Chapter 142: What I need from you

He crouched down slowly beside Medusa’s unconscious form, studying her carefully.

Her expression, freed now from whatever performance she’d been putting on throughout their entire confrontation, looked considerably more vulnerable than he expected.

The sharp, predatory smile was gone entirely, replaced by a peaceful expression.

The snakes in her hair had gone still as well, no longer hissing, or baring their fangs. They only drooped loosely instead across her shoulders like ordinary strands of hair might.

Leon exhaled slowly, some of the tension finally draining out of his shoulders now that the immediate threat had passed.

He straightened back up, glancing around the quiet field, uncertain exactly what came next.

He hadn’t actually expected the confrontation to end this cleanly.

Whatever power Medusa held within this space, whatever control she exercised over the field itself, it clearly hadn’t been enough to keep pace with him directly, not once he’d stopped holding back and actually committed to using everything Hermes’ Boots offered him.

Still, the victory left him with more questions than answers. If she could copy Aegis’s defense for herself, block his attacks outright with a shield identical to his own, what exactly did that mean for the relationship between them, for whatever bond actually connected her to the ring in the first place?

He glanced down at his own hand again, the ring of Aegis still on his finger, entirely unremarkable now that the confrontation had ended.

’Can you even hear me right now?’ he thought carefully, testing whether the connection between them still functioned with her unconscious.

No response came. Whatever link allowed her voice to reach him clearly required her to be conscious enough to actually use it.

Leon turned slowly, surveying the field around him properly for the first time since the fighting had started, searching for any indication of how he was actually supposed to leave.

He’d arrived here by reaching toward the ring with his mind, some intuitive pull guiding him toward this space.

Leaving, he assumed, probably worked in reverse, though he had no way of confirming that without actually trying.

Leon lowered himself onto the grass beside Medusa, careful not to jostle her as he settled in.

He could have left, but decided it was best to stay and wait for her to regain consciousness.

He reached over and turned her slightly, making sure her head rested properly instead of lolling at the awkward angle it had fallen into.

He sat back and studied her for a moment.

She hadn’t stirred at all.

He frowned slightly, replaying the strike in his head. He’d gone for a quick chop to the neck, meant to end things fast and clean. He hadn’t expected her to stay out this long.

’Did I hit her too hard?’ he thought.

The question sat uncomfortably with him. He glanced down at his own hand, flexing his fingers once.

Back in Ratdale, that same strength had turned a fist into a weapon capable of killing D-rank monsters in a single shockwave.

He’d known his stats were absurd on paper. Sitting here now, watching Medusa remain completely unresponsive from a single controlled strike, the reality of it settled in differently.

Whatever he currently was, it almost certainly put him above every other player in the world right now. Not just strong. Something else entirely.

He let the thought sit for a moment, then pushed it aside, turning his attention back toward the actual problem in front of him.

’Today,’ he thought, resolve hardening. ’I’ll unlock Aegis. Fully.’

Whatever it took to get there, fighting her into submission clearly wasn’t the answer she actually wanted, not really. But it had bought him leverage, at least. A conversation on his terms instead of hers.

He settled in to wait.

The minutes passed slowly, the field around him unchanged, grass swaying gently in a breeze he still couldn’t feel against his skin. He kept his eyes on her the whole time, watching for any sign of movement.

Eventually, her eyelids fluttered.

Medusa’s eyes snapped open a second later, and she jolted upright immediately, scrambling backward across the grass the instant she registered Leon sitting beside her.

"You’re—" she started, then stopped, her hand flying instinctively to the back of her neck.

"No need for that," Leon said, not moving from where he sat.

She didn’t seem to hear him, her fingers pressing against the spot where he’d struck her, memory clearly flooding back all at once. Her expression shifted rapidly from confusion to alarm.

The snakes coiled through her hair rose immediately, hissing sharply at him, fangs bared.

Leon shrugged. "Sit down," he said. "There’s nothing you can actually do to me. You already tried."

Medusa’s jaw tightened. She opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue, then closed it again, the fight visibly draining out of her shoulders. Whatever retort she’d been about to throw at him, she seemed to think better of it.

The snakes settled slowly, their hissing fading into silence, drooping back down against her shoulders.

She sat back down, keeping a careful distance between them this time, her earlier defiance replaced by something more guarded.

"I thought you’d leave," she said finally, her voice quieter now. "Why are you still here?"

Leon didn’t answer right away. He studied her for a moment first, the wariness still sitting plain on her face despite how still she was keeping herself.

"Because leaving wouldn’t actually solve anything," he said finally. "If I just walked out of here, we’d be right back to this the next time I needed Aegis properly. I’d rather settle it now."

Medusa’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Settle it how? By knocking me out again?"

"If I have to," Leon said. "But I’d rather talk."

She let out a short, humorless laugh. "Talk. After you choked me and broke my concentration enough for a cheap shot."

"You tried to trap me in a field forever," Leon said flatly. "I think we’re even."

Medusa opened her mouth to argue, then stopped herself, something flickering across her expression before she looked away instead, toward the open stretch of grass beside them.

Leon let the silence sit for a moment before continuing.

"Here’s what I actually need from you," he said. "Fully unlock Aegis."