The morning light streamed in through the clinic's large bay window, caressing the tiled floor.
After several days lying down, Leo decided enough was enough.
"I'm going to walk today."
His voice was firm, despite the bandage still visible around his ribs.
His mother, Aurona, gave him a worried look, but still got up to retrieve the wooden crutches, stored in the corner of the room.
"Take it easy. You may have faced a monster in a black coat, but you're still a boy with three cracked ribs and a squeaky knee."
Leo winced, but he grabbed the crutches and slowly stood up.
His legs trembled a little.
Each step was an effort, each movement a mini-victory over the pain.
Aurona helped him balance, watching for the slightest misstep.
"Thanks, Mom... I know you must be exhausted. Your work, the clinic, me... Does it bother you too much to stay here?"
Aurona pretended to be offended.
"Me? Disturbing me? Being by my son's side, my little darling, my treasured light? Never."
He rolled his eyes, embarrassed.
"Okay, fine... but seriously?"
She smiled.
"The head of the clinic even told me he was saddened by your condition. 'The young man with the polite smile and the unruly mop of hair? Too bad, he was charming.'"
"He said that?!"
"Almost. Okay, I embellished it a little. But he was genuinely saddened. You know you help everyone here." You're the one helping me hold on."
Leo looked away.
Then Aurona continued, looking innocent.
— "But there's something else, Leíto..."
— "Hmm?"
— "A certain young woman. Mi Nino didn't tell me anything. But she's the one who carried you to the clinic."
Leo blushed immediately.
— "She... she's Eline. A friend. That's all."
— "A friend who carries you in her arms like a heroine in a romantic tale?"
She began to make dramatic gestures.
— "Oh no, my wounded knight! I'll save you!"
— "Mom, please!"
— "Should I meet her? Talk to her about contraception, manners, and curfew hours?"
Leo almost stumbled on his own.
— "There's nothing between us! We work together, we laugh, that's all!"
Aurona looked at him with a sly little smile.
— "You look at her the way your father looked at me. So one day or another, you'll have to introduce me to her, mi Nino."
He groaned, embarrassed.
But in his heart... a discreet warmth grew.
And he continued walking, steadier, stronger, not just to heal... but to move forward.
The light morning breeze blew through the curtains of the DioAngelo house.
The furniture was simple, the walls tired... but a new energy hung in the air.
Leo was finally back home.
Leaning on a wooden walking stick, he walked slowly through the living room, carefully placing his steps.
His breathing was steady. His back straightened.
Every day, he grew stronger.
And every evening, in the courtyard behind the house, he trained.
Not for long. Just enough to circulate his aura, stretch his muscles, and tap the air so he wouldn't forget what it was like to stand on your own two feet.
One morning, as he stretched slowly with his cane for support, Aurona watched him from the doorway.
She hesitated.
Then she stepped forward.
— "Leíto..."
He turned around, surprised by her tone.
She played with the edge of her sleeve, a little nervous.
— "Could you teach me how to fight?"
Leo blinked.
— "...Excuse me?"
— "I mean... could you train me? Me. Your mother."
He froze.
— "Mom, you've always hated fighting."
She nodded, placing a hand on his chest.
— "I ran away from it, yes. I'm a healer. I've always believed in saving, not hitting. I've... never liked hurting."
Her voice trembled.
— "But Rowan isn't here. And the truth is... I've always counted on him. Whenever something went wrong, I told myself, 'He'll intervene. He'll come.'"
She looked down.
"But he wasn't there that night. And you... you were forced to do what no child should do."
She clenched her fists.
"I swore I'd never be that woman in distress again. I want to be able to defend my life. Your life. Our home."
She finally looked up at him.
"And if someone ever tries to use me to get to you... I want to be the one to kick their ass before they get near you."
Leo was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled.
Not a mocking smile.
A proud smile.
He put down his cane and extended a hand.
"All right, Lady Aurona. I'll make you a protector. A real one."
She grabbed his hand, a little moved.
And in this courtyard where so much pain had already accumulated...
A new promise was born.
Not of revenge.
But of shared strength.
The morning sun bathed the courtyard in a soft golden glow.
Aurona tied her hair into a ponytail, her arms bandaged from the exercise she had just begun.
Opposite her, Leo, still leaning lightly on his cane, watched her with a look both serious and protective.
"Well... let's start slowly."
She nodded, getting into position without really knowing what to do with her hands.
Leo crossed his arms.
"You know, in this world, the gods normally grant us three types of power."
She blinked.
"Three?"
"Yes. First, the main domain, the gift received at birth or through prayer: for you, healing. Rank D, but well mastered."
She nodded.
"Then there is the second latent domain." Many are unaware of it or never try to awaken it. But with enough willpower, we can unlock it."
Aurona's eyes widened slightly.
"And the third?"
Leo smiled.
"Combat affinity, derived from the aura. The one that allows you to transform your body, your style, your instincts, according to your experiences."
He took a step, planting his cane in the earth.
"You've been through things, Mom. Pain. Fears. But your aura, if you let it express itself... it will reveal to you what you're truly capable of."
She took a breath, her heart pounding.
"So... where do I start?"
Leo raised a finger.
"First, you have to tell me something: for training, do you prefer hand-to-hand combat or swordsmanship?"
Aurona thought. For a long time.
Then she replied, a little hesitantly:
"Hand-to-hand. I want to... feel what I'm doing. To be able to stand my ground without a weapon, if necessary."
