Chapter 248: Horns

Leonel was just one person. With his ability, he was able to split his mind and study many things at once, but even then, he only had one body. There were only so many things he could do at once. 

In truth, he was already lucky to have set aside some time to gain the acknowledgement of the spear in his hand currently. He still remembered the feeling of his soul sheering apart beneath its presence…

However, no matter how much of an advantage his ability gave him, he couldn't master everything. To now, he had mastered all the abilities the Mage Academy had to offer him in terms of Mage Arts. But, he still hadn't had time to study the path of knights. 

Seeing Gorgo explode like this before him, it reaffirmed his will to dig up all the secrets of this world. 

What remained of Leonel's robes billowed beneath the wind. He could already feel his arms slightly aching beneath the pressure. This wasn't due to Gorgo's strikes, but rather because he wasn't used to using such a heavy weapon. 

To the current Leonel, lifting a hundred pounds wasn't a problem. In fact, this was simple even for an average male. However, lifting a weight and using a weapon of such heft were two completely different concepts. 

BANG!

Gorgo's armor cracked and shattered into several pieces, spiraling into every which direction like the shrapnel of a grenade. His bulging muscles flexed beneath the influx of energy surging toward him, veins of pumping blood racing across his skin like crimson serpents. 

He raised his ax into the air. But, his target wasn't Leonel at all. Instead, he slammed the flat of the blade over his knee, shattering the blade along the line of the damage Leonel had caused.

The resulting weapon was sinister beyond belief. The irregular, jagged edge looked like the jaws of a demon bearing down from above. 

SHUUU!

The ax left trails of sliced wind in its path as it descended. Its irregular edge caused the air to bend and twist, making it sound as though a ghastly flute was being blown. 

Leonel's gaze burned with fighting intent. His Spear Force coated the two foot long flat blade of his spear as he pierced forward without regard. 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The blood in Leonel's body rolled with every collision. 

It was clear to anyone observing that Leonel had greater strength and that even his movement was a measure better. However… His technique was simply too lacking. 

Every strike of Gorgo seemed to contain a mysterious air to it. His strikes uniquely flowed from one stance to another, achieving a smooth resonance that allowed him to lose himself in battle. 

However, Leonel's movements lacked variation. He continuously calculated and responded with a strong pierce again and again, but this was all. He could only rely on his ability to make up for his lack of skill, but against a truly strong enemy, such a thing would be useless. 

Like this, Gorgo and Leonel fell into a stalemate, neither one gaining an advantage over the other. And, with Gorgo's weapon having been broken once before, breaking it again after it shrunk in size was several levels more difficult. 

In the distance, Lancelot was beginning to grow worried, even more so than he had been before. 

'This boy… Doesn't he know that a spear can do more than pierce?!'

How could Lancelot know that all of Leonel's skill came from the primitive man and woman? The primitive man only taught him how to bring out the full potential of his body with every strike, but the primitive woman's fighting technique was entirely reliant on a piercing motion.

The primitive woman's spear had a modified blade in the shape of a prism. This made its piercing power incredibly strong, almost like the stinger of a bee, but as a result, it lost its ability to perform the other kinds of strikes. 

Due to his inexperience, Leonel took a battle that he most assuredly should have won and turned it into a struggle. Even still, Leonel didn't take a single step back. In fact, his indifferent expression began to crack, shimmering with hints of happiness. 

His eyes grew more focused. Ignoring the aching of his arms, he pierced forward again and again as though he didn't know fatigue.

Just when Leonel was about to lose himself in battle, he frowned. An instinct that came from the depths of his heart suddenly trembled. 

Leonel didn't need to look to know what happened. His Internal Sight was too sharp. He felt the eyes of the two Demon Lords locked onto him. 

The sudden feeling was almost as though his head had been dunked into a vat of ice and water. He had almost forgotten that he was on a battlefield. Venting his frustration was fine, but burning himself out to the point of running on empty would be like asking for death.

'My spearmanship is too lacking. I need to absorb the experiences of more of the spears surrounding the base of this peak spear…'

Leonel took a deep breath. With his fatigue growing, his rolling blood was also losing its control over him, even the violet-red of his eyes began to slowly fade. 

Others could sense this. In fact, the sharpness of the two remaining Demon Lords grew. The only Demon Lord that wasn't inwardly celebrating was Gorgo. How could he? His state was even sorrier than Leonel's. 

However, Leonel wasn't worried… His body might have reached its limit but… His Ethereal Glabella was still filled to the brim with Soul Force. 

'I should end this.'

"[Grand Gravity Warp]. [Layering Arts]."

Demon Lord Gorgo was caught completely off guard. He had completely forgotten that Leonel was a mage. Or, maybe he hadn't forgotten, but maybe had assumed that Leonel's magic fell far short of his spearmanship. However, reality was cruel. 

Reaching the end of his stamina, Gorgo's legs trembled and he heavily fell to his knees. His ax failed to block Leonel's following spear strike, causing his collarbone to be run through completely. 

Leonel's Spear Force was so sharp that an invisible blade ran through the minotaur's body, exiting his shoulder blade and running through the ground behind his kneeling figure. 

The zombie and skeleton Demon Lord were stunned by this sudden change of events. They had just been waiting for an opportune time to strike, how had the situation reversed so suddenly?

At that moment, having used Leonel's forward momentum to their benefit, Camelot's army had already cut down a large portion of the demon army. Before, it would have been worth it to take advantage of Leonel's situation. But, if Leonel still had so much strength left to fight, it was simply impossible to try and benefit now. 

With a placid expression, the zombie Demon Lord signaled with his hand, causing loud, blaring horns to sound. Like a tide, the demons began to retreat, not sparing a glance toward Gorgo who had yet to breathe his last breath.