Leon and Bruno kept their eyes locked. Even as Leon occasionally swung his trident to swat away enemy soldiers trying to ambush him, his gaze never left Bruno up on the balcony.
But before Leon could make his move, Bruno suddenly raised both hands and dropped his sword. Behind him, three figures dressed in black had appeared, leveling their weapons at him, while a young woman—also clad entirely in black—held a pair of long daggers crossed tightly against his throat.
Seeing this, Leon casually walked into the central tower of the fortress to make his way up to where Bruno was. Once he reached the top, Leon looked out toward the city of Farport. It was glowing red with fire, and it was obvious that a fierce battle was raging within. Leon stepped closer to Bruno. The two assassins pointing weapons at Bruno's back moved aside to let Leon through, while the girl holding the daggers at his throat spun Bruno around to face Leon.
"Are you the leader of this fortress?" Leon asked.
"Puiiih," Bruno spat at Leon.
But before the saliva could hit him, an assassin caught it with his hand with incredible speed and then wiped it away. Leon glanced at the assassin.
"Thank you," Leon said to the man, who simply bowed his head in silence.
Leon turned his gaze back to Bruno, who looked absolutely livid, staring back with a look that said he hadn't given up yet. "Thump," Leon slammed the butt of his trident against the floor and reached out, pinching Bruno's cheeks firmly between his fingers.
"It seems you're ready to die. What's your name?" Leon asked firmly.
"Bruno... Clark... who's asking?" Bruno replied, his voice sounding distorted because his cheeks were squeezed.
"Clark? Ah, it turns out you're my cousin," Leon said with a cold, cynical smile.
Bruno's eyes went wide at Leon's words. Then, his eyes narrowed again, studying the face of the man in front of him—the black hair and those piercing, bright blue eyes. Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, and his face went deathly pale.
"Y-you... who are you? What is your connection to Eluisa?" Bruno stammered.
"Eluisa is my sister. Do you remember the triplets born eighteen years ago? The babies you people wanted to murder, forcing my sister to flee to the Dark Continent with us?" Leon said calmly, but his voice was heavy with authority.
Bruno's face grew even whiter. He remembered exactly what happened eighteen years ago when he was only fifteen. Even though he wasn't the one who did it, he knew perfectly well who had murdered the parents of Eluisa and Leon to seize their territory, Nortrom. But then, Bruno suddenly burst into a loud, frantic laughter, causing the three assassins to glance at one another.
"Is something funny?" Leon asked in a steady voice.
"So, you actually escaped and survived all this time. You're a child of House Reinald. You've got the wrong target if you plan on killing me; I had nothing to do with my old man's actions," Bruno said, immediately throwing his father under the bus.
Leon fell silent for a moment, then a faint smile played on his lips. He continued to stare at Bruno until Bruno tried to look away to avoid his gaze. Leon forced him to look back, his hand still gripping the man's cheeks.
"You think I came here just to get revenge on you and your father? If that's what you think, you're dead wrong. I see now just how small-minded you really are," Leon said with a sharp, cynical smile.
Hearing Leon's calm words—so different from any ordinary man—Bruno finally realized the weight of the legend: the birth of the triplets of House Reinald, the descendants of the founders of the Empire and the Esvana religion. He stared at Leon's smiling face and, for the first time, felt a bone-chilling fear.
"W-what... what do you want?" Bruno asked.
"To conquer Libelia, to unite the Vanadias Empire, and if that's not possible, my siblings and I will tear it down to build a new kingdom. I have only one goal: to face the evil from the north and wipe it out," Leon answered with calm dignity.
"W-what?" Bruno gasped.
"This fortress of yours is just a small stepping stone for me. Unfortunately, you won't be around to see it all happen. You'll be spending the rest of your life in a dungeon," Leon said. He turned to the three assassins surrounding them. "I don't know who you are, but I don't sense a murderous intent from you. Do me a favor: take him away and lock him in this fortress's dungeon," Leon requested.
The three assassins didn't say a word, but they nodded, and he could tell they were smiling behind their masks. They immediately hauled Bruno away. Still stunned, pale, and weak, the Admiral was led away toward the depths of the prison. Leon watched him go with a smile, propping his trident on his shoulder.
"Huh... since you reminded me about revenge, I'll go along with your wish. But I can still make use of you when I take back Nortrom later, so until then, I'll let you live for a while. Eluisa will be happy to hear about this later. Now, I have to go help Livia's forces in Farport," Leon thought to himself. He actually had a much larger plan than just simple vengeance. He turned toward the stairs to head down and cross over to the city.
