The Faceless Man
Mia dropped onto her knees still shocked by that fact that she would have died right now if it was not for Emilia's help.
Is it truly my mistake for not killing him? Mia was unable to come up with any answers. She wanted an end for killing, however now she finally understood how minuscule she really is and how this dream was beyond reach. Nothing but a fantasy.
"Mia?" Emilia's voice brought her back to reality. This was the first time Emilia had seen Mia like this. She always used to be filled with energy, but right now she looked lifeless.
"Mia, what were you thinking? If I had not rushed here, then..." Emilia's voice trailed off not wanting to finish it she stopped herself.
"I'm sorry I worried you," Mia replied now knowing how she should explain the fact she realized how small and weak she is compared to her dream of world peace.
"Listen Mia we are still young. We have our whole lives ahead of us so rather than worrying about what will happen in the future, why not enjoy the moment like you always do?" Emilia continued, "And your dream of world peace will be a lot easier and attainable the more you grow and no matter what happens I'll be there supporting you."
Mia got lost in Emilia's words. She never thought this Emilia would be the one who advised her as she always thought it would be her who advised Emilia "This is really unlike you," Mia said as a slight smile formed on her face.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Even I can be mature," Emilia replied while pouting her lips which caused Mia's smile to widen.
"We should find Xander and Leo quickly because there is a chance they are also engaged in a fight," Mia turned serious.
"Yeah, I hope they are okay," Said Emilia as she looked off into the distance through the woods.
---
While Emilia and Mia were together both Xander and Leo was alone. They had separated from each other after their encounter.
Leo found himself in a part of the forest which had more trees compared to the rest. The brown trees all stood tall compared to him.
Suddenly Leo stopped in his tracks. Looking behind there a man stood facing him with no weapons in his hand. The man had a cloth which covered his face while he dressed in a brown.
They both said or did nothing other than staring at each other. Leo has faced many opponents in his life and from all those experiences he was able to tell how a fight would progress even before it started just from the way his opponents stood.
This fight, according to this method would be much more difficult than the last fight. His opponent stood there brimming confidence and Leo could also make out a smile underneath that cloth which covered his face.
The man made the first move. He rushed towards Leo. The closer he came the faster he got. Leo took out his dagger as usual and waited until the man got closer before launching his attack, however, the man simply stood in his tracks inches before his dagger. He then took a hold of Leo's hand and pulled on it. This caused Leo's body to fall towards the man. Leo was unable to resist the strength with which the man pulled.
The man raised his right leg and sent it aiming for Leo's stomach, however, Leo was not a normal kid he was an assassin who had faced many opponents. As soon as he got pulled by the ma he slid down so that the man's leg was now above him. Leo then used the momentum to knock the man out of balance however the man jumped before Leo's legs reached him.
Leo the let go of his dagger and caught it with his left hand but as he did this the man lifted Leo into the air and threw him onto the ground. The difference in their power was now eminent.
Leo's back had hit the ground with a great force as he struggled to get back onto his feet. From the man's strength, Leo guessed he was at least in Normal Rank Level 3 which was far beyond what he could manage being only in Normal Rank Level 1.
"You know you are not that bad for being only in Level 1, however, it's too bad you ran into me," The man finally talked with a deep voice.
Leo gritted his teeth as he got up. Leo's now used his Pure Elemental Attack but his opponent easily dodged it without any effort.
"You do realize such puny attack will not work against me," The man spoke once again.
Leo quickly summoned his clone and sent it to attack the man as he prepared to use frenzy to finish the battle.
The man's smile grew wider beneath the cloth. He was a World Element user so as he raised his palms to face the clone. Three boulders formed in front of him and raced towards the Leo. The boulder moved really fast even though they were really big. They moved so fast that the clone was unable to react in time. The boulders made contact with the clone and simply crushed it. Water could be seen on the surface of the three boulders as now they had turned into one from the impact.
Leo felt immense pain in his mind from his clone getting destroyed, however that did not stop him from using frenzy as he rushed towards his opponent.
It was while Leo rushed to the man that a whistle went off in the distance.
"Play times over kid," The man said as he too rushed towards his opponent. Just when they both were about the reach other the man opened his palms once again, which caused a pole that was made out of rocks to extend out of his arm and hit Leo in the stomach.
The short distance between the two couples with the high speed of the attack made Leo unable to dodge it in time. The man then moved closer to Leo and sent a powerful kick to Leo's stomach.
Leo could not do anything. The kick landed on his stomach and sent him flying in the air towards a tree near the area. Leo was unable to keep his eyes open as he fell unconscious.
---
Leo had no idea how long he was unconscious for but when he woke up he was being supported by the injured Xander as they made their way through the forest.
"I can walk by myself," Leo said, however, Xander did not let him go nor reply to him.
"You are injured Leo and I know you cannot walk on your own so let me help you," Replied Xander after some time.
Leo was unable to reject the offer as his body was light as a feather due to the fight.