Chapter 773: Please Sign!
Please Sign!
"...That’s not a rule." Her voice dropped, sharper now, struggling to stay steady. "That’s a threat."
Leon didn’t react.
"...No," he said quietly. "It’s a guarantee."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You’re asking us to choose between following you... or killing you."
"I’m asking you to survive," he corrected.
The way they landed stung more than his loudest shouts ever had.
A whisper of movement brought Rias near. So near that breathing room vanished, leaving nowhere for cool reasoning to linger and shield him.
"...You don’t need to go this far."
Her voice softened.
"...We won’t follow you."
A stillness took hold. Nobody stirred.
A hush hung there, so quiet it felt breakable. One wrong sound could tear through it.
Facing her, Leon paused. His eyes met hers without a word passing between them.
Really looked.
It wasn’t only what she said... it was how she paused before saying it. That soft moment when silence spoke louder than sound. A hidden wish floated beneath her voice - one asking him to stay his hand, if only now.
Then he smiled.
Not gently.
Not kindly.
Yet that quiet sureness had a way of deepening the mess each time.
"...You will."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Syra exhaled sharply, almost like a scoff but quieter. "You’ve stopped pretending entirely now, haven’t you?"
She waited. He stayed quiet. Not a word came out.
There was no reason for him to do it.
And that -
That hurt.
Because she knew -
He was right.
Fingers half-curled by Kyra’s leg, pressure building under her nails as air slowed in her lungs. Not quite a question - just words slipped out: "No choice left for us...", soft but firm.
His eyes landed on her, just for a moment. Not loud, but steady, he said it back. One path wasn’t your pick. The rest? You’d rather not walk them
Nova snorted, barely moving her feet as she pulled away slightly. Not picking something - just walking into a setup pretending to be an option
"Call it whatever you want," Leon said, tone unchanged. "You’re still going to walk into it."
Her gaze drifted off to the side. She shifted just enough to face elsewhere.
"...Damn it."
A flicker of tension crossed her face, jaw clenching without warning. Her gaze slid sideways, fixed on some distant point. Staying locked on him felt dangerous, as though one more second could spark something sharp. The silence stretched, thin and brittle.
Kyra shut her eyes for a moment.
"...He trapped us."
Out loud they sounded soft. Not clear at all - more like a truth she wished stayed hidden.
A hush came out of her mouth, soft like dust settling. Not rushed. Taken slow on purpose. Yet underneath sat a load, thick and low under the ribs. Her arms sagged once - barely noticeable - then lifted back into place.
Her gaze lifted, yet the pushback hadn’t faded.
Just... softer now.
Not gone.
But tired.
She whispered it quietly, more like thinking out loud. He left no option, she said without blame or need. Simply how things stood, like weather you can’t change.
A gasp escaped Nova, close at hand. She didn’t look away.
"...This is unfair."
Her voice cracked with irritation, sharp and bare. A small turn of her head aimed at Leon, pupils tightening - less rebellion, more tangled beneath the surface.
"You didn’t even trust us enough to tell us first," she continued, quieter now. "You decided everything on your own... and now we’re just supposed to accept it?"
Fingers slowly unclenched by her hip, a tightness trembling up the limb until she let it go. She breathed out once, slow, and the stiffness gave way.
"...That’s not how this should work."
The silence stayed heavy, refusing to speak back.
Behind them -
His chin dipped a little, just enough to shadow his eyes.
Not in submission.
In understanding.
Downward stared his eyes, teeth clenched like the fight replayed inside him - already finished, already broken. His silence held what words couldn’t: a battle folded long before it began.
"...He’s not wrong," Ronan said quietly, voice steady but heavy. "We just don’t like the way he did it."
Black remained silent.
Quiet like something unseen.
His gaze jumped to Leon - just for a breath - then slipped off. Nothing more needed saying.
A single time, Johny tightened his hand into a ball. The moment passed quickly.
Tight.
A twitch of fury flickered across his features - then out came a slow breath, nostrils flaring, hands easing their grip once more.
"...Tch," he muttered under his breath. "Always has to make things harder than they need to be."
Yet silence held him.
Not one managed it.
Because now -
They all understood.
This moment had nothing to do with holding power. Instead, it unfolded quietly, shaped by something deeper than command.
He simply showed up without plans to tie anyone down.
He simply showed up without plans to tie anyone down.
Just didn’t feel like claiming them.
This -
Was protection.
A wall made when promises break...
But from sacrifice.
It hurt because of that.
That’s why they never lined up at his side.
Alone was where he stayed - no choice given but to agree. His silence spoke loud, leaving no room for debate. There, by himself, he drew the line without a word. Not together, never joined - he made that clear through stillness. What others thought mattered less than his own ground held firm.
Staring back came Leon’s gaze across each face present.
One by one.
Faster wasn’t his goal that day.
Not quite looking away, he held each person’s eyes until their silence spoke. Frustration showed first. Doubt crept in next. Then that slow nod without words - agreement anyway.
Everything came into view. That moment revealed every detail. His eyes caught each piece unfold.
And still -
He didn’t waver.
Then he spoke.
Calm.
Firm.
"Now..."
A small pause.
Falling quiet, his voice stayed low.
Didn’t soften.
Stillness held it, as if years of thinking had led to this quiet certainty.
"Please sign."