*Warning: Violence!*
"Y-you…" The criminals could not believe what happened to them. Their very own leader used his blade to take their lives!
"Don't look at me like that. This is desperate times…" The Leader had no ounce of remorse in his reply. His hands were already performing hand seals and a purple light started to emerge from the criminals' bodies.
It was like a faint stream of purple mana flowing toward the Leader as if it was being directed to float towards him.
Antoine was secretly communicating with his contracted beasts to check the whereabouts of his men. He never left his attention on the Leader who did not even hesitate to kill his own men.
His eyes flashed with vigilance as he figured out why the Leader killed his subordinates, it is highly probable that his action was a desperate means to increase his strength.
"Interrupt him.." He ordered the contracted beasts through his mental connection with them. "Don't let him succeed in what he planned!"
Roar!
The four-legged beasts replied in unison as they leaped at the opponent in an attempt to disrupt his momentum.
But will the Leader have the guts to do this kind of move if he could just be interrupted that easily?
He only gave a knowing smile and waved his hands deploying the same purple powder bomb that had previously killed Antoine's men earlier.
Boom!
Antoine clucked his tongue in frustration and had no choice but to immediately retract his summons for the affected beasts.
He knew that his beast would be immediately killed upon contact with the purple bomb.
While he bravely volunteered to stay behind until the majority of the people were evacuated, he actually did not have any plans on how to fight him.
He knew that his chances of defeating the criminals or even surviving in this situation were already as slim as a thread. With an opponent wielding such an unfamiliar yet terrifying power, how could he manage to turn the tables around?
However, what can he do?
The only thing he could do was to stall time and create a chance for him to flee. Perhaps there's still a way for them to retaliate if they could regroup and discuss.
The important thing was that they were still alive and standing.
As such he synchronized with the power of Eze, his contracted cheetah and the fastest winged beast he had on his contracted beast inventory.
He also did not hesitate to use his precious magical items in an attempt to immobilize the Leader and catch him off guard.
"When the purple bomb subsides, try to give him an impression that we will initiate another attack!" He communicated with his mighty four-legged beasts.
As soon as the purple powder dissipated, the beasts readied themselves to initiate another attack. Antoine on the other hand prepared his body to blend in the dark and flee.
"Hmm… It seems like you want to flee, Second Prince!" A cold sinister voice abruptly sounded on Antoine's back making his heart rate slow mercilessly.
At that moment, they finally saw that the area at the center of the battlefield was already empty. The Leader already managed to absorb his men's life and boost his strength!
Woosh!
Antoine's intense drive to survive made his body unconsciously move away using his borrowed speed while he swung the sword in his hand.
He tried to ward off the attempt of the Leader to touch the back of his head.
He had a hunch to never ever let the Leader touch any part of his body. He felt that once the leader of the criminal managed to touch the surface of his skin, he would be doomed to die!
"Why struggle? You know that you cannot even retaliate against my attacks. You can only run, but will that turn the tables around?" The Leader only gave a light chuckle while throwing the mocking words at the desperate Antoine.
Antoine did not bother to exchange words with the criminal. He was putting all his attention and efforts towards the chance for him to successfully escape.
"Could it be that you are waiting for your comrades to come and rescue you back?" The leader was not offended by Antoine's lack of reply, but it didn't stop him from mocking the other party. "Why will they come back for you when they know they will surely die?"
Antoine didn't open his mouth but he had an answer in his heart.
He knew that it will take around a day for Seigfried to replenish his mana after using such large-scale teleportation. Therefore, he was no longer hoping that his cousin would be able to come back.
Although Seigfried left him a promise to surely come back, he no longer hoped for it. For he was sure that Seigfried forgot about his own limits out of the extreme pressure of the occasion.
He could only rely on his luck and strength to survive from this point onwards.
"Even if you escaped, you know that the entire Empire can do nothing with us. So why struggle? Just die by my hands and you will no longer suffer the future chaos we will continue to bring in the future." The criminal gloated and even taunted him with threats not only against him but the Empire.
"Insolent! You dare to look down on the Seirende Empire?!" Hearing the words of threat, Antoine's blood boiled in anger.
How dare this sinner insult the mighty Seirende?
Have they forgotten how long the history of the Empire was and how they managed to withstand all attacks of the enemies vying to destroy their land?
Antoine raised his sword and pointed it at the criminal while declaring,
"Even if you kill me, you think that will cause the downfall of this Empire? Remember, this is Seirende the Land of the Victor! If I was not the victorious one, there will always be someone from the family who can attain the victory in my stead!"
The Leader laughed hard, looking at Antoine as if he was a big clown, "Whether your claims are true or not, you can only watch from hell from this time forth. Now go and accept your death!"
He found that Antoine will no longer be triggered by his words. Bored, he decided to end the farce and kill Antoine for good.
Clang! Slash!
The purple dagger mercilessly charged at Antoine who still had an intent to bring a good fight.
Antoine would never allow himself to succumb to hopelessness. Although he had many regrets, he can already foresee his death.
He regretted that he did not go all out in loving his wife and child. He loved them in his heart, but he was too pressed to win the right to the throne that he decided to cast them aside until he succeeded.
Slash! Woosh!
As the knife and the sword cross, Antoine's heart remembered his mother.
It would have been nice if he was able to understand even a bit of his mother's personality before he died. Unfortunately, now that he's almost at the end of the road, he will never have a chance to do that for her.
Swoosh! Kacha!
He continued to struggle until his precious sword was broken in half.
The overwhelming speed and strength of the criminal drained all of his energy. He had long retracted his summons with the other contracted beasts. His mana was also exhausted and he could feel that the synchronization rate between him and his contracted beasts was already decreasing.
He could no longer keep up with the criminal's movement, and with the broken sword in his hands, he now sustained the first cut from the purple dagger.
"Shall I make it so that you died in a way where you could have been saved if the rescuers came on time? Wouldn't that make your father go crazy?" The Leader grinned victoriously as he saw the blood flowing on Antoine's cheeks and taunted him from the last time.
Hearing his words triggered the bomb of anger inside Antoine's heart, "Aaaahhh!!" He charged like a madman, no longer bothering if he was guarded or not.
He was a dead man anyway.
His only goal was to successfully land a blow on the criminal as a payment for his grievances.
His Father never lacked to show him love and support. In fact, his father had been indulgent towards him and Kazimir the most. Hearing the criminal say those words ignited the anger in his heart.
Thinking about how his father would break down and react caused him great worry and pain. However, it is the end of the road for him.
Wooosh!
The sound of a blade piercing the flesh came to his ears.
However, it wasn't his broken sword that did that, but the purple dagger the enemy carried.
His mind went blank as his ears rang continuously, but he could no longer hear anything around.
His crystal blue eyes could only watch as the criminal retract the purple dagger from his chest, letting the blood flow like a river all over his body.
He no longer felt the pain of his body falling tragically to the ground, what was on his mind was the regrets he had in a short life that he had.
His wife, his child, his mother, and his father. Most of all, the regrets he had towards his younger brother Leon. Only he knew why he suddenly changed from being his most loving sibling to his sworn enemy.
But it seems like he could only take this secret to the grave. He could only hope that his brother would find a way to forgive him in his heart, especially now that he is gone.
As his life slowly drifted away, his eyes were somehow being lulled to go on an eternal sleep.
The last image his eyes managed to catch was the face of the criminal grinning mockingly at his dying state.
It was none other than Orel, the personal coachman of the Empress!
