"what are you doing?"

the slim man asked as I looked at him with calm eyes. but, instead of answering his question, I decided to turn away and look at Arthur.

"Brother, you're not in any shape to stop them."

I lightly tapped the armour made out of mana that he had made. with a light force, it all crumbled immediately. what he had made out of mana wasn't his famed azure armour, but a mere lookalike to make the enemies wary.

if I had left him behind, he would have died.

"I will say this again, you're not in shape to fight"

Arthur grimaced at the fact that I had seen through his tricks.

"I got caught huh"

he could only laugh wryly, not knowing whether to be happy at his brother's perceptiveness or to be sad that his plan had failed.

"Brother, watch me over," I said as I turned my back and walked towards the slim man. Arthur could only look at me with a worrying look.

"you, what's your name?"

my staff, pointing towards the slim man. I glare at him with eyes filled with bloodlust.

"you ignored me before, and now you ask me for my name? I never knew the second son of the Duke was this erratic hahaha"

"..."

"not funny? fine. the name is Nocturne."

"VICE CHIEF!" the commander shouted from under the forest tree.

"Oh please, I don't care what you think old man. besides, it won't be a problem if I kill him right?"

"Nocturne..." I repeated his name under my breath.

"What a trashy name"

His eyes went bloodshot red, not expecting to get mocked. after all, knights are known widely for their manners, even when fighting.

"you-"

before he could say anything, I took a deep breath and let out a war cry beneath the moonlight.

"LET THE WORLD KNOW, I, LEO RAGNAR WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!!!" I roared with all my might, my staff pointing towards the enemies.

birds started to flap their wing, animals woke up from their sleep, and just for a moment, the whole forest was taken aback by my declaration.

"wow, I got goosebumps" Nocturne exclaimed, seemingly exhilarated by the situation.

"and you... shall be my first victim"

his black pupils widened, couldn't believe what I just said.

"haha, HAHAHAHAHA"

a burst of creepy laughter fills the silence of the night. laughing without restraint, not one assassin tries to stop him. everyone just stood there silently, watching this man go crazy.

SWOOSH

blood trickled down my face. only after I felt the pain, I realized one of his daggers was missing from his waist

"Don't worry, I didn't use any poison. I can't let you die that easily after all of that talk" he took out his 2nd dagger, and then... he vanished.

'he's gone?' my heart sank a little. losing his track for a while, I heightened my senses and cleared my mind.

"is this all you're capable of?" his voice permeated through the air.

'Where?"

SWOOSH

"Behind you!"

Nocturne appeared like a shadow from behind.

he lunged towards me in a piercing motion. aura covering his dagger with massive energy. I twisted my neck in haste, avoiding the strike completely.

his dagger was aimed at my head. after his strike failed, I saw his figure hazily, only for him to disappear again within the blink of an eye.

'This is troubling'

His mastery of the assassination technique made it possible for him to fully control the bloodlust he emits. though, thanks to my heightened sense, I could still feel some of it for a fraction of a second.

so this is the power of an assassin of a transcendence rank?

'Not to bad'

"don't stop now!" I said fearlessly.

"Now you've gone and asked for it!"

his eyes filled with frenzy, as he increased his speed and movement variation, attacking me from all sort of angles.

after that, a flurry of attacks engulfed me like a typhoon. his attacks, resembling that of a snake. it was flowing with a fluidity that's hard to achieve by human standards.

leaping around the area, I calmly evade his strikes again and again. even though he is an assassin, he fights more like a rampaging berserker.

with his streaky red aura, his dagger leaves behind red light all across the area. it was akin to a painting of a bloody night.

each breath he takes, he fills my view with attacks of great lethality. One wrong move, and I'll be seeing the gates of heaven. or maybe hell, who knows?

'I need to bide for time'

like a predator, I lay low, minimizing any damage sustained, while waiting for that one opportunity.

the one opportunity to turn the tables.

but I cannot let them catch on to my scheme.

"you're better than I thought"

"say that after you beat me, bastard" The man known as Nocturne doesn't seem to have a hold on his emotions very well.

'How did such chatterbox become an assassin?'

every time I successfully evaded his strike, his movement got a little bit more predictable. assassin has great agility and speed, but endurance in a frontal battle proves to be one of their main weakness.

a battle of attrition is the best way after all

the fight had been going on for more than 10 minutes, I could see the assassin's group start to get more restless as time passed.

'it's almost time'

On the edge of my vision, I could see some assassins have started to grab their weapons, in case something goes awry.

but unfortunately for them, they would regret not taking action right at that moment.

CLANG

the clash of my staff and his aura-coated dagger reverberated through the air. As fatigue begins to take its toll, his face flushes with a reddened hue.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

meanwhile, I stood there, looking as fine as ever.

