Chương 69: No God, No Devil

Father Leandro watched the members of his sect dismount from their horses one after another. Almost in unison, they drew their swords as they approached him, their faces twisted with hatred and fanaticism. For a long moment, no one spoke. Only the sound of the rain and the uneasy whinnying of the horses broke the silence. These were men who had prayed beside him, eaten at his table and sworn loyalty to his commands.

Now there was not the slightest trace of devotion left in their eyes, only the desire to destroy the monster they believed had betrayed God. The first attacked without hesitation. Leandro parried the blow with one hand on his sword and, in the same motion, drove the blade through the man's chest. He collapsed without making a sound. Two more charged him together.

Leandro ducked beneath the first strike, blocked the second without even turning around, then, with swift and precise movements, slashed both men across the legs. One was run through the stomach, while the other's throat was ripped open. Blood mixed with the rainwater, forming scarlet streams in the mud.

"You damned heretic!" another shouted as he charged in a frenzy. Father Leandro stepped back with his guard low, avoiding every swing with an almost infuriating calm. The blades grazed his face and robes without ever reaching him. When his opponent hesitated for the briefest instant, Leandro smashed his forehead into the man's face, then brought down a heavy, decisive slash that split his skull in two. He stopped, blood running down his body, and spread his arms wide.

"Who's next?!" Two men attacked at once. Leandro avoided them with unnatural speed, still wielding his sword with only one hand. He cut their legs and flanks, then slit one man's throat and pierced the other's heart. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. With a sharp motion, he unleashed blades of wind that tore through the air, cleaving three more men in half before they could even reach him. Two others made one last assault.

Leandro kicked the first away, drove his sword through the second's neck, and with a final blade of wind, decapitated the first. The severed head rolled through the mud until it came to rest against a horse's hoof. He turned toward the few survivors.

"What are you standing there for?! Come on…attack me!" The last four men, pale and trembling with terror, looked at one another. Their hands shook on their sword hilts. Then, almost simultaneously, they gave up. They mounted their horses again and fled into the rain without looking back.

"Cowards…" Leandro turned toward Felicity, but the horse was empty. The smile faded from his face.

"Sweet Feli… where the hell did you go?" He leapt into the saddle and spurred his horse into a full gallop, the rain striking his face like a storm of blades. The horse's hooves sank into the waterlogged ground, sending sprays of mud flying with every stride. He gripped the reins tightly as the horse devoured the road ahead. Every second he lost increased the chance that someone else had found her first.

The wind howled through the trees, but Leandro kept urging the horse faster and faster, his eyes fixed on the silhouette of the village slowly emerging beyond the curtain of rain. There, beneath the relentless downpour, Felicity was waiting for him. She had recovered both of her swords. Father Leandro dismounted.

"How did you free yourself?!"

"While you were busy slaughtering your pathetic sect, one of them came over to take me. Let's just say he didn't make it and I used his sword to cut myself free". Leandro narrowed his eyes.

"You could have stabbed me in the back. Why did you come here?" Felicity took a step forward.

"Because, despite you being a fanatical murderer, I am still a swordswoman with honor". She raised her blades.

"I want to challenge you to an honest duel. And I'll fight with my father's sword and my mother's sword…I'll use them to kill you". Father Leandro laughed, a deep, ominous laugh.

"Sweet Feli, you've already lost. God is on my side".

"In this duel", she replied coldly, "there is no God and no Devil on either side. There are only the two of us…and our swords. And only one of us will die". Father Leandro slowly drew his sword. Felicity did the same with hers. They faced each other, guards raised, their eyes locked. The rain continued to fall, relentless.