Two days had passed since the meeting with the king and the crown prince, and now Leon found himself in a completely different part of the continent—a region covered in permanent ice, where the wind blew constantly, carrying fine particles of snow that reduced visibility and made any movement more difficult. The landscape was practically empty, with no presence of cities or nearby structures, only frozen natural formations stretching as far as the eye could see. That was exactly why this place had been chosen years ago—a location isolated enough to hide anything that should never be found.
[At least he knows how to hide things well.]
'If he didn't, he would've been caught years ago.'
Leon walked without hurry, his steps sinking slightly into the snow as he kept his gaze forward. Over the past two days, he had already eliminated several pieces of evidence scattered across the continent, each one tied to decisions the original Leon had made to secure his rise.
'To think I have to work this hard just to reduce this body's crimes.'
Some were simple records, others involved witnesses or entire locations without people that had to be erased completely. Even so, three final points remained—the most important ones, those that absolutely could not exist—and the first of them was right ahead.
"Finally found it."
A seemingly ordinary ice formation concealed an almost imperceptible entrance, protected by a thin layer of magic that distorted the perception of anyone approaching. Leon passed through without difficulty, canceling the barrier with a simple flow of mana. The interior revealed a small underground chamber, where old marks still remained visible on the walls.
[I really don't like him.]
'You've already said that about two hundred times.'
[And I'll say it more. He deserves to be hated.]
At the back of that place, an execution had taken place. Not of just any enemy, but of a former ally who had learned too much about Leon's plans. He hadn't been killed immediately. First, he had been kept alive, interrogated, pressured until he revealed everything he knew, and only then discarded. The body was no longer there, but the traces remained. Taking a magic stone imbued with Surfien's magic, Leon placed it at the center of the remnants and waited as they were erased.
'With this, my family won't be able to find these traces.'
[You know, I'm surprised they even came this far to find this.]
'They investigated every place Leon passed through. They're quite obsessive… they really are his family, no doubt.'
When it was finished, nothing remained. He made sure of it by checking the same spot at least ten times, along with the entire frozen area. Once done, he left without looking back.
The second point was even farther north, in an area where the ice was thicker and the wind more aggressive. Unlike the first, this wasn't just an execution site—it was a place where experiments had been conducted. The original Leon, in his pursuit of greater power and understanding magical limitations, had used people as test subjects, just like those at the mansion.
'Actually… one of these is worse.'
They were ordinary people, taken from distant regions, chosen precisely because they had no direct connection to the kingdom's center. The idea was simple—test how far the human body could withstand magical alterations without collapsing. As for the results… they no longer mattered.
The site was still partially preserved, with improvised structures frozen in time. Chains, markings on the ground, remnants of magical inscriptions indicating where the tests had been conducted. This time, Leon used his fire magic more intensely. There was no need for care or precision. He released it aggressively, burning the entire structure at once, causing the surrounding ice to melt and collapse along with everything hidden there.
'With this, only one remains.'
The process took a few minutes, but when it ended, nothing recognizable as an experimental site remained—only melted ice and snow covering everything again. Holding his wrist, he brushed over the slightly burned skin. At that moment, he had recovered about sixty percent from the injuries of his battle against Reiligh, thanks to the healing magic the prince had sent along with magical doctors.
[Even if this is Leon's body, you still need to be careful.]
'You sound like a mother saying that.'
[Don't say that again. It's disgusting just imagining you as my child.]
'Then I suppose you'd rather be my lover.'
After those words, the system seemed to short-circuit and fell silent—which was exactly what Enrico wanted. He made a small celebratory motion with his elbow in a very noble manner—though Leon himself would never celebrate like that.
'One day I'll make this body completely mine and do everything I used to with my own body.'
The third and final point was the most problematic. Leon stopped when he arrived at the location. Unlike the others, it wasn't completely hidden. It had been abandoned—but not erased. A small frozen village, partially destroyed, with clear signs that something had happened there abruptly.
'It looks a bit like the village I entered before going into the dungeon.'
The original Leon had wiped out that entire village after suspecting that information about his movements had leaked. There was no confirmation, no thorough investigation. He simply decided the risk existed—and that alone was enough. Men, women, children… all were executed, leaving no trace that anyone had been spared.
'This was the first crime Leon committed when he was young.'
Leon observed the place in silence for a few seconds. The wind passed through the broken structures, carrying snow through what remained of the buildings. There were still traces of mana there, fragments embedded in the environment—and in his mind, echoes of what had happened that day appeared.
'As long as this exists, I could be exposed.'
He slowly advanced into the village, analyzing the points where mana was still concentrated. Simply destroying the place physically wouldn't be enough. Every trace connecting that event to him had to be erased completely. He started with the densest areas, burning the mana traces before expanding to the rest of the location and using Surfien's last mana stone. The structures began to collapse, the snow mixing with heat and forming a mist that concealed the gradual destruction.
'It's a shame Surfien can only make these stones once a year.'
Leon remained still for a few seconds, observing the now-empty space before turning away. With all the evidence erased, only his biological family remained.