Arc 5 Chapter 9 : Raul Vs Leon

[Leon POV]

"Guard the palace and don't let anything happen to Ana, Leon."

Those were Alisha's words to me.

I had always wanted to remain by her side during what little time she had left.

But I knew why Alisha was always trying to bring me closer to Anastasia—her younger sister.

She wanted me to forget about her and marry Ana as the Tsar, preventing the Boyars from taking advantage of Ana by marrying her to one of their sons.

If only I knew something—or had some way—to cure her illness, I would be willing to do anything.

Even become a murderer if necessary.

When night came, I could see the festivities taking place throughout the city from the palace.

Fireworks illuminated the sky, while music echoed all the way here.

Everything was perfect.

Except Alisha wasn't by my side.

"You look gloomy, Leon."

Beside me, Anastasia was also looking at the sky filled with fireworks.

This time, she wasn't accompanied by Rasputin, who had to attend the festival.

We were currently on the palace rooftop so we could watch the Festival from here.

"It's nothing, Ana. Alisha told me to look after you," I replied.

"There are already plenty of guards here, Leon. I think you can go be with my sister in the city," Anastasia urged, trying to be considerate of me.

"Are you sure?" I asked again. "Your sister will be angry, you know."

Hearing my question, Anastasia gave me a mischievous smile.

"Hehehe~ Don't worry. If Sister gets angry with you, I'll deal with her myself. She won't be able to stay angry at me. Besides, after everything that has happened and the cancellation of her engagement with Lord Raul, I think Sister needs a friend by her side. She'll surely be happy if Leon is beside Princess Alisha right now."

I was slightly surprised to see this mature side of Ana.

Usually, she was always spoiled whenever Alisha was around, or she would smile cheerfully like a child.

"All right," I said with a smile. "Thank you, Ana."

However, just as I was about to turn around, a massive explosion suddenly erupted from the direction of the city square.

The shockwave from the explosion even reached us.

—ROOOOAARRRR!!!

A tremendous monster's roar echoed from the city.

"Ana, are you all right?!"

I immediately rushed over to help Anastasia, who had fallen onto the ground.

"I'm fine, Leon," Anastasia replied as she stared toward the source of the explosion. "That came from the city square, didn't it?"

Hearing Anastasia's words made me worried.

The guards could also be seen leaving the palace and rushing toward the city square.

It seemed we were under attack by a foreign force.

"Ana, stay here. I'll call some guards to escort you somewhere safe."

Anastasia nodded at my words.

I then left the palace balcony and hurried toward the first floor of the Romanova Palace.

"You, stop!"

I called out to several guards who were about to leave the palace.

"Special Servant Leon, why did you call us?" one of the guards asked. "We've been ordered to immediately assist with the attack taking place in the city square."

"No. Go upstairs and escort Princess Anastasia somewhere safer," I ordered them. "I have a feeling this palace will also become a target."

—TENG! TENG! TENG!

I had barely finished telling the guards this when the palace alarm suddenly began ringing.

That meant the palace itself had already been attacked.

"Quickly, get Princess Anastasia out of the palace!" I urged them.

"Understood!"

The four guards immediately began climbing the stairs to retrieve Anastasia while I continued descending toward the first floor.

What exactly were the enemies planning?

What were they after?

We had already captured Raul de Garcia—the mastermind behind all the chaos that had occurred throughout the country.

Why were our enemies so interested in a country covered in snow like the Tsardom of Slavia?

I didn't know.

What mattered now was that I had to reach Alisha as quickly as possible.

She must be fighting the enemy right now.

I would not allow what happened to Tsar Feodor to happen to Alisha.

Not long afterward, I reached a corridor connecting the palace entrance to the garden.

However, I suddenly heard footsteps.

In front of me was a black-haired, one-eyed man running toward me, his hands still bound behind his back by ropes reinforced with sealing magic.

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When he noticed me, he stopped and stared at me.

How had he escaped from the detention room?

Was the palace alarm sounding because he had escaped from the underground dungeon?

But that didn't matter either.

The mere fact that he was here proved that everything happening now was his doing.

I drew my sword and prepared to fight, glaring sharply at him.

