The butler is engaged in a death match
"Am I... alive?"
Leon slowly opened his eyes, perplexed by the fact he was still alive. He hadn't noticed the magical tools hidden among the knives scattered around him. These tools had delivered the direct impact of numerous explosive spells. In that situation, where he couldn't defend himself from the complete surprise attack, even Leon should have met an instant death.
Yet the reason he was still breathing was likely the protective barrier surrounding him. As the barrier that had shielded him from the explosions dispersed, the pendant around Leon's neck, which had been emitting a soft glow, lost its radiance.
"This... Is it a charm Maria gave me? Did she protect me?" This pendant was an antique trinket that had been a gift from Maria during one of their dates. It probably possessed an enchantment, offering a single defense against a potentially fatal blow. Although the pendant had lost its magic, Maria's feelings had shielded Leon.
"I never imagined magical tools were this formidable. They're more troublesome than I'd heard." The surroundings were still shrouded in dust and debris stirred up by the explosions, obscuring his vision. Although Leon didn't belong to the generation that had experienced the war with the Empire, his father had informed him about Imperial magical tools.
The Empire, unable to match the Kingdom's quality of mages, had compensated with quantity by producing inferior imitations of artifacts. Each magical spell they unleashed might not have been overwhelmingly powerful, but when fired dozens or even hundreds of times, it posed a significant threat, even to nobles of the Kingdom.
Though Leon hadn't been careless, there was a part of him that might have underestimated the opponent, perhaps due to their commoner status. Without Maria's pendant, he would surely have perished.
Eventually, the smoke cleared further, and Leon's field of vision began to open up. Suddenly, from beyond the smoke, a blade lunged toward him.
"Ugh...!" Leon parried the attack aimed at his throat with a quick sword defense, but Crow immediately swung his other knife. Leon narrowly dodged the attack aimed at his eye, but he was instantly forced into a defensive position.
(This guy is strong...!)
Spells cast by magical tools were inherently less powerful than standard magic. No matter how much the tools enhanced their abilities, they could not compare to nobles who augmented their power with their own magic.
In terms of strength and speed, Leon should have far outclassed Crow. Yet, he found himself being pushed back by Crow's ferocious and seemingly unrefined fighting style. A closer examination would reveal elements from several recognized martial arts mixed into Crow's movements, all adapted and combined in his unique way. His fighting style was incredibly refined and devoid of any wasted motion, showcasing a certain beauty.
As Leon parried each of Crow's attacks, the young knight's blade was gradually worn down. Meanwhile, Crow's strikes, despite being delivered with magical knives, left shallow cuts on Leon's body. Leon's body, specialized for physical enhancement as a knight, was robust enough to handle these minor injuries without affecting his combat performance.
However, Crow's blade was also wounding Leon's pride.
(Me, a swordsman, losing like this...?)
Leon, born as the son of a heroic leader from the previous war and bearing the harsh training that would honor his father's name, had earned his position as a guardian of the royal family. His current abilities surpassed those of ordinary Kingdom knights.
But here's the thing, he only had one thing to rely on. Unlike the other men around Maria who possessed various talents he lacked. He didn't have Albert's charisma, Julius's intelligence, Gino's magic skills, or Wilhelm's medical expertise. For him, it all boiled down to his swordsmanship. It was his sole source of pride and the reason he felt qualified to stand by Maria's side.
However, even his pride, his swordsmanship, was easily challenged by the man in front of him.
"I can't afford to lose!"
With that in mind, Leon shouted and leaped off the ground. The earlier explosion had obliterated the surrounding buildings, turning the narrow alley into a debris-filled makeshift arena.
In this battlefield, with Crow at the center, Leon utilized his magically enhanced agility to traverse walls and surfaces at breakneck speed, trying to disrupt his opponent.
"What about this?"
Thanks to their inherent differences in ability, Crow couldn't keep track of Leon's movements. Leon's furious sprint through the tumultuous surroundings made it impossible for Crow to engage him directly with a sword. Despite the fact that Leon had essentially proven to himself that he couldn't match Crow in swordsmanship, his current bloodthirsty state prevented him from acknowledging it.
"Now!"
Capitalizing on the moment he'd created, Leon leaped off a warehouse wall, descending to deliver a high-speed assault from above. Crow remained focused in the wrong direction, seemingly incapable of tracking Leon's movements. As Leon descended with a confident grin, ready to strike with tremendous speed, Crow responded by raising a knife without even looking in his direction.
"『Explode』."
"Self-destruct!?"
The phrase was identical to the one Leon had heard moments ago when Crow activated the explosive magical tools. What set this moment apart was the fact that Crow still held it, which meant that Leon would likely be caught in the explosion as well. Understanding the devastating power of the tool from their previous encounter, Leon was taken aback by this decision and immediately assumed a defensive stance.
"『Shine』."
"Shit...!"
