Chapter 30: Light

Leopold

Leopold barely evades an elongated arm, and ends up getting his forearm caught by the tall humanoid monster's other hand. He can feel its sharp nails digging into his skin. Ignoring the stinging pain, he presses his fingers together on his free hand as he extracts and transfers some magical energy from his Magical Core to that hand, the surfacing blue aura shaping into a blade. He slices off the monster's hand.

Its limb slithers back to the other side of the attic. "Why...must food...always...resist?" Multiple bubbles spring out of its wrist, quickly morphing into a brand-new hand. The one latched onto Leopold liquefies off of him.

"Looks like other people tried ta fight it off before," he thinks. It's sad they all failed miserably. "Aah'm not gonna end up like them." He fires two Orbs of Darkness' at the monster. They go right through its torso, instead damaging the wall behind it. Leopold grits his teeth nervously. That's the second time his projectiles failed to inflict any harm onto the creature. Just what the hell is it made of? He couldn't really discern its body texture when it grabbed him.

The monster stretches out both of its arms, approaching Leopold at fast speed. He knows he won't be able to dodge them, so he puts himself in a barrier. The palms slam against the solid barricade, cracking it. His eyes widen. Is his barrier that weak or is the monster that strong?

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He needs to calm down. No matter how unfavorable the situation is, he can turn things around if he keeps his composure. That's one of Raven's advices.

The cracks on the barrier steadily become a bit bigger, the palms slowly exerting more strength.

Leopold thinks hard on an appropriate attack method, ready to execute Teleportation Dash the second his barrier shatters. No form of projectile has been effective so far. His initial way of wanting to deal with the creepy entity was to dish out nothing but projectile spells, since there was no simple way to get around the large hole in the floor. He could've used teleportation, it was the only option he had anyway, but he didn't want to do it. He was far too disturbed by the monster's entire being. Still is. It is not something you want to come across even in your nightmares.

But there is a reason Leopold has not succumbed to his fear, and it is because of his desire to return to Tweek's side. He doesn't know what's going on outside of the house, it's gotten really quiet. The sole sound he hears is the cracking of his barrier. He sincerely hopes Tweek didn't suffer any heavy injuries that he can't heal himself from, and that the silence means he won against his monsterfied parents.

Leopold takes another deep breath. He tries his best not to worry too much, and devotes all of his attention to his own battle. "If Aah wanna end this, Aah'm gonna have ta fight that thing up close."

After one more crack is made, his barrier breaks into shards. Before the hands can even touch him, his body emits a blue glow, and he swiftly appears directly in front of the monster in between its arms.

"You...come to me?" It sounded puzzled rather than surprised.

Leopold concentrates hard on his magical energy, disregarding the mind-boggling stench to the best of his ability. He has never smelled anything so putrid before. He directs the mystical energies to his hands, once again forming his auras into makeshift blades. He cuts off the monster's stretchy arms, then stabs it in the chest.

Or at least attempted to.

The skinny monster suddenly created a hole in its chest to avoid his attack.

"What?!" Before Leopold can pull his arm back, the hole quickly closes, trapping his hand inside its chest. He thrusts his other hand at the monster's face, but a black-skinned hand grabs his wrist. He starts wriggling his wrist. Thanks to the light of his aura, he's able to see the monster's face clearly. He goes completely still, his eyes displaying heightened fear.

It doesn't have a nose nor any ears. Its mouth is nothing but sharp, bloody teeth, looking as though they're etched onto its face.

"Hehe, caught yooou."

"N-no..." Leopold has never felt so terrified. He wants to move, to do something, but fear has him in an extremely tight hold. His lack of focus causes the aura blades to disappear.

"Ah, perfect. Now...I can...eat you."

The hungry monster takes Leopold's hand out of its chest cavity by opening it, then it closes. It raises one of his hands up to its mouth, ready to devour his fingers.

His fight-or-flight instincts kick in. Instead of trying to fight back, he flees, teleporting to the other side of the attic.

His body trembling, he drops to the floor on his knees, breathing heavily. He feels hot, thinking it's because of the adrenaline rush combined with his fear, but that was not the case at all. The sweat that's trailing down his face is warm on his skin. His heart is beating really fast, pounding as if it's trying burst out of his rib cage. He grips his chest with a shaky hand. He feels something rising up to his throat and he coughs it out, his breath hitching when he tastes a metallic tang on his tongue.