He then asked me why I wasn't with Alisha.

The overly familiar way he spoke about her immediately infuriated me.

No one was allowed to call her by her name like that except me.

"The order to execute you becomes valid the moment you rebel or attempt to escape," I said as I activated Accel and shot toward him. "Therefore, I will kill you now so you can never interfere with Alisha again!"

—Slash!

I launched a Horizontal Slash at him, but he managed to evade it by activating Accel.

I didn't let him escape.

I pursued him, activated Temper in my right leg, and launched a kick toward his head.

He appeared ready to evade again using Accel.

However, I activated one of my Profound Codex abilities—Anti-Magic.

His Accel immediately stopped functioning.

—BAAMMMM!!!

He blocked my kick with both hands, which were still bound together.

Nevertheless, the impact sent him flying backward through the corridor glass and into the garden.

I immediately followed him outside.

He landed smoothly, although there was a small amount of blood on his forehead from my attack.

"Surrender and accept your death! Without magic and with your hands bound like that, you have no chance of winning, Raul de Garcia!"

Hearing my words, his expression didn't change at all.

He had always been like this, even during last year's tournament.

But I wasn't worried in the slightest.

None of his abilities could counter the Anti-Magic I possessed.

He had no long-range magic and would have to approach me if he wanted to attack.

For that reason, this battle was already one hundred percent mine to win.

"We're only wasting time here, Leon," the black-haired man said. "Shouldn't you be by Alisha's side? She needs your help right now."

"I told you not to casually call her by her name as if you're close to her!" I shouted, becoming even more irritated. "I won't let you go free and cause even more chaos in this country!"

I began gathering Mana into the sword in my hand.

I would end this as quickly as possible and immediately go to Alisha.

"Oh, I know Alisha far better than you do, Leon, even though you've been with her for years," the man said as he also prepared to face my attack. "I also know how to cure the illness that is consuming her body!"

I was stunned when I heard him mention Alisha's illness.

How did he know about it?

Only Alisha, myself, and the late Tsar Feodor knew the truth about her illness.

Furthermore, did he really know how to cure it?

"Remember this. If a carrier pigeon comes to the palace carrying a piece of paper, then go to the place written on it."

No.

This was merely a trick to distract me during the fight.

There was no way he possessed a cure for Alisha's illness when even a Vicar couldn't cure it!

"Shut your mouth, bastard! I won't fall for your poisonous tongue!"

By this point, I had gathered enough Mana.

My sword became enveloped in the Wind Element.

"Take this, Crescent Wind Slash!"

I launched another Horizontal Slash spanning 180 degrees.

This time, everything within thirty meters of me was sliced apart.

However, the man still managed to evade it by dropping flat onto the ground.

But my attack didn't end there.

"Triple Wind Tempest!"

I unleashed three slashes toward him.

The Wind Element surrounding my sword shot toward the man.

Yet he once again managed to evade all three attacks by leaping backward in a zigzag pattern.

But my assault still wasn't over.

I activated another of my Profound Codex abilities—Wind King Legacy.

My speed and strength increased several times over thanks to the buff provided by this ability.

I then dashed toward the place where Raul would land.

This time, he was slightly surprised by my speed.

But I wouldn't give him any chance to breathe.

"Windmill Strike!"

I launched a vertical strike from above.

—Tang!

But the man suddenly raised both hands above his head, causing my attack to strike the sealing rope binding his hands instead.

"Hooo~ The seal is pretty strong after all," the man muttered.

Of course it was strong.

The sealing rope binding his hands had been created by Rasputin—a high-ranking Archbishop of the Temple Authority.

"Don't celebrate just yet!"

—BAAMM!!!

I spun around and kicked the man's body with tremendous force, sending him flying a great distance.

He crashed through several trees, knocking them down and causing me to lose sight of him behind the fallen trees.

"Tch. I won't let him escape!"

I dashed toward the direction where he had been thrown.

However, I couldn't find him anywhere among the wreckage of the garden.

"Where is he?" I muttered while looking around.

Just to be safe, I kept my Anti-Magic active.

Suddenly, I sensed something above me.

