Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Leonhard gritted his teeth.

Walking towards Celine felt like treading barefoot on burning coals. Each step was accompanied by excruciating pain, despite there being no physical obstacles in his way. Still, there was no other way as warlocks were destined to vanish.

‘Celine…’

He didn’t even realize that he had cut his mouth from clenching his teeth so much. All he could feel was the heartless reality of her being a warlock.

Meanwhile, Celine and the other warlocks looked at him, their eyes wide open.

‘Did she think she would be able to escape?’

Even that thought was Celine-like.

Leonhard attempted to gather his thoughts, but it proved futile. Just a few hours ago, if he had to weigh her well-being against the empire, he would have chosen her without a moment’s hesitation. The emotions that continued to assault his heart made it nearly impossible to find calm.

His gaze remained fixed, as if in a daze, upon Celine’s lips, which moved slowly. Although he couldn’t hear her words, the shape they formed left no doubt as to what she was saying

— Leonhard.

As his hand holding Rahir trembled slightly, Leonhard used his last remaining self-control to hide his fluctuating emotions and keep his expression cold.

He could not let the warlock notice his agitation.

‘That is… not Celine.’

He slowly took an attacking stance.

In just a few seconds, he would strike Celine…

Leonhard’s movements stopped for a moment.

‘It’s that warlock.’

The warlock standing beside Celine, someone vaguely familiar whose name escaped Leonhardt’s memory, recoiled in fear, taking a step back.

‘…That’s a relief.’

He did not hesitate.

“Ah!”

Although the warlock attempted to flee, they couldn’t entirely evade his strike. He relentlessly launched one attack after another. While encountering a situation with two warlocks was a rarity for him, it was common sense in battle to prioritize eliminating the weaker adversary first.

In an ironic twist, he found himself expressing gratitude toward the warlock.

If it weren’t for this person… he would have had no choice but to direct his aggression towards Celine.

Had Leonhard been in possession of his rational mind, he might have noticed the contradiction in his thoughts. However, circumstances had pushed Leonhardt to the brink of obsessive madness.

“Rose!”

Celine hurriedly shouted and pulled Rose back.

“Are you okay?”

“….”

Rose exhaled heavily but didn’t answer. Even though she didn’t say anything, she looked like she was in very bad shape.

Celine’s heart pounded in nervousness, and she felt like she was about to die. The stage that was supposed to be over was not over, and Leonhard still mistook her for a warlock. To make matters worse, even Rose fell into this state.

“…Let’s avoid him.”

Celine hid Rose behind the pillar, out of reach of Leonhard’s attack.

‘…What to do.’

Her heart pounded. Even now, Leonhard was slowly approaching them. Although she tried to check the situation, her eyes met Leonhard’s.

In that moment, she realized.

‘…I have to attack.’

Right now, the only way to save Rose was to buy time, fighting Leonhard. She couldn’t afford to hesitate for long.

“Rose. Listen to me, I…I’ll fight Leonhardt to buy time so run away in the meantime. Can you do that?”

Instead of responding verbally, Rose acknowledged with a slight nod. Celine then took out Ringzor arms and grabbed it the next moment. The blade, which she had become so familiar with that she could wield it accurately even with her eyes closed, now felt foreign in her hands.

She knew why.

Ringzor was the sword bestowed upon her by Leonhardt as a gift from the Emperor. Though now, she had to attack him with the weapon he himself had given her.

‘…Ah.’

Her eyes reddened. She really didn’t want to attack him, but the other road was a dead end.

There was no further escape.

‘Leonhard, I’m sorry.’

Celine bit her lip.

At the same time as she could taste her blood, RIngzor emitted a bluish light.

Leonhard froze for a moment.

‘…What?’

Celine was evacuating the other warlock.

It was impossible because the most important thing to warlocks was themselves. At that moment, a vain hope began to bloom that there might still be the Celine he knew… There hadn’t been a single warlock who had returned so far, but she may be the only one in the world.

However, his heart hardened the moment Celine pulled Ringzor towards him. Ringzor exuded a dark aura unique to warlocks.

Leonhard blinked.

He shouldn’t have been seduced any longer.

Right then.

Celine came towards him.

The moment Celine attacked Leonhard, Rose desperately tried to move her body.

‘I have to move…!’

However, her efforts were futile, and only her fingers wriggled. Even as a cold sweat ran through her body, she couldn’t even move her arm to wipe it off.

‘…Why, why?’

Tears flowed from her eyes.

As soon as Leonhard attacked her a moment ago, her body froze and did not move properly. She wasn’t completely immobilized from the beginning. While barely able to avoid his attack, she gradually slowed down and could not even lift a finger. She also considered the possibility of a colorless, odorless poison.

However, Leonhard and Celine looked too normal.

‘…I have to move.’

