Sins of the Reborn Vanguard

Framing the Innocent

The heavy iron door of the barracks slammed shut, leaving Leon alone with the silence. The muffled cries of Thomas being dragged down the corridor toward the isolation chambers grew fainter, finally swallowed by the thick stone walls.

"He's screaming my name, System. Why is it so quiet in here?" Leon whispered, gripping his bed frame until his knuckles turned white.

"[Host, focus. The soul capacity expansion is initiating. Do not lose your grip on reality,]" the voice responded, indifferent to the suffering outside.

"Reality? My reality is being rewritten by a god-complex machine," Leon muttered, his teeth gritting together as the sensation of boiling lead poured into his veins. "Did I just trade a boy's life for a few more points in my status bar?"

"[You traded a variable for a constant. The power you are receiving is permanent. The boy was temporary.]"

"Cold. You really are just a piece of programming, aren't you?" Leon gasped, falling to his knees as a surge of violet lightning danced across his skin.

"[I am the fuel for your vengeance. Nothing more. Do you wish to abort?]"

"Never," Leon hissed, his eyes glowing with an unnatural, pulsating light. "If I go back now, I’m just a traitor with blood on his hands and nothing to show for it. I’ll finish this."

The barracks began to vibrate, the wood of the floorboards groaning under the pressure of the energy coalescing around Leon’s heart. He felt his muscles knitting together, his tendons lengthening, and his senses expanding until he could hear the frantic heartbeat of the guard outside the door.

"Leon? You in there? You look like hell, man," a voice called out from behind the door. It was Jax, his face pale and eyes wide with worry.

Leon forced himself to stand, wiping a trickle of dark, viscous sweat from his brow. "I’m fine, Jax. Just... the burns. They hurt like a bitch."

"I heard screaming. They took Thomas, Leon. Did you hear them? They're saying he stole the Stone. Tell me it's a lie," Jax urged, his voice trembling as he stepped into the room.

"They found the shard in his locker, Jax. What was I supposed to say?" Leon asked, his voice steady despite the internal fire.

"He wouldn't do that! He’s a scared kid! He wouldn't know the first thing about stealing from Kael," Jax argued, grabbing Leon’s arms. "You were with him, right? Tell them! If you vouch for him, they'll listen!"

"I can't," Leon whispered, pulling away.

"Why? Are you scared of Kael? We're Vanguards, Leon! We stand together!"

"It's not that, Jax. Look at the facts. They found the evidence. If I defend him, I look like an accomplice. Do you want to go to the block too?"

"I don't care about the block! I care about my friend!"

"Jax, look at me," Leon said, stepping into his friend's space, his voice dropping to a dangerous, icy calm. "Thomas is already a dead man. Framing him was the only way to get the heat off us. If he falls, we stay alive to actually fight the monsters. Understand?"

Jax stumbled back, his face draining of all color. "Framing him? You... you set him up?"

"I saved the only people who matter," Leon replied, though his voice lacked conviction.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them bucked violently. A sound like the sky itself tearing apart ripped through the room, followed by a pressure that forced both men to their knees.

"What the hell is that?!" Jax screamed, clutching his ears as the barracks windows shattered inward.

"The sky... it’s splitting," Leon looked up, his eyes widening.

Above the garrison, the night air was hemorrhaging. A massive, jagged purple tear, pulsing with necrotic energy, had opened directly over the inner keep. It wasn't just a ripple; it was a wound in reality.

"Leon! That's not a normal rift! That's... that's a Tier 5 fracture!" Jax shouted, scrambling toward the door. "We have to run! The whole garrison is going to be consumed!"

"Stay here, Jax! Don't move!" Leon yelled, lunging for his gear.

"Are you insane?! Look at what's coming out of that thing!"

A swarm of shadow-winged creatures, their bodies elongated and dripping with caustic bile, poured from the rift like locusts. They screeched, a sound that bypassed the ears and vibrated directly against the brain.

"They're Elite Rift Stalkers," Leon whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs. "They aren't supposed to be here for another year. The future... the damn future is shifting."

"Leon! Look out!"

A Stalker dove through the remains of the roof, its razor-sharp talons carving a trench through the bunk beds where Leon had been standing a moment before.

"Jax, grab your blade! We have no choice!" Leon roared, drawing his secondary short-sword.

"I’m going to die! I’m going to die in a barracks, aren't I?" Jax sobbed, pulling his weapon out, his hands shaking so violently he almost dropped it.

"Shut up and move! Aim for the joints in their wings! They move too fast to hit the torso!" Leon commanded, his agility now boosted to superhuman levels.

The Stalker screeched and whipped its tail around. Leon ducked, the air whistling over his head as the tail sheared through a structural beam.

"How are you so fast, Leon? You’re moving like a blur!" Jax gasped, narrowly parrying a strike from another creature.

"Don't worry about me! Keep your head on a swivel!" Leon yelled.

He didn't wait for the creature to finish its recovery. Utilizing his new Tier 2 Shadow Step, Leon vanished. He reappeared a heartbeat later directly above the Stalker, his blade glowing with a faint, violet hue of corrupted energy.

Slash.

Black, oily blood sprayed the walls as the creature's wing was severed. It hit the floor with a wet thud, still clicking and snapping its mandibles.

"Leon! There are more! Look at the door!" Jax pointed.

Dozens of the creatures were flooding the courtyard, setting the wooden fortifications on fire with the acidic bile they sprayed from their glands. The garrison guards were being torn apart in seconds, their bronze armor proving useless against the Stalkers' serrated claws.

"They're cutting us off," Leon said, his eyes scanning the carnage. "If we stay here, we're trapped. We have to reach the main gate."

"The gate is a death trap! Look, Kael is already down there fighting them!" Jax yelled.

"Kael is a Tier 4. If he can't hold the line, we’re the last line of defense," Leon said, his jaw tightening.

"We? Since when do you care about the garrison? You just framed Thomas to save your own skin!" Jax spat, though he stayed glued to Leon’s side.

"I care about surviving, Jax. And dying here serves no one," Leon shouted as he decapitated another Stalker that burst through the wall. "Come on! We move through the shadows. Don't engage anything head-on!"

"I'm following you, you bastard! But if we die, I'm haunting your soul!" Jax grunted, keeping his shield raised.

"Fair enough!" Leon shouted, his eyes locked on the purple rift that continued to widen.

The sky above was glowing with an ominous, sickly light. Leon felt the power coursing through his veins—the power he had stolen from Thomas, from the stone, from his own humanity. It was intoxicating and terrifying.

"System, how long can I sustain this surge?"

"[Your soul container is currently stable, but the corruption rate is increasing by two percent every minute. You have approximately ten minutes before your vessel begins to degrade.]"

"Ten minutes to reach the gate, or ten minutes until I turn into one of these things?"

"[Both,]" the System replied.

Leon looked at Jax, who was currently fighting for his life against two Stalkers, his face twisted in raw, unadulterated fear.

"Jax, stay close," Leon commanded, stepping into the fray. "We're going to paint this courtyard red."

"I hate you, Leon! I really, truly hate you!" Jax screamed, swinging his sword with renewed, desperate fury.

"Save the hate for the Stalkers!" Leon retorted, his eyes flashing with the cold, predatory light of the Sin Eater.

He lunged forward, his shadow-step blurring the air as he tore into the swarm, his mind already calculating the next move, the next sin, and the next sacrifice required to survive the night. The war hadn't ended in the Demon King's lair; it had only just begun.