Three days after Damien Ravencrest's disappearance, the academy felt like a boiling pot. The Guild Association's investigation was still ongoing, but there was no significant progress. What made the situation even more tense was the arrival of delegations from various noble houses who began to be "interested" in the mystery surrounding House Draemor.
Aeris walked towards the training ground with a heavy feeling. The system continued to give warnings that made him increasingly paranoid, and Seraphina's increasingly possessive presence made it difficult to breathe.
[TIMELINE ANALYSIS: CRITICAL DEVIATION DETECTED]
[ORIGINAL PLOT PROGRESSION: 23% REMAINING]
[LEON ASHFORD PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE: DETERIORATING RAPIDLY]
[WARNING: HERO'S CORRUPTION ARC ACCELERATING]
"Leon's corruption arc?" Aeris muttered as he read the system notification. "Didn't that happen way back in the last arc?"
When he arrived at the training ground, the sight that greeted him made his blood run cold. Leon was training alone, but the way he swung his sword was... brutal. There was none of the elegant swordsmanship he usually displayed. Just raw, terrifying violence.
"Leon?" Aeris called out cautiously.
Leon stopped and turned. His usually warm blue eyes were now cold and empty. There were dark bags under his eyes, and his usually neat hair was now a mess.
"Oh, Aeris," Leon said in a tired voice. "You came to train too?"
"Actually I'm looking for—"
"You know," Leon interrupted as he swung his sword at the training dummy again, "I've been thinking a lot about this."
SLASH! His sword cut the training dummy in half.
"About what?"
"About why I'm here," Leon said, looking down at the sword in his hand. "About what my purpose really is."
There was something in his tone that made Aeris uncomfortable. "Leon, are you okay?"
Leon laughed, but it was bittersweet. "All right? I'm the chosen one, Aeris. I should be the one protecting everyone. I should be the hero."
[ALERT: LEON ASHFORD SHOWING SIGNS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN]
[HERO COMPLEX CHALLENGED BY REPEATED FAILURES]
[CORRUPTION PROBABILITY: 67%]
"But when you nearly died in the dungeon, where was I?" Leon continued, his eyes darkening.
"When Damien disappeared, what could I do? Nothing."
"Leon—"
"And the most painful thing," his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, "was seeing Seraphina protect you in ways I never could."
Aeris sensed danger in that statement. "What do you mean?"
"You know, Aeris," Leon turned to face him with a smile that didn't touch his eyes, "Seraphina power isn't normal. The way she made the Ancient Basilisk disappear, the way she always knew when you were in danger... that wasn't normal magic."
"she's just—"
"she's just what? Talented?" Leon stepped closer, sword still drawn. "Or is she using something... darker?"
[WARNING: LEON ASHFORD DEVELOPING OBSESSIVE TENDENCIES]
[TARGET: SERAPHINA VALENCIA]
[THREAT LEVEL: ESCALATING]
Before Aeris could respond, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Talking about me, Leon?"
Seraphina stood at the entrance to the training ground with a sweet smile, but her violet eyes flashed with terrifying intensity when she saw Leon still holding his sword.
"Seraphina," Leon said in an accusation-filled tone. "Perfect timing."
"Oh? And what makes it perfect?" Seraphina stepped in with deadly grace.
"I want to ask you a few things," Leon raised his sword slightly. "About your abilities. About what you really did to the Ancient Basilisk. And about where you were the night Damien disappeared."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Careful, Leon. Accusation without proof can be dangerous."
"Proof?" Leon laughed coldly. "The red rose in Damien's window. The unusual magical signature. The witness who saw the silver-haired woman. It all points to you."
Aeris felt the tension in the air rise dramatically. "You two, please—"
"And most obvious," Leon continued, ignoring Aeris, "is how you are so... calm about the whole situation. As if the disappearance of a noble from a major house is nothing."
Seraphina paused, then smiled. But it was the most terrifying smile Aeris had ever seen.
"You're right, Leon," she said in a very calm voice. "I don't care about Damien Ravencrest."
"Seraphina—" Aeris began to panic.
"Because he's a threat," Seraphina continued, looking Leon straight in the eye. "And I don't like threats to things that are important to me."
Leon tightened his grip on his sword. "So you admit it."
"I'm not admitting anything," Seraphina said with a wider smile. "I'm simply stating a fact. That I will do anything to protect Aeris."
