Chapter 222 Fog of the thousand illusions [4]

Chapter 222 Fog of the thousand illusions [4]

'Kill him.'

'...Destroy him.'

'Torture him.'

The moment Julien felt Kaelion's grip on his arm loosen, something within him snapped. Anger started to boil within his body, and he extended his hand forward to where a thin thread had extended.

It crept up from behind Kaelion, before entangling over his feet and severing them in half.

'How dare he...!?'

Grasping the coarse earth beneath him, Julien pushed himself up and launched himself towards where Kaelion was.

"M-my legs...!"

On the other hand, Kaelion was still panicked about his missing legs.

So much so that he didn't notice Julien who had arrived before him and grasped his neck.

"Ukeh..!"

Kealion's face grew pale immediately as his eyes widened.

Saliva flew out from his mouth as he grasped Julien's arms and dug his nails into them. But it was useless.

This little pain...

It was nothing to Julien.

Let alone a Julien who was not in the right state of mind.

'Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.'

Thump! Thump!

Kaelion continued to thrash his body around in an attempt to free himself. He even tried to cast a few spells, but whenever he did, Julien would headbutt him directly in the head.

Bang!

"Ukh...! N-no!"

Kaelion begged.

He begged and resisted.

He had to get out.

....He needed to get out.

But,

But,

"Ah..."

There was no way out.

Gradually, his breathing grew faint.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was locked on Julien. There was clear hatred and anger in his gaze as he looked at Julien, but it was useless.

'Kill him.'

'....Make sure he pays for what he did.'

'How dare he!!!? After what you've done to help him!'

'Snake!'

'Bastard...!'

Julien had long lost his sense of reasoning.

The only thing in his mind was Kaelion in front of him.

He wanted him to suffer.

....To be in pain and to die.

How could this bastard betray him after he had helped him?

How!!

"Ukh...!"

The struggle had long stopped.

Kaelion's face was purple, and his eyes were widened to the extreme. At that moment, Julien could see from his expression that he had long given up.

He... was slowly waiting for his death to come.

A death that Julien was going to give him.

....Yes, he was going to kill him.

For what he did to him.

He was going to—

Bang!

"Ukh!"

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a large force as Julien found himself crashing against a nearby tree.

"Akh...!"

Saliva flew out from his mouth as his shoulder crashed against the tree.

"Cough!"

Holding onto his shoulder, Julien looked up to see several figures standing where Kaelion was.

"....Uh?"

He could recognize them at a glance.

In particular, two gray eyes stood out to him.

'Leon...?'

But such reasoning.

....It only lasted for a few seconds before his mind grew blank.

***

——A few moments earlier.

The situation was abrupt. In one moment, Leon and the members of the Haven group were heading to Bremmer, when all of a sudden, a fog appeared out of nowhere and entrapped them all.

"Everyone! Please hold someone!"

"Hold onto each other!"

The instructor was nowhere in sight, and the only ones they could rely on to figure out the situation were each other.

Thankfully, everything proceeded smoothly.

"What is going on?"

Evelyn asked while she looked around.

"....Where is the instructor? And since when do fogs appear here?"

"They don't."

Aoife answered with a frown.

She was someone who had gone down this route thousands of times in the past.

It was the first time that she had witnessed something like this in her life. Something... wasn't right with the situation.

Nonetheless, she knew where to head.

"Let's go this way. I see an Elderglow Sentinel in this direction."

There was a specific breed of trees that grew the closer one got to Bremmer. They were known as 'Elderglow Sentinel' and were a type of breed that glowed upon touch.

He too felt the same way as Aoife. The situation... was creepy, and regardless of where they headed, he had a feeling that they'd end up in the same spot.

"I agree."

Aoife calmed her rising nerves as she looked around.

"Rest up for a bit and get ready to fight. At the same time, make sure to keep your guard up. We might get ambushed at any minute now."

None of the cadets present had been slacking during the academic year.

Having been trained for quite a while, they were all able to keep their composure and follow her instructions.

It took them now more than a few minutes to get fully ready and calm.

Although Aoife couldn't see their expressions, she could feel it from their general vibe that they were ready.

'Good.'

She sighed in relief.

'....Looks like the training with them over the past half a year wasn't for nothing.'

Following what had happened back in the Mirror Dimension, she had thought it was important to get the cadets ready for situations such as those.

They may not have remembered, but she did.

....And using the Academy's resources, she was able to train them for unfamiliar and creepy scenarios such as these.

Bang!

A muffled explosion echoed in the distance once more.

Everyone grew alert.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

Following their confirmation, Aoife stepped forward and moved in the direction of where the sound came from.

Rustle~

As she moved, she hoped that they'd distance themselves as they moved closer to the noise.

However,

Bang!

It only grew closer with each step.

Taking another step, Aoife pushed a couple of branches away from her face, giving her a view of the sight that lay ahead.

"....!"

Her expression changed the moment she looked ahead.

Unlike behind them, the fog wasn't so thick.

She could see clearly what was ahead, and what she saw left her breathless.

"This...!"

"Ah."

The same was true for the others.

All eyes were locked on a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. With a deranged, almost maniac look, he mounted a person they were all familiar with.

Kaelion.

The strongest person from the Aurora Empire delegates.

Looking around, the two of them were the only people present, and...

"Ukh..!"

With both hands pressed against his neck, Kaelion struggled to breathe.

His entire face was purple, and his body started to convulse.

He was... dying.

Everyone felt their breath leave their body at the sight.

Their heartbeats quickened, and their muscles grew stiff.

That... who was he?

...And why was he doing this?

There were only a couple of people who managed to recognize the cadet. They were none other than Leon, Aoife, and Kiera.

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, Leon rushed forward, extending his leg and kicking the cadet away from Kealion's body.

Bang!

His actions were fast, and the cadet hardly had any time to react.

Snapping out of it, the others rushed towards Kaelion and their expression twisted further upon seeing his missing legs.

"It's not good."

Leon muttered while checking his pulse.

"He's on the verge of death. His pulse is extremely weak. If we

—"

Leon was never able to finish his sentence.

All of a sudden, the gravity surrounding them increased greatly, forcing their bodies down.

"This is...!?"

Before the shock could even die down, a figure appeared right before Leon. He was fast, but not fast to the point where Leon couldn't react.

It was just that...

'The gravity.'

As if his entire body was being constrained, he could hardly move it.

Leon could only helplessly watch as the figure blurred right before him and...

Bang!

"Uheeekkk...!"

A powerful blow dug its way into his stomach, lifting his body slightly in the air.

"Akh..! Cough..."

The blow was devastating, and a pain unlike ever before dug into Leon's mind, forcing his eyes open as something crawled up from his stomach.

"Blergh...!"

"Leon!"

Because the others weren't as proficient as him in the [Body] category, they weren't able to react on time. By the time it all happened, Leon was already on the ground puking due to the impact of the blow.

"Uegh...!"

Holding onto his stomach, Leon was barely able to look up.

That was when his gaze locked onto two cold and unmoved blue eyes.

Within those eyes, he could see madness.

An unquenchable madness.

....And as of right now.

That madness...

It was directed right at him.

No, them.