Fast forward into the night, Leo had been following the girl, Liliana Kranjcar very closely since the evening. He saw her kidnapping Yuri Mariya when she was taking a bath and brought her to a hotel somewhere in the city.
Leo noted Lilliana's king, Duke Voban is indeed there and he wanted to use Yuri and multiple other Hime Miko and Witch to summon a Heretic God to fight because he is bored.
What an irresponsible one, Leo thought. At least do the summoning away from people so the unrelated people will not get caught in it. But Leo is interested to learn about the summoning ritual. So, he decided to observe.
He watches and learns how to make the ritual himself. It's possible with the Goddess of Magic authority. He confirmed it and he wouldn't even require sacrifice like Duke Voban did.
Now the plan to summon Helios is more and more possible.
However, an hour later.
Godou and Erica storm the building where Voban, Liliana and Yuri are staying. A fight happened inside but they left unharmed it seems before they left in a hurry with Yuri. Leo thought they made up or had a deal.
But no, a while later. A pack of wolves made from an authority chase after Godou and his group.
Leo also moved and followed the wolves while changing his clothes to the Hunter attire as he flickers into a flurry of mist with the Hunter's Arcane technique of Quickening.
Five minutes later, Leo stopped and stood on top of a building overseeing the ground where Godou and the girls stood before Voban and his undead soldiers.
Leo contemplate to intervene now.
Leo looks at Voban preying on Godou. It reminds him of Fellow Campione killing each other like Hunters that vowed to slay the beasts turn against their own fellow Hunters.
Voban did all this simply because he was bored. For such a reason he is summoning Heretic God and preying on his fellow Campione. For boredom he is willing to put countless people in danger. Seeing this made Leo feel his blood boil from anger.
Suddenly, the sky brightened up as the sun appeared in the sky before turning into a blazing horse.
"That's a divine authority." Leo mutters as he watches the blazing horse descend from the sky like a meteor and crash on Voban.
The undead soldiers incinerated and the ground scorched but Voban suddenly transformed into a werewolf and caught the ball of fire. Then he swallowed it.
If Leo needs any more reason to intervene, Voban's appearance is enough as a reason. His instinct tells him to rip that beast apart.
Leo thinks no more as he pulls up his mask and covers his face except his eyes.
"Leonis Ashford, the Good Hunter will join the Hunt tonight." Leo whispers and leaped off the building.
———
"Impossible! He swallowed the White Stallion just like that!" Godou exclaimed with surprise and terror. One of his strongest authorities was denied just like that.
"Now is not the time to panic, Godou." Erica reminded Godou.
Godou nods and gets himself together and quickly thinks of another way but he really is at a dead end because not all of his authorities are offensive. Besides, he can't just use his authority as he wishes without understanding his opponent otherwise it would be just a repeat with the White Stallion just now.
Suddenly, mist appeared very quickly and covered the surrounding area with it. Godou looks at Voban but he is equally confused and looks straight at him, thinking it's his doing. But it's clear the mist is none of their doing and it's the work of a third party.
"Who did this! Show yourself!" Voban roared into the mist and tried to conjure wind to blow away the mist but his wind couldn't even affect the mist.
Voban summoned his undead warriors and wolves as he warily looked to left and right. He already noticed the mist is a work of a powerful authority because his wind that comes from not magic, but an authority couldn't even affect it.
Then everyone heard the chime of a bell in the mist which echoed like they were in a room.
"What is happening?" Godou asks as he holds Yuri close and also grabs Erica's hand.
They were uncertain what was happening as the mist became thicker and thicker until they couldn't even see anything at all. Not even the person next to them.
Suddenly, the sound of gunshots, hurried footsteps, sickening crunch and clashes echoes.
Godou and the girls are spooked by this but they are also helpless. They ran in the opposite direction and relied on memories to guide them as they back tracked.
"AAAGH! How dare you!" The hoarse voice of Voban reached Godou and the girls and it's confirmed now someone was attacking Voban.
"Who would dare to fight Duke Voban?" Erica finds it puzzling because it's impossible to be another Campione when all other Campione aren't even in Japan.
"Yuri, can you see anything about this mist?" Erica asked.
"I-I'll try." Yuri responded with a flustered voice.
Few seconds later, Yuri still can't see anything. It's very puzzling. The mist is there but she cannot see anything. Like someone put a blindfold on her eyes.
"AAAHH!" Voban howled and a large explosion shook the ground with a magnitude 5 quake.
"Petty tricks!" Voban sounds very angry.
"All the living things in the world are the same. Saints and sinners, villains and heroes, innocent children and even their mothers are the source of- GAHH!" Voban made a sound similar to vomiting before he fell to the ground with a sound of a crash.
"You are delusional if you think I would allow you to finish your chant." A stranger spoked from inside the mist.
Godou and the girls finally heard the sound of another person and the mist started to recede.
When the mist disappeared, they saw the giant werewolf lay sprawled on the ground with a big bloody hole in its stomach. Then they turn to the stranger drenched with blood and a bloody right hand.