"looks like you're just all talk," I said with a grin on my face.

"You-"

SWISH

I lunged forward towards him.

HEUP

with great difficulty, he was able to dodge it as my staff missed him by a few inches. his body, rolling on the ground from trying to avoid my staff.

he stood back up, but I could hear his voice getting more frantic as time passed by.

The next "leader" of an assassination group, unable to handle a mere apprentice knight who hadn't even reached 15 years of age. of course, he would be distressed.

"...huff huff" heavy breathing from under the mask

"Why don't you take it off, you need to breathe man"

"..."

silent ensued. his confident facade is no longer there. Shaky hands and slightly trembling feet, he could hide it all he wanted, but it didn't escape my sight. at this point, it would be a matter of time before the others interfered.

I looked at my surroundings, specifically at the middle-aged man who holds the highest authority bar Nocturne. his eyes were focused, ready to intervene whenever he needed to.

'Did he want to teach a lesson to this man?'

I pondered while continuously attacking the battered man with non-lethal attacks.

"This is getting stale."

"..."

now, even my attempt to rile him up doesn't work anymore. he was solely focused on trying to minimize any damage.

I have been keeping myself from accidentally injuring him too severely as it would make the group move. but now, it doesn't matter anymore.

'it's done'

I attracted mana towards my body, my mana heart immediately started processing it, filling my insignificant mana core to the brim.

As the surrounding excess mana started to swirl and continue to move towards me, I released the same amount of mana output, moving the mana towards my body and staff, filling it with aura.

like a cycle, my body retains and discharges mana in a balance.

'focus, balance the mana cycle'

now...

"it's my time on the offensive"

I moved as swiftly as the wind, closing in on him in a heartbeat. startled by my move, he throws a hidden weapon out of his sleeve.

SWOOSH

his attack didn't surprise me that much anymore, maybe because I already considered this possibility as I was facing an assassin.

I avoided it easily and picked up my pace.

"Are you sure you're an assassin and not a magician? you can pull anything out of your sleeve"

"Son of a Bi-"

my staff swung towards him, hitting his face. I thought he didn't have any energy left to spare, I guess I was wrong.

my previous attack sent him backwards.

as I closed in once more, I swung my Aura-coated staff in a circular motion, trying to gain momentum. like a tempest, I struck him down in rapid succession.

BAM-BAM-BAM

he tried to block my attack with his dagger, but unfortunately for him, my staff was way too fast for him to handle.

BAM-BAM-BAM

his head, body, leg and arm. one by one, I hit each of them with force capable of injuring him greatly.

his body, now full of bruises that everyone can see from the wrecked clothes he's wearing. it's now looking more like a beating instead of a fight. Strangely enough, from the sideline, the other assassins haven't interfered yet.

'as I thought. they probably won't meddle until he is in mortal danger'

relief came over me, knowing the enemy's complacency.

near the edge of the valley, Arthur was looking bewilderedly. his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. even though he often praised me, he probably didn't know how much strength I had hidden.

amidst all that, I continued to attack Nocturne. with every move I made, the greater the momentum of my strike became.

before, the strike was strong but not lethal enough to kill him. now, the strike had carried enough power to obliterate his body if he was hit in a vital spot.

"Are you ready?" I asked Nocturne who looked like a shadow of his former self. his eyes are listless like he has already surrendered his fate to his group, hoping they would save him in the nick of time.

"here I come"

I took a deep, deep breath, inhaling mana like crazy. all the mana that had gathered around us, now waiting to be consumed by me.

as someone who has an insignificant amount of mana storage, this is the only way for me to fight.

the mana manipulation method based off the balance of input and output.

what I inhaled, I used it all right away. instead of being kept in the mana core, the mana my body had inhaled moved directly, circling my body and the staff in my hand.

my body and weapon, now charged with a thick greenish intangible energy.

amassing a great amount of aura with such a dangerous method, I need to ensure this attack hits, as I would be left vulnerable after that.

I need to use my strongest technique.

'I have never used this in a real fight before, at least not with this amount of condensed aura'

I could feel all of my mana, condensing into an aura of unimaginable strength. with just this amount, a swing would probably render the man in front of me into oblivion.

but that's not enough.

I looked towards the forest, I could feel the gaze of all the other assassins.

my aim? all of them.

'focus...'

I remember it vividly, the day I created this technique.

like a dragon, flying in the clouds. the spiralling movement of this staff could creates or breaks the world.

unlike a sword, a spear, or a bow, this weapon is not made to kill.

but it doesn't mean it cannot kill.

a weapon adept to do it all.

in the field of grass, I danced freely, creating an air current around me. my footwork, leaving traces in the ground. with each step I took, my stride got heavier. my staff, moving faster with each rotation. with every swing, the sound of staff cutting the air could be heard. but...

