(Execution Livestream Continuation, The Pit)
Leo descended from the sky like a falling judgment.
His speed and trajectory compressed the air beneath him as he dropped, momentum folding the atmosphere tight against the battlefield below, as the impact collapsed inward first upon contact, stone buckling and folding beneath his boots before a delayed shockwave erupted outward, carving a shallow crater into the battlefield.
*CRASH*
The ground screamed.
A ring of pulverized stone and shattered earth blasted outward as Transcendent-tier soldiers were torn from their footing and hurled away in every direction, bodies spinning helplessly through the air as formations that had held firm for hours were disrupted in an instant, their cohesion erased by the sheer force of his arrival.
*FSHHH*
*PLOP*
Dust surged upward.
Debris rained down.
And at the center of it all, Leo stood still.
He did not immediately rush to press the advantage, as he instead straightened at an unhurried pace, rolling his shoulders once while the last fragments of stone slid from his boots, his daggers already resting in his hands as he swept a calm, assessing gaze across the battlefield to finalize his approach.
’There–’
He identified, before moving.
*SLASH*
*SLASH*
The first couple strikes he made were rather simple, just two large scale dagger arcs that tore outward with such force that they cut cleanly through the front ranks of enemy soldiers, as armor parted, bodies separated, and blood misted into the dust-filled air.
"ARGHHHH!"
"PUHH—"
A few screams arose at first, but soon silence crept in.
Not because the war had stopped.
But because something far more oppressive had taken its place, as Leo gently lowered his weapons.
"Hah–"
He let out a half chuckle, as he straightened his arms and raised his chin, his posture relaxed and unhurried, as though he needed to give no clarifications for arriving to the battle late.
"Kneel...."
He demanded, as although the word carried no emphasis, no anger, no threat, the moment it left his lips, the entire battlefield trembled.
*Tremble*
*Choke*
A suffocating, crushing aura rolled across the battlefield in layered waves, pressing down on Righteous Soldier’s mind and body alike as despite them trying their best to stay upright, their knees began to wobble and their vision started to turn dizzy.
Thousands of transcendent-tier warriors stiffened.
Then trembled.
Their breathing growing more labored, their balance failing their senses, as across a full two-kilometer span, tens of thousands of elite Righteous soldiers felt their strength falter simultaneously, knees buckling under invisible weight as instincts screamed in warning, their bodies responding before pride or training could intervene, as by the thousands, they fell.
*Thud*
*Crash*
Armor rang softly against stone as knees struck the ground, weapons slipping from numb fingers as soldiers who moments earlier had stood unyielding now found themselves unable to remain upright, their will crushed beneath an overwhelming presence they could neither resist nor comprehend.
The whole outlook of the battlefield changed.
Not through blood.
But through dominance.
As Leo arriving alone resolved the stalemate that had gripped the war for many minutes before his arrival.
"I–It’s the Lord! Lord Shadow Dragon is here!"
"Look guys.... The Lord has regained consciousness!
He’s here to lead us to victory!"
The Cult soldiers said, as looking at Leo’s back, they could not find it within themselves to feel fear anymore, as the exhaustion weighing down their bodies was abruptly drowned beneath a rising surge of certainty, as though something fundamental had been restored the moment he stepped onto the battlefield.
*Suppressed laughter*
*Muted cheers*
Some laughed under their breath while others swallowed hard, as battered hands tightened around weapons that suddenly felt lighter, steadier, as hearts that had been pounding with strain now beat with purpose instead, adrenaline flooding veins that had been running dry only moments earlier.
"He’s standing in front of us...."
"He really came back...."
"He didn’t leave us behind...."
The words passed through the ranks in low, disbelieving murmurs, as no one dared raise their voice too loudly, as though speaking any stronger might shatter the moment, as though this presence was something fragile that had to be respected rather than celebrated.
Leo did not turn.
He did not acknowledge them.
He did not even glance back.
And yet, that refusal to address them only deepened the effect, as it made his stance feel absolute, unwavering, as though he had never doubted for a second that they would still be standing when he arrived, as though the outcome of this war had already been decided in his mind and everything unfolding now was merely the process of catching up to that conclusion.
Behind him, Cult soldiers straightened one by one, as hunched shoulders lifted and staggered footing stabilized, as those who had been dragging themselves forward moments earlier now planted their feet with intent, feeling alive in a way that went beyond physical recovery.
They did not feel protected.
They felt led.
Not through words, and not through commands, but through the certainty that the man standing ahead of them would walk first into whatever awaited them next, as though death itself would have to reach past him to claim them.
Conversely, the Righteous Faction soldiers felt none of that clarity.
They whispered among themselves as dread crept through their formations, as eyes that had once been filled with disciplined resolve now flicked toward Leo again and again, unable to tear themselves away from the figure who had overturned the battlefield’s balance simply by arriving.
"I–I–It’s the Demon of Omega...."
One voice stammered, barely audible beneath the chaos, as nearby soldiers stiffened at the name.
"Didn’t he wipe out our armies on two planets by himself...?"
Another whispered, disbelief and terror bleeding into one another, as memories resurfaced that had been buried beneath doctrine and denial.
"Why... why won’t my legs move...?"
A third voice cracked, panic spreading as soldiers realized their bodies were reacting before their minds could, instincts screaming warnings that training could not suppress.
No commands came fast enough.
No formation felt solid anymore.
As Leo stood unmoving at the center of the storm he had created, the Righteous soldiers understood something they had not prepared for.
This war had just changed.
And they were no longer certain they were on the side that could survive it.