Debutante (3)
A bullet fired from the forest shattered the window. It streaked straight toward Elizabeth. Leo drew his dagger like a bolt of lightning and swung it. Ting! The lead ball ricocheted harmlessly away. Elizabeth blinked. What the hell had just flown past? And a beat later—
Ratatata!! Bullets rained down. Thick lead shot punched through the thin carriage walls and poured inside. Leo thrust out his hand, erecting a barrier. The bullets pierced it but lost all momentum, clattering uselessly to the floor.
“Let’s go.”
Leo scooped Elizabeth into one arm and kicked the door flying. She reflexively clamped onto his neck. Crack!! The hinges tore clean off in a single blow, the door itself sailing away. Thud! By sheer luck, one assailant standing in front took it full to the face—neck snapping on impact, dead instantly.
Leo vaulted from the carriage in a blur. He whipped his head around, scanning the surroundings. The coachman and horses lay sprawled, riddled with holes. He sensed multiple presences encircling them. The acrid stench of gunpowder burned his nostrils.
Then, from the shadows deep in the woods, muzzle flashes erupted once more. Over thirty rounds spat forth amid sparks and smoke. Ratatata, ratatata!! Leo threw up another barrier, this time channeling a torrent of mana to forge a thick shield. Every bullet slammed into it, bled dry of force, and dropped limp to the earth.
Leo extended his hand toward the enemy lines. Zzzap!! Blue lightning writhed across the ground like a serpent and surged forward. Boom!
“Aaaagh!!”
“Urghhh!!”
Trees splintered. Bolts lanced skyward. The assailants’ guttural screams of rending flesh echoed through the darkness. Leo didn’t relent. He snapped his gaze to another angle, eyes blazing with fury. Whoosh… Flames kindled in his palm. He hurled the fireball with all his strength.
But—
Slash. A slash of dusky crimson sword aura cleaved it in two.
“…Sword and magic, eh? No wonder you crushed the squad leader.”
A man strode from the gloom, boots thudding. Wolfgang, captain of the King’s Shadows. And he wasn’t alone. Black-clad figures materialized around the smoldering carriage from every direction, reloading muskets and leveling them at Leo.
Elizabeth faltered. “What in the world…”
“Looks like the king’s handiwork.”
Leo scanned the foes as he spoke—marksmanship, tactical formation. Seasoned killers, every one. Only one man would dispatch such numbers: King Siegfried.
Wolfgang leveled his sword at Leo. Hummm… Crimson-black mana, thick with murderous intent, cloaked the blade.
“I’ll handle him.”
“Captain. That’s a Sword Master.”
“You lot wouldn’t last anyway. He’s a magic user too.”
Wolfgang had sized Leo up from his moves alone. Equal to me… or better. No idea where this bastard sprang from, but numbers wouldn’t cut it.
Leo shoved Elizabeth behind him. He scowled down at his dagger—pathetic toy—then fixed Wolfgang with a glare. Should’ve grabbed my sword…
The odds were abysmal. Shield Elizabeth while fending off a Sword Master and a platoon of gunners. Eight years ago, maybe. But his body had strayed too far from the battlefield. Slaughtering them? Doable. Protecting her? That was the rub.
What now…
“Dad.”
“Not now.”
“I’ll help too.”
“Huh?”
“You taught me magic, remember?”
“But—”
“Dad.”
Leo shot her a sidelong glance. “Trust me.” Serene blue eyes, still as a mountain lake. He glared at Wolfgang, then back at her. Seventh Circle. Raw computation speed and mana reserves that dwarfed his own. And since he’d trained her, he knew her grasp of combat spells.
Still.
“No. Stay glued to my back.”
He nudged her rearward with one hand. Like a guardian spirit, he planted himself against the carriage, eyes locked on the enemy. They were his to face. Leo would never expose his daughter to them. Not even over his corpse.
“You trust Dad too.”
Seventh Circle or not, she was an eighteen-year-old girl with zero real combat experience. These were battle-hardened assassins. And Wolfgang knew it.
