KINETIC

The citizens inside the bunker were restless, they knew that tonight was the night the Royal Army would attempt to re-take the city.

Leo was sitting alone on a couch and staring at a clock on the wall. He had a stern and concentrated look on his face.

It could have been his expression, or maybe they did so out of fear or respect but nobody would sit near Leo to engage with him in conversation.

Regardless of the reason, Leo was happy to be left alone since he was talking to Dreifus about his ability.

The clock on the wall showed that it was nearly midnight, the time agreed upon for Leo to activate the Gate again.

The people within the bunker all knew the plan and the time it would take place, their anxiety was increasing as the midnight approached.

'It's time.' Leo thought as he stood up from his seat. All eyes were on him as he put his jacket on and walked to the exit.

"Stay here for tonight, even if you hear the fighting stop don't leave. I'll come back and tell you when it's safe. If I don't come back by tomorrow afternoon then you should do whatever you feel is best."

After saying his piece, Leo walked through the exit, closed the door behind him and started making his way to the Gate.

It was a quick trip to the Gate, with Leo jumping from rooftop to rooftop and occasionally jumping over entire buildings.

He arrived at the rooftop across from the building containing the Gate and noticed that there were several cultists making their way inside.

'I didn't think about it at the time but I should have done something about the bodies inside, the ones I killed with lightning.' Leo said inside his head.

'It doesn't look like they know about the bodies yet, they've only just arrived so I don't think they've gone in yet.'

Just as Dreifus was saying this, some of the cultists started making their way inside through the front door. There was seven of them in total, with five of them waiting outside while the other two went in.

Leo quickly made his way around to the side of the building and made use of the side door he used the last time he was here.

He was making use of his Aura until now but switched to his Battle Aura once inside. The two who had entered were walking through the dark room and talking.

"Why aren't there any lights in here?"

"Why does it smell so fucking bad! That's the real question."

The two of them continued to comain as they looked for the lights witch to the side of the room, running their hands along the walls.

The crystals used as light sources can't be turned off, so the only way to 'turn off' the lights is to cover the crystals or remove them.

Removing them would be a hassle so a mechanism was created so that when a switch is flipped, a cover will rotate around the crystal and block its light.

"Did you find it?"

"No! It's too dark, I can't see shit!"

'Well there's no point in waiting for them to find it.' Leo thought. Using his Battle Aura, he could see them both perfectly fine and having been here before he knew there wasn't anything that would be in the way of his attacks.

[Wind Blade]

[Wind Blade]

Two Wind Blades were sent out, one to each cultist. It was a clean and quick death by decapitation for both of them.

Leo jumped up to the platform above and took the crystal out of his storage ring, placing it inside the Gate.

The stone archway filled with translucent white energy that rippled like it was water. In less than thirty seconds the energy fluctuated and people started to walk out of Gate.

Dozens of soldiers with the occasional Infernai mixed. Once everyone was through, Leo removed the crystal and jumped down to meet with the others.

"Good to see you again, Leo erm... I mean General." Connor said.

"You as well, Connor. What's our forces looking like?" Leo asked.

"We have fifty soldiers and five Infernai, excluding you and I. The Infernai we have with us are all supporters, meaning you and I will have to deal with any Imperiums." Connor answered.

"Don't worry about that too much." Duke Wesley said as he joined the two of them. "If it comes to it, I can hold off an Imperium if needed. I'll delay as long as possible until one of you can arrive to help. Who knows, I may even be able to defeat them."

"I admire the confidence but don't let it get you killed. It would be best if we could handle them but as you've said we may not be available, do what you can if that happens." Leo said, receiving a nod from everyone, including the Duke.

"There are a few cultists outside this building, I'll head out through a side door and take care of them. When you see a flash of light through the windows, that's your signal to exit the building and begin your attack." Leo said, receiving more nods of approval and understanding.

He made his way outside to the side of the building and saw the five remaining cultists doing their own things.

Three were talking to each other while the other two were walking around, looking at the surrounding buildings out of boredom.

'Alright, let's get this battle started.'

***

Leonard and his squad had been riding for a long time. They would take breaks occasionally, allowing their horses to rest and themselves to get some sleep.

They would come across the flying woman every now and then, which told the swaud that she was resting at times as well.

Night had fallen again and they just spotted the woman in the sky. She was flying much lower than usual but was still too far away to hit with arrows.

The continued riding for a few more minutes, keeping an eye on the woman as they did. Eventually, Zoren city came into view, the glowing crystals on the city walls illuminating it.

"We're not going to make it in time to warn them." Leonard said with a frustrated and concerned tone.

"Captain, I don't think there's anyone to warn up there!" A soldier shouted as he brought his horse to the side of the carriage.

"What do you mean?" Leonard asked, confused. The soldier gave Leonard his handheld telescope, which Leonard used to view the city.

"Fuck. The guards on the city walls are all cultists!" Leonard shouted out, receiving a gasp from some of the soldiers as they heard the news.

"Does that mean the city has fallen?"

"What about the people who live there!?"

"What do we do now?"

The soldiers questions weren't meant for anyone in particular, they just wanted anyone to answer them.

"We'll get closer and see if we can gather any information, after that we'll head for the capital to inform the Supreme Commander about this, assuming he doesn't already know." Captain Yarm said.

The soldiers started to quite down as they continued forward. Their pace slowed, so as not to draw attention from the cultist guards.

After a few minutes, Leonard used the telescope to view the city again, only this time there was something different.

The cultists on the walls seemed panicked and were looking towards the city instead of the area outside the walls.

A large creature made of black material suddenly climbed onto the wall from inside and started killing the cultists with its bare hands.

​ "Our comrades are trying to re-take the city right now, I can see the battle on the wall!" Leonard shouted to his squad.

"Really!?"

"Then the Supreme Commander already knows."

The soldiers all began speaking amongst themselves, debating what they should do now.

" It's obvious what we need to do. That city needs to be taken back and we are able to assist in that endeavor. We will join the battle and re-take Zoren city!" Leonard shouted with a tone of authority and determination.

Captain Yarm looked at Leonard and nodded in agreement "He's right, let's help our comrades take the city from those bastards in the cult!"

It would still take some time for them to reach the city, even at full pace. Leonard transformed his skin into metal and jumped out of the carriage.

He started running ahead, moving at double the speed of the horses. He couldn't just watch the battle unfold from a distance and he felt that he wouldn't arrive in time to help unless he ran there himself.

As he ran he kept an eye on the top of the castle wall. The shouts of battle were faintly drifting into his ears, the cries of pain and death mixed in with the noise.

Suddenly, the top of the wall lit up as several bolts of lightning descended from the sky, creating a thunderous boom as the slammed into the cultists.

'What the... Since when did we have such a powerful lightning user!?' Leonard thought, feeling surprised and impressed all at once.

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