Rose stopped thinking about it and threw all her energy into moving her body. Celine was fighting against Leonhard to allow her to go.

It certainly wouldn’t last long.

‘I did it!’

After a long time, Rose could barely get herself up.

She leaned, dragging her body against the wall. If she moved recklessly, Celine, who was enduring Leonhardt’s attack, would be in danger.

‘….?’

Rose’s eyes widened as she raised her head to check the situation.

‘Celine…?’

Celine Hunt was fighting Leonhard Bernoulli without being pushed back.

Their movements were fluid and they constantly changed positions, but none showed signs of exhaustion. She followed Celine’s movements, even holding her breath. Ringzor, whose blue flames had risen, hit Rashir hard. A fire broke out immediately in Rashir as well, engulfing Celine and rising from the floor to the ceiling.

‘Celine…!’

Her heart stopped for a moment.

However, in the blink of an eye, the flames subsided and Celine didn’t seem to be hurt even on a single hair. She corrected Ringzor and charged at Rashir again.

‘….?’

Rose realized something was wrong.

Having spent considerable time teaching Celine, she had a thorough understanding of her capabilities. Yet, her movements now exceeded what she had previously witnessed in terms of agility and strength.

She also noticed that Leonhard was not going easy on Celine at all.

Although his movements lacked a clear intention to kill, he exhibited a calculated efficiency in his attempts to subdue his opponent. His aim seemed to be to incapacitate Celine by targeting her limbs. Nevertheless, Celine effortlessly countered each of his attacks with ease.

‘In such a short time, to this extent…’

At the time, Rose thought she had identified Celine’s weakness.

What an arrogant thought that was.

Now, if Celine seriously attacked her, she would not have the confidence to endure it properly for ten minutes or so.

‘…Maybe I can be of some help.’

However, as soon as Rose tried to raise her body to help Celine, she fell to her knees on the floor. Her whole body couldn’t move properly again.

A cold sweat broke out again.

‘Why…?!’

She gritted her teeth, but the situation did not change at all.

— Thud.

She fell flat on the floor.

Celine, half in a trance, moved Ringzor nonstop. Wherever she swung, the magic wriggled and she deliberately poured more magic toward Leonhard.

‘Recognize me, Leonhard.’

However, her earnest prayers were of no avail.

Unaware of the true nature of the magic being employed, Leonhard remained oblivious to the fact that it was not tainted by darkness as he was strongly influenced by the stage. Instead, his expression contorted, seemingly indicating that Celine’s increasing use of magic was causing him great discomfort.

However, amidst it all, Celine couldn’t sense any malice or intent to kill in Leonhard’s relentless attacks upon her.

A groan rose from her chest.

‘…Leonhard has no intention of killing me.’

She bit her lip.

His movements as if they were sparring, but he didn’t control his power at all. During their casual sparring session, Leonhard was always cautious, ensuring that she would not be harmed. This stark contrast was daunting enough.

‘…Leonhard.’

Unless the stage ends, there was absolutely no possibility that he would escape from the stage’s influence. But Leonhard, who was mistaking her for a warlock because of the stage, made Celine’s hand tremble.

‘….!’

Her blue-gray eyes twinkled in fear.

It was a very fleeting moment, but both Celine and Leonhard could feel it.

…He knew that she had a gap.

Despair filled Celine. The tight balance between the two was over now, and he was not one to miss a chance. Even though she tried to defend herself, it was too late. Still, she never gave up until the last moment she tried to fend off Leonhardt’s attacks and attack him again.

— Crash!

With the sound of something breaking in her, Celine froze. Red blood soaked the backs of her hands, her arms, and even her entire body.

Leonhard fell heavily into her arms.

“Le, Leonhard…?”

Celine called him in a bewildered voice, not yet able to grasp the situation properly.

“Leonhard!”

She couldn’t understand what the hell was happening. Why wasn’t she stabbed, why Leonhard didn’t defend against her attack…

Regardless, none of this mattered at all.

As she carefully laid him down, blood continued to flow from the chest where Ringzor had been lodged a moment ago.

‘Healing Potion…!’

Celine groped her arms.

As soon as she squeezed into her pouch, where she had apparently kept the healing potion, her hands were soaked with cold liquid, not blood.

Goosebumps ran through her whole body.

With her trembling hands, Celine pulled out the pouch that had been holding the healing potion. It was now drenched with the spilled contents.

In that moment, a sudden realization struck her with force. In the first place, Leonhard hadn’t actually aimed to harm her. His attack had deliberately missed her vital areas and instead struck the pocket where she always kept the healing potion.

It was then…

Leonhard’s eyes flashed open, and he pulled her with strange force. His lips moved slowly, forming a single word with great difficulty.

“Celine.”

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His blue eyes were talking in silence.

You’re back.

From warlock to my Celine.

__