Chapter 183: Central Sector [12]

The crimson liquid scattered around Zeus began to move on its own. It crawled over the ground and rose into the air like streams of blood pulled toward one center.

It gathered around him and coiled around his chest until it formed a dark red shroud. It climbed over his shoulders and crept up his neck. A deep, heavy force burst out of his body.

CRACK!

Two small horns pushed through his pale hair.

The change was small next to Leon’s bright thunder, but it felt far scarier. The red energy around Zeus grew darker until parts of it looked almost black, and the air bent under the weight of his power. It was as if he had finally stopped pretending to be Vampire. Or maybe he was just letting everyone see what he really was.

Leon stared at him with his mouth slightly open.

’Horns?’

His eyes narrowed.

’Vampires don’t have horns. At least none that I ever heard of. Then what is he?’

Zeus raised his remaining hand slowly. There was no amusement left on his face at all.

"I have had enough of this."

BOOOOOOM!

A huge wave of crimson energy exploded out of his body. It hit Leon before he could brace himself and sent him sliding backward across the field. His boots tore through snow and rock and dug deep grooves into the ground. He finally planted one foot against a broken slab of stone and stopped.

"Kh!"

Pain flared through his broken rib and he pressed a hand to his side.

But the energy did not stop. It kept spreading. Thick streams of dark red power poured out of Zeus and mixed with the air until the whole battlefield was wrapped in a heavy, choking haze.

And everyone caught inside was about to learn how dangerous it was.

Adrian was still cutting down the last of the spikes. He had already destroyed most of them, and every time he vanished a sharp clap rang out, followed by the sound of spikes shattering into drops.

"All right! Just one more..."

CLAP!

Adrian disappeared.

Or at least he was supposed to. Instead he was still standing in the exact same place.

"...Huh?"

He blinked and looked around. The last cluster of spikes still hung in the air, held by Cecilia’s mana. Adrian frowned.

"Wait. Why didn’t it work?"

He fixed his grip on his sword and tried again.

CLAP!

Nothing. He had not moved an inch. His face went stiff.

"What the hell? Why isn’t my technique working?"

Cecilia was still holding her huge mana field and she noticed the problem right away. She looked at Adrian and then at the red haze spreading across the field. Her expression changed.

’Could it be...’

She studied the strange substance floating in the air.

’That vampire did something when he released that energy.’

When she understood how dangerous it was, she turned to the human army and shouted with all her strength.

"EVERYONE! GET BACK!"

Her voice rolled over the battlefield.

"Leave this area now! It is not safe to fight here anymore!"

Some of the warriors turned to her in confusion. One of them shook his head.

"No! We can’t leave! Sir Leon is still fighting!"

Another gripped his weapon tighter.

"We’ll stand with him! We already ran once. We are not leaving him again!"

A few others shouted that they agreed.

Cecilia’s face hardened.

"Stop being idiots!"

Her shout shut them up. She pointed at Leon, who was still struggling to get back on his feet after Zeus’s blast.

"Spire Leon can take care of himself! He is a Spire and he can find a way out of this!" Her eyes swept over the soldiers. "But what about you?"

Nobody answered.

She pointed at the dark red haze around them.

"I don’t know what that energy is, but it is dangerous. If even touching the air can hurt you, then staying here is the same as killing yourselves! You want to die without landing one more hit? What kind of pointless death is that?!"

The warriors lowered their heads.

Cecilia took a deep breath and tried to stay calm even with the spell draining her.

"You already did enough. When everyone else was scared you stood your ground. You kept fighting even when the odds were against you."

She looked toward Leon, and her voice grew softer.

"Now let us handle the rest. More reinforcements are on the way. Get out of here and stay alive long enough to see the end of this war."

For a moment the warriors hesitated. They looked at Leon and none of them wanted to leave. Then one of them raised his weapon toward the battlefield and screamed.

"YOU CAN DO IT, SPIRE LEON!"

His voice echoed over the snow.

"WIN THIS!"

Another warrior joined him.

"WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"

Soon the whole group was shouting.

"We are counting on you, Sir Leon!"

"Show that bastard what you are made of!"

Their voices slowly faded as they started to retreat. They helped the wounded and carried the ones who could not walk and moved toward safety.

Leon heard every word. Even with the pain in his chest a small smile appeared on his face. He squeezed his fist.

’Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.’

But not everyone had escaped.

Emilia was still near the spot where she had cast her seal. Her breathing was rough and her hands shook as she tried to push herself up. That spell had drained almost all her mana, and it left her body tired and her defense dangerously weak.

Then the strange red energy reached her.

She stiffened. A wave of sickness rolled through her body. Her stomach twisted and her head spun. Her fingers dug into the snow as she tried to stay upright.

"W-what...?"

She swallowed hard. Her breathing turned shallow and her vision started to blur at the edges.

"B-Brother Leon..." She lifted her head toward him. "I... I feel really strange..."

Leon turned to her at once.

"Emilia?"