After the Third Duel
After the third duel, the referee announced a break for both teams. As Leon was leaving the arena, he suddenly felt soone's intense gaze on him.
Stopping for a brief mont, he slowly turned his head to see who was staring at him.
His suspicion was quickly confird—it was Jilk. Prince Julius was also watching him, but it was Jilk's gaze that felt especially heavy. In his eyes burned a mixture of rage, despair, and sothing else—sothing far more sinister. He radiated pure malice, and his murderous aura was palpable even from a distance.
Leon, however, paid it little mind. He rely glanced at Jilk before continuing on his way, not slowing his stride as he left the arena.
---
On the Other Side of the Stands
The atmosphere on the other side of the stands was entirely different. Out of the five "heroes" in Prince Julius's group, only two remained—Jilk and the prince himself. Beside them stood Marie, who was struggling to hold back her tears.
"Who the hell is this mob?!" she scread internally, clenching her fists.
Her thoughts raced in a panic. Her entire plan had collapsed in an instant. She was certain she hadn't overlooked a character like this in the story. To her, Leon had always seed insignificant—just another academy student who, like so many others, would eventually graduate and serve the kingdom. At first glance, he resembled a typical patriot, soone eager to rid the country of unnecessary problems.
But now, her certainty was shattered.
"Could he have been a hidden character? So kind of secret love interest for the protagonist from a DLC?"
The thought flashed through her mind, but she imdiately dismissed it.
No. This was sothing entirely different.
She looked at Leon again as he casually walked away from the arena. And then, suddenly, it hit her—there was sothing familiar about him.
"He kinda reminds of... my brother... The sa idiot," Marie muttered, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh.
On the other hand, Jilk's thoughts were entirely different.
"Damn it... That bastard..." he fud, clenching his fists.
Everyone who had fought before him had lost. Even Chris, one of the strongest in their group, had been defeated. And Jilk himself was far from the best fighter among them.
He nervously bit his fingers, feeling his anger and fear rge into a raging storm inside him.
But soon, he forced himself to calm down.
"It doesn't matter... It doesn't matter if I lose. The only thing that matters is preventing the prince's defeat."
Reassuring himself with those words, he stepped away from Marie and Julius, heading toward his group of followers.
---
The Order is Given
As he approached, he was t with cheerful faces and enthusiastic voices:
"Welco, Lord Jilk!"
But before they could continue their usual bootlicking, Jilk abruptly cut them off with an icy voice:
"Find soone in the academy who's close to Leon. I don't care who—a friend, a family mber, anyone."
His followers exchanged glances, not fully understanding his intent.
"Use my influence to make them do sothing to Leon," he continued, reaching under his cloak and pulling out a small object.
It was a magical bomb. A tiny crystal that emitted a faint, ominous glow.
"This should do the trick," he said, idly playing with the artifact in his hand. "Tell them they need to plant this inside his armor. If they fail... things won't end well for them."
A shiver ran down the spines of his followers. One of them, gathering his courage, spoke up:
"L-Lord Jilk... Even if we find soone close to Leon, are you sure they'd agree?"
"A magical bomb... That could kill him!" another follower added, clearly alard. "And he's considered a hero of the country. He has massive support among the barons, and even so high-ranking officials are on his side. If sothing goes wrong... this could start an outright revolt."
Jilk scowled in irritation.
"You think I don't understand that, you idiot?!" he snapped, making the follower flinch.
Taking a deep breath, he composed himself before continuing:
"I'll try to force Bartfort to surrender with words first. If he refuses... then we'll use the bomb. As for his family... we'll deal with them later. We'll offer them sothing in exchange for their silence. Right now, our priority is finding the right person."
His gaze turned sharp as he scanned his followers.
"Do you all understand? Then get to work."
With that, he turned sharply and walked away, leaving his subordinates in complete disarray.
---
After Jilk's Departure
Silence hung in the air.
"What's going to happen to us...?" one of the followers whispered.
"He could just pin all the bla on us... Maybe we shouldn't do this?" another suggested nervously.
The first one sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.
"We don't have a choice. If we refuse... not just us, but our families will suffer."
For a mont, silence fell once more. Then, reluctantly, he nodded.
"Alright... We'll do it. If everything goes smoothly, we might even profit from this."
The others, though hesitantly, nodded in agreent. Then, steeling themselves, they left the room—beginning their hunt.
---
In the Shadows...
From the darkness, a chanical voice rang out, void of any emotion:
"Caught in 4K resolution."
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