Chapter 195: Silent Spectator
After the barrier shattered, Leon’s injuries began healing once more. With the second phase of the trial complete, the mysterious voice echoed through the space again.
"Good. You have passed the second test as well. Now... you have one day to rest before the third phase begins." As soon as the words faded, silence returned.
This time, Leon didn’t waste a single second. He immediately began practicing the Third Form.
He had only one day. Even after training for days, he still couldn’t comprehend the technique’s final requirement. Judging from the nature of the previous trials, he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
If he failed to master it before the next phase...
He would die.
Meanwhile, outside the volcano, two figures stood atop the mountain from which Leon had jumped. They were none other than the young lady and her companion.
"It’s been almost half an hour," the young woman said. "Do you think he’s dead?"
"Of course he is," the man replied without hesitation. "No one could survive flames like those."
"What should we do now?" she asked. "Should we go after his sister?"
"We should," the man answered. "Without her brother, she has no way out. But those two women who left earlier... they seemed both powerful and mysterious. We should request reinforcements from the palace and make our move only after they arrive."
"Fair enough. Let’s go."
The two left the mountain, convinced that Leon had perished inside the volcano.
But at that very moment...
Far away, an elderly man slammed his palm onto a table, shattering it into pieces.
"Whoever dared to kill Theo..." he roared, his eyes burning with murderous rage. "I want him dead. I want him dead this instant!"
"Elder, please calm down," a middle-aged man said cautiously. "At first, we were asked to rush to the Red Horn’s Nest and capture the perpetrator. But shortly afterward, we received another report. The person who killed Theo jumped into the Red Horn’s Nest without any preparation."
He paused before continuing. "By now... that person is already dead."
"I don’t care!" the elder roared. "If he’s dead, then kill everyone he ever held dear!"
The elder was Theo’s direct master. Because of Theo’s extraordinary talent, he had always taken immense pride in him, often boasting about his disciple to others. Now that Theo was dead, the news had struck him like a bolt of lightning.
The middle-aged man tried once more to calm him, but it was useless. The elder’s eyes were bloodshot, and his killing intent surged uncontrollably.
"Very well, Elder," the man said with a helpless sigh. "We didn’t have to investigate much. The man who killed Theo had a younger sister."
He hesitated for a moment before adding,
"But strangely enough, even the Princess of the royal family is searching for her. In fact, she was the one who informed us that a person named Leon was Theo’s killer."
"If she gets in the way, kill her as well," the elder said, his bloodshot eyes filled with murderous intent. "She was there, yet she did nothing to save my disciple. She deserves to die."
"But, Elder... that would mean going to war with the royal family."
"Then so be it!" the elder barked. "We’ll have to fight them over the Blood Dantian Pill sooner or later anyway. There’s no point maintaining this pretense any longer."
He paused before issuing his order. "Send five men... no, make it ten. None of them should be below Martial Grandmaster Level 3. Understood?"
"Yes, Elder." The middle-aged man bowed respectfully. "I’ll make the arrangements immediately." With that, he turned around and left the room.
The elder remained standing in silence. His expression was unreadable, and no one knew what thoughts were running through his mind.
Back inside the volcano, deep beneath the surface...
Half a day had already passed, yet Leon still hadn’t grasped the final key to the Third Form. Without it, the technique was nothing more than an ordinary thrust.
Even so, he refused to give up.
Again and again, he practiced.
’How long? Can I really survive this?’ Leon wondered. He drew his arm back, the tip of his sword aimed straight ahead. Every muscle in his body tightened like a compressed spring as he gathered all his strength into a single point.
Then...
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind shot forward. But that was all.
Leon exhaled slowly before returning to his stance.
Again.
And again.
And again.
As the hours passed, he continued to practice non-stop.
But suddenly...
His vision blurred. His head grew unbearably heavy. An overwhelming sense of weakness swept through his body.
Thud!
Leon collapsed onto the ground.
....
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely different place.
He was standing inside a room.
It was modest yet elegantly decorated. A bed rested in one corner, while a mirror and a wooden wardrobe stood against the wall. Beside the bed was a small cradle meant for a baby.
The cradle, however, was empty.
’Where the hell am I?’ Leon was totally dumbfounded.
"Honey, you’re home?"
Before Leon could process his surroundings any further, a sweet, gentle voice reached his ears.
He instinctively turned toward the source.
The moment he saw the speaker...
He froze.
His eyes widened in disbelief, and every thought in his mind came to an abrupt halt.
It was her.
The very same woman who had appeared in the fragmented memories that had flooded his mind just before he activated Berserk Mode for the first time.
The woman who...
Had died before his eyes.
Leon tried to move. His limbs marched ahead but not according to his will.
To his horror, he watched his own hands gently wrap around the woman’s waist before pulling her into an embrace.
Then...
He leaned forward and softly kissed her on the forehead.
’What the fuck is going on?!’ Leon cursed inwardly. Yet no sound came out. It was as if his consciousness had become nothing more than a silent spectator, trapped inside a body that no longer belonged to him.