'This is my chance!'
Yuto inhaled deeply, channeling all the Qi in his body to his lower body.
A burst of explosive power gnawed at his flesh and bones. He noticed that the assassins were momentarily distracted.
He took a step and vanished from his spot. Swiftly, he drew his sword and swung it sideways, decapitating the female assassin on his right.
Her head floated in the air, and Yuto immediately grabbed her hair.
Blood oozed out, spreading a metallic scent across the air. The headless body slowly fell, staining the fertile ground below with blood.
Even though the boy held the severed head, blood was still dripping intently. His heart drew nothing, not even a shred of guilt.
Yuto's body tensed, hearing a scream thick with killing intent struck his presence.
"You bastard!"
'They're strong!? But...'
He gripped the sword hilt tightly and turned, preparing to throw the head in his hand as a diversion.
All of a sudden, his breath stopped. His eyes widened not because of the two enemies in front of him, but because of another presence.
A shadow loomed above him, flooding the entire area with a chilling and heavy pressure that strangled his throat.
"Rawr!"
A familiar bestial cry echoed in his ears since that incident in the forest, causing cold sweat to pour down on his back.
It landed before him, a huge black cat stood between Yuto and the two assassins. Its predatory eyes scanned the surroundings, then locked onto him.
Yuto's brow twitched as he saw the cat's mouth smirk. The monster remembered him.
'W-Why is it here...!?'.
His mind raced.
The scattered puzzle pieces began to fall into place, forming a larger picture.
All of this was the monster's doing.
Its appearance, and then the news of monsters flooding the surrounding villages.
Everything made sense if those small monsters felt threatened by the cat's presence.
However, what made this calamity cat leave its own habitat?
Was there another threat haunting the frontier?
Yuto bit his lip, making blood stream down his torn lip.
'Get a grip, Yuto! Calm yourself!'
Cursing himself, Yuto's mind, which had almost fallen into a pit of despair, returned.
'Think!'
Right, left, he surveyed the surroundings and immediately moved.
"Rawr!"
One roar from the monster made the air weep and his hair stand on end.
Yuto kicked the body beneath him to use as a diversion, storing the head in his ring.
In a blink, the cat extended its claws and swung them. With one slash, the body Yuto kicked was split in two, scattering internal organs and blood everywhere.
He kicked the ground, his body blurred as he tried to escape the monster.
But with just one stomp, the cat's body dissolved like an illusion. It got sucked into the shadows and reappeared beside Yuto, opening its maw wide, full of jagged teeth.
'Damn it!'
Yuto's body moved instinctively, forcing himself to lean backward.
At the cost of tearing some of his muscles.
His teeth gritted fiercely, feeling heat spreading throughout his body. His pupils shrank as he heard a cracking sound from inside his body.
Yuto spat up blood just to avoid one attack from the cat. Thanks to that, he avoided death.
'Tch! Those cowards!'
His brow twitched, feeling the presence of the assassins fading.
Rolling across the dirt, Yuto sprang to his feet, and his eyes never left the monster in front of him.
His four limbs trembled, feeling an excruciating pain that gnawed at his very consciousness.
Yuto swallowed hard, tasting the metallic flavor in his mouth.
'I have no other choice!'
He exhaled deeply while raising his sword.
A red aura engulfed the blade as well as Yuto's body, transforming his aura into a savage monster that drowned in his own emotions.
The veins on his body popped across his body like slithering snakes, on the verge of bursting.
With a grin on His face, the boy's expression turned menacing as his crimson eyes sharpened, shedding tears of blood.
"Come, you bastard cat!"
His roar sent a small shockwave through the air.
Their eyes locked into each other. In a matter of seconds, they disappeared, colliding in a brutal clash.
***
Silence hit the trio hard like a slap.
They stood frozen at Yuto's disappearing presence.
As a scout who was fully aware of his surroundings, Dany had to admit that he was still nothing compared to that boy.
He looked in the direction of the presence. But his feet were entangled by an invisible chain.
Until finally, his older brother's voice snapped him out of it.
"Dany, help Yuto!"
His body jolted, and he turned to his brothers.
Deni glared daggers like he wanted to kill someone, and Doni nodded while raising a towering shield as tall as his older brother.
Dany took a deep breath and raised his weapon, just like they always did when entrusting one another with their backs.
"Go, Dany!"
Immediately after his brother's command, Dany sprinted and activated one of his Scout abilities.
His brown eyes flashed, and the suffocating darkness in front of him faded into a light. His agile feet carried him like the wind as he glided through the forest.
Dry leaves caused a rustling sound, awakening the veins buried deep to resurface above the soil, as if wanting to block his advance.
'Their presence is getting closer!'
Dany took a long breath, trying to suppress his presence entirely, to blend with the surroundings.
His consciousness drifted between dream and reality until he felt disconnected from the world and vanished into the atmosphere.
'There they are!?'
Dany halted momentarily when he saw Yuto easily kill one of the enemies.
It happened so fast that even his trained eyes couldn't follow. He gulped and was ready to help Yuto, who the other two enemies flanked, until a black monster appeared.
The man didn't know what he was seeing, or maybe his brain refused to accept the reality before him.
From its characteristics and size, clad in a deadly aura that gripped his heart tightly,
'Phantom Jaguar!?'
Dany blinked as he saw the two stalkers slip away, abandoning Yuto alone.
His mind was split between saving Yuto and chasing the perpetrators.
He saw Yuto narrowly dodge a Rank-S monster's attack alone. Dany clenched his fists and made his decision.
'Hang on, Yuto! I'll take care of them and come back to help you!'
The man gritted his teeth, ashamed to admit part of him felt relieved to escape the monster radar.
But the other half of him felt heavy because of a guilt that gnawed at his humanity.
Reaching into his pouch, Dany pulled out a dirty, rusted throwing knife. From behind, he trailed the two retreating assassins.
Perhaps the monster's presence had dulled their senses.
This was his moment. His hands snapped like a whip, throwing two dirty knives that flew straight and stabbed one of them dead in the shoulder.
"What!?"
The male assassin's voice cracked with anger. The two stopped and realized Dany was standing a dozen meters behind them.
"I won't let you get away!"
Dany took a small item from his belt and pressed it on his lips.
Phweet!
A birdlike whistle echoed through the night, freezing the two assassins in place.
"Leader, can I?"
The man's voice called out to his side, and the other responded coldly.
"No witnesses allowed. Kill him!"
It happened, the battle between the Ironhead Pact and the assassin from the Kingdom that would open a page of their legend.