"Command of Grace."

The moment Leon muttered the words and triggered his skill, his golden eyes began to glow.

A swirl of intertwined golden rings spun inside his pupils, locked firmly on the black knight.

The black knight's gaze didn't waver; it was completely absorbed in Leon's.

After Leon drank the [Drop of Limitless] for the second time and Awakened once more, all his stats and skills except for the Unique Skill received a rank-up.

But when he checked later, he noticed [Command of Grace] had changed.

Previously, it only worked on opponents up to one rank above Leon. Now, that limit was gone. Even foes far stronger than him could be commanded, but only for forty-five seconds.

But there was a cost: each time he used it on a stronger opponent, his eyesight would fade slightly, leading him one step towards permanent blindness. Well, the level of blindness depends on which rank opponent Leon uses the skill on.

Using his new upgrade, Leon saw doors opening before his eyes. He could do so much more now.

Either way, the risk is not much if he limits the use of this skill.

This made him wonder about the fact that:

'What would happen if I take the [drop of limitless] for the third time?'

He pushed the thought aside. The second time had nearly left him in a half-dead state.

Lumina and Alice were holding the knight in place.

Leon's lips curled into a thin grin. His voice was quiet, but it struck like thunder.

"Kneel."

THUMP!

The black knight's body crashed down.

His sword slipped, stabbing halfway into the frozen ground. His head bowed low, his armored figure bending completely toward Leon.

Leon had used most of his mana behind this very skill.

"Let them go," Leon muttered again; his voice was a growl.

The black knight let go of Alice's and Lumina's weapons; he was blocking using both of his hands.

"What… the actual fuck—?!" Alice blurted.

Even Lumina froze mid-step. What she saw was a completely new Leon.

Yet, seeing his precision and control over the black knight, Lumina allowed him to proceed with whatever he was doing.

What had just happened? What is that skill? What had he done to him?

There was no time for either of them to dwell on questions.

Leon turned to them.

"We only have forty-five seconds before my skill's effect wears off."

He strode toward the black knight. Bending down slightly, he asked,

"Do you remember her?"

He pointed toward the Swordmaiden at his right.

The knight lifted his head, glanced at her, then back at Leon.

"..."

He nodded.

Leon noticed a slight flinch from Lumina but ignored it. He asked the next question.

"Why did you sign a contract with a demon?"

The knight stayed silent.

'Can't speak with words?' Leon thought. His suspicion was clearing with every question.

[00:45]

Changing the question, he asked differently.

"Did you sign a contract with the demon?"

"..."

The knight shook his head in disagreement.

"Hm?" Leon, confused, tilted his head.

Lumina carefully watched the scene unfold, while Alice was curiously studying him.

'Is he not a demon?'

But Leon was certain that he was one. The dark Affinity was enough for the proof.

But the dark knight said that he didn't sign a contract with a demon.

"Ah!"

Then Leon recalled something.

Altering the question ever so slightly, he asked him again.

"Are you getting controlled by a demon?"

This time, the knight nodded.

"Haa, I knew it." Lumina felt relieved.

So, Shin didn't betray humanity! He was only getting controlled.

Lumina saw hope.

But after hearing the knight, Leon's face went paler than before.

[00:35]

Ignoring the timer, he clicked his tongue.

With his sour face, Leon asked in a muttered voice.

"Remove your mask."

The moment he said those words, Lumina's face lit up.

At last, she would be able to see him.

How long had it been? Three months? Four? Seven?

She remembered it all too well. His smiling face. His loving eyes. Those puffy cheeks. That warm gaze that could melt the frost of winter with a single look.

Oh, how she longed for it.

The black knight raised his hand and unbuckled the straps of his metal helmet.

Click–! Click–!

The sound of the clasps snapping open echoed against the silent, snowy cliffs.

With one hand, he pulled it up, away from his face.

The face of Alice twisted into a scowl the moment she saw his condition. She turned her head away, lips curling in disgust, as if the sight itself burned her eyes.

"BWwaaaakkk!!" Alice threw up.

Leon watched the knight with cold, piercing eyes. His golden gaze didn't falter, even as the truth was revealed.

On the other hand, Lumina… Leon didn't know what her reaction was or how she was feeling. But he could tell one thing. Whatever she was feeling, it was probably worse than her worst nightmare.

