Chapter 200 Beggining Of The End

[Veneria]

Leo landed just a few meters away from the cultists outside of the city walls, making use of his skills to slow his fall and land as gently as needed.

He slowly strolled forward until he was a few metered away from the man at the head of the cultist army.

'I wasn't sure because their uniforms are the same but he's not just an ordinary ability user. Purple eyes, pale skin... It's quite obvious up close. Still, I don't see anyone like John...' Leo thought as he scanned the faces of those without masks in the army.

In total he could see around 20 Imperiums and ability users mixed in with the regular cultists. He wasn't able to see every inch of the army but it was enough for him to gain a rough estimate of their numbers.

'Around ten percent of their army are ability users and Imperiums. That's more individuals of power than we have...' Leo thought.

'Only half of the Infernai are fighters though. A good chunk are too weak to contribute and another portion are defenders and other support types.' Dreifus said.

'I know. Each Infernai will need to take out at least three or four ability users on their side for the battle to even out.

Those like myself and Nila who are more powerful than the others can help keep things balanced by elimating more than that but if we get delayed on a strong opponent for too long it could be disastrous for everyone else.' Leo said to dreifus with a concerned tone.

"You asked for me and here I am, say what you want and say it quickly. I don't want to waste time talking if we're just going to end up killing you anyways." Leo said with an aggressive tone.

"So hostile, is this how you are with everyone you meet? I was going to make an offer that would allow us to call off this war but it seems you aren't interested in hearing what I have to say." The Imperium said with a sly expression as he shrugged his shoulders.

'Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? Are they trying to save themselves now that they realize the situation they're in?' Leo thought.

"Nothing you could offer us today is worth risking what you'll do to a town or village tomorrow." Leo replied.

"I think you're mistaken. This deal is meant to save you and your people, not us." The Imperium said with a sly smile on his face.

"What led you to that conclusion?" Leo asked.

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is the deal that we're offering to you. If you come with us willingly, we will call off our attacks and retreat. How does that sound?" The Imperium said as he held his hand out in an inviting way.

"What!? You think I'll come with you so that this fight doesn't happen? I hate to break it to you but I could kill most of your army in just a few seconds if I wanted to. You are in no position to negotiate." Leo said, annoyed at the audacious attitude of the Imperium.

'He has a higher number of ability users on his side if we include the Imperiums but it isn't enough for him to behave so confidently.

On average the Imperiums are stronger than most ability users, which would make them believe they have an advantage.

The truth, however, is that our strongest fighters are more powerful than their most powerful people on average, tipping the scales back in our favour in the long run.

Our previous encounters with their strongest Imperiums is proof of that. At this moment it comes down to a battle of quantity versus quality.' Leo thought.

"Well I hate to break it to you, Mr Rune, but even if you have the attacking power to do that, you would be unable to defend yourself at the same time.

Our request is more than reasonable if you consider the potential damage this conflict will cause. I urge you to reconsider. " The Imperium replied, the smile fading from his face and being replaced with a serious expression.

"I decline." Leo said with a stern voice.

"I was hoping you would, honestly, destroying you would be better anyways." The Imperium said as he lifted his hand into the air and snapped his fingers.

Sounds of explosions, combat and dozens of screams erupted from behind Leo. He turned to face the sounds and saw that a battle was unfolding within the city.

He turned back to the Imperium with an expression of anger on his face. "You never had any intention of making a deal, did you!? You just wanted to pull me away from the city so I wouldn't notice your sneak attack!"

"Guilty." The Imperium said with a chuckle. "We know you can sense movement and that you would have noticed the attack coming.

We don't know the specifics of your capabilities in this regard but we figured this was the best way to work around it and it ended up working just fine." The Imperium replied with a shrug.

" Still... "The Imperium continued "Based on your words and actions, I thought you didn't really care about the damage and loss of life the city would face. So why are you so upset?"

"You're right." Leo said, having calmed down a bit. "I only care about a select few. The reason I got upset was because I hate being tricked."

As Leo said this he lifted his hand slightly infront of himself and snapped his fingers just like the Imperium had done a moment before.

Several bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, coming from different points of origin and splitting into dozens of smaller bolts before they struck.

There was a very small number of Imperiums that were capable of reacting to the attack and an even smaller number of them were capable of defending themselves or others from it.

There was a massive flash of light and a thunderous boom as the lightning struck. Several cultists were charred to a crisp, some going so far as to be reduced to ash.

Beside the Imperium Leo had been talking to, a shadow creature suddenly appeared and took the bolt of lightning that was directed his way.

The shadow lit up with a dark blue colour, matching the colour of Leo's lightning. "Let's see how you like being hit with your own attack!" The cultists shouted with a smile as the shadow turned to face Leo and blasted the lightning back towards him.

'Nila said the attacks that were sent back by the shadow was roughly twice as strong as the original attack it had absorbed.' Leo thought as the lightning arced towards him.

The lightning bolt was half a meter away from Leo when it suddenly changed directions and slammed into the ground off to the side.

The smile on the Imperiums face disappeared and his expression changed into one of shock and confusion.

"How did you... Even if it was originally your attack it shouldn't..." The Imperium was struggling to understand what just happened.

"I could feel it when the shadow absorbed the lightning. The energy responsible for creating the bolt became that of the shadow.

You probably thought I couldn't control it because it wasn't made of my energy anymore but you see, it was never made from my energy in the first place." Leo explained.

" I don't... What does that even mean?" The Imperium said, still struggling to understand.

"Nevermind. It would take too long to explain it even if I wanted to and you won't live passed today so there wouldn't be any point." Leo said.

A small ball of fire appeared infront of Leo, floating in the air. Over next few seconds, another three appeared beside the first, making it so there were four in total.

" I know that shadow can absorb quite a bit before it dies or whatever you call it, but it can't block every direction at once." Leo said as the Fire Balls moved towards the Imperium.

The shadow stepped infront of him, getting between the Imperium and on of the balls of fire.

The Fire Balls created by Leo moved around the shadow creature, creating a square shape between each other.

The shadow dashed between the different corners of the square, trying to stay between the Imperium and any potential attack.

The Imperiums expression was one of concern and fear. He continously turned from one Fire Ball to the next, trying to cover the side the shadow wasn't on.

"You probably thought this shadow could buy you enough time to retreat behind your comrades if I decided to attack.

Clearly you didn't expect me to attack everyone all at once. They're too distracted to help you and the shadow can't save you either.

You wasted your last day alive believing you were something special. What a futile thought for someone so weak." Leo shook his head, almost feeling pity for the Imperium.

"I-"

~BOOM~

Every Fire Ball erupted at the same time as Leo released the energy that contained the explosions, cutting off the Imperium before he could speak.

The explosion created was massive, killing the nearest cultists who were focused on the injured around them.

"I'm not going to hold back this time. Every single on of you is going to die today, regardless of the war's outcome." Leo said, a sinister expression on his face and a bone chilling tone to accompany it.