Unlimited Power - The Arcane Path

Things were starting to get complicated. Leon couldn't feel any real ill intentions coming from that guy. Still, he wasn't in a better position because his sudden arrival was also very suspicious. Leon didn't know a lot about that situation. He only heard what Ilyana told him... so he couldn't help but feel that something was out of place.

"My name is Leon... You are a human from Earth, aren't you?" Leon asked. "Don't you think it is strange that whoever you are working with sent you here at this point in time?"

"Why are you so friendly all of a sudden?" The man frowned. " It isn't strange, and I don't have to explain to you why. Those guys are coming with me on their own volition. You are not going to stop us."

It was evident why, but Leon couldn't help but think that things wouldn't solve itself just by talking. That human didn't even want to reveal his name, after all. While Leon was thinking about that, the six rat-men approached that guy, and then he suddenly took something out of his armor and broke it. Instantly a shadow enveloped them, and Leon felt his mana again. Little by little, the shadow decreased in size until it becomes small and round... like the shadow, Leon saw when he met that cloaked figure after that weird dream. When the shadow finally disappeared, the man and the five rat-men weren't there anymore.

"Shit... what the hell is going on..."

Before Leon could think of anything, he was teleported back to Ilyana's castle, and she was looking at him as if he had disappointed her greatly... It couldn't be helped, but Leon felt annoyed by it.

"You have failed," Ilyana said.

"...Perhaps if you had given me more information, things would have been different," Leon said.

"So, do you want to receive every piece of information necessary to help you do every single thing?" Ilyana frowned. "It surprises me that you survived so far with that kind of mindset."

"... You sent me because you knew that I would meet that guy," Leon said. "Why?"

"Because you are not the only one who is working with people more powerful than yourself," Ilyana answered. "That man is working with the woman I want to kill, the same person that summoned the dragons that caused the death of your parents. The terrorists were just a minor nuisance. If you want to get your revenge, you will have to deal with people like him again and again."

Leon couldn't help but wonder if that was really true. Ilyana didn't say anything before, just that he had to kill some individuals, and now she was telling such convenient information. Maybe that guy was being tricked, but for all that Leon knew, he could be being tricked as well. To powerful people like Ilyana, keeping an eye on Earth and its people, it shouldn't be more complicated than lifting a finger, after all. Still, Leon failed in hiding those thoughts from his face.

"It looks like you don't believe," Ilyana said. "Well, it can't be helped given the circumstances. You can go now. I bet you will have a fun time imagining the future of those rat-men. You may think that they escaped from death thanks to that human, but a fate worse than death waits for them."

Leon left the castle because, just like Ilyana, he didn't feel like chatting. Although it looked somewhat obvious, things were far less black and white than Leon had imagined. Even though Ilyana could be right, the inverse was also true. In the end, there was no point in trying to save every single sentient species of every world because they didn't need to be rescued. They had to understand that they needed the power to protect themselves. The only way to obtain that was by first tasting real despair. In fact, even Leon sometimes couldn't help but wonder if all that effort wasn't just a waste of time. In the end, even if he achieves his vengeance, nothing would change. His parents wouldn't return, and his friends wouldn't remember him... he could make new memories with them, but it wouldn't be the same thing.

"You don't have to feel that depressed, Leon," Sylph said. "It would be very suspicious of you if you had obeyed her others without questioning them. In the end, nothing says that they will follow the path that Ilyana things they will."

"That is right," Undine said. "Just observe things with your own eyes and reach your own conclusions. There is no point in living if you have to obey and follow the thoughts of someone else every single time."

Undine was serious for a change, so she was probably right. Still, it didn't change the fact that Leon owed a lot to Ilyana. He doubted that he could obtain alone half of the powers will he obtain by working with her. He had to pay his debts, but considering how powerful someone like her was, few things could be considered a problem for her.

"Man, I wish I could have fought that human," Efreet said. "He looked even stronger than Leon... I can't understand why he ran away, though."

"He escaped because he thought Leon would be far weaker without his magic," Volt explained. "He got caught by surprise since that wasn't the case, so he decided to escape because he couldn't measure Leon's strength."

Leon nodded since that made a lot of sense... Regardless, at least that served well to make Leon understand that he still needed to train and learn more spells. The list of things he needed to learn increased since he failed for several reasons. The number one was because he didn't know how to counter Anti-Mana Field. He couldn't let himself lose his powers, even temporally again.