The sky above Elyndra had never felt so heavy. Leon stood amidst the cracked stone courtyard smoke still curling from shattered walls. The once proud western gate of the city lay fractured black scorch marks carved into ancient stone like scars that would never fully fade.
The invasion had ended not with the final clash of armies not with a hero's triumphant blade but with a conversation. And somehow that felt far more terrifying.
Knights began moving again cautiously assisting the wounded. Healers rushed forward. White rogue priests chanting restoration spells.
The tension hadn't vanished only shifted. Every gaze eventually found him. The unarmed civilian who had walked into the battlefield. The man the Demon General had spoken to.
Leon swallowed.
"Why are they looking at me like that?"
[Because you just convinced an S rank calamity to withdraw using emotional reasoning.]
"that sounds way cooler than what actually happened."
[It was objectively impressive. Do not let it inflate your ego.]
"I wasn't going to-." A heavy bootstep interrupted him. Leon turned. A knight approached armor polished but scratched from battle. A Crimson plume extended from his helm marking higher rank.
The man removed his helmet. Sharp features hardened eyes. "You" the knight said. Leon raised a hand weakly. "Hi"
"you spoke to the Demon General".
"Yes" he pause "and she listened.Technically" the knight studied him carefully.
"My name is Captain Darius of Westwatch. Explain yourself" Leon's brain scrambled.
Explain what? that a sarcastic system told him to build a world saving harem?
[Suggest partial truth.Omit system]
Right?
"I saw something" Leon said slowly. "She wasn't attacking out of pleasure. She was angry Betrayed."
Murmurs spread among nearby nights. Captain Darius frowned. "You claim insight into a demon general's motives?"
"I just guessed" that wasn't entirely false. Darius's eyes narrowed. "You are either a foo... or something far more dangerous." Leon forced a laugh. "Definitely the first one." Silence stretched.
Finally Darius exhaled. "Regardless the city stands because of your interference." Leon blinked. "You're not arresting me?" "for what?" Darius asked flatly "Stopping an S-Rank.Invasion?"
"Fairpoint." The captain stepped closer. "But know this the moment she returns. If she does you will answer for your involvement." Leon smiled weakly. "Great no pressure." Darius signaled to his men and walked away.
Leon exhaled. "I'm alive.Still"
[Status: Stable]
[Reputation in Westwatch: Undefined]
"That doesn't sound comforting."
[It means they do not know whether to praise you or fear you]
"Can I choose praise?"
[Unlikely.]
Leon looked around the battered courtyard.
Elyndra.
He was truly here now. Not as a reader not as a gamer but as someone whose choices could tip the balance of an entire world. A soft chime echoed in his mind.
[New objective Unlock]
Recruit Seraphine Vale]
[Current Rank: A]
[Projected growth after bond: S-rank]
Leon groaned. "Already."
[Time-sensitive opportunity detected.]
"Where is she?" The system highlighted a direction
[Eastern training grounds elevated mana signature detected.]
Leon sighed. "I just survived a Demon General"
[Correct.]
"Can I rest?"
[No.]
"I hate you."
[Acknowledged.]
The eastern training grounds lay atop a stone terrace overlooking the city. Unlike the chaos below this area remained intact. Knights stood in formation and at the center steel clashed.
Leon stopped at the edge. She moved like lightning. A blade of silver flashed in controlled arcs precise and relentless. Each strike forced 3 armored Knights backward simultaneously.
Her long platinum hair flowed behind her like a banner. Her armor was lighter than standard night gear streamlined efficient.
Her eyes ice.
Not emotionally empty.
Just focused again she commanded.
The Knights charged
3 seconds later.
All three were disarmed. She flicked her sword cleanly. "Pathetic."Leon blinked.
"That's Seraphina?"
[Confirm: Seraphina Vale, Age: 19, Rank: A]
[Title: Frostblade prodigy.]
She looked like she'd cut him in half for breathing incorrectly.
[High pride index detected.]
"That's comforting." As if sensing his gaze, Seraphina turn her eyes locked on him instantly. Sharp assessing she lowered her sword slightly.
"You" she said. Leon looked behind him. No one else me. "You were at the Western gate"
"Yes."
"You spoke to the demon"
"Technically yes." She walked toward him each step controlled confident. "You interfered in military matters." Her presence alone felt sharp like standing near a drawn blade.
"I... tried to stop bloodshed"
"By conversing."
Leon scratched his cheek. "It worked." Her eyes narrowed. "Or she chose to spare you." That was... not wrong.
[Reminder: Recruitment required.]
Leon inhaled. "Why are you training instead of celebrating survival?" Her brow twitched slightly. "Because survival is temporary." Not the cheerful type.
