Chapter 887: The inevitable [3]

Leon moved as soon as the elder’s hand fell, driving forward with his right fist drawn back.

He watched Tharvek’s shoulders, expecting him to react to his actions, but he remained still until Leon entered his reach.

A hand closed around his wrist.

Before Leon could pull away, Tharvek turned it aside and stepped into the space behind it. His other hand struck Leon beneath the ribs, and the breath he had been holding left him in a strangled gasp.

"Huek!"

BANG!

Sand rose around Leon’s feet as he skidded backward. He remained standing, though his knees nearly folded when he tried to breathe.

Across from him, Tharvek lowered his hand.

"Again."

Leon swallowed the blood gathering inside his mouth and forced his shoulders to relax.

The difference was that Tharvek wasn’t giving him anything to work with, and even the little openings he offered looked to be bait.

Leon circled to the left, keeping enough distance to react as he gathered mana through his legs. His blood stirred beneath his skin as his entire body warmed up slowly, and he felt the beat of his own heart.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

He stepped forward again, this time aiming at his lower body before suddenly changing direction.

BANG!

Tharvek caught the second strike as easily as the first.

Leon immediately drove his free hand towards his throat, but Tharvek tilted his head, letting the knuckles pass beside his jaw before tightening his grip.

Something cracked inside Leon’s wrist.

Cra Crack!

"Uekh...!"

Leon’s face twisted from the pain, trying to bring his knee up between them and create some space. Tharvek moved closer instead, denying him the space before throwing him across the sand.

Leon landed on his shoulder and rolled, already bringing his arms up when a white robe entered his vision.

The next blow struck his guard.

BANG!

His forearms slammed against his chest, and the ground disappeared beneath him.

For several seconds, all he could hear was a dull ringing alongside the muffled shouts of the crowd around him. He wasn’t sure how far he’d traveled, only that when he finally stopped, sand had filled his mouth and that he could barely move one of his arms.

’Get up.’

He pressed his good hand against the ground, feeling his blood churn even faster than usual.

His mind was still clear enough to follow what was happening, which only made the difference between him and Tharvek clearer.

Tharvek was toying with him

This much... was obvious to him.

Tharvek approached without hurry while the crowd roared above them.

"Kill!"

"Fight back!"

"Fight back! Kill him!"

"Take a look around you. Listen to the cheers around you. None of them care about whether you live or die. All they want is a good show."

Leon dragged himself upright before Tharvek could reach him.

He could still move his legs, and he could still feel his right hand, even if he could barely feel the fingers.

Rather than retreating, Leon stepped forward, letting the blood inside his body boil as strength gathered inside of his body. Leon’s body shot forward right after that as Tharvek’s eyes moved to follow his actions, but Leon’s fist struck before Tharvek could finish raising his arm.

BOOOM—!

A ring of sand burst outward, sweeping across the arena as the impact cracked through the cheering.

For just a moment, the noise ceased as sand spread across the arena, all eyes focused to the middle of the arena.

Then...

As the sand settled, the sight of the two appeared again.

Leon’s fist was firmly clamped under Tharvek’s open palm.

"Kh!"

Leon pushed harder, his shoulder shaking from the sheer strain, but the hand before him didn’t move. Through the settling sand, he could see that Tharvek hadn’t even changed his footing.

"...Better."

The palm turned, closing around Leon’s fist.

Leon tried to withdraw, but Tharvek pulled him forward and drove an elbow into his chest.

"⎯⎯!"

Leon felt his strength leave him almost immediately, and the next thing he felt was a hand against the back of his neck.

BANG!

His face struck the sand hard, and his vision went white for a moment.

When it returned, blood was dripping from his nose, disappearing into the pale sand beneath him. He tried to bring his left arm beneath his body, but it buckled before he could lift himself.

Tharvek released him and straightened, examining the blood that had stained his robes.

"...You chose to stand here despite knowing that you were much weaker than me. At some point, you wonder if this was a decision that came from outside the realm of stupidity."

Leon’s head throbbed, the words sounding strangely distant.

"Do you have a goal in mind? Is that why you chose to challenge me? I agreed because I’m interested..."

A small laugh escaped Tharvek as he turned to face the Elder in the distance.

"...What’s the real goal here?"

Leon’s fingers dug into the sand.

Standing above Leon, the Dune Conqueror slowly raised his gaze past the elder seats and the highest walls of the arena.

The pale sun hung above them, and his smile slowly shrank.

A faint warmth enveloped his body.

***

High above the arena, Dawn watched a dark line crawl beneath Kiera’s skin.

His hand remained closed around the back of her neck, holding her suspended within the pale light of the sun behind them. Below her dangling feet, Karah Togg stretched into the distance, its buildings trembling through the heat.

Kiera clawed at his wrist, struggling to turn towards him, but his grip kept her facing the arena.

"Let... go."

Her voice barely reached him through the wind.

Dawn’s gaze followed the vein creeping from beneath her collar, watching it split into two smaller branches along the side of her throat.

