Chương 54: The Eastern Road

Three days had passed since Leo Shakespeare disappeared beneath the Royal Capital. The city had begun to recover. Not completely. Scaffolding covered the damaged buildings, royal guards remained stationed throughout the eastern district, and the academy had suspended normal classes until the authorities could determine whether the remaining magical formations were safe. The Arcane Convergence was over. But its consequences remained.

For many people, the attack had become a story that would eventually be told in taverns and history books. For the academy, it was something more personal. They had lost students. Professors had been injured. And one student was presumed dead. Leo. Alice stood alone in the academy courtyard, holding a folded piece of parchment. She had received it that morning. It was the official report. Leo Shakespeare — presumed dead. There was no body. No final words.

No evidence of what had happened after the underground collapse. Only a conclusion based on probability. Alice folded the report again. She did not cry. She had already spent enough time imagining every possible ending. None of them gave her an answer. Amon approached from behind.

"Are you leaving?" Alice turned.

"Yes."

"Where?"

"The eastern training grounds." Amon nodded. He did not ask why. Their conversations had changed since the attack. There was no longer an assumption that they would always move together. They had each begun thinking about their own futures. Masha was preparing to return to her family temporarily. Daniel had decided to help his family rebuild their damaged merchant routes. Amon intended to continue training with Gareth. Alice had her own plans. The academy had brought them together.

It did not mean it had to keep them together forever. Amon looked at the parchment in her hand. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"You still think he's alive?" Alice was silent. Then she answered honestly.

"I don't know." Amon waited.

"I don't want to turn uncertainty into hope," she continued.

"And I don't want to turn it into despair either." Amon gave a small nod.

"That sounds like you." Alice looked toward the academy gates.

"Where are you going after this?"

"Training."

"For how long?"

"I don't know." She smiled faintly.

"Then I suppose we're all changing." Amon looked toward the mountains beyond the capital.

"Probably." They stood together for another moment. Then Alice walked away. Neither of them followed the other. Far beyond the capital, a lone traveler walked along an old eastern road. His appearance was unremarkable. A dark cloak. Traveling boots. A sword at his side. The black mask was hidden beneath his cloak. Leo had spent the last three days moving without stopping for long. His injuries had improved, but his body still reminded him of the battle whenever he moved too quickly.

The eastern road stretched through a wide valley surrounded by hills. Small villages appeared occasionally. Most travelers avoided the route. The road was old, poorly maintained, and occasionally used by bandits. Leo did not mind. It was precisely because people avoided it that he had chosen it. He reached the top of a hill near sunset. Below him was a small village. Smoke rose from several chimneys. A wooden sign stood near the road. Raven's Rest — 2 kilometers. Leo stopped. He could hear shouting.

Not the ordinary noise of villagers. There was panic. He looked toward the village. A group of armed men stood near the entrance. Several villagers were kneeling in front of them. Leo's eyes narrowed. Bandits. He continued walking. He had no obligation to interfere. That was what he told himself. But then he saw a child being dragged from one of the houses. Leo stopped. His hand moved toward his sword. He sighed.

"Annoying." The mask appeared in his hand. A moment later, it covered his face. His presence changed. The tired traveler disappeared. The black-robed figure emerged. Leo stepped off the road. The first bandit noticed him.

"Hey!" The others turned. A masked man stood at the edge of the village. Nobody had heard him approach. One of the bandits laughed.

"Another traveler." The leader looked at the sword.

"Leave the village." Leo continued walking. The leader drew his weapon.

"I said—" Heavenly Demon Step. Leo disappeared. The bandit's sentence ended in confusion. Then his weapon fell from his hand. He collapsed. The other bandits froze. Leo stood behind him. His sword remained sheathed. One of the men raised a crossbow.

"Kill him!" Three bolts flew. Leo moved between them. His cloak shifted. The bolts passed through empty air. He drew his sword. Heavenly Demon Sword — First Form: Crescent Severance. A crescent-shaped wave of Internal Energy crossed the road. The crossbows shattered. The men holding them fell backward. The remaining bandits fled. Leo did not pursue them. He returned his sword to its sheath. The villagers stared at him. Nobody spoke. A young girl slowly approached.

"Are you… a Royal Guard?" Leo looked at her.

"No."

"Then who are you?" He turned away.

"Someone passing through." The girl looked at the black mask.

"Are you the Heavenly Demon?" Leo stopped. For the first time, he heard the title spoken by someone outside the capital. He turned his head slightly.

"Who told you that name?"

"The merchants." She pointed toward the road.

"They said a masked swordsman appeared during the attack on the capital." Leo said nothing. The rumor had traveled faster than he expected. He looked toward the eastern horizon.

"So it begins." He walked away. The villagers watched him disappear into the road. None of them knew his name. None of them knew where he had come from. And none of them knew that the man they had just called the Heavenly Demon was supposed to be dead. That night, Leo stayed outside the village. He sat beneath a tree with his back against the trunk. The fire before him burned quietly. His mask rested beside him. He looked at his sword. Then at the road. The first village had already given him an unexpected lesson.

The moment he wore the mask, the world began creating a story around him. That could become dangerous. But it could also become useful. Leo picked up the mask. He studied the red lines across its surface. A separate identity meant more than hiding his face. It meant that anything the Heavenly Demon did could remain separate from Leo Shakespeare. If the world feared him, Leo could remain untouched. If the world admired him, Leo could remain unknown. And if someone came looking for Leo… they would find a dead man.

Leo placed the mask beside him again. He leaned back against the tree. The road ahead was long. The continent was enormous. For the next four years, he intended to see as much of it as possible. Not as a student. Not as someone's companion. Not as a hero. He would travel according to his own decisions. And if the world wanted a Heavenly Demon… then the world would have one. Leo closed his eyes. The fire continued burning. Far away, beyond the eastern mountains, something waited for him.

He did not know what it was yet. But for the first time since his reincarnation, Leo felt that he was finally walking toward a future that belonged entirely to him. End of Chapter 54.