Everyone inside the dining hall, except Leonard, has fallen on the ground. Everything is in mess and the guards are running outside the mansion to check the situation.
"There's an intruder! Kill him!." The guards outside the mansion shouted in command. But momentarily, they screamed in pain.
"Aster, Alice, go escape from here." Leonard turned solemn and ordered them first before he rushed outside the mansion.
The attack before was so strong that it could shake the mansion built with fortified stone and magic formations. So instead of hiding, Leonard decided to let them escape outside the mansion.
Aster and Alice nodded from each other and they ran towards the back exit.
"We should go to the Army's camp and ask for their help. This might not just a simple incident." Aster was skeptical about the attack.
"Who would dare to attack the mansion of a Grand Arcane Knight? Who is crazy enough to create havoc to a large city filled with Arcane Knights. It's either they are tired of living or they are insanely powerful to make an unconcealed attack" Aster analyzed the situation and he was convinced that this could not just be a small matter.
"We don't have to. Seeing how strong the attack before, they should have felt the strong magical aura in this place." Alice replied while waving her finger in the air forming a magical symbol.
"Basic Wind magic, Wind Surf!"
Alice voiced out and then the symbol turned into a green-colored wind and paved a path for them. Then their running speed was increased tremendously and let them escaped from the premises of the mansion at a much faster rate.
But just after they got out, Alice fell and sat down. She was panting and perspiring heavily from exhaustion.
"Are you alright Alice? Can you still stand?" Aster asked Alice and held her up.
"I'm alright. I just depleted my magic energy. I didn't expect that it will consume a large amount of energy to keep up both of us." Alice replied while gasping up air to breathe.
"We should go now or else we will be caught up from the after-effects of their battle." Alice knew how strong his father was. If they will make an all-out battle, they can be killed by mere energy shock-waves in their battle.
"Where should we go now?" Aster asked as he carried Alice on his back. He has a strong and toned body which he honed through his heavy training. Lifting a petite girl like Alice would be as easy as carrying a bag.
"Let's hide to the Arcane Sanctum. It's one of the safest places in the Capital." Alice pointed her finger to the towering building near the foot of the mountain.
"Alrighty!" Without any delay, Aster strode carefully yet fast towards the said place.
---
Meanwhile, in the mansion, Leonard rushed outside where the attack came from.
Just when he got outside, a smell of burning flesh and blood assaulted his nostrils. Many of the guards are burned dead, leaving only the bulk of charcoaled bones and flesh.
Then a piercing screech was heard above the dark sky. A large purple-flame phoenix was hovering above the mansion with a purple-robed person on its back. This person was totally covered with oversized robed which made anyone can't determine his features.
"You finally made your move. I've been waiting for you all this time. Come, come, show me what got." Leonard said with a provoking smirk plastered on his face.
The robed person remained silent but he released a tremendous amount of magical energy. This energy was both dark and mysterious.
Leonard didn't let his guard down. He swept his hand and a large lance showed up in his hands. This lance was silver in color with three spiked rings rotating on it.
"This is my weapon, Wind Shredder. This is the same weapon I used to fight him. And now, you will taste a piece of it." Leonard jumped and a pair of wings made of wind appeared on his back. He flew towards the robed person like an arrow released from the bow.
The robed person didn't evade the ferocious lance directed to him. Instead, he simply stomped his foot to the purple phoenix.
In an instant, the purple phoenix released a fire tornado on its beak. This fire tornado was so powerful that it almost like a giant cloud of fire in the sky.
When the fire tornado and the lance clashed in the sky, the resulting impact made the dark sky lighted up like it was day time.
The shock waves pushed them apart and some fireballs fell from the sky. Fortunately, the city activated its Grand Barrier and protected the whole city from the aftermath of the clash.
Leonard somersaulted in the air before he fell on the ground. He spat some blood but he simply raised his lance once again. He got many burned marks all over his body and yet he just grinned maliciously.
He drew a series of magical symbols all over his body using his blood as ink. Then these symbols glowed bright red and wrapped around his body.
"Arcane Grand Magic: Blood Regalia!"
"Wind Emperor Magic: Dragon Armor"
Leonard shouted and performed two consecutive high ranked magic arts. His face paled as he used a large amount of his blood to boost temporarily his magic power.
There are different ranks of magic arts that require strict conditions:
Basic rank for Beginner Knight
Intermediate rank for Intermediate Knight
Advance rank for Advance Knight
Grand rank for Grand Knight
Emperor rank for Supreme Knight
For just a Grand Knight Leonard to cast an Emperor Magic are way beyond his capabilities. If it's not for his Arcane Magic that supported him, he would have received fatal backlash from the magic power itself.
Regardless, his current strength was far beyond any Grand Knight. His injured body and paled face were covered with green leather armor with scales of a dragon. His eyes turned ferocious and sharp like a predator gazing at its prey.
"Taste my full power! Wind Dragon Assault!" Leonard shouted and he flew towards the robed person. His lance was directly above his head and pointed towards the robed person. His whole body was like an embodiment of a gigantic hurricane that greatly increased his speed and strength.
Seeing how powerful the current Leonard, the robed man finally created magical formations around him by waving his hands. These formations are interlinking with each other forming a large constellation of yin and yang.
