At the entrance, Leon fastened the black pouch to his waist, filled to the brim with Heartscales.

He and Noa exited the underground facility, walking calmly toward the entrance.

The guards deactivated the barrier, allowing them to leave safely.

"Sir, how did the inspection go? None of the dragon scales are missing, right?" one of the guards asked, his tone filled with pride, eager for recognition.

"None are missing?"

Wrong.

"None left."

Correct.

Although General Leon had never been a thief, he certainly understood the principle of never leaving empty-handed.

In response to the guard’s question, Leon gave a barely perceptible nod and grunted, "Not bad. Keep up the good work, and I’ll put in a good word for you with the higher-ups."

"T-thank you, sir!"

Leon kept a straight face and stole a glance at Noa, silently exchanging looks: 

*See? He's even thanking us~*

Noa rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Sir, it's late. We should head back," Noa said.

"Yeah, let’s go."

Leon was about to take a step when he seemed to remember something and turned to the guard.

"Don’t forget to restore the barrier. We wouldn’t want any enemies sneaking in."

"Of course, sir!"

The guards immediately turned around and worked together to reactivate the barrier to its original state.

"Safe travels, sir."

"Hm."

Father and daughter exchanged a look before starting to walk away.

But after only a few steps, a young guard suddenly called out, "Sir, what… what’s that pouch on your waist?"

Leon froze, closing his eyes in frustration and letting out a slow sigh.

The other guards quickly picked up on the tension and raised their guard.

"Sir, you didn’t have that pouch when you entered. Please allow us to inspect it."

"Sir, we ask that you cooperate and step back—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a dark figure appeared in front of him, delivering a punch so fast it was invisible to the naked eye, striking his stomach and leaving him no time to react.

The nearby guards reacted quickly. "Activate the barrier alarm! There’s an intruder—ahh!"

Noa lunged into the air, her knee slamming into one of the guards’ faces, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Another guard, who was about to trigger the barrier alarm, was easily subdued by Leon.

One guard remained.

Realizing his three comrades had been taken down in the blink of an eye, he immediately dropped to his knees in surrender.

Better to live and fight another day than die a hero.

Leon scoffed, stepping forward and delivering a swift karate chop to knock him out.

"Good thing we had them reactivate the barrier before this. If it had stayed down for too long, the sorcerers would have noticed," Leon said, glancing at his daughter. "Shall we go, Miss Noa?"

Noa playfully rolled her eyes and muttered, "Tch, such a drama king."

The father-daughter duo worked seamlessly together and made their escape with the Heartscales.

They retraced their steps, and not far ahead lay the secret passage out of the palace.

Once they passed through it and left the Empire, they could use the stolen Heartscales to help Aurora complete the reversal magic.

And then… return to the past—

"Who goes there?!"

"Stop right there!"

"The royal family just issued an order: due to the disappearance of a high-ranking official, no one is allowed to move freely within the palace."

"State your name and rank, and approach slowly."

Leon’s heart skipped a beat.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"Of course… it won’t be that easy," Leon muttered. "Noa, scale the wall and get out of here. Forget about the sensory barrier. Once you’re out, find your sisters and get out of the city. Go back to your mother and complete the reversal magic."

With that, Leon handed the pouch full of Heartscales to Noa.

The Empire’s reaction was too fast. It had only been two hours since Nacho's disappearance, and they had already locked down the entire palace.

A moment ago, Leon had been able to fool the guards with the password, but now, such tricks wouldn’t work.

This was the Empire’s stronghold. Even with all of Leon’s caution, the risk of being caught was high.

Of course, they had anticipated this risk when coming to the Empire.

Taking something as important as the Heartscale would never be a smooth operation.

Now, the best solution was for Leon to stay behind and hold off the imperial forces while Noa, with her ability to fly, and her sisters escaped with the Heartscales.

Noa looked down at the black pouch in her hands, her expression serious.

"No. This plan won’t work."

For the first time, Noa rejected Leon’s plan.

Leon looked at her, surprised, about to say something like, *"Don’t worry, your dad is strong enough to fight his way out and meet you later."*

But before he could speak, Noa blurted out, "I’m not leaving you behind. We’re going together."

Her determined attitude and the look in her eyes were exactly like Rosvisser's.

