Chapter 17: Trash
Norn, who watched all of this from back, had his mouth and eyes wide open. He even momentarily forgot the seeping blood from his mouth and the excruciating pain in his chest.
"Wâwhat the hell? How is he this strong?! Did Zolton lie to us? I am sure he must have a high-ranking Soul! And that beastâwhere the hell did it come from?! It matches the catâs description but... its powerâ!"
He stumbled back. "SâshitâI might actually die here!"
Juanâs screams cut off abruptly as Shyraâs fangs tore through his throat in one clean motion.
"Th-this beast... it killed Juan!!" Norn gasped, staggering to his feet as he tried getting up. "I-I need to run!"
Meanwhile, Lansâbloodied, half-dazedâsaw Leoâs shadow approaching. His eyes widened in panic. Just moments ago, Juan had been alive... and then the black beast ripped him apart.
Now, it was his turn.
Lans tried to move his body, but due to severe concussions and fractures on his head and spine, it was not possible
"W-wait... Leo, no--sir Leo, I was just follo--!" Lansâ voice was cut off as Leo kicked him in his gut, knocking him cold.
Leo had grown numb to seeing blood when he was on the battlefield. He saw several of his friends die in cold blood, and he himself killed many from the enemy side. He was already used to blood on his hands. So, the bloodshed he was making now was not affecting him in the slightest; rather, it gave him satisfaction for avenging his bodyâs previous owner, which was evident by the subtle curve of his lips.
The previous owner died horribly at their hands, though it didnât look much from the outside, Leoâs body was injured to a great degree from within, even if it wasnât much for âLeonel Dravenâ, but for a regular, average man, these injuries were death sentences. They clearly had taken their time to torture âLeoâ and enjoy themselves.
Norn watched all of Leoâs actions with horrified and trembling eyes, his thoughts a mess.
"I-is this really the same guy we tortured previously, f-fuck, I shouldnât have agreed to kill someone for money..." he muttered under his breath, half in regret and half in fear.
"I should have known something was wrong when he was alive even after I made sure he was dead, who knew he was such a monster. But that bastard baron son, Zolton Milti, he got me good right when I was in debt and then threw an offer of 20 Bronze coins... who could refuse in such a situation, when he even said he would cover for us for only a supposed killing of a commoner. Damn, I need to figure out some way to get out of this..." Norn said this as he tried thinking of ways to come out of this situation.
"Y-you really think you can get away with killing us?" Norn stammered.
"We are working under Zolton Milti, the Baronâs son, and now that he has even awakened, he will definitely figure out who killed us and will come after your ass," Norn gulped down as he tried thinking harder. Leo was just looking at him menacingly, with his Beast already out of sight and able to attack from anywhere.
"B-but, if you let me live... I swearâI wonât say anything! Iâll tell them these two died fighting each other! Iâllâ"
Leo just sighed.
"You are right, he will come after me..."
Norn eyes lit up with faint hope.
"So, do youâ"
"But didnât you say,"
Leo interrupted, his tone turning sharp,
"that no one recognises a man whoâs missing his head?"
The grin that followed was enough to drain the colour from Nornâs face.
Leoâs foot came downâhard.
Crunch.
Lansâ skull gave way under the blow, spraying red across the dirt.
"Y-youâre a madman!" Norn screamed.
"Pleaseâspare me! I have a wife! Kids! They need me!"
But Leo wasnât taking any of that.
"Are you suggesting I should spare someone who came to kill me for coin and pity their family who I donât even know exist? Forget stranger, if the person trying to kill me is a close relative, I will kill him without hesitation." Leo scoffed, and the next moment, Shyra appeared and slashed Nornâs tendons. Norn, who was struggling to even stand, fell on his butt as Leo bent to pick Lans sword up.
"Tsk. These swords seem even lower than that of white quality."
Leo examined the blade as he stepped toward Juanâs corpse. He made a few slashes to disguise Shyraâs handiwork, then proceeded to drive the sword into Juanâs chest, followed by crushing his skull. He did the same with Lansâ body with Nornâs sword and threw the sword beside his corpse.
Norn watched all this helplessly, dread filling his eyes with each moment passing by. When he saw Leo approaching him like a grim reaper, he scrambled and bowed, breaking down completely.
"I--I will do anything please."
Leo stopped in front of him.
"I would have loved to torture you, but the story that I am trying to frame would get foiled, so consider yourself lucky for a quick death." With that, Leoâs fist shot forward into Nornâs head, splattering brain matter as any Nornâs body fell back.
"Fhew, dealt with the trash, now for the gains..."
Ding!
Killed Hunter Juan - 467 credits - 47xp
Killed Hunter Lans - 498 credits - 50xp
Killed Hunter Norn - 531 credits - 53xp
Level Up!
Level 4 - 67/220
+4 unassigned stat points.
He didnât forget to loot them thoroughly, but was very disappointed when he saw the amount.
"Tsk. Only 32 Bronze coins from all three, poor assholes," Leo said bitterly.
For the trouble he went through, it was very less!
"Well, at least I level up." He quickly shifted their bodies to a different position, once again making sure their faces were unrecognisable, all according to his plan.
His plan was simple: make it so it seemed that they died fighting each other, and when the last one was alive, barely, someone did a third party and killed the last member, making their faces unrecognisable and looting their money.
"Good, everything done!" Leo said as he gently stroked Shyraâs fur as she found her way over his shoulders, purring softly and nuzzling at his neck.
[Chain Bond - 85% -> 87%]