79 Lost Lamb

"Huh?" A confused expression was on Leonard's face as Zel was looking at him with a start. Zel couldn't see anything wrong with his reaction but that wasn't enough for him to hide his rapidly speeding heartbeat.

"You don't have to play the fool, Leonard. I can sense the unsteady fluctuations in your body, and I won't leave without a proper discussion about this. Tell me, where did you find it?" Zel didn't even give Leonard a chance to think as he went closer and placed his hand on Leonard's shoulder. This was only possible because Zel was standing while Leonard was still sitting on the bench.

"Uhh, kid. Do you mind letting me go?" Leonard was already sweating up a storm at how drastically different the situation was from how it was just a while ago. The notebook he was trying to hide was already kept behind Zel's back and the boy was looking at him with an intense gaze that he could feel seeing right through him.

"I need that crystal, Leonard. I'll help you in your research and you help me get it." Zel, who had hidden the notebook behind him, used his [Ring Of Eternity] to send the notebook into his storage space. He then showed Leonard his now free hand as if presenting a magic show.

"What?!" Leonard didn't understand what was going on as he looked down, trying to check if Zel had just thrown the notebook to the ground. But contrary to his initial expectations, it wasn't there. He tried to stand up so he could search for it when he finally realized that he couldn't move his body.

"I don't know who you are Leonard, but I can tell from that man over there that you work with Linton Industries." Zel kept his attention on Leonard's face to see if there was any reaction on his part. But what he didn't expect was that Leonard wasn't just shocked at his statement, he looked nervous. Perhaps he wasn't with Linton Industries, after all. Or maybe...

"... I can't move." Leonard who had heard Zel's words quickly placed a hand over his phone to try and contact the 'Association', but he was quickly let down by his own body. He felt a numbness on his shoulder that spread through all of his limbs. He could move his head, but the rest of his body was rendered immobile.

"I can also tell from the phone in your pocket that you have a way to contact someone, but then again, a Orange rank individual won't suddenly come by easily in an age where few mana is present." Zel took the chance when Leonard was distracted to send a numbing spell inside Leonard's body. He wasn't really able to restrict Leonard's movements for long, but he needed his attention at least.

Leonard's eyes bulged open when he heard Zel's words, but his heart skipped a beat when he saw the violet glow that passed through Zel's eyes.

'I-Impossible! That shouldn't be possible!' 

"My grandson! You!"

"What did you say?!"

Leonard was so surprised at what he just saw that he blurted out the words, and Zel was similarly surprised as he back away a few steps, releasing Leonard from his captivity. The two looked at each other for a while but came to when they both felt two presences coming in from the left, a man with enough aura to give them a fright and one that was similar to Leonard's level.

"Oho, so you came here of all places? I didn't think you'd be so stupid as to come back here, Dr. Prime. Do you mind telling me what happened back there!?" A man wearing a slick business attire came in while his hands were kept inside his pockets. He had on a pair of black sunglasses that hid his eyes, but Zel knew from Toph's report that the man was someone he couldn't fight against, at least not yet.

[Analysis Complete:

Physical Body Grade - D-

Soul Grade - D+  

Growth Potential - C+

Overall Assessment - B-]

"Hello there, Mark." Leonard had an awkward smile on his face as he tried to laugh off the man's aggressive stance, but Chris wasn't the least bit happy with what happened. He pushed himself to stand and walked away from Zel, making it look as if he wasn't associated with the boy at all. He did it while pushing his mana to the maximum flow possible, to distract the two by fleeing and making them give chase.

He had just dialed the Association, so all he needs to do is to buy some time. He looked at his grandson who looked strange for some reason, but he thought it was just the fear coming from Chris' aura that made him like that. After all, even he feels afraid of him, what more of a boy?

"Matthew?" Zel, however, placed his attention elsewhere as he saw a familiar face. It was a face that couldn't be any less similar to what he remembered, but there was something different about him that boggles Zel's mind.

'Why are you old already?'

....

Two days ago,

"Good morning, Pale. What's the schedule for today?" A tired looking old man walked out of the room on the right as he pressed his fingers against his right temple. He looked around the office and saw an array of food on the table at the back and his eyes were locked on to a single thing.

'Ahh, coffee.' Leonard walked to the sight for sore eyes pot of coffee and poured himself a cup, all the while his assistant, Pale Anderson, was looking through the list of 'customers' they have today. Tuesday was 'cleansing day' after all.

"There's three Gold and one Black, but they should be done before the afternoon ends. Other than that, you have a meeting with the boss about 'that'." Pale went to Leonard's side as he showed him the documents regarding the four customers for today.

"Great, another money bag looking to get healthy. I told that fucker that this should stop before more people get involved or else the whole operation would go down in flames!" Leonard had a fierce expression on his face as he thought about the risks he was being unwillingly pulled through just so there would be more zeroes on those bastards' bank accounts.

"Come on, sir. You know that these guys are the ones paying for the operation. Wit-" Pale was trying to smooth out the problem when he was quickly stopped by a banging on the door. It wasn't the door that lead to the inner parts of the floor, but one that was meant for those outside who wanted to come in. A door for customers, or money bags as Leonard called them.

"Knock. Knock. Knock. Hello? Is this the place?" A woman's voice came from behind the door while a tired expression came to be on Leonard's face. He wasn't even given the right amount of respect now, having people on his door as if this was a damn shop!

"... Open it, I'll be in the 'cleansing room'." Leonard didn't bother seeing what kind of person the next customer would be because to be completely honest, he didn't care about them at all. Leonard picked up his cup of coffee with him as he walked to the hallway leading to multiple doors.

One of the doors was already open, but the lights were turned off. It must be because Pale had forgotten to close the door again, but it was strange that the boy would forget to close another door when he was scolded intensively by Leonard for it just a little while ago. This generation is just...

"Creak. Click. Hmph-" Leonard had just turned on the lights when a pair of hands came from his sides and restrained him. A pair of hands held his arms and force them behind him while another placed on hand on his mouth while the other placed itself before a man's mouth, making a shushing gesture.

"No need to be so alert now, Dr. Prime. Or should I say, Dr. Huertazuela?" The man who was in front of Leonard put down his shushing hand slowly and took out a paper from the table beside them. The paper had several pictures, but the most striking ones were that of a family, Zel's family and one of a woman lying on a hospital bed, unconscious.

"You make a noise and these people die, even your precious wife, alright?" Ben placed the picture right in front of Leonard's eyes while slowly lowering his other hand that kept Leonard's mouth shut. 

"Good, then let's have a chat. Alright, Dr. Prime?" Ben smiled gently at Leonard whose eyes were reddening from anger. Having to be forced against his will twice by people who threatened his family was just maddening. It made him realize just how weak he really was in the whole picture.

"Sorry, we didn't have a way to make you not scream without directly hurting you, so we had to resort to this." The man behind Leonard released his hands as well, showing his face that made Leonard feel pressured at the mere sight of it. It was the tallest and most muscular man he had ever seen up close, but it wasn't just those characteristics that made him hard to approach.

'He's awakened! And he's quite advanced, too!' Leonard quickly thought about his current situation and decided to keep mum before doing anything he might regret. He didn't mind having to dish out these two but that would reveal his abilities. It would make all his years of hiding all for naught.