"Here it comes! Leon's Zenith Art!"
The words escaped the lips of a young man seated before a monitor, Alex, as he rapidly tapped the 'X' button on his controller, having just switched to his strongest defensive character.
Displayed on the screen was a lone man facing off against a team of five, with a long black-bordered bar hovering above his head, only 10% filled with red.
[Thunder Bringer!]
Purple lightning exploded across the battlefield, arcing violently as dark clouds split open to unleash a colossal bolt of lightning that struck the player's team.
The entire field turned a deep violet as the absolute attack landed, ignoring defence stats and tearing into the health bars beneath each playable character's icon.
The blast drained 20% of every character's health, but Alex didn't mind since he'd kept them safely around 50% throughout the gruelling three-phase boss battle.
As the screen cleared, a cutscene began to play. The team's tank fell to his knees, his massive shield cracking apart as lingering lightning left his body partly paralysed.
The protagonist dashed toward him worriedly, only for the tank to grab her hand and shout.
[Go! He's exhausted now!]
Just then, the mage rushed forward, magic power erupting from their body as they activated their battlesuit's Overdrive.
[I'll cover you! Get to him!!]
Hearing this, the protagonist tightened her grip on her sword and launched herself forward.
The boss, down on one knee, looked up and unleashed a wave of purple energy, summoning lightning spears that rained from above and burst from the ground around him.
However, the mage's Overdrive unleashed a volley of magic missiles that collided with the lightning spears in mid-air, detonating them before they could reach the protagonist.
The cutscene immediately changed to a quick time event, where Alex took control of the protagonist as she dodged the lightning spears erupting from the ground while charging toward the boss.
Finally, the protagonist closed the distance to the weakened boss and unleashed her own Zenith Art, driving her sword through his chest to end the battle.
This triggered the final cutscene of the battle, where the boss staggered backwards, gasping for breath as he pushed the protagonist's blade from his chest.
Blood dripped from his lips, and with a depreciating laugh, he muttered,
[…I have been defeated…]
A final burst of magic erupted from his body, accompanied by the sound of something cracking.
He slowly rose to his feet and locked eyes with the protagonist, who raised her sword, shaking his head.
[Lower your weapon. I have no desire to fight anymore.]
[…Leon,] she muttered his name, a conflicted expression on her face.
The man turned around and stepped forward, and the surroundings shattered like glass as the alternate-dimensional space they were in crumbled, bringing them back to the giant, expansive throne hall of a castle.
Leon walked up the dais, his breath heavy as he spoke to the protagonist behind him.
[My death would unseal the elder Raviaz. His strength would be most useful for you in dealing with the aftermath of the invasion on Citera.]
With those words, Leon plopped down onto the broken throne, his eyes fixed on the protagonist, who stared back at him with clouded eyes.
She couldn't understand.
Leon had been public enemy number one. He had used his military rank and status to gather vital information about Citera and sold it all to the invaders, climbing their ranks in the process.
Then, after defeating him and the Ruler of the Invaders, they believed it was over, only to discover that Leon was not truly dead.
They could only watch in shock as he literally backstabbed the wounded Ruler and viciously mutilated their body before absorbing all of their power and poisoning them to death.
Knowing all this, she had only one question.
[…why?]
The hatred she once felt when Leon had betrayed her during that fateful battle faded.
All that remained was a deep, endless desire to know the reason why.
What exactly was his motive?
At this, Leon, elbow propped up on the cracked armrest, raised an eyebrow in surprise, clearly not having expected the question.
Still, he answered.
[Why, huh?]
His gaze grew distant, and he sighed before continuing.
[The answer to that question is something everyone knows, and yet no one realizes it.]
After giving such a response, Leon waved his hand dismissively and added, [Leave. This place…]
The entire castle began to rumble as cracks spread across the floor.
[…is coming down soon.]
As the building shook and chunks of the ceiling fell from above, the protagonist hurried to her wounded and exhausted companions. She helped them lift the injured tank and began carrying him out of the crumbling hall.
But just before they stepped outside, she stopped and looked back at Leon one last time.
Leon met her gaze in silence, and after a few seconds, she turned and left.
A sombre melody began to play as Leon, left alone in the collapsing castle, looked up through the gap in the ceiling where the evening sunlight streamed down.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he muttered quietly,
[I succeeded… … **BAAAMM!!
The sound of his final word was drowned out by the roar of the castle collapsing atop him.