Leo stays on guard as he speaks
-Don't resist, I don't want to have to hurt you, but I'll do it if necessary.
.
Sapere walks nervously towards Leo.
-Humpf! Do you ask me to calmly go to my execution? All while taking my granddaughter to her death too?!
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Leo
-I didn't want it to come to that, but I am sure we can bargain for the king to spare your life.
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Sapere
-We both know that isn't an option anymore.
.
Leo
-If only she had never been born…
.
Sapere throws a right punch at Leo.
-Stop blaming a child for our own weakness!
.
Leo blocks the punch with his arm.
-If she hadn't been born, my brother would still be here!
.
Sapere lands a left punch on Leo's face.
-That thought goes nowhere!
.
Sapere lands a streak of punches against Leo.
-If it wasn't for the laws of this empire! If not for the inferiors!
.
Leo starts to fall backward from the impact of the blows.
.
Sapere
-If it wasn't for that despicable murderer! If not for those inferiors!
.
Sapere speaks as he throws one last punch, almost out of breath.
-Thinking "what if" doesn't do any good!
.
Leo leans back but manages to stay upright despite the impacts.
.
Sapere tries to step back to catch his breath, but Leo throws his body forward and head-butts Sapere.
.
Leo grabs Sapere and screams.
-I know! That's why I went ahead and worked to regain the family's honor! The title we lost!
.
Sapere
-Is that why you sacrifice your family?! For a mere title?!
.
Leo
-If it wasn't for me, you and that damn child you protect so much would be living in hell right now!
.
Sapere yells as he hits a strong head-butt, smashing Leo's nose.
-HERE IS THE REAL HELL!
.
Leo ends up releasing Sapere and takes a few steps back trying not to fall. After balancing himself, he spreads his wings.
.
Leo speaks with his face dripping with blood.
-Let's settle this at once.
.
Sapere then also spreads its wings and starts to fly with some difficulty.
.
Leo
-So they still work.
.
Sapere
-Heh...
.
Leo falls silent.
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Leo flies through the sky together with his brother by his side. Both were in their younger years, playing through the sky.
.
Sapere
-Focus! We are in the middle of training here!
.
Leo's brother responds as he flies his hands behind his head in a very sloppy and laid-back pose.
-Do we really need to train?
.
Leo
-What are you saying?! Now is our chance to defeat him!
.
Young Leo advances against Sapere while yelling
-Today I beat you, old man!
.
Young Leo tries to land a punch at Sapere.
.
// ~ Adult Leo makes the same movement. ~ //
.
Younger Sapere easily blocked teen Leo's punch with his arm.
.
The young Leo recoils with a flutter of wings.
.
Sapere
-How many times do I need to say it?!
.
The young Sapere grabs Leo's wingtips.
.
Sapere
-The wings are the most fragile part of your body, so…
.
Younger Sapere pulls the teen Leo close by the wings and lands a kick to his jaw.
.
Sapere
-Then everyone will aim at them, idiot!
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Old Sapere dodges Leo's punch while flapping his wings.
.
Leo then grabs his father's wings and breaks them with his bare hands.
.
Sapere howls in pain.
.
Leo then finishes off with a hard punch against Sapere's jaw. He then starts to fall.
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Young Leo is thrown back by the hit of Sapere's kick.
.
He grins through the pain with gritted teeth as he notices a familiar figure right behind his father.
.
It was Leo's brother.
.
Sapere is taken by surprise. He quickly turns around, but he could not react in time to block and ends up getting kicked in the chest.
.
The two brothers start to celebrate the successful hit.
.
Leo's brother
-We did it!
.
Leo
-We defeated the old man!
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Sapere lies unconscious on the ground, his body beaten down with one of his wings broken.
.
Leo stares over him with a sad look as he approaches, landing slowly.
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Sapere punches both of them in the head.
.
Sapere
-Don't celebrate for hitting your dad, brats!
.
<--------------// ~ // ------------->
.
Upon landing, Leo kneels on the ground next to Sapere.
.
Leo
-Sorry, dad...
.
For a moment he just stays there, a tear forming in his eyes. Until suddenly he is hit by a strong kick to the side of his head.
.
His body is barely able to process the pain as he falls to the ground.
.
After hitting him, Caelum stares down, waiting to see if would get up, but Leo remains motionless.
.
She calms down a little, she doubted that she could take him on at her current state. Her body was very bruised and beaten down, her breathing frenetic.
.
Her attention then turns to her fallen guardian, she desperately yells trying to awaken him.
-Sapere! Sapere!
.
Despite the screams, Sapere remains unconscious on the ground.
.
Caelum then barely manages to lift Sapere's body and attaches it to the other pegasus she had taken for him.
.
She rides Libertatem while holding a long rope tied to the other pegasus, to guide him and keep him close.
.
The pegasus spread their wings and both begin to fly off the island
.
Leo stares at the scene, his vision blurry and his consciousness fading.
.
Upon seeing their escape, he gathers his last energy and takes a rough primitive version of a gun from his waistband, and takes aim at them.
.
He directly aims at the back of Caelum's head for a long moment.
.
As he was about to shoot, his vision gets even more blurred, making him unable to see anything except blurs and shadows. He decides to shoot anyway and then passes out.
.
The bullet hits Libertatem's wing.
.
Caelum
-What?!
.
Libertatem starts to fly with difficulty due to his injured wing.
.
Caelum holds the rein and with her other hand the rope attached to the other pegasus carrying Sapere.
.
Caelum
-Hold on, just a little more Sapere!
.
Libertatem starts to fall, pulling the other pegasus with him.
.
END OF THE TENTH CHAPTER.