Bishop (1)

Leonel's decisiveness caught Pierre and Nicolas off guard. They had been observing Leonel for a long time and had never expected that he had this side to him.

Their surprise informed Leonel of another important point: it was impossible for them to know of the mission requirements. If they knew that he was tasked with killing Joan, they would also know that much of the front he put on was an act. Taking it even further, they wouldn't have let her lead him and Aina here alone either.

Thinking to this point, this whole situation made much more sense. They didn't know what they were trying to stop him from doing, so their best response to was to lock them away to avoid any unwanted variables.

But, that begged another question… why had they waited for so long?

"By the power of God, I beseech you energies of the world! Rage of wind!"

Unfortunately, there was no more time to think.

"I'll handle the shadow." Aina's voice drifted to Leonel's ears.

With a nod, the two hit another gear. Leonel had already seen through the stats of Pierre and was more than confident in her ability to handle him. As for Nicolas, he was more difficult to manage as all spirit based entities were. But, the current Leonel was nothing like the Leonel of the past.

Before, he had struggled with the C-grade Mayan Priest more than even a B-grade Invalid. But now…?

Streaks of pressurized wind shot through the air. Leonel realized that this ability was nearly identical to the that of the Mayan Priest. It was a reality that brought his antennas up, however there was still a difference between this time and last.

Whereas before he could only faintly sense them, now, he could very clearly see them streaking through the air. And, with all of the mystery gone… they even looked crude and uncontrolled.

They were fast, but not uniform in width. Their shape was similar to an earth worm with irregularly sized segments. If Nicolas had better Force control, this 0.90 points of agility his attack had would easily be over 1.00.

Leonel's head ducked to one side, slipped by one worm-like wind projectile, sliding past another, and leaping over the last.

His movements were fluid and confident, his gaze filled with a calm stillness to them. The Leonel of today was already a far cry from the teenage boy who first stepped into the Mayan Temple.

Though he had been surprised, Nicolas was still greatly confident in his God given ability. However, he had never expected Leonel to deal with them so calmly and so easily. It was to the point where Leonel didn't even consider using his atlatl. He truly didn't feel like he needed it.

"By the power of God, I beseech you energies of the world! Shield me!"

'So it was a one way facing shield? In that case…'

Leonel closed the rest of the distance to Pierre and Nicolas in less than 20 seconds, his gaze flashing with a dazzling light that made his pale green eyes gain a life to them they didn't usually have.

Leonel's speed exploded as Force surged through his body.

[Leonel Morales]

[Strength: 0.99; Speed: 0.99 (+0.1 - nullified); Agility: 0.99 (+0.1 - nullified); Coordination: 1.15; Stamina: 1.10-1.20 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 1.15; Spirit: 0.40; Force: 0.20]

Leonel's sudden burst caught the two opposing him completely off guard, allowing him to slip between them and to Nicolas' back in a swift sliding motion.

At that moment, Aina, in perfect trailing position, followed up with two swings of her dual wielded axes, cutting off Pierre's path toward supporting Nicolas. Her teamwork with Leonel was seamless, without even communicating, she was able to take cues from Leonel's dodging to deal with Nicolas' attacks just as easily as he did.

Leonel set his feet, his arm flexing as he pulled his spear back tightly against his body. He pierced forward with enough momentum that his attack caused a sharp whistling noise to sound as his blade cut through the air.

Nicolas' back was completely exposed. There simply wasn't enough time for him to react.

The attack was flawless, controlled, and perfectly aimed toward his heart.

CLANG

A strong reverberating impact shook Leonel's arm as Nicolas was sent flying into his own energy shield.

Violent coughs racked his lungs as the wind was knocked out of him. The painful groans of his body slamming against his own shield made Leonel certain that he had broken at least his nose, if not something far more substantive.

"The lord will protect me from all harm! By the power of God, I beseech you energies of the w—."

Leonel hardly reacted to his failed attack. He had conditioned himself long ago to be prepared for setbacks. It was impossible to predict everything that would happen on a battlefield. Those who ended up on top were those who could read and react to anything. And unfortunately for Nicolas, he didn't seem to be one of these people.

There was another thing that seemed to be identical between Nicolas, the so-called Bishop and the Mayan Priest: they both chanted before using their Force. The only difference between then and now was that Leonel could actually understand what was being said and didn't tune it out.

'[Call of the Wind].'

This chanting might have been part of their fanaticism, or maybe it had a purpose that Leonel couldn't see through, but regardless of the reason, it made timing the next attack far too easy, and countering… even easier.

A glow coated Leonel's spear as he pierced forward once more. Before Nicolas could even finish his next words, a sharp wind traveled across the distance between them, leaving a bloody hole in his forehead.

As he fell to the ground, Leonel understood that Nicolas only placed him on his radar after he met Joan. Leonel had displayed this very attack on the way to Orleans, yet Nicolas had clearly been completely unprepared for it, confident to the very end. Even Leonel couldn't have guessed that things would end so easily.

When he turned around to check how Aina was doing, there was no chance to see Pierre's shock, because he had already fallen, hacked to pieces by the savage red glow of Aina's axes.

Leonel sent a gaze back toward where the two of them had come from, only to be disappointed that the wooden door didn't reappear.

He took a deep breath. The first task was done, but he had a feeling that leaving this place wouldn't be so simple… If they failed to find a way out through these maze of tunnels, they would be stuck in this Zone until the last of their days…

"… You should take a look at this." Aina suddenly said.

Aina threw over a black book she took from Pierre's body.