Chapter 298 The Cromwell Reunion

"You look familiar. Too familiar." The man in white said, rubbing his smooth chin.

"I should be the one saying that. Who the hell are you?" Leon was taken aback by the sudden entrance of a man who looked exactly like him. Their facial features, height, and even eyes, looked the same. The only difference was the fact that the man's voice was different.

"..." The white clad man paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I am the head of the White Shadow gang. My name is Eugene Cromwell." The man introduced himself.

"..." Leon turned and shared a look with his three summons. They all had confused expressions on their faces. There was no way they did not know Leon's name. They also understood the concept of a surname or family name, so for them to hear someone who looked exactly like Leon, and bore the same surname as him, it was too suspicious.

"...You damn bastard." Leon's eyes turned dark and he balled his fists. The air around him turned turbulent as he prepared to pounce on the man that was in front of him.

"...Wait. Hold on. Are you my son?" Eugene asked with shock.

"What do you think, you bastard?!" Leon finally snapped and lunged forward, his fists cracking through the air.

"Boss!" The men in white around him tried to step in, but they were too slow. Leon pounced on the man that was most likely his father and delivered a flurry of punches. He made sure they all hurt without breaking anything. Anyone who tried to get close to him was sent flying by a gravity barrier around the two.

"H-hold on! Let me explain!" Eugene managed to get a few words out that made Leon paused his attacks.

"You have thirty seconds. If I like what you say, then you get more time." Leon paused his fists and got up, straightening his clothes.

"Alright, let me get to it." Eugene said as he got to his feet. "I left to protect you."

"That cliché bullshit? Don't give me that. Tell me why you abandoned me. You gave me up!" Leon raged. He was so angry. He could not remember the last time he had felt this way.

"Calm down and listen to me. I did it for your own good. I did not want to raise you in this world of backstabbing and dirty deeds. I wanted you to live a semblance of normalcy. I chose to be selfish. I know being raised as an orphan was terrible, but my selfish self still chose it over raising you in a dog eat dog world." Eugene's eyes turned red and his voice cracked with emotion.

"What happened to my mother?" Leon asked, not even looking at Eugene.

"...Your mother is the reason I joined this world." He looked down at his hands. "She was killed during a raid carried out by the Black Fangs. I swore to avenge her and stepped into this world. You were only a year old that time..."

"..." Leon's jaw twitched upon hearing that. He had not expected to run into this at all. For all his life until this moment, he had thought his parents might have been dead. That was the only way he was able to cope whenever he saw other children with their own parents. Even until he reached adulthood, no one had chosen him to be adopted. With that mindset, he had been able to clamp his jealousy. If he had hung himself up on the hopes that they were out there somewhere, then he would have been many times more miserable as he grew up.

"I'm sorry, son. Please, I know you must resent me, but give me a chance to make it up to you. Even if you never see me as your father, I want to be a friend." Eugene took a step toward Leon.

"I can't deal with this right now." Leon shook his head. He turned to his three summons and they nodded before following him as he left the building, leaving Eugene and his men standing there, flabbergasted.

"...Jonah." Eugene called out to his second in command, a twenty year old young man.

"Boss!" The brown haired young man stepped up.

"As of today, I will be stepping down as the head of the White Ghosts. You can take up the post." Eugene said sternly, but his shoulders were bent and an air of defeat hung around him.

"B-but, boss!" Jonah tried to argue.

"I'm not changing my mind, Jonah." Eugene straightened up. "Can those of you who were here when I took over remember what I said? I said my only goal is to wipe out the Black Fangs gang. Now, my own boy, who I abandoned to accomplish that goal... He's done it for me."

"...I understand, boss. I'll take care of things." Jonah nodded and bowed his head. The other members of the White Ghosts that had come with Eugene also bowed as a show of respect for Eugene. They truly admired and respected the man, and if he wished to leave, then they would let him leave.

Eugene soon left the building that house the major operations of the now destroyed Black Fangs gang. He paused and turned to look at the towering skyscraper once more. What he had fought to take down for almost two decades had been brought down in one night by his own son that he had abandoned to prevent him from entering such murky waters.

"I guess it was too unrealistic to hope for a happy ending." He sighed once more before turning back to leave. But he paused midstride when he saw Leon and his three summons behind him. Leon was looking at him with an uncertain look.

"I don't think I can forgive you so soon, but the least I could do it to accept you in my life. Don't make me regret it, old man." Leon grumbled.

Eugene's face broke out into a wide smile as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "I promise you won't." He chuckled.

"Alright, now come on. I've got to meet up with someone." Leon walked over and placed his hand on Eugene's shoulder. Instantly, the force of gravity acting on him vanished and he began to float.

"W-what is this?!" The older man stuttered.

"Just keep your cool." Leon snorted as he also took to the air. Behind him, his three summons also followed his lead.

Whoosh!

With a gust of wind, the five of the shot into the distance, disappearing in the night sky.

At the front of the building, a stunned Jonah remained frozen with a slack jaw. He soon regained his composure before shaking his head and rubbing his forehead.

"The boss was already impressive enough, but his son is even more scary, eh?" He laughed as he turned and entered back into the building. He already had plans for the future of the White Ghosts. He intended to follow the noble vision that Eugene had taught them. But first, they would be taking over the business ventures that had lined the pockets of the Black Fangs gang.

.

.

"What madness is this?!" Eugene exclaimed as he flew through the night sky along his son and his son's minions. He had never imagined himself doing such a thing in his life.

"This is everyday stuff for me." Leon chuckled at his father's plight. The man looked as if he was ready to faint at any moment. "Oh, get ready. We'll be landing now." Leon grabbed his father's shoulder as they began to slow down and descend. He could see the island where Michael had told him that he would be waiting in the distance.

Swish.

A gust of wind followed their touchdown and Leon looked stunned at all the destruction he saw around him. Half of a once majestic mansion had been brought down to the ground. There were craters all around the mansion, showing signs of an intense battle. A lot of people were laid around unconscious.

"Oh, you're here." Leon turned around as he heard Michael's voice. The man was stepping out of a portal with his hands in his pocket.

"What the hell happened here?" Leon asked, motioning around him.

"Ah, well, the core members of the gang didn't want to go down without a fight. I just let them exhaust themselves." Michael grinned.

"Seems like you had some fun." Leon grunted.

"To be honest, I did. Do you know how long it has been since I last got to enjoy myself? Normally, the only form of entertainment I have is watching you stumble your way through life. Other than that, it's all boring." Michael chuckled as he waved his hand. All the people laying around began to vanish one by one as he stuffed them into his Domain. The sight reminded Leon of what he had ben doing as well.

"Oh, that's right. I wanted to ask if it would be okay for me to take back some of these punks with my to Datar. They seem to be quite talented and have unique abilities." Leon asked.

"You read my mind, haha!" Michael's eyes widened before he burst out laughing.

Eugene only stood to the side with a completely confused look on his face. He turned to his son's three subordinates for answers, but they all ignored him.

'My boy... is a monster!' The man's eyes shook as tears gathered again at the corners of his eyes. He was currently feeling a mixture of pride and apprehension, but he was happy deep down.