‘I… I can’t die…’
Leonidas’ vision wanted to fade to black. It felt as though the whole world was spinning, his blood still continuing to flood out of his body.
Leonidas was so muddle-headed that he hadn’t realized that Lady Eve’s sword to the heart had shocked his body awake from his suppressed state. As though survival mode had kicked in, his bloodline was more worried about being passed on than it was in fear of the statue that still hovered above him.
Leonidas knew that he was beyond healing potions right now. He had already used one just a dozen minutes ago to seal the wounds his Berserk state caused in his heart. A second one in such quick succession wouldn’t be effective. Such a potion could only be used once a week.
The second option was to sew his wound shut, but that wouldn’t do a single thing. Not to mention the fact he couldn’t even grasp the logistics of sewing the wound that had gone through to his back, it would do nothing to fix his internal bleeding.
‘I…’
Leonidas reached out toward his mother’s fallen letter, but it was much too far away from him.
‘I… I promised.’
Leonidas’ canines bit into his lips hard. The blood mixed in with what he was already coughing up, making the wounds nearly impossible to see.
With the last strength he could muster, he reached into the bags that still hung from his hips. Even in those final moments, Lady Eve couldn’t be bothered to care about the resources of an ant like him. Why would she care about the things that he had bought with the very coins she had given him?
Finally, Leonidas found what he was looking for. He managed to take out a familiar knife, the very knife he had taken from Lacroix, and a red potion bottle.
Leonidas popped the lid of the potion. Then, he poured a drop onto the blade.
BANG!
An explosion sounded immediately. Leonidas’ hand didn’t escape punishment. It was just a single drop, yet it almost made him drop the knife entirely.
When the smoke faded, what was left was a beaten and broken knife. It barely managed to remain intact, its blade warping and reddening around the location of the drop.
However, this very heat coming from this knife now… was exactly what Leonidas needed.
As though he had completely lost his mind, Leonidas drove the knife into his gaping wound. At that moment, even the spirit observing things from above, completely content to let Leonidas bleed out, was shaken.
Leonidas roared. It was a bestial roar, filled with pain, rage and a baritone that shook the soul. It felt as though it had come from a beast that could tower over mountains rather than a man who stood at the final crossroads of his life.
This was the only method Leonidas could think of. It was his final straw, his final hope.
He had read that cauterizing wounds with heated blades could help if you had no other choice. But, those were nothing but surface wounds.
Still, just for a small hope of surviving, Leonidas had driven a half-melted blade through his own heart.
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He only had a singular obsession, one that latched on and refused to let go.
He had to see tomorrow. He had to see the sunrise, he had to live another day, to breathe another breath.
Leonidas continued to roar, not noticing that his roar had become something completely different.
He had awakened a talent of the Giants, War Cry. Yet, it didn’t matter even the smallest bit. He was dying even now, and he knew it. In fact, he may very well have sped up his demise.
Leonidas’ hand gripped the potion in one hand and his knife hilt in the other.
He had never thought that the trump card potion he had kept all this time would end up being used on himself rather than his enemies. Maybe his life really was too much of a joke.
What pissed Leonidas off the most wasn’t that he had failed, it was that he had failed even after using his mother’s coins. She had tried so hard, done so much, only for him to barely even take a second step.
All that training he did, all the combat he practiced, all those times he had pushed himself until he blacked out, it was all meaningless.
Leonidas’ roar finally faded, his one functioning lung no longer able to sustain it.
His vision finally faded to black, the world of darkness enveloping him.
…
The spirit was speechless.
It waved its hand, stopping the red potion from leaking over. This idiot was really about to kill himself in his sleep.
‘I’ve never seen a greater fool. Is this what this era’s fallen to?
‘This isn’t an Abandoned Shrine, morons. If it was, the coercion of my statue wouldn’t be so great. What would be the point in having a Shrine if none of my people could stand beneath it?’
The spirit shook his head. It was only at that moment that it became obvious his figure was identical to the statue that stood above the altar Leonidas was bleeding out on.
The point of his suppression was to find people strong enough to stand within it. But of the two that had come here, one was a human woman ignorant of the might she was facing because she had not an ounce of unique blood. And, the second was even worse, not being able to move a single inch.
‘All this bullshit because that damned basilisk couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Why’d I put all that effort into slaying you if this is all you were going to give me in return?’
The spirit continued to shake his head but was suddenly startled when he noticed Leonidas shock himself awake again.
At least that was what he had thought happened, but the reality was that when Leonidas’ eyes opened, there was nothing but their whites remaining.
Leonidas subconsciously reached out for his mother’s letter, but it was still completely out of his reach as the last embers of his life flickered, ready to die out at any moment.
‘…’
The spirit stood in silence.
‘The Red Fox. Not even worthy of being labeled as a Level 1 Common Bloodline. Among the weakest of the ‘colored fox’ races.
‘The Lower Ogre. Can barely be considered a Level 1 Common Bloodline. The weakest of the Giant Races. I guess he’s a bit better than trash since he managed to Awaken War Cry with that final roar of his.’
The spirit suddenly began to laugh.
‘How pissed off would those bastards be if it was this sort of trash that ruined everything for them?’
‘Hey, brat.’
Leonidas felt as though something had slapped him, but it was somehow both tangible yet without substance at the same time, almost as though air became solid for just a moment before collapsing.
The pain wracking Leonidas’ body didn’t show any sign of dissipating, yet this singular slap somehow made his mind wide awake.
Yet, instead of making him feel better, it only made him several levels more acutely aware of the state of his body. He would say it felt as though a hot knife was running through his heart, but that was exactly what was happening, so it almost felt weird to describe it that way. In any other situation, it would seem like a gross exaggeration. But, Leonidas could forgive himself for not seeing the humor and irony in it.
He clenched his teeth so hard he even felt that they might shatter completely. But, somehow, in the sick, twisted space his mind was in currently, that sort of pain would be a relief to what he was feeling right now.
‘Tsk.’ The spirit shook his head. ‘You really are an idiot, you know. What was step two after plunging a hot knife into your chest? You can’t even pull it out now without causing an even worse injury. Genius, really.’
Leonidas couldn’t respond even if he wanted to. The reality was that he wasn’t thinking about a "step two." His entire being was focused on surviving, even if it was just for one extra second.
He knew well that by now, his flesh was likely completely fused with the metal of the heated blade. If he tried to pull it out now, the devastation he would leave behind would be even worse than the original wound.
However, Leonidas hadn’t considered any of this. He was only hoping that he could burn his internal injuries to the point where they were seared close.