Chapter 60 - End Of The Red Salamander Gang
Not everyone was brave enough to fight Leon head on m, if he was the one who decimated their main force. Some took their chances and tried to dash through the wall of fire to escape.
"AHHHH!" The person wailed painfully as he was lit on fire like a human torch. The fire could not be extinguished and the individual continue to wail in excruciating pain before dropping dead.
"Sssss." Everyone took deep gasps of air with fear. Those who had similar thoughts cowered at the scene.
"Don't hesitate. Charge with me!" Borden roared and lead at the forefront.
"Charge!!!!!" They hardened their resolve as they roared in unison and followed behind.
However their efforts were destined to end in failure no matter what they do. If Leon could conjure a wall of fire around them, he could conjure one in front of him.
"Nooooo!!"
They wanted to halt their steps, but it was too late. Ones at the front were able to halt their steps in a timely manner but the others slammed into them from behind and pushed them into the wall of fire and became human torches as well.
Their anguish and painful wails was enough to send chills down people spine.
Rachel felt strength in her legs gave out as she slumped to the ground. She closed her eyes and covered her ears. She didn't want to listen to their cries or see such a terrible scene. She felt like she had walked into a nightmare and couldn't stop shivering.
Leon's fire had improved in both quality and quantity. He continued to burn all the bodies and blood covered streets until everything was incinerated into ashes.
A strong wind carried the ashes away after the fire died out and left nothing behind but a blacken land.
It was his negligence that he did not clean up his mess before he left and allowed Rachel to witness such a horrific sight. If no one cleans up the mess, all sorts of diseases would eventually fester in the dead bodies. It would have been bad news if an epidemic appeared in the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people reside.
Leon stood quietly in the square alone as he was watching the ashes disappear into the wind. He did not turn around to face Rachel. He did not know what Rachel thought of him after seeing him taking lives without hesitation.
A murderer? A cold-blooded killer? Would she be afraid of him now? No matter what it was, his hands have already been stained by blood and more blood will continue to be spilt by them.
Not to mention these people all deserved to die. He would not harm the innocent, but he would never hesitate to slay an evil person.
His path was destined to be filled with mountains of bones and rivers of blood. She would need to overcome her fear if she wishes to accompany him on his long journey to the Divine Realm.
However, the blood and dead bodies weren't really the source of Rachel's fear. It was just the catalyst that triggered some intense memories from her childhood. She couldn't stop shivering in fear as she hugged herself.
Leon sensed something wrong and finally turned around. Phobias shouldn't invoke such intense reaction. A trauma? He checked her pulse. Her breathing was erratic and her mentality was in complete disarray. Sure enough, it was a trauma, and a serious one at that.
Treating the mind was his weakness. He felt his hands tied. He could only try to calm her down and restore her steady breathing.
"Everything is going to be okay. The blood and dead bodies are all gone." Leon tried to soothe her mind by whispering gentle words, while rubbing her back.
Rachel calm down after a while and fell asleep in his arms. He felt depressed seeing her in such a state. What exactly did she experience in her childhood? He didn't expect the campus goddess to have such a weakness. He wanted to understand her better. Leon carried her back to the Lancaster Mansion.
"What's wrong with my daughter?" Amelia asked with concern as she saw Leon enter with the sleeping Rachel.
"What did Rachel experienced in her childhood?" Leon settled Rachel down in her bed before answering Amelia's question with another question.
Amelia expression changed greatly. She didn't know what happened but she didn't need to know. Leon's question gave her all the information she needed to know why her daughter was in such a state.
"My daughter is really pitiful. Even though Ignis and I both possess the strength to not fear anyone, we weren't always around to look after her due to our work commitments.
She have suffered a total of 3 assassination attempts in her younger years. It was fortunate that she came out unscathed but the maids who protected her, did not.
They performed their duties well and bought enough time for us to arrive.
These maids were also her best friends, whom she spent the most time playing with when we are not around. To watch her friends die one by one as she was forced to flee for her own life. She must have been haunted by those memories. Any drop of blood would trigger her memories of that moment."
Amelia sighed sadly. To this day, she still hasn't found out who the culprit was and for what reason they were after their daughter's life.
Leon widened his eyes in astonishment at the revelation.
For this unknown group to try and assassinate the Duke's daughter three times, one could see how much they want her dead. Exactly what was their purpose?
"Nothing could be gained from the assassin's body?"
"They were all awakeners, but none of them could be identified."
Leon frowned in thought. He could think of two possibilities, but they don't seem very plausible either.
They could have been raised secretly by one of the noble families or the unknown force had came from outside the capital.
Whatever it is, it's all just guesses at this point.
"You seem to be proficient in medicine." Amelia shifted the topic. The past was the past. Rachel hasn't suffered anymore assassination attempts afterwards. She cared more about the present and whether her daughter's trauma could be cured.
"Y-Yes? How did you know?" Leon was taken aback. He didn't seem to remember mentioning it.
"You seem forgetful. You could easily tell I was sleep deprived and made recommendations like a doctor would."
"Just from that?" Leon was flabbergasted. Anyone can see that she was sleep deprived by the bags under her eyes, right? It's general knowledge that most tea keeps people awake unless it's herbal tea, no? How can she tell from just that?
"Actually It was just a guess, but now I am certain." Amelia said with a cunning smile.
"Ah..." Leon realised his slip of tongue. It was as good as admitting that he was. However, they were on the same side so it didn't matter if she learnt some of his secrets. But of course he wouldn't openly tell them. She had to figure it out herself.
"So can you treat her trauma?" Amelia had seek help from medical experts before, but they all gave her the same answer. Mental illnesses were hard to cure, she could only rely on herself to overcome it.
She didn't have much hope that Leon could do what the medical experts couldn't considering his young age, but age was never an accurate measurement of one's capabilities. She at least understood that much and held onto that faint glimmer of hope.
"Mental illness is difficult to treat. I can't cure it at present, but I can alleviate to some degree." Leon was silent for a moment before he answered.
"That's fine. Please help her." His first line disappointed her, but she was pleasantly surprised by the following. There's still hope.
"You don't have to ask. It's what I should do. I'll need to borrow your kitchen first." Leon smiled.
"Huh? Alright... go ahead." Amelia was taken aback, but she agreed. What did the kitchen have to do with alleviating her daughter's trauma?
Leon was about to head for the kitchen when he felt a tug on his pants.
"Ah? Ahh... dearest me. How can I forget our cute little Mia." Leon picked her up in his arms. "Will Mia forgive big brother?"
They were so caught up in Rachel's matter, they neglected poor little Mia. She felt aggrieved as they had not spare her a glance, but she could only endure quietly as she was intelligent enough to know something was wrong with the big sister.
Mia nodded unwillingly. She was afraid to act spoiled. She feared they wouldn't want her anymore and throw her away. She was most afraid of being alone again after feeling their warmth.
Leon felt sad and gave her a warm hug.
"Big brother will treat Mia to a nice meal later."
"Okay~" Her mood was lifted immediately. Her unhappiness was blown away at the mention of good food. It seems most children were natural born foodies.
Leon smiled and gave her a pinch on the cheeks before putting her back down.
"Big brother will be back. Stay with Aunty." He went to the kitchen by himself.
Amelia did not have to wait long before Leon came back carrying a teapot that was steaming hot.
"Tea?" Amelia was dumbfounded. Tea can alleviate her daughter's trauma?