Another cheer rose from the arena, reaching them faintly as Leon managed to push himself onto one knee. Kiera’s fingers tightened around Dawn’s wrist, and the dark veins spread a little farther.

"...S-top."

She wasn’t speaking to him anymore, and Dawn watched her expression with quite a bit of interest.

Dawn tilted her forward slightly, keeping the arena within her sight as Tharvek stepped towards Leon again.

It was hard to see clearly from such a distance, but Dawn made sure she saw it all.

Kiera jerked against his grip.

Black lines climbed past her jaw, branching beneath the skin as her breathing grew uneven.

"Watch."

Dawn’s voice quietly whispered into Kiera’s ears as she felt the strength leave her body, and her ruby red eyes flickered with helplessness.

Below them, Leon was trying to stand again.

But yet again⎯

A kick landed against Leon’s stomach, sending him crashing against the walls of the area as Kiera closed her eyes, the dark veins around her face growing more and more pronounced.

Dawn studied the veins spreading towards Kiera’s eyes, his expression barely changing as she desperately tried to look away from the scenes beneath.

Dawn’s grip remained firm as he muttered,

"...A little more."

***

The stairs continued upward, and I kept climbing.

Every door opened before I reached it. Whenever the passage divided, the white formations illuminated the way ahead, leaving me with nothing to do but follow.

Noel’s weight rested against my back, his breathing faint beside my ear. I adjusted my grip whenever he slipped, careful with how I handled his body. From time to time, I’d make small talk with him as he answered back, but it was much too obvious that he was too weak to speak with me.

Nevertheless, I still talked.

"Do you remember the time when I had to pick you up from Mrs. Rose’s class because you threw one of the food plates onto your classmate’s head?"

"H-he..."

"Or what about the time I had to come and collect you because you ended up fighting the entire class?"

"...."

"You... were really a troublemaker since young, huh?"

RUMBLE!

Something rumbled through the stone.

My foot paused above the next step before I forced it down and my lips pressed together.

I knew what the sound meant before it faded, though I kept my eyes on the stairs ahead.

’It’s already started.’

Leon’s fight.

Blood spread beneath my boot as I took a step forward, filling the shallow cracks in the stairs. When I lifted my foot, I could feel it pulling at the sole, though a glance downward showed nothing but dry stone.

The sound grew louder as I continued to climb, until individual voices began to separate from the distant roar.

’Kill! Kill!’

Every now and then, another impact passed through the walls, making my body tremble before I managed to steady it.

I had heard these cheers before.

The same rise in their voices. The brief silence that followed, and the roar that came after.

Everything was happening exactly as I remembered.

"Julien..."

Noel moved against my back, his fingers pressing weakly against my shoulder.

"S-stop for a moment."

I stopped, finally lifting my head to look at what was ahead of me and realising I had surfaced back onto the first floor. Beyond it, several screens hung above the street, their light washing over the faces gathered beneath them as a certain fight appeared before the entire city.

"Listen... to the cheers."

I didn’t.

Instead, I looked at Leon as he laid on the sand.

Blood covered the lower half of his face as he struggled to raise his head. Tharvek stood nearby, his white robes moving faintly in the wind.

I tightened my grip beneath Noel’s legs and stepped through the archway.

"It’s... happening."

His voice trembled beside my ear.

I kept walking, following the sloping street as the crowd gathered more tightly beneath the screens. Nobody paid attention to us. Whenever Leon moved, their voices rose, and I found myself adjusting Noel’s weight again.

He had slipped a little, and I needed to be careful with the way I was holding him.

"Julien."

RUMBLE!

My body shook as another impact sounded from the screen.

I caught a glimpse of white robes, followed by blood staining the sand, before turning my eyes towards the road ahead.

"D-o you really... not care?"

My lips pressed together, and I continued past the people standing beneath the screen.

Blood covered the street now, stretching between the buildings and gathering around their feet. I watched it ripple with every step I took, unable to find a single patch of stone that hadn’t turned red.

Only for everything to return to normal the moment I blinked.

Noel’s fingers loosened against my shoulder, and for several seconds, he said nothing.

Then...

His whisper filtered through my ear once more.

"...Y-you know the truth, don’t you?"

This time, I stopped.

The cheers continued around us, but I could no longer make out what they were saying. I stood with my head lowered, staring at the ground while Noel’s breathing brushed against the side of my face.

"..."

My mouth opened.

I tried to adjust him again, although he was incredibly light.

Eventually, I opened my lips, but no word came out.

I tried again.

And again...

And again, but⎯

"....."

Nothing.

Not a single word escaped my lips.

My fingers tightened beneath his legs as something warm slipped down my cheek. I blinked, and another drop followed, falling past my chin before I understood what it was.

I tried to breathe carefully so he wouldn’t feel my shoulders shake.

It didn’t work.

"Noel..."

My voice came out hoarser than I expected.

And for the first time in a long time, the tears came, and no matter how tightly I clenched my teeth, I couldn’t make them stop.

"...I-I know."

I...

Saw.