Conquering conquerors & Testing powers.

Lissandra walked out of the house laughing alongside Helen. It gave the impression they were friends from infancy. They giggled and laughed all the way to the front gate. Lissandra waved them goodbye while giggling Helen told her to visit them again, then closed the door.

The smile slowly faded from Helen's face. Expressionless, she stared at Leonardo and spoke; "She's a woman on your father's side. Do not fall for her charms."

[She also saw something on that hyena, your mother is not at all simple-minded.] Azumi spoke in mild surprise.

Leonardo chuckled helplessly and just nodded. "Oh, but what do I do? mom seems scarier, and I already fell for her charms..." He commented out loud.

Helen snorted contemptuously at him with a thin blush on her cheeks and a smile on her lips.

The doorbell resounded again surprising them both. Helen opened it again and saw a tall Claudia standing behind the twelve-year-old Rebecca.

Rebecca was nervous, holding a bag full of chocolate bars. Leonardo laughed. "Mom, bring little torment to Hailey, they have a lot of catching up to do."

Before anything else, he motioned with his chin for Claudia to follow him.

Claudia tapped her anxious little sister's head, gave her an assured smile and followed Leonardo.

Helen stared at Claudia's back with surprise, she remembered the girl from when she was a pre-teen. 'But didn't they stopped talking?' She reckoned. Claudia became a big shot that awakened a B class authority, she also has the second-best grades at school and received various local job offers and others from all around the country, including the capital. What made her come back to this house?

"H-Hello again. aunt Helen." Feeling the little girl tiptoe around her in nervousness brought Helen back and she smiled to her "You come to feed my Hailey? good! let's go!"

****

They entered his bedroom, Claudia first, then Leonardo locked the door behind him.

He gazed at her back as Claudia rested her eyes on each furniture, for at least a few seconds each. He hadn't changed even one. In a daze, she casually caressed the chair in front of the computer.

But as her back was towards him Leonardo couldn't see her expression.

"A trip down the memory lane?" He asked, her only answer was a buzzing noise and thin threads of electricity running through the whole room. In five seconds it stopped and she muttered nonchalantly; "There are no hidden devices...You didn't stoop so low after all."

Leonardo felt the corner of his mouth raise involuntarily.

She undyed her hair. Instead of the usual long pigtailed clear blonde, it returned to the loose and long all-natural obsidian that contrasted heavily with her green eyes. She came wearing a pink and thin sleeveless tank top that was baggy around the waist, and a summer skinny jeans cut a little down her knees.

It was a heavy contrast to her usual skimpy cheerleader outfits.

"I stooped down too low? You made faces and laughed at boring jokes just to be the most popular cheerleader, you could only return to your appearance today after high-school officially ended. The chores of keeping up that appearance every day is what gave me the edge to keep you at second rank in school."

She chuckled. "If you can't see the benefit of popularity then you're really blind. As for studies, I-" She was about to continue the debate, but when she turned around, he was smiling at her. It was a sincere reminiscing smile. She realized he was arguing for the sake of it, just pushing her buttons so she would try and refute him. Like they did back then.

An indescribable feeling took over her chest, but in an instant, it was converted into frustration and she visibly sneered with contempt.

"The theory we developed together, about allowing common mages to absorb the mana of beast meat, you changed a few words and send it to me. And since it's what I used to get my name known to the international tower of magic, I'm guessing you'll threaten to send yours to the intelligence of magic and become a direct competitor if I don't comply with whatever nonsense you want?"

She jumped to the main subject, there was pure disdain, mockery and a hint of eagerness as Claudia waited for him to answer.

Leonardo felt his chest warming up. The woman in front of him was truly bright, with no doubt the smartest person besides himself. Beyond intelligence, she was always aware of the law of the jungle and developed ambition at a young age, you can see that just from the fact she chose to become the most popular after already being at the top of the rank in studies. She wanted it all, brawns and brain. So she took it.

But despite that, here she was. Even though there are more profitable places to be, she chose to walk here, just for a chance to mock him.

Unfortunately, her hate is the only thing he can use to have her beside him.

Leonardo laughed

"I know you already improved your theory long ago, I just figured you'd jump on the idea of mocking my attempt and show how you left me behind. And what do you know? Here you are, with the hook hanging from your cheek."

A sudden flash of golden light momentarily blinded his eyes and a crackle of electricity tore through the ground beside his feet.

Smelling burnt ground, Leonardo grinned at the woman who was glaring with cold eyes. She opened her mouth; "Then what in the hell do you wan-"

"Let's start a business, conquer this world with me." Leonardo cut her off without mincing words.

A few seconds of silence took over the room, Claudia frowned with confusion, she looked at his laid back smile, tilted her head to a side, then to another. Incredulity was building on her expression, until she eventually guffawed out a laugh.

"W-what do you said?" She asked through laughter hiccups

"Let's take over the world!" He laughed as she did.

But she did it uproariously, holding her sides and threating to fall on the ground, she gasped for air and had tears on her eyes. After a good few minutes, she gasped and spoke after claiming down.

"Well, this wasn't at all a complete waste of time, after all, to see you trying to hang on me now that Cassie cuckolded you, with such desperate measures to boot, it's a win on its own"

Still laughing along, Leonardo retorted; "Does it make up for the fact I chose Cassie over you? And that you screamed so shrilly on this very room that it forced my mother to call yours to get you back?"

Another sound of electricity and a burnt smell followed. This time the extremities of his body were tingling with numbness and pain.