"B-blood? Did Aah just..." The last time he coughed up blood was when he unknowingly pushed himself too hard during training. It was a year after he gained a Magical Core, when he was 9 years old. Raven gave him a task—it was to master a beginner projectile spell known as Orb of Darkness. She was helping Tweek acquire his own Magical Core at the time, but she made sure to also keep a close eye on Leopold. It took the boy over an hour to get the spell down, but he didn't stop after just throwing one orb. He continued to shoot out more, enjoying himself despite the arduous strain practicing it took on his mentality. He didn't have to worry about hitting anyone or anything, the area he practiced at was very far from the house, the two rows of pillars, and the large castle. He knew couldn't damage the barrier around the house, but he was just being cautious. He didn't know how many Orbs of Darkness' he threw out until all of sudden, he felt weak and dizzy. He coughed up a little bit of blood before collapsing to the ground. The metallic aftertaste made him nauseous. Raven was by his side in almost an instant with Tweek in tow, alerted by his feeble whine. It wasn't shown, but Tweek was very worried. Raven restored Leopold's magical energy by transferring the Dark realm's essence into his Magical Core, it would've occurred naturally but she did it to hasten his recovery. She told him to never go overboard like that again all the while. Magical Cores did not contain unlimited energy. He didn't know it was dangerous to use the spell consecutively, and promised to be more careful, heeding his mentor's advice.

"Looks like...it's finally taken...effect."

Leopold clenches his sweater, not understanding what the monster meant by that. His wounded arm throbs. He can smell the blood exuding through his sleeve, and feel it leaking down to his hand. "Wait..." His dazed eyes widen with fresh horror. Did the monster's nails have some kind of toxin in them? He gapes into big green eyes. "Y-you...did you poison me?"

"You call it poison...I call it adding more flavor...to my meal."

With haste, Leopold hovers a hand over his injured forearm. He coughs up more blood before he can begin to heal himself.

His enemy lets out a satisfied snicker. "It is...too late."

Tears gleam in Leopold's eyes. An arm glides towards him. "Is this it?" Is he going to die here? By being eaten while on the brink of death?

His head droops. He can't feel anything, not even the hand that grasps his neck as if it is a delicate flower, but its grip is firm. He can't hear anything either. He feels nothing and hears nothing. It's like he's in a state of paralysis that is so strong he cannot break free from it. The hand lifts him slightly off the floor, then pulls him towards the monster.

A single word manifests inside Leopold's numb mind, and it is regret. There are a few things he wishes he could've done to eschew this tragic outcome. His cowardice is what strayed them away from their current objective, and it was to meet and get acquainted with his Inner Guardian. What's worse is that he dragged Tweek into this quandary.

How was anyone supposed to know Tweek's parents were revived into monsters?

The tears had long since spilled from Leopold's darkened sky-blue eyes, showcasing his shame...but not the secondary emotion that emerges. He curls his slightly bloody hand into a fist, shaking when he clenches his fist.

If...he's going to die, then he'd rather accomplish something first. Whether Tweek succeeded in killing his parents or not, Leopold shouldn't let the monster that's about to consume him live. He'll be sure to-

'Swoosh!'

A scintillating light suddenly whizzes past the teen. A loud sound penetrates his once hollowed eardrums from below. Whatever that object was severed the arm in half. Leopold, who's over the big hole, starts to fall into it.

Only his eyes express his consternation. When he gets saved by a figure giving off a white light, more questions flood his mind. Before he even knows it, his savior gently lays him down on the attic floor, where he was at previously. He turns his head and coughs twice, blood splattering onto his chin and the floor. He pants heavily, his vision blurry.

"Sorry, I'm late," says a husky but pleasant-sounding voice, giving away that they're a male.

A soothing energy flows throughout Leopold's body. For some reason, it doesn't feel like it is a Dark spell, neither does it look like one when he turns his head the other way upon noticing an increase in lighting. He can feel the pain in his arm quickly diminishing and the poison leaving his body simultaneously. He even feels rejuvenated, his eyes brightening back to their original sky-blue color.

"T-thank you," he says, voice small and a bit hoarse.

"You're welcome, Leopold."

Leopold's eyes widen. How did he know his name?

