Chapter 91: Cut into pieces
Leon’s head first separated cleanly from his body, sliding off his neck before he could react.
His torso followed, sliced into two by the golden lines drawn across it, and Excalibur fell to the ground.
It was a horrifying sight, ignoring whatever defense he had entirely.
Next thing, his whole body broke apart into pieces, crumbling into small fragments in a split second.
The remaining light of Radiant Ascension flickered out as the pieces of what used to be Leon fell to the ground in a heavy pool of his blood.
Arthur glanced down at his pieced body lying silently at his feet, and a frown immediately appeared on his face.
His brows furrowed deeply as he stared at the carnage, showing no sign of triumph or satisfaction in his victory.
The twenty golden figures immediately vanished from existence, dissolving into scattered specks of dust that were soon swallowed by the darkness.
The brilliant, burning flames around Arthur’s Excalibur dwindled rapidly, the fire dying down until the blade returned to its normal golden colour.
The overwhelming pressure and blinding light of the Holy Knight transformation faded, plunging the space back into darkness.
Leon’s large pool of blood on the floor slowly sunk into the floor, as if the ground itself was thirstily absorbing the liquid.
The stain became lighter and lighter as it disappeared through the invisible pores of the mystical dimension.
The pieces of his ’corpse’ began to sink into the floor as well, like stones sinking into a still, black lake.
Arthur watched the process silently, keeping his gaze fixed on the disappearing pieces of Leon.
In no time, they had all sunk completely into the floor, leaving no trace of their former existence in the quiet void.
There was no body, no blood, and no sign of the violent struggle that had just taken place between them.
Arthur exhaled, the sound echoing softly in the empty space as his posture finally relaxed.
"At least I’ve dealt with him now..." he muttered, shaking his head slightly.
The beautiful golden armour on him began to vanish piece by piece, starting from his gauntlets and moving up his arms.
His long, golden hair snapped back to its original length, and the brilliant glow finally left his ancient eyes.
He suddenly fell heavily to his knees, crashing against the dark floor with a loud, painful-sounding impact.
He grunted in agony, driving the tip of Excalibur into the floor with trembling hands to support himself from collapsing entirely.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the hilt, his arms shaking from severe, sudden exhaustion.
He grunted again as his chest heaved, and he began coughing out blood violently onto the floor.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his shaking hand, staring at the blood stain with weary eyes.
He rubbed his aching chest with his free hand, feeling the internal damage beneath his skin.
He lowered his head, breathing heavily as he muttered through his teeth, "I took more damage than I expected..."
Arthur knew he was lucky he quickly restrained Leon before finishing him off with Holy Severance.
If he had allowed the young warrior to continue his violent barrage, the damage accumulated could have been even more severe than what he felt now.
The raw force of those blows had rattled his core far more deeply than he cared to admit out loud.
He chuckled softly, a faint grin appearing on his tired face as he stared down at the floor where the boy had vanished.
"What an interesting guy... to be able to draw out this much of Heracles’ strength from that item... too bad his heart is tainted." he muttered, clicking his tongue.
Though he didn’t know how Leon got his hands on Heracles’ gauntlets, it was a rare sight to see someone wield such terrifying power, but the hatred in the boy’s soul had ultimately sealed his fate in the trial.
He exhaled a long, steady breath, slowly pushing himself off the floor and standing back up on his feet.
He straightened his posture and held Excalibur by his side, the void growing quiet around his solitary figure once again.
*
Meanwhile, Leon suddenly found himself back in the real world, standing in the exact same spot where everything had paused.
His blade was pointed straight at his brother’s neck, just like he remembered before being pulled into the trial space.
The ambient sounds of the real world rushed back into his ears, breaking the heavy silence of the dark void.
He trembled violently from head to toe, and his eyes widened in pure, chaotic shock.
The horrifying feeling of getting sliced into pieces suddenly rushed back into his mind with overwhelming force.
He felt the ghostly phantom pain of his neck being severed and his torso falling apart, making his breath hitch in his throat.
He stumbled backwards, his knees shaking so hard he could barely stay upright.
His grip on the hilt weakened, and he was barely holding onto Excalibur as his hand shook uncontrollably.
The sword had already lost its brilliant shine, looking more like a dull, lifeless golden blade now.
Yeon, seeing Leon’s strange, helpless state, instantly brightened up in sheer excitement.
He recognized that his brother had lost his focus and that the terrifying power he displayed moments ago was suddenly gone.
Without wasting time, Yeon raised his hands to execute a deadly counterattack.
Ten sharp void blades quickly formed in front of him, floating in the air and humming with dark, destructive energy.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, he sent all ten void blades flying towards Leon at rapid, blinding speed.
They tore through the air, aimed directly at Leon’s defenseless body.
Leon could barely react to the incoming blades rushing toward his chest.
His mind was still unstable from suddenly being back on Earth after getting hacked into pieces by Arthur, and even now, he couldn’t get used to his body.
It felt like he was still lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, his whole body pieced.