Leonard sighed in frustration before returning to his seat. His eyes remained fixed on the boy who had captured his interest. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to hold their own against a member of the royal family and keep pace with them.
Meanwhile, Aether broke the silence, saying:
"Well? Are we going to keep standing here?"
Before she could respond, he repeated the same maneuver—throwing the scythe and recalling it mid-air, attempting to find an opening in her defenses. The battle between them resumed in a classic duel style, each trying to break the other's guard while launching sudden attacks.
That same smile never left Aether's face, further confusing Victoria, who was growing increasingly impatient with him. She finally roared at him as she launched a ferocious assault:
"Enough with your smiling, you rat!!"
Their blades clashed, sending both of them stumbling back to the edge of the arena. Aether straightened up, leaning on his scythe, before locking eyes with her and saying calmly:
"We may be opponents, but that doesn't mean we have to be enemies."
These quiet words shook the warrior to her core. The scene made no sense to her—a stranger, holding no hostility, smiling in the middle of a battlefield!
Victoria took a confused step back. Flames erupted around her sword as it began to glow cautiously.
"I don't know what trick you're pulling, but you won't be able to control me..."
"I'm not pulling any tricks, my lady. I'm just a duelist—if you can even call me one after..."
The fight resumed, but this time, every strike she landed felt weaker than the last. The calm expression on his face was enough to unsettle even the most seasoned warrior. For a moment, she lost focus, and he seized the opportunity—dashing left toward the edge of the circular arena while throwing his scythe to the right. The scythe spun like a blade as he closed in on her rapidly.
For a split second, time seemed to slow. Victoria's eyes darted around—any move could be fatal. Before she could even process the situation, the scythe was right before her eyes. She was moments from death, but then—
Time froze for a second before resuming.
A deafening explosion echoed, followed by dust covering most of the arena. There stood Leonard, his sword raised, intercepting the deadly scythe. He exhaled angrily, his gaze piercing through Aether, who was leaning on his scythe, panting heavily.
"...You cunning bastard."
Victoria's hand rested firmly on Leonard's shoulder as she spoke with composure and weight:
"I let my guard down. He defeated me fairly and deservedly."
Leonard gritted his teeth before falling silent. He glanced at Aether, who was watching them calmly with a friendly expression. Suddenly, Aether's face stiffened, his features shifting to readiness. The two turned around to find the black entity, Shadow, standing there, watching them with a malicious smile.
A sinister voice echoed as Shadow stared at Victoria:
"What do we have here... royal blood. How intriguing."
"You bastard! How dare you show your face again after what you did!?" Victoria screamed at him with burning rage.
"Now, now, little troublemaker... You seem upset by my presence."
He shifted into a strange form—a young man with delicate features and smooth hair. Despite this form, he couldn't change the color of his skin, which remained unnaturally dark, making him easily distinguishable among humans.
In the blink of an eye, Leonard charged forward to attack, only to have his sword deflected by Aether's scythe, which blocked his advance. Aether kept his focus fixed intently on Shadow... He addressed Leonard before the latter could shout at him:
"Someone like him wouldn't step into a crowd of warriors without a reason... He must have something devastating planned for us."
Shadow grinned widely, his eyes curving with malicious amusement.
"You... you're the one who opened that pathetic little hole. You're nothing but a bunch of rats. Stay out of my way, boy, or you won't like what happens. Kill you? No, not really. That's not fun. Torturing you through those you love will be far more entertaining."
Aether glanced around... None of the civilians were there. His mind raced to comprehend their surroundings... Nothing had changed except for the absence of the crowd. But it was impossible for such a large gathering to vanish without a trace or sound.
Theer's voice echoed in Aether's mind, speaking rapidly:
"You're likely in his domain now. At my signal, switch places. I'll deal with him."
"But—" Before Aether could protest, Theer insisted firmly:
"I said I'll handle it!"
Aether had no other choice. At that moment, he closed his eyes.
Shadow looked at him mockingly:
"What now? Are you going to sleep before we even start playing?"
His eyelids lifted, revealing pitch-black darkness where his eyes should be.
Outside Shadow's domain, Scar, Emily, Claire, Garn, Victoria, and a group of guards frantically rushed to break the dome Shadow had created. Scar stabbed at multiple points within the barrier to no avail. Panicked and anxious, Emily tried to shatter the domain with magic, but all her seals and incantations only managed to create a small crack in the barrier.
The two (Scar and Emily) heard a voice shouting at them to make way. As they stepped aside, Victoria stabbed the domain in rage... At first, no visible change occurred, but moments later, the domain deteriorated, revealing the three inside.
Shadow stood there, flaunting his power arrogantly, while Aether and Leonard—their eyes blazing red—stood ready. In that moment, the kingdom witnessed something it hadn't seen in decades: the stubborn Leonard, who had rejected all trainers and chosen to train himself out of pride and rigidity, now moving fluidly alongside Aether, seamlessly alternating between defense and offense.
Time seemed to slow as Leonard thrust his sword into Shadow's body, only to find it immune to physical attacks. Leonard's blade passed through Shadow's ethereal form without leaving a scratch, but he didn't falter. He shouted with determination:
"Now!!!!"
Suddenly, Aether appeared out of nowhere in a strange form—half-normal, half-black—delivering a fatal blow toward Shadow. The attack was so fierce that Shadow was forced to retreat and flee before meeting his end. In that moment, Aether's scythe touched the ground, and he roared:
"Get down!!"
Everyone dropped to the ground as a shockwave exploded across the Eastern Kingdom, its tremors reaching the kingdom's borders.
A moment later, Aether's body knelt beside Leonard... Blood streamed through his fingers and palm, mixing with his tears. Aether's choked sobs filled the air while Leonard kept his head bowed low, fighting back his own tears.
In that moment, Leonard's memory flashed back to the past—that bitter defeat made him look at himself in frustration. Deep within his consciousness, in a world of visions, he saw himself as a child—that stubborn version that had never changed over the years. He began to feel like a fool, incompetent and unworthy.
He turned his eyes to Aether, who was crying in agony and pain. Aether struck the ground like a madman, his tears falling uncontrollably as he struggled to stand. By nature, Leonard would have mocked Aether's weakness and told him to become stronger, but that option was no longer available—not when Aether had exerted unimaginable effort to protect someone Leonard was supposed to protect himself.
The rest of the group approached, wondering what had happened inside. How had the two ended up in such a state when they had only been with Shadow for a few moments?