Manaless Mage-Chapter 265: I’ll make you all pay

Leon’s breath caught in his throat as he turned his gaze backward, his heart pounding in his chest.

What he saw made his blood run cold and his eyes widened in horror.

"N-no... Anna..." The words softly escaped his lips, trembling as he helplessly witnessed the sight before him.

Half of her body had already disintegrated into tiny green particles, swirling around like dust carried by the wind.

Her face was etched with sorrow, and she flashed one last smile at him.

"I wish I could’ve... at least..." The rest of her words sizzled out in the air, as the remainder of her body rapidly disintegrated.

Within seconds, she vanished completely, leaving behind only a slight trial of green specks, which soon disappeared in thin air.

"No... no!!!" Leon’s cry tore through the air, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Pain surged within him, and not just the physical one from his heart being stabbed, but the overwhelming agony of loss.

Helplessly watching as the remnants of her existence faded into thin air felt like a thick knife being stabbed through his heart.

Leon’s legs quivered uncontrollably, the little strength he had left draining from his body as he slowly collapsed to the ground.

His gaze remained fixed on the cold floor, eyes wide in horror and disbelief.

The weight of what he had just witnessed pressing down on him like a huge mountain.

It was like his entire world had shattered in an instant, and he subconsciously loosened his control over his energy.

This caused the pain in his heart to intensify, and his face rapidly paled in colour.

Seeing as Leon completely broke down, a thin smile creeped across Kronos’ lips.

This was the moment he had been waiting for—the moment when Leon would finally break, giving him to chance turn the scales of the clash in his favor!

The mere sight of Leon’s anguish was like fuel to the fire of his malevolent intent, and joy swelled up within his heart.

He didn’t waste any time before pumping even more mana into his spell.

The time clock behind him, already very large, began to swell rapidly in size, its ominous presence growing more intense with each passing second.

Fwoosh!!

The clock’s power suddenly surged, the air around it crackling with energy as a powerful green wave erupted from its core.

The wave shot up into the heavens before crashing down with relentless force, violently pressing down on Leon’s clock.

The clock behind Leon, already weakened under the weight of his injuries and emotional turmoil, slowly began to buckle under the pressure.

Blitzz!!

More green sparks rapidly appeared in the air, flying all around the place.

The green sparks hit a few more people, immediately extinguishing them from existence.

The remaining ones all went into a panic, trying desperately to escape the terrible fate that would befall them.

However, the green lightning was just too fast, hitting them within seconds and evaporating their existences within an instant.

Before long, Kronos’ spell started to overwhelm Leon’s, pushing down on the clock with even greater power.

The once-stable hands of Leon’s clock wavered, their movement becoming erratic as they fought desperately against the overwhelming force bearing down on them.

Leon, still on his knees, could feel the immense power pressing down on him, however, couldn’t do much do resist it anymore.

A storm of emotions kept swirling all over his mind, ranging from grief down to despair, making it incredibly hard for him to focus.

Crack!

Crack!

With seconds, cracks rapidly started to appear on the clock behind him, as well as the surface of the ground.

Suddenly, the clock completely shattered into pieces, each fragment hanging in the air for a brief, haunting moment.

BWOOSH!!

With a deafening roar, a powerful surge of green energy exploded from the celestial’s time clock, sweeping across the entire world like a violent storm.

The remaining pieces of the broken clock couldn’t even put up any resistance as they were immediately swallowed up by the energy, disintegrating into nothingness.

***

"Huh...? I’m still here... Kukh!" Leon voice rasped, suddenly coughing out blood in pain.

Splash!

The blood hit the ground with a sickening sound, reminding him of his pathetic state.

The blood he had just coughed up was dark, with bits of red flesh mingled within... which were simply his internal organs.

He slowly turned to the back, to see if there was still anybody alive behind him.

However, all that he met with were green particles floating like dust in the air, before finally vanishing with a dim glow.

’Everyone...’ Leon thought, his gaze trembling in shock.

Except for the fact that he was a lot closer to death than before, he didn’t feel much difference within him.

