Chapter 554: Just Had To

Leonel's gaze pierced through the skies, Bronze Runes flickering across his body. A tan sheen swept across his skin as though he had suddenly become a polished metal.

'Puppet Master, huh...?'

Leonel flipped his palm, a black spear with countless dangling chains appeared in his hand.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Leonel looked down from the skies, a swath of patrol units converging onto his location. At first, they all showed some level of resistance, but very soon, their gazes became vacant, their eyes glazing over as their movements became more coordinated.

Soon, they moved as though they were a single army.

The possibility that Aina could be turned against him didn't escape Leonel, but he didn't put up any guards against her. This wasn't because he was a fool, but rather because he trusted her.

Though there were few details about Aina that he understood, what he did grasp was her character. She was a woman he would be proud to have by his side. There wasn't a single selfish bone in her body.

Since she opened her mouth to speak of wanting to see him take down the Puppet Master, it was because she was certain that she wouldn't be a burden. And in that... Leonel could trust.

'Watch carefully, then. This back of mine, these shoulders, these hands...'

Leonel felt his body flex, vitality pumping through him without end.

'... They'll always be here to protect you.'

These were the ideals of a man.

Leonel shot forward, a field of gravity erupting around his body. His gaze steeled, his heart freezing over.

He no longer saw the patrolling units as humans. He saw them as numbers and figures, puppets that were standing in his way.

Leonel's feet shifted, illusory wings appearing to his back as he shot forward with blinding speed.

He appeared before the frontline of patrol units, raising his spear into the skies.

His back flexed, his arms bulged, a fury-laced aura skyrocketed around him, suffocating all those in his presence.

With a single cleave, a patrol guard was completely bisected.

Blood splashed along the ground, but there wasn't a single scream or shout. A deadpan expression covered the face of the deceased guard as though he hadn't felt any remorse even about his own death. Or maybe... the moment he lost his mind to the Puppet Master... He was already dead.

A steamy breath left Leonel's lips, his gaze cold. He stood amidst hundreds of guards, his presence malevolent.

His fists gripped around his spear's shaft, the flowing of his blood growing even faster.

With another swing, Leonel reaped another life. His strike was so ferocious that his spear bowed beneath his strength, smashing the patrolling guard into the ground with mere wind pressure before his blade even reached his neck.

Leonel's footwork accelerated, his movements becoming like flowing water. He danced through the organized army of puppets as though he didn't know fatigue, as though he didn't know pain. Every blow was just as powerful as the last, if not more powerful. His body fed off a seemingly endless supply of energy, powering through without end.

...

The citizens of White City had no idea what was happening. They didn't understand why a civil war had suddenly erupted between the people of Earth and many weren't entirely sure how to react to such a change.

Should they be running? Escaping? Which side should they be fighting alongside? Was this maybe a trap?

Within the dungeon, the obese merchant looked up and through the bars. He noticed the odd actions of the guards all the way up until they left their stations entirely. At first, he thought they might have been changing shifts, but it seemed that things weren't so simple.

The lip of the obese merchant curled. 'So this is the trump card Terrain mentioned? Quite a trump card indeed.'

...

Leonel's spear clanged with every strike, a new life falling with his every swing. Blood flew about him like the droplets of a painting, his skin reddening and steam practically billowing out from his mouth with his every movement.

His muscles were like tightened cords, his limbs like the instruments of a symphony. His expressions exhibited the focus of a starving artist, his offensive prowess embodying every ounce of their passion.

It was as though Leonel wanted Aina to feel his strength, to feel his power through the endless thrumming of his heart.

Leonel's spear pierced through a final head, hundreds of corpses lying beneath his feet. Blood caked his blade, dripping across his body as though he had just been beneath a rain of crimson.

Another heated breath left Leonel's lips. A scorching heat billowed outward, boiling the air and causing it to crackle.

Raging Fire Elemental Force surged around Leonel, causing the temperature to skyrocket.

He looked up into the skies, his irises flickering with a violet-red color.

An icy portal began to open. A harsh clash of Elements caused hurricane force winds to kick up across the City.

Slowly, a massive white wolf prowled out, a low, rumbling growl causing the hearts of those who heard it to seize.

Behind it, knights dressed in armors of ice walked, brandishing polearm weapons of all sorts.

At that moment, cracks of lightning suddenly shot across Leonel's Dreamscape, his gaze shining as a blistering heat continued to crackle the air around him.

The attack on the Fort... That had ended in a failure due to Leonel's action. However, the attack on Dark Cloud Prison hadn't ended in failure.

Those two occurrences seemed to have nothing to do with one another, but there was a fine line of truth connecting them both: the Puppet Master.

Those red-black lines. They carried with them a thick scent of blood, but it wasn't just any blood, it was the blood of people of Earth.

Just like Leonel could see through the subtle changes in energy that separated people of different worlds, he could just as easily see through the subtle fluctuations of energy that were unique to the people of Earth as well.

"I see... Those prisoners are dead..."

Leonel finally understood. The Puppet Master likely needed the thousands of Earthener lives to accomplish his goal, but he had failed to get what he needed with Royal Blue Fort, so he had to change his plans.

Compared to attacking a Fort where the people didn't want to escape, wasn't it easier to attack a Fort where everyone wanted to escape?

And they all fell right into his lap.

At that moment, another portal appeared. This time, it was a red wolf followed by knights adorned in magma-like armor.

Then, there was yet another. In this one, a sand colored wolf followed by knights adorned in earth-like armor appeared.

And then there was a final portal. In this one, a green wolf followed by knights adorned with illusory wind-like armor appeared.

Leonel stood at the center of these four groups, Aina still strapped to his back.

Corpses littered his surroundings, blood slowly dripping from the end of his blade and down his body.

He closed his eyes, the thumping of his heart and the aching of his body playing in his ears.

'It seems Earth is in trouble...' Leonel thought silently. '... In any other case, I might not care much. My top priority is Aina's safety and her happiness. I may very well have chosen to escape this world at this very moment...

'But, you just had to piss me off.'

The ground beneath Leonel began to rumble.