Immortal Kingdoms

Misaka stared at the medicine with doubt in her eyes. Leonardo could tell what she was thinking and was quick to persuade, "You're probably thinking of something along the lines of, if he had something like that, why keep it to himself for so long? Well, I was testing you, of course"

"Testing me?" Misaka felt even more repulsed to accepting the medicine now than ever. Although she didn't feel like saying it, she really desired this medicine that came from someone who could casually bestow sainthood on her younger brother. However, she couldn't shake off the feeling that everything that happened was within Leonard's expectations, including their survival.

Leonardo sighed, saying, "By you, I meant everyone, not just you. Don't play dumb, even if Miko was never forthright about the danger encompassing this mission, none of you is an inexperienced child. You probably had your doubts about Miko from the very beginning, right?"

Leonardo's words struck a cord within the hearts of almost everyone present, as apparent on their faces and perspiring foreheads as a sign of anxiousness, they have been attempting to deceive themselves one way or another. Sadly, Leonardo wasn't planning on letting them have it as he continued, "You were wondering how far is he willing to go for his aspirations. More precisely, how many of you were he willing to sacrifice? However, you were torn inside, perhaps because you also know that sacrificing you or those who fell to the hardships on our way here was never his intention. He truly wished for everyone to make it safely."

Misaka pursed her thin lips hard as her pitiful lies were displayed bare from another man's mouth, wracking her with a sense of dread that her little brother came to know of the truth just like this clever young man. The one who reacted the most intensely seemed to be Andreas who had veins bulging across his arm with a pair of clenched fists.

"The fact of the matter remains as is, he didn't push any of you to your deaths. Well, perhaps some of the slow ones on your team didn't see through the dangers of this undertaking, but the five of you and that Azazel person surely did."

"However, just like Miko, all of you abstained from revealing the extent of danger to your fellow brothers in the dark. In a sense, Miko betrayed his follower's trust, and the five of you outright stabbed them in the back."

"What do you think of when you look at Miko? Hm? Don't you see yourselves? Do you perhaps despise him to compensate for the loathing you feel towards yourselves? Are you trying to escape the reality that the blood of your brothers is on your hands just as much as it is on his?"

"What do you know?!" Andreas, the bulky of the group, slammed his hand on the wooden table so hard the surface split without the use of any internal energy whatsoever. He couldn't sit and listen to the ramblings of a pretty face child who had not seen the cruelty of life.

"Who are you to judge us? Judge me? Judge anyone at all for that matter?!" Andreas flipped his switch with reddened eyes, about to jump from his seat.

A hand wrapped in bandages rested on his shoulder as a hoarse voice echoed near his ear, "An, calm down!"

"Get off me Sitri! This is absurd!" Andreas didn't want to face judgmental eyes of Leonardo, he feared that he couldn't handle the ridicule and disdain contained within, causing him to commit a crime he would regret whatever remained of his life before he got killed for it.

"Who am I to judge?" Leonardo raised his eyebrows at such a stupid question.

If anyone is qualified to test and judge these people, it ought to be him, no? Wasn't he their new leader? Boss? Master?

Leonardo swept his lifeless eyes over the rest of the survivors, but they remained silent. He nodded to himself and muttered something inaudible before speaking up.

"Alright then, if you think I'm not qualified to test, judge and comment on your actions, the doors to the fortress are wide open. If you think otherwise... Drink!" Leonardo wanted to chat with them on equal footing to harmonize and open up slowly to one another.

He didn't look down on their actions. In fact, he praised and advocated such methods of thinking among his subordinates. He wanted subordinates who could abandon others for the sake of the bigger picture, for his sake, and for his goals.

It was at this point that Sitri replied to either one of the two and comply chose to chug down his glass of wine, resting the empty cup back on the cracked table under the eyes of his accomplices without hesitation.

Before Andreas could open his mouth in shocked retort, another cup went up, this time it was Lucas' glass of wine. Finally, the third to chug it down without any more hesitation was surprisingly Misaka, who had a rosy flush on her face after one shot, much like Leonardo.

After drinking the wine shot, Misaka then proceeded to open the remedy box before dipping two fingers in. The cool sensation on her skin alarmed the woman with surprise as she had never assumed a medicine with such a refreshing texture and feel could exist in this world.

Nonetheless, she was yet sceptical about its effects and hurried to apply a mask of it on her face in even proportions, stressing the area of the scar. A stinging sensation flooded her beautiful face that elicited a wince of pain, but the feeling went as quickly as it came.

"Only the three of you it seems..." Leonardo poured some more wine for Sitri, Lucas, and Misaka to drink while smiling flatly at Kristopher and Andreas, "Can you two give us some privacy please?"

Both of them knew that this was not a humble request but an order. An exertion of dominance. A blatant divide and conquer simple stratagem. Alas, however simple, it still worked.

These five have merely cooperated out of convenience, one could also say that it was a matter of tacit understanding. After a moment of silence, Andreas stood up like a moving whirlwind, Kristopher quickly getting to his feet as well to follow in the man's shadow.

The young lad seemed to avoid eye contact as much as possible, shrink in the background, and simply follow the whims of the strong. The kid's got survival instinct, but sadly it wasn't honed enough yet, or else he could have seen through this test of character.

"You're right," When the two who refused to drink for one reason or another left the hall in a mismatch of heavy and silent steps, Sitri was the first to open his mouth and talk after downing his second shot.

His voice as hoarse as usual, the mysterious young man continued, "Although I look down on the boss for driving so many of us to certain death, I'm also ashamed to admit to committing the same horrendous act. I mean, their lives aren't my responsibility, so I guess I'm not having it as hard as the boss. In fact, I have this nagging feeling that he knows that we knew but withheld the information, but he simply keeps the blame all to himself."