Uhh… it can't be… that means the Mafia is me… in that timeline? Leo froze, her mind spinning, throat dry, heart hammering against her ribs.
"So… this is the girl you were talking about, Battler," the gang boss Leo Julius Eros said, his voice cold, measured, slicing through the tension like a blade.
"Yes, my boss," Battler replied, bowing slightly, a mask of respect covering any trace of fear.
The gang boss's gaze fell on Leo. Silent. Sharp. Piercing straight into her soul.
Huh? Did he know I'm his other version? Maybe I should… tell him the truth, Leo thought, her lips trembling. "Um… I actually…"
But before she could finish, the air in the room seemed to thicken. The boss rose from his throne, his presence expanding, suffocating, leaving no room for hesitation.
"Tell me… who you are exactly, woman," he demanded, his voice cold, lethal, like steel scraping stone—madness barely restrained beneath control.
A hush fell over the room the moment Gang Boss Leo Julius Eros fixed his blade-sharp gaze on her.
Leo's legs went jelly. Her breaths came shallow and quick; sweat prickled down her neck. "I… uh—" Her voice fractured and died on the air as she stared up at the man who wore the name she'd stolen like a brand.
Battler leaned in, his whisper a cold blade against her ear. "Tell the boss. He hates wasting time."
The words were a shove. Leo's face flickered with panic and then, desperately, with resolve.
"It's time to say now!"
Leo thought with a serious face.
"I… I am Leo Julius Eros! From another timeline—please, believe me!" She cried, clutching at her chest as if her heartbeat could prove the truth.
"HAHAHAHAH!!!"
The room erupted. Laughter rolled like thunder: low, mocking, merciless. Faces that had been still for the boss's arrival split into grins. Battler's eyes widened — shock, or maybe a spark of something worse — while the red-haired adventurer's jaw clenched so hard her teeth showed. Fury coiled in her like a spring.
"I'll—" the red-haired girl growled, katana rising in a flash. "I'll kill you for this joke—"
The Gang Boss raised a single finger, slow and scolding. The red blade faltered under that tiny motion and the girl dropped back as if scalded. "Huh? Okay… boss." Her voice trembled but obedience snapped into place.
Leo watched, hope flaring stupid and bright. Did he believe me? The question hung in the charged air.
The boss came forward. Up close, his expression was a sculpture: unreadable, cold. "So," he said, voice low and even, "you mean to say you are me—from another timeline?"
"Yes!" Leo's answer was a sob she tried to hide. "I am Leo Julius Eros. I— I was cursed for my sins. That's why I'm like this." Her hands trembled; she tried to make the story sound like confession and truth both.
The boss studied her, pupils narrowing to knives. A humorless smirk curved his mouth. "Hmph."
Laughter died in the room; the mood hardened to ice.
" Your joke level—beyond anything," he announced, as if reading the verdict aloud. Then, with surgical cruelty: "Die, bitch. Go to hell."
The words hit like a fist. Leo's skin went cold; blood drained from her face. "No… no, please—believe me! I am Leo—" Her plea choked off as the boss's hand moved with terrifying speed.
A punch hollowed her gut. Pain exploded behind her ribs. "Aghh—!" She crumpled, collapsing to the floor, body racked with tremors. Coughing, she spat a bright bloom of blood onto the wooden planks.
"Take her to the torture room," the boss ordered, each syllable a sentence. "Torture her for two days. Then I'll think whether she speaks the truth."
"Yes, my boss," Battler said, voice polite as a blade. He scooped Leo up over his shoulder with practised calm, the movement as casual as a shrug.
The boss turned to the red-haired girl. "Elizabeth — torture that girl brutally."
"Of course, boss. I'll do my best to please you." Elizabeth bowed, a vicious little oath pressed to her chest.
The boss's face twisted with disgust. "I can't believe this is from my other timeline. My Pride can't accept this nonsense! Punish her brutally but make sure don't kill her."
"Understood, Boss!" The gang chorused like a single organism.
From Battler's shoulder, Leo's thoughts skittered, half-formed and feverish. Pride…? So this is the Pride one…? Her lids fluttered; the world narrowed to a drip of light and then nothing. Darkness closed in as consciousness slipped away.