The Duke's Passion



847 Heliot wasn't a pushover

A strong gust of wind blew past Heliot, making his feet slide back slightly. If not for the weight he put on his feet to keep his ground, Heliot was certain the impact would send him flying. Heliot wasn't the only one who was forced to stop. All the knights from the rescue and defense team also stopped.

After some time, when they sensed that it was safe, everyone slowly opened their eyes. Some of them lowered their arms or hands to uncover their eyes. As soon as they did, deep lines instantly appeared between their brows and foreheads.

They looked around, eyes squinting to see better in the lingering light turned into small particles in the air. But that wasn't what surprised them, but the enemies that were attacking them aggressively moments ago.

The undeads... were all on the ground, unconscious.

"What happened?" murmured a knight out of shock before they instinctively gazed up at where the sphere of light came from.

There, on the top of an establishment, stood a man with his sword glinting brightly. For a moment, the sword looked as though it had a light inside its blades, but then the light

disappeared on its tip.

Ileliot narrowed his eyes. Upon seeing the person clearly, he instantly recognized the man.

"Rufus Barrett," he whispered the name of the man, watching Rufus set his eyes back on him. "I heard you hold the holiest sword that was rumored to be blessed by the divinity. I doubted it, but it seemed I was wrong."

"I thought nothing would ever faze a man who claimed to have no emotions. It seemed I was wrong!" Rufus returned, glancing at the knights proudly wearing the insignia of the land of Karo. "I misjudged you, Prince Heliot. Apologies."

Heliot didn't respond, watching Rufus jump from the top of the broken establishment. The latter landed with a light thud, quite the opposite to expect from someone who jumped from that height.

"Seeing you here and witnessing how your men fought briefly makes me assume you met with Claude. He is the only person I could think of that could've changed the way you fight." Rufus pointed out the things he noticed before launching that powerful sphere of light.

Just as Rufus was jumping his way to meet with Ileliot, he noticed the strange way these knights fought. All of them were fighting with their blunt swords, doing their best to not massacre everyone in sight, even though that way of fighting had put them at a disadvantage. Their enemies were in for a kill, after all.

Not to mention, there was another group that wasn't wielding their swords. Instead, these larger groups under Heliot appeared to be ransacking each establishment. But that wasn't the case. Instead of plundering, it was more like they were searching every nook and cranny of the town while leaving their safety for the other group.

It was the main reason Rufus didn't think twice about launching his sphere of light, not having second thoughts about cleansing the area. Splitting his people into two groups wasn't the best tactic since Heliot didn't bring his entire army.

Heliot was in this land to support Samael and Stefan. It wasn't a direct war between Heliot and Zero. The only reason Heliot's plan lasted this long was that Heliot himself was taking part in this operation. If not, these knights would've been wiped out if they continued to fight that way. "My respect for Your Ilighness pierced through this dark sky," Rufus remarked, expressing his respect to the man who used to be his brother-in-law. Ileliot might've forgotten about it, but Rufus could remember all his interactions with Ileliot. After all, Rufus was left to become the emperor of the Heart's Empire and thus, he had to maintain a strong and friendly alliance with the land of Karo.

"Anyway, I would like to hear what Claude told you" Rufus changed the subject as he marched forward. 'It seemed he had changed his plans, and knowing if our plans would match is important.

Rufus stopped several steps from Heliot. The knights around could not help but listen; they had no enemies to stop from attacking or knocking unconscious.

"We don't have time, Your Highness," he added solemnly. "Time... isn't on our side this time." Ileliot assessed Rufus from head to toe, making sure this person was the real Rufus. Not that Ileliot knew exactly what was truly going on in the heart of the capital, but he was aware of Zero's abilities. Also, since he was in the land of a vile man, Ileliot just couldn't trust his eyes or

ears.

"He told me about the things you already know," said Heliot when he was sure Zero would fail in imitating this man. Zero could imitate or simply control anyone if he put his mind to it. It wouldn't even surprise Heliot if Zero copied him. However, for all the obvious reasons, he could try imitating the Barrett brothers, but one would immediately discern the differences.

Rufus was impossible to copy, especially with the abilitics he was given and the light that he was blessed with. On the other hand, it was just impossible to copy Fabian. That man... it was useless to imitate him. There was just something in Fabian that would make people - especially vampires leave the man alone.

"I see." After Heliot summarized what Claude told him, Rufus rocked his head in understanding. "I must thank him for having a quick mind and making immediate action."

"Ile may be young, but I couldn't disagree with you" I eliot blinked ever so slowly, drawing a careful breath. "Now that you are here, I assume your change of plans and ours matched." "Perfectly," Rufus stressed. "Our plans matched so perfectly that I am relieved I came here. Now, I don't regret the risk I took."

Deep lines resurfaced in between Heliot's brows. But before he could ask what Rufus meant by that, he sensed this strong aura rushing in their direction. When he lifted his eyes, all he saw was the hoard of undead running in their direction.

"Rufus Barrett..." Heliot's voice shook in anger, shifting his fiery eyes to Rufus, only to see the man already turning his back on them.

"I told you, Your Highness. Time isn't in our favor. Rufus maintained his calm, ignoring the death glares cast upon his back. "Anyway, I would like to ask for your men's help to keep those monsters at bay while I cleanse them bit by bit. As for you, I would really appreciate it if you focused on the rescue."

Rufus took a deliberate pause before he cocked his head back, eyes falling on Heliot. "By that, I mean to use that ability to stop large debris from smashing the innocents who were hiding somewhere. Thank you in advance."

"Do you all think I am one of your people? Who do you think you all are to think you can order me around?" Ileliot revolted, a little annoyed that these people only knew how to order himn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

around.

However, just before he could add anything, Rufus already shouted and the knights under Heliot had no choice but to back him up. Not that they had a choice but to fight back; they couldn't wait for Heliot's orders as they had to save their lives first until Heliot make up his mind.

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