Chapter 304: Don’t Kill Her!
Thunderous cracks lanced through the dark skies, followed by black-heated lightning.
Muffled screams flew upward like death cries as blood sprinkled every corner of the Baek courtyard.
Wet thuds lingered. Heads flew. Warm blood seeped out as they danced in the air.
Hayes’s body heaved. The blades of the blazing Hi-no-Kami chopped his head off without a struggle.
His headless, kneeling body slid to the ground. Leon walked past him and stormed into the Baek main castle.
The scent of rotten copper wire and old coin rose up. He shook the hilt of the sword, spraying blood from the blade.
Cloth flapped around him. The black cloth tapped on his chest like a snake. ’Where is he?’
...
Deep inside the blackened Leon, the original Leon stood before the door of his inner world, locked in chains. "Get me out!"
Chains rattled as he forced his right arm out, only to be caught by another.
A muffled cough filled the air, catching Leon’s attention. "Who is there?"
In the thick blackness, the Creator, the white-robed version of himself, sat in a lotus posture with his eyes closed. "There is no way to get out unless you fight it."
The chains locking Leon’s legs shuffled when he turned toward the giant gate marked with a crossed Y. "What do you mean by that?"
Air plummeted beneath the white-robed Leon as he levitated. The hems of his robes wobbled like liquid light as he stopped five feet off the ground. "He took charge when your human body wasn’t able to withstand the collapse."
’Does that mean that version of me only comes when I’m facing death or defeat?’ Leon forced his chained arms upward and fixed his gaze on his palms.
Faint dotted markings appeared on his palms like blood. When he clenched his fingers, they vanished.
Metal screeched. He closed his eyes and exhaled.
"So, how do I take control of my body?" He sat in the same lotus posture and fixed his gaze on his counterpart.
The sleeves of the Creator danced around its hands, covering the rose flower outline on its right arm. "There is only one way."
He cracked his eyes open, glancing at the dimming golden rose outline with a deep inhale. "Learn to control your ego."
’My ego?’ Leon shifted his gaze from the floating white-robed version and focused on the golden rose on his own arm.
The veins on his arm rose to his skin as Liu Yan’s smiling face lanced through his head. He sighed heavily when the image turned into Aurelian’s death grin.
The chains wrapped around the white-robed figure wobbled as it raised its right arm. "The Destroyer who took over doesn’t have human senses."
Its fingers danced in the air as it swung sideways. "There is no love, peace, or warmth in it."
Flashes of the Solflare flew from its eyes as it looked at the one sitting on the darkened ground. "He won’t care if his target is a child, an adult, or the aged."
Leon gulped as images of laughing children and the elderly walking with sticks flashed through his mind. ’Then I have to stop.’
...
Footsteps echoed as two maidens working their first shift walked out of the kitchen door.
Noona and Alice exchanged confused glances as they saw the castle door shattered completely.
Noona raised her eyebrows and pointed a finger at the wreckage. "When did that happen?"
Her apron ruffled as she turned toward the long hallway.
Just as she reached a twenty-foot distance from the door, her soul left her body. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, trailing to her cheeks when bright lightning flashed in the sky.
The bones in her legs cracked. She gulped and moved a step back. "Demon!"
Blood-veins crawled into her eyes as she turned to run toward Alice. The moment she moved, a black cloth dashed through the air and tied itself around her legs.
Strands of her long white hair sliced through the air as she slipped and fell. "HELP ALICE!"
She stretched her arms toward Alice and screamed. Pain rattled through her ankles when the black cloth tightened, shattering the bones.
A wet roar tore out of her throat, vibrating through the hallway to Alice.
Warm liquid gushed down from Alice’s black gown as she stood frozen, her legs trembling.
Her eyes remained locked on the black glowing figure closing in on Noona, while her mind drew memories of her children.
"Mommy, are you sure you will come back early today?"
"Yes, I will."
All her hopes of life vanished when she blinked and saw the black glowing figure standing atop Noona.
Blood trailed lines on the floor as Noona crawled forward. Her pointed fingernails dug into the red-stoned floor with every push. ’No. My mother is waiting for me.’
Her brown eyes welled up. She gritted her teeth, exhaling sharply.
A warm air flashed out of her shattered legs as the black cloth untied itself and waved upward.
Bright golden lightning tore from the dark sky and slammed into the entrance of the Baek castle.
Embedded lava flashed upward, bloating every red-stone pavement until it liquified.
Blue, skull-like glows exited from the spinning war disc at Leon’s side. In the eyes of the Destroyer, the original Leon’s spirit welled up as he saw the maid screaming.
"Please, whatever you came here for, please spare me. This is just my first day here to fend for my sick mother and take care of my little siblings. PLEASE!"
The chains wrapped around Leon’s wrists screamed as he tried freeing himself, but he ended up with bruises that healed when he stopped. "Don’t kill her, please."
A cunning laugh echoed from the white-robed version, followed by a calm voice. "He’s without sympathy and does not know retreat."
Just as Leon shifted his gaze from the Creator to the eyes of the Destroyer version appearing in the void of darkness above, he froze.
Cries tore out of Noona’s throat as she tilted her head and saw her reflection in a blazing blade.
The black flames reeling at the edges of the sword flashed upward when the black-robed Leon lifted the Hi-no-Kami.
Alice’s arms stretched forward as lightning crackled, and the sword’s blade came down.
SHUNK!