The bandit leader stood there in utter disbelief, but Xavier didn't say a word and merely appeared before the children the bandit leader and his men had kidnapped, instantly.
"What the hell? When did he get there?", the bandit leader thought to himself in panic.
Xavier calmly untied the children, asking with a smile, "Are you guys okay?".
With tears in their eyes, the children nodded, saying, "Yes" to Xavier's question.
Xavier then instructed the children to run as far away as possible, and to alert the knights in a near Guardhouse.
The children complained, and immediately ran out of the massive abandoned building, leaving Xavier there all by himself with the vicious bandits.
With his golden hair billowing in the wind that swept through the abandoned building, Xavier stood there calmly. His gaze was icy as he coldly questioned the bandit leader, "Who sent you to assassinate me?
The bandit leader scoffed, and answered, "And why exactly would I answer that question?".
Xavier remained quiet with a cold expression, and the bandit leader, smirked sinisterly, stating, "There's no need for me to tell you who sent me since you're going to be dead soon anyway".
With his physical attributes monstrously amplified by RealmHeart, Xavier took a single step forward, unleashing a powerful burst of air that swept through the room, scattering everything in its path. The sheer force of it sent a shiver of terror through the bandit leader, who, now visibly shaken by Xavier's overwhelming power, desperately yelled at his men, ordering them to ambush Xavier and bring him his head.
As they all immediately rushed at Xavier, one of them with their sword in hand, thrust his sword at Xavier. Who calmly and swiftly sidestepped to his right. Xavier then instantly slammed the man's face into the ground with great force it created a crater.
The bandit leader watched in pure disbelief and terror, as Xavier swiftly dodged every one of the attacks thrown at him, back-slapping one of the bandit leader's men in the face without even looking at them, sending them flying into the walls.
As Xavier fended off the bandits' ambush, one of them caught him off guard, driving a blade into his back. But with a swift, powerful grip, Xavier snapped the blade in half, then delivered a crushing backhand to the bandit's jaw, sending him reeling.
Just as Xavier turned to continue the fight, his attention was drawn to the leader of the bandits, who held one of the escaped children at knifepoint. The leader's eyes gleamed with menace as he threatened to slit the girl's throat if Xavier didn't stop his attack immediately.
"Let the girl go, you crazy coward!", Xavier shouted at the bandit leader in anger.
Suddenly, one of the bandits attempted to strike Xavier from behind with a metal pipe, but Xavier merely stopped the attack with his bare hands, saying coldly, "The same moves won't work on me".
But at that moment, as Xavier turned his head back to the bandit leader, he watched in disbelief and shock as the man, with a cruel smile, slowly yet swiftly sliced the little girl's throat. Xavier's heart sank as the horrific scene unfolded before his eyes, leaving him momentarily paralyzed by the sheer brutality.
As the girl's body fell to the ground, the bandit leader began to laugh maniacally, saying, "I told you to stop your resistance. And now that poor girl had to pay for your foolish mistake".
Xavier stood frozen in disbelief as the girl's lifeless body slumped to the ground. The bandit whose weapon Xavier had stopped attempted to wrench it free, but it was futile. Xavier's grip was unyielding, his strength overwhelming, as he remained motionless like an immovable statue, his eyes locked on the tragic scene before him.
In a flash, Xavier seized the bandit by the jaw, unleashing a surge of vectors into the man's body. The vectors accelerated the blood flow to a terrifying speed, causing the blood vessels to implode violently, knocking the bandit out cold.
Consumed by a rush of anger, Xavier's eyes burned with fury as he screamed at the bandit leader, "I'm gonna kill you!" A monstrous draconic aura exploded from his body, engulfing the entire building. The sheer force of it filled the air with a suffocating pressure, striking terror into the hearts of the remaining bandits.
"Come forth, Blade of Sovereignier, Calibourne," Xavier commanded, his voice steady and resolute. A shimmering portal materialized beside him, and from its depths, the legendary sword Excalibur emerged, its blade gleaming with an otherworldly light as it floated into Xavier's grasp.
