On the other side of the fracture there was a city, one that looked more technologically advanced than anything I had seen before.
Next to the large rift in the sky were two massive skyscrapers that extended far beyond the clouds above; they were shining with many colorful lights in that depressing world devoid of colors.
The city below us looked so far away; the car on the street looked like tiny grains of sand constantly moving.
"Hold on tight!" Leo warned me before accelerating.
He plunged towards the city below, moving in strange patterns to fly around as many skyscrapers as possible.
He said something else with a big smile on his face, but I couldn't hear him with the strong wind blowing against us.
He kept accelerating, spreading more and more cursed energy to leave a trail of fire behind us.
Then he rose towards the cloud, flying at incredible speed and reaching the clouds above.
Spreading his wings far and wide, clearing the sky above and illuminating the entire city.
That same image of him radiating fire was reflected on the many screens attached to the buildings showing to the people his power and his beauty. We looked like a phoenix.
After a few moments of basking in the admiration and envy of the people down below, he began plunging towards the ground. The destination he was aiming for was a town square, in front of a large fountain where a famous statue of a war hero was displayed.
I noticed a spot was already reserved for our arrival; they had cleared an area for us, with red tape keeping the people away along with some officers already standing by making sure no one crossed that line.
I was surprised by how thorough everything was; I didn't think he would bother making so many preparations. Just calculating the time distortion from the surface and fracture must've cost a lot.
We crashed against the ground, leaving no damage on the ground thanks to Leonhart's powers; we were also completely uninjured.
Phew, and here I thought I was about to come out with a broken bone or two; you should be a little more careful here.
As I looked around, I noticed the flame that once looked like Leo's wings had changed shape; they were wrapped around us, forming a very rough oval shape.
"Leo?"
"It seems we're a bit too early, not that it matters." He commented as he checked his phone.
He then closed his eyes to concentrate more on shaping up the ball of fire currently encapsulating us.
You sure do love your flashy entrances…
I realized pretty quickly he was making a flower, waiting for the crowd around to show up. Once it became crowded, he made the large bulb blossom into a fiery flower with us standing at the center of it.
People cheered, taking photos and clapping their hands in excitement at our presence. I couldn't quite understand why.
"Smile! Show them a beautiful smile; all these people got up early just to see us." Leo whispered to me while waving his hands at the people surrounding us.
"Have you practiced your signature?"
"Huh?" I couldn't hear him properly; the cheering was getting too loud.
The women in the crowd were all fawning over Leonhart, sending kisses his way and snapping as many photos of him as they possibly could.
Perks of being good-looking.
It wasn't simply looking good; he was dressed to look the part of a little prince, and his golden hair was surely catching more attention than mine. He was so beautiful that even men had trouble keeping their eyes off of him.
"So? Where are we going?" I asked him.
I didn't want to stay there any longer; some people were bold enough to snap pictures with their flash on, and it was starting to annoy me.
The lust some of those women directed his way was disgusting to smell; a lot of them were probably twice his age, fawning over someone that could easily be their son.
It's ridiculous how bold these people are… do they not fear death? I thought people here feared demonic warriors as well as most of the noble families.
We stood still like statues for a few more minutes, flooded by the attention of the people surrounding us, until Leo finally got sick of it, and then with a small wink to one of the officers, they began to clear up a path for us to walk.
"Poser." I commented as I waited for the officer to clear a path.
"You're just envious you're not as good-looking as I," he replied with a shining smile.
How annoying. I don't get it. Is someone's face really worth everything to them? How fucking shallow.
Just as I was complaining in my mind about the unfairness of the world, I saw an ad for the tournament displayed on one of the screens. It displayed many popular fighters next to one another.
Jeez, I wonder just how much we had to spend to get this many ads; it's overwhelming.
Once the path was cleared, Leo took my hand and began dragging me around the busy city.
I was expecting Leo to have rented out a car or something, anything to flee from that crowd, but no, we walked on foot to our destination.
In the meantime, the people following changed; before they were mostly civilians, but now we were facing journalists, many of them pointing their microphones towards us and throwing an endless wave of questions towards us.
"How long will you stay here?" they asked.
"Was it true that thirty years ago you were kidnapped?"
Thirty? Not even ten have passed.
"Will your soldier be taking part in the tournament you hosted?" Someone asked.
"We heard you're going to be selling one of your artifacts; can you give us some more information about that?"
"How did you discover this new way of making artifacts?"
"When will you start selling them?"
"What's your current relationship status?"
So many questions, some of them I couldn't even answer, so I ignored them, looked the other way, and kept walking forward, following behind Leo.
"We already have an interview scheduled for later; we'll answer your questions then." He shouted back.
He kept dragging me until we reached a bakery shop; there he let go of my hand to enter the shop. I decided to wait outside while waiting for him to get his food.
So stuffy
I thought as I loosed the collar of my shirt; I was starting to sweat, and this looked to be a particularly hot day. Most of the journalists following us were wearing simple shirts with short sleeves; I, on the other hand, was wearing many different layers of clothes.
Fuck, I'm already starting to sweat. By the end of the day I'll become all sticky and disgusting.
A thorough shower was inevitable at this point; the thought alone was leaving a sour taste in my mouth. Those maids certainly took advantage of the fact I couldn't feel any pain to be as rough as possible to get things done quickly.
Even if they made me bleed in the process.
I didn't have to wait for long; Leo was done in a minute and returned carrying a tall pile of boxes, each one containing lots and lots of pastries and other sweet stuff.
Each box had a different label: some were croissants, beignets, and donuts; there were cakes and more.
"What are you preparing for? A buffet?" I jokingly commented.
"I mean, you're not wrong," he replied as he handed the pile of boxes to me.
"Let's go; we have a lot of other places to go still." He excitedly said as he began to walk towards our next destination.
"Are you sure we need all of this? When are you going to find the time to finish all of this food?" I complained as I was trying to keep the pile balanced.
"Complain less and move more if you want to get over this quickly." He replied as he began accelerating his walking speed.
Fine!