The morning air was cool when Liam arrived at the Hale villa. The purchase took place with Leon's aunt and uncle hovering nearby, watching every pen stroke with the hungry interest of vultures who had just finished feeding.
The legal officer confirmed the transaction.The villa now belonged to Liam Carter.
Just as quickly as they had arrived, Rowan and Marissa left, satisfied they had squeezed everything possible out of the Hale family for the second time in their lives.
Liam remained on the walkway, hands in his coat pockets, looking at the house with a quiet expression.
"Leon," he said, voice steady, "you and Lila can stay here. You'll live here, but for now, consider it rented under my name."
Leon nodded immediately.He understood the meaning behind those words.
Lila stood behind the doorway, unaware of the deeper plan.This wasn't the time to speak of HellParadise.
Liam turned toward the road."Pack light. We're leaving."
Leon only took a simple duffel — worn shoes, spare clothes, and the data chip containing his father's HyperGeno Art. The rest of his life remained behind these walls — not in things, but in memory.
Lila hugged him at the door.It was small, fragile, desperate, but hopeful.
"Come back soon," she whispered.
Leon brushed her hair gently."I will."
They left in a reinforced military jeep— matte black, reinforced frame, designed more for function than comfort. The city blurred past — glass towers, market stalls, neon lights, sky-bridges filled with morning commuters.
The roads gradually widened into armored lanes as they approached the Avalon Planetary Defense Base — one of humanity's thousand planetary strongholds.
Gunmetal walls rose high. Spotlights swept overhead. Armored vehicles and exo-suit infantry moved in perfect order.
The gate guards straightened immediately.
"Colonel Carter — permission granted," they said, stepping aside without even checking identification.
Leon looked sideways.He had known Liam was respected, but not like this.
Liam drove through, voice quiet but clear.
"Leon, every planet under humanity's control holds a StarGate Base. And in each base… is a doorway to HellParadise. Only trained personnel, noble houses, and high-clearance operatives have access."
Leon absorbed every word in silence.
They traveled deeper into the base until high-rank officers began to appear. Their uniforms were sharp, posture disciplined — but when they saw Liam, their expressions straightened with sincere respect.
"Colonel Carter."
"Good morning, Colonel."
"Colonel, welcome back."
Liam nodded each time, but his gaze never lingered. He walked as if this place was familiar — yet distant. A home once, but no longer.
Finally, he stopped at a secure checkpoint.
"Before you enter HellParadise, you need to endure at least minimal preparation," he said.
Leon nodded once, serious.
Liam turned to a nearby officer."David. Call Elena. Tell her I need her here."
"Yes, Colonel!" The officer saluted and jogged away.
Leon expected a brusque drill sergeant.
Instead, moments later — footsteps echoed.
A woman approached, uniform fitted like a second skin, hair tied in a sharp high tail, steps precise enough to cut the air. Her eyes were cool gray — evaluating, not emotional.
"Colonel," she greeted with crisp respect.
"Elena," Liam said, motioning to Leon. "This is Leon. You will train him. Push him as hard as necessary. Equipment, food, medical support — charge to my account. No restrictions."
Her gaze settled on Leon — flat, unimpressed.
"This one?" she said plainly. "He looks like he's never seen real hardship. Colonel… even you are training spoiled youths now?"
Leon didn't react. It was a look he knew well.
People always assumed they understood struggling from the outside.
Liam's sigh was slow — tired, but without frustration.
"Elena. You misunderstand. Leon is not privileged. He has lived through loss, poverty, and burden most adults would crumble under. And the favor I am doing… is not for him. But for his father."
The air shifted.
Elena's eyes sharpened."…His father?"
"What I'm about to say does not leave this room," Liam said, voice firm.
A silent acknowledgment passed between them.
"Leon is the son of Sir Robert Hale and Lady Ruby Hale," Liam said softly.
The name struck like a silent bell.
Sir Robert Hale — the soldier who became a legend.Lady Ruby Hale — the researcher who led humanity's first crossing into HellParadise.
Both disappeared. Both never returned. But for the military and those who know about the StarGate Project and Hell Paradise, they were legendary figures respected and admired.
Elena straightened — her earlier disdain erased.
"…I understand, Colonel." She bowed her head slightly. "I will train him seriously. Thank you for entrusting him to me."
Liam nodded.
"Let's go."