When I looked up, I saw the man launching an Axe Kick directly toward my head.

I activated Repel in my left hand and blocked his attack.

As he was about to land, I immediately launched a counterattack, thrusting my sword directly toward his heart.

"Die, Wind Puncture!"

It's over!

"..."

However, just as my sword was about to pierce his left chest, I realized that the sealing rope that should have been binding Raul's hands had disappeared.

—Swoosshh!

My thrust missed, merely grazing his cheek.

The reason was that the man had raised my arm with his left hand while slightly lowering his body.

—BAAAMM!!!

He immediately punched my solar plexus with his right hand, forcing me down onto one knee as I clutched my stomach.

"Y-you bastard..." I muttered through the pain.

The man clenched his fist again and began attacking me relentlessly.

"Radical Blow!"

I took several punches.

Pain spread throughout my entire body.

—Bak! Bik! Buk! BAAAMMM!!!

He then unleashed three more strikes before sending my body flying with a final punch to my face.

My entire body felt weak, but I forced myself back onto my feet.

Blood began flowing from my mouth, and it seemed several of my bones had cracked.

More importantly, how had he removed the sealing rope around his hands?

What had actually happened?

"You rely too heavily on the Anti-Magic you possess, Leon," the man said as he looked at me with an emotionless expression. "You won't be able to protect Alisha from enemies who are far stronger than you."

"Shut up!"

I activated Wind King Legacy again and prepared to attack.

"What do you know about me and Alisha!? She and I have been together since childhood, while you've only known her for a few months! So don't act like you know everything! I'm sick of listening to your nonsense!"

"It's a shame. Your possessive feelings toward Alisha have blinded you, making it difficult for you to see the truth."

His words only made me angrier.

After coating my sword in the Wind Element, I dashed toward the man.

"I told you to shut up! Take this, Dragon Tempest!"

I began unleashing a combo of attacks against him.

Yet he was able to match the speed of my attacks without using magic at all.

How was he doing that?

"Tempest Kick!"

I launched a kick accelerated by Wind Element magic toward his head.

—Baaamm!!!

His body was sent flying through the glass of the palace corridor.

However, I didn't think he had been defeated.

Just before my foot struck his head, the man had blocked my kick with his right hand.

I took a brief breath, feeling slightly exhausted as the effect of my Wind King Legacy disappeared.

We had only been fighting for around three minutes, yet I had already consumed too much Mana.

Looking toward the corridor, I sensed that something was wrong.

He still hadn't appeared from there.

"Damn! The direction he was thrown is the path leading to the palace exit!"

I activated Accel and rushed back into the corridor.

However, there was no one inside.

There was only a trail of footprints leading toward the palace entrance.

"Tch, he's trying to escape because he's afraid to fight me!"

I hurried toward the palace entrance.

Kicking him so hard toward the corridor had been a careless mistake.

When I reached the entrance, my footsteps suddenly stopped.

Four guards were lying on the floor.

I tightened my grip around my sword, furious at the man's underhanded tactics.

"Let her go, coward! Fight me like a man!" I shouted.

That's right.

He was currently holding Anastasia hostage, pressing the sword he had taken against the younger sister of Alisha's throat.

"Leon..." Anastasia called out softly.

"Don't move too much, Princess," the man whispered into Anastasia's ear. "Or these guards and servants of yours will watch your head roll across the floor."

Hearing his words, Anastasia's body trembled and fear appeared on her face.

This was bad.

Why had Anastasia's attempt to leave the palace coincided so perfectly with this man's arrival?

More guards began appearing and surrounded Raul de Garcia.

Yet the man merely smiled.

He wasn't panicking at all.

He must have been pleased to have Anastasia as a hostage.

"Take one more step..."

The man moved the sword pressed against Anastasia's neck, creating a small cut on her skin.

Damn it!

How dare he hurt her?

If I captured him, I would tear him apart until nothing remained.

The man then slowly backed away while dragging Anastasia with him.

He carefully watched our movements, making sure that we didn't advance even a single meter.

Not long afterward, he picked Ana up and ran out of the palace, heading toward the city where the battle was taking place.