The rising sun hit Captain Leo's closed eyes. He awoke slowly, but upon seeing all of his comrades dead on the field, he jumped up. He quickly grabbed a sword on the ground and scanned the area, but there was no one there. Just the chirps of birds. The silver armored man and the child were no longer there. He remembered piercing the kid's heart, but even though he regretted it, there was nothing he could do about. He sheathed the blade he held in his hand, and left in utter shame and defeat. He felt a sharp pain on his sides and chest. He slowly made his way back towards King's City knowing nothing of what has occurred there.
Leo walked for a short while and saw one of their horses feeding on the grass. The horse still had a spare crossbow on it. Leo got on the horse and galloped forward holding himself togethor. He tried not to think about what happened. All he had to do was to get back to the city and report his failure. But also he would need to notify the Akai about the enemy they faced. It was an enemy far stronger than any dragon.
Soon, Leo heard yelling and slowed his horse to a halt. He got off to see what it was about. He held his sheathed hilt and when he approached a corner leading outside of the forest, a burst of flame appeared on the open field. Captain Leo shielded his eyes, but still tried to look. He thought that there was some kind of dragon, and he was right.
It was hard to see beyond the intense heat of the flames, but it was clear that there was a silhouette of a creature. It was dark, yellow-eyed, and had the wings and tail of a dragon. It's wings spanned a huge area, but the fire consumed further. He took the crossbow from the horse and aimed it towards the fire, but when the flames ceased and died out, Leo saw him.
The Crimson Black Knight. Akai. He held the burnt body of the witch by the neck.
"I didn't think it was a hallucination on that day, but it's always good to confirm it," he whispered to himself as he remembered the time he was saved at his village. The man, or dragon, in front of him coming down from above slaying the red dragon. He could still remember the wings.
Akai dropped the body of Miura on the burnt fields.
"Stop laughing. Stop laughing," he repeated as her laughter rang in his head. Her body continued to be consumed by fire until there was nothing left but blackened bones. Her flaming black skull stared back at Akai with a devious smile.
Captain Leo looked behind the Crimson Black Knight and saw the destroyed city. What the hell, he wondered. He had no idea what happened while he was out. He took a step back as for a moment, he believed that Akai burned down the city. As he did so, he stepped on a branch, and Akai heard.
The Crimson Black Knight's yellow eyes filled with rage turned towards Captain Leo hiding in the forest.
In that instant, Akai's eyes reverted back to normal. His giant black wings pushed him up to the clouds in seconds. The shockwave below shook the nearby trees and wiped out any remaining fires. Captain Leo held onto a tree while his horse fled. His crossbow flew away along with a pile of leaves and burnt branches. The corpses of crows stuck to the ground like glue. The shockwave only lasted for a second.
Captain Leo got out of the forest and looked up at the almost clear sky. The sun shining brightly over them, while smoke continued to come from King's City. Leo needed to find more information about what happened.
However, Leo had a feeling that Akai wasn't coming back. He didn't believe for a moment that he would have burned the city down. The person - or dragon - who saved him wasn't capable of it. It wasn't in his character, he thought.
"Goodbye, Akai. I have a feeling we won't meet again, but I would like to thank you for everything you have given me," Leo said towards the black winged shadow in the sky.
Leo looked towards the city and ran over.
"There is still plenty of work that needs to be done. It's my turn to help somebody in need. Thank you, Akai," Leo said as he quickly ran towards the city.