'still not enough!'

to create enough force, I need more speed.

I inhaled even more mana, as I applied every last bit of it to every corner of my body, my body now became every frighteningly bright with a greenish aura.

with that, my movement became significantly faster than before.

"not good, everyone, move!!"

amidst the tempest, I could hear the shout of the middle-aged commander. he moves towards me with his greatsword. but alas, the tempest of mana swirling around was too much for him to handle.

the commander's eyes, filled with fear as he saw my stride. he could feel from deep within, his instinct was screaming for him to run away. every cell in his body tensed up from the mere thought of being hit with this move.

after all, it was a move capable of immense destruction to the landscape.

I pushed my body to the limits, to be able to deliver the strongest strike I can muster.

but having an enormous amount of mana at one command doesn't mean that I have the body to withstand it either.

"ACKKK"

blood began pouring out. from my mouth, eyes, nose, and even ears.

my veins started popping up on my pale skin. with the air current moving even faster than before, some of my blood got dragged into the air, creating a bloody red mist around me.

as I prepared myself to attack, I could finally see Nocturne's face, his mask had been thrown away by the air current.

he was standing in the middle of the tempest, his eyes widened, the colour draining from his face as if all blood had rushed to his heart in a split second.

"n-no. no. Nooooo. Get me out of here!!!" he tried to run away. meanwhile, the other assassins who tried to help him were not able to go near him as the wall of wind had obstructed them.

from outside the wind barrier, the commander pours his greatsword with as much mana as he can muster, preparing to blast through the tempest and save Nocturne. his eyes were filled with desperation.

'you should have done that earlier'

a smirk on my face

'Now, no one can stop me anymore'

I readied myself.

before, I was still moving around trying to gain as much momentum and speed as I could.

now, with the staff in my hands carrying massive force from the rotational force and condensed mana, I tried to control its power.

no...

rather than controlling it, it was more akin to leading it towards its destination.

the energy that swirled around the staff, like a dragon that that cannot wait to be set free to the world.

thus, with my hands, I guided it and aimed towards the enemies.

"STAFF TECHNIQUE, GENTLE DRAGON DESCENT!"

WHOOOOOSHHH

like a dragon, descending from the heavens.

BOOOOM!!!

As my staff strike finished its course, the wind current surrounding the staff started to wreak havoc. it was as if a dragon had truly descended, even the most gentle of them are capable of immeasurable destruction.

the wind-made dragon swirled around the forest, eating everything in its path, mimicking a dragon of gluttony.

the assassin's group tried to avoid it, but alas, the wind current of the dragon was too strong for them to oppose. those who tried to defend themselves were torn to oblivion, while the one who ran was caught and razed by the howling wind.

the sound of a whirlwind masking the scream of death that echoed through the mountain.

as the dragon dispersed, all I could see now was red-tainted soil left behind.

"BLERGH" Blood mixed with food content came out of my mouth. I could still feel the hardened vein on my skin as blood continued to pour out of my eyes and nose.

"LEO!?!" from afar, Arthur ran towards me.

my body drops to the ground instantly. I could feel it, the realization that my senses were slowly withering away.

paralyzed, I could barely feel anything, let alone move my body.

but even then, the warmth on my hand, I could feel it. his hand holding onto mine.

"Arthur..."

"LEO?! I'm Here, Leo, I'm here"

an exasperated gasp came out, his voice was trembling. I could feel warm drops of tears, falling onto my lifeless face.

even though my body was cold, Arthur's hands provided all the warmth I needed.

"please don't cry" I mustered the last bit of energy I had left

"..."

"Don't fault yourself"

"..."

"I made this choice"

----------------------------------------

'I don't want to die.'

unlike my first life where I throw it all away,

'I don't want to die.'

I am afraid of dying now,

'I don't want to die.'

but maybe it's a good thing,

'I don't want to die.'

It meant I didn't live a life full of regret this time.

'I don't want to die.'

that's why if I'm gonna die...

"I don't mind dying to save you."

"I don't mind dying to save you"

----------------------------------------

it's a shame, I hope I could have seen Arthur's face one last time.

not just him,

Mother,

Rose,

Father,

and those girls too.

I hope they're doing fine.

I'll be meeting you soon, Old friend.

I could feel it, each part of my body becoming lifeless as seconds passed by.

"LEO?! LEO?!?!?"

Arthur's voice filled my senses before I truly lost it all.

slowly but surely, just like leaves that wither away during autumn, my consciousness and senses fade away.