Leon Elliott

"Even if I am just a kid, adults without powers cannot stand against me."

- Leon Elliott

"In reality, this world does not take kindly to people who are kind."

- Leon Elliott

Leon Elliott is an antagonist in the Manga Black Cat and its anime adaptation, who serves as a member of the Apostles of the Star. Leon is the youngest Apostle and arguably the one with the most tragic past, as he lost his entire family during a civil war. He ultimately defects after being defeated by Eve, one of the main protagonists.

Background
Leon Elliott was born in a country plagued by civil war since long before his birth. His parents were killed by soldiers when he was four years old and he grew up raised and protected by his older sister. Unfortunately, she died in a gunfight three years before the start of the story.

From then on, Leon had to survive on his own in a city reduced to ruins, alone and without food in doubtless awful conditions. Following the picture seen when he describes his past, one can guess that he had to fight and probably to kill in order to survive, given the knife he is seen holding. At some point, he was found by the Apostles of the Star, who took him with them and made him drink Shinkito to grant him his power of Tao.

Personality
In spite of his age, Leon is a full-fledged fighter, treated as an equal by the other Apostles. He comes across as a detached and ruthless murderer, who only seems to enjoy himself during battles. He does retain some childish traits though, being quite cocky and something of a show-off. He also hates adults and is prone to childish angers especially when someone teases him about his age, something he intensely dislikes.

Leon's past of hardship caused him to dismiss kindness as an ideal that only makes people die quicker. He violently hates "the society of adults" because of their constant fighting, and follows the Apostles of the Star's revolution to make the world a place without war. Following his defeat by the hand of Eve, it is seen that Leon does not believe in Eve's selfless values but waits for a proof of their usefulness to change his mind.

Powers and Abilities
Leon's power of Tao is called "Air". He is able to control the air around him by mixing it with his ki, to a maximum of 25 meters radius. He is able to make air solid, as evidenced when he creates an invisible barrier of solid air around him to block his opponents' attacks. He is also able to remove any trace of air in a distinct area where anyone suffocates to death. Furthermore, Leon can make things or people float in the air and move them as he wants. He mostly uses this ability to make his "sky-board" (a kind of snowboard) float when he rides it, enabling him to fly like a bird. He masters this flying technique with incredible proficiency, being able to fly at high speed and to perform very acrobatic movements with ease.

Leon is a highly skilled warrior who attacks with violent gusts of wind; either normal gusts potent enough to blast a well-built man away or more powerful whirling ones. He can also make blades of whirling wind around his hand to deliver slicing blows at close range, and create either a sphere of whirling wind or a tornado of variable size around him, for both defensive and offensive purposes. Leon's signature move is "Aero Slash": a large and curved blade of pressurized air, of variable size and strength. He can launch several "Aero Slashes" in succession or all at once. When he uses his most powerful attack, "Death Twister", he surrounds himself with a rocket-shaped tornado and launches himself towards his enemy, causing an explosion of pure pressure potent enough to blast a huge hole in a stony ground. Dodging this attack is useless, since he can chase his target everywhere. At full strength, the "Death Twister" has the power of a regular tornado and creates enough air pressure to cause lightning.

Leon is also able to use ki to increase his physical strength and to locate people, but he is never seen using these abilities.

In the manga
Leon first appears during the Apostles of the Star's attack on the World Conference, where he kills several soldiers by suffocating them. He is next seen in a market alongside Kyoko before Durham's execution, which he witnesses emotionlessly.

Later, Maro, Sharden and Leon greet the Chrono Numbers V, VII and XI when they storm ito Creed's castle. Leon tries to kill Number VII Jenos Hazard, (who called him a "shrimp") but Jenos destroys some pillars to create a cloud of dust, enabling the Numbers to escape. When Leon blows the dust away with his wind, it's already too late. Leon then witness Sharden's and Kyoko's desertion without opposing it, and reports it to the Apostles as they escape the self-destructing castle.

When the Sweepers League (a group of powerful bounty-hunters which includes the three main protagonists) invades the Apostles' main hideout in Clarken Island, Shiki orders Leon to kill Eve. Leon finds her wandering the island alongside the bounty hunter Kevin McDougall, whom he effortlessly defeats with a gust of wind. He then engages a fight against Eve, whose power proves to match his own, much to his anger. (Eve later confesses that she used her power to its maximum, in order to distract him and force him to attack again and again instead of using more dangerous techniques.) He flies away to attack at long range but Eve can fly as well. So he decides to concentrate all his ki in a gigantic "Death Twister" attack. Eve retaliates by turning her entire body into steel and manages to absorb the biggest part of the blast, leaving Leon exhausted and defeated. Leon then agrees to leave the Apostles of the Star, as he promised before the battle, and Eve makes him realize that the Apostles' "revolution" was nothing but pointless slaughters.

During the last parts of the story, Leon has recovered enough strength to fly on his skyboard, and he is seen witnessing Eve's and Sven's battles against the Phantom Star Brigade.

He later witnesses the final battle between Train Heartnet and Creed. As Creed and Train are about to fall from the mansion's roof, Leon rescues them with his wind power, expressing his awe at Creed's defeat. At the end of the manga, Leon is seen walking in the streets alongside Eathes.

In a special chapter, it is revealed that Leon and Eve kept in touch and that he helped her to get her Sweeper license.

In the Anime
In the Anime, Leon's story is completely different. He is one of the oldest members and the de facto leader of a gang of orphans, who live in a dilapidate building and have apparently problems with local thugs. It is worth nothing to note than Tim Vertical, another 13-year-old child who appears in a completely different part of the manga, is also a member of this gang and seems to be Leon's best friend and rival. Sharden eventually approaches Leon, makes him drink Shinkito and recruits him into the Apostles of the Star.

Leon takes part in the attack of the World Conference and the showdown at the old castle, but he is knocked out when Number VII Jenos Hazard make rubles fall from the roof to cover their escape. Eve finds him unconscious and takes him out of the ruins, but she leaves before he awakes and he returns to the Apostles' lair. Later, when Train and Eve meet Leon's orphan friends, Eve recognizes him on a picture and the orphans ask her to tell Leon that they miss him. Eve meets Leon again on Clarken Island and the two engage a battle, during which Eve tries to convince him of who are his real friends. When defeated, Leon agrees to return home, which he does after Creed's defeat.

During the (anime exclusive) Eden Arc, Leon's town is the first town attacked by the Zero Numbers. Leon and his gang manage to escape, but Tim gets trapped in the rain of nanomachines and his consciousness is absorbed into Eden. Leon and the orphans run after Eden and catch up with Train, the Sweepers League, the remaining Chrono Numbers and the other reformed Apostles of the Star. Later, Leon rushes back to town to get the fireworks that the protagonists need to attract Eden and invade it. He uses a shield of whirling wind to protect himself from the nanomachines, but he is attacked by countless monsters from Eden; using his wind shield continuously and having to fend off dozens of monsters drain him of his strength and he passes out right after completing his mission. During the final battle, Leon and his friends are taken in the chopper from which Doctor Tearyu is monitoring the attack. He later wakes up and proceeds to fight the monsters that attack the chopper.

After the defeat of the Zero Numbers, Leon and his friends are seen working in a bakery.