Leon’s eyes sharpened the moment he saw her, Eleanor looked like hell. Her coat was torn, blood staining her sleeves and the side of her face, her breathing shallow and uneven as she stumbled forward.
"Eleanor... how are you here?" he asked, his voice low but edged with steel.
She took a shaky step toward him, reaching out slightly as if seeking comfort, or maybe just balance. But Leon didn’t move. His gaze turned colder, his jaw clenched.
"Don’t come any closer," he said, the warmth gone from his tone. "Answer the question first."
Eleanor froze mid-step.
"Answer the question, Eleanor," he cut in, harsher now, there was no hesitation or softness.
A flicker of something crossed her face, shock, maybe, but only for a heartbeat. Inside, she was already recalibrating.
’His instincts are as sharp as always... but I counted on that.’
She lowered her eyes, voice trembling as she feigned weakness.
"It’s Eden," she whispered. "He... he betrayed us."
Leon’s eyes widened. His aura, subtle and calm just a second ago, suddenly surged with a burst of controlled anger. His tone was cold, but the undercurrent of fury was unmistakable.
’Perfect,’ Eleanor thought. ’He’s always suspected the Ferans for the mall incident. Feeding that suspicion will pull his focus just enough.’
Leon took a step forward now, fists clenched.
"Tell me everything," he demanded. The restraint in his voice was like a blade pressed to a throat, it was tight and dangerous.
Eleanor thought, steadying her breath despite the blood on her lips.
She recited the lie like it was truth. Spoke of how Eden warned them the demons were planning to detonate the battlefield. How he convinced them to follow him into the cave. How, once they were deep enough, the demons ambushed them.
She made it sound like betrayal laced with strategy. Every piece of blame fell on Eden’s name.
Leon said nothing at first, but his expression was unreadable now. Cold and Focused, Until—
"How did you get away?"
Eleanor looked down, her voice soft and pained.
"It was Adrian..." she said. "He stayed behind. He held them off so I could escape and find help."
Leon’s eyes slowly shut.
To anyone else, it might’ve looked like trust. A moment of peace. But Eleanor had studied him long enough to know better. When Leon Kael closed his eyes like that, it didn’t mean he was dropping his guard.
It meant something insane was coming next.
His eyes snapped open. Icy, Sharp and Steady.
Eleanor nodded, keeping her head slightly bowed to hide the faint, satisfied smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She turned and began walking.
Behind her, Leon followed, silent and unreadable, but already thinking ten moves ahead.
Eleanor’s footsteps echoed in her ears louder than they should have. Each one felt heavier, like the ground itself was resisting her movement. Leon followed behind her, his presence too silent, and still, that it made the back of her neck crawl. She didn’t dare look at him, not yet. Not when the perfect moment hadn’t come.
Her thoughts raced, tangled in the careful threads of lies and plans. ’I can’t use what master gave me yet. Not until the timing is perfect. The side effects... no. I’ll draw him in first. Let his anger guide him where I need him to go and let his grudge blind him.’
She glanced ahead at the narrowing path. Her fingers tightened slightly. Just a little more. Just a little,
"I wonder how you plan to backstab me."
The voice sliced through her thoughts like a blade across silk. Eleanor froze. Every nerve in her body screamed. As she turned halfway, face pale, heart hammering.
And then dread. Crippling, suffocating dread.
She spun to get away, but it was already too late.
Leon was already there.
His hand moved with terrifying speed, fingers wrapping around her throat like a vice before she could even scream. In a blink, her back hit the wall hard enough to knock the air from her lungs, rubble breaking loose behind her.
She clawed at his wrist, feet scrambling against the floor.
Leon’s blue eyes met hers. It was Icy, Empty and Controlled, with fury burning beneath.
"Why would you betray me, Eleanor?" His voice was cold and calm.
Her mind shattered in an instant. All the calculations, all the layers of deceit, crumbled under that single look.
She had planned for a thousand outcomes.
She had not planned for this.
No, that thought didn’t even form fully.
Only one thing echoed in her mind as her pulse raced and her limbs trembled under his grip:
As Leon held Eleanor pinned to the cracked wall, his grip unwavering, a sudden pulse of danger shot through his instincts like lightning through steel.
His eyes sharpened, just in time.
A beam of concentrated dark energy screamed toward him from behind, ripping through the air.
He twisted his body sideways, the blast grazing past his shoulder, shattering the stone beside them. The force of it made him release Eleanor and leap back, rolling once before landing in a crouch. His gaze snapped to the source.
Two demons emerged from the shadows, one with a twisted staff still humming with dark residue, and another bounding forward on four limbs, its claws dragging sparks across the ground.
"Tch." Leon clicked his tongue and shot forward.
The first demon raised its staff again, but Leon’s fist shattered its face before the spell could charge. He spun mid-motion, pivoting low to avoid the second demon’s swipe, then drove his elbow into its gut and followed with a crushing knee to the jaw. Both bodies hit the ground in a heap.
But even that short delay... was enough.
Behind him, Eleanor staggered, her chest rising and falling, eyes wide with panic.
Then a voice echoed inside her skull. Cold and Demanding.
"Use what I have given you and summon me. Now!!!"
Her hands trembled, but she moved, as she reached into her inventory, pulling out a black seed, small, but pulsing with a sinister aura.
Leon’s head snapped toward her, his senses flaring like a wildfire.
But it was already too late.
As Eleanor opened her mouth, and swallowed her master’s seed.