20 Chapter 20: Who Is She? {Edited}
Blinded by a primal rage, Leo hadn't registered the chilling metamorphosis of his own being.
He'd morphed into a whirlwind of destruction, a madman carving a bloody swathe across the battlefield, his face contorted into a rictus grin as he kept popping up, here and there.
His targets? Obviously unsuspecting victims.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" roared the bandit leader, Vin, his voice laced with a desperate fury.
But his pleas were lost in the cacophony of savagery.
Leo, his mind teetering on the edge of frenzy, continued his macabre dance of death, oblivious to the shifting tide.
"Can someone just kill that bastard?!" he roared, but everyone had there one problems to deal with.
The knights, gained the upper hand, and with renewed vigor, they launched a brutal counteroffensive, leaving a trail of fallen bandits in their wake.
Panic seized the remaining brigands, and they scattered like startled roaches, desperately scrambling for survival.
Vin, witnessing the rapid disintegration of his plan, felt a knot of dread tighten in his gut. Failure in this mission, was tantamount to a slow and agonizing death.
Driven by sheer desperation, he weaved through the throng of knights, his eyes fixed on the carriage – the key to his mission, a vessel harboring a child of destiny.
Leo, a flicker of lucidity piercing the haze of his rage, recognized the target.
He understood what the man was after, and he wanted no part in it.
After all, THAT in there, was a child of destiny.
Only a fool would challenge the overpowered, and he was no fool.
With a surge of adrenaline, he turned and bolted, his heart hammering like a trapped bird against his ribs.
But just as he thought he might escape, a sound ripped through the air, so utterly horrific that it stole his breath and stopped his heart for a single, terrifying beat.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It was a screech, a soul-rending wail that resonated with a primal fear, freezing everyone in place – knights, fleeing bandits, and even Leo himself.
Then, a crimson tide began to seep from the carriage, spreading like a macabre stain. The sheer volume of blood defied all logic, hinting at something far more sinister at play.
And then…
*Boom!*
A deafening boom erupted, the carriage doors flying open with the force of a hurricane. A chilling wind, laden with the breath of the arctic, swept through the clearing, sending shivers down spines already slick with sweat and fear. From the mangled wreckage, a figure shot out, a blur of motion defying the laws of physics.
"What… what in the hell was that?" gasped a nearby knight, his voice barely a whisper.
Leo's gaze followed the trajectory, his eyes landing on a sight so horrifying, so utterly alien, that it eclipsed even the monstrous deeds he'd committed moments ago.
Before him lay a mangled heap of flesh, unrecognizable and grotesque, impaled on the gnarled trunk of a nearby tree. Ice shards pierced its form at unnatural angles, the entire tableau radiating a chilling aura of utter annihilation.
Leo's body locked, his mind struggling to process the scene before him. He wanted to run, to scream, to anything but stand there, frozen in abject terror.
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed behind him. He whipped around, his breath catching in his throat as his heart threatened to burst from his chest.
A scream formed on his lips, dying in his throat the moment the fog of fear cleared from his vision.
This…
This couldn't be the source of that unimaginable carnage.
He tried to reason with himself.
Standing before him wasn't a monster, but rather the epitome of ethereal beauty. A young elf, with skin the color of moonlight, her eyes pools of serenity in a sea of chaos. Her hair cascaded down her back like a shimmering waterfall, reaching her slender waist. Every curve of her form spoke of a grace and elegance that left Leo breathless.
He wasn't sure if such beauty was real, if it could exist in the same world as the horror he'd just witnessed.
"May ask of your name?" she spoke softly, her voice like wind chimes tinkling in a gentle breeze, as he cautiously approached her.
"…. of course. It's Leonardo." He responded after much thought.
"Leo…?" she echoed, a sound that sent shivers down Leo's spine.
It was like the gentle caress of a predator testing the waters before the strike.
"That's it," he mumbled, his gaze darting between her breathtaking beauty and the horrifying tableau behind her.
[Leo,] Mel's voice crackled in his mind, a stark contrast to the serene melody of the elf's words. [Run!]
Leo blinked, startled. "Huh?"
"You have to get away from there, now!" Mel's voice was urgent, laced with a tremor of fear. "This mana level… this girl… she's no ordinary elf. She's a… monster,]
"I still don't understand…" Leo stammered, his mind struggling to grasp the situation.
[She can obliterate you with a mere flick of her wrist!] Mel exclaimed, her voice bordering on a shriek.
Leo's breath hitched, a cold dread slithering down his spine like a serpent. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the backdrop of his mounting terror. Instinctively, he began to back away, his steps slow and hesitant at first, then morphing into a desperate retreat.
The elf's head tilted slightly, her serene expression finally fracturing into a flicker of surprise. "Where are you going?" she inquired, her voice devoid of its earlier sweetness, replaced by a chilling neutrality. It was the first genuine emotion she had displayed, and it sent a fresh wave of fear crashing over Leo.
"Huh? Can't I leave?" he asked, his voice raspy.
The elf took a deliberate step forward, her movements graceful yet predatory, and planted herself directly in front of him, effectively cutting off his escape.
"You can… but that can wait,"
'Fuck!'
"Why did you help me?" she asked, her voice dropping to a low murmur, sending shivers down Leo's spine. "You were clearly eliminating my… knights, before you suddenly…" she trailed off, her gaze flitting back to the grotesque scene behind her, a flicker of something akin to annoyance crossing her features.
'Oh boy,'