After a moment, Noa hurriedly added, "Besides, only you can activate the reversal magic and return to the past. If you die here, even if we escape with the Heartscales, it’ll be useless."

Yes, the logical reason came afterward, but she had led with her emotions—just like Rosvisser.

She really was their daughter, Leon thought, feeling both proud and touched.

But there was no time for sentimentality. Leon nodded. "Alright, then we’ll go together."

He had been planning to play the heroic role: staying behind to buy time, letting everyone think he was done for, only to show up later, waving to his tearful family in a heartwarming reunion.

But his eldest daughter had rejected his dramatic plan and firmly insisted they stay together—even though she still hadn’t called him "Dad" in the past three months.

Yet Noa’s stubbornness and pride didn’t change the strongest belief she held in her heart:

She wanted to stay with her family, no matter what.

Their brief conversation was interrupted by a shout from the group ahead.

"Attack! That man is Leon Casmod! I’ll never forget that face!"

Of course, someone had recognized him.

"Oh, really? Is it because I’m too handsome?" Leon smirked.

"Quit joking around, old man."

With that, Noa spread her dragon wings, lifting Leon by his arms and effortlessly helping him scale the palace wall.

As they crossed the wall, Leon and Noa felt the invisible barrier. Breaking through it meant they would soon face an onslaught of enemies.

Once over the wall, Leon said, "Your dragon form is too large and noticeable. If we need to use it, we should wait until we reach the city gates. Otherwise, it’ll just guide the patrols straight to us."

Noa nodded, retracting her wings.

Father and daughter had scaled the wall, while the soldiers pursuing them still needed to set up ladders or find an alternate route, giving them valuable time to escape.

They quickly moved away from the palace, slipping into a dark alley where Moon and Aurora were waiting with a prepared carriage.

"No time to return for the hostages. We need to leave the Empire before dawn," Leon said, jumping into the carriage. "We’ve got the Heartscales, so avoid fighting if possible. There’s no need to get caught up with these guys."

The worst thing in enemy territory was getting bogged down in a drawn-out fight. Even though Leon had regained some of his strength, he didn’t want to risk more combat with the Empire’s forces.

He hadn’t forgotten the real purpose of this mission—getting the Heartscales.

Now that they had them, it was time to make a swift exit.

Aurora cracked the reins, and with a neigh, the carriage sped off.

Sitting in the rattling carriage, Leon mused, "This… feels familiar."

Noa looked up at him. "What, have you been caught stealing before?"

Leon didn’t explain and instead joked, "I stole your mother’s heart and was captured and imprisoned for three years."

"Thanks, I’m going to be sick."

Why was it that when their mom told the same love story, it was so captivating and heartfelt? But when Leon told it, it sounded like a comedy routine?

Leon’s terrible joke lightened the tension a little.

He stood up and moved to the back of the carriage, looking out. A patrol had already begun chasing them.

Leon raised his right hand, gathering magic in his palm.

A moment later, a wolf made of lightning leapt from his hand, charging toward the soldiers in pursuit.

A-Rank Lightning Magic: *Thunderwolf Battlebreaker*

But just as Leon had expected, being in enemy territory put them at a serious disadvantage.

More patrols were pouring in from both sides of the street, closing in on them.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

Noa glanced up and saw three figures leaping across the rooftops, closing in on the carriage.

"It’s the Sharp Blade trio…" Noa muttered.

Leon followed her gaze and saw them too. Sure enough, these three were much faster and more agile than the regular patrols.

"Hey, old man speeding down there, could you stop for a moment? I’d like a ride!" the trio’s leader, Kini, called from above.

Leon frowned but quickly responded, "Who are you calling old man?!"

"Leon Casmod, I know

 you. You’re in your forties now, right? That makes you an old man."

"Captain, based on the timeline, he should be in his forties, but he still looks like he’s in his twenties," another member of the trio, Gitae, commented.

"I don’t know, maybe… good skincare? Whatever, I’ll knock him down and ask him his secret to eternal youth!"

Leon narrowed his eyes, speaking softly, "You’ve got a big mouth, huh?"

People like this were never easy to deal with.

Leon didn’t want to fight.

After a few more quips back and forth, Leon stopped engaging with the trio of lunatics.

But now that the Sharp Blade Special Forces had appeared, it was clear this chase wouldn’t end so easily.

"Hey! Casmod, where’s Nacho? He still owes us a meal!" Kini shouted provocatively.

