Leah's lips trembled. She tried to be strong, holding back her tears, but she wasn't even two years old yet.

Seeing his daughter like this, Leonel felt his heart breaking. As for Aina, she was already on the verge of tears herself, but both of them remained in their positions, looking toward the situation from a distance.

Leo seemed to realize something was wrong after his sister stopped laughing. He looked up in shock and didn't notice the odd reactions of his parents at all.

"Leah!"

Leo rushed over without thinking much and was by his sister's side in a flash, standing defensively in front of her.

Leonel's heart warmed when he saw this. They might clash heads, but much like any other siblings, when it came to facing the world, they did it together. He didn't think that he would be so enamored by such a sight.

Leah trembled a bit behind her big brother's back, but when she saw that Leo was trembling as well, she grit her little teeth and tried to stand with him.

The two of them had never heard this man speak, but every time they accidentally crossed eyes with him, they would feel a pressure that came from him that they didn't. feel from their parents.

What the twins didn't know was that was only because their parents went out of their way to coddle them. Montez, however, did not.

He stared down at the two, his pressure enveloping them.

The toddlers couldn't even breathe. Their minds went blank, and they forgot all semblance of logic. They didn't even seem to remember that their powerful parents were right behind them and could step in at any time.

They felt all the things one would in their first battle without even raising their weapons.

Leah's hand trembled on her bow, and Leo could hardly hold his spear. Both suddenly felt far too heavy for the both of them as they fought back to stop the tears from dripping from their eyes.

"Why did you do this?" Montez said slowly, his eyes never leaving the children.

The two thought he was speaking to them, but Leonel knew that he was speaking to him instead.

A stubborn light lit in Leo's eyes. "My sister just stumbled, wh-why are you questioning her like that?"

An amused light lit in Montez's eyes before it disappeared.

"Is that is that?" Montez switched to speaking to Leo as though he had never asked Leonel the question. "Then what will you say if I kill her?"

Leo's brows jumped with shock before he was immediately enraged.

"You won't!" he more shouted than spoke.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Leo didn't say anything more as he swung his spear at Montez's head.

Montez seemed taken aback, but Leonel was trying his best to hold back his wild grin.

No speaking, just acting. Like a true Morales.

Leah seemed to realize what her brother was doing and instantly followed up as well. When they acted, it was as though they had forgotten that they were supposed to be trembling.

She nocked an arrow and released it. Normally, her parents had already taught her the type of movement she needed to distance herself from an enemy before she did this, but she naively didn't want to allow her brother to fight on the frontlines all by himself, so she didn't take a step back, firing an arrow at Montez's face from point-blank range.

Although Montez was surprised by the sudden attack, who was he, exactly? They could have attacked him in his sleep and it still wouldn't matter.

He caught Leo's spear blade between two fingers and flicked Leah's arrow back at her.

Leah panicked and wanted to roll away, but when she saw that her brother was still caught by the man, she stubbornly stood in place as though she would rather die first.

Montez was rendered speechless again.

"Are all Morales so stupid-"

He had only said the words once when he paused.

Morales? Who was that? Why did he say that?

Everything was happening so fast, and the little girl was about to have her head split in two. Montez had originally controlled the speed of the arrow so that she would have time to dodge, but who knew that she wouldn't?

And now, Montez was lost in a daze and didn't have the time to save her. By the time he realized he had lost his train of thought, the arrow was already piercing Leah's skin and about to enter her brain.

He panicked slightly, but the time was too short. Even he couldn't react in time to do anything.

However, at that moment, Leah and Leo both unleashed a screech.

Their vocal cords weren't nearly developed enough to roar, but their raw emotions were obvious enough. Leah thought her brother was going to die, and Leo was panicking seeing his sister's state.

The arrow was suddenly gripped from two sides by a mysterious force that rampaged through it, turning it to ash in a race to the middle.

Montez blinked. 'Destruction...?'

He suddenly felt Leo's blade twist in his fingers. He was still too distracted by all the weird thoughts and memories floating around in his mind, so much so that he didn't even react to the blade appearing at his throat.

However...

CLANG!

The blade rebounded against his seemingly soft flesh, and Leo was sent stumbling several steps back, running into his little sister. They both felt their butts, their faces pale with fatigue from the small instant of time.

And yet, they still seemed ready to stand back up to their feet and battle again. But that was when they felt a shadow over them.

They looked up, and tears began brimming in their eyes again as they saw their

father.

Leonel smiled, picking the two up. They instantly dropped their weapons and threw their arms around his neck, sobbing.

"I know, I know..." Leonel softly comforted them before looking up toward Montez. "Long time, no see... Uncle Montez."