The swarm of red stingers buzzed violently as they shot forward, so fast that they looked like ballistic missiles fired off one by one by a militia unleashed from hell itself.
Leo watched in awe, his breath locked painfully in his chest as a violent shower of sparks started to form in front of Cassandra, crackling and screaming against the air. 'She's summoning an artifact.' He told himself as he waited patiently, almost fearfully, to see what weapon she would draw out.
Unfortunately, she did not have any time to fully summon her artifact as the swarm of red stingers were already on her. Leo watched as she moved with unnatural speed, dodging each stinger at the very last second, her body bending and twisting in ways that seemed impossible. Every time a stinger came close to impaling her, missing her flesh by mere inches, she somehow evaded it at the final heartbeat. And every time this happened, he would hold his breath even longer, his chest burning as if he were the one being hunted.
Her movements were sharp, desperate, yet strangely precise, like a dancer stepping between blades. Sparks flew where stingers grazed the ground, embedding themselves into stone with explosive force.
She eventually found an opening to fully summon her artifact. In a single decisive motion, she planted her foot, the swarm hesitating for a fraction of a second. After the storm of sparks violently dissipated, a long golden katana was left resting firmly in her right grip. From the distance, Leo could not make out its full design, only that the blade shimmered faintly, as if alive, humming with restrained power.
The second the artifact took form, all hell broke loose.
He leaned closer to get a better look at the growing carnage, his voice barely above a whisper. "My god, at that level she's no longer human." He felt mesmerised, his fear blending with awe as he watched her beautiful frame move with a terrifying balance between elegance and ferocity.
It almost looked like she was effortlessly walking forward, her feet gliding across the ground while her hands did all the moving. Each swing of the blade carved the air apart with a shrill scream, too fast for the eye to follow. He began to see awakened beasts torn apart mid-motion, their bodies exploding into a rain of black blood and shredded flesh, reduced to nothing but minced remains before they even realized they were dead.
The katana flashed again and again, golden arcs cutting through red streaks, her timing flawless, her expression cold yet focused, like someone ending a chore rather than fighting for survival.
What would have taken a well-coordinated group of hunters several long, bloody minutes, she finished singlehandedly in barely ten seconds.
When she was done, the battlefield fell eerily silent. She calmly harvested the beast cores from their cooling corpses and walked back to him, her face partially bathed in black blood, droplets slowly sliding down her cheek. She handed him a handful of beast cores without hesitation. "I suggest you head back alone."
Leo hesitated before taking them, his fingers stiff. "You shouldn't be giving more than one, I did nothing to help." He looked down at the transparent, marble-like crystals, each one cold to the touch, with two visible red rings pulsing faintly in the middle.
She glared at him as if he had said something entirely out of character, or perhaps she remembered him differently than he remembered himself. Or maybe she simply did not expect such chivalrous words from a man willing to let a woman do all the hard work for him.
After a moment, she finally spoke, her words striking a quiet chord deep within him. "Don't feel indebted to me, Leonardo. I am simply doing this for Trish." Saying that, she turned and started to walk away. "I have no need to help you or care about your well-being, but that girl deserves a better life. And a better brother."
Leo looked down at the handful of beast cores in his hand and said nothing. He knew she was right. He could not argue with that truth. His sister needed better, and unfortunately, she got him.
He turned and started to walk back toward Glory Base. "Curses, what a shitty day to be alive," he remarked quietly.
There were its ups and downs, but he had at least gotten to witness such a magnificent display, one that reminded him that only a true powerhouse could ever stand alone in this world. And that would never be him.
After a few minutes, he returned back to Glory Base. It was a huge collection of stone buildings, slightly similar to European-era settings. There was a massive steel gate, black in colour, bearing the emblem of Glory Base, and miles of towering walls covering the outer ring of the base like a fortress against despair.
There were also two lookout towers where scouts remained stationed. Unlike many high-ranking bases, Glory Base was somewhat average, but they were slowly growing in power thanks to the powerhouses residing there.
Leo looked at those who rode their awakened beast mounts like kings among men and frowned at his own miserable predicament.
Reaching the gates, there were two guards standing there to collect the entry fee, which was usually two awakened beast cores. When he arrived, the two guards looked at him with undisguised curiosity, and he could already tell why.
It wasn't every day you saw the peerless loser coming back looking like a homeless man who had been run over by a bus. It was a bad way to start a day; perhaps he might have felt sorry for them if he had any form of sympathy left, that is.
But then again, of the many gates Glory Base had, this one was his favourite since it was closer to his dwelling.
One of the gatekeepers recognised him, since Leo frequented there often and they always crossed paths whenever he was on duty. "Hey, peerless loser. I don't mean to sound perturbed, but did you sleep out there in the wild?"
Leo paid the fee and walked past them, not wanting to become another subject of ridicule. "Spot on again, Nick."
As he walked into the base, he could hear them behind him sneering and laughing.
"That's a new low even for you," said Nick.
His partner responded, "I swear this guy is on some generational record."
Leo swallowed his pride—well, if he had any left to swallow. "You bastards will regret this one day."
He tried to get back to his apartment without drawing any unwanted attention, which was difficult given his current appearance. As he continued to walk, something strange happened. He picked up the smell of a delicious meal being cooked somewhere within Glory Base. His mouth watered instinctively, and he swallowed hard.
His eyes darted around in hopes of finding the source of the food he doubted he could afford, but there was nothing except people going about their business. The only place that could have been cooking so early was several blocks away.
Just as he was recovering from that distraction, another smell entered his nostrils, and this one was repugnant, almost forcing him to recoil. It smelled familiar— like something dead, thick with blood and decay. Again, he looked around, but there was nothing of the sort.
"Am I going mad again?" he asked himself.
In that moment, he heard someone ring the bell by the gate and shout, "The Hands of War have returned with another kill!"
It was well known within Glory Base that Goliath liked to return with the head of any new beast he killed personally, parading it around as if he were celebrating a festival.
"Wait a minute." Leo came to a paused pondering.
He wondered if he had smelled the blood all the way from the gate, but that was impossible. Completely insane.
He continued to walk, this time faster. Just after taking a few steps, he felt his head about to explode as multiple sounds flooded his ears all at once.
He could hear Goliath bragging loudly, "It was nothing. The beast was not even a sport."
Then came Clint Larring with his usual grating tone, "Master Goliath only needed one hand to pommel this beast to the ground."
"No, that's not possible!" Leo screamed as he ran to his apartment, his hands pressed tightly over his ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise. He could hear people talking about the weather, others whispering and calling him crazy. It was as if he was hearing the entirety of Glory Base echoing inside his skull.
He slammed the door shut behind him, his back pressed against it, desperately wanting whatever was happening to him to stop.