Chapter 237: EX 237. Moonshine Peak
As Leon and Racheal stepped out of the manor, the air of Shantel greeted them, it was quiet, yet heavy. The city bore scars of the abomination’s rampage, though most of the damage had already been repaired. Pandora’s days stretched long, and with professionals lending their strength, even low-ranked ones, an entire district could be rebuilt within hours. Walls stood upright again, shattered streets patched, roofs replaced. From a distance, it almost looked as if nothing had happened.
But walking through the streets told another story.
Not everyone was happy to return home, because not everyone had a home to return to. The abomination’s roar still echoed in memory, a single blast of sound that had snuffed out lives too close and fragile to withstand its force. Faces of grief lingered at doorways, children clutching to mothers, husbands supporting weeping wives.
Then, piercing the silence, came a frantic cry.
"Pascal! Pascal, where are you?! Pascal!"
Leon’s head turned sharply. A woman stood not far away, no older than her late twenties, her face pale with dread. The desperation in her voice clawed at the air.
Leon walked toward her without hesitation. "What’s the problem?"
The woman whipped her head toward him, panic thick in her eyes. "It’s my son—I can’t find him!" Her voice cracked, trembling with fear.
The raw panic pulled others in. Citizens turned, whispers rising as they recognized her.
"Isn’t that Samantha?"
"Yes... her husband was close to the library when the abomination struck."
"What a cruel fate... how will she care for her son all on her own?"
"I don’t know. But first she has to find him."
Leon’s ears caught every word. The fragments were enough to paint the outline of her story, but he needed more than whispers. He straightened, his tone steady. "Tell me everything that happened. Start from the beginning."
The woman didn’t recognize who stood before her. Fortunately, Leon had already made a habit of avoiding eye contact, sparing her from his hypnotic gaze. To her, he was just another stranger offering help. And yet, some instinct in her voice betrayed that she believed he could.
Through halting words, Samantha poured out her ordeal. After the professionals had tended to her injuries, she had begun searching for her son. But Pascal was nowhere to be found. First, she had lost her husband. Now her only child was missing. It was more than any mother should endure.
Leon pieced the fragments together and glanced at Racheal. "Do you think you can find him?"
She turned, eyes flicking away from his face as always. "What makes you think I can?"
"Can’t you?" Leon asked bluntly.
Her lips parted in surprise at his directness, then pressed into a line. "...Yes. But I’ll need the mother’s help."
Leon’s mouth curved into a faint smile. With a simple gesture, he stepped aside, letting her through.
As Racheal approached Samantha, Leon watched closely. His suspicion was almost confirmed, Racheal had a way to track people. He wondered, if it was a skill or a talent, how far could it reach and more importantly, if it could be used to track his squad when the time came?
"Do you have a picture of your son?" Racheal asked gently.
Samantha’s trembling hands fumbled at her chest before pulling free a small locket. "Yes... I always carry one of him. And his father." She pressed it into Racheal’s palm.
Racheal opened the locket. Inside was a small portrait of Pascal beside a man, her late husband. Her eyes softened, then closed as she activated her talent.
Leon stood in silence, watching her hair flutter against her cheeks. For a moment, the air itself seemed to sharpen, as though her senses stretched far beyond these streets.
When Racheal’s eyes opened again, her face was grim. "I’ve found him."
Leon tilted his head. "Shouldn’t that be good news?"
"He’s in the forest... near the mountainside," she said.
Leon was about to ask what Pascal was doing there when Samantha’s hands flew to her mouth. "Oh no... Moonshine Peak."
Leon frowned. "Moonshine Peak?"
Samantha nodded frantically, tears threatening her eyes. "My husband, always told Pascal stories. That wishes could be granted to those brave enough to climb. He must have gone there... to wish for his father to come back."
Leon’s expression hardened. "Then we have to be quick."
In the next instant, he swept Racheal into his arms. She let out a startled yelp, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Lead the way," Leon said, his tone steady even as her weight shifted against him.
Racheal blinked, regaining composure from the sudden lift. "...Yes."
With that, Leon launched forward, dashing into the forest, the world blurring as the hunt for Pascal began.
****
In the depths of the forest, a boy no older than seven struggled along the narrow path. His cheeks still held traces of baby fat, though his face was pale from exhaustion. Short brown hair clung to his forehead, damp with sweat, and his small hands trembled as he pushed through low branches. His legs wobbled beneath him, every step a strain, his wounds had not fully healed before he slipped away from the city.
And yet, he pressed on.
"Dad..." Pascal whispered, his young voice hoarse. "Don’t worry. We’ll all be together soon... a happy family again."
He stumbled forward, determination outweighing the weakness in his body. His eyes fixed on the shadows of the mountains ahead, on the faint silhouette of Moonshine Peak.
Far behind him, but closing fast—Leon tore through the forest like a storm. Branches snapped, dirt scattered under his boots. Racheal remained cradled in his arms, her hair whipping from the sheer force of his speed.
It wasn’t the speed that unsettled her, though. It was him. His scent carried faintly against the wind, it was warm, strangely calming and almost pleasant. She caught herself inhaling before shaking her head hard. ’Focus, Racheal. This is not the time for that. Don’t let him think you’re a weirdo.’
"Right," Leon muttered suddenly, his deep voice cutting through the rush of air.
Racheal blinked, startled. She tilted her head up at him from his arms. "What?"
His gaze stayed fixed forward. "We’re supposed to head right."
It took her a second to catch up. Then she flushed, realizing she had let herself drift. "Oh. Yes, right."
Leon gave a brief nod and, without missing a beat, shifted his stride. His pace surged, faster than before, the trees blurring past them as if the forest itself parted to clear his path.
The hunt was narrowing, and the boy at Moonshine Peak had little time left.