"Duke Voban!" Liliana appeared when the mist disappeared.
Liliana looked shocked that the strongest and oldest Campione she served were defeated that easily. She stood uncertain with her blood drawn at the stranger that simply stared at her with an unknown expression hidden by the mask he wore.
"Duke Voban was killed just like that?!" Erica was also doubtful but the proof is there in front of their eyes.
"Dead?" The stranger suddenly talked as he approached Voban but Liliana held her blade and tried to hold him back while her body was shaking in fear.
"I know you are not dead yet, Duke Voban." The stranger said, which surprised everyone as the dead werewolf suddenly moved and reverted back to Voban human form.
"Hmn. Quite perceptive you are." Voban stood up and dust his clothes before he looked straight at Leo with an amused smile.
"Rather than that boy wet behind his ears. You are a more interesting opponent." Voban said with a hearty laugh. "How about it? Defeat me and I will let them go." Voban tried to negotiate, thinking Leo was helping Godou.
Leo turns to take a glance at Godou and his girls. Godou look surprised of Voban's offer and curious about Leo. Erica is similar to Godou. Yuri however, tried to uncover his identity using her Spirit Vision but unfortunately Leo had placed countermeasures against that. Both for her and his own good. The last thing he needed was her to go insane after gaining Insight.
"I think you misunderstood. I am here to kill you. Not to save them because they are not an ally." Leo said and his weapon returned to his hands.
Voban smiled. Regardless, Leo will fight him and that's all he needs.
"Great. Great! How long had I last had this much fun? I finally found an opponent that can force me to go all out!" Voban literally sang and squealed in excitement, very unbefitting his image.
"Come! Legion of Hungry Wolves!" Voban summoned the divine beast and then look at Leo, anticipating his next move while patiently waiting for his opponent to make his next move.
Voban had long been looking for a proper opponent and he will savor this battle as much as he can like he is doing wine tasting. Slowly savor each and every bit of flavor.
Meanwhile Leo didn't want to reveal all his cards. He didn't want to use the mist again to summon the Hunters. Instead, he conjures purple snake phantoms using Ophis' Snake ability and strengthens these snake phantoms using the Goddess of Magic authority since they are magical constructs.
Leo moves along with hundreds of snakes, forming a torrential force that grinds through the legion of wolves in an instant, baring his cleaver on Voban. The old man instead of looking shocked or surprised, he looked more excited instead like a masochist.
God, the image of this old man blushing in excitement while being whipped is going to scar Leo for life.
Voban's eyes suddenly glow as he opens his eyes wide and stares straight at Leo and the snakes. The snakes instantly hardened into a bunch of statues and broke into piles of salt.
"This is my authority, Eyes of Sodom. It can turn all manner of living things or creatures into salt." Voban explained as if he is doing a showcase of his ability instead of fighting.
Seeing that Leo didn't respond to him, Voban only chuckled. His opponent is taking him very seriously which is a good thing and he should refrain from talking as he isn't taking his opponent seriously instead.
"Sturm Und Drang" Voban summoned the trio of Chinese weather deities.
Voban tried to strike Leo with powerful lightning but unfortunately the lightning lost control when it got close to Leo and Leo overridden the control and sent the lightning back to Voban.
"Interesting. Very interesting! I wonder what authority you have." Voban shouts excitedly and uses wind authority instead to send a barrage of sharp wind blades at Leo.
Leo uses Quickening to evade all the wind blades which harmlessly cut through the silvery mist before Leo reformed and his pistol aimed at Voban and fired.
Voban didn't think that highly of the pistol, thinking that tool cannot harm him even if it was modified or enchanted with magic. Which is true, the gun didn't hurt him much but he realized too late he was stunned and Leo was performing the same exact move as before and plunged his arm into his gut and ripped his bowel out savagely.
"Duke Voban!" Liliana on the side shows concern to the lord she served.
The others are more fascinated by the brutal method Leo uses in his combat.
Just as Leo is about to perform the coup de grace and end Voban's life. A volley of arrows flying towards him made Leo forced to evade and he saw Liliana defending Voban although she clearly shows she isn't even willing to serve Voban in the first place.
"Haah… Good job, Liliana Kranjcar. I underestimated him. Such a brutal yet efficient method of fighting. I start to wonder what you are." Voban already healed from the injury and stood up. "You are clearly a Campione. But the way you fight tells you are not the type who rely on authority in battle, you are fighting like this even before slaying your first god."
"A Campione? That's impossible! Godou is the most recent one and there is no prophecy about the eighth Campione." Erica frowned and turned to Yuri for help from her Spirit Vision but Yuri shook her head as her Spirit Vision cannot learn anything.
"My vision cannot see anything as if he put a veil around himself." Yuri explained.
"Are we here to fight or talk?" Leo feels impatient as Voban keeps talking instead of fighting him. "If you like to talk that much then just die and stop wasting my time." Leo tried to hurry the battle because if the sun rises, his power would be sealed.