"Anything?" Leon stepped forward, his eyes blazing with anger. "Including murder?"
[CRITICAL ALERT: VIOLENT CONFRONTATION IMMINENT]
[LEON ASHFORD: WEAPON READY]
[SERAPHINA VALENCIA: UNKNOWN MAGICAL PREPARATIONS]
[AERIS SAFETY: COMPROMISED]
"ENOUGH!" Aeris shouted, stepping between them. "You two are insane! We're friends, we shouldn't—"
"Friends?" Leon laughed bitterly. "Aeris, you still don't get it, do you? We're all past the point where friendship matters."
"Leon, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is," Leon lowered his sword but his eyes remained sharp, "I'm tired of being a side character in my own life."
He stared at Seraphina intently. "And I'm tired of seeing monsters disguised as protectors."
Seraphina's violet eyes burned with pure fury. "Monsters?"
"Yes," Leon said with chilling conviction. "Monsters who will do anything, including killing innocent people, to get what they want."
Before Seraphina could respond, Leon turned to Aeris. "And you, Aeris. You're so naive that you can't see what's right in front of you."
"Leon, please—"
"Seraphina is obsessed with you," Leon said with brutal honesty. "And that kind of obsession will destroy everyone around you. Including you."
[LEON ASHFORD PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE: CRITICAL]
[HERO COMPLEX COMPLETELY SHATTERED]
[NEW OBJECTIVE FORMED: ELIMINATE PERCEIVED THREATS]
[WARNING: CORRUPTION ARC COMPLETE]
Leon's once warm eyes were now completely cold as he stared at the two. "So I'm going to do what I should have done from the start."
"What?" Aeris asked fearfully.
"I'm going to protect you," Leon said as he raised his sword again, "by any means necessary. Even if it means eliminating the threat."
He stared at Seraphina with clear killing intent. "Starting with her."
Seraphina, instead of being afraid, smiled with terrifying excitement. "Finally," she said in a voice full of anticipation. "Someone who's worth fighting."
A dark aura began to surround her body, and Aeris could feel the magical pressure making it hard to breathe.
"You want to see a monster, Leon?" Seraphina said in a voice that changed to something darker.
"Let me show you what a real monster looks like."
Meanwhile, in the highest tower of the academy, Principal Aldric Nightshade was staring at a crystal ball that showed the scene of the training ground. His expression was calm, but there was worry in his old eyes.
"It has begun," he muttered as he touched the communication crystal on his desk. "Send a message to the Council. The timeline deviation has reached a critical point."
The crystal lit up and a familiar voice answered. "Principal, what is the status of the situation?"
"The Chosen One has been corrupted," Principal Nightshade replied in a heavy tone. "And Valencia is showing her true nature. We may need direct intervention."
"And the Draemor boy?"
The Principal looked at the crystal ball again, seeing Aeris standing in the middle of the two terrifying forces with a helpless expression.
"he is still oblivious," he said in a tone that was a mixture of pity and concern. "Poor boy does not realize that he is the center of a storm that will destroy everything."
Back at the training ground, Aeris felt an overwhelming sense of panic as he watched the two most important people in his life at the academy face each other with killing intent.
"You two, please," he said in a trembling voice. "We can settle this peacefully—"
"Peacefully?" Leon laughed bitterly. "Aeris, sometimes violence is the only language a monster understands."
"And sometimes," Seraphina said with a beautiful and terrifying smile, "monsters must show their true form to protect what they love."
Dark magic began swirling around Seraphina, while holy light began emanating from Leon's sword. Two completely opposite powers prepared to clash.
And Aeris, standing at the center of everything, realized with horror that he was the reason these two were going to kill each other.
[QUEST FAILURE IMMINENT]
[TIMELINE COLLAPSE: 89% PROBABILITY]
[FINAL WARNING: INTERVENTION REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY]
But before he could do anything, a third voice rang out from the entrance to the training ground.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this a... interesting sight."
Someone stood in the doorway with a predatory smile. Someone who should have been dead. Someone whose presence made all of Aeris' calculations completely wrong.
Damien Ravencrest stood in the entrance with glowing green eyes, alive and definitely not happy.
"Miss me?" he said with a sinister smile, his emerald green eyes staring directly at Seraphina.
"Because I certainly missed our... last conversation."