Chapter 425 - Leonid, The Brutal

Without any hesitation, Leonid roared out in joy as he stomped his boot against the ground, shattering the stone like glass as fractured pebbles flew around like bullets from the sheer impact. 

Like a steel beam swinging towards him, he ducked beneath the attempted clotheslining Leonid attempted to crush his throat with, having to slide against the shattered ground. 

This time he witnessed first-hand the strength inlaid in Leonid's body, experiencing a shift in air pressure as his ears popped from the sheer power behind the simple movement. 

This is totally not fair...Wait, did Donovan set all of this up because he knew this big guy was coming--so he left it to me?! He thought. 

Standing up as he found himself looking upon the man's back, he struggled to return air to his lungs. 

After taking in a breath, he dashed forth with his blade already swung--slashing it towards the man who swiftly turned around, guarding it with his hairy forearm. 

"--Huh?" He gasped. 

It was a completely unorthodox move; blocking sharp, refined steel with one's own flesh was nothing short of madness. 

But Leonid was an exception to the rule, standing there with a bright smile as the silver was shakily pressed against his arm, having only dug a small, surface-level cut into his skin. 

"Really? C'mon, Ren! 'Was better when 'ya used 'yer knee!" Leonid roared. 

With a single movement of his arm, he tossed the young man back with little effort, causing him to slide his soles against the stone to stop himself. Tucking his blade back into his sheath, he followed the rough advice of his foe as he raised his fists. 

I can't compete with him in a battle of strength. I'll have to rely on what you taught me, Fai…! He thought. 

"Bring it! C'mon!" Leonid coaxed with a rough roar. 

Stomping like a lumbering giant formed of flesh, the man swung his arms around without any elegance, using them as nothing more than bludgeoning tools while he evaded them as his very life depended on it. 

It was becoming crystal clear that his halved vision resulted in difficulty in maintaining his prior finesse, but he managed through sheer grit. 

If one of those connects with my head, I'm done…! He thought. 

Slipping by a passing fist that hurled by like a cannonball, he grabbed onto the muscular wrist belonging to the vampire brawler, using the man's weight and momentum against him as he flung him over his shoulder. 

"Hraaaa---!" He yelled out. 

Even using the technique birthed to counter larger opponents, he still strained himself in doing so as he slammed the mangy giant onto the ground below, cratering the helpless stone beneath the impact. 

"Grrhh…!" Leonid grunted as his weight dropped harshly. 

He stood there for a moment, huffing as he looked down at the opponent he left laying in the crater formed in the verdant-layered stone. 

Suddenly, Leonid's pearly-white smile returned as he spoke, "Hey, Brat, 'ya made one mistake just now! 'Wanna know what that is?" 

"Huh?" 

Before he could react, the brutish man grabbed him by the ankle, standing himself up flawlessly as he dragged the young man to the ground. 

"...'Ya didn't follow up 'yer attack while I was down, 'ya rookie!" 

--As he roared out, Leonid spun around to gain momentum before tossing the snowy-haired adolescent like a baseball, crashing him against the back wall as the loose stone shattered without much resistance. 

Immediately, he recognized the cold, frosty wind against his back while dazed from the harsh impact. 

What…? I'm...outside? He thought, faintly. 

All he could see in front of him from his blurry gaze was the hairy, gargantuan sentinel of muscle and violence hop through the hole in the wall, or rather the completely opened side of the tower. 

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Leonid laughed with pure joy in the heat of battle. 

They fell through the snow-filled air in tandem; only the echoing, thunderous laughter of the vampire brought him back into focus before he landed atop the sea of snow. 

Barely sticking his own landing, he looked up just as the massive man landed firmly on the snow with an impact that kicked up a wave of snow, caking his wide smile with an icy breeze. 

"You're crazy, you know that?" He said wryly, coughing up the dust he inhaled after being slammed through the wall. 

Leonid only laughed with his joyful roar that caused the ground to vibrate slightly, "I'll take that as a compliment! 'Yer pretty durable, I'll give 'ya that. But, 'ya won't last a minute once I get serious." 

As he stood there, regaining his breath, he watched as the temple of muscle that was his opponent clawed into his own jacket before tearing it away. The shredded pieces of fabric were carried off into the wind as the man stood with his bare torso, seeming unbothered by the extreme cold. 

They have the same aura. Him and Rengoku are like kindred spirits; that all-powerful, force of nature-like strength that completely does away with conventional fighting, he thought.

Waiting as Leonid marched towards him while taking his time with each smiling stride, he focused himself, relaxing his throbbing body. 

Even if I can't turn this into a contest of strength, I'll need to use full-power reinforcement just to keep up. I'll focus on redirection and using his own power against him...hopefully it'll work, he thought. 

Shrouding his entire body in a dense amplification, he readied himself--a moment too late. 

Against his raised arms, the hulking arm of the vampire was already slammed against his guard with speed he couldn't even react to. 

"Ha-ha-ha! Let's get this party started!" Leonid proclaimed. 

It felt like a train ramming against him without hindrance, dragging the bottom of his boots along the snow harshly before being promptly launched backward. 

...My eye. I couldn't see it because of my vision...shit! He realized. 

A feeling of pure, helpless weightlessness before overwhelming strength radiated through his feathery body in that short, but elongated moment. 

Holy---! He thought. 

The release of the lariat sounded off like an explosion as Leonid's hulking arm acted like an immutable whip to the air, cracking it brutally.