His eyes welled up with involuntary tears. Many of Juniper's people lay dead or severely injured.
"Brother..."
Leo felt a chill as he turned to the side to see the source of the voice. He rushed over to a large boulder where he saw someone crawling into hiding. The pair of feet wore a familiar set of boots.
"Someone...help. Please...."
The voice was weak. Leo rounded the stone and froze in shock.
There laid his older brother, bleeding heavily from his chest.
The blood that seeped from the corners of his mouth was dark. His eyes were shutting slowly.
"Kenjō!," Leo dropped to his knees and held him.
"I'm here!"
Kenjō opened his eyes slowly, focusing on him.
With a weak smile, he put his hand over Leo's.
"I tried little brother. But they got me. If you ever find Ma, let her know I'm finally home.... I feel so tired."
Leo shook his head.
"No," He cried. "Don't close your eyes, Kenjō. Don't go to sleep. Please! I'm sorry I haven't been home. I'm sorry I haven't spent time with you and Father. Please just stay awake. I'll make sure you-" He was interupted as Kenjō squeezed his hand tightly.
"It's alright, Leo," He coughed suddenly, spilling more blood from his lips. "It's okay. I think they got pa. But he's somewhere out here. Please just promise me something."
Leo's tears welled up in a flow down his face.
The truth of the matter was, His brother was dying. And he couldn't do anything about it. He shook his head.
"Well what is it?"
Kenjō reached up and set his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Don't die," He said with a rattling breath.
"Don't stray from the road you choose. Keep going even if it feels impossible. Just promise me. Protect those you care about in your future. Please. Also one more thing but I need you to get closer to hear."
Leo leaned in further.
"Your boots stink," He chuckled weakly at his own dying humor. "I want you to know, I'm going to pick on you when I watch you from the other side. But I love you little brother."
With that, his hand slid down and went limp. His eyes grew lifeless and cold. Leo bowed his head and closed Kenjō's eyes.
"I love you too. Brother."
A disciple landed upon the rock and brought down a wickedly barbed spear. But it didn't get close to its target.
The disciple grunted and looked to see Leo had grasped the shaft, his head still bowed, hair obscuring his eyes.
"I'm going to kill you all," Leo growled.
A sudden stream of brilliant blue flames burst from that arm and traveled swiftly over the sword and to the cloaked figure, engulfing his arms and soon his entire body. The creature screamed out as the fire spread over its body, burning away at its robes, exposing the skin that took the appearance of gray and rotten flesh. The fire wouldn't stop spreading, soon consuming the being completely. Within minutes, there was no trace of it and the flames died down. Nothing was left in its place.
He stared at the ground, puzzled. It was just grass. He pulled his sword from the ground and gathered Kenjō's. He stared at the common metal in shame before setting it down beside where his brother laid motionless.
He stepped forward toward all the fighting, trying to concentrate his power, not wanting to release it just yet.
'Where is it? I need it!'
As if on command with his thoughts, the sudden surge of fiery power erupted, changing his appearance to that of a dragon. His body became filled with a fury no man was quite familiar with, let alone an elf. This new dragon, who's scales were made of blue fire, who's sword became one with him, who would cast judgement upon those in his path....
He stepped through into the fight, cutting left and right, destroying the ranks of the disciples. The hooded figures assaulting the town began to stagger their ranks in fear.
Leo screamed and howled under his brilliant form, hurling balls of fire at the surviving invaders. Several of the members of the Disciple Clan attempted to run away. Only for a girl in a red dress and a demon to chase them and extinguish them like insects that posed as a major nuisance.
Sateria and Lucille were fighting alongside Leo in the distance.
Sateria weilded an axe with an exotically curved head.
Lucille shattered the skulls of the attackers with her Warhammer.
Seeing these two fighting the people strengthened their moral and advanced stronger than before.
Arrows whizzed by, passing over Leo's head. The dragonoid turned and saw that Jasper had joined into the fight.
A roar sounded from high above, followed by a sudden blast of violet fire. Leo arched his head back to look upward and find Twilight had joined in as well.
Although separate and spread throughout the fields, They all fought for the same reason. But the Clan was brutal.
Leo's form rushed through the field attacking through brute force, not using anything aside from the urge to kill and slaughter.
Though they fought hard, and the hours slowly turned to night, the battle dragged on until
The wee hours of the next day saw many dead. But the majority of those dead being the Disciple Clan.
Leo spotted Jasper, Lucille, and Sateria speaking in a group together.
Lucille turned and looked at him with a smile and a wave.
Sateria ran up to him but hesitated to touch him in his current state. Leo looked down at her as she smiled up to him.
The dragonoid form vanished, leaving Leo in his normal state.
He frowned at Sateria.
"What are you smiling about?"
Sateria's only response was a giggle and then to turn around to skip off to assist the Townsfolk.
"C'mon," She called over her shoulder.
"We should assist the injured."
Jasper and Lucille nodded.
Leo frowned at Lucille before tapping her shoulder.
"How do they see you?," He asked her in an undertone.
Lucille shrugged and giggled lightly.
"I let them."
She turned around and started following after the others.
Leo shook his head slowly.
His brother was dead. He didn't know where Father was.
"If you ever find Ma, let her know I'm finally home...."
The words Kenjō had said echoed through his mind as he joined in with the group.