Chapter 129 - Leon's Investigation (Part One)

The Royal Magician Head was astonished at what he was seeing. He couldn't believe his eyes, and he was sure that if anyone saw Ares right now, they would mistake him for the Head. 

He left the place and went back to his room. He sat down at his study table, and he was looking at his laptop. There were some profiles, and he was smiling as he looked to the right of the screen.

He picked up a microphone and began talking into it.

"I welcome everyone that has joined this stream. Today, we shall be witnessing an event. This event is called 'ARES'. All the people from every Zoo will be participating, and we will see which Zoo has the most kills. The more the kills, the more likely we win".

"The odds for every Zoo is on the side, as you can already see it. We are from Zoo Six, and our odds are not the highest as we have the least number of fighters in this project. But fret not, we prefer quality over quantity", he said.

His voice for the others was nothing but robotic. He had masked his voice, and this War which they had instigated, was like a play to show some goods off to the other people around the world.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, place your bets. Let the event, COMMENCE!", he said in a dramatic voice as he closed up the laptop and left the room. Money was pouring in from all sides, and he had a smile across his face. 

He pulled out a remote and looked at the countdown that was running on his watch. Time was ticking, and his anticipation was growing within.

"Only thirty-five minutes left until every Zoo releases their 'Animals'. May the best win", he muttered and licked his lips in excitement.

(Leon, Out in the Deserted Plains before the Chaos began)

He looked at the map and double-checked the details he had taken from the computer in the Guardian's Tower. It had matched, but he couldn't find any entrance nearby. 

Being a Beastman had several advantages, and as he was from the Wolf Species, he had a keen sense of smell. He began to sniff the air and began to differentiate between different types of scents. 

A few scents were lingering around, but some of the scents were much stronger than the others. His nose had transformed into that of a wolf, and he kept sniffing as he walked around. 

After a few minutes of sniffing around, he reached a place that was quite open in the Plains. It was an abandoned well, and the smell was going inside the well. 

"This scent, it is from the Wolf Family, but there is also some other scent mixed with it", he muttered as he looked into the well. The well was deep, and he could not see deep into it.

He transformed both of his hands and feet, and he used the claws to slowly scale down the walls. Right when he was thinking if he needed to go any further, he felt a hole in the wall.

He jumped into the tunnel that had been dug out and was astonished at the amount of secrecy the place had.

"No one would even dream of a place that would exist down a well. Are they friends or foes? Who are they, and if they are a threat, I shall take care of them", he thought as he advanced.

He was sniffing the air, and his hand was on his blade. He was now transformed back into a human but left his nose just so that he could have his keen sense of smell.

He was nearing an opening, but he then felt a blade near his neck. He was about to slash when he felt another right at his spine. 

"Who are you? And how did you find this place?", came a voice from behind. Leon now raised his hands in defeat and unbuckled his sword from his hip.

He placed both of his hands on the back of his head, and he faced the wall. Although he wasn't instructed, he was sure this was what they wanted.

He felt a cloth cover his vision, but his smell was still picking up the scent that he had followed. It was deeper inside the place, and he wasn't sure what kind of place they were living.

"I want to meet your chief or king. Whoever is the highest person. I come here in peace", he said. the scent he had picked up was fresh, but something else was troubling him the moment he went past the opening. 

All of the scents he was smelling were Beastmen. He would never harm another Beastmen unless they meant bad to him or the Kingdom. Right after he knew they were Beastmen, he lowered his defenses slightly.

He was lead on, and after what he felt like an eternity of no vision, he felt the cloth slip off from his eyes. He was hit at the back of his knees, and he felt it give way.

"Chief Denver, we saw this man snooping around near the South Entrance. Since he is Beastman, we have brought him for you to confirm the punishment", said the guard. Leon saw the man nod his head and the guards that were behind him left the room.

Denver was scanning Leon and his nose was sniffing all around him. After a few seconds, he paused and began sniffing around again.

"A Direwolf huh?", he said as he went back to his seat. Leon was astonished when he saw the way the man had distinguished his scent. 

Each Beastman species had a unique smell. But the problem of identifying the scent is that the family tended to have the same scent which has a very slight difference that if unless one has years of experience sniffing it out, they would never be able to differentiate between each wolf.

Even Leon, with all the experience under him, could never confirm what kind of species they were unless he saw the initial transformation. he tended to have a theory using the smell, but there were moments where his guesses had gone wrong. 

He was looking at the man in awe, and he knew that whoever this person was, they had more experience than him. He was having a walking stick, but he was using it just as a tool of dominance.

Denver turned around and looked Leon in the eye. 

"I have two questions for you. One, Who are you? And Two...", he paused as he saw something shining on Leon's chest. He came closer to him and took a closer look at the shining thing.

"It can't be...", he thought and he rephrased his question. He cleared his question and turned around.

"I have two questions for you. One, Who are you? And Two...", he paused and turned around to look Leon in the eye. He now had Leon's sword right at his throat.

"If you break me, I do not stop working. If you touch me I may be snared. And if you lose me, nothing will matter. What am I?", he asked.

The moment Leon heard the question, he knew the answer. It was something that was passed amongst the Guardians, and he knew that the man before him, was a Former Guardian.

"My name is Leon Heart. And the answer to your question, your heart", he said. The moment he said the answer, he felt the restraints on his wrists loosen.

Denver handed the sword back to Leon and had a smile across his face. He still had his suspicions as to why the Guardians were here, but one thing that he was certain of what that he would not harm him.

Leon took a deep breath, as he had a lot of questions to ask him. One of those was why were they in hiding? Weren't they supposed to be above the surface?

"I know you have been a part of the squad, and thus I have to ask. Why are you hiding? What is the reason for all this burrowing and creating a city deep inside?", he shot his questions in succession. Denver smiled in response.

"I think the best to answer would be my wife Iris. Let me call out for her", he said and tapped a button on his watch that he had. The next moment, he heard a kid's voice come from behind him.

"Dad, why did you summon me?", asked the kid. Leon saw the kid and he was astonished at what he was seeing. He turned his head back at Denver and looked at the kid again.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know where your mother might be at this moment?", he asked. The kid's face turned sour as she huffed and turned around to avoid looking at her father. 

"You never call me just cause you want to see me. Do you remember that you have a daughter here?", she pouted her face, and her ears went droopy. Denver began to laugh out loud.