Chapter 434: Neutralized
(Juxta Military Base, The Next morning, Leo’s POV)
Next morning, Leo found himself sparring against Charles once more, this time within the base’s crude training facility, as a large crowd gathered to watch the two go at it again.
The crowd was particularly curious to see how much stronger Leo had become since their last brutal encounter, and they were not disappointed by what he showed, as his improvements in such a short time had many in the audience buzzing with excitement.
Charles, ever the showman, stood across from Leo with a rusted plumbing pipe resting on his shoulder and not a trace of shame on his face as he twirled it between his fingers like it was a master-crafted sword.
"Don’t hold back," Leo said, rolling his shoulders as he twirled his twin daggers into a reverse grip, his eyes locked onto Charles with quiet intensity.
"Do you want me to use two hands this round or continue using just one?" Charles replied, smirking as he gave the pipe a little flourish, drawing a few chuckles from the crowd.
Leo didn’t respond with words. He responded by lunging forward.
*CRACK*
Their first exchange echoed through the dome as metal clashed against metal, Leo’s daggers moving in swift arcs, slicing with surgical precision, while Charles used the sheer reach of his pipe to keep Leo’s mobility in check, countering with wide sweeps and deceptively powerful jabs that forced Leo to step back each time he tried to close the distance.
But something was different today.
Each time Leo’s emotions spiked, whether it was from irritation when a strike got too close, or a grin when he managed to produce a proper sequence he was proud of, his movements suddenly grew faster, sharper, his strikes heavier, as if his body were unlocking hidden reserves he hadn’t known existed.
’What the hell? That strike was way stronger than the last one. I used the same stance, put the same amount of force behind it, but the output was very different...’
He realized, as he noticed a pattern beginning to form.
Regardless of what sort of emotion he felt, whether it was frustration, joy, anger, bloodlust, or even sheer will, his body suddenly became stronger, the more emotional he felt.
The Codex had informed him yesterday that this would happen, however, Leo never expected it to be this powerful, as he felt a minimum of 10-20% increase in his striking power when his emotions spiked.
"Kid... You’re drawing strength from your emotions, aren’t you?" Charles asked mid-swing, raising an eyebrow.
Leo didn’t deny it.
"I think... yeah. I don’t know why, but the more I feel, the more I can pull out of my body. It’s like every emotion acts as a boost. Anger, joy, hunger for battle, anything. Even panic."
Charles grinned.
"That happens when you master the first stage of aura, as after that point, emotions become a tool to unlock power, just like mana.
They become an energy you can draw from, and it has a passive boost on your strength output" Charles explained, as he replicated the same results within himself, to show Leo that he could do it too.
"You can get anywhere between a 1% to a 50% boost in strength by learning how to harness emotions, but don’t rely on it too much.
The more you use it early on in your life, the number you become to it later on, making it harder and harder to keep drawing from it.
So use it sparingly and for special occasions only!" Charles warned, as Leo nodded in understanding.
The duo kept going, their weapons colliding over and over as the fight turned more theatrical.
Leo leapt over sweeping strikes, while Charles continued to dodge with minimal effort, the two moving so quickly that only the highest-ranked soldiers in the crowd could follow their limbs clearly.
But then, mid-exchange, they both felt it.
A subtle spike. A disruption in the atmosphere, as the color red wasped into their vision, looking suspicious in a place that was meant to be safe.
Leo’s eyes flicked sideways for just a second, and he saw it. A distinct red aura, shimmering like a mist, pooling around one of the spectators standing at the far right edge of the viewing gallery.
’Bloodlust!’
Leo thought, as he checked the threat out while continuing to spar, as he tried to gauge his strength level, but to his surprise failed, as the man seemed to be wearing some form of a cloaking device.
’Trouble–’ Leo thought, as he glanced towards Charles, who seemed to be checking out the same guy.
Unlike him, Charles’s mastery over the realm of intent allowed him to see more than just the bloody red pooling around the strange man.
Unlike him who just saw aura, Charles could see intent too, and he saw a sharp crimson threat extending from the man’s position toward his neck, showing the precise trajectory of where the would-be assassin intended to strike him to take him out if given the chance.
’Did you see that, kid?’ Charles asked without speaking, his eyes briefly flicking toward the assassin before returning to Leo, without missing a beat.
’Yeah, I did,’ Leo replied silently as he acknowledged the signal with a slight nod.
As at that moment, the duo decided to work together on the fly to take the threat out at once.
*SWOOSH*
Leo flicked a dagger up into the air, and before gravity could reclaim it, Charles twisted his body into a clean spin, slamming the pipe in his hands into the handle of the tossed blade like a baseball bat, as he sent the dagger flying towards the assassin’s neck.
*CLANG*
The dagger turned into a silver streak, slicing through the air with frightening speed.
*SLAM*
The assassin saw it too late, as although he moved, he did not move fast enough, the blade slicing through his skin and drawing gasps from the crowd, none of whom understood what the hell had just happened, except for the three involved.
’Shit, they saw through my disguise—’ The assassin thought, as he turned to run, knowing full well that his cover was blown.
However, unfortunately for him, he didn’t get too far.
Before he could take even a dozen steps, Charles was already gone from his previous spot.
There was no noise. No warning.
Just the sight of a severed head rolling across the slightly dirty floor, followed by a collapsing body.
Not a single person saw how it happened.
Even Leo had to blink twice before realizing the old man had just moved faster than his eyes could track, as nobody quite saw how Charles killed him, that too with a pipe that had no sharp edges at all.
"Huh?" Leo muttered in confusion, as Charles calmly reappeared beside him, the pipe still in his hand, his face back to its usual lazy smile.
"Just a lousy righteous faction agent, nothing much to worry about." he assured, barely loud enough for Leo to hear.
As Leo did not respond.
He just stared at the corpse.
Because for all his growth, for all the progress he had made...
He still realized that he was not even as strong as an ant in front of the real big shots of this universe.