Leo's eyes glow red like blood and his hair glows silver. Those who saw the changes didn't quite understand what was happening at first until one of them looked up to the sky and noticed how close the moon was above them.
Voban was ecstatic and even thanked Leo for what he did to the moon because his wolves are empowered by the moon. But this thought changed immediately when he and his wolves didn't receive any empowerment.
From silvery white, the moon gets tainted by red as it slowly becomes redder and redder until it's as red as blood. Leo stood below the blood moon and bathed in its sanguine radiance as an ethereal aura empowering Leo with otherworldly strength.
The wolves that Voban summoned suddenly lose control and become frenzied as they breath in the blood mist spreading around them and suddenly transform into grotesque monsters.
"Impossible! My wolf's legion!" Voban shouted in surprise and tried to summon his wolves again but was unable to as the Legion of Hungry Wolves authority lost control.
Voban quickly summoned his Undead Servants instead using Osiris's authority of necromancy.
The frenzied wolves and Undead Servants clash against one another as Leo disappeared and reappeared next to Voban who ran out of cannon fodders.
"Duke Voban!" Liliana hastily moved between her lord and blocked the cleaver that slashed down with immense strength that caused the pavement below her to crack instantly as she was forced to kneel while still blocking the strike with everything she had.
"Tsk! Stop interrupting me, girl. Stay out of this or I will kill you next time." Leo said with unrestrained killing intent behind his voice.
It was thick and nauseating, the killing intent of a man who slaughtered countless enemies and those with weaker will is instantly entranced by it. They can see the ancient gothic cityscape in the background. Then they saw mountain upon mountain of corpses, rivers of blood flowing through the paved street of this haunted city. Standing in front of all this is that man holding his grotesque tool of butcher and a flintlock pistol.
Only one with strong enough will to resist the killing intent is unsurprisingly Voban who looks shocked but immediately bursts out laughing.
"What a dangerous fellow you are. That is not an authority. It's your own killing intent. If you already have this much capability before even becoming a Campione. Indeed, you will be like a wolf among sheeps."
"Come, let us fight with everything we had." Voban finally forgo any limit he put on himself and use his authorities to the fullest.
He opens his eyes wide and looks at Leo's leg with his Eyes of Sodom and manages to turn Leo's legs into salt before he summons a very dense lightning to strike Leo down. The thunderclap following the lightning strike is enough to make a human become deaf.
Leo uses his Electrokinesis to divert the lightning away but he can't divert all of them away. He only managed to divert half and sustained heavy burns from that. He quickly jammed a syringe into his body to heal himself but his leg wouldn't heal.
"Great, it's a damn curse." Leo mutters when he realizes the nature of Eyes of Sodom.
Before Leo has the opportunity to heal himself using magic, Voban turns into a werewolf and attacks Leo. Without his legs to run away, Leo was forced to take the attack and he flew a few meters into the air and crashed into a light pole.
At least he put some distance between him and Voban. Leo quickly dispel the curse and heal himself with another syringe of blood into his system.
He and Voban enter a heated battle as both sides stop holding back. Voban in his werewolf form have immense strength, speed and durability. Whenever Voban attack, Leo would flicker and reappered in the angle he least expected and attack.
The two turn into flashes of afterimages and cause torrential winds as they clash.
"Is this the real strength of a Campione?" Godou, Erica, Yuri and Liliana all exclaimed in shock as they watched the high speed battle taking place as their eyes barely able to see them flickering in and out of existence with their immense speed.
"This is crazy! Duke Voban is using an authority which is understandable but the other guy is using just his physical strength and could outpaced even Duke Voban!" Erica analyzed as best as she could of the both.
Suddenly Leo came to a stop and Voban pounced toward him from above with both claws out. But Leo kicked him in the gut and sent the three meter tall werewolf crashing into a building before he stopped to gasp for air a little.
This will not end that easily because both were evenly matched in power and both have powerful regeneration or healing. Unless one makes a decisive attack, this fight will not end and both understand that. That's why they stop fighting once they have tested the water enough.
"What will you do next?" Voban taunted but it didn't elicit any response or word from Leo.
A ball of light appeared in Leo's hand before transforming into a pink spear made of light. It's Mittelt's Light spear. Leo loads it with magic and mana. Turning it into a devastating weapon. Voban also did the same as he was chanting his authority, Red Punishment.
Meanwhile on the sidelines.
"We have to stop them! They will erase this city from the map!" Erica panicked once she felt what the two were trying to do.
"They are What!" Godou was shocked after hearing what Erica said and quickly rushed to stop the two.
But it was too late.
Leo aimed the pink spear thrumming with immense power at Voban as the sky suddenly covered in crimson flame. Leo throws the spear at Voban and Voban commands the heavenly flame to burn Leo into ashes.
Then everything becomes white.
—————
(Leo drops a magic nuke lmao. JK. That's not what happened but close.)
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