Silence lingered in the infirmary.
Heavy.
Awkward.
Leon leaned back slightly, glancing at Laila, who sat beside him—expression stiff, eyes avoiding his.
After a moment, he broke it.
"What's with that face?" he smirked. "You allergic to smiling or something?"
Laila shot him a sharp look.
"You're an unknown man trying to act close," she snapped. "Why the hell would I smile?"
Leon raised an eyebrow, amused.
"But this unknown man…" he leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice, "…is pretty damn handsome."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Even if you are handsome," she said coldly, "that doesn't give you the right to touch me."
Her irritation was rising fast.
Leon raised both hands slightly.
"Alright, alright… chill," he said. "No need to go full volcano mode."
He paused, then his tone shifted slightly.
"Tell me about those ability users," he said. "I saw one back there."
Laila frowned.
"There was one?" she said, surprised. "None of our devices detected anything. What type?"
Leon leaned back, thinking.
"Something like… plant manipulation," he said. "Vines, roots… moving like they were alive."
Laila's expression darkened.
"If there's one… then there are definitely more," she said. "This is worse than we thought."
She hesitated, then added—
"The President of United States has one too."
Leon blinked.
"…Wait, what?"
"They call it Superhuman," she said. "Right now, he's considered the strongest known ability user… except for those hiding in the shadows."
Leon leaned forward slightly.
"How strong are we talking?"
Laila looked straight at him.
"His strength stat… estimated between 1000 to 1500."
Silence.
Leon's jaw tightened.
He had pushed himself relentlessly—
Years of training—
And he had barely reached around 100.
"…And he got that in just two years," Leon muttered.
Something shifted inside him.
Ambition.
Pressure.
Hunger.
After their conversation ended, Laila left.
Leon didn't waste time.
He headed back to the battlefield.
When he reached the place where he had killed the monster—
The crystal was still there.
Lying among dried blood and charred flesh.
Leon picked it up, turning it in his hand.
"…What the hell are you?"
He examined it closely.
Nothing.
No visible reaction.
No energy spike.
"…Fine. Let's try something stupid."
Without hesitation—
He put it in his mouth.
And bit down.
"AARRGH—!"
Pain shot through his teeth as he instantly spat it out.
"Yeah… that was dumb."
He wiped his mouth, annoyed.
"…Alright, new method."
He ignited a flame in his palm.
Placed the crystal inside it.
Burned it.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
"…You're really testing my patience."
Leon sat down, cross-legged.
Closed his eyes.
Placed the crystal in his palm again.
Focused.
And then—
He felt it.
A warmth.
Faint at first—
Then spreading.
Up his arm.
Into his body.
Leon didn't resist.
He guided it.
Pulled it toward his core.
Inside—
He saw it.
All his elements.
Fire.
Blood.
Gravity, and other.
And now—
This energy.
He directed it toward his fire core—
The orange flame.
The moment it touched—
Everything went wrong.
The fire core erupted violently.
"What the hell—?!"
It started devouring the energy uncontrollably.
His breathing became unstable.
"The energy… it's going wild—!"
The fire grew.
Bigger.
Wilder.
Brighter.
"I can't control it—!"
Then—
BOOM.
Pain exploded inside him.
His entire body shook violently.
Blood burst out from his nose… his eyes… his ears.
His vision went black.
And he collapsed.
Two days later—
Leon's eyes slowly opened.
Everything felt heavy.
His head throbbed.
He reached out instinctively—
His hand touched something soft.
SLAP.
His head snapped to the side.
"Laila?!"
She stood there, furious, cheeks slightly flushed.
"How dare you—?!" she snapped, clenching her teeth.
Leon blinked.
Then looked at his hand.
Then at her.
Realization hit.
"…Oh."
He sat up slowly.
"How are you here?" he asked.
"I came because you weren't responding," she shot back. "And I found you half-dead, covered in blood."
Leon frowned.
"How long?"
"Two days."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Two days unconscious."
He looked down.
His shirt was gone.
"…What did you do?" he asked suspiciously.
Laila suddenly smirked.
"Oh, a lot of things," she said playfully. "Wanna hear the details?"
She expected him to panic.
Or get flustered.
Instead—
Leon leaned back slightly.
"Miss…" he smirked, "how was it?"
Laila froze.
"…What?"
"Since you did 'a lot of things'," he added casually. "I'm just asking how it went."
Her face turned red instantly.
"Shut up!"
She turned and stormed out of the car.
But before she could leave—
A hand grabbed her wrist.
She was pulled back.
Into his arms.
She stiffened.
"Thank you," Leon said quietly. "For coming."
For a moment—
She didn't move.
Then—
"Don't get the wrong idea," she muttered.
Leon smirked slightly.
"Don't worry," he whispered. "I won't complain about whatever you did."
THUD.
Her elbow slammed into his side.
She broke free and rushed into her car, starting the engine immediately.
Leon stood there, exhaling.
"…Still violent."
Inside her car—
Laila's cheeks burned.
"…Idiot."
Leon returned to his car and sat down.
He closed his eyes.
Looked within.
His fire core—
Had changed.
From orange—
To light blue.
The energy was denser.
Sharper.
More destructive.
"…Now this is an upgrade."
He stepped out.
Time to test it.
A zombie wandered nearby.
Leon raised his hand.
A light blue fireball formed.
Brighter.
Deadlier.
He threw it.
WHOOSH—
The fireball pierced straight through the zombie.
Its body didn't even explode—
It disintegrated.
A clean hole burned through its chest as it continued—
Through the wall behind it.
Then another.
And another.
Three walls—
Gone.
Reduced to smoldering holes.
Leon stared.
"…That's insane."
He clenched his fist.
"I can probably use this once… maybe twice before I drain out."
Then he tried summoning his old flame.
It worked.
But now—
It was denser.
More efficient.
Consuming less energy.
"…So both versions are usable."
He smirked.
"Now we're talking."
Then—
Metal.
He took out the serum.
Injected it.
Closed his eyes.
Fused it.
This time—
Smooth.
Controlled.
Inside his core—
A new orb appeared.
Silver.
"Alright…"
He opened his eyes.
"Let's see what you can do."
He stretched his hand.
Focused.
A small drop of liquid metal formed.
Dripping.
Shapeless.
"…What the hell is this?"
He stared at it.
"That's it? All that hype for a damn metal blob?"
His expression darkened.
"Seriously… that's disappointing."
Annoyed, Leon dismissed it and started walking away.
"…Guess I'll figure it out later."
He turned back toward the hospital.
Because one thing was clear—
Answers were still waiting there.
And whatever caused all this—
Was far from over.