Alpha Instinct-Chapter 63: "The Bloody Ice Demon"
Leonard was done playing around. He activated his temporal cognition, unleashing its full potential. His ELEV flickered wildly. Sparks of electricity jumped across his body.
Leonard’s eyes shone like two full moons, icy and relentless.
"I know this bastard well enough by now to find an answer," Leonard thought, a thread of cruelty in his mind.
Less than a second. That’s all it took for him to calculate the outcome. Before, he had used his power only to move; now, he visualized the end of the game.
Leonard sheathed both his swords, a gesture out of sync with the battle situation.
In a slow, almost theatrical movement, he crouched, his muscles coiling like springs. An explosive impulse, wood splinters flew from the platform, and Leonard became a blur.
Kaiser realized the danger too late; he tried to turn his body, but it was a futile effort.
Absolution’s blade found his chest, cutting through leather and flesh before being stopped with a crack by the thoracic bones. A jet of dark blood flew through the air.
"ARRRGHH!" Kaiser let out a cry of pain, an animalistic sound. "How? HOW! He was just a rat!" Kaiser shouted in agony and despair.
He staggered back, his hand clutching the wound in his chest, the warm blood running between his fingers, dripping in large drops onto the dusty ground.
Leonard didn’t give him time.
He stepped forward, now with "Smiling" whirring in the air, like a whisper of death.
"Two more moves..." thought Leonard, cold and calculating.
He delivered a horizontal cut, precise as lightning, aiming for Kaiser’s throat.
The leader, in a desperate reflex, raised the Soul Cutter to block.
Smiling’s blade met the guard of the greatsword, a metallic clang that echoed through the ruins of Besen. The shock threw Kaiser back, making him lose his balance.
But Leonard didn’t stop; he was a calculating predator.
He took advantage of the moment, using the energy of the block to spin his body, a deadly dance.
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Taking advantage of the momentum, he exploded in a leap towards Kaiser. Absolution descended in an arc, now aiming for Kaiser’s vulnerable head.
The leader, still in the air and wounded, saw death approaching, powerless. Absolution’s blade cut through the air and hit Kaiser’s helmet, cracking it with a dry sound, a sharp metallic snap.
The overwhelming impact made the leader fall to his knees, his vision blurred, the viscous blood running down his face. Absolution had stopped in the middle of his forehead, sunk deep into his skull.
Leonard, his breathing controlled, a predator at its apex, stood still for a moment, observing. Kaiser, already lifeless, a broken puppet, sat before him with his sword stuck deep in a grotesque scene.
Absolution’s blade shone, a mirror of death, while the crimson blood flowed, slow and inexorable. It was the silent witness to the carnage.
With a quick and dry pull, he removed the sword, making a wet and nauseating sound. Kaiser’s body collapsed without resistance on the ground.
Leonard swung his swords, clearing them of blood, and sheathed them, a cold and methodical gesture.
Everyone present looked on in disbelief, stunned. Their boss was a peak Gold rank.
They wondered, in terrified silence, "How did a kid who had been beaten so badly days before become a monster in such a short time?" It was surreal.
It was surreal to anyone in Humbra.
Leonard said, his voice calm and lethal, "Who wants to play with me now?"
The remaining bandits felt a chill run down their spines.
The night was a bloodbath, staining the moon red. Leonard was not only cruel but methodical in his brutality.
One of the bandits managed to escape and, four days later, turned himself in at Gothia. Preferring to be arrested rather than shredded. In his testimony, he said that a demon with frozen eyes murdered all the bandits hidden in Besen.
Giving Leonard his first title.
"The Bloody Ice Demon."
Leonard took a deep breath, looking at the pile of human remains—a sea of bodies. He then cleaned his swords and walked back to the exit of Besen.
The sun was already greeting the morning, a bizarre contrast with the darkness of the night. Leonard arrived at Saito’s cabin, as if nothing had happened.
Mikaela was the first to see him; she was outside praying with the sunrise.
"Leo…nard…" Mikaela said. "I was worried…"
"I’m fine," he replied emotionlessly.
"Come here. I want to see you." She asked gently.
As Leonard approached her, she clearly noticed. A Paladin trained for years on the battlefield would easily recognize the metallic smell of fresh blood.
"Leo… Where have you been?..." Mikaela’s tone was sweet and pure, but there was a hint of concern.
"I…" Leo couldn’t answer.
Mikaela touched Leonard’s face, a maternal gesture. "Child… don’t despair. I will always be here for you," said Mikaela, trying to comfort something she felt but couldn’t comprehend.
"Will you always be here for me like Roland was and then die?" Leonard’s voice was harsh and cold.
"If I have to die to protect you, I will." Mikaela answered, her voice firm.
"Why? You don’t even know me!" Leonard shouted, pulling her hands away from his face. "Who do you think you are?"
Mikaela then ran and hugged him tightly. A gesture of tenderness. Tears streamed from Mikaela’s eyes, a mixture of sadness and compassion.
She, now without armor, only in her civilian clothes, wrapped Leonard in her arms. "Child, I was born with the gift of holiness. I can feel your pain. I can see your spirit," she said as tears rolled.
A golden aura enveloped Mikaela and slowly caressed Leonard. "Can you feel it? Embrace the light."
It was "immaculatus," the sacred skill, that gave Mikaela the title of saint of the Church of Light.
Leonard felt the same peace he felt at Roland’s tomb. A single tear rolled down his face, for no apparent reason. He felt empty, a void in his chest.
And then he hugged Mikaela while the morning sun comforted them both with its warmth.