Still, Leonardo gave her the guilt look one would have when unwittingly stepping on their pet's paw. "I'm sorry I didn't choose yo-"

Thump! His back slammed on the wall behind and a pair of white hands with long nails grabbed his collar and rose him high.

"Don't you dare try this bullshit! You rejected me for fear of me and my mind! I added things to your theories that practically re-wrote them! You didn't have a word to add about the ones I showed you! That's why you chose Cassie! She was dumb and a people-pleaser that glorified every slightly different word you uttered!"

He tried to pull away from her arms, but she just bashed his arms instead and held her elbow to his neck, she leaned her knee in his waist, pinning him to the wall.

[Hoho, how can a man lack so much on the combat department?] Azumi mocked.

Leonardo was grinning at the hatred filled-eyes in front of him.

with his eyes, he signaled to the computer, Claudia relieved her arm slightly and he spoke.

"My Documents, third folder to the bottom, 12@@!4 is the password."

Electricity tore and burnt his t-shirt as she let go of him, pushed the computer chair aside and started to move the mouse around.

As he tore the rag away from his chest with a pull Leonardo spoke. "Open the folder with your name."

A few clicks later, Claudia froze. she opened archive by archive, saw the data on them, the notes that were written and slowly, the color was drained from her face.

They were all the things they debated and talked about, every change she recommended had note under it, he added what was wrong and what could be used from hers and his own and changed the first ideas, he transformed the first thought of the theory into something better and more feasible that he never showed her before.

As for the theories she came up and he didn't say anything before, they were there too, with his own thoughts, they too became more feasible with his words.

She didn't stop clicking and reading. Only after a solid hour did she asked with a low tone. "Why....!?"

Leonardo grinned and stayed silent. But the answer passed by his mind.

'You stopped talking to Cecilia because she let you win on a race. I was afraid you'd do the same if I showed you. As for my choice of women, I was torn and riddled with issues, and you were intelligent and beautiful, with nothing to hold you back, and I had to straighten myself and my family's life, why bring that to you? So I took Cassie, who's also good and beautiful but actually needed my help.'

He squinted his eyes, that answer is not what'll keep her beside him. So he laughed.

"You're a whiny child, you stopped talking to Cecilia because she let you win on purpose, I figured you'd do the same with me. So, how does it feel knowing you were never really ahead of me? Knowing that whatever you studied to date is nowhere near in quality from what we did together four years ago!?"

A tongue of lightning shot out from her side and hit the middle of his chest.

Angry bloodshot eyes were glaring at him with tears and blood on the rims.

Leonardo felt a wave of numbness then the pain spreading like a web on his chest and into his shoulders and arms, the blood bubbled up inside.

She shot from where she stood like a bullet, She pointed her extended fingers, aiming to sink her whole hand into his chest. as her nails did, the sound of a door blasting echoed, and another hand stopped Claudia on time.

Cecilia had sweat on her forehead as she tried to get in between.

But Leonardo did it first. he brusquely leaned forward and smashed his head into Claudia's. With blood on his lips, he spoke.

"You can go and accept any offer you have, but you'll forever think, 'Did Leonardo went beyond this? what would this become if we mixed our thoughts again? Where would we be?"

He latched his fingers deep on her side and pulled her body into his. Bloodshot eyes stared at each other.

"You'll become successful without a doubt, but will you own the world? At least a part of it? I know you want it all and so do I."

He cackled maliciously.

"I'll send you my idea of business and if you don't reply I'll know I was right in letting your shrill scream echo in my room that day."

A more strong shot of energy was released, but Cecilia pressed a point on Claudia's hand and it misfired into the wall.

Silent murderous eyes stared him down. Leonardo grinned showing his bloody canines.

"Let's calm down, shall we? Your little sister is walking over here." Cecilia spoke to Claudia.

The woman finally showed restraint and walked out. Cecilia looked at Leonardo with worry but still spoke. "Your mother is also coming."

He held her arm and smiled, "Thank you, tell her I'm in the shower, don't let her come inside the room."

She looked at his injuries and bit her lips, Leonardo laughed loudly "This will be healed soon." And walked over to the bathroom in his room.

Seeing the wound in the mirror, he let out a sigh of relief. 'Her pride won't allow her to back down, and her ambition won't let her turn away from a true chance of being the owner of herself.'

A colorful moth sat in the middle of his chest, [What heavy-handed girl, the electricity damaged the bones of your ribcage, shoulders, and arms. it'll take at least a few weeks to heal completely for you, a normal man would've entered a coma, and spend one or two years in a hospital bed. The circulation method you created is truly wonderous.]

"Not only fast healing... it's strengthening the affected parts, this is also a test to see it in action" For a second his eyes were elsewhere as he muttered; "A titan is feared due to it's uncontested and unrivaled basic traits."

[...Why did you choose this? Any generic circulation method would be fine, with lust you could advance rapidly regardless.]

Leonardo felt his burst veins mending as he smiled "Superman's nemesis, Doomsday, grow strong every time it survives a great danger or suffers a strong blow. It's the only thing that came alone, fought simply and died killing supermen. I remember watching that and think to myself, 'Well, what if it was not bound by the will to kill superman? What if it could learn magic and spells as we do today? Would Superman even be at its league then?"

[You...The circulation method you created….was based on a cartoon villain!? How Simple-minded is that!?]

Leonardo just laughed and lied down on the tub after turning on the cold water. "I know right, every other villain thought of doing that too!"

[Don't just laugh it off! I'm bound by you! You'll get me killed too!]

Cecilia awkwardly looked at an impatient Helen outside Leonardo's bedroom while his laugh reached them from within.