Nonetheless, he could tell... that Kronos had already succeeded to fast-forward time.

He wasn’t sure by how long, but it didn’t seem like he fast-forward it too far into the future. It was probably only by a few minutes...

"Impressive, to think you still didn’t die." A familiar arrogant voice jolted him out of his daze, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

"Kronos..." He muttered, letting out a low sigh. His vision was blurred, however he could still make out the image of the grey haired celestial floating proudly in front of him.

He could also see the shadowy body of Orthon, standing nonchalantly beside Kronos.

The celestial’s expression was strange, his eyes flashing with a weird glint as he stared at Leon kneeling on the ground. However, no one could tell what was currently going through his mind.

There was also Vordmont, looking like he had never even been in a fight.

His body was already fully restored back to its peak, without a single sign of the grave burns that Leon had inflicted on him.

He kept averting his eyes away from Leon, as if he had done something he should be ashamed off.

Nonetheless, Leon simply ignored him, only flashing a wry smile.

Although he tried to do so, Kronos completely failed in hiding his exhaustion.

His chest heaved with every breath, with sweat dripping down his face, slowly pooling beneath his chin.

The collar of his cloth was also fully soaked in sweat, visibly telling on his current condition.

’I’ve never been... this exhausted... at least not in a very long time.’ He mumbled inwardly, gnashing his teeth in frustration.

He could still remember the last time he was this drained after a fight, and the mere thought of it further poured fuel upon his anger towards Leon.

Kronos looked down at Leon with a mixture of satisfaction and lingering annoyance.

Despite his victory, the exhaustion nibbled at him, a constant reminder of how close he had been to losing.

Throughout the fight, he had only used one spell—just one—and yet, he was already very tired, struggling to maintain his composure.

’How embarrassing... to think that a great being such as myself would be exhausted after just one power clash...’ Kronos mumbled inwardly, his pride stinging at the realization.

However, he inwardly consoled himself with the fact that his opponent hadn’t been just any person.

Leon, despite his weakened state, had forced Kronos to use more mana than he ever imagined, proving how far from ordinary he was.

"You lost... don’t you regret it now, not listening to me?" Kronos taunted, his lips spreading into a smug smirk as he stared down at Leon.

But the latter barely seemed to register his words. Leon’s gaze remained fixed to the ground... or rather, on the pool of his own blood that stained the earth beneath him.

The red liquid shimmered faintly in the dim light, showing a dim reflection of his paled face.

"They’re all gone..." Leon muttered, his voice thick with grief as he swallowed a pained gulp. "Everyone..."

The reality of the situation was unbearable. Even with his energy sense, he couldn’t sense a single soul alive on this earth—apart from the three standing before him.

The emptiness in the air was suffocating, a silent testament to the complete and utter devastation that had occurred.

The white flame that had been holding his torn heart together was already starting to dim, and he could feel his body growing colder with each passing second.

The warmth of life was slowly slipping away like sand through his fingers, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The pain of having his heart stabbed was now dulling, replaced by an overwhelming sense of loss and despair.

The thought of all the lives that had been lost, the friends and allies who had fought beside him, crushed Leon’s spirit more than any physical wound ever could.

He had failed... failed to protect them, and couldn’t even save them at the end.

And now, as he stood on the precipice of death, the weight of that failure hung heavily around his neck, threatening to drag him into the abyss.

Kronos’ smirk widened, the sight of Leon’s despair feeding his ego. He relished in the shameless victory, the power he held over his fallen foe.

But deep down, even he knew that this fight had taken more out of him than he cared to admit. Still, victory was victory, and Kronos planned on savouring every moment of it.

"I told you didn’t I... that all your friends will die if you don’t listen to me." He said, clicking his tongue in mockery.

"Don’t think this is over yet... I’ll make sure you all pay... for coming into my world, and taking everything from me." Leon suddenly said, raising his head up at Kronos.

***

This arc will soon come to an end, so don’t forget to send power stones and golden tickets if you enjoyed the wonderful journey, I’ll really appreciate it.