BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Leon jumped back to dodge Astious and sliced with his dagger.
"You're very fast for someone with so much muscle, youngster..." Before Astious could finish his sentence, he saw Leon jump into the trees, backflip behind him, and backkick his spine.
"Hahahahahah!!!" Astious expertly swiped Leon's kick away and struck his hand.
"AAAAAAGGGHGHGH!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Leon was propelled backward with immense speed.
"LEON!!!" Alicia yelled out, but her gaze was fixed on Astious. She had been holding her hand behind her for a few moments now.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Leon jumped back up and charged toward Astious with incredible speed.
CLANG!!! CLANG!!! CLANG!!!
They clashed repeatedly.
"Getting tired?" Astious smiled, continuing to fight Leon.
(This youngster is powerful; good thing I noticed him now. If he had gotten much stronger, he would be an extremely formidable enemy for us.) Astious zigzagged to dodge Leon's attacks.
"It's time to end this." He declared, drawing a second dagger.
With his legs bent and daggers positioned just behind his stomach, he looked ready to leap.
BSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Energy gathered around his daggers with a green hue, and the sound of metal clashing echoed.
"The air is getting cut continuously... damn it..." Leon gritted his teeth, sweating, preparing himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to withstand this attack; he either had to dodge it or take it.
He glanced behind Alicia and realized dodging was not an option.
"Eurus Notus..." Like a wind in the air...
BSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
An enormous flash of light sliced through the air and struck Leon with immense power.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
"LEOOOOOOOOON!!!"
"Kekekekekeke..." Astious chuckled as the dust cleared.
He widened his eyes in shock when he saw...
"How did you..." Leon stood where he had been before. The ground around him was devastated, and he was drenched in blood, his clothes torn and stained with red and gold.
"Gagh..." Leon vomited blood as the dust settled.
"You are... a monster..." Astious shivered; that was his strongest attack. How did this youngster endure it?
"But you've spent all your energy now..." Astious smiled and...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
He leapt from the branches, his smile terrifying as he approached Leon.
Leon looked up through his bloodied eyes and muttered, "Got you...."
"NOW, ALICIA!!!"
"HUH!!!" Astious turned around in surprise.
The girl who had been standing there, not running, finally moved...
"Pheonix Flame..." She intoned with malice.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Flames of purple, blue, and orange intertwined and shot toward Astious with immense speed. A radius of 30 meters was consumed by flames, and an enormous phoenix silhouette engulfed Astious.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHGLLL...." Astious screamed, but then he smiled. "Just kidding... PERISH!!!"
"WHAT!!!" Alicia tried to intercept, but the blade was about to strike Leon.
CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
Before anything could happen, it was intercepted... by a fingernail.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHGHGH!!!" Astious roared, jumping back, looking ahead.
The flames softened slightly, revealing the figure.
"You... You... You... are... Demetrius Heraclaides... SHIT!!!" Astious nearly fell, almost in shock at the sight of the man before him.
"Good job, youngsters... You've done well holding the ant back..." Demetrius said, looking at Astious.
"AGhh..." Astious lost all his power just from Demetrius's presence.
"Sir... Demetrius..." Leon, still standing, smiled before losing consciousness.
"You've done well, Leon. It seems he was right... Alicia, you've grown much stronger very quickly..." Demetrius said with a smile.
"Sir... how is Leon..." Alicia asked worriedly, approaching him.
"He's fine, just lost a lot of blood. It can be easily fixed, but he won't be able to continue the exam..." Demetrius looked at the peculiar tree near the mountain.
"If you wish to continue the exam, I will take him to the university, Alicia. If not, you can take him. I have some business to attend to here..." Demetrius offered.
Alicia replied, "I will entrust him to you, Sir Demetrius. I don't think Leon would want me to fail the exam because of him... thank you very much..." Alicia pulled out a herb, making it float in her hand and squeezing out its essence.
She took out another leaf, squeezed out its essence, and then another, combining the essences into a single droplet that went into Leon's mouth.
"Alright, Sir..." Alicia said and leaped back into the trees.
"Alright then... let's see..." Demetrius looked down at Astious with a wild smile.
"Let's see who you are..." He muttered, moving closer to Astious.
(Dammit... His aura is holding me in place... We made a huge mistake!!! A HUGE ONE!!!) Astious gritted his teeth.
Click!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
He bit his cheek and used all his power to escape.
"Very vicious, biting his cheek..." Demetrius simply knocked through the air.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Almost 1/10th of the entire forest exploded.
"Agh..." A serious fell, unable to move. The air alone had taken him down.
"This... isn't spark... what are--- you... bastard..." He gritted his teeth, looking back as Demetrius calmly walked toward him, dragging Leon by the collarbone.
"Sorry, Leon, I need my hands for this one..." Demetrius approached Astious and placed his hand on his stomach.
"I'll ask you this: what organization do you belong to?" He inquired, his face close to Astious's.
"Screw you... bastard!!!" Astious spat.
"I see..."
Crack.
"AAAAAAAAGHGHGGHGHGH!!!" One of Astious's ribs cracked.
"You have 25 ribs... so 32 questions. You answer one correctly, and I'll move to the next one while keeping you at the previous state. You answer incorrectly, and... I'll just break it..." Demetrius said, squatting down.
"Next question: What organization do you belong to?" He repeated.
"Gaglhj.... Guildi---" Astious winced as the rib cracked.
Crack.
"AGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He screamed in pain.
"You're lying now. If you're scared of me, it means you know me. Lying to someone like me about something like this won't end well," Demetrius said, moving to the next question.
"Next question: Who sent you here?" He asked.
"Emperor---" Astious began.
"AAGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"You're loyal, huh? I see this will take time..."
BZZTTTTT!!!
Demetrius looked toward the tree in the south, his eyes glowing gold.
"Looks like... there are other ants here. I wonder who they targeted this time."
The tree he looked at was the one Alex was in.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion erupted from the southern side of the tree, near the mountain.
End of Chapter.