"Stellar Grand Magic: Yin-Yang Harmony Released"
"Fire-Water Compound Emperor Magic: Cold Fire Outburst!"
The robed person shouted in a deep voice. A deep-blue fire shot out from the magic constellation and formed a concentrated fire beam.
Their attacks clashed once again and created an unparalleled shockwave that shook the whole city. The dome-shaped Grand Barrier was shattered by blocking the aftermath of the explosion of two Platinum-ranked magic arts.
When the smoke started to dissipate, the robed person flew higher with his phoenix. He knelt down in exhaustion and his magic constellations broke into pieces.
On the other hand, Leonard was nowhere to be seen on the battlefield.
The robed person never let his guard down and tried to detect any magic ripples around him. But suddenly, a chilling danger sprouted behind him.
"Die!" Leonard appeared behind him with his ferocious lance attack. He stabbed with all of his remaining energy as his final attack.
The robed person tried to dodge sideways but his exhaustion slowed him down. The lance punctured his shoulder and made a hole in it.
The purple-flame phoenix saw the predicament of its master and started to barrel roll. Its wings hit Leonard out from it's back and charged him down from the air.
Leonard shot down from the sky and hit the cracked Grand Barrier before hitting the ground. The barrier finally broke into pieces which made everyone in the city gasped in surprise and fear.
The robed person was greatly injured and his shoulder was bleeding profusely. He conjured a water healing spell but the wind magic inside her shoulder prevents him from healing instead.
He decided torn off his sleeve and a fair yet bloodied arm was revealed. He tightly wrapped the sleeve over his shoulder to prevent it from bleeding.
"Damn it! I thought I can easily overpower him with my current level since he was still injured a decade ago." The robed person whispered out with frustration. His voice was thin and melodious similar to a young woman.
"I should better get the key first or else he will be in great danger." The robed person and the phoenix dove swiftly where Leonard fell.
When they reached the ground, Leonard was still breathing miraculously after falling from the sky. He was currently lying on the ground with his bloody and deformed. His dragon armor was already disappeared and his lance has nowhere to be seen.
"Die!" Right after the robed person saw that Leonard was still breathing, he bellowed and instantly stomped the phoenix to transferred his remaining energy.
The purple-flame phoenix blew a weaker level of fire tornado towards Leonard.
Then Leonard and the whole ground was devoured by the purple flames until they glow in red.
The robed person went beside the burnt body of Leonard and took his undamaged golden ring. But just after he pulled the ring out of the finger, the body of Leonard bloated instantaneously and exploded with fiery red flames.
The robed person didn't have time to escape and was directly hit by the explosive force. He flew and rolled multiple times before he was stopped by the brick wall.
His purple robe was actually a high-level defense item and yet it was still burned by the fiery flames before. If it is just an ordinary robe, the robed person would have died on the spot.
The robed person removed his robe and revealed the features of a pretty woman.
This woman has long purple hair with purple eyes. Her slender body was full of wounds and bruises which looks very distinct on his pale white skin.
"That person. He cast two kinds of magic." The woman thought as the explosion before was a fire type magic.
Leonard showed the wind magic at the first clash and now he released fire magic which should not be possible.
"A person has only a single magic seed on the body which conjures a single type of magic. Unless they have the same bloodline as mine or multiple magic seeds. Could it be?!" The woman realized something and she whistled loudly to call the purple phoenix hovering in the sky.
She drank a bluish liquid from the vial and her magic energy was slowly restored. She rode the purple-flame phoenix and rode towards the tower of Arcane Sanctum.
Right after the woman and the phoenix left, a dark sludge appeared from the exploded body of Leonard and turned into a humanoid form.
"She should have a skilled partner that held the other Grand Arcane Knights. I wonder if her partner was the one I was thinking of. " The humanoid slime spoke as it slowly took the features of Leonard. He pondering while walking towards his mansion. Chasing the woman was already out of his thought as he was totally drained of magic energy.
"Well anyway, regardless of their great effort and flawless plan, in the face of absolute strength, it was pointless. They will fail just like that man." Leonard laughed loudly and entered the mansion.
--------
"Finally, we made it here!" Aster said while panting heavily. Right after the Grand Barrier broke into pieces, he immediately dashed with all his might towards the Grand Sanctum while carrying Alice on his back.
The destruction of the barrier created a great fear for anyone in the city. Especially to those who are not strong enough to protect themselves from monster hordes.
"It looks like the city is on a great peril. Many of the Arcane Knights are not in here. It only means that they are out in the city to block out the incoming monster hoards. And yet, someone took the advantage and attacked the city. This is really a worst-case scenario." Alice was thinking if this event was orchestrated by a person or just a perfect coincidence. After all, controlling a horde of monsters is nearly impossible.
"Well anyway, this place is a perfect place to hide from the monster attacks," Alice said while entering the tower.
Aster followed her inside and he was amazed how grand inside the tower. There are many glowing stones and pearls embedded on the walls which made the place bright as day. There is also a luxurious red carpet that paves the path towards the center stage where the ceremonies were held.
The stage was made of an unknown material with an insignia of a sword and an eye in the center. Above this large stage was a floating monument of a robed man with the same insignia on its chest.