Chapter 186: Spire Leon [1]

Emilia thought of the day he left for the frontlines. She had run after him, wanting to say something that mattered. In the end she had smiled and told him.

"I’m proud of you, Brother Leon."

His eyes had gone wide. Then he had grabbed her in the biggest hug of his life.

"MY LITTLE SISTER IS FINALLY RESPECTING HER BIG BROTHER!"

He squeezed her so tight she could not breathe.

"You are so cute!"

"GAH! I SHOULD NEVER HAVE SAID ANYTHING!" She had pushed both hands against his chest. "You are so embarrassing! LET GO! JUST GO ALREADY!"

He had laughed the whole time.

Now she looked down at his pale face. Her lips trembled.

She brushed the hair off his forehead and held his face as gently as she could.

"I told you to go, Brother." Her voice broke. "But I never meant for you to go away."

Her tears fell onto his cheeks.

"Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to lose you."

Leon’s eyelids fluttered. The faintest smile touched his lips, and his voice came out as a whisper.

"You... don’t look good when you cry."

Emilia froze.

Then her face crumpled.

"THAT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SAY RIGHT NOW!" Her voice cracked so hard the words almost turned into sobs. "YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

She pulled his head closer, trying to keep him comfortable.

"Don’t talk! Just stay still! Someone will heal you, okay? Someone will come!"

But even as she said it, she could feel how weak his breathing had become. That scared her more than anything.

The other Spires gathered around them. At first no one spoke.

Isabella stood a few steps away, looking at Leon with a heavy face.

’They played us. It was like they knew our plans before we even moved.’

Her fingers curled into fists. She thought about the timing of the vampire attacks and how Zeus had always seemed one step ahead. Then a name came to her mind.

Seris.

’I heard that she’s a vampire but it seems academy trusts her.’

She looked at the empty space where Zeus had vanished.

’Could she really be the one feeding them information?’

She wanted to believe it could not be true. But the battle had left too many questions.

Theodore stared at the ground with his sword still in his hand.

’If only we had been faster.’

He kept replaying the last moments. If he had arrived sooner, maybe Zeus never would have reached Leon. If he had blocked the escape, maybe none of this would have happened. He knew he was blaming himself for something he might not have been able to stop. That did not make it hurt less.

"DAMN IT!"

He drove his sword into the earth. The blade shook from the force of his grip.

Luna stood beside him, holding her anchor so tight her knuckles turned white. She said nothing. There was nothing to say. Her eyes stayed on Leon.

’We were right there. And we still could not save him.’

Footsteps sounded behind them.

Nicholas and Roselle had finally arrived. Roselle slowed down when she felt the silence. It was too heavy.

"What is going on?"

No one answered. She looked from face to face and saw shock and grief on every one. Then she saw Emilia on the ground, and who was lying in her lap.

Roselle stopped breathing. Her hands flew to her mouth.

"No..."

She took one shaky step forward.

"No, that can’t be... L... Leon?"

Her voice was so small the wind almost carried it away. Then she ran.

"LEON!"

Nicholas looked where she was looking. When he saw the blood covering Leon’s chest, his whole body locked up. He could not move. He could not think. He could not even understand what he was seeing.

’What happened? Were we too late?’

His heart pounded. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees.

"Leon!"

He grabbed his shoulder, then let go fast when he saw how bad the wounds were.

"What happened to you... Who did this?"

He stared at Leon’s chest, searching for any reason that could make this less terrible. There was none. Nicholas had fought beside him. He had watched Leon laugh and complain and run headfirst into trouble with that ridiculous confidence. Leon had always looked like a man who could find a way out of anything. Now Nicholas could hardly believe this pale, bloody person was the same man.

Roselle knelt next to Leon with tears already filling her eyes.

"Leon, listen to me. Don’t move. Please don’t move. You are losing too much blood."

She looked wildly around.

"Someone get a healer! Where is the healer?!"

Then she turned back to him.

"I will find one right now, okay? Just stay here!"

She tried to stand, but Leon’s weak fingers caught her sleeve.

"Sis..."

She stopped.

Leon looked up at her with tired eyes.

"It is fine." He swallowed, struggling for air. "I don’t think I can make it anyway."

Roselle stared at him. For a moment she could not understand what he had said. Then she shook her head hard.

"No... Don’t say that—Don’t you dare say that!" She held his arm in both hands. "You are the one who always finds a way to make things work everytime!"

Her lips shook.

"So find a way this time too..."

Tears ran down her face and she lowered her head.

"Please don’t leave us."

Adrian and Cecilia arrived next. Both were worn out, their bodies bruised and their mana almost gone.

Adrian dropped to his knees and stared at Leon in disbelief. His sword slipped from his hand and clanged against the ground.

"I am sorry, Leon. I am so sorry." His voice was hollow. "If my technique had worked, I could have reached you. If I had been faster... if I had just been faster..."

His shoulders shook.

Cecilia stood behind him with a pale face. She had spent the whole fight protecting the soldiers, believing that keeping them alive would let the Spires finish this. But now Leon lay in front of her with a wound that could not be fixed. She lowered her head. For the first time that day she could not think of a single spell that would help.

"LEON!"

Alden crashed down beside them. He slid across the broken ground on his knees and grabbed Leon’s hand.

It was cold.

Alden’s heart dropped.

"Hey! Hey, buddy! Look at me!" His voice climbed in panic. "You are okay, right? Come on, say something!"

Leon slowly turned his head. His eyes found Alden, and his face softened.

"Ah... Alden. You are here."

"Of course I am here," Alden’s voice cracked. "What do you mean by that? You are going to be fine! Just hold on until a healer comes!"

Leon looked at him for a few seconds.

"I am sorry."

He swallowed with pain.

"I am sorry I failed you."

Alden froze.

"I tried my best, but I could not live up to what you expected from me—"

"SHUT UP!"

Alden’s shout silenced everyone around them. He squeezed Leon’s hand harder.

"Who told you that?! You were already good enough! There was nothing wrong with you!" He shook his head. "I know I wasn’t here, but I can say what I sensed while I was on my way here!"

His voice trembled.

By now the surviving soldiers had gathered around them. The last of the vampires had fallen and the field had gone quiet.