"You don't trust the peace." He guessed.
"I trust result" she replied. "Demons do not retreat without strategy." Leon tilted his head. "And if she retreated because she didn't want unnecessary casualties?"
Seraphina's gaze sharpened. "You defend her."
"I understand her." A faint ripple passed through her composure. "And how." She asked slowly. "Does a civilian claim such understanding?" Leon stepped closer.
"Because strength isn't just power it's restraint." Her grip tightened subtly on her sword. He continued carefully.
"You're strong. Everyone here knows that but you're training like you're still trying to prove something."
Silence wind brushed across the terrace. The other nights had discreetly stepped back. Seraphina's voice lowered. "You presume much?"
"Maybe." He held her gaze. "But if another S-rank appears tomorrow would you win?" The question hung heavy. She didn't answer. That alone was answer enough.
[Emotional fluctuation detected]
Leon softened his tone. "You're chasing strength alone but strength without connection isolates you" Her expression hardened instantly.
"I do not require emotional dependence."
"I didn't say dependence."
He met her eyes evenly. "I said connection" for a split second. Something flickered behind the ice. Loneliness gone just as quickly.
"You speak boldly" she said. "I tend to do that when I'm terrified." That caught her off guard. "You admit fear?" "Constantly."
A faint, barely visible, curve touched her lips. Not a smile, but close. "You are strange"
"Been told that." She turned away slightly.
"The demon general will return.When she does I will cut her down." Leon hesitated. "She's not your enemy."
"All demons are"
"Not if they don't want to be." Seraphina's voice turned colder. "You trust too easily and you trust too little." The air between them felt charged.
Two philosophies clashing.
[Bond compatibility: High conflict potential.]
"Oh that's just great." Leon muttered internally. Seraphina turned sharply.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
She studied him for a long moment. "Then-"
"If you claim understanding" she said "prove it."
She raised her blade, not toward him but held it out. "Fight me." Leon stared at the sword. "You've seen me. I'm clearly not built for this."
"I will suppress my strength."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
"Are you afraid?"
"Yes."
She stepped closer "then overcome it."
The terrace felt suddenly very small.
[Opportunity detected.]
Leon swallowed. "This isn't about winning is it?" Her eyes sharpened.
"No" it wasn't. It was about seeing whether he would stand ,whether he would run, whether he was more than words. Leon exhaled slowly.
"Fine" he took a wooden practice sword from Iraq nearby.It felt awkward in his hand. Seraphina shifted into stance. Graceful perfect begin.
She moved.
Leon barely saw it. Instinctively, he stepped sideways. Her blade cut air where he'd stood.
[Flame authority synchronizing.]
Heat surged faintly through him. Not explosive subtle. His senses sharpened. He saw the angle of her neck strike moved again. Her eyes widened slightly.
She accelerated. Leon stumbled but adjusted. He didn't counterattack. He simply stayed standing.
Three strikes,
Five,
Ten,
The watching Knights murmured. Seraphina's expression shifted. Not frustration curiosity. "You are not trained," she said mid motion. "Nope."
"Yet you adapt."
"Panic helps!"
She stepped back suddenly lowered her blade. The dual end is abruptly as it began. "You are weak" she said.
Leon blinked.
"Thanks?"
"But not fragile." She turned fully toward him.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why involve yourself?"
He thought of Kalithra's trembling flames and Seraphina's relentless training of Elyndra balancing on the edge of war.
"Because strength shouldn't isolate people" he said quietly. "It should protect them."
Silence.
Wind brushed through her hair.
[Bond initiation detected.]
A faint blue shimmer flickered around Seraphina. Her mana signature spiked. The Knights gasped. Frost spread subtly across the terraced stones. Her eyes widened slightly.
"What... is this?"
[Seraphina Vale Rank Ascension Initiated.]
Leon blinked.
"Oh, No."
Mana surged around her in spiraling currents. Her presence sharpened condensed elevated. The Air itselfs seemed to freeze. After several breathless seconds it stabilized.
Seraphina stood still.
Aura transformed.
Sharper deeper stronger.
[Rank Updated: S.]
Leon exhaled weekly. "You're welcome.?"
She looked at her hands then at him.
"You." Her voice held something new.
Not just assessment recognition.
"You changed something." Leon rubbed the back of his neck. "I... encouraged you." Her gaze lingered on him longer this time.
The cold edge had softened. Barely.
"I will confirm this strength."
"Please don't test it on me." A faint huff escaped her almost amusement.
"Leon Ardent."
He stiffened. "You remembered."
"I do not forget names." That was an ominous at all. "I will observe you" she said.