Walking down the street, Tolav, the last spy, had just returned from the brief meeting he had with Voren. As the leader of that mission, it was necessary to communicate as much as possible about how each step was being carried out. He had always been like that since childhood. Nothing but perfection was safe enough. He stopped in front of the inn with an expressionless face.
'Where is everyone? I can only sense Berlin's magic...'
That was why his suspicion grew even stronger when he could barely sense any of his companions' magic inside the place. He was not the type to fall into traps so easily. Taking out his magic communication stone, he was about to contact Voren when a wave of fire instantly melted the stone. Looking at his burned hand, his eyes found Leon sitting on top of the inn.
"I was about to follow you as soon as I figured out where you were. But since you came to me, I have no complaints."
Inside the inn, the spy who had provided the information was unconscious and tied up. That man was Berlin. Tolav tried to sense whether there were any civilians or the owners of the place, but apparently, everyone had disappeared.
"Isn't that Lord Leon?"
"Oh, it really is him. Should we get a little closer?"
Some civilians looked up in surprise. Leon had lowered his hood, making him easy to recognize, as though he didn't care about being identified. At first, he had truly intended to infiltrate the place to gather information, but Elara's words had made Leon want to finish everything quickly.
"Where are the other civilians and the owner?"
"Well... I gathered everyone together outside the city. As for the owner, he's being held near the first people I captured. I thought I'd capture him last, but it was easier than I imagined."
Tolav was just about to use magic to capture a civilian when he felt his clothes being grabbed around the waist. Leon was already behind him. Gritting his teeth, he turned around and launched a wind-element spell toward Leon. The civilians behind him would be caught in the attack, but he didn't care because he needed to escape from that place as quickly as possible.
"Wind Bom-"
"Charged Burst."
Interrupted, Leon activated his magic first and surged forward enveloped in a large amount of flames erupting from his feet. The two of them reached the clouds at that very moment. Not wanting to waste time, Tolav unleashed the spell he had been preparing moments earlier directly at Leon's face, creating an explosion that tore apart part of the clouds.
Tolav wrapped his body in wind, forcing Leon to let go of his leg. Spinning through the air, a burst of wind erupted from his entire body, creating an explosion that spread over a large part of the city. The civilians looked up in concern, and some had already begun running away. The city guards arrived near the inn and looked toward the sky. Some even thought about heading straight toward the explosion, especially the Rank Seven mages, but they were stopped by their leader.
"Gale."
Tolav wrapped his body in wind, forcing Leon to release his leg. Spinning through the air, a burst of wind erupted from his entire body, creating a wind explosion that spread over a large part of the city. The civilians looked up in concern, and some had already begun running away. The city guards arrived near the inn, looking toward the sky. Some even thought about heading straight toward the explosion, especially the Rank Seven mages, but they were stopped by their leader.
"That magic belongs to Lord Leon. Don't interfere, because it must be something important. Check the place to see if there's anything unusual."
"Yes, sir."
The guards began entering the inn and saw a large white strip running through the middle of the place, while a man lay unconscious on the floor.
'Spies here. Capture all of them and send a message to the king saying the order has been carried out. Oh, and while you're at it, go pick up a few people at the location I marked in the letter on top of the table.'
The guards looked at each other in surprise before turning toward the table. A letter was resting on top of a mug of beer. Since they trusted Leon's judgment, they immediately went to carry out the orders.
"Cutting Gale."
Without waiting to see whether he had injured Leon, Tolav began launching attack after attack toward the explosion. The magic he used was even stronger, capable of slicing through the explosion with countless cuts.
"Protective Aura of the God of Wind."
Letting out a sigh, Tolav summoned a barrier around his own body. Leon was an extremely dangerous opponent, in addition to possessing a powerful title. Giving him any opportunity to attack was the same as asking to die. After activating his defensive magic, he began flying away. Leon emerged from those attacks with several wounds across his body and immediately pursued his opponent through the skies.
'Charged Burst and Imperfect Crimson Shell.'
The crimson aura of the Crimson Shell covered his body. The acceleration was so great that he overtook his opponent, giving himself enough time to spin with a kick already prepared. Tolav was caught by surprise and couldn't dodge. The force of the impact sent him flying straight back toward where they had been, while blood poured from his nose.
'There's no way I can escape. That monster will always be able to catch me.'
He had already tried that more than once during the fight, and it had never worked. Unfortunately, he would have to fight to kill his opponent. The only problem was that his opponent was Leon. Gathering his magic at the tips of two fingers, wind began swirling around them as he calmed himself.
"Explosive Fire Spear."
Leon appeared above him with his spear aimed at his head. Without closing the distance, he launched an explosion of fire toward the wind mage.
"Wind Blade."
Tolav swung his arm toward the attack, and a blade of wind began extending from his fingers. The two attacks collided, but Tolav's gained the advantage by slicing through the fire explosion.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Even though the battle had lasted only a short time, both of them were already badly injured. Leon showed no signs of fatigue, but Tolav knew that fighting someone of Rank Ten was difficult, even for someone who was also Rank Ten and possessed a title, like Leon.
'I've always remained in the shadows to help my lord, so I never managed to obtain a title.'
Raising his wind blade high, Tolav felt a slight sense of regret for never having stepped out of the shadows. It was only a slight regret because he would never regret standing by his lord's side. The person who had helped him reach that level.
'Even if I die, I'll take one of his arms with me.'
Swinging his hand toward Leon, a gigantic slash of wind tore across the sky. That was one of the strongest attacks he possessed, so it should inflict serious damage on Leon, just like the previous ones.
'This is dangerous, but...'
Leon held his spear in front of him and activated his title to its fullest. The air around him began to burn, and his spear took on a new form, with the image of a lion at its center. Without dodging the attack, Leon thrust forward with all his strength, creating a hole in the air and completely destroying his opponent's strike. Tolav had to move quickly to the side to avoid being hit. The attack continued forward until it struck a mountain below, carving an enormous crater into its surface. Sweat ran down Tolav's forehead as he once again assumed his fighting stance.
'I take back what I said. Before I die, I'll try to tear off at least one of his hands.'