The backup plan existed in case Leon arrived earlier than expected. Their strength was still not enough to defeat him in a direct confrontation. The most they could do was send troops to buy time while they escaped.
At the center of one of the rooms, a crack appeared in the air, and Leon stepped out of it with a slightly irritated expression. The way he had managed to enter was quite simple. After sensing a specific point in the magic out on the street, he forced his way into the dimension. It seemed that this space could prevent weaker individuals from entering, but those who were truly powerful were capable of detecting it and invading it after a few minutes.
"Attack now!"
The moment Leon's feet touched the floor, numerous holes opened all across the room—in the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor itself. Mages and knights emerged from every opening. In total, there were one hundred enemies. Seventy were Rank Six, twenty-one were Rank Seven, and nine were Rank Eight.
"Red Lumina Blade!"
"Lumina Sin!"
"Curse Breath!"
A storm of spells rushed toward Leon, completely surrounding him without leaving the slightest opening to dodge. The only problem with that strategy... was that Leon didn't need to dodge.
Raising one hand slightly, he summoned the new magic he had been training just moments earlier.
"Scarlet Spear Rain."
Dozens of scarlet spears appeared around his body, and with a simple movement of his fingers, they shot toward each of the enemy spells. Even though there were only fifty spears, they destroyed every attack before continuing forward. Then they pierced through the mages and knights. Every Rank Six user died instantly, the Rank Sevens were gravely injured, and the Rank Eights survived only with severe wounds.
"Damn monster."
"We really can only hold him off for a while."
"Even so, some of us might still survi—"
Before the Rank Seven knight could finish speaking, his body began to be consumed by flames, just like the other Rank Seven mages and knights. That was the secondary effect Leon had added to the spears. When an opponent was struck by that technique, Leon's mana connected to the target's mana. The moment they came into contact, boiling fire was generated inside the target's body, continuously burning them until someone with stronger magic nullified the effect or the target managed to endure it.
'But even if they endure it, they'll still suffer tremendous internal damage.'
That was exactly what was happening to the Rank Eight mages at that moment. Even though they managed to endure it, they all felt their bodies burning from the inside. The Rank Seven users were completely consumed by the flames and died, leaving only the stronger Rank Eights alive.
Leon raised his hand toward them, but before he could launch another attack, a new hole opened directly above his head. A Rank Nine knight descended with his sword infused with all of his strength. The blade struck Leon's head, triggering a massive explosion of crimson mana.
"Did it work?"
One of the Rank Eight knights stared at the smoke with hope that the blow had inflicted a serious injury. To his disappointment, the Rank Nine knight landed beside him and clicked his tongue.
"No. I only caused a minor wound. That monster's durability is on another level."
Suddenly, the cloud of smoke was torn apart by several fireballs that rained down upon them. Two Rank Eight mages died instantly, while the others barely managed to dodge.
The knight who had been standing farther away was shocked to realize that Leon had already appeared behind him. Leon's fist pierced through his chest, killing him instantly. After throwing the corpse aside, Leon turned his gaze toward the remaining enemies. When he spoke, his voice was so cold that it made them all shudder.
"I don't care if you'll come back to life. I'll kill every single one of you anyway."
The mages who had fallen to the ground had already returned to life and were pretending to be dead so they could ambush Leon. That was why they were all completely stunned when they heard those words.
"He already knew?"
"How? Someone who just arrived shouldn't figure that out so quickly."
Just as they were about to get up, a massive wave of fire engulfed the entire room, burning the furniture and reducing their bodies to ashes. That sea of flames had been released by Leon himself, its power amplified by his title.
The Rank Nine knight watched everything in disbelief. Leon had already activated the Battlefield Lion title.
"Why the surprise? You should know what you've done."
The moment Leon took a step forward, the temperature rose to the point that the Rank Eight mages and knights struggled even to breathe.
"You didn't just attack my subordinates... You also kidnapped my wife and my Elara."
At that moment, Enrico had completely allowed Leon's emotions to take control. Because of that, there was only one thought in his mind: end this situation as quickly as possible and find them.
His fingers moved slowly until a snap echoed throughout the entire room.
"But you're lucky. Since I need to hurry, everyone in this room will die quickly."
While that massacre was taking place, five people were running toward a specific room. Maito and Solene were leading the group. The knight constantly looked behind him. Now that so many people had survived and discovered his betrayal, there was no turning back.
'The best option is simply to run away... but I'm still curious about one thing.'
"Lady Solene, what do you really think of Leon?"
Solene, who was still trying to calm herself after her earlier irritation, was caught slightly off guard. After thinking for a moment, she looked at Maito without showing any expression.
"When I abandoned him, I thought he was a complete failure because he had been born with so little mana."
"And now?"
"...Now... well, he's someone very useful. Unfortunately, he would never stand on our side, so I want to find a way to keep him in the palm of my hand."
"I see... then we think in very different ways."
Solene silently watched the knight's back. She had raised him since childhood, so she was certain that question had been asked out of pure curiosity.
"Why ask that? Are you afraid he'll defeat us?"
"Afraid?"
Maito remained silent for a few seconds, leaving Solene bewildered. Normally, that boy was the very embodiment of confidence. When his shoulders began to tremble, she truly believed he was afraid. But it wasn't fear.
"He can't defeat us... because without me, he would be nothing."
When Maito turned his head toward her, Solene realized that, even hidden behind his helmet, his eyes were shining brilliantly. There was no fear in them, only genuine excitement and enormous curiosity to see how everything would end from that point onward.