"Well, young master. The al will have to wait." Saito's voice was calm but firm, with a subtle weight. "Could you co with for a mont?"
"Of course, Master..." Leonard replied, his voice low and his head slightly bowed, the lancholy still present, mixed with apprehension.
They walked into the forest, away from the cabin. The silence between them was dense. Saito remained enigmatic, his face indecipherable. I can't read the old man's expressions, Leonard thought, his anxiety growing.
"Here we are," Saito announced, his voice cutting through the silence. They were in the clearing where, days before, they had trained with the straw and bamboo targets. A place that used to be for learning, now with a different air. "Boy, show what you've learned."
"What do you an, what have I learned, Master?" Leonard asked, confused, the question echoing his nervousness.
"Show what you're capable of, or this place will beco your tomb. I didn't accept a disciple for him to beco a reaper of lives, like a Leirion." Saito's tone changed, the calmness replaced by a threatening intensity, like a dragon awakening.
Saito released his battle aura—a manifestation of energy, present in Neumonds of the physical type. His energy erupted, and a powerful aura enveloped him. "Here I go..." said Saito, his voice deep, the fla of his energy crackling around him.
In an instinctive movent of pure survival, Leonard activated his ELEV to full power and drew his swords, Smiling and Absolution. In an instant, Saito advanced, attacking with one of his short swords. Leonard, using his temporal cognition, managed to defend himself by the slimst of margins.
An explosion arose from the deflection of the attack, reverberating through Leonard's bones. Smiling and Absolution deflected the attack, but the force threw him far away. Leonard flew, spinning, bounced twice on the ground, and hit a tree. A loud thud.
He felt his bones crack. The pain was intense. He had never seen anything so strong. And he didn't even understand how he had defended.
"Goddammit! Cough, cough," Leonard coughed, spitting blood into his hand.
He barely finished the words, and Saito was already in his face, appearing like a freaking lightning bolt. A masterful sorsault for a 300-year-old guy. He aid for Leonard's neck, his objective clear: to take his life.
Leonard defended by a hair's breadth again. He was dragged several ters sideways. He fell on his side, blood running in a thick stream from his mouth. "I think I broke so ribs," he thought, with a sharp twinge of pain in his chest.
"Die, you brat!" shouted Saito, coming down like a bolt of lightning with a vertical slash, aiming for Leonard's waist, who was on the ground. He intended to split him in half.
Leonard, with effort, rolled to the side, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth. Saito's blade exploded on the ground where he was, opening up a huge crater and blowing him away again, like a rag doll.
Leonard was being treated like a total ragdoll by Saito.
"Wh… cough, cough… why, Mas-cough-, Master?", Leonard could barely get the words out, pain and lack of air choking him.
"That's how they felt when you killed them. And today, you're gonna join them," said Saito, his eyes burning, his face twisted, pissed off.
Leonard, gathering his strength, struggled to his feet, leaning on Absolution. He took a battle stance, even with his left hand pressing on his injured ribs. "Then co on, you freaking old man," he growled, spitting blood on the ground in a gesture of defiance.
Saito shot forward, a sonic boom accompanying his movent, his murderous intent more palpable than ever.
Leonard thought, "Roland told that the strength of a platinum rank was already enough to alter the landscape. This old man is gonna beat the crap out of this whole area if he keeps trying to kill ." He closed his eyes, giving in to instinct. He felt the flow of his ELEV, letting his body act on its own, without his conscious mind getting in the way.
Absolution collided with Saito's sword. The tallic, explosive sound echoed all the way to the distant cabin, kicking up dust and ripping leaves from nearby trees. Leonard blocked the blow, getting dragged back just a few ters, but, to his surprise, staying in one piece.
"Did I die?" Leonard wondered, opening his eyes and looking at his body, incredulous. "No way!... But what the hell is this?" His eyes locked onto his own skin.
He saw an electrical aura crackling around his body, like a miniature storm. Startled and, at the sa ti, amazed, he took in the sight. "Is this... Saito's ability? Is he really gonna kill ?" Leo wondered.
Saito then simply landed beside him, light as a feather. His murderous intent had vanished completely, replaced by his usual calm and playful tone.
"Oh hooo! I knew it. Just look at you, boy!" said Saito, stroking his beard with a familiar gesture, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction.
"What's going on? Why'd you try to kill , you ol—"
Saito's firm and severe look silenced Leonard before he could finish the sentence, a silent but powerful warning.
"Master… Can you explain?" Leonard asked, confused, his voice strained by the mix of pain, fear, and curiosity.
"I talked with the Paladin while you were out. And she told so very interesting things about how you guys got here," Saito revealed, an inquisitive tone in his voice.
"I… I don't even know myself, Mr. Saito," Leonard replied, throwing himself on the ground, exhausted, his hand still pressing on his aching ribs.
"She told that you used battle aura in that fight in Gothia," Saito continued, crouching down near Leonard, his gaze locked on the young man. "So, after you confessed to that you'd killed those bandits, I found the perfect excuse to teach you a lesson. And, of course, see it with my own eyes! Oh, hoo!"
Leonard let his body fall back, completely spent. "You're nuts, Master Saito," he blurted out, a mix of frustration and relief in his voice.
"It was you who wiped out a bunch of people. You're the crazy one here. Crazy and interesting! Oh Hoo!" Saito laughed, amused by the situation.
"Yeah, right! Like you've never killed anyone, huh?" Leonard challenged, defiant.
"You bet! I've taken countless lives," Saito replied, his tone suddenly serious, the amusent gone from his face.
"So, what's the big deal? What did I do wrong?" Leonard asked, genuinely confused, unable to grasp the reason behind Saito's attack. The void inside him kept him from seeing clearly.
"I didn't do it for kicks, but out of necessity. That's the difference between us," Saito concluded, his voice heavy with sorrow, experience, and pain. "There shouldn't be any pleasure in taking a life, Leonard. That's my first lesson."
"Yes, sir," Leonard agreed, submissive.
"And it's non-negotiable." The tone in Saito's voice was now a death sentence. "Don't make that mistake again... Did I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir..." Leonard repeated, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts, his voice weak.
"Let's head back. Tomorrow we'll start your Blade Dancer training."
Leonard, with a groan of pain, got to his feet and followed Saito, limping, not saying a word, his body and mind completely drained.
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