The comforting energy starts to recede, indicating the end of the healing process. Once the glow is gone, the man stands up and ambles over to the jagged ledge. Leopold sits up while rubbing the blood on his hand on his pants leg, then he wipes his eyes, mouth, and chin dry.

The monster hisses at the male. "New food...too...bright! Must...kill!"

"Oh? And here I thought I was a special dish on the menu."

Leopold looks over at them and squints his eyes. The monster was right; the man with spiky, silver hair is like a human beacon, his sparkly aura illuminating the entire attic. He's wearing a white formal suit and matching colored dress shoes. Leopold can't tell if he's seeing his Inner Aura or not since his aura appears to be emanating outside of his body. But now he knows for sure that the man is a Light magic user. He stands up and approaches him. He notices that the monster's arm hadn't regenerated all this time. He wonders why.

Stopping next to the male, the second Leopold opens his mouth, the monster's entire body starts to bubble rapidly. "W-what's it doin'?!"

The man lets out a small chuckle. He sticks out a hand. "As if I'll let it get away with transforming."

Leopold watches him launch a white orb with glittery trails at the frothing entity. He shields his face with an arm when it explodes, having no need to because the man protects them inside of a shiny barrier. A few fleshy parts land onto it, making the man groan in disgust. He summons away his protection spell by snapping his fingers.

Leopold stares at the spot the monster was last seen standing at, waiting for it to regenerate.

"Don't worry, it's dead."

Leopold doesn't understand how. When he fought against it, he struggled to the point of almost losing his life, yet this guy defeated it so easily. Perhaps it's because there is a huge strength difference between them. Yes, that has to be it. He's not jealous—not entirely. He's mostly thankful for the intervention. He turns and bows at the man. "T-thank you so much for your help! Really..." He presses his lips into a trembling line, feeling tears coming to surface behind his closed eyelids. There are a lot of emotions he's experiencing at the moment, however none of them are overpowering the lingering guilt. He opens his eyes when he feels a hand gently ruffle his hair. A teardrop falls from his eye.

"You did the best you could, Leopold. Though, if you had Light magic instead of Dark, you, too, would've killed it in one shot."

Had Light magic instead of Dark? Oh...Leopold gets it now. Strength wasn't the main factor, it was the element. It would've been impossible for him to defeat the monster with Dark magic. Frowning, he stands up straight, noting the color of the man's eyes. They remind him of an emerald, a gemstone he'd seen as a child in a picture book and thought was very pretty. "Aah see, but um, how do you know mah name?"

The man gives him a small smile as he pats his head. "Because I'm your Inner Guardian."

Leopold's teary eyes widen again in utter disbelief. "Y-you are?!"

"Yes, but we're gonna have to save the rest of the introductions for later." The man removes his hand from Leopold's head. "We need to join the other two outside, plus I wanna get outta this rancid place." He waves a hand across his face. "Ugh, I give you props for enduring this stench for longer than a second."

By other two, did he mean-

"Leopold! Carl!" Shouts a familiar voice. "Are you two alright?!"

The now identified spirit heaves a sigh. "I told her not to call me that," he mutters.

"Raven?!" Leopold exclaims.

"Yes, it's me," she answers.

Their bodies glowing a radiant white, Leopold's Inner Guardian teleports them out of the attic. They appear in the front yard, next to Raven and...

"T-Tweek?!"

Leopold gets down on his knees, examining the unconscious blonde. The amount of blood Tweek lost is worrisome, however his neck and hip appear uninjured.

"His injuries just healed," Raven says, greatly relieving Leopold. "Now, we just need to wait for him to wake up."

Loud thumping sounds catch Leopold's attention. He looks towards the front door, there is a see-through wall in the doorway blocking Mr. and Mrs. Tweaks' attacks. Their tentacles cannot break it.

"Hopefully soon, so he can deal them," Carl says as he puts his hands in his pants pockets. His aura is gone.

"How dare you bastards interfere!" Mrs. Tweak hollers angrily, her raspy voice muffled.

"He was almost dead too," mutters a disappointed Mr. Tweak.

Since they were once Tweek's parents, Leopold understands that Tweek needs to be the one to kill them. It would probably be what he wanted.

Leopold looks back at Tweek. He grabs his hand. It's icy cold. He closes his eyes and gently squeezes the other blonde's hand, also wanting him to wake up as soon as possible.