He lunged like a thunderbolt, sword thrusting mana-charged at Leo’s vitals. Clang! Leo parried flat-on with his mana-infused dagger—but skidded back. Wolfgang was Einhalt’s undisputed strongest blade. None bested him.
Thud! Sword recalled, he drove a deep kick into Leo’s solar plexus. Leo crossed his arms just in time. Bone-rattling agony shot through. His body flew back again. Vision whirled. Elizabeth receded in a blink.
Damn it.
Leo spun midair, kicked off a tree trunk, and counterattacked. He closed with the pursuing Wolfgang in a heartbeat—mana-laced dagger slashing, met by a whistling sword. Clang! Black sword aura clashed against crimson-black, fangs gnashing in deadlock.
Leo jammed his free hand at Wolfgang’s face. A point-blank blast erupted. Boom! Head snapped back, beard and brows incinerated. Face unscratched—mana shield. But it bought a split-second opening. Leo shoved him off, aiming to disengage and reach Elizabeth.
Wolfgang clung like a shadow, sword whipping relentlessly. Clang, clack, clang! He played it smooth, never overcommitting. He knew the board, moved with leisure. Lurking for the slip born of Leo’s desperation, hyena patient.
This bastard.
Leo’s gut churned. Try to kill him, he danced away. Ignore him, he pressed lethal. Legs pinned. Worse: Wolfgang wasn’t even that formidable. Back in the day, three strokes would’ve ended it. Now? Body betrayed him. And Leo knew why better than anyone.
“You’ve gone rusty.”
Wolfgang slid silkily aside from the dagger. “Felt off from the jump. Moves textbook-perfect… but clumsy.” A slimy grin. “Body’s grinding gears. Like you’ve been off the field for years.”
Leo charged, glare glacial.
Meanwhile, the carriage held Elizabeth—and the King’s Shadows. Seeing Wolfgang and Leo vanished into the distance, they turned to her. Muskets tossed carelessly aside, they closed in with filthy smirks. Thirty strong. Overwhelming force.
“Shouldn’t have spurned His Majesty’s offer.”
“Don’t hate us. You brought this on yourself.”
Dad was right: the king’s assassins.
“Still… no wonder he wants her.”
One raked her head to toe with his gaze. “Toy with her a bit first, then kill?”
“She’s nobody anyway. Won’t matter. Captain’s tied up.”
Vile chuckles spilled toward the lone girl. Lust roiled in their eyes. Deep woods, deserted. No savior in sight.
Elizabeth stared blankly into the gloom where Leo had vanished. “……”
Then she turned to the Shadows. They giggled nearer. Some already loosening belts. Grind. Her teeth gnashed. Twisted fury seeped between them. White-gloved fist clenched. It trembled. Rage boiled like magma—scalding enough to shatter her mind.
At once, despair crashed in: every painstaking effort, wasted. Head bowed. How much did I prepare for today? Flawless plan, zero margin. One-shot scenario. All ashes. Even the romantic confession, mangled.
Shadows drew close. Laughing. Breath hot on her skin. A hand reached out. Elizabeth didn’t flinch. Not fear.
“Yeah, stay nice and still.”
Then.
She lifted her head slow. Something stirred in those eyes. Beautiful blue. Look close: faint starlight gleamed within.
Sip— Deep breath drawn. Exhaled slow, even. Whoosh… It rippled through the air like an incantation.
The forest’s flow shifted. Wind died. Birds hushed. The woods held its breath. Heavy, uncanny silence blanketed all.
Gooseflesh prickled some Shadows. They recoiled on instinct. “…What?”
Unease slithered in. Sweat beaded one’s brow. Before the words escaped—
BOOM!! A lightning bolt rent the earth. The Shadow at her feet erupted in a spray of gore. Flesh shredded airborne; a glowing red crater marked his place.
Plip plip plip. Meat and blood rained down like fat droplets. Elizabeth conjured a quiet barrier-umbrella. They ticked off harmlessly atop it.
Horrid silence crushed the space. Advancing Shadows froze. Eyes bulged, darting: lightning’s origin skyward, comrade’s crater, then—
Elizabeth, regarding them coolly.
Only then did they grasp it. The one they’d dared touch… was no mere girl.