The Harbinger roared, a guttural sound of fury and affront, shaking off the residual golden light that had briefly singed its obsidian hide. It was unaccustomed to such defiance, especially from a mere mortal world. Its multi-faceted eyes, which had flickered with a rare fear, now blazed with pure, unadulterated malice as it lunged.
"Are you alright son?" asked Leo with a smiling face
"Dad, your really here" said Kazuki,.....
"Yah! i had to run through some troubles getting here but here i am, son"
"Where`s mom" asked Kazuki
"I had to live her behind for for some reason but don`t she`s safe and also she feel regrets living you behind like that"
" Hnngh"...
"Son, save the tears for later now we have a job to do"..
"ya! right)..
Leo met the charge head-on, not with a flourish of complex spells, but with an almost casual flick of his wrist. A wave of pure golden energy, silent and immense, erupted from his palm. It wasn't an explosion, but a concussive force that slammed into the towering demon, halting its charge mid-stride. The Harbinger skidded backward, its massive blades tearing furrows in the already ruined cobblestones.
Kazuki, who had been bracing himself for a desperate, final stand against the monstrosity, could only stare. The sheer effortlessness of Leo's power was staggering. Beside him, Rin let out a small, stunned gasp, her fire-laced hands dropping slightly. The chaotic din of the market seemed to quiet, if only for a moment, as the lesser demons instinctively recoiled from the radiant power now asserting itself.
"You're disrupting my nap schedule," Leo said, his voice carrying clearly despite the chaos, a hint of his usual playful sarcasm returning, though underscored by a dangerous edge. He stepped forward, his golden aura pulsing, each step radiating authority. "And frankly, your aesthetic is dreadful."
The Harbinger shrieked again, a sound of frustrated rage this time, no longer fear. It extended its barbed forearms, and dark, viscous energy began to gather, coalescing into jagged projectiles. These weren't the clumsy blasts of the decoys; they were precise, deadly, and infused with true demonic corruption. It launched them in a rapid volley, aiming to overwhelm Leo.
Leo didn't dodge. Instead, his golden aura flared, solidifying into a shimmering shield that met the incoming projectiles. They struck with the force of siege weapons, but rather than shattering the shield, the demonic energy seemed to dissolve against it, consumed by Leo's pure power. Not a single projectile broke through, simply fading into harmless wisps of smoke.
Kaelen, standing a few paces behind Leo, adjusted his grip on his sword. He'd seen powerful mages, witnessed incredible feats, but Leo was operating on an entirely different plane. His control was absolute, his power boundless. Kaelen knew his own blades, as sharp as they were, would be useless against this raw, unbridled magical force. His role here was to observe, to understand, and to ensure no lesser threat slipped past Leo's focus.
"Is that all you've got?" Leo scoffed, taking another slow, deliberate step forward, the ground lightly cracking beneath his weight. "Because if so, I'm genuinely disappointed. Zargoth used to send more entertaining guests."
Kazuki's face, already streaked with grime and etched with the strain of battle, reflected a complex mix of emotions. His eyes, though still clouded with the lingering sorrow of the chaos he'd just witnessed, now also shone with unshed tears of profound relief and awe as he looked at Leo. A faint, almost imperceptible tremor of a smile, fragile and tinged with weariness, touched his lips. "Dad, you're really here," Kazuki cried, the words raw and choked, yet holding all the weight of his fear and newfound hope. His vision blurred, not from the swirling dust and magic, but from the sudden, overwhelming surge of emotion. The battle's adrenaline, which had kept him fighting on sheer fumes, abruptly drained, leaving his limbs feeling like lead. He swayed slightly, the sheer relief of seeing his father – really seeing him, not just a projection – hitting him like a physical blow. All the terror of the past minutes, the despair of facing the Harbinger, the gnawing fear for Umbra and his family, seemed to coalesce and then, just as quickly, recede in the radiant presence of Leo. His throat tightened, a lump forming that made it impossible to speak further. He could only stare, tears finally welling in his eyes, not of sadness, but of a profound, almost painful gratitude. The world was still chaos, but with Leo here, something fundamentally shifted. He felt a sliver of hope, sharp and bright, piercing through the encroaching darkness.
The Harbinger shrieked again, its malformed features contorted in rage, sensing the raw challenge from the new arrival. It gathered itself, its obsidian body rippling with dark power, preparing its next move. With a guttural roar, it unleashed its true might: a torrent of "Void Shards" – razor-sharp constructs of solidified darkness that screamed through the air, each one capable of rending steel and dissolving flesh. This wasn't a clumsy volley; this was a concentrated assault, meant to atomize anything in its path. The ground beneath its feet cracked further, a testament to the immense power it channeled.
Leo's casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a focused intensity. His golden aura flared, not just as a shield, but as a living extension of his will. He didn't speak an incantation, for his power transcended such need. His right hand, palm open towards the onslaught, began to draw the very aether from the air, concentrating it into a blinding sphere of pure energy. "Aetheric Purge," he stated, his voice now deeper, resonant with ancient power, utterly devoid of humor.
