"EKEKH?!" He is struck by shock once again. His face freezes while his entire body becomes completely rigid—
A figure he knows, someone bound to him by an extraordinarily close brotherly relationship despite sharing no blood—a figure who has fallen in war.
—A suspicion that has now become reality.
"JOHAN?!?!"
—Standing silently before him.
"HOW COULD—"
He turns halfway around, forcing his stiffened body to move.
"THIS—"
He turns fully.
"HAPPEN?"
His face is filled with shock and disbelief.
His brows furrow as he stares into the pupil-less eyes before him.
He glances toward his father's face behind him.
"Tck." He clicks his tongue.
Then he turns back toward the figure.
"Just like Father..." he murmurs.
He lowers his head and stares blankly ahead.
"Huft."
A short, heavy breath escapes him.
His brows rise as he lifts his head once more, gazing deeply at him with overwhelming longing.
"I truly missed you, you know."
He bites his lower lip until it splits and blood begins to flow.
"But..."
Tears stream from his eyes without him realizing it.
"You really are dead, aren't you... my brother..."
Leon furrows his brows.
BRAK!
Both feet slam hard against the ground.
SCKHWAAAAHMN!
Leon charges instantly.
Albert draws a deep breath.
"...Johan."
A long exhale follows.
"Huft."
He lowers his head and slowly shakes it.
"That was never your real name, was it?"
Johan halts his charge, stopping only a few steps before Albert.
He raises his head and stares sharply at him.
"Leon. That's your name, isn't it?"
Leon has already drawn one arm behind his body, all five fingers fully straightened.
Albert closes both eyes.
Somatosensory Sense.
Leon thrusts straight toward Albert's face, his sharpened hand ready to pierce through him—
Albert's skin senses the rush of air from the attack only inches away.
SWUUUUUUUUUHSHH!
The attack is completely avoided. Albert moves before the strike can land, evading with extraordinary speed and precision.
SWHAAAAAAAHMNHH!
Leon's thrust pierces nothing but empty air.
Albert opens his eyes, instantly seeing Leon's expression before him.
Leon's eyes are wide open, his face filled with disbelief that his attack has been avoided.
"So Johan sent you after me as well, didn't he, Brother?"
Albert closes his eyes once more.
"I know why," Albert says.
Leon draws his arm back again, preparing another straight thrust.
"Would I really be capable of being that cruel?" Albert continues.
CKRRK!
His hand tightens around the hilt of his sword cane, beginning to tremble as he struggles to face the reality before him.
"Return safely, Brother."
The words he once spoke flash through his mind.
Albert furrows his brow.
"Certainly. I will remember that."
Johan's reply echoes through his thoughts once more.
All five of Leon's outstretched fingers stop only inches from Albert's face.
Guided by his senses—
SPLAAAAAAAAAHSHH!
—the attack is avoided once again and cuts through empty air.
Leon grits his teeth, once again shocked that his attacks continue to miss.
Albert evades completely. His body moves instinctively, his senses reacting faster than conscious thought, avoiding the strike before it can fully land.
"We await your return, Brother."
Loki's voice continues echoing in his mind, reminding him of the last place where he saw Leon alive.
"AND I TRUST YOU TO RETURN!" Albert shouts.
Leon glares at Albert with his pupil-less eyes. His other arm has already been drawn behind his body and thrusts toward another vital point—
SWHAAAAAAAHMNHH!
—yet once again it swings through nothing but empty air.
The attack is aimed at Albert's spleen, but it touches nothing as Albert shifts his body backward faster than the strike itself.
"Yet..." Albert murmurs.
"...you never returned after that day."
Leon gives him no room whatsoever. His erratic movements deny Albert even a moment to breathe. Leon attacks relentlessly while Albert continues defending himself. Leon's expression appears desperate to understand his own condition.
"The longing that bound us became so overwhelming that we eventually believed you were truly dead. That is how far it went."
SKLWAAAAAAAAHSHH!
Another attack slices through empty air again and again.
Albert opens his eyes.
"So something I never wanted to happen... has truly happened after all."
He stares at the same body—his brother's body—moving without the soul he once knew.
"Huft."
A heavy breath escapes him.
Leon is breathing heavily as well, yet he is given no opportunity to rest. He continuously draws one arm behind his body and thrusts forward in an endless barrage of attacks.
Albert's gaze shifts toward Leon's sweater. The clothing is disheveled and torn in several places, stained only with blood around his mouth.
Albert furrows his brows and stares sharply at him.
"Loki. You met him, didn't you?"
HWLAAAAAAAHSHHH!
Leon continues attacking relentlessly, yet the result remains the same. Every strike pierces nothing but empty air.
This time—
SWAAAAAANNGGNNH!
Albert draws his sword cane behind his body, raising it halfway into the air.
"You look like this..."
—Albert decides to do the same. He closes his eyes once more, preparing to begin a relentless counteroffensive.
"...because you went through something significant before this."
SLHAAAAAAAAAHMNH!
His sword cane slices through empty air.
"There are no deep slash wounds—"
SWCTAKKK!
"—Hmph?!"
Leon instantly prepares a swift counterattack.
"—I truly believe this is Loki's doing."
SLWHUUUUUUUHSHH!
Avoided once again.
Albert's brows furrow. He is unable to launch a continuous assault, forcing the battle into a constant exchange of attacks.
Albert furrows his brow and immediately retaliates.
SCLHAAAAAAAHMNHH!
His sword cane swings from the side.
"What happened to him?"
SCLWHAAAAHMNHHH!
The attack is avoided again and again.
"Did he hesitate, just as I did?"