Chapter 7: Fyuria's Brother
Meanwhile...
"Are you positive that was Golden Leo?" Melchoir frowned as he folded his arms. He was talking with the surviving soldier of Mimas.
"Y-Yes Lord Melchior I'm postive that was him! Not only that, there are people aiding him. Some of them wear clothing I have never seen before!" The soldier stuttered.
"..." Melchoir was silent for a moment till he said to the guards "Take him away and execute him for leaving his post at Mimas..." The soldiers nodded and grabbed the Mimas soldier.
"W-W-Wait! Please, Lord Melchoir! Give me another chaaaaaancccceeeee!" The Mimas soldier screamed as he was taken to be executed.
Melchoir looked at the window. "I don't know how you survived the Dark Knight's fatal blow, Golden Leo, but I will be sure to kill you for good this time..." Melchoir gritted his teeth angrily.
Back to Leo and the others.
The gang arrived at Puteux. But they knew something was wrong.
Borgnine tensed as he looked serious and stated "Something's not right."
"I sense something terrible..." Ellis stated worriedly.
"I got a bad feeling about this..." Edward frowned. Suddenly, a messager appeared.
"Leonhardt, I presume? I have a message from Teonor of Alfheim He says he wants you to stop the force headed for Zelzagum Fortress." The messager stated.
Leo gasped. "What?! Who could be that foolish?! How many are there?" The former general demanded.
"Nearly 5,000 men, it seems. More are expected to arrive before they depart for the fort, however." The messager stated.
"Even so... Wait!" Leo figured out something. "Yes, that must be why they attacked Mimas." He stated with a frown.
"What do you mean by that?" Saya asked, matching Leo's frown with her own.
"Gridamas's army is advancing all across the Frontier, not just Mimas. They wish to make it appear as though their army is spread thin, to draw out the syrium." Leo theorized.
"That's a dirty trick!" Noire gritted her teeth angrily.
"Yeah!" Neptune piped up.
"Then their plan has worked. The syrium are moving before their preparations have been completed. They cannot possibly take the fort with only 5,000 untrained men. They must know this. Why do they move?" Leo asked, scratching his chin in thought.
"It would seem they have found allies in some skilled mercnaries. Their leader, a young syrium is easily angered, but they seem to have confidence in his strength." The messager reported.
Fyuria gasped as she pieced together the description of the leader. 'It can't be... Brother?!' She thought to herself in worry. Renee looked at her and figured she was worried about something.
"I do not think that will be enough. The Gridamas army is not to be taken lightly." Leo frowned.
"Yes. Only a fool can rush in there blindly." Saeko nodded in agreement with Leo.
"We got to hurry before it's too late." Renee frowned.
Fyuria stopped them. "Wait! I will come with you. ...But make no mistake! I do this for me, not you!" The syrium frowned.
Leo nodded and stated "Your reason are your own. We will not question them."
It took them a day to reach Zelzagum Fortress, and already, the battle has begun.
Leo and his party arrived to see Gridamas soldiers slaying resistance soldiers.
"Damn it, we're too late." Yuri gritted his teeth. Fyuria sees a syrium with the same hair color as her, has circlet like accessories on his forehead, wore a black battle ready suit and wielding a scythe to kill his foes.
"Is that... my brother?!" She stammered, but regain her poseur as she was about to charge into battle, but Leo held her down.
"Fyuria, what are you doing?" He asked her sternly.
Fyuria struggled to get free, and shouting "Release me, now! That angry syrium is my brother! I got to help him!" She shouted and begged.
"Very well, but you must calm down. Running off will only put you in danger." Leo told her calmly.
Fyuria snarled and shouted "I don't need your protection! I can take care of myself!"
Leo frowned and stated "I'll take you to him, I promise, but you need to come with me." He told her calmly.
Fyuria frowned deeper and shouted "I cannot trust you. Without Dyshana, you wouldn't have been able to save anybody! Even Ellis!"
Leo remained calm and stated "I may not be able to save anyone, but I can lend you my strength if you stay by my side. I know you do not trust me, but I would like to help you just the same." He reassured her with a small smile.
Fyuria was silent for a moment till she nodded and stated "...Fine. But I will see you keep your promise."
Leo smiled and stated "Do not worry."
Vira-Lorr sighed and muttered "What a ridiculous man. He merely had to tell her -Be quiet and follow me.-"
"But he didn't, and that's what makes Leo Leo! Come, Borgnine!" Ellis shouted while vouching for Leo.
Borgnine nodded as he and Ellis charged into the battlefield.
Takashi looked at Leo and Fyuria charged into the battle followed by Renee and Vira-Lorr.
"Takashi, what's wrong?" Saeko asked him.
"It's just... Leo reminds me of myself. He's brave, powerful and a good leader." Takashi stated with a small smile.
"Come to think of it, he does remind us of you. He's brave alright, but also almost reckless." Saya frowned as she folded her arms.
"And that's why I admired him. If he were to fight an entire army of Them who are under Summeril's control, he would win definitely." Takashi smiled as he got out his shotgun and aimed at a advancing Gridamas soldier and blew his head clean off, his blood splattered over the battleground as the body fell limp.
"No time for admiration, eh?! Let's give them hell!" Kohta grinned like a maniac as he got out two machine guns and fired them at two more Gridamas soldiers, killing them.
