might not have guessed.
In the past two months, Bronya, who had returned from her training at Anti-Entropy, and Wendy, who normally cleared out Honkai Beasts in Shenzhou and returned to the Schicksal HQ to report whenever she was free, had been far too obvious in their attitudes.
But their attitudes were useless. Leo Ash didn't fall for it at all. After all their various hints, both subtle and overt, failed, the girls could only temporarily give up on their ideas.
But now, Rin felt she had stumbled upon the truth.
The reason Leo Ash hadn't accepted either of their feelings... could it be because...
—He likes them big?
Realizing this, Rin subconsciously glanced down at her own chest, then looked away in horror.
*What am I doing? Why do I care about this???*
*Is it because catching that guy recently has made me too tired, so I'm having these strange thoughts?*
[Elysia, can you hear me?]
This voice...
Hearing a voice in her mind, Elysia's expression remained unchanged as she looked at Leo, responding in her thoughts.
*Su?*
[How is your situation? I can see you don't look too good.]
*Hmm, how to put this... they haven't really done anything to me. Especially this kid, Leo Ash. In some ways, he's surprisingly...*
*If his mind is sound, he's actually kind of cute in some ways?*
Su, who was moving with Sakura inside the Elysian Realm, suddenly felt that his perception of the situation might be a bit off.
Although Elysia's personality often led her to speak in this half-joking manner, she knew what was important when it mattered.
For her to still be in the-mood to joke at a time like this... did that mean the situation wasn't that bad?
"Su, what is it?"
Seeing Su suddenly stop, Sakura asked him, puzzled.
"Did something happen to Elysia?"
"No, it's nothing."
Shaking his head slightly, Su, his eyes open, could see a trace of anxiety in his companion's eyes.
They, the Flame-Chaser memories, were undoubtedly not their real selves.
But at the same time, they possessed the emotions their real selves should have.
Even knowing she wasn't the real Sakura, when the Sakura in the Elysian Realm learned that her sister, Rin, had come here, she naturally wanted to see her as soon as possible.
Sakura, who had been running, had been rapidly thinking about various things.
What should she say when she saw Rin? What questions should she ask?
*How has her life been?*
*Has she found new friends?*
*Is she eating well? Sleeping well?*
*Has she met a partner worth spending her life with?*
She had so, so much she wanted to say to this sister of hers who had endured such a tragic fate.
So now, seeing Su stop, even though Sakura understood his caution, she couldn't help but show her impatience.
"Alright, let's keep moving. But..."
Su, still feeling a little uneasy, created a second energy clone.
"...A precaution? Very well."
Seeing Su's action, Sakura immediately moved forward, not wasting any more of her precious time.
"Sigh. Hopefully, we won't need this backup plan."
Controlling the energy clone to head towards the destination, Su let out a helpless sigh and followed after it.
Although he was bringing Sakura to make peace, Su didn't want to be completely unguarded against these two Herrschers.
Elysia, who had let her guard down, was already strung up.
To prevent something similar from happening, Su felt it was better to be cautious.
As for why he didn't make a clone for Sakura, it was purely because the person Sakura was meeting was her sister.
Even if Su understood his companion Sakura, the energy clone he created might be able to fool others, but trying to deceive Sakura's sister... that was a bit like teaching a fish to swim.
If any detail was off, causing Rin to realize 'This isn't my real sister', then...
—An angry Rin would definitely make the problem even worse.