"Do you wish to die?" As soon as the creatures rose into the sky to strike him, a voice pierced into Leon's mind.
With no option left, Leon just whispered in a dying tone, "No!"
Then, his fractured leg began to reassemble like broken metal.
He screamed, but what he felt was far better than what he would have faced.
Just as his body reassembled itself, the light that had intervened earlier flew straight towards him. This time, it didn't blast—it turned into a blazing golden sword.
His vision changed from blurry-red to blurry-gold as the sword's hilt began to merge with his body like skin.
The sword lifted automatically, blocking the creatures' strikes mid-air. Yet they didn't stop; the one with the sharpest blade let out a cunning laugh and whispered,
"Do you think we're playing?"
Leon heard the words in a strange tone—almost as if he'd learned their language within seconds.
The creature licked the edge of its sword right after its voice faded, making its green shimmering blood loom on the surface of the blade.
Leon's eyes remained closed—almost as if the sword's gold light had blinded him entirely, even after replenishing his lost skin.
While one creature circled Leon, the other two marched forward in opposite directions. As soon as they slashed their blades, Leon vanished—causing their strikes to split each other apart.
Then, he reappeared right where he was, as they moved back in shock. While their wounds took time to heal, the strongest one faced Leon in a one-on-one combat.
Its movements were far faster than the other two; its sword strikes and the shadow-dance moves were no match for Leon, but he faced it without regrets.
Leon's body kept lagging in deflecting the creature's strikes, but just as he heard the sword's whisper, he gave his entire body to the sword's command.
"Last chance."
Gold-like liquid oozed from Leon's left arm as the creature's sword pierced through his bone the moment he retreated.
The blazing light in his eyes began to die out as the green venomous liquid entered his wound.
It moved through his veins like the screech of blades against a stone.
Then, he screamed. But it wasn't just sound coming out of his mouth—his nose and eyes blazed in perfect unison.
Right after Leon's voice died, his movements changed. The creature blacked out with every strike it blocked.
Leon's strikes turned into a mixture of lightning and sound.
Then, as it neared death, the other two, freshly healed, joined—increasing the pressure on Leon's side.
But it was too late for them. Since he had given the sword his absolute power, he struck them mercilessly.
The ground shook from the force of the strike, causing half of the building to collapse instantly.
The creatures turned and ran, just as debris rained toward them.
Right after they fled, the golden light died out—causing Leon to collapse.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his body covered in dirt. But the remains of the golden blaze had turned into lines on his skin, similar to the carvings on the platform he crawled on.
For a moment, his body remained still, cold, fragile—but his legs were healed, his wounds were healed—except for the wound in his palm.
Heat radiated from him like steam.
Just as he managed to rise, a strange light fell on his face—with a warning sound similar to the one he'd heard earlier.
As he blocked the light, Leon tried to move back. Just as he was about to see the aircraft fully, a shiny object caught his eyes as it flew towards him.
Instantly, he noticed it and swerved, sending it slamming into the ground.
"Freeze!" A booming sound followed just as he dodged the metal net. Leon knew if he stayed there, the promise he made to Lily would be broken.
He began to run away from the building. Even as he moved away, the sound chased him like wind, causing the light of the nearby buildings to turn on.
But still, Leon didn't stop; he pressed on even with pains flaring in his elbows. He ran until he veered from the street to a darker area.
"Go back, go back!" He could hear the voice behind the booming sound, alerting the pilot to go back just as they saw him enter the darker parts of the city.
"Why did they change direction so fast?" Leon hissed, waited for a while, then began to walk to his wretched community.
On the street, everything seemed lifeless—not even the trees bore fruit. Only the shattered posters, dust, and torn rubber scraps moved there.
Familiar with the habits of these dark streets, Leon placed his hands in his pockets and walked like nothing mattered.
Every dog he passed gazed at him in mid-bark—almost as if they had forgotten how to bark once his gaze fell on them.
As he passed by a collapsed building, he heard chattering. The voices seemed to be distinct at first, but just as his foot kicked a tin can, it stopped—then, began moving toward him.
Hearing how fast they were approaching, Leon ran like it was his last. But as he turned around, he noticed a pair of glowing violet eyes following him.
"There's no way I'm letting them near me." Leon shook his head, sped up, and began moving zigzag—turning and jumping over walls.
"Did you see where he went?" Just as he threw himself in an open trash bin, he heard them searching, pushing bins and kicking walls to instill fear in him.
"Check the open one!" Leon's heart skipped as soon as he heard 'open.'
"Check it yourself if you want; I'm not wrecking my nose for that." Leon heard a second voice, immediately followed by footsteps coming close to his hiding spot.
"Damn! What's that smell?" The person began to cough rapidly, as he tried to peek his head in.
"No human would hide in this fucking trash. Even a madman wouldn't." Leon heard them moving away.
Just as they left, he climbed out and began to cough profusely.
"What the hell is that smell?!" Leon gagged.
With a careful stare, Leon focused his eyes on the banner on all the other trash. For a while he stood there covering his mouth and nose with his hands.
Then, just as he tilted his head to the one he had just crawled from, he screamed.