Yuri unsheathed his sword and pointed it at two more Gridamas soldiers. "I hope one of you is a good fighter..." Yuri said to Saeko.
Saeko smirked as she unsheathed her katana and in a quick speed, decaptiated their heads. "Why, yes. Yes I am." She smiled.
"Heh. Ya know, you remind me of a friend of mine. I don't remember her name, but she was like you." Yuri smiled as he charged at a Gridamas soldier and slashed him up.
"Alright. Showtime!" Ed shouted as he used his metal knife arm to impale a Gridamas soldier in the chest, killing the soldier.
"Whoa! They're kicking some ass, dood!" Prinny cheered.
"Yeah... We should help out. Neptune, stop staring at the battle and whoop the shit out of those Gridamas scum!" Noire growled at her naive friend.
"...Huh? Oh right. Transform!" Neptune transformed, so did Noire. Renee did the same before arriving here.
Kirito used his swords to slash 3 more soldiers.
Rei got out her weapon and knocked out five Gridamas soldiers with it.
Saya whipped out her gun and fired it at 3 more Gridamas soldiers.
Ellis used Impulse to kill 6 Gridamas soldiers while Borgnine quickly defeated 3 more.
Meanwhile, Leo and his chosen party were prowling through Gridamas soldiers. Leo used his sword to kill 2 more Gridamas soldiers that tried to stop them. Fyuria used her daggers to kill 7 more Gridamas soldiers.
Renee leaped into the air and twirled around and used her whip to cut off five more Gridamas soldiers' heads.
Vira-Lorr used earth spells to impale five more Gridamas soldiers, their blood fell into the ground.
Sooner, they see Fyuria's brother and another cornered by Gridamas soldiers.
His companion has black hair, a goatee, a red bandana around his forehead, wore a brown jacket with his chest expose, and black boots. But a unique silver bracelet on his arm and a tattoo similar to the ones Renee and the otherworlders have.
"What have we here? One... two... three little piggies all with death wishes?" Fyuria's brother smirked evilly and shouted "Come, then. I shall feast on your blood until death takes me!" He got his scythe ready.
"Zerva! My brother!" Fyuria gasped as she, Leo, Renee, Vira-Lorr and Kirito rushed to the battlefield.
The syrium now identified as Zerva gasped "Fyuria, is that you?!" However, one of the Gridamas soldiers recognized Leo.
"I-Is that... Golden Leo?!" The soldier screamed as he ran for his life.
Zerva's companion thought to himself 'Golden Leo, you say? The rest of the soldiers ran away in fear.
Zerva growled angrily and snarled "The name Golden Leo means nothing! Now you are taking hostages!? Dishonorable scum!"
"No. Zerva, he..." Fyruia tried to plea to vouch for Leo's honestly.
Suddenly, Renee, Kirito and Zerva's companion groaned in agony as dark auras appeared around them.
"What?!" Leo gasped as he, Fyuria, Vira-Lorr and Zerva see the dark auras around them.
"W-W-What's... happening... to me...?" Renee gritted her teeth as she struggled to regain control.
"This power... it's full of evil energy!" Kirito grunted as he regain his footing.
"...Sorry Zerva, but I can't die here... You have to do this on your own..." Zerva's companion grunted as he began to walk away, while enduring the pain.
"...Very well..." Zerva nodded as he charged at Leo.
The two were locked in a power struggle for 50 seconds till Zerva got the upper hand and slashed Leo across the chest.
Leo grunted as he felt little bits of blood out of his wound. But he recovered and slashed Zerva through the chest as well.
"Damn it..." Zerva growled as he and Leo clashed again. They were clashing swords left and right, each taking a blow. Leo's skill with the sword was overpowering Zerva, but the syrium knew he cannot lose to him, not after what Gridamas did to his home!
Zerva tried to slice Leo's head off, but the former general ducked and kicked his legs to knock him down.
Zerva got back up and he and Leo locked weapons, beginning a power struggle again.
Fyuria was supporting Renee, while Vira-Lorr did the same with Kirito, both of the trinket users were out cold.
Fyuria couldn't take it anymore and shouted "Stop it you two! We need to get the hell out of here! These two need help!" She begged.
"Stop this foolishness at once, Zerva! These two need medical attention. Call off your troops at once!" Vira-Lorr ordered with a frown.
"Listen to what they have to say, Zerva. We can't die here... We need to escape while we still can!" Leo shouted, trying to reason with the angry syrium.
"..." Zerva pondered this, he hated to admit it, Leo and Fyuria was right. On the other hand...
"Fyuria, why are you taking this killer's side?" He demanded an answer from his sister.
"...He saved my life. I owe my life to him." Fyuria reason. In her thoughts "W-What? What did I just say? Am I... starting to trust Leo now? Maybe... Maybe they are right, he did betrayed his country and is now fighting for our home...'
'...Very well. Everyone, let's retreat for now!" Zerva shouted. His army heard him and they nodded reluctantly as the rebel army including Leo and his friends escaped the fortress.
The battle was a stalemate with some casualties, but Leo and his friends have a feeling they will return to this fortress again, sometime soon.
To be continued...
Next chapter: The Demon Fatale