Chapter 23: Butler Butcher
"Did he escape through some other door?"
Just as Leo had expected, Arnold was waiting near the main door, ready to ambush them.
Arnold reached up, touching his chin and the deep slash that ran across his face.
"Arghh—"
A groan tore from his throat as the pain throbbed all over his face.
"Fuck… I don't think I can see from my right eye, even after healing magic. How can a newly awakened beast master move like that? Is he really a common soul like Zolton said?"
After scanning the surroundings once again and not spotting any signs of Leo or Lily, he decided to back away since people had started to gather nearby.
He signalled the wolf to retreat. The beast had fared no better; it had lost one of its eyes when Shyra attacked it at the critical moment.
Together, they slipped into the darkness of a narrow alley. Arnold began wrapping his wound, his hand trembling slightly as the bleeding continued, while the wolf remained alert, vigilant for any sneak attacks.
Swoosshh!
"Ahhhrrg… fuck that bastard…" Arnold muttered, tightening the bandage.
Swooss swoss
"And that wench…" His voice turned venomous. "Just let me prepare thoroughly for the next time. When I will get back, I will incapacitate that asshole and rape her right before his eyes. Haaa fuck!"
He tied the knot tightly behind his head.
Swoop!
Leo was already moving.
To an ordinary person, he would have looked like a flicker, vanishing from one place and reappearing in the blink of an eye. He was practically more than 10 times faster than an average human; he was cutting through the streets at a speed of nearly 75 meters per second.
Then he saw it—a thin trail of blood that led him to an alley.
A faint smile formed on the corner of his lips and activated his stealth skill.
Maybe it was his luck; the wind seemed to be moving in Leo's favour. The wind flowed in the opposite direction of his travel, carrying his scent away and making it impossible for the wolf to know of his approach.
Moments later, he spotted Arnold, still busy tying his bandage.
Leo closed the distance at lightning speed, his presence nearly erased from their senses.
Then he struck.
Fwip! Pop!
Arnold was in the middle of cursing Zolton when suddenly a sharp popping sound reached his ears, followed by a tearing sound near his knees.
Before he could even process it, his legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground, unable to bear his body weight.
"ARGHHHH—!"
Arnold's shrill scream echoed through the alley as he collapsed and the pain kicked in.
The unaware Windbreadth Hound flinched, startled by the sudden scream. It turned sharply, only to see its master crumpled on the ground, blood pouring from his knees.
"YOU IDIOT DOG! DO SOMETHING!!!" Arnold shrieked, panic and dread flooding his voice.
The wolf panicked and spun in place as he tried to search for the attacker but found nothing.
Leo was gone.
With the skill's advancement, seeing Leo in the darkness was nearly impossible unless other senses were involved.
But to the wolf's dismay, today the wind wasn't in its master's favor.
Grrr— Clank!
Leo lunged, aiming to attack the wolf from its blind side, but the beast noticed him and reacted just in time to snap its jaws on the knife.
Leo's attack was caught mid-motion as the wolf caught the blade with its jaws and growled angrily.
With a violent twist, the beast flung Leo to the other side. He lost his hold on the knife's handle and was sent staggering back, barely managing to regain balance before he activated his skill once again and disappeared.
Mana: 132/400
Leo's jaw tightened.
He was running low on mana.
He needed to finish this—fast.
Behind him, Arnold struggled to stand, but every attempt ended the same way. His legs buckled, sending him crashing back down, followed by a searing pain that assaulted his entire body.
"AHHH! What the fuck did you do?! Why can't I STAND?! It's just 2 cuts, you mofucker!"
He screamed in frustration and pain, unable to understand why he wasn't able to stand.
Leo had precisely severed his hamstrings near the knees, tearing them apart and making him immobile.
This was a grade 3 injury in his dictionary. Even with proper treatment, walking normally would take at least months, if not more.
Do they not teach biology here?
The thought crossed his mind before he reappeared and threw a punch at wolf…
But missed.
Tch, a peak 1-star beast is still a peak 1-star.
The beast retaliated immediately and began unleashing crescent-shaped wind blades in rapid succession, firing wildly toward any hint of Leo's presence.
"Shit!"
Leo moved on instinct, dodging frantically as he sidestepped, dived and even rolled.
—but one blade slipped through.
It managed to graze his chest, and a thin line of red spread across his shirt.
"GOOD! Keep going, you foolish dog!" Arnold shouted, a flicker of hope finally igniting in his eyes as he started directing the wolf to attack in perfect spots by guessing Leo's next destination.
Wild Beasts usually act on their instincts, charging headfirst into battle without much thought. And that made them easier to be tricked and hunted by intelligent species. Under the command of a capable Beast Master, however, even a low-star beast could go against stronger opponents if the conditions were right.
Leo, unfortunately, was accumulating damage as time passed.
He had failed in his attempt to close in on the beast and strike it, and now all he could do was wait for the beast to run out of mana.
But he wasn't in a good state either.
With only 62 mana left, he couldn't afford to waste activating his skill for nought. Time dragged on, and with it, he lost more blood. His movements slowed; his body grew heavier with each passing second. The whole area around was smeared in red—his own blood along with Arnold's.
"Haak!!"
Leo turned just in time to hear a gurgle sound from behind, only to see Lily driving the sword he had given her straight through Arnold's chest.
Then—
Arppp-!
At the same moment, Shyra lunged at the wolf, clawing at its face and leaving it completely blind in both eyes.
Lily proceeded to twist the sword.
Arnold stared at her, horror etched across his face, as if silently begging for mercy.
"How dare you hurt my Leo this much!" Lily's voice trembled with fury, and a fierce expression formed on her face. For a brief moment, Leo could have sworn her eyes glowed faintly pink as her rage intensified.
Then she moved.
With a shocking strength for someone who hadn't awakened, Lily dragged the blade upward, ripping it from Arnold's chest and straight to his face, splitting the skull into two as she tore the sword free.
As if that wasn't enough, she followed it with a clean cut across his neck.
In an instant, Arnold's body fell apart into three pieces: two halves of skill and a severed torso.
The moment Arnold died, the beast staggered, as if struck by a backlash.
Seeing the opportunity, Shyra didn't hesitate.
She lunged forward and clamped her jaws around its neck with full force, crushing its windpipe and ending its life at the same moment.
[Beast Master Arnold (Great Knight) killed (assist) – Low 2-Star – 1000 XP]
[Additional 1000 XP for killing an opponent of an immediate higher rank]
[Windbreath Hound killed – Peak 1-star – 200 XP]
[Additional 50 XP for killing a comparatively higher-ranked beast]