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Regnum Auternum – Chapter 24: Untamed Rematch
The air stood still.
A single glare between them held the weight of kingdoms.
Leornars tilted his head, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips.
Stacian, watching from afar, narrowed her eyes.
> "Quick adaptability… an unimaginable memory... a prodigy bordering on divine. This isn't what I expected from the prophecy."
She clenched her fists.
"No... he's something far more terrifying."
---
Meanwhile, within the shadowed walls of a remote base, the Black Acers prepared for their next strike.
The dark hall echoed with whispers.
At its farthest end, surrounded by ethereal chains crackling with holy fire, sat Zaryter Daternmum—calm, silent, but radiating barely-contained power.
> "You sure we can beat him?" one of the seven Black Acers asked cautiously.
The sub-leader of the Acers scoffed.
> "Zaryter is powerful—but not invincible. Everyone has a flaw."
> "His flaw?" the same Acer asked.
The leader's eyes gleamed coldly.
> "His sister."
A chilling silence followed.
> "Find Leornars."
---
Days passed.
Leornars and Stacian had integrated with the locals, teaching agricultural techniques, healing soil, and guiding farmers through renewal. But even amidst the simplicity, Leornars never let his guard down.
One afternoon, when no one was watching, he vanished in a blink, breaking the sound barrier with a burst of Shadow Movement. Like a streak of dark lightning, he zipped through alleyways and rooftops until—
There.
A hooded figure stood below.
Leornars grinned, twisted and amused.
> "Gale Trial."
A surge of wind exploded around him, ripping the hood off.
Wrong face.
Not Zaryter.
Leornars frowned.
> "Tch. Waste of time."
He turned to leave—but the Acer lunged, knife in hand.
Without flinching, Leornars leapt backward, landing casually atop a nearby roof. He stared down with detached amusement.
> "That's the way of life. You look up to me…" He tilted his head, crimson eyes gleaming. "And I look down at you."
The Acer charged again.
Leornars didn't move. Until—snap.
In a flash, he was beside him, hand gently patting the Acer's head like a child.
Shock widened the Acer's eyes.
Then, agony.
Leornars grabbed a fistful of his hair and delivered seven merciless punches in under three seconds, sweeping the Acer off his feet before crushing his skull underfoot.
> "Tell me where Zaryter Daternmum is," he said coldly, pressing harder on the man's head.
> "D–Die."
> "So no negotiation…" Leornars muttered. "Pity."
He stomped again. And again. Until the head gave in.
Leornars clicked his tongue.
> "Ah… my boots."
Suddenly—a flash.
A bolt of lightning nearly grazed him. He twisted just in time, eyes sharp.
Another Black Acer emerged, stunned.
> "He dodged that? That blast moves at six times the speed of sound!"
He looked again—his blood ran cold.
Leornars now stood as a silhouette against the wind, two glowing red eyes piercing the gloom.
> "Are you Zaryter Daternmum?" Leornars asked, voice a graveyard whisper.
> "N–No," the Acer said quickly, eyeing his fallen comrade. "But... I can show you."
Leornars blinked.
> "Huh? You'll show me where he is?"
> "Yes."
Inside, Leornars smirked.
> "So Stacian was right... My aura can intoxicate and overwhelm the weak-willed. I didn't expect it to work this well."
---
They walked through worn roads and crumbling ruins.
The Acer explained quietly.
> "Our group, the Black Acers, originated from Urza, northwest coast. Our leader—Zurich. Former B-rank adventurer. Martial arts expert. Fire mage. He's wanted for... a lot."
Leornars listened, eyes narrowing.
> "Rape, genocide, organ trading, assassination, slavery… such a man could've been useful in my underworld plans. Had he not touched slaves…"
They arrived at a broken coliseum.
The Acer checked a brooch—red light blinked.
> "He's close."
Leornars looked over the Acer's shoulder seeing a red dot on the broach.
"I see,so zaryter is a slave to the black Acers, intriguing" he thought
Leornars nodded.
> "Thanks."
Without hesitation, he sliced the Acer's throat, catching the man's collapsing body in silence.
> "You may join your friend now."
He wiped his blade clean with the Acer's shirt.
---
Footsteps echoed across the cracked stone.
Zaryter Daternmum appeared, stopping several meters away.
His gaze fell on the corpse at Leornars' feet.
> "A friend of yours?" Leornars asked, voice devoid of care.
> "Hardly," Zaryter replied. "I barely talk to human trash."
Leornars chuckled, faint but cold.
Then silence.
A single bird chirped.
And both vanished in a blur of motion.
---
Zaryter struck first—but Leornars parried with ease.
A second blow—dodged.
Third—countered.
A fourth—blocked mid-air.
Then—CRACK!
Leornars slammed a fist into Zaryter's gut, causing him to cough blood, before tossing him like a ragdoll into a nearby wall. The stone split upon impact.
Zaryter staggered to his feet.
> "No… this isn't right. This isn't the same boy I fought before!"
Before he could move again, Leornars appeared above him, delivering blow after blow to his face—then dragged him by the hair and smashed him into the ground.
Zaryter roared.
> "CHAIN BREAKER—ETERNAL CHAINS OF SOLITUDE!"
Blazing, celestial chains erupted, slicing the air with divine heat.
They danced and hunted, each attack randomized.
But Leornars moved like smoke, dodging them all with eerie precision.
> "Why… why is he getting faster?!"
One chain wrapped around Leornars—but he didn't flinch.
Instead, he grinned.
> "Awaken—Bellian."
From Leornars' shadow, a monstrous figure emerged and smashed the chain, launching Zaryter high into the sky.
Leornars leapt, twisted midair, and kicked him square in the jaw.
Zaryter hit the ground, rolled, and staggered up.
Panting.
Desperate.
Then—darkness.
> "Shadow Movement."
Leornars vanished.
Zaryter blinked—and was already face-down on the dirt, crushed under Leornars' heel.
He didn't know how it happened. Only that it had.
> "I can't believe I held back last time," Leornars said coldly, voice dripping venom.
He kicked Zaryter again—sending him flying across the battlefield like a sack of meat.
Unconscious.
Broken.
Defeated.
---
Leornars snapped his fingers.
> "Ascian."
A beastly shadow rose and dragged Zaryter by the jaw, blood trailing behind like a ribbon of failure.
> "Let's go. Trash like you shouldn't lie around in the open."