Chapter 76: Ender! Ender! Ender!
Leon's heart burned as Louise's raw mana slipped inside his body.
He knew she wasn't dead and would return to his side soon. But the fact that he couldn't stop her from sacrificing herself had left him stunned and disappointed. He no longer smiled but looked down with his lips and eyes tightly shut. He also felt Celes' hugging him from behind, giving him more warmth.
Louise's words reverberated in Leon's mind.
[You're my sun, so don't die, Master!]
"I'll not leave this realm without that dragon in my inventory." Leon declared, already knowing that he'd miss Louise from today on.
He glanced behind at Celes. She was a strong woman with many unique skills, but on this last day, she wouldn't be able to help him, particularly against the dragon.
He wasn't also mad at Celes for stopping him, for deep inside, he knew it had been Louise's wish.
And he shared his wish with her. "I'll turn you into a card and summon you back once I leave this realm."
Celes didn't even bother questioning his words. "Yes, Master. I'll await the news."
After the vampiress disappeared into Leon's inventory as a card, Leon looked ahead. He picked up Louise's precious equipment, stuffing it in his inventory. It was still foggy around, but the dragon simply couldn't hide her presence.
Additionally, she had been shocked by what had just occurred. After all, Louise had perfectly fended off her roar, devouring it with her body. In a normal scenario, her roar would've killed her and Leon, then it would spread in every direction, drowning other humans.
But that hadn't happened.
And now, the dragon felt someone's piercing eyes.
She knew that those belonged to Leon.
Leon walked forward, his vision swarmed by messages.
[Louise has turned into a raw mana and took a dwelling within your heart.]
[Your peak humanity body and the scarlet fox's body perfectly match.]
[You've received immense fire resistance.]
[Your mana has intertwined with Louise's mana.]
[Your fire skills have been temporarily upgraded.]
[Louise needs a year to rest within you, but you can bring her back earlier with appropriate methods.]
[You have borrowed some of Louise's mana.]
[An unknown existence has given you her mana instead.]
Leon couldn't distinguish any difference between the last system messages, so he inferred that he'd borrowed something that Louise had deeply hidden within herself. She was a legendary foxy, so he wasn't surprised that her body hid more power. In fact, it encouraged him to go for more.
Leon slowly changed.
His hair turned scarlet, and a profound fire of legendary grade flickered within his eyes. He received an aura of immense hotness that burned Winterborn's snowy forest, putting it on flames. Everything glowed in his wake as he ambled to the dragon, whose eyes rocked in fear.
Alexandra parted her jaw again, gathering more of her mana.
At the same time, the spirit monsters surrounded him. Flying birds spoke an ancient language, coating their bodies in sharp and lively green mana. They then swirled and plummeted, aiming for Leon's neck.
But when they came close to him, Leon raised his left hand.
[You have activated Nine Fire Spirits Art.]
He summoned one flickering spirit that instantly grew in size. It became so vast that all monsters couldn't swerve and escape the trap. In the end, all of them sank into the fire ball.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" All sang their pain in unison as flame tongues licked their bodies and souls.
Unfazed, Leon continued his march. He dropped his left hand low, for he didn't need to keep it up to control the vast fire ball above him — it heeded his wish, following him.
Leon only reacted when the dragon's second roar escaped her mouth. That laser beam went straight at him, but it was much thinner and weaker, for Alexandra used only her mana.
She also felt like she didn't have much time.
Leon's right arm burst with flames, and his chains instantly ran away from him, forming a circle before their master. He instantly shoved his hand inside those chains, forming a vast flamethrower that howled and barreled like a dragon into Alexandra's roar.
It took over the skies, devouring her element. Even the usual reaction didn't occur.
Moreover, the flames slammed into her. She lost control of her wings and plunged down, leaving a black smoke trail — a sign of her first defeat against Leon. Her vast form smashed many lives to death, resulting in Alexandra leveling up. She regained better colors and her stats.
But Leon was on the same path, just on a much greater scale. His legendary skill became like a mini sun that kept spreading his aura far and wide.
Spirit monsters simply couldn't escape from him as their bodies became kindled with flames, quickly burning to death. Brave monsters fell to that mini sun, experiencing the worst torment of their lives.
With so many of them inside, Leon's powers kept increasing. He had abundant stats, and his mana points tripled with Louise's mana intertwined.
Leon was unstoppable.
But Alexandra didn't give in. If her roar didn't work, she would use more. She arched her dragon's head back and screamed at the skies, calling down the sharp rain. She aimed to kill more people to level up and ensure enough stats to deal with Leon.
Then, she crawled on the ground, marching against the human.
Soon, their eyes met.
Leon kicked the ground and flew to her, with sparks flicking in his wake. He balled his right hand and made a superman punch pose, preparing to bring down that piece of shit of a woman.
Alexandra made a similar move, raising her sharp claw and coating it with her mana.
When their punches met, Leon's physique came out on top. His opponent's claw bent in the opposite direction, taking away some of her mobility as she wailed in pain.
He quickly leveraged that and slipped below her vast form.
His mini sun disappeared.
And as Leon unclenched his right hand, it came out from his palm, blasting up the blue dragon!
"Ahhh!" Though she did her best to not let out any sound, Alexandra's painful groans filled the realm, giving hope to all humans and Winterborn.
She took over the skies again, but this time, as a prisoner. Leon's skill was so powerful that she reverted to the humanoid form, sinking into his mini sun.
And as it hovered above everyone, the real torment began, with the dragon thrashing amidst the ravenous flames. It chewed on her soul and body, eating its way to her bones from both inside and outside.
She couldn't hide or do anything about it — hugging or scratching herself just made things worse. When she tried to muster her strong will to deal with that, Leon's flames pulled and twisted her soul more, burning. It was as though someone else helped him notice those little details as Leon focused on keeping his skill activated.
The torment of the sun kept the dragon conscious, too.
And while Alexandra screamed out of her lungs, that sun inspired awe.
Leon, who stood below it with his hand high, soon heard the crowd's voices.
"Ender! Ender! Ender!"
Everyone saw his nickname, his identity.
With his hand high, Leon stood like his past self, surrounded by an excited and grateful crowd. It was similar to his victory pose…
But because Louise couldn't see that moment and he kept Celes safe in her card form, Leon didn't relish that moment.
Everything felt so different, so colorless...
At that moment, something shifted within Leon.
He'd nearly given up on his entire past self, keeping only a sweet memory of Athena and his happy parents.
[You have killed Blue Thanatos, Alexandra Aquarisen Lv. 58]
[You have dominated her body, heart, and soul. You can turn her into a perfect slave.]
[You have turned Blue Thanatos, Alexandra Aquarisen, into a card.]
And after the massacre he'd done, Leon's level skyrocketed.
[Leon Blade Lv. 73 HP: 85 570 MP: 240 000]
The mini-sun disappeared, and so did everyone else.
[You have left the spirit split realm.]
Looking at Leon from afar, Winterborn exchanged a few glances.
Erika shook her head and put on her hood. "She's gone… At least we've seen her demise. We should fully recuperate and return home." The snow woman narrowed her eyes, then promptly closed them. "I'll invite Ender to our lands. But I don't think he's in the mood for any invitation…."
"You're right, though." A white bird agreed with that decision. "He prefers monster girls and wields a unique and profound power. Relationships formed from early days tend to survive the longest."
"Yes."
[Author's note: Louise is gone, but just for a while. Don't get too worried about her. She won't disappear for like hundred chaps. In other words, believe in Lord Sixth. Thanks for power stones, gold tickets, comments. Appreciate all.]
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l