However, what Crow unleashed wasn't an explosion but a blinding flash of light. Expecting an explosion, Leon had positioned himself defensively and ended up staring directly at the intense light, which obscured his vision with whiteness.
Seizing the opportunity, Crow swiftly maneuvered behind Leon and swung his knife downward.
"Guh... Gwahh!"
Even though his vision was blurred, Leon sensed the attack due to the assassin's presence and raised his sword to block the incoming knife. But as soon as his attack was thwarted, Crow executed a quick spin.
With added momentum, he delivered a powerful kick to Leon, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Argh! Nuooh!"
Leon, bouncing off the ground several times from the impact, struggled to regain his footing. Crow continued his relentless pursuit, aware that Leon was in no condition to defend himself or escape, and inflicted more severe wounds on Leon's battered body during their one-sided beating.
"Damn it! Back off!"
Despite the fierce onslaught, Leon swung his magically-enhanced sword vigorously. Crow quickly dodged the fiery blade that seemed to engulf the space before him and distanced himself from Leon.
"Dragonic Blast!" As Crow tried to close the gap once again, Leon pointed his sword at him, unleashing his inner magic all at once.
◇◆◇◆
A blazing river of fire surged through the narrow alley, closing in on me. The magic, simulating a dragon's breath, was notorious for its devastating power, capable of reducing someone as feeble as me to ashes in an instant. Part of me wanted to run and retreat to the square I had been at earlier, where I could potentially evade this fiery onslaught. However, doing so would inevitably mean letting Leon escape.
"Damn, it's scorching," I mumbled while taking out every protective magical item I had from my bracelet. Frankly, these defenses would likely offer only a sliver of protection against magic of this magnitude, but something was better than nothing. The thought of enduring the pain, especially the prospect of being burned alive, was unbearable. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to confront it.
"Now, let's do this." I put the potion bottle over my head and consumed another elixir. With my knives ready, I mentally braced myself and charged headlong into the approaching flames.
"Ah!"
The first step, and the protective barrier I'd set up shattered.
The second step, the knife I held in my right hand began to melt away.
The third step, the makeshift shield created by my right side turned into ash.
The fourth step, my body rapidly regenerated thanks to the elixir's effect but was soon consumed by flames once more.
The fifth step, I regenerated and ignited again.
The sixth step, rebirth, only to burn once more.
The heat was intense.
The pain was excruciating.
The suffering was unbearable.
I don't want to die.
How did I end up in this dire situation?
"──Huh?"
Even in my extreme state, I couldn't help but feel overwhelming anger at my own foolish recklessness.
"No matter what, it's only natural to risk your life for the woman you love!"
"What? Are you insane?!"
"Here I come!"
"Ack!?"
I burst through the flames, and there was Leon, right in front of me, his face showing clear shock. He clearly hadn't expected a direct attack from the front. With no time to react, I slammed my remaining knife into his unprotected neck.
"What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind?!"
"There's no sane man who faces a noble!"
However, just as my knife was about to reach its target, Leon grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. In return, he swung his sword forcefully at my side, trying to rip through me. An unpleasant sensation churned in my stomach as the blade sank in, but it hardly mattered. All I needed to do was sever his head before he could finish me off.
"Argh... Why do you have all this power, yet you serve a woman like her?"
"You, a lowlife, dare to talk about Milady!"
Enraged, he attempted to retrieve a knife from his bracelet with his healed right hand. However, the continuous exposure to flames seemed to have been too much, causing the bracelet to crack and split into two.
As he fell to the ground, the core magical gem shattered upon impact, scattering its contents all around.
"Damn it!"
He had to reluctantly change his plans and used his free right hand to grip Leon's face. With increasing force, he gradually pushed the blade of his left hand toward him.
"Release me!"
"Ugh...!"
Summoning the last of my strength, I tried to decapitate Leon just before Leon let out a small cry and, struggling, forced his hand away from his throat. Simultaneously, Leon released his grip on the sword and made a swift escape.
"Hey! You won't... Ugh!"
Trying to chase after the fleeing Leon, he suddenly felt his strength draining and collapsed to his knees. The enhancements and the elixir's effects wore off, and his body gradually lost its invincibility, while the consequences of his reckless actions overwhelmed him.
"At a time like this...!"
Even as he tried to stand, Leon's figure was gradually receding into the distance. He had to stop him no matter what, yet he couldn't even manage to get back on his feet. He needed to recover quickly to give chase.
"This... is..."
He reached for the scattered bracelet contents in search of a healing potion, but what he found was something completely different. As soon as he recognized the rough, black lump of iron, he instinctively raised "it."
◇◆◇◆
"Haah, haah, haah...!"
Leon gasped for breath, clutching his bleeding neck, as he desperately fled.
Yes, he had fled.
In that final moment, frightened by Crow's intense intent to kill, Leon had cast aside even the pride of a knight and ran away.
"M-Maria..."
