A resounding CLANG reverberated across the battlefield as Rafthin's rusted blade met Leonel's spear.
To the former's surprise, Leonel met him head on without much issue, the chains of the spear suddenly lashing out to wrap around his broad sword.
Rafthin quickly tried to retreat, but Leonel had reacted too fast. Though he managed to pull back before the chains could wrap all the way around, the momentum he lost from freeing himself left him far short of the pillar he was aiming for.
Rafthin plummeted down from the skies. It seemed for a moment that just like this, his life would be forfeit.
But it was then that what looked like an energy platform appeared beneath his feet, saving him from his fall and allowing him to jump back to one of the pillars.
Leonel raised an eyebrow, his gaze locking onto Wissan in the distance.
'An energy shield ability could be used with such flexibility, hm? His range is also not bad at all.'
Energies of clashing hot and cold reverberated around Leonel, the lingering impact of Rafthin's strike persisting. But, the harsh pulling and pushing Force didn't seem to impact Leonel very much.
"Attack together." Wissan said. "I will cover you."
Emna and Rafthin took the hint. And judging by their demeanors, it was clear that they were very much serious this time.
Leonel smiled for a moment before his gaze turned an eerie cold for the first time since the battle began.
The temperature seemed to plummet and the energies stilled. Even the howling winds slowed by a measure, all sound seemingly vanishing.
Bright white-gold wings appeared to Leonel's back once again, a surge of winds picking up around his feet as he shot forward, missing Emna's pincer from the side and clashing with Rafthin in the air.
His spear skimmed across the flat of Rafthin's blade. The latter, who had been expecting another clash of strength, felt as though he was swinging against air.
This should have been the perfect opportunity. With Wissan's support, and Leonel's lack of the same, the result should have been obvious. The battle should have been decided the moment Leonel was foolish enough to leave his pillar.
However, was Leonel really such a fool?
Leonel slid by Rafthin in the air, wrapping to his back in a single motion.
Kicking out with his leg, he both used Rafthin as leverage to gather up his momentum once again and send him tumbling down toward the harsher winds below at a faster speed.
Wissan's pupils contracted as he realized Leonel's target was himself from the very beginning. But the question was, would he protect himself by placing several shields between him and Leonel to prevent the latter from reaching him? Or, would he save Rafthin?
Wissan's expression changed. The speed Rafthin was suddenly falling through the air at was too fast. It didn't even give him much time to think about it all.
Not only would Rafthin soon be out of his range. But, even if he managed to stay within his range, the harsh winds would put a lot of pressure on his energy shields. There was no telling if they would last long enough to help Rafthin out.
'Dammit.' Wissan's visage warped. He was so used to being calm and collected, but it felt as though a single move had already driven him into a corner. 'Aren't you supposed to be a battle expert?! How did you lose so thoroughly in a single exchange?!'
If it wasn't for Rafthin being so easily handled, none of this would have happened.
What Wissan didn't know, though, was that if every battle had to be decided in a single exchange… The last person you wanted to fight would be Leonel.
The fact that Rafthin was in the air and couldn't easily change his attack method only sealed his fate all the more. In these last two years, Leonel's Dream Simulations had practically reached a point of perfection in the Fourth Dimension. Now that his mind was in the Fifth Dimension, the gap was even more exaggerated.
It was then that Wissan met Leonel's cold eyes through the air, his body involuntarily freezing.
Those eyes… Could they even be considered human?
Wissan forgot to act, hardly realizing it when Leonel had already stepped before him, his spear swinging outward. Even though Wissan was at the very edge of the largest pillar, a place that should have been plenty secure, he still felt as though he was quickly falling into an abyssal hell.
The pressure Leonel exuded was the likes of which he had never seen before. He could see endless bloody battlefields and a blade that carved through them all with a cold, calm precision.
The weight of everything Leonel had experienced bore down on his soul, sinking him beneath waves of despair, horror and pain.
His knees collapsed, his eyes rolling back. A sickly paleness took over his skin, the chubbiness of his cheeks trembling as he sunk to the ground.
Leonel's spear didn't even get to land before it came to a grinding halt.
His cold eyes flickered for a moment, regaining some humanity. He looked at Wissan kneeling before him, his mouth bubbling with saliva, his nose running, and tears streaking down his face.
'Hm?'
According to his simulation, he would defeat Wissan in three exchanges. By then, he predicted Emna would do something to save Rafthin, but their precarious position would quickly lead to their defeat as well.
But now, Wissan had collapsed before he could even do anything, resulting in Emna still diving through the air to catch Rafthin.
If he wanted, he could kill them both right this very moment and it wouldn't even be very difficult. Clearly, even the thoughtful and meticulous Emna hadn't expected Wissan to simply collapse just like this.
The area around Wissan cleared out, no one wanting to travel too closely to Leonel for fear that he would kill them all.
A heavy silence hung overhead, one even the perpetrator himself hadn't quite expected.