They entered a warehouse that appeared ordinary — dull walls, no signs of importance.
But inside — an elevator shaft descended downward into a world hidden beneath the surface.
The elevator opened into a colossal underground complex.
Leon stopped breathing for a moment.
Rows of towering mechas stood like sleeping gods.Research stations examined disassembled monster carcasses — scaled hides, venomous glands, crystalline bone structures.Scientists, engineers, soldiers — all moved with quiet urgency.
And at the center — a massive gate of stone and steel, shimmering with shifting silver light.
The doorway to HellParadise.
Transport trucks rolled toward the portal — filled with soldiers wearing leather armor reinforced by chitin plates, uniforms stripped of tech. They wielded bows, spears, and swords, not rifles or plasma.
Returning trucks carried ore that glowed with eerie inner radiance, herbs that pulsed as if living, and beast corpses of staggering size.
Leon felt his pulse accelerate.
Everything was real.
Elena guided him into a smaller chamber nearby — a room lined with deep cylindrical pools of thick dark purple liquid that shimmered under the lights like molten amethyst.
"Nerve-strain reinforcement," she said. "Your body is too weak to even survive the weakest beasts right now. This will help."
Leon stared at the fluid — it felt alive, like something inside it was watching him.
He hesitated.
Liam placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"This will hurt," he said quietly. "But the world you're going to doesn't forgive weakness. Endure."
Leon inhaled — then hopped in.
Fire.
The liquid wrapped around him like molten metal. Heat tore through muscle, bone, nerves — every fiber of him screamed, the pain so sharp it became breathless. He tried to gasp, but his body wouldn't respond.
He couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Only endure.
Seconds stretched into a lifetime.
Then slowly — pain faded. Nerves numbed. The body adapted.
Strong hands pulled him up, and Leon collapsed forward, gasping for air he hadn't realized he'd lost.
"Good," Elena said quietly. "Shower. Then eat."
Leon walked out cleaner, raw, new — and starving.
Elena set a plate before him — golden-brown fish, pan-fried with lemon and pepper. He had delivered this kind of food before. He had never tasted it.
He didn't hesitate.
The first bite burst across his tongue — bright, sharp, warm.
Then — a shock.
Like lightning threading from mouth to fingertips.
[Ding!]You have consumed Genesis Beast Meat.Genesis System Activating… +1 Ordinary Geno Point.
Leon froze.
"What was that… sound?"
Liam smiled faintly — a little sad, a little nostalgic.
"That was the Genesis System. Everyone who eats, hunts, or touches the essence of a Genesis Beast awakens it. Your father was the first in history to trigger it… and the first beast he hunted was also a Cloud Salmon. Since then, it has become a tradition to have Cloud Salmon for the awakening ceremony."
Leon swallowed hard.
"Say 'System Panel.'" Elena instructed.
"…System Panel."
A translucent screen appeared before him.
Name: Leon HaleGeno Points (Ordinary): 1 / 100Beast Souls: NoneTalent Ability: None
Leon exhaled slowly.
This was not a fantasy. Not a simulation. But reality.
Liam's voice was quiet.
"You're not becoming a system holder, Leon. You're becoming something else."
Elena finished the thought:
"A pioneer. One who enters HellParadise for the strength to reshape life itself."
Training began.
Elena moved like steel in motion — precise, fluid, controlled. Leon learned stance, balance, breath control. His muscles screamed, lungs burned, but his steps steadied.
Hours passed.Sweat soaked his shirt.His vision blurred — but he didn't stop.
Later that night, when the training hall was dark and quiet, Leon sat alone, activating the HyperGeno Art chip.
Techniques unfolded — weapon techniques, martial combat, body strengthening, footwork, visual focus drills and more.
But what drew him in were the breathing techniques.
Two resonated with him immediately:
Ghostshadow Breathing — silent, slow, dissolving presence into stillness; perfect for survival and ambush.
Stormfury Breathing — fast, forceful, igniting blood and muscle for explosive bursts of destructive offense.
He practiced both.
Breath in. Hold. Release.
Something inside him awakened — subtle, but powerful.
His body was still weak but felt steadier.His awareness sharper.His heartbeat stronger.
Elena watched silently from the doorway, arms crossed.
"You learn quickly," she said. "Whether that's your bloodline… or your will… I don't know. But it's there."
Leon kept breathing.
He would step into HellParadise soon.
And this time—he would not be weak.