Barton quickly turned to look at Leon with concern, and Leon met the old man's gaze as well.
"Are you... are you serious about this, Leon? You're really going with them?" Barton asked, his voice shaking.
Leon nodded slightly, sending a forced, bitter smile to Barton. "There's no other choice left... old man." He looked back at the Witherborn group. "Lead the way."
Xiao Yan nodded in acknowledgment before turning and walking out of the patrol headquarters. Cyrus and Raven immediately flanked Leon on both sides as they followed, like guards escorting an important prisoner.
Leon walked with the Witherborn group away from the patrol headquarters. The late morning sun was growing stronger, but the atmosphere around them remained heavy with invisible silence and tension. He stared at Xiao Yan's tall, steady back as the man led the way, then asked in a voice that tried to sound as normal as possible.
"So... where exactly are you taking me?"
Xiao Yan didn't turn around, simply answering curtly in his level tone. "You'll find out soon enough."
That response did nothing to ease Leon's curiosity. Where the hell are they taking me? Some kind of weird experiment? More interrogation about that power? Or maybe... they're planning to kill me somewhere out of sight? Countless thoughts raced through his head in confusion.
Raven, walking beside him, seemed to sense Leon's anxiety and spoke up in his deep but sincere voice. "Don't worry. We're taking you somewhere safer than this... a place where you can find answers about yourself."
Leon glanced at Raven briefly before something else occurred to him. "What about... what about this town? River Bend... what's going to happen to it?" His voice carried obvious concern.
Cyrus was about to answer, but Xiao Yan spoke first with a firm tone. "We've already contacted Witherborn headquarters. A support team will be here soon to handle security and help rebuild the town. Either way, this place will definitely be safe."
Those words brought Leon some relief, at least to a degree, before he turned back to look toward the patrol headquarters they'd just left...
He saw Barton's figure struggling to support himself in the doorway. The old man stood watching them with a face full of deep sorrow and worry, his eyes red-rimmed...
Leon felt like something was lodged in his throat. He could do nothing but stand there looking at the man who'd been like a second father to him from this distance. His heart squeezed with a mix of emotions—attachment, sadness, and confusion.
"Leon!!!" Barton shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling. "Someday... you'll come back here again, won't you?!" He could sense this might be a very long farewell. "You... you won't forget this old bastard, will you?!"
Leon didn't answer. He could only raise his hand and wave to Barton one last time. Old memories flooded his mind—days when Barton had trained him to fight with strict discipline, times when the old man would scold him but secretly bring him food when he'd messed up, moments when Barton had cared for and cherished him like his own son... Even though the terrible events of the past few days had shaken Leon's faith in Barton somewhat, the deep bond they'd shared for so long remained strong...
He quickly turned away, afraid that if he looked any longer, the tears he was holding back would spill over. He bit his lip hard, trying to steel himself, then stepped forward to continue walking.
Xiao Yan, who had observed everything, stopped walking when they reached the town's outskirts. "Alright everyone," he said seriously. "From here on, it's going to be quite a long journey. Get ready—we're leaving now."
Leon took a deep breath, trying to push away his feelings of sadness. He looked out at the unfamiliar landscape ahead... the world beyond River Bend... territory he'd never once experienced in his entire life. For all eighteen years, his world had existed only within those crumbling city walls... but now... he was about to see a new world... a world he'd never known... It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
"We're heading to Witherborn headquarters," Xiao Yan continued, breaking the silence. "It's located in the center of the continent... in a territory called 'Crafter.'"
"Crafter?!" Leon repeated the name in surprise. He'd never heard it before.
"Yeah," Cyrus grinned widely. "That's where our main base is. It's basically the center of everything. And speaking of distance from here... it's not really that far, if we travel without stopping to rest."
Leon frowned. "Then... if headquarters isn't far from here, why didn't you guys hurry up and bring reinforcements to deal with The Exiled from the start? Why wait for all this crazy shit to happen first?"
Xiao Yan sighed softly. "Because that damn thing... was good at hiding." He answered with slight irritation in his voice. "The intel we had on it before wasn't clear enough to pinpoint its exact location. Not until Barton contacted us with new information did we start planning seriously."
"But still..." Cyrus added, "who would've thought it would come out and rampage through the town like that? And gotten even stronger than before, too."
"Enough talking already," Xiao Yan cut off his team member before turning to Leon. "Save your questions for later, kid. This journey's going to be long—let's get moving."
Leon nodded slowly. "...Right."
He looked back toward River Bend one final time before deciding to turn his back on the past and face an uncertain future... toward the land called "Crafter"... and his real adventure had finally begun...