Free Web NovelChapter 48: The Fire Lion Knight...
Nox remained atop the rooftop, watching the square from above.
The new demonic chains slowly slithered around his right arm.
Below, chaos spread everywhere.
Citizens were running through the streets.
Merchants were abandoning their stalls.
Guards were trying to retreat without getting caught in the middle of the battle.
And then...
One of them made a mistake.
A guard armed with a black spear charged straight at Misty.
"Capture the criminals!"
The spear’s tip shot directly toward the dancer.
But before it could reach her...
The chains restraining the blind old man suddenly snapped apart.
The old man stepped forward and threw a kick.
The spear shattered in half.
The guard froze, staring at the broken shaft still clutched in his hands.
Misty smiled.
"Thank you very much."
The old man adjusted his beard.
"No problem, young lady."
Leo frowned.
"Guards!"
His voice echoed throughout the square.
"Stand down."
The men looked at him in confusion.
"Huh?"
"I’ll handle this."
The guard who had tried to attack Misty didn’t need to hear anything else.
He dropped what remained of his spear and ran.
The others did exactly the same.
The old man watched them flee.
"Let them go."
Misty turned toward him.
"What?"
"They aren’t to blame."
The dancer raised an eyebrow.
The old man clasped his hands behind his back.
"They’re people who have been deceived by the Church."
His voice remained calm.
"Punishing them won’t solve anything."
Misty stared at him.
She clearly hadn’t expected to hear something like that.
◇◆◇
Meanwhile...
Leo slowly raised his hand, and the black shield appeared before him.
The hero looked toward the rooftop.
Directly at Nox.
"Thank you."
Nox raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For waiting."
Leo smiled.
"You could’ve attacked while the people were still here."
The hero glanced around.
The last citizens were finally escaping.
"At least you had the decency to wait until they left."
Nox chuckled.
"I don’t like killing spectators."
Leo began walking forward slowly.
"I still don’t understand."
The flames on his sword burned brighter.
"I don’t know who you people are."
Another step.
"I don’t know where you came from."
Another.
"And I don’t understand why you’re helping a deserter."
The hero smiled.
"But none of that matters anymore."
The flames intensified.
"Because you’re trash."
Pressure began spreading across the entire square.
"And my job is taking out the trash."
Before he could move...
Dozens of dark arrows appeared behind him.
Leo’s eyes widened.
"Hm?"
The arrows descended like a storm.
Audrey appeared atop a nearby rooftop.
Leo immediately raised his shield, and the arrows exploded against it.
Darkness and smoke engulfed the square.
And then...
Audrey appeared right beside him.
Her daggers were wrapped in dark energy.
Ready to pierce his throat.
Leo reacted instantly, his black sword colliding with both blades.
A shower of sparks illuminated the area.
"You’re fast."
Leo commented.
Then he violently swung his shield.
Audrey leapt backward.
And at that exact moment...
Misty appeared behind him, smiling.
"My turn."
The dancer spun, and wind exploded around her legs.
She was using her Dancing Tornado.
The first kick struck Leo’s side.
The second landed an instant later.
The third was even faster.
And the fourth...
Even stronger.
Every spin increased her speed.
Every kick built more power.
Leo tried to evade them.
But Misty was too fast.
The sixth kick slammed directly into his chest.
The hero was launched through the air.
He crashed through part of the wooden structure.
And fell from the platform.
But before he could hit the ground...
Nox’s chains appeared from nowhere.
Dozens of them.
They wrapped around his entire body.
The chains tightened.
And Leo was completely immobilised.
His sword fell to the ground, and the shield vanished.
Both weapons turned into black ashes.
The square fell silent.
◇◆◇
From the shadows...
Nox appeared.
The Marauder’s Mask completely concealed his face.
Leo tried to move, but couldn’t.
The chains didn’t even tremble.
"Interesting."
Nox muttered.
Then he crouched in front of the hero.
"I need you to help me with a couple of things."
Leo smiled despite being restrained.
"I’m not helping you."
"That’s a shame."
Audrey landed beside Nox.
Her daggers were still glowing.
"I think it’d be better to cut his head off."
Leo looked at her.
"How aggressive."
Misty landed behind them, laughing.
"Audrey always thinks violence is the answer."
"Not always."
"Ninety percent of the time."
The old man burst out laughing.
Then he looked at Nox.
"Hey, lad."
"What is it?"
"Don’t get overconfident."
Nox raised an eyebrow.
The old man pointed at the hero.
"This guy is a lot stronger than he looks."
Misty crossed her arms.
"Doesn’t seem like it."
"He gave me a pretty tough fight in the mountains."
Nox remembered the explosions. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The sounds they had heard the day they left the old man’s cave.
’So it really was them.’
That explained a lot.
But it also raised another question.
’If he fought this old man on equal footing...’
He looked at Leo.
’Why did he go down so easily?’
And then he realised something was wrong.
Leo was smiling.
"Are you done yet?" freewēbnoveℓ.com
The hero asked.
Nox frowned.
"What?"
Leo slowly raised his head.
The grin on his face was enormous.
"Because you gave me way too much time."
And at that instant...
Flames appeared from inside the chains.
First a small spark.
Then another.
And another.
Until an explosion of fire engulfed his entire body.
Nox felt his chains tighten.
Then...
They began to break apart.
The chains exploded in every direction.
The shockwave forced Audrey and Misty backward.
Nox shielded himself with both arms.
Smoke filled the square.
For several seconds, nobody could see anything.
A figure emerged from within the cloud.
Leo.
Completely unharmed.
With an even bigger smile on his face.
"Much better."
The ashes began gathering around his hand, and his black sword reappeared.
The glowing cracks burned intensely.
The hero vanished like a red flash.
Nox’s eyes widened.
’Where...?’