Leo smiled.
"Excellent answer. We'll take it slow. Stretching. Strengthening. Breathing. And then, a few passes."
He cracked his shoulders.
"And maybe with a little hitting, you'll unlock something."
Aurona took her position, awkward but willing.
And the very first training session between a mother and her son began... in the dust and light of morning.
--
Higher up, high above the courtyard, on a distant rooftop, a figure sat on the air watching them.
Ruggero.
Silent. Motionless.
His eyes followed every movement, every exchange.
He murmured to himself:
"She's training... too." Huh. You're really changing their world, DioAngelo."
But no one knew.
And no one would see.
He disappeared again, like a breath in the wind.
Two weeks had passed.
Two weeks of aches, bruises, falls, and sighs.
But also of progress.
Under Leo's patient—and sometimes mocking—gaze, Aurona had transformed.
At first clumsy, punching the air like a beginner… she was now more stable. Faster. More precise.
Her foot pivoted better.
Her fists swung with more conviction.
She was beginning to read her son's movements before he made them.
And above all…
She hadn't given up.
---
"You've improved. A lot." Leo, leaning against a low wall, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Aurona shrugged, still out of breath, hands on her knees.
--"I have to say, I have a diabolical instructor." You almost made me regret not choosing the sword."
"Too late. Now you're a boxer."
He smiled.
Then he came closer, serious.
"Okay... Let's try something. Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus on what you feel when you want to protect."
"Huh?"
"Your aura, Mom. It comes from there. From what you want to defend, not from what you want to destroy."
She swallowed. Closed her eyes.
And remembered.
Leo in the hospital.
Rowan gone.
The night she felt dirty, abandoned.
The day her son promised her: "I will be your knight."
Her breathing steadied.
A pulse.
Light. Dull. Subterranean.
Then... a glimmer.
His aura awakened.
---
Around his body, a dense mist materialized.
Not blazing. Not fast.
But thick.
Solid.
Stable.
A shield aura.
Leo took a step back, surprised.
— "Body shield..."
He smiled, almost proud.
— "You've awakened a rare affinity. Defensive, but raw. Your strength and resistance are increased tenfold as long as you maintain it."
Aurona opened her eyes.
She hadn't changed. But her gaze had.
She smiled.
— "So... try hitting me. See."
— "Huh? Mom, are you sure—"
— "Hit, Leíto. I want to feel it."
Leo clenched his fist. He moved forward.
And threw a straight punch to the shoulder.
CLACK.
His fist bounced.
"Ouch!"
Aurona laughed softly.
"I told you. I don't want to be weak anymore."
And Leo, holding hands, burst out laughing despite everything.
"Yeah... Looks like you're ready to kick some ass now."
And in the shadow of a tree, far too far away to be noticed...
a certain masked investigator smiled, sitting in the wind.
The wind blew gently in the courtyard.
The afternoon sun filtered through the clouds, casting a golden light on the stones.
The training had just ended.
Leo, still panting, was massaging his shoulder—the one he'd hit against his mother's "body shield."
Aurona, proud but exhausted, had gone to get some water.
And suddenly...
A familiar, mocking voice sounded behind him.
— "This is all very moving..."
Leo froze.
His fists immediately clenched.
On the edge of the wall, sitting as if he belonged in the background, Ruggero Martinez, dressed simply, his face finally visible, Attira's medallion shining around his neck, was smiling.
— "But you should also practice activating your aura without losing your cool." »
He snapped his fingers.
"My ribs still hurt, you know. The two punches you landed... I felt them. And let's not even talk about the time you grabbed my leg and slammed me to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Even the goddess Attira would be furious at such treatment..."
Leo, arms crossed, glared at him.
"Are you here to provoke me? Are you asking for more?"
Ruggero raised his hands.
"No, no. I'm not here for round four. I've had my fill of humility, thank you."
He jumped off the wall, landing lightly.
"I've come... to explain myself."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I'm listening."
Ruggero took a breath, this time more serious.
"I wanted to know what you were really like." If you were just an angry kid who killed... or a protector who had to make an impossible choice."
He looked down for a moment.
— "So I chose to push you to the edge. To force you to show your aura. Your limits. Your true colors."
Leo narrowed his eyes, his tone cold.
— "And I passed your test, right?"
Ruggero shrugged.
— "Let's just say I ended up squashed against a wall. Like a cockroach. So yeah... you passed."
He raised his finger, looking amused.
— "But you know what struck me most? Despite everything, you didn't kill me. Not even when you had the chance."
A silence.
Then Ruggero continued, calmer.
— "I wanted to fight the son of a man I respect... your father. Rowan. My mentor. My role model."
He smiled slightly.
— "And I'm not disappointed."
Leo remained frozen.
Rowan.
Ruggero's mentor?
So he really knew him.
Leo let his guard down slightly.
— "Then why didn't you just come and talk to me?"
Ruggero huffed.
— "Because words lie. Fighting doesn't."
And in his eyes, at that moment, Leo understood one thing:
This guy was crazy, no doubt.
Methodical, cruel, disturbing, surely.
But he had seen something in him...
And had decided not to report him.
Ruggero turned on his heel.
— "I'll come back one day. Not to stop you. To see how far you'll go." »
He raised his hand, without turning around.
"Take care of yourself, little knight. The world will need you. And maybe... me too."
And he disappeared into the alley, like a shadow that had ceased to haunt.
But not quite.
To be continued