Grand Return System

A Debt Beyond Repayment

"Haha..."

"No wonder he was so popular in his younger days."

Shera himself slowly opened his eyes.

He lowered his hands and quietly examined them.

Power.

Boundless vitality surged through every meridian.

His heartbeat was steady.

His breathing was full of life.

The weakness left behind by the Blood Drinking Skill had completely vanished.

His damaged foundation...

Had been restored.

Not only that...

His body felt lighter than ever before.

The bottleneck that had trapped him for countless years now seemed ready to shatter at any moment.

"I..."

"I can break through..."

A smile slowly spread across his face.

The opportunity to step into the Pinnacle Realm was now within reach.

"Hahaha!"

Shera laughed heartily.

His laughter echoed across the battlefield, carrying relief, excitement, and the joy of surviving death itself.

Leon folded his arms and smiled.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother."

"You’ve successfully reconstructed your true body."

Shera’s laughter abruptly stopped.

He turned toward Leon.

His expression became complicated.

His memories remained frozen at the moment of his death.

He remembered confronting Dario.

He remembered exhausting every drop of his blood essence.

He remembered accepting death.

Everything after that...

Was blank.

Just then—

"Father!"

Shan rushed forward.

Unable to hold back any longer, he threw himself into Shera’s embrace.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

"Father..."

"I thought..."

"I thought I’d never see you again..."

Shera instinctively caught him.

His body stiffened.

For years, he had rarely shown affection.

He had always believed strictness forged strength.

But feeling his son trembling in his arms...

Something inside him softened.

A faint smile appeared.

His rough hand gently patted Shan’s back.

"It’s alright."

"I’m here."

Those three simple words completely broke Shan’s remaining composure.

He cried like a child.

Shera quietly comforted him for a while before asking,

"What happened?"

"I remember fighting Dario..."

"I should have died."

"How am I still alive?"

Taking a deep breath, Shan gradually recounted everything.

He told Shera how Leon had slain Dario.

How Headmaster Mike had led the elders to annihilate the remaining forces of Sky Breaker Academy.

How they were now marching toward Sky Breaker Academy itself to erase it completely.

Finally...

He explained how Leon had taken out a priceless Phoenix Rebirth Pill and used it without hesitation to bring him back from death.

As Shan spoke, Shera slowly fell silent.

He turned toward Leon.

His eyes trembled slightly.

An immortal pill...

For him?

His heart shook.

He had spent years arguing with Leon.

Competing with him.

Even making life difficult for him.

Yet when death came...

The very person he had treated as a rival was the one who had reached out and pulled him back from the gates of the underworld.

Shera looked at Leon with an indescribably complicated expression.

"...This guy..."

"...actually saved me?"

The thought echoed repeatedly in his mind.

For the first time in many years...

He found himself completely at a loss for words.

Standing there in his rejuvenated body, he quietly stared at Leon’s retreating figure.

Memories from the past decade flooded into his mind like an unstoppable tide.

He remembered every argument.

Every confrontation.

Every occasion when he had deliberately made life difficult for Leon.

He remembered diverting resources that rightfully belonged to Amethyst Summit Division.

He remembered humiliating Leon in front of the elders and students of Celestis Academy.

At the time, he had believed he was right.

That Leon was merely an inexperienced junior who had somehow become a Guardian Elder.

Yet...

When death truly arrived...

The very person he had spent years opposing was the one who reached into the abyss and pulled him back.

Not with ordinary medicine.

Not with a priceless treasure.

But with an immortal-grade Phoenix Rebirth Pill.

Shera knew better than anyone what such a treasure represented.

An immortal pill...

Could not be measured by wealth.

It could not be exchanged with status.

Even if every powerful sect across the Fallen Leaf Domain gathered together, they might not be able to produce a single one.

Yet Leon had used it without hesitation.

Not for himself.

Not for his own students.

But...

For him.

Shera slowly lowered his head.

A bitter smile appeared on his youthful face.

"I owe him another enormous favor..."

He murmured inwardly.

"I haven’t even repaid the previous one."

"And now..."

"I owe him something I can never repay."

After remaining silent for a long while, Shera finally restrained the arrogance that had accompanied him for most of his life.

He took a deep breath.

Then respectfully cupped his fists toward Leon.

"Junior Brother..."

"I already know what happened."

"Thank you..."

"For saving me."

His voice was sincere.

Without the slightest trace of pride.

"I’m afraid..."

"I won’t be able to repay this great kindness in this lifetime."

The battlefield became completely quiet.

Many elders widened their eyes.

This was the first time they had ever seen Shera lower himself so willingly.

Leon merely smiled faintly.

His expression remained as calm as ever.

"Since you can’t repay it..."

"Then there’s no need to."

He looked at Shera before speaking again.

"You saved my students’ lives earlier."

"And I’ve saved yours just now."

"We don’t owe each other anything anymore."

His tone was light.

As though the matter had already ended.

No lingering resentment.

No expectation of gratitude.

Only calm acceptance.

Shera stood there silently.

He knew...

What Leon had said was only meant to ease the burden on his heart.

Saving Selena and Rias had simply been the natural thing to do during that desperate battle.

But Leon...

Had sacrificed an immortal pill.

Those two things could never truly be equal.

Before Shera could say another word, Leon had already turned away.

"Let’s go."

He called softly.

Selena and Rias immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Teacher."

The two young women obediently followed behind him.

Without another glance back...

Leon slowly walked away from the battlefield.

The evening breeze gently stirred his midnight robes embroidered with faint amethyst patterns.

His long black hair swayed softly behind him.