It was not what Lumina had been imagining all this time.

Shin's face was pale, sagging in strange folds. Wrinkles spread across his wobbling flesh as if millions of maggots crawled just beneath his skin. Which it literally did.

The warmth in his eyes was gone.

In its place was a sickly white pus that had leaked from the sockets and dried into a crust along his cheeks.

The red pupils, however, still remained intact.

Glowing and locked on Lumina.

Lumina's breath caught in her throat.

But what stood out the most was Shin's forehead.

There was a thick, jagged line stitched across it, as if someone had once cracked open his skull and dug his very brain out, only to patch it shut like a butchered doll.

Alice gagged. She cursed under her breath, spitting to the side as if to erase the sight from her mind.

Leon did not move.

He just stared, his golden rings spinning in quiet fury inside his eyes.

His throat tightened. He swallowed hard.

He knew what this was.

His fists curled at his sides, and veins bulged across the back of his hands.

His teeth ground together until his jaw ached.

For the first time in this whole fight, Leon felt something burn inside his chest.

It was something new…

Something he never felt.

Anger.

He did not even understand why.

Was it because of Shin himself? Or was it because of Lumina, standing there with her hands trembling and her eyes wide with horror?

From the beginning, he could not tell.

But he was sane. He was still thinking clearly. And the words from earlier that Shin had stated to him before the fight echoed in his ears.

His broken voice.

'It's your turn now.'

Leon's eyes narrowed. He might have understood the meaning behind it.

A silence stretched across the snowy cliffs.

The wind howled, sending a chill through Leon's flesh.

Then Leon spoke again; his voice was low, trembling with rage he was trying to suppress.

"Who did this to you?"

The knight's head twitched.

His lips opened, but no sound came.

[00:12]

"Answer me." Leon pushed more mana into the skill. His golden rings spun faster.

The knight's body jerked. It struggled with the weight of Leon's command.

His head lifted slowly, painfully, until his glowing red eyes stared straight at Leon.

"Ze..."

Leon leaned closer. "Ze? Speak!"

He barked.

The knight's lips cracked wider, trembling.

"Zen...t..."

"Say it clearly!!" Leon roared, spit flying from his mouth as his voice tore through the air.

Alice's face turned pale. She clutched her chest, feeling a strange pain pierce her ribs just from his fury. It was not directed at her, yet it pressed down on her like a hammer.

Finally, the knight forced the word out.

His throat rattled.

"Zenith."

The sound of that name froze the entirety of Leon.

Leon's body stiffened. He stumbled back, as his golden eyes widened, and all the blood drained from his face.

"That... name..."

He recalled the final stage of the 'Rebirth of the Fivefold calamity.' He knew what would happen if someone spoke the name aloud.

Every instinct screamed, but…

It was too late.

His mind raced, faster than he could control, but at the same time, a cold fear gripped his chest.

From Shin's broken mouth, a smile stretched. It twisted and warped, splitting his cheeks further, the dried crust cracking.

Leon's eyes darted to Lumina.

She stood frozen, lifeless, as if the strength had been ripped from her bones.

Alice was no better.

"Move!" Leon's voice cracked.

He turned and ran toward them in a panic. His hand shot out and grabbed both of their wrists.

'Shit! I can't believe he spoke that name!!'

Behind them, Shin's body convulsed.

A bright light swelled from inside his chest, white and violent, tearing through the cracks of his armor.

Leon ran.

There was no time.

He clenched his teeth and barked out.

"[Zero Spark]!"

The world blurred in Leon's vision. In less than a blink, his body tore through space, dragging Lumina and Alice with him. Their feet left the ground as they were flung forward, vanishing from where they had stood.

In an instant, their body was able to reappear only ten meters away.

'Shit shit!!, it's too close!!'

But it was too late.

A deafening explosion ripped across the cliffs.

The black knight's body detonated, shredding apart in a storm of flesh and steel. Shards of armor spun like blades, and chunks of rotted meat scattered through the air.

The blast wave hammered into them even from that distance, knocking all three of them to the ground.

Warm drops splattered against Leon's cheek. He raised his hand.

His palm came away red.

Blood. Flesh and bones showered on the three.

It was not his, not Lumina's, and not Alice's.

It belonged to Shin.

At that very moment, all three were drenched in the remains of a legendary hero.

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