"Who..."
"...has disturbed my seclusion..."
Upon hearing this, Aaron could feel a powerful barrier, centered on this Castlevania, beginning to spread rapidly outwards.
Although he was somewhat prepared and wasn't using his full strength, Aaron still felt a bit strange after having his power partially weakened by the barrier.
"A little interesting, this power..."
"It's actually mana."
After casually dispersing the barrier, Aaron, having dropped his playful attitude, began to observe everything before him.
Only then did Aaron realize he had misjudged earlier.
The castle that appeared before him was indeed Castlevania in shape.
And within 'Castlevania', the power of the Demon Lord Dracula was indeed emanating.
It was precisely because of this that Aaron had regarded it as the real thing.
But now, calming down and taking a second look, he saw through its true form.
Although this so-called Castlevania contained the power of the Demon Lord Dracula, this power seemed slightly different compared to the power of Domination over [Dracula's Mana] that he possessed.
Of course, that wasn't the main point. The point was, Castlevania shouldn't look like this.
Aaron, who had once shattered the Cocoon of Finality, recognized it—this so-called Castlevania was actually this world's Cocoon of Finality.
It was just that the other 'Dracula' inside the castle was even more ruthless than him. Instead of choosing to shatter the Cocoon of Finality with one punch to end the grudge between humanity and the Cocoon, he chose to completely enslave it.
*Wow, no wonder I felt some residual negative emotions lingering around the castle...*
*Whether the Cocoon generated resentment because of this guy's actions, or whether this resentment is emanating from the guy himself, this situation doesn't look good.*
With the power of a Magnetic Field expert, Aaron could directly read the minds of those whose strength was beneath his.
But even after he casually dispersed the suddenly appearing dark red barrier, he still couldn't see what the person inside Castlevania was thinking.
*I never thought I'd have the chance to say something like this.*
*This person is not beneath me... is he?*
Meanwhile, inside the Castlevania transformed from the Cocoon of Finality, Leo Ash, who had nearly completed his True Manifestation Fusion, did not choose to test the other party after speaking those words.
On one hand, he could feel that the other party indeed possessed extremely powerful strength.
On the other hand, Leo, who had been watching the outside world, had just seen the other party advising Chen Tianwu and the group of Schicksal members to retreat.
If the other party were a scoundrel who slaughtered the innocent, then with the strength he had just shown by breaking the Cocoon of the Moon's shield with one punch, wiping out that group of Schicksal members would have been no harder than breathing.
But as the master of the Cocoon of the Moon, Leo could actually feel that this person not only had no intention of killing, but had also exquisitely controlled the power of that punch.
Although he shouted for Chen Tianwu and the others to back away, the man, who had exquisitely controlled the punch's force, had precisely channeled the power into the protective shield, making it impossible to cause any aftershocks that could harm others.
*He's an expert, and he might also be a good person. Of course, the most crucial part is...*
*—The judgment governed by [The Wavering Scales] is telling me that I probably won't gain any advantage if we fight.*
"Hmm, wait, no."
Aaron, who had enhanced his power, and Leo, who had been watching the outside, both felt... after seeing each other's faces clearly through their special powers...
*—Have I seen this person somewhere before?*
If they were both ordinary people, they would probably dismiss this feeling as déjà vu.
But the two of them knew very well that for people with their power, having such a thought meant it was almost certainly true.
"Let me think..."
"I think I remember now."
Aaron, realizing the other party might have no hostile intent, retracted his power.
And Leo, having recalled that incident, left Castlevania and took the initiative to land on the moon.
After sizing up the other person's appearance again, Aaron finally understood why he had an impression of this man.
"Bro, don't tell me you're also..."
"Don't ask. If you have to ask, it was a runaway truck."
The moment this phrase was spoken, Leo saw the expression on Aaron's face become incredibly colorful.
Moreover, he completely understood what the other person was thinking.
After all—Leo, who now remembered who the other person was, knew that he and this uninvited guest were both among the unlucky bastards sent off by a runaway truck back then.
The reason Leo and Aaron had an impression of each other was mainly because they shared the bond of waiting at the same traffic light before they died and being killed by the same runaway truck.
Before they died, they had both seen the terrified expressions on each other's faces. The reason Leo recognized the other person first wasn't because he was more observant, but because he had transmigrated as a soul.
At first, he thought the System had given him plastic surgery. Later, after regaining his memories, he learned that his father in this world was handsome enough, which was why his own looks, originally unremarkable, had improved significantly after growing up.
Although it was strange to say, upon realizing that the person in front of him was an old compatriot, and that they had even taken the same runaway truck, the two, who had no intention of fighting, suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie.
However, even if Leo wanted to chat with this man, now was not the time.
Over the past few years, as he gradually completed the True Manifestation Fusion with the Cocoon, Leo had almost completely mastered this final enemy he could find.
The reason he hadn't actively undone the protective shield before was that the moment he did, the power leaking from him might cause some abnormal situations in the surroundings.
Because of this, without full confidence, Leo chose to continue squatting on the moon.
But today, Leo, who had been watching everyone, couldn't squat any longer.
*Damn it, someone is trying to stir up trouble, and someone is about to be in trouble.*
If he continued to squat on the moon at a time like this, he figured he would regret it for the rest of his life.
"Ah, although I'd like to chat with you, old bro, it seems now is not the time."
Watching the man before him, Aaron suddenly began to stretch his limbs, and his body erupted with even greater power than before.
"Do you need me to send you back to Earth?"
