The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

"Remember, the end is approaching. Keep her safe until then." The voice echoed in Reo's—Leo's—whatever the hell his name was today—blank mind.

[Alert!]

[Energy Levels Critical.] The familiar mechanical voice of Elynn echoed inside him.

[Releasing Emergency Adrenaline Surge...]

His mind flashed the memories.

Draven's body… the mutation… the blast. Rin. He remembered the decision, pure and instinctual: shield her.

Then what happened afterwards? He doesn't know.

What happened to Rin?

That question forced his eyes wide open, and he jolted upright, gasping for air as if he had been drowning.

"Rin!" Her name came out from his throat in a desperate shout, and he looked around.

What he expected was a burning, destroyed forest by that blast. But instead, he saw a calm, green forest around him.

"What just… happened?" He whispered in his hoarse voice. For a second he was dreaming.

Then his gaze fell upon the bleached bones of a one-headed Cerberus nearby, and instincts screamed.

"The fuck is that?" he yelled.

He scrambled backward on his elbows, and his hand landed on something warm and soft. He flinched and looked down.

There lay unconscious Rin.

She lay on her side, her violet hair spread across the grass like a web. Her breathing was steady. There are no injuries except for a darkened bruise on her neck and dried tear tracks through the dirt on her cheeks.

Her clothes were torn in places he didn't want to think about. A wave of relief so potent it left him dizzy washed over him.

"Rin… hey, hey—" Leo sat on his knees, hands hovering on her face. Gently, he brushed hair from her face. "Hey… Look at me, princess. Open your eyes for me."

Well, she didn't.

A few feet away, Leo spotted another body, and it's Erin—her teenage vessel.

The girl was curled on her stomach, face half-buried in the grass. At first glance she looked asleep. Then Leo saw the red stain spreading beneath her, soaking her white dress.

He crawled over in a panic.

"Erin—no, no, no—"

He rolled her gently. Her back was a ruin: a long, vicious slash from shoulder blade to hip, deep enough that he could see bone through flesh.

He saw many brutal, gory things in his life—but this thing makes his heart hammer against his ribs.

A crystal vial appeared in his palm, and he poured half the liquid straight into the gash. The edges began knitting together immediately, but it wasn't fast enough.

"Come on, come on…"

[Alert!]

[Shadow Summons is now available.]

Elynn gave him useful information after a long time, and Leo didn't even think.

"Come out."

Black smoke erupted beside him, summoning his second shadow wraith.

"Go," Leo snarled, voice cracking. "Find Lucian and Velmara. Bring them here. Now."

The wraith nodded once and ran towards the forest like it had located them already.

Leo poured the rest of the potion over Erin's wound, then took out cloth from his pants pocket to press against her injury.

"Stay with me, kid," he muttered. "You do not get to save the world, you hear me?"

He looked between the two unconscious girls—the woman he'd crossed worlds for and the annoying, brilliant child who had fought by his side. A sense of protectiveness settled in his chest.

They were his. His to protect. His to keep alive.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Outside of the dome.

The fat nobles started whispering at their camps; it's been an hour since that blast occurred, and there's no update on what's going on inside.

Inside the imperial camp, Prince Cassian's lips kept twitching into a smile he hadn't earned yet.

"Any minute now," he murmured, swirling warm tea. "A funeral toast will be in order."

Across the low table, Darius watched him with the flat expression.

"Contain yourself, Your Highness," he said mildly. "We threw a celebration once before. Leonhardt came back alive from that forest. Turned into something worse."

Cassian slammed his cup down hard enough to crack the saucer. "That blast was a goddamn cataclysm, Darius. Nothing walks away from—"

Darius just stared at him, about to open his mouth.

Then someone shouted outside.

"Hey, look at that. The Dome. It's vanishing."

The shout came from outside. Chairs scraped. Nobles spilled from tents like ants from a kicked nest.

Alric was already moving, barking orders at Caulem knights. "Search parties—mount up, now!"

The soldiers responded in unison and quickly began to prepare horses to move.

Vivien's red eyes caught something in the forest, and her worried expression turned to a relieved smile.

She tugged her mother's hand and pointed her small finger. "Mother, look, it's elder brother Leonhardt."

The Duchess looked at her daughter and then at the forest; her grey eyes widened. Soldiers, servants, nobles, and even the emperor felt silent looking at it.

At a distance, two figures approach the camps. One human who's carrying two girls—Erin on his back and Rin in his arms.

The second figure was not human at all. A towering wraith of living shadow strode beside him, holding two bodies like a nursemaid carrying children: Lucian and Velmara.

People were stunned, not because of seeing Leonhardt coming back from something impossible. But seeing him walking with some strange creature.

Adrian was one to move first. He doesn't care about the creature or mystery of their survival; it's for his sister.

"Erin," he yelled, running straight towards Leo.

Seeing him, Maria also runs for her son.

The camps erupted into chaos as the flood of soldiers and medics surged forward.

Adrian skidded to a stop in front of Leo, his eyes wide with panic, fixed on the unconscious form of his sister. "Give her to me—now."

Leo shifted without a word.

"Erin!" Adrian cried, his voice cracking. He carefully lifted her from Leo's back, cradling her in his arms, his hands trembling.

"Erin, can you hear me? What happened to you?" He looked desperately from her to Leo, demanding answers without words.

Maria was only a step behind, throwing herself at the wraith without fear. The shadow knelt, offering Lucian. Maria pulled her son into her arms and sobbed into his hair, fingers frantically searching for injuries.

Around them, Caulem soldiers moved with efficiency.

They gently took the unconscious Rin from Leo's arms, while others carefully takes Velmara from the shadowy wraith's grasp.

Through it all, Leo stood like a statue, his adrenaline fading away and exhaustion taking over his body.

He barely felt the hand on his shoulder until it shook him gently.

It was Liana, his maid.

"Young Master!" Liana's voice cracked. Tears carved clean lines on her face. "You're alive—thank every star you're alive—"

He didn't hear her.

His gaze had locked across the clearing.

His crimson eyes were on his target: Prince Cassian, who had emerged from his tent, his face frozen in shock and dawning horror.

Their eyes locked.

A slow, wicked, and exhausted grin spread across Leo's face. It was not a smile of joy or relief.

Seeing that look was the final straw for Cassian, who took an involuntary step backward. Leo collapsed forward, caught only by the quick reflexes of his loyal maid.

"Young master? LEONHARDT!"