Miscalculation

Leus' Hydraulic had made a clean, precise hole through the boy’s skull—straight in and out.

For a moment, the world went silent ...

He stared in disbelief, his mind blank as he tried to process the reality in front of him.

He hadn’t meant for this. He hadn’t expected it to end like this!

The other four guys were frozen in shock, and while Leus was staring at Skinny's corpse with disbelief, they were looking at Leus with disbelief ...

Then, out of nowhere, Blaze appeared behind Leus.

Even though he didn't do anything to conceal his presence, neither Leus nor the guys noticed him, their minds were simply too preoccupied with trying to comprehend what just happened ...

Suddenly, a single, desperate thought dominated Leus' mind

'Vivify'

Without hesitation, he began channeling his Life Force into his palm.

'I can save him!'

He dropped to his knees, pressing his hand against Skinny's skull, pouring an overwhelming amount of his Life Force into the lifeless body ...

Blaze, seeing what Leus was doing, quickly stepped forward

"Leus, stop"

However, Leus didn't even hear him. He kept pushing, draining more and more of his Life Force and putting it into the corpse

Blaze caught Leus' shoulder firmly

"Leus, that's enough ..."

Blaze's tone was calm but urgent, but it didn't matter; Leus just wasn't there ...

Only one thought echoed relentlessly in his mind:

'I can save him!'

'I must save him!'

'I have to save him!'

His body trembled as he continued pouring his Life Force into the corpse, blind to everything else around him, consumed by the desperate need to undo what had just happened.

Blaze shouted

"BASILEUS! I said enough"

But still, Leus didn't stop, so Blaze quickly made a decision

'There's no point in talking to him'

With a quick, decisive punch to the head, he knocked Leus out cold ...

Blaze then turned to face the remaining four men, their expressions frozen in shock, still struggling to comprehend what had just transpired.

"Only the four of you are aware of what happened."

His tone turned Icy

"Choose. I kill you now, or you forget this ever happened and never speak of it?"

The guys just looked at each other, then their eyes fixed on their leader ...

The brown-haired guy mustered his courage and hesitantly stepped forward

' ... If the child is this powerful, then how powerful is the man with him?'

He knew that they stood no chance against Blaze ...

' ... I don't think we even stand a chance against the kid'

But that's not what mattered now ...

He tried to hide his fear and remain composed, yet, the stutter in his voice betrayed him

"We'll for-get about everything that happened, just let us go"

"If what happened today comes to light, I'll find you and kill you" His voice was dead serious, leaving no room for doubt ...

The guys nodded hastily, turning to run, but—

"Wait" Blaze shouted, freezing them in place

Without hesitation, he unsheathed his sword and, in one swift motion, severed the boy’s head. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he ignited his sword, cauterizing the neck to stop the bleeding.

Blaze poured more mana into the blade, making the flames blaze even brighter as he reduced the boy's head to ashes ...

He turned to them, his voice cold and unforgiving

"Take your comrade's body and bury it."

The four men hurriedly gathered the remains, running off into the shadows, vanishing into the night.

'This should scare them enough'

With a heavy sigh, Blaze glanced down at Leus' unconscious body ...

'Such an utter failure'

He carefully picked Leus up in his arms, his expression grim as he walked out of the slums, the weight of the night's events pressing down on him ...

' ... That's not how things should have played out'

By the time Blaze returned home, the house was silent; everyone was asleep. He quietly laid Leus on the bed, sitting beside him, watching over him in the stillness of the night, lost in thought.

Hours passed, and morning came, but Leus didn't get up ...

'His body isn't showing signs of deterioration so it's okay'

'He just needs time to recover his Life Force'

When it was breakfast time, Viorica entered the room

Seeing Blaze's face, she immediately knew that something was off

She asked

"Is everything okay?"

"No, an incident happened"

" ... How bad?"

"Bad"

Her expression became worried

"Will Leus be okay?"

Blaze took a pause then nodded

"Yeah. Though it's a matter of time"

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Not now. Maybe later, I'll let you know"

She went and sat beside Leus, kissing him on his cheek and hugging him, then she silently left the room ...

Although Viorica might act silly sometimes, she has been with Blaze for more than a decade, so she could immediately tell when it was serious, and she'd act accordingly.

And so, she decided not to ask much about it

'If Blaze wanted to say then he'd have said.'

'All that matters is that Leus will be okay. I'll leave it in Blaze's hands'

The next day, Leus slowly sat up ...

Blaze was seated in front of him, his expression unreadable.

Leus glanced at him and asked in a depressed, droopy tone

"How long has it been?"

"Two nights"

He hesitated before asking

"Did he ....?"

Blaze's reply with immediate

"Of course"

"Any reason you didn't stop me?"

Blaze spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, almost sounding detached

"I was too far, and you were too close. Your spell was too fast. I felt the magic, but I couldn’t intercept it. It was... powerful."

Leus put his face between his hands

"I didn't mean to do it ..... it was a miscalculation"

Blaze put his hand on Leus' shoulder and spoke gently

"I know ... I know"

But he quickly switched back to his matter-of-fact tone

"It was an utter failure.

Not only you completely failed in adjusting your strength according to your opponent, but you also failed to control your emotions; if I didn't stop you, You could've killed yourself"

Leus murmured under his breath

"Sorry ..."

The silence between them stretched for a few moments before Leus finally spoke up again

"Now what happens?"

"About what?"

"About .... what happened"

Blaze leaned back

"I made sure the gang members stayed silent. But even if they didn’t, nothing would come of it; no one would take action against you. You had a valid reason, and neutralizing gang members isn’t really a crime.

Even without a reason, it wouldn’t matter."

".... I see"

"Leus"

" ... Yes?"

Blaze's tone was almost neutral, but it had a tinge of regret in it

"It wasn't only your fault, it was mine too.

I overestimated your capabilities. You had no experience, I should've been more careful.

The responsibility isn't solely on you, it's on me as well"

Leus sighed

"Can you leave me alone for some time?"

Blaze nodded

"If you need anything let me or your mother know"

With that, he quietly exited the room, leaving Leus to wrestle with his thoughts in solitude ...

On that day, a profound transformation occurred within Leus ...

Something malevolent and sinister took root deep within him, an unsettling change that whispered in the shadows of his mind.

As if reflecting this dark shift, a lone strand of his purple hair transformed entirely to black.

However, these alterations would go unnoticed by Leus and those around him for a very long time ...

The weight of his actions, the haunting memory of that fateful encounter, and the dark seed now taking hold, would lie dormant, waiting for the right moment to reveal its true nature ...