- The high-ranking demon's cruel grin widened, its eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Now," it hissed, "we can finally begin."
- Leon's hand trembled on the hilt of his sword, a cold, calculated fury simmering beneath his skin.
- 'You wanted to break me' he thought, his gaze sweeping over his unconscious friends.
- 'You wanted to force me into a battle on your terms. You've succeeded'.
- 'But you've also made a fatal mistake'. The demon had awakened a part of him that had been dormant since his arrival in this world: the cold, ruthless pragmatist who understood that emotions were a weapon to be wielded, not a chain to be bound by.
- He took a deep breath, and his posture shifted. His anger didn't vanish; he simply folded it into his core, a source of inexhaustible fuel.
- He remembered his sensei, Logan's, words: "The greatest swordsman is not the one who fights with passion, but the one who can turn their rage into a fine, sharp blade."
- He charged, not with a roar, but with a terrifying, silent speed that shattered the demon's composure.
- The General's grin faltered, replaced by a flicker of genuine shock.
- Leon was a blur of motion, his sword no longer just a weapon but an extension of his will.
- He didn't just parry the demon's massive claws; he redirected their force, using the demon's own immense power against it.
- He wove through its attacks with a grace born of a hundred lifetimes of combat, finding the weak points he had observed while his friends fought: the joints in its armor, the soft tissue beneath its grotesque limbs.
- The demon retaliated with a barrage of dark magic, but Leon was ready.
- He deflected the bolts with the flat of his blade, his movements precise and efficient.
- He was relentless, a one-man army carving a path through the demon's defenses.
- The General roared in frustration, its monstrous attacks growing more desperate and wild.
- It had anticipated a fighter driven by blind fury, not a strategist who had weaponized his rage.
- Leon saw his opening. The demon, in a desperate attempt to create distance, exposed its core, a pulsating, crimson orb in the center of its chest.
- With a final, explosive burst of speed, Leon plunged his sword deep into the demon's core. The General shrieked, a sound of pure agony.
- Its body began to dissolve, a black smoke pouring from its wound before it completely dissipated, leaving nothing but a faint, corrupted power core on the cavern floor.
- The silence that followed was a heavy blanket, broken only by Leon's ragged breathing.
- He stood there for a moment, his sword still dripping with dark energy, his rage ebbing away, replaced by the crushing weight of concern for his friends.
- He didn't bother with the power core; his only thought was for them.
- He looked for them and found them scattered across the chamber, bruised and unconscious.
- Noah was clutching his arm, Anna was motionless, William was still on his knees, and Olivia and Rose were a few feet away.
- He walked towards Rose, dropped to his knees beside her, his heart pounding in his chest.
- He placed his hand on her chest, his mana, a soft, healing light, flowing from his body.
- The mana flowed into his other friends as well, a gentle, restorative energy that slowly began to mend their broken bones and heal their bruised bodies.
- He didn't stop healing until their color returned to their faces and their breathing became steady.
- One by one, they began to stir. Noah groaned, his eyes fluttering open. "Leon... what happened?"
- Anna sat up, groggy and confused. "Did we... did we win?"
- William pushed himself up, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and bewilderment
- He looked at Leon, then at the empty space where the demon had been. "You... you defeated it. Alone."
- Leon just smiled, a small, weary smile of profound relief. "We did it, as a team. You all fought bravely. Now, let's get you all back to the academy."
- As they made their way out of the dungeon, battered but victorious, Leon knew that this was just the beginning.
- They had faced a high-ranking demon and won, but the Principality and demon's game was far from over.
- He had a team, a team he would protect at all costs.
-The next time, they would face every challenges together.