The sphere of golden light launched forward, not just a beam, but an expanding wave that met the "Void Shards" head-on. There was no explosion, no violent crash. Instead, the golden light simply consumed the dark projectiles, each shard dissolving into nothingness the instant it touched the wave. The "Aetheric Purge" swept onward, engulfing the Harbinger.
The massive demon roared, not in rage, but in a horrific, agonizing scream as the purifying light began to rip apart its very essence. Its obsidian skin crackled, glowing with internal violet fire that quickly turned to a painful, sickening orange, then faded to grey. The ground where it stood began to melt, the cobblestones bubbling and steaming. The Harbinger thrashed, attempting to escape the light, but it was relentless, absolute. Within seconds, the towering form dissolved into a column of ash and faint, ethereal motes of light that dissipated into the air, leaving behind only a smoking crater where it had stood. The sheer force of its eradication sent a minor shockwave, gently rustling Rin and Kazuki's clothes.
The lesser demons, previously held at bay by the Harbinger's presence, now utterly panicked. Their roars turned to terrified squeals as they broke ranks, scrambling over each other to escape the radiant, dangerous presence of Leo.
Kazuki could only stare, his mouth agape. The weight of his father's true power, unveiled in that single, devastating spell, was almost incomprehensible. This wasn't just a powerful mage; this was a force of nature. He felt a surge of renewed hope, mixed with a healthy dose of pure, undiluted awe.
Beside him, Rin, who had been momentarily stunned, snapped back to action. His eyes, filled with a new fire, literally. He clenched his fists, small flames dancing on his knuckles. "He's... he's amazing!" he muttered, then focused on a cluster of fleeing decoys. "Alright you pathetic nuisances! Time to burn! 'Inferno Nova!'" A concentrated burst of fire erupted from his hands, sweeping away several panicked demons, no longer containing his power as he had before.
***
Far removed, in the desolate grandeur of the fractured realm, Zenos, the chief strategist, stood before a colossal, obsidian altar. Upon its shadowed surface rested a grotesque, pulsating artifact – the 'Whispering Scion,' a shard of primordial darkness encased in gnarled bone, through which the will of the unresurrected Demon King, Zargoth, was channeled. Behind it, the violent vortex of violet aether, Zargoth's prison and nascent form, churned restlessly. Zenos had been calmly observing a scrying pool, which still depicted the fading chaos in Umbra, the rout of the decoys, and the radiant golden aura that was Leo.
Suddenly, a violent tremor ripped through the vortex. The swirling violet energy convulsed as if struck by an invisible blow, and a high-pitched, ethereal shriek echoed from its depths – a scream of pure, absolute annihilation. Simultaneously, the Whispering Scion pulsed with a blinding, painful surge of dark energy, and a colossal, spectral eye briefly flared within its depths, burning with cold fury. The scrying pool, reflecting Umbra, flared blindingly for an instant, then went dark, its surface rippling with discordant energy.
A low, resonant growl, vibrating from the very core of the Whispering Scion, emanated into the chamber. Though no physical form spoke, the voice was a deep, guttural resonance that filled Zenos's mind, raw with power. "He dispatched a Harbinger," the voice boomed, chilling the air. "And with such... finality."
Zenos, for the first time, showed a flicker of genuine surprise on his usually impassive face. "Remarkable," he murmured, his gaze fixed on the pulsating artifact. "The power signature... it surpasses even ancient estimations. He is indeed the Heart's anchor." He looked at the still-turbulent vortex behind the altar. "The tether strain is immense, my King. He pulls against it with every pulse of his Aether. He feels the calling."
From the Whispering Scion, a spectral approximation of Zargoth's cruel lips stretched into a predatory smile, a chilling sight. "Good. Let him fight it. Let him exhaust himself against my puppets while the true game begins. The Heart is ripe. It is not merely the key to dominion over this realm, Zenos, but the very essence that will shatter the seals of my prison and restore me to my full glory. The initial binding was merely a nudge. He severed it, yes, but only opened the channel further. Now, he is drawn into the very core."
A single, shadowy, clawed hand, shimmering with nascent violet energy, seemed to press against the inside of the Whispering Scion's dark surface, amplifying the command. "Zenos, recall the remaining Harbingers. They have served their secondary purpose. Initiate the Umbral Convergence. The Heart of Cryptos will not merely embrace our power; it will become us. And the little mage will be swallowed whole, his essence forever bound to my ultimate dominion... and my freedom."
The vortex behind the altar began to pulse with a terrifying rhythm, its violet depths swirling faster, drawing in shadowy tendrils from the very fabric of the fractured realm. The air in the throne room grew colder, filled with a sound like distant, hungry echoes, as the Whispering Scion thrummed with sinister anticipation. The true invasion was about to begin.