This was no longer a fight, but a massacre, as Xavier began to slaughter all the bandits that attacked him with Excalibur, cutting through them like butter, making sure not to kill them.
The bandit leader immediately formed a condensed ball of air on his palm and began to launch it at Xavier at lightning speed. Xavier was somewhat able to block some of them, with Excalibur, but was still severely injured by them, as they pierced through his skin with ease.
The bandit leader pressed on with his relentless assault, but suddenly, Excalibur erupted in a blinding light, accompanied by a resounding, holy bell-like chime. Overwhelmed by the intensity, Xavier yelled at the top of his lungs, pushing through the excruciating pain. With a surge of determination, he charged at the bandit leader with unbridled speed and fury.
The bandit leader desperately tried to maintain his distance from Xavier, but Xavier swiftly shattered the ground beneath them. He sent a torrent of vectors into the earth, creating a tumultuous surge that severely restricted the bandit leader's movements and left him struggling to regain his footing.
Teleporting before the bandit leader, Xavier swung Excalibur at him, but he quickly dodged it. But he wasn't so lucky, as his right arm was instantly cut off by Excalibur.
The bandit leader screamed in utter pain and agony, but Xavier merely thrust Excalibur into the man's chest, pinning him onto the wall.
Xavier summoned a surge of energy, channeling a flux wave of vectors to activate his long-awaited vector shield. As the shield materialized, Xavier wasted no time; he directed its immense power toward the bandit leader, crushing him with relentless force. Simultaneously, Xavier manipulated the wind outside, generating a counterforce against the wall to prevent it from shattering under the pressure of his vector shield.
The bandit leader's screams filled the air as his body was crushed under the infinite pressure. As Excalibur, already embedded in him, drove deeper, amplifying his agony.
"Xavier stop!", a voice shouted in distress out of nowhere.
Xavier ignored the voice, thinking he was hearing things, but the voice continued, yelling at him to stop.
"You've already won, the man is now defeated. Now stop before you end up killing him", the voice continued.
Xavier ignored the voice again, which made it panic, as it then said, "You don't want to do this Xavier. You don't want to do something you will deeply regret after".
Replying to the voice in anger, Xavier yelled, "Just who are you to tell me what to do?".
"You don't even know me. Did you even see what this monster did to that innocent child!".
The voice replied, "I do know you, Xavier".
"And you're not the type to be overcome by your emotions, and the type to kill someone".
"So please, let the man go".
Tears of anger and pain welled up in Xavier's eyes as he reluctantly deactivated his vector shield, halting his assault.
As the energy dissipated, Xavier's form gradually returned to its normal state, the intense glow of golden hair and the markings on his right side, fading. The bandit leader, paralyzed by terror, watched in horror as a shadowy figure of an immense and terrifying dragon loomed behind Xavier, its presence filling the room with an overwhelming sense of dread.
At that moment, Anastasia and a swarm of royal knights burst into the building, only to be struck speechless by the horrifying scene before them. Bodies lay strewn across the floor, and an immense, terrifying dragon stood menacingly beside Xavier.
The royal knights instinctively drew their weapons, ready to confront the dragon, but Xavier swiftly stopped them with a weary gesture. Slowly, he turned his head toward Anastasia, his voice low and filled with sorrow. "Plea...se, save the... girl," he whispered, before collapsing. The mighty dragon caught him gently, cradling him as he fell.
"Young Master!", Anastasia yelled, as she rushed to his aide.
Checking Xavier's pulse to see if he was still breathing, Anastasia immediately yelled at the knights, ordering that some of them go and call medics and healers to come to the scene.
As the knights moved to follow Anastasia's orders, a black-haired man stood on a distant rooftop, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold with a smirk. "After years of searching," he murmured to himself, "I've finally found Xavier Laurent."