Leon ignored him, raising his hand to unleash another round of lightning magic, clearing away some of the soldiers pursuing them.

"How dare you ignore me! You’re just a washed-up has-been—take this!"

With that, Kini raised his hand, gathering magical energy.

A white sphere formed in his palm, then hurtled toward the street, crashing into the ground and causing a violent explosion.

But that was just a warm-up.

A second later, more energy spheres rained down from the rooftops, aiming at the speeding carriage.

Aurora expertly maneuvered the carriage, dodging the attacks as best she could.

"Dad! Shouldn’t we fight back? That last one almost hit me!" Aurora yelled from the driver’s seat.

"You just focus on driving. Let your dad handle the rest."

Leon’s mind raced as he quickly ran through his list of abilities.

Soon, he came up with a plan.

He leapt onto the carriage’s roof, crouching low to keep his balance.

"Hey, old man, finally ready to take us seriously?" Kini taunted.

Leon didn’t respond.

He simply raised his right hand, gathering lightning into his palm.

Kini raised an eyebrow. "What’s that move, old man? *Heaven’s Retribution*? *Thunderwolf Battlebreaker*? Or maybe your favorite, *Chidori*? Well, whatever it is, none of those will work on us!"

As Kini finished speaking, the other two members of the trio prepared for their next attack.

But just as they were about to unleash their assault, Leon’s hand emitted an intensely bright light.

The light was so blinding it lit up the entire night sky, making it look like daylight.

The trio’s vision was completely consumed by the blinding light, leaving them unable to see what was happening on the street below.

B-Rank Lightning Magic: *Blinding Daylight*

It was a very useful support skill.

After a few seconds, the light dissipated, and Kini’s vision returned.

He looked down the street at the carriage, now far in the distance.

"Damn it, that Leon got us again!" Kini cursed.

He gritted his teeth and gave the order, "Chase them! We’re going to catch that guy, the so-called greatest dragon-slayer, and see if he’s got anything left besides tricks!"

The trio picked up speed, chasing after the carriage.

But they didn’t notice Leon and his daughters watching them from a nearby alley as they sped past.

In the few seconds the trio had lost sight of them, Leon had jumped off the carriage with his daughters and hidden in the alley.

But this was only a temporary solution.

Kini may have been a little crazy, but he wasn’t an idiot. He would soon realize the carriage was empty.

"Quick, let’s move before the other patrols find us."

"Yes, Father."

The four of them slipped through the alley, heading toward the opposite exit.

But just as they were about to leave, they heard voices coming from the other side of the alley.

"I heard Lord Nacho is missing?"

"Yeah, supposedly taken by that guy Leon Casmod."

"Leon… Casmod? Didn’t he die twenty years ago?"

"Who knows? All I know is that guy is ridiculously strong, and being sent to capture him is basically a death sentence. So, if we see him, we’re pulling the flare and calling for backup."

"Got it!"

It was another patrol.

The moonlight cast their shadows on the alley walls, drawing closer and closer to the exit.

Leon couldn’t be sure how many there were, so he didn’t know if he could take them out as cleanly as the last group of guards.

If he couldn’t take them out instantly, they would send up the signal flare.

And then, the Sharp Blade trio would be back, and a fierce battle would be unavoidable.

Leon focused intently on the approaching shadows, gathering energy in his hand.

He wasn’t afraid of facing the Sharp Blade trio in battle, but he worried about being delayed here, eventually being overwhelmed by the Empire’s forces.

At this point… they would have to take a gamble.

The footsteps grew louder, and the sisters prepared to pounce.

But then, the sound of several agonized screams echoed from the alley’s exit.

"Signal flare! Quick, pull the flare—"

Bang!

A muffled gunshot rang out, as if from a silenced weapon.

Leon’s heart skipped a beat. Had someone… taken out the patrol?

"I thought I just heard a familiar name."

A mature female voice came from the alley’s entrance.

Low-heeled boots clicked against the stone as the woman stepped over the fallen soldiers and into the alley’s entrance.

She was wearing a long coat. Though not very tall, her figure was well-proportioned.

A silenced pistol in her hand gleamed in the cold moonlight, and her teal ponytail swayed gently in the night breeze.

She looked at Leon, her eyes lighting up with recognition.

"It’s been a while… Captain."

"Rebecca…"