At this point, Leon's pride as a knight was completely shattered. Nevertheless, the presence of the beloved girl was the reason Leon had made the decision to survive, even if it meant being undignified.
"I won't let you running away!"
"Huh!?"
The pressure and shouts released from behind made Leon's shoulders twitch. When he turned around, Crow, who was lying on the ground, aimed something at him.
Immediately after, three explosions that sounded like explosive spells echoed. Leon braced himself for some kind of magical attack, but strangely, what was released wasn't magic, but rather some small metal objects.
The first shot went in the wrong direction, and Leon narrowly dodged the second shot coming toward his face. Seizing the opportunity created by the evasion, the third shot aimed at his heart. Using the remaining magic power, Leon managed to intercept it with an open palm.
"Ugh... You!"
The attack, which was closing in on his heart, was momentarily in a standoff with his palm. Eventually, Leon forcefully deflected it, ending the confrontation.
This also meant that Crow no longer had any moves left.
"Y-yes..."
It seemed that Crow's last struggle had been exactly that, his last. He lay on the ground, lifeless. Leon, who had finally let down his guard, released his combat stance and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I did it, I'm alive... Gah!?"
However, Leon had let his guard down, and he couldn't react in time to the deadly shot that came from behind. Struck in the abdomen, Leon, like Crow, collapsed to the ground.
"W-why..."
In the expanding pool of blood, Leon was bewildered. Crow was already down, and there shouldn't have been anyone else around. What's more, there had been no sign of any magic being cast.
It was understandable that Leon, a resident of this world, was unaware of this. Crow had used a firearm, a weapon from another world. Leon couldn't have known about the technique of a ricochet shot, which caused the first bullet, initially thought to have missed, to bounce off the surrounding walls and floor and strike him from behind.
"Ah... ah..."
Despite everything, Leon was still alive. Despite the pain, he searched his waist pouch and retrieved a small vial filled with bright red liquid. It was the Elixir given to him by Maria. If he drank it, he could survive.
As Leon slowly lifted the vial towards his lips...
A foot descended from above, crushing the vial along with his hand.
"Gaaah!"
"You're quite noisy for a supposed knight. Please don't scream over something as trivial as this."
"Cro..w"
Leon, with a terrified expression, looked up at the voice. Crow, coldly observing from above, made eye contact with him. In Crow's hand, there was a knife stained deep red with blood, and it was clear what he had come to do.
"W-wait... please, wait!"
"In that case, goodbye."
"Sir Crow, I've just returned."
Mercilessly, just before the fatal strike came down, a new figure appeared on the scene, causing Crow to halt his movement.
The woman in a maid's outfit, who suddenly appeared behind Crow, was presumably one of the maids who had been tracking their target, Serena.
"Is it Eins? How did it go?"
"I apologize, we lost our target."
"Hmm... you making a mistake is quite unusual. What happened?"
"Yes, we encountered interference from an unidentified group. We couldn't handle it on our own, and I'm deeply sorry. You can punish me as you see fit."
With the blade still directed towards Leon, Crow listened to the maid's report without turning around.
It seemed that their initial target, Serena, had managed to escape successfully. Leon felt relief that he had fulfilled his mission, but he was still in a dire situation.
"Hmm... Lord Leon, do you have any information about that group?"
"N-No... I haven't heard anything about such a group."
"I see."
Suddenly asked by Crow, Leon answered honestly while feeling perplexed.
He had come to this place following orders from Prince Albert, but he hadn't heard anything about others being given the same mission.
"If that's the case, we have no more business here. Shall we head back?"
"Yes, a carriage is ready for us here."
"W-What? You're not going to finish me off?"
As soon as he spoke, Crow dissipated the murderous intent he had been emanating moments ago and turned his back.
Surprisingly, he was released without any further questions or threats of violence. Leon couldn't help but call out to stop Crow before he left.
"Do you wish to be killed?"
"Well, it's not like that, but... Is it really okay to let the enemy go so easily?"
"Our mission was to secure Miss Serena from the beginning. Since that failed, there's no reason for us to continue fighting with you."
Crow's logic made sense, but Leon couldn't shake off the feeling of unease at his words. After all the bloodshed, could they simply accept and move on like this?
"Besides, there's no reason to harm the son of the hero without cause, as it would inconvenience Milady. Well then, we'll take our leave."
"What the heck is this..."
As Leon looked at Crow, who seemed disinterested, he finally realized the source of his discomfort from earlier. It was quite simple: Crow had never considered Leon an enemy from the start. He was merely an obstacle to their goal, a hindrance they had to overcome. Now, the reason they let him go wasn't about Leon himself, but rather the complications involving his father, the leader of the knights.
Crow didn't acknowledge Leon's value at all. This fact alone was enough to shatter what was left of Leon's pride.
"Damn it... Damn it!"
After Crow and the others had left, Leon, all alone, continued to shed tears of regret until the rescue knights arrived.
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