The nifty thing about magic swords was that they allowed the user to quickly perform magic attacks without a spell. It made Leo capable of fast, continuous long-range attacks, which should’ve leveled the playing field against Elias’s newly acquired skills.
Elias paused in front of the imminent icicles, slightly narrowed his eyes, exhaled once, then swept the Holy Sword to the side. Platinum air blades soundlessly fired from his sword, destroying the icicles in a row as if they were dominoes. Shattered pieces of ice hailed onto the ground like miniature daggers.
Leo adjusted his grip on the dagger as he mildly watched his icicles crumble.
…Go figure. You won’t even bat an eyelash at a spell like this. But I’m not backing down either. I can’t lose here. We can’t lose you here forever. Everyone is waitin’ for you to rejoin us!
Leo braced himself and spun the dagger in all four directions with dancelike precision. Ice blades sliced through the air and ran across the field toward Elias each time he brought down his dagger.
Elias didn’t slow down, but cut through each ice blade as he ran closer. It was only a matter of time before he closed the gap between them.
Have you done your job yet, Sutcliff?! I’ve gotta keep this guy busy until Mina and Louis are outta harm’s way!
Just as Leo was holding back Elias’s monstrous pursuit with his barrage of ice blades, he heard the call he’d be eagerly waiting for.
“Master Leo! Your friends are alive! They’ve been knocked unconscious, but they aren’t seriously injured!”
Some good news for once!
Louis had likely mitigated the damage with his last-minute spell. His boasting wasn’t for nothing because he’d managed to activate a spell in the short few seconds before Elias’s blades had hit.
Relief caused Leo to look over his shoulder. “Sutcliff! Can you escape somewhere safe with th—”
“Master Leo, in front of you!”
Leo swung his gaze back to his opponent at the sound of Sutcliff’s hair-raising cry.
Careless mistake.
In the second his joy caused him to look back, he had removed his gaze from Elias.
Next he saw him, Elias was right before his eyes.
Y-You gotta be kiddin’! Did he close a mile in a second?!
He hadn’t made a sound nor left a tangible aura. Leo had only looked away for a fraction of a second, too.
Leo threw up his dagger and braced his legs to meet Elias’s attack. The Hero’s vacant golden eyes had come within a foot of Leo’s face.
“Elias…!” he cried his best friend’s name with the threadbare hope he’d react despite knowing his voice couldn’t reach him. Elias showed no visible reaction.
Biting his lip, Leo prepared himself for the weight of Elias’s raised sword—except, it never came. Elias vanished from view.
Huh? What happened? Where did Elias go?
“Master Leo! Behind you!” Sutcliff warned in a shrill cry.
In the same moment, Leo sighted Elias’s white coat whooshing by out of the corner of his eye.
He got behind me?!
Cold sweat slid down Leo’s cheek as he stood rooted to the spot as if invisible hands held him there. He fearfully jerked his neck back to where Elias had soundlessly appeared.
Fast! He’s too damn fast! I didn’t even see him move!
An overwhelming difference in power.
It doesn’t matter how much I use magic to my advantage, I can’t win with this power disparity between—
“Master Leo----!”
Sutcliff’s harrowing scream in the distance, Leo felt Elias’s Holy Sword mercilessly shred through the muscles in his back.
Searing heat took the place of intense pain and black dots blurred his vision.
Bright red, which he assumed was his blood, sprayed onto the ground in puddles, painting the blue flowers a gruesome color.
…Oi, oi. I’m pretty screwed, aren’t I? Not even a second after his dazed mind managed that thought, he was sent flying by the slash to his back. He sailed several feet before hitting the ground rolling.
With no means to stop himself, he tumbled until he lost momentum and landed with his face shoved in the dirt. He broke into a violent coughing fit. He dyed the ground red with bloody vomit as he felt an immense amount of blood gushing from the throbbing sword wound in his back.
…He dealt me a fatal blow all right.
He heard each crunch of the dirt as Elias slowly stalked closer. It was literally the sound of death approaching.
Is this the end of the road for me…? The will to fight rapidly oozed out of him. I bet you can’t forgive me for takin’ away your precious Aki.
“Pft,” Leo managed a gargled snort.
He thought he’d lived life to its fullest up to that point, but apparently he wanted to live longer. Death came out of the blue. Frankly, he’d rather go out with a bang than die face down in the dirt.
What a lame way to die—
“I know you’ll keep your promise…!”
The memory of Aki shouting that as she ran off for his sake infiltrated his depressing thoughts.
Just how heartbroken would she be if she came back to find Elias standing over his dead body?
And that’s why I can’t just let myself get killed in a ditch like this!
He couldn’t move anything.
The footsteps he’d heard at regular intervals came to a complete stop. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the tip of Elias’s familiar white boots. Laboriously lifting his gaze from the dirt, his eyes met Elias’s staring heartlessly down at him.
Gone was the best friend who always had a gentle smile in store for everyone. In its place was an unforgiving mask of ice sharper than any blade.
…You really aren’t yourself, are ya, buddy? Did you seriously forget me?
“Did our time together mean nothin’ to you…?! Damn it!” he sputtered in a weakened voice.