Leonel's head paused, his fists trembling. He didn't dare to look up. But, just as easily as he had been able to see Normand's face back then, he could just as easily see Rollan's.
He could see the reddening of Rollan's blue eyes, the tears streaming down his cheeks, the tight grit of his teeth. Leonel could almost see the reflection of Elise in Rollan's eyes, he could feel how heavy the weight of the words he had just spoken were.
They didn't just represent his willingness to die, they represented a willingness to leave his wife behind to a life of loneliness and pain. It was a weight of a completely different magnitude, it was the kind of weighted words no husband ever wanted to speak… no father ever wanted to say.
Leonel knew well that Elise had found out that she was pregnant not long ago. He knew well that Rollan knew this truth as well. He even knew that Goggles' had sacrificed himself knowing this about as well as any one of them did.
And yet, Rollan still spoke these words.
Leonel felt the burden on his back increase once again, his limbs quaking and tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He was so shaken that he completely didn't realize that Rollan's form of address had changed.
Alexandre didn't interrupt, a cold smile curling his lip. Interrupting now would only make them resolve themselves even quicker. He didn't want to push Leonel one way or another. He wanted Leonel to feel the weight of the decision himself.
He had already made his ultimatum as clear as it came. If Leonel didn't bow down, he would kill them all one by one. He didn't need to say anything more.
Seeing Leonel struggle, Rollan smiled, his eyes closing as the rain washed away his tears.
"We… have already made… our choice… King."
Leonel's heart trembled.
He thought back to that day Rollan and Elise marched through their small town and stormed the Lord's Manor. Despite being a feeble and petite woman, Elise held onto the heaviest weapon she could with both hands and walked side by side with her husband.
That day, neither of them knew what to expect. They had no idea what kind of strength Leonel had. For all they knew, that was the final day they would be on this earth together. Yet, they had still done it… together.
Leonel remembered asking Rollan how he had managed to hold together his emotions and make such a decision. As powerful as Aina was now, if there ever came a time where Leonel surpassed her by a large margin and had to enter a dangerous situation… He simply couldn't imagine taking her with him. He would rather face death alone and protect her to his back.
But, the response he received from Rollan back then was far simpler than anything he could have ever imagined…
'… I just asked her… I asked her if she was willing to share life and death with me… Then, I trusted her decision.'
The stone beneath Leonel's fists shattered, the chattering of his teeth growing to the point it seemed he just might break his own jaw clenching so hard.
His heartbeat rose, his blood surging through his veins like dragons. His skin sizzled and his eyes regained their green, two tear droplets finally falling and rebounding against the muddied ground.
"Are you willing?"
Leonel's voice was soft, but it held a penetrating power that seemed to travel through to all of their ears.
Rollan's smile grew wider as his eyes remained closed. Images of his wife and what his unborn child might have looked like swirled in his mind.
"I am willing, My King."
Those were Rollan's last words. Blood fell from the corner of his lips, his smile forever dipped in crimson that even the rain didn't seem capable of washing away.
His voice lingered in the air, echoing throughout the ravaged Capital.
Alexandre had never thought Rollan would do such a thing. Even though he hadn't taken action, he had known the most important information about all of Leonel's lieutenants.
Could it really be that Goggles could stop him from killing someone he wanted to? He was in the mighty Fifth Dimension, all those here were nothing more than ants to him. He had merely allowed Goggles to do as he pleased because he decided that the emotional damage would be far more if things happened in this way. He had even known of Rollan's wife and unborn child. Wasn't that why he was so confident that this wouldn't happen?
And yet… what was happening now?
Leonel gripped his fists, his hands and knees still on the ground and his eyes never looking up.
"I am willing."
Castello stood at the barrier, a wild grin on his face as he plunged a dagger into his chest.
"I am willing."
Miles looked up in the skies, his heart trembling as he used his Force to shatter it.
"I am willing."
"I am willing."
Leonel gripped his fists tighter and tighter, the weight on his back becoming heavier and heavier.
His arms and legs trembled, his body threatening to collapse to the floor. Every voice that sounded out shook him to the core. He just wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. He didn't care if it ripped his throat apart or if his chest burst beneath the pressure.
But he held it in, listening to each and every one of them and imprinting their voices onto his soul.
Castello laughed into the skies as his eyes dimmed, his burly body teetering back and forth.
"Farewell, My King!"
The bodies fell to the ground one after another, a sea of blood seeping through.
The rain fell heavier, washing the river of red onto Leonel's hands and feet as though to stain him for a life time.
When the voices finally faded, Leonel slowly looked up.
His every action seemed heavy. Even though it was true that his body was injured, it seemed to be more than that. Even his injuries shouldn't have made him reach such a point.
It felt as though it took several minutes, but Leonel finally stood to his feet, his gaze locking onto Alexandre.
An ocean of crimson around him, a mountain of corpses laying at his feet, and a burden the likes of which was so heavy he almost sunk back to his knees…
Yet, he stood, his eyes glowing a fiery violet light.
"This burden. I will take it."
There was no one left for Leonel to speak to other than Alexandre.
At that moment, Alexandre's gaze flickered with rage. He felt a fury the likes of which made him want to tear the world to shreds.
Unable to control himself any longer, he roared and struck outward.
By the time he realized what he had done, his arm had run through Leonel's chest. However, all he saw in the latter's gaze was an eerie calmness even as his heart was shattered.
Somehow, even though he had won… Alexandre felt that he lost.
Leonel's corpse fell to the ground, drowned in a river of blood.