Chapter 192: The Thunder’s Resolution (1)

…Leon felt…!! The reincarnation of the Grand Leon felt fear!?

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Leon’s words. I shook my head and tried to clear my mind. No, no, no, no, that was impossible! It was definitely a trap!

But Leon’s trembling voice sounded sincere. Looking more closely, the hand that was clenching the Electro Blade was also trembling slightly.

…Was he really scared of Seiya…?

Celseus also seemed to notice Leon’s current state…

「He’s really scared. 」

「Do you think so too? 」

「I can tell from the tone of his voice and from the way his hands are shaking. That’s definitely not an act. 」

「Ho…How do you know such thing, Celseus? 」

I wondered if he was knowledgeable about psychology, but Celseus gave me a thumbs up and said the following words.

「It’s because I have the same symptoms when I get scared of that hero! 」

「…!! Really!? 」

I yelled in shock, but Celseus’ explanation based on his own experience made me believe it even more. Celseus continued speaking confidently.

「The battle is over with this. 」

I stared at Leon, who was standing at a fair distance from Seiya. 「Leon is a formidable opponent. 」, Seiya had said before the battle. Duke Leon was an Artemizer, a user that wielded the power of the Thunder Beast Artema, feared by both Queen Carmilla and John Dae. There was no doubt that he had the power to destroy an entire country.

…But! It was precisely because he was such a strong opponent that he realized Seiya’s overwhelming strength after fighting him! And he became afraid!

Seiya was still on guard and held his holy sword, Egzation, firmly in position, but Celseus and I were beginning to believe that Leon had lost his will to fight.

Leon began to speak slowly, as if talking to himself, in a non-threatening tone.

「There are people who are born scared of water or heights, for no particular reason. I’m not a daydreamer, but when I see people like that, I can’t help but think that maybe they had those fears in their past lives. 」

「Past lives!? 」

I was startled by what Leon said and yelled. Leon laughed in response, 「Guhguhguh. 」.

「That’s right. Those people were once people who drowned or jumped to their deaths in their past lives, and the trauma from those days remains deep in their consciousness. 」

… I had heard something similar from Aria, a senior goddess, when the Gods’ Realm was safe. 『People who died horribly in their past lives have those feelings engraved in their souls, and such feelings appear in their current lives as a kind of trauma. 』, she said.

「Something similar has happened to me. I have had nightmares ever since I was old enough to understand. A dark reddish shadow stands before me. No matter what attack I launch, I get a counterattack that is even stronger than my own. 」

「A dark reddish shadow…」

As I muttered, Leon turned to Seiya and said, tugging his chin.

「It’s the same color as the aura he’s wearing. 」

Leon’s voice was clearly filled with fear.

…The memory of being killed by Seiya when he was the Grand Leon remained in his soul!

The dark reddish aura Seiya was emitting was the forbidden skill of Zeth, the other Goddess of War, namely “State Berserk”, which Seiya used when he defeated the Grand Leon.

I was now completely convinced. The trauma of being killed by Seiya in his past was manifesting itself as fear! If that was the case, then Leon no longer had the will to fight!

Celseus poked me in the shoulder.

「Hey, Lista. So basically, this means he’s giving up the fight, right? 」

「Yeah, I think so. 」

I nodded. Then, I raised my voice to Leon.

「Duke Leon! We won’t attack anymore if you surrender! 」

Leon was quiet. It was probably a silent affirmation.

It was an abrupt ending…but it was fine to have ended like this. Actually, it would be much better if we didn’t have to fight. Queen Carmilla would be happy too.

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What do you think, dear readers? Is Leon truly afraid?

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