CHAPTER 22: THE BATTLE OF REINCARNATORS, PART TWO

Without letting a moment go to waste, he clapped his hands, elevating his mana into a red-hot form. The flames born of his magical force were guided into the shape of a gargantuan bull, manifesting with a blind rage.

"Scarlet Charger!" Leon invoked.

As it stomped across the sky-high plateau, leaving burnt prints in the soil, the thief reached his hand out, opening the dark portal again.

The shield was returned to its unseen depths, and in its place, the man of salt-and-pepper hair withdrew a curved blade.

’A new weapon?’ Leon watched.

The oddly-shaped dagger had a cerulean shade to its steel as if reflecting the ocean.

Elias stood his ground as the flame-bull approached, "I one time pissed my pants in elementary school!"

"What—?!" Leon responded in utter perplexity.

The out-of-the-blue remark was followed with no explanation before the thief ducked down. As the elemental bovine passed above, the enigmatic blade was dragged across its stomach, bringing it to collapse into a bed of embers.

Witnessing another of his spells be utterly nullified, he was left with only a few theories.

’Does his system allow him to negate magic? No, even that would be too unfair. Does he need to switch weapons every time? Or is it the weapons themselves that have that ability,’ he theorized, turning his focus into crafting another spell.

As the bandit dashed towards him, he immediately countered with an influx of air being taken into his lungs. He inhaled, letting his chest inflate unnaturally before casting it out through his lips—

The air left as a colossal bullet of wind, boring forth right for the thief.

Elias’ eyes widened as he shouted, "In high school, I got rejected by the girl I had a crush on in front of the whole school!"

As the seemingly pointless confession was yelled, the cerulean blade hummed with light. Leon noted the shine as the thief held the dagger like a shield against the bludgeoning wind.

Just as it reached Elias, the exhaled gale dispersed, blowing in all directions, only pushing the bandit back somewhat.

That confirmed it; there was something off about the weapon.

’After he said that totally embarrassing confession, the blade started to shine. That must be the condition to let it dispel the magic it comes into contact with—what the hell kind of enchanted weapon is that?’ He considered.

Elias’ cheeks were slightly flushed, though he held his same stern expression as he closed in, "Hey! Don’t let my words distract you!"

Leon quickly held his hand out, conjuring a barrier just as the blade struck against it, "—I got rejected too, y’know! It’s not that bad, so—!"

"Shut up! I’m not sparking a conversation here!" Elias shouted, slipping back as the dagger was flipped around.

The translucent, azure shield remained fortified, staying between them as Leon kept his eyes on the bandit.

"You’ve got some pretty strong magic, I’ll hand it to you," Elias remarked, staying ready to strike.

"—Yeah?" Leon responded, keeping his hands raised to strengthen the barrier.

Elias stared at him before shouting spontaneously as if forcing the words out, "When I participated in a talent show, I forgot the lines to the song and stuttered for five seconds straight!"

’Shit–’

Leon realized.

The soul-shattering proclamation brought the enchanted dagger to resonate with a blinding shine as it was swiped against the barrier. Against the infusion of the blade, the astral barrier was no more than paper mache, completely dispelled.

’How many embarrassing confessions does this guy have from his school life?! I don’t even think I had it that bad!’ He thought.

Only enough time to reinforce his body with mana was left for Leon as the fellow reincarnator closed in the moment the protection was gone. Just as he raised his arms in defense, an impact drove against his gut, finding a boot slamming right into him.

All of the air was expelled out of his lungs, forgetting how to breathe in the moment as the sheer force put his body into shock. As he spat out, the follow-through of the kick led him to be flung away.

His body smacked against the ground, repeating multiple times as he gasped. It was the hardest he’d ever been hit, that was for sure; an eye-opening experience. In that moment, unable to control his momentum, he remembered a quote he read one time on the internet some time in the past–

["Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face."]

As his lungs remembered what they were made for, he drew in a breath, holding his hand out as he released a burst of wind to reset his momentum. He knocked himself upward, flipping his body around and managing to catch himself on his feet.

Just as he stood himself up as his abdomen ached, he looked ahead, finding no sight of the black-uniformed man atop the mountain plateau. Closing his eyes, he tapped into his all-encompassing sight, discovering the figure lurking behind him silently.

He immediately opened his eyes again as he spun around, drawing his sword faster than he could cast a spell. The thief was no more than a few steps away, meeting eye-to-eye with him.

"Oh, finally using that thing?" Elias asked in a taunting fashion.

Leon swung his sword, though found himself only swinging a weightlessness in his grip as the weapon he held so tightly as gone. It was a perplexing discovery as he looked at his empty hand, looking in front of him at the thief.

’He took it? I didn’t even see him reach for it–is this his ability? It doesn’t require a touch?’

He thought.

With little more than pettiness, Elias held up the heirloom blade, "Nice sword you got here. I bet it’s worth a pretty penny."

He lunged forward, grabbing for the thief’s wrist, though Elias only walked backwards, holding the stolen possession out of reach as if keeping candy away from a child.

"Woah, there–you want it back this badly? Don’t you have enough though? The decorated lord of the Schoeller estate–y’know, I think you can lose a sword or two and be just alright," Elias said, flipping the treasured blade in his hand as if it were a prop.

Leon pulled away, staring at the man with an eroding sense of kinship, "You’re a real piece of work, aren’t you?"

"What?"

"I mean, I get that you’ve had a shit draw in life, but look at the power you have now. If you really wanted to, you could make an honest living as an adventurer," Leon remarked, brushing the dirt off his clothes. "You just have it out for the greedy, rich folk who’ve never worked a day in their lives, don’t you?"

"How self-aware of you, Lord Schoeller," Elias addressed him without any hint of respect. "If you finally understand that, then you’re going to stop telling me to back off. Do you know why I targeted Haul?"

"It’s because of his status, right?" Leon guessed.

Elias looked at him before staring up at the watchful clouds of the night sky, "Over the past five years, over a hundred miners hired to work in the Haul Mines have died, all succumbing to mana sickness."

"Over a hundred–?" Leon repeated.

"He overworks these people who have no more than a crumb of bread to their name, paying them just enough that they can fill their stomachs. When they get sick from overexposure to magic crystals, do you know what Haul does?" Elias asked.

"--" Leon didn’t answer.

"He has connections to the best medicine money can buy, and friendships with the most talented healers in the land, yet–he discards them once they get sick. He lets them die," Elias informed him bluntly. "So, you said I have it out for the "greedy rich folk", did you? I’d say I have it out for the pieces of shit who treat people no better than the ants at their feet."

Confronted with the truth of the matter, he somehow could sense that none of it was a fabricated lie by the man reincarnated just as he was. When meeting those sharp, amethyst eyes, they held an honesty within them, despite the thief they belonged to.

"Even if that’s the case, you killed people when you came here," Leon responded.

"The soldiers working for Haul? Protecting the guilty makes them guilty," Elias explained.

"--They still had families, you idiot! I’m sure most of them were just earning to take care of their families, just trying to make it by–" Leon reasoned, shaking his head.

Elias huffed, placing the weapons within his personal void as he stepped in, "I’m not going to be lectured by somebody who hasn’t experienced the bottom of life–"

"Don’t use your shitty memories as justification to steal lives–!"

At the moment both of their voices were raised, clashing their words, the thief’s hand touched his chest. In that frozen second, he experienced the system granted to Elias, the gift of taking–

What was attempted to be plundered was Leon’s own gift, bringing the Plunder System to make contact with the Lord System. Within that drawn-out moment, both of the otherworldly abilities rejected one another, yet met for just a moment as their souls convened.