***
Meanwhile, moments after the city walls were breached, Casey rode into the heart of Farport with the cavalry. As she looked around, the reality of the situation hit her hard. She saw countless casualties scattered everywhere and houses swallowed by flames. It was her very first time standing in the middle of such a horrific battlefield.
"This is... horrible... I'm finally seeing what war actually looks like with my own eyes," Casey thought.
Casey kept her horse moving, following the Mirriad cavalry as they pushed toward the harbor. As she rode, she was suddenly cut off by a squad of infantry right in the town square. Finding herself surrounded, Casey panicked, unsure of what to do. The spearmen closed in on her.
"N-no, I... what should I do?" Casey asked herself, raising her bow and aiming it at the soldiers in a panic.
While Casey was paralyzed with confusion, several black shadows suddenly blurred past her, and "thud," the soldiers surrounding her fell face-down. Their throats had been slashed, and they didn't move again. The black shadows continued toward the harbor, leaving Casey stunned.
"Hey Casey, what are you doing there?"
Casey turned to see Hugo running toward her with his spear. He rushed to her side.
"Hu... Hugo," Casey said, looking visibly relieved.
"Why did you come inside? It's dangerous! Get back out of here, now!" Hugo shouted.
Seeing Hugo's body drenched in the blood of his enemies and his spear blade stained red, Casey went into shock. Instead of listening, she turned and spurred her horse toward the harbor.
"Wait... hey, Casey!" Hugo yelled. "Seriously... what is she thinking," Hugo thought to himself as he ran after her.
Casey kept her horse at full gallop, eyes squeezed shut as she plunged deeper into the city. All she could hear were the screams and the rhythmic clashing of steel. Her hands, gripped tight around the reins, were shaking uncontrollably. "Hey... look out! Don't go that way!" a voice shouted from nearby. Casey opened her eyes, and they nearly popped out of her head—she was at the harbor, heading straight for a pier that jutted out over the sea. She tried to pull back, but the horse was bolted.
"Help... help!" Casey screamed in a panic as she sped toward the end of the pier and the open ocean ahead.
Suddenly, someone landed on the saddle behind her. Casey turned to see a powerful young man carrying a blue trident. He immediately grabbed the reins and yanked back, stopping the panicked horse just in time. The animal reared up on its hind legs to brake and began to stumble, but the young man leaped down, catching Casey in his arms before the horse could fall. Once the horse regained its footing, the young man gently held its muzzle.
"Calm down... it's okay," he said, stroking the animal.
"Hihiie," the horse whinnied softly.
The young man turned to look at Casey, whom he was still carrying like a princess, and smiled at her. Casey began to tremble; she knew exactly who had just saved her.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I-I'm okay... Your Majesty," Casey replied.
"Hmm... you know who I am?" asked the young man, who was none other than Leon.
"I... I always dream about you," Casey whispered.
"Hmm... okay, I believe you. Come on, let's finish this war," Leon said. He turned toward the sea. "Everyone, attack! Assist Livia's forces!" he roared.
"Uoooooh!"
Casey's eyes went wide as she saw countless small boats surrounding the pier. Demon tribe warriors leaped onto the docks, charging toward the harbor to take down the enemy forces still holding out. Casey slowly looked up at Leon's face, taking in his handsome features—his piercing blue eyes and his short black hair tossing in the sea breeze. Leon glanced at Casey and saw her holding her bow. He gave her a quick smile.
"Watch my back, okay? Let's go," Leon said.
"O-okay," Casey replied.
Leon immediately climbed onto Casey's horse, taking the lead with her sitting behind him. He yanked the reins until the horse reared up and whinnied, then they bolted down the pier while Casey clung to Leon's waist from behind. When they reached the harbor, they saw the Mirriad forces and several assassin—led by Dustin and Malcolm, followed by Hugo—already pushing the port guards back. With the addition of the demon tribe warriors, even though they were few, the gap in power became painfully obvious.
Leon pressed forward, joining Dustin, Malcolm, and Hugo at the front line. Dustin glanced over and saw Leon charging on horseback with Casey behind him; he grinned while continuing to smash through the soldiers in his path. Malcolm saw the blue trident swinging in Leon's hand and immediately bowed his head in respect, smiling as he kept carving through the enemy with his sword.
Meanwhile, Hugo saw Casey on Leon's back, firing arrows at the enemy, and saw Leon riding Casey's horse. He went a bit pale, looking completely stunned.
"Wait... Casey is with... Leon? Oh boy... Valen is going to kill me for this," Hugo thought to himself.