Leon pressed the sealing talisman onto the Demon Queen’s diary.
Gold light flared across the cover—sharp, structured lines locking into place—then faded.
Without a word, he slipped it into the hidden storage within his robe.
It was gone.
Piper turned first, already walking ahead.
Jasper hesitated.
Just for a moment.
He looked back.
The Treasury doors stood behind them, massive and still, as if nothing inside had changed.
Then he turned forward and followed.
They walked.
Jasper let out a long breath.
“I can’t believe this.”
Leon didn’t look at him.
“What now?”
Jasper lifted his wrists slightly so the golden bangles caught the light.
“I walked into that place, got tricked into a contract, and walked out with three items.”
He ticked them off with his fingers.
“The lamp. These. And a book I don’t even have anymore.”
He shot Leon a look.
“And I already lost one of them.”
Leon gave a casual shrug.
“For your safety.”
Jasper groaned.
“So let me get this straight. One item I can’t even properly use, one got confiscated immediately, and the other one is literally a sentient legal nightmare in a lamp.”
He pointed vaguely back toward the Treasury.
“And I’m still filing a complaint.”
Piper blinked.
“A complaint?”
“Yes.”
Jasper nodded firmly.
“The AI said I can submit one.”
Leon let out a short chuckle.
“If I were you, kid… I wouldn’t waste my time.”
Jasper frowned.
“Why does everyone keep acting like this is pointless?”
Leon finally glanced at him.
“Because you’re not dealing with a normal man.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“You ever hear of Larfleeze?”
Jasper blinked.
“The Orange Lantern from DC Comics?”
Leon nodded.
“Yeah. Him.”
A beat.
“Now imagine Larfleeze… but without even the small bits of restraint he has.”
Piper muttered, “That sounds worse.”
“It is.”
Leon gestured loosely back toward the Treasury.
“The owner of that Pavilion makes Larfleeze look generous.”
Jasper frowned.
“So who is he?”
Leon exhaled.
“Aravus.”
Jasper repeated it.
“Aravus?”
Leon nodded.
“You might hear it said differently. Ovarus, Aravus… depends on who’s saying it.”
Jasper tilted his head.
“It sounds like it means something.”
Leon’s expression shifted slightly—more serious now.
Piper raised an eyebrow.
“So, ‘the greedy one’?”
Leon shrugged.
“Something like that.”
Then, after a brief pause—
“Precisely.”
He looked at Jasper directly.
“So you understand why your plan to file a complaint…”
“…isn’t going anywhere.”
Jasper blinked.
“What does that have to do with—”
Leon cut him off smoothly.
“Because Aravus doesn’t process complaints.”
“He collects them.”
A pause.
“And forgets they were ever made.”
Jasper slowed a step.
“That makes no sense.”
Leon kept walking.
“It doesn’t have to.”
They walked in silence for a few steps.
Jasper was still visibly annoyed.
“So let me get this straight,” he said.
“From the way you’re talking, Master Leon… it sounds like you’ve met him before.”
Leon let out a short laugh.
“Met him?”
He shook his head slightly.
“No.”
A pause.
“I did more than meet him.”
Jasper frowned.
“Then what does that mean?”
Leon kept his hands in his pockets, eyes forward.
“I know him.”
Jasper blinked.
“You know him?”
Leon nodded once.
“Personally.”
Another beat passed.
Then Leon exhaled, like the memory was older than patience itself.
“About two thousand years ago… I was exactly like you.”
Jasper slowed slightly.
“You were?”
“Yeah.”
Leon’s tone stayed relaxed, but his eyes didn’t.
“I ran the same kind of marathon. I entered his Treasury. Same rules. Same traps. Same nonsense.”
He gave a faint, tired smile.
“I even picked something.”
Jasper tilted his head.
“And?”
Leon shrugged.
“And I didn’t like what I got.”
A pause.
Jasper frowned harder.
“So what happened?”
Leon finally glanced at him.
“I fell for the same trick you just did.”
Jasper’s eyes widened.
“You got scammed?”
Leon let out a short hum of amusement.
“More or less.”
He shook his head slightly.
Jasper froze.
“Nothing?”
Leon nodded.
“Nothing permanent. Nothing dramatic. No divine judgment. No cosmic punishment.”
A beat.
“Just consequences… later.”
He glanced at Jasper.
“So no… you’re not the first.”
He kept walking.
“Your father went through something similar.”
Jasper stumbled half a step.
“My father?”
Leon nodded.
“Your mother too.”
Jasper stopped for a moment.
“…Wait, what?”
Leon continued like it was normal conversation.
“Other cultivators I know. Old allies. Some enemies. A few very confident idiots who thought they could outplay him.”
A faint shrug.
“They all ran into Aravus in one form or another.”
Leon’s voice lowered slightly—not warning, just certainty.
“And they all learned the same thing.”
He looked ahead again.
“He doesn’t need to defeat you.”
“He just needs you to participate.”
Jasper stood still for a moment.
Then hurried to catch up.
“…I hate your world.”
Leon smirked faintly.
“You’ll adjust.”
Jasper scratched the back of his head.
“Master Leon… I have two more questions.”
Leon sighed dramatically.
“I expected as much. Go ahead.”
Jasper held up one finger.
“Question one. If this Aravus fellow has been pulling stunts like this for thousands of years… why is he still allowed to do it? And if he’s so greedy, why is he giving away treasures in the first place?”
He raised a second finger.
“And question two…” He grinned.
“I’m curious. What did you get from the Treasury that still has you so salty after two thousand years?”
Leon frowned.
“First of all…”
“I’m not salty.”
“I’m annoyed.”
Piper covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Leon pretended not to notice.
“As for your first question…” he said, “Aravus doesn’t give away his treasures because he wants to.”
“He has to.”
Jasper blinked.
“He was punished.”
Leon folded his arms.
“About Three thousand years ago, that fool broke into the Realm of the Gods.”
Jasper’s eyes widened.
“…He what?”
“He broke in,” Leon repeated.
“Not to admire the scenery. To steal.”
Leon shook his head.
“And steal he did.”
“The God-Killing Armor you saw inside the Treasury?”
“He stole it.”
“The God-Killing weapons?”
“He had those forged because he was convinced one day the gods would come after him.”
Leon chuckled.