"Ha, looking at your current display, this 'send-off' seems a bit too intense."
"But, fine."
Although he held no hatred for the man before him, just by looking at him, Leo could feel the desire to fight surging within his heart.
His revenge was over. And after the revenge ended, his other desires naturally filled the void left behind.
Besides the desire to protect his family and companions, as a warrior who had grown much stronger, Leo naturally craved...
*—A satisfying exchange with a strong opponent.*
Of course, there was definitely no time for a full fight now.
But if it was just one move, allowing them to exchange a blow while using the opponent's attack to quickly return to that place of origin, perhaps it wasn't a bad idea.
"Well then, please be careful."
Aaron, having finished gathering his power, erupted with strength once more.
"Domination... Magnetic Field Rotation, 999,999 Pili..."
"—Tyrant Whale-Slaying Fist!"
"Dimensional Sphere, full power..."
"—Sea Tiger Destructive Punch!"
On the surface of the moon, the two, holding no hostility, nonetheless exchanged their strongest attacks, as if in a life-or-death battle.
As their powers collided, one was sent flying into outer space, while the other was knocked back toward Earth.
After the exchange, the two, flying wildly backward, had only one, identical thought in their minds.
*Damn it—that kid really didn't hold back!*
*Good thing I went all out too, otherwise I would have really lost face this time.*
In that instant of their clash, both men had controlled their power, preventing it from spreading.
Although this meant the person opposite them would bear 100% of their force, it also prevented the moon from suffering a catastrophe due to the aftershocks of their battle.
Furthermore, before being sent flying, Aaron had actually noticed something else.
From the moment he broke the Cocoon of the Moon's shield, he discovered that someone was secretly spying on him and Leo.
And he was certain that this person spying on them absolutely did not have good intentions.
*Heh, I heard from Kiana and the others that while I was unconscious these past few years, some clueless idiots tried to stir up trouble.*
*They just miscalculated Kiana and the others' strength and got jointly slapped to death by Kiana and Mei.*
*Over here, I can't believe I'm seeing this bastard still trying to cause trouble.*
*Forget it, this isn't my world, after all. I shouldn't interfere in some things.*
*She's still holding back. The villains of this world should be left to the guardians of this world to handle.*
*Hmm, but even though I felt that guy who just flew off wasn't a bad person, feelings can be deceptive.*
*It's not like I haven't seen the trope where a [villain hypnotizes himself into making others mistake him for a good person]. For now, I'll head back to Earth too, and see if this world really needs me to lend a hand.*
....
Nagazora City. Suburban Cemetery.
In the Nagazora City cemetery, Raiden Mei looked at her companion beside her and let out a faint sigh.
"Yuna, you..."
"It's alright, Mei. I'm fine."
After paying respects to those who died in the Nagazora Eruption as per custom, Yuna smiled at Mei and said.
"You just saw the news from headquarters. The shield Senior put up on the moon was suddenly broken, and although the two seemed to have fought afterward, the battle ended abruptly after just one move."
"After Senior returns, he will definitely go straight to Schicksal HQ to let everyone know he's safe."
"It doesn't matter if I don't go back right away. But you, as his... well, it wouldn't be wrong to call you his wife at this point."
"As his wife, don't you want to see him as soon as possible?"
*Of course I do, but...*
*—Don't you?*
Looking at her friend, Mei truly felt that Yuna's way of suppressing her own emotions was too strange.
Anyone at Schicksal HQ who was even slightly familiar with Yuna and Leo could tell that Yuna had romantic feelings for Leo.
And after Leo proactively started a harem, Yuna, who clearly didn't mind him having a harem, showed no inclination of getting together with Leo.
In Mei's eyes, this was wrong, no matter how you looked at it.
"Alright, alright, stop dawdling. If you go back any later, the person lying in his bed won't be you."
["Ah, Poison Ivy is changing the subject again."]
*Yeah, she's really not acting like herself today.*
["But I think it's normal. You haven't forgotten, have you? Today is the anniversary of her mother's death."]
*Of course I haven't.*
*Sigh, I can understand Yuna wanting to pray for and visit her mother's grave alone.*
*She wants to send me away... Forget it, I'll do as she wishes.*
"I'm done with you."
Tossing out that sentence, Mei chose to use the Quantum Teleportation System to return to Schicksal HQ, just as Yuna wished.
Meanwhile, after confirming Mei had left, Yuna looked at the tombstone engraved with her mother's name, and an emotion she would never normally show surfaced on her face.
"Mom, I'm sorry. Although I don't think you'd want me to do this, in the end..."
"I still want to complete this final revenge."
In front of her mother's tombstone, Yuna took out the Glock G19 she had prepared long ago and pointed it at her temple.
In this not-so-long battle, Cocolia had died at Yuna's hands, Otto had been killed by Leo, and even the Cocoon of Finality had been suppressed by Leo.
For Yuna, the Avenger, most of her enemies were already dead, but she still had one final enemy left to kill.
The useless Yuna who failed to protect her mother; the murderer, the Herrscher of Poison, who killed her mother...
*—In the end, this is the enemy I should be taking revenge on the most.*
Ever since my power as the Herrscher of Death disappeared, I've become an ordinary person again.
And now, even a strong ordinary person, if shot in the temple, will definitely die instantly.
Senior is back, so I can finally rest assured. So now...
"Ha, haha, hahahahaha..."
Yuna, who suddenly burst into loud laughter, moved her finger to the trigger in the next second...
—And pulled the trigger, aimed at her own temple.
....