Chapter 20: The question of authority

"So, how about you tell us what exactly is this place all about?"

Leo glanced over at the insignia marking the shoulders of the policeman who was not only the first one to lower his weapon but also the only one who actively tried to de-escalate the situation.

'I have no clue what rank those stripes signify... But just like with most things in life, the more...' Leo raised his eyes from the man's shoulder pad to his handsome, perfectly groomed face, 'the better.'

"This place is a field with a shitload of monsters that attacked us on sight," Leo said, opting to take the route of compliance with the requests of the police.

Even if this portal was, by all means and purposes, outside of the range of their authority.

"After we cleared all the nearby monsters that attacked, they started to..."

"Why the hell are you talking to those fuckers?!" Mark riled up, rushing from where he was just now towards the police with murderous intent in his eyes.

There was a strange look of elation on his face as if he finally ended up in a position that allowed him to actually confront the police as opposed to silently despising them within the confines of his own mind.

And it didn't take a genius to figure out what that changing factor was.

"Stop," Leo ordered in a soft voice, using just a smidge of his mana to hold his youngest brother in place

Leo then raised his hand up, only to cross his lips with just a single finger of his.

"Stay there and stay silent," Leo ordered, "adults are talking."

Mark's face turned red. He then attempted to say something...

But what was voice if not a wave moving through the air? And if it was a physical phenomenon, then Leo only needed to use a tiny bit of his telekinesis to stop any and all sounds coming out from his brother's mouth.

In the end, Mark's face turned red and he moved his mouth in an attempt to say something, but no sound appeared to come out from between his lips.

Slightly to the back, Rob smirked. Slightly ahead, the leading officer held back his smile, only hinting at it with how the corners of his lips trembled.

The rest of the officers didn't seem to care enough to react to it in any way or form, too focused on the possible dangers of the situation to bother paying attention to the youth in the far back of the group.

"As I was saying..." Leo coughed into his fist before turning his attention back to the leading police officer. "Once we cleared out the nearby monsters..." Leo struggled a bit to address the fiends the way those unaware of the proper terminology would, "those further down on the plain started to gather before coordinating a heavier attack. And the moment you came in, we managed to finish off the third wave of those monsters."

Saving for the exact details of how the few of them managed to slaughter hundreds if not thousands of fiends in the short time it took the police to reach and then enter the portal, Leo held nothing back.

After all, this particular portal wasn't likely to be the only one in the area. And even if other braves took a step inside before the authorities could stop them... The chances were, sooner or later, the government would get a more or less clear picture of what was inside those portals.

'Once that happens, anyone whose story doesn't fall in line with the average will become a person of interest to the state.'

Leo was well aware of how things went within the upper echelons of society. He had experience working directly under the top brass of a country, with the top brass of the country or even above them.

It didn't even matter that his experiences came from much less developed worlds. Sure, modern tools allowed the officials to improve on several aspects of their work... But the general premise was likely to be pretty much the same.

After all, it didn't matter how quickly one could pass the message if it still had to go through a long list of hands before finally ending up on the desk of someone with an actual, executive power.

With all of that in mind, Leo had little to no choice but to speak the truth if he wanted to avoid drawing attention to himself in the long run, even if by doing so, he inevitably drew attention to himself right this very moment.

"So you are saying..." the leading police officer looked beyond Leo's body and at the field of fiends' corpses just a fewteen steps behind him. "Just the few of you managed to slaughter all of those...?"

The officer stared at the corpses for a short moment only to turn his head back and give Leo a doubtful stare.

"Only the first few of them were a challenge," Leo shook his shoulders as if to disregard the officer's question. "Once we got our hands on their weapons, their number was no longer of importance," he mentioned only to put a small, cheeky smile on his lips, "not when we all were blessed with that alien circuit or something."

The officer's face froze for a second, only to then melt down in smiles.

"The alien circuit, you say..." he muttered lightly under his nose only to then shake his head with an exasperated look on his face. "And you never stopped to consider whether that message everyone received was actually true?"

The look on the faces of the cops standing behind their leader changed into one of pity and displeasure. Some of them rolled their eyes while others breathed heavily.

In response, though... Leo only smiled.

"Either way, I will need all of you to vacate this place for all of those alien portals were put under a government lockdown," the leader of the cops finally announced while waving his hand at his subordinates to make them properly lower their weapons as opposed to just pointing them down to the ground.

Leo took a shallow breath.

'Should I listen to them, or...?'

Up until this point, Leo was willing to cooperate with the policemen for the sake of a peaceful life back on the other side of the portal.

But now that the government appeared to put a claim to all the portals that appeared in the country...

"I really hoped you guys wouldn't say that," Leo finally replied, his shoulders dropping as he released a long and heavy sigh.

"And why is that?" the leading policeman asked, squinting his eyes while resting his hand down on the pistol he just holstered.

"Because I don't really want to leave yet," Leo replied as casually as he spoke throughout the entire interaction. He even went as far as to offer the poor officer a small, pitying smile. "Once again, your authority doesn't extend beyond the claimed borders of the country. And, without a shred of a doubt," Leo leaned his head over his shoulder, "we are nowhere near any of those borders."

The cop gritted his teeth but held back on pulling his weapon back out.

"What do you suggest, then?" he asked, his stare locked on Leo's casual smile.

"Why do you try to burden me with this question, sir?" Leo countered, his smile only growing wider. "It's you who attempts to assert authority over this place, not me."

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