Chapter 239: Splitting
I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy
The existence of Leo was going to discourage them. Having a person two years younger than them be so much stronger would definitely hit them. And seeing him kill people like it was nothing made them scared of him.
As he stepped closer, the killers started to ignore the two and focused on Leo. Meanwhile, he wasn't even bothered about the people who could attack him and looked at Elysia.
"If you do not kill the people surrounding you, they will kill you first. It is as simple as that," he said.
His comment made the two girls look down with shame. Having a younger person explain a concept they already knew to them was demeaning. It wasn't that they didn't know - they just didn't kill the people because they had never done it before.
Ria looked up again with a hint of anger in her eyes.
"We kn-"
As she was about to respond to his comment, two killers rushed toward him. The tendrils of blood aura erupted from his hands again and stabbed the two, shattering any aura shield that defended them. They were impaled and thrust high into the sky, before being dropped down.
"You might know, but the Head Master sent me here to make you execute the theory. I lessened the burden, but the rest of them are for you," he said. "Three each is a good place to start."
He stayed there, waiting for the people around him to act. The remaining enemies numbered 5 and wouldn't be able to do anything to the girls anymore. They were stuck with having to pick who they needed to fight first.
On one hand, they could try to fight the demon who was very clearly stronger than them, or they could try to break through the shield and kill the two girls first. But they would need to pick an option fast before Leo got any closer to them.
Leo simply looked into the eyes of Elysia first, judging her softness. She felt his gaze and knew what she had to do. Her shaky hands steadied themselves as she took a deep breath.
She gripped her sword and took out the aura shield covering her and Ria. After that, she charged forward and went to kill the nearest person.
Ria saw this and knew she couldn't be doing anything less. She pointed her staff at the people around her and blasted them with a fire spell, burning them.
Leo saw this and stepped back, allowing them to rampage. Every student there was strong enough to handle the enemies, but their inability to kill without thinking too much set them back.
It would be a bigger problem if it wasn't fixed before the Phoenix Trials which was why the Head Master made them fight the killers. Leo looked at Alfred who was looking around and making sure that everything was going properly.
At this point, all the people who had attacked them had died, except for the person that Nathaniel was fighting. That person had been captured and was right beside the Head Master and Damian.
They seemed to be waiting for the students to finish the fight before questioning the prisoner. Leo looked around to see how everyone looked and he saw what he expected.
All the students were unable to look at the people they killed. It was the first time they all killed a person, save for Marcus. He didn't bother waiting for them and walked to where Alfred was.
Damian looked at the prisoner and then at Alfred.
"I hope you don't mind me questioning this person now," he said.
"Please, go ahead."
Damian bent down to get to the level of the kneeling prisoner.
"Who sent you?"
The person that Damian was talking to had his mask off and it showed his bloodied face. Nathaniel didn't hold back at all and had nearly killed the man.
"Whether or not I answer, you will kill me. I would rather die on my terms, than as a tortured slave."
As he said that, he started building up aura in his body. Leo noticed this and quickly backed away. Damian started panicking.
"He is killing himself!" He shouted and covered himself, bracing for impact. What the man was doing was blowing up all the aura in his body in a small explosion. It would kill him, but also take the lives of the people around him.
Damian waited for a second for the explosion to hit him. His eyes were shut by instinct as he waited. He heard a loud sound that was deep and hollow. The explosion should have reached him but he didn't feel anything.
A few seconds passed and he opened his eyes, confused at what happened. In front of him, he saw the remnants of the blown-up body. He was confused at how the body exploded but nothing happened to him or the people around him, but he understood when he looked closer.
There was a faint blue shield that was covering the body that seemed to have contained the aura of the explosion inside. He looked at Alfred, the only person who could have made a shield that strong.
Out of the entire group, they didn't have anyone strong enough to contain the self-destruction of a Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight. And the barrier didn't seem like it was made of aura, so it had to be a mage.
The only two mages there were Alfred and Ria, so it had to be the former.
"Thank you for saving me," Damian said.
"You are welcome. Although, it was pretty apparent what he was going to do. He had been gathering his aura ever since he got caught. These are true professionals," Alfred said.
"I thank you for the help that you gave us. I do not think that we would have been able to defend against today's attack if it weren't for you. My only problem is that we don't know what to do from now.
The safest option would be to return back to Eldridge and hire a stronger guard, but that takes too much time. We can't risk keeping our target in the city for that long. Would you suggest a solution?" He asked Alfred.
"Actually, I can," Leo stepped up.
Alfred turned to him with surprise. Damian looked at the youngster with apprehension. Out of all the students, Leo was the one who stood out the most. He was also the one who scared him the most.
Compared to everyone there, Leo was visibly younger. He was only 15 years old and it showed. So when he was killing his enemies without any hesitation and goring them to death, it instilled a sense of fear in them.
"And what is this solution?" Damian asked, hoping it would be a good one.
"I can be a guard for you. Since you are going to the capital as well, I might as well join the caravan. That way, you have a stronger guard and you can go to the capital safely."
His solution made a lot of sense, but it made Alfred frown.
"How long will it take for you to come to the capital?" He asked Damian.
"Less than a week if we hurry. 5 days."
Alfred turned to Leo.
"That means you will have five fewer days of practice. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Leo nodded. "I do."
"And why do you want to do this? Out of goodwill?"
"Obviously, money. They can pay me a little bit of their charge in exchange for this," Leo said.
Alfred shook his head in disappointment.
"Surely, you aren't risking your life for a few hundred thousand Starcoins," he berated Leo. .
"We will offer you 3 million Starcoins," Damian interjected. His words made Alfred shake his head more.
"Fine. Do what you want. We will be in the La Quille Inn in the Capital. It is on the higher end of inns, so it will be easy to find."
He said this and turned to the students.
"Everyone! Get ready to leave. We have to depart immediately!"
As he said that, Asher came to him with confusion.
"Are we really letting Leo do this, Head Master? We just saw a team of 2nd Circle Aura Knights come and try to kill everyone. Will he be safe?"
Alfred nodded. He knew that Leo wasn't just a 3rd Circle Aura Knight. He was also an Early-Stage 4th Circle Mage. How? He didn't know. But the strength of a mage as a backup would be enough to guarantee his safety.
"Do not worry about this. He will join us for training when he gets to the capital."
Asher sighed and walked over to Maria to pack everything up.
"What is happening? Is Leo really staying back?" She asked him.
"Yes. I don't know why, but it seems like the Head Master is convinced he will be okay."
The students were having a discussion about this too, though some of them were very happy that he was not going to be with them.
"Thank god he is gone. I don't think I would be able to train without having a fear that the psycho would kill me when I am not paying attention," Ria said.
Elysia looked at her after the comment with shock.
"What did he do to you?" She asked.
"Look at him. Anyone who can kill like that at such a young age has to have problems. And he seems to be the Head Master's favorite student. What is stopping him from doing whatever he wants?"