"This is awesome!!!" Alice screamed from the back seat as Leo drifted around the corner at high speed.
After the nighttime meeting, Leo got along quite well with the Cullens. By the end of it, he somehow ended up flexing his car engine to Rosalie — and one thing led to another: a spontaneous night drive.
After a few laps around the road, Leo pulled up in front of the Cullen house.
"See you tomorrow, Leo!!" Alice called out, dragging her mate inside, leaving behind the awkward Rosalie and Leo.
Sighing inwardly, Leo glanced at Rosalie. "So... got any plans this weekend?"
She looked confused for a second, then her eyes widened in realization. "Yeah! I'm free!!" she answered in an oddly high-pitched tone.
"Great. If you don't mind, how about we hit a race zone I know?" He smirked. "I guarantee you'll have fun."
"Really? Of course!" Rosalie replied, clearly excited. "I used to go to one of those, but it got shut down a couple months ago."
"Then it's settled." He nodded. "See you tomorrow."
"Yup. See you tomorrow," she said with a smile. But before she could turn to leave, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, smirking as he sped off — leaving a blue-screened Rosalie frozen on the spot.
A burst of laughter erupted from the upstairs window, followed by a shout: "Shut up!" and then a painful yelp.
Leo, now far from the house, let the smile fade from his face — replaced by something colder, sharper.
Once he was sure he'd driven far enough, he pulled the car over and stepped out.
"I know you've been tailing me this whole ride," he said, glancing toward the forest. "Why not come out?"
"Hehe… even with my spiritual pressure hidden, you noticed. Rare," a voice replied.
A shadow stepped into the car's headlights. Leo immediately noticed two things: a heavy scent of bloodlust... and a disturbingly familiar trace of silver in the air.
"Hidden or not, you still need to breathe. I can smell that." Leo narrowed his eyes, sizing up the stranger.
Medium build. Black hair. White coat.
"Well, since I've been discovered…" the man said, drawing a cross from his sleeve, "let's get this over with."
An eerie pressure radiated from the man. The cross shimmered faintly — then transformed into a glowing blue energy bow.
"…Quincy?" Leo frowned at the weapon.
"Oooh, you know my race? This might be a good job after all," the man grinned madly and fired three rapid energy spears at Leo.
"Too slow." Leo calmly tilted his head, dodging two before slapping the third away with the back of his hand.
The man smirked. A snap of his fingers — the two missed spears curved back in a U-turn, targeting Leo again.
This time, Leo responded with a sharp wind slash, destroying them mid-air.
"I don't remember offending or even contacting any Quincies," Leo said. "Mind telling me what this is about?"
"Nothing personal," the man said with a cocky smirk. "Your head's worth thirty million. What can I say? It's good business."
He vanished — reappearing behind Leo with his bow drawn. But before the arrow could fly, Leo vanished, too… and reappeared at the man's side, landing a solid punch that sent him flying.
As the man tried to regain balance, Leo appeared again, delivering another blow.
It happened again. And again.
In a blur of movement, Leo punched him a dozen times before the man was sent crashing through trees, deep into the forest.
Eventually, the man stopped — sprawled in a clearing. He stood, breathing hard, finding himself surrounded by broken trunks and scorched earth.
"Talking about the value of my head like it's fruit for picking…" Leo's voice echoed. A gust of wind, and he appeared in front of the man, cold and calm. "At this level, forget taking my head — you really thought you'd walk out of here alive?"
"…Hiro," the man said. "That observation skill — must be your gift." He looked around and smiled faintly. "This place'll do."
Leo frowned, but before he could act, the man slammed his palms together.
A heartbeat later, the world lost all color.
"Judging by your face, this is your first time in this zone," he smirked. "Welcome… to Behind the Veil."
Leo looked around, trying to sense anything — but it was as if the world had been muted. The same forest, yet utterly alone.
"In Central, any fight over level 20 is forbidden," the man sneered. "I wasn't even trying before."
"But here… I can go all out."
A wave of spiritual pressure exploded from the man, forming a torrent of blue energy before condensing again. When it faded, he was transformed — stronger, deadlier.
"My name is Vegus. Level 24 Quincy." The bow-wielding centaur now pointed his weapon at Leo. "I'm here to take your head."
"I see," Leo said, mimicking Saitama's deadpan tone as his claws emerged.
"Let's hunt, shall we?" he added, grinning.
In a flash, the two clashed — Leo striking fiercely while Vegus blocked, twisting his bow to fire an arrow mid-clash.
Leo tried to dodge, but the arrow tracked him. He sliced it with his right claw, only for another to appear in his face — he raised his guard, taking the hit head-on before being blasted backward.
The arrow exploded on contact.
"What do you think now?" Vegus taunted with a triumphant smile.
"You talk too much for an archer," came Leo's voice from the settling dust. "If that's all you've got... let's end this."
An oppressive aura burst from Leo, pushing Vegus to his knees.
"This… overwhelming…" Vegus trembled. Leo stepped forward, his glowing purple eyes sharp, claws crackling with black lightning. He looked like death incarnate.
"I… I…" Vegus stammered, trying to beg.
"Save it." Leo raised his claw. "With bloodlust like yours, even if I let you go, there's no guarantee this won't happen again."
He swung.
One clean slash. The head fell.
Leo stood still, staring at his claw.
"One swing. One life. But…" he clenched his fist. "Why don't I feel anything?"
This world may run on kill-or-be-killed... but Leo wasn't born of it. There were principles rooted deep inside him. And now, the absence of emotion frightened him more than the kill itself.
"Maybe… it's part of being Rageheart ?" he murmured.
The world around him slowly regained its color. He stretched, then turned toward the body.
With a stomp of his foot, the ground opened, swallowing the corpse and leaving only clothes and gear behind.
Leo picked up the remnants. He had no plans to let this go.
This wasn't One Piece — a bounty on your head meant someone realy wanted you dead.
And he intended to find out who, and when he found out who, "lord have mercy on them..."