On the fifth floor of the Pillar of Treachery, Lysa stared at Leo from the bloody table, her wide eyes shaking with fear. Leo stood in the broken doorway, his beaten, blood-soaked body looking more like a monster than a man.
His crimson eyes burning with rage, looking at the two masked cult soldiers, who froze under his glare. Then he glanced at Lysa who flinched under his gaze. Relief softened his face for a mont—she wasn’t Vivien. He turned back to the soldiers, voice low and raw. "So, you guys with this weird cult? Good. I’ve got questions."
The soldiers charged at him, no weapons. Leo’s Blood Dragger vanished into his item box as he charged. The first soldier swung a heavy fist, but Leo ducked, slamming his knee into the man’s stomach with a bone crunching force and giving him an uppercut sent the soldier crashing down, his mask flying off, showing a bloody, gasping face.
The second soldier’s punch ca, but Leo caught his arm, twisting it with a gross snap. The man cried out.
Seeing his cry Leo made a cold smirk. "You feel pain? Nice. I was getting bored." He grabbed the soldier, smashing him into the wall, cracking tiles, then hit again, knocking him out.
He turned to Lysa, who flinched, shrinking back on the table, her skinny body shaking. Her eyes shut tight, tears falling as she whispered, "Please... don’t hurt ."
"Hey, little girl," he said, voice warm. Lysa peeked through her tears, surprised, seeing Leo in front of her, a small knife in his hand, his bloody figure less scary up close.
He looked at her, examining her body, pale, starved, with strange features and needle scars, a huge slave collar tight around her neck. The cult’s experints on people twisted his stomach. Kneeling, he cut the leather straps on her wrists and ankles, moving gently. "How’d you get here?" he asked.
Lysa stared at her free hands, shocked. She slid to the table’s edge, voice shaky. "I... don’t know. They took from my town... locked here. It’s been so long." Her legs wobbled as she tried to stand, and Leo steadied her with his his bloody hand.
"Know if others are here?" he asked, helping her balance.
She nodded, voice trembling. "Yes... lots. Humans, elves, dwarves, on the upper floors. They take people every day... for sothing. They never co back." Her voice broke, tears falling. "They took Myr.... She didn’t co back."
Leo’s jaw tightened, a familiar pain hitting him, loss, anger, the urge to destroy those who took what mattered. Lysa’s condition—starved, broken—reminded him of Vivien’s danger. He ca for his sister and Elynn’s mission, but he couldn’t leave this girl. He patted her head, awkward but kind. "Don’t cry, kid. You’re going ho."
Her teary eyes widened, hope sparking. "Really?" she whispered, like she couldn’t believe it.
Leo crouched to her level, nodding. "I’ve got work here, but do you know a girl nad Vivien? She’s about your age."
"Vivien? Vivien Caulem?" Lysa’s voice brightened, recognizing the na.
Leo’s heart jumped, relief flooding him. "You know her?"
She nodded, pointing at the groaning soldier on the floor, his mask cracked. "She was with the last three days. That one... he kicked her hard when they tried to take ."
Leo’s eyes snapped to the soldier, his red eyes turning dark and deadly. He’d planned to keep them alive for answers, but now? They’d gone too far. His voice dropped, a cold promise. "Oh, you’re gonna regret that."
After a few minutes, Leo crouched beside a shelf, rummaging through scattered vials and tools. Lysa watched from the room corner, confusion etched on her gaunt face.
Elynn’s blue holographic scan appears in Leo’s vision as he pulled out a dusty bottle.
[Alcohol Content: 60%]
Satisfied, he set it on the table and turned to the two unconscious cult soldiers sprawled on the floor.
"Hey, kid, what’s your na?" he asked, his tone casual despite his bloodied, battered state.
"Lysa... Lysa Threx," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
Leo’s brow quirked. "Foreign noble, huh? Which one of these bastards kicked my sister?"
Lysa pointed to the soldier Leo had uppercut, his mask shattered on the floor. Leo’s expression darkened. He grabbed the man’s collar, dragging him to sit against the wall. His fingers sparked with lightning mana, and he pressed them to the soldier’s neck, sending a jolt through him.
The man gasped, eyes snapping open, choking as Leo’s hand clamped around his throat, pinning him to the wall.
"You kicked my sister?" Leo’s voice was a whisper, low, each word dripping with nace. The soldier’s eyes bulged, silent, fear making him mute. Leo glanced at Lysa, his expression softening into a warm smile. "Hey, little girl, can you turn around and close your eyes and ears for ?"
Lysa blinked, confused. "Please?" Leo urged, his tone gentle but firm. She flinched, then nodded, turning away, her small hands covering her ears, eyes squeezed shut.
Leo’s gaze snapped back to the soldier, his smile vanishing. "You dared touch soone who belongs to ?" The Blood Dragger materialized in his hand, and with a single, fluid swing, he severed the soldier’s leg, blood gushing like a fountain.
The man’s scream was deafening, raw and guttural, piercing even Lysa’s covered ears. Leo didn’t pause, slicing off the other leg, the soldier’s cries escalating into a wail of agony. As the noise grated, Leo drove the Blood Dagger through the man’s open mouth, pinning his head to the wall. Reducing the noise pollution.
Leo’s attention shifted to the second soldier, who twitched faintly on the floor. A smirk curled Leo’s lips. "Hey, buddy, I know you’re awake." He walked over, taking the man’s collar and lifting him up.
The soldier trembled, his voice a panicked stamr. "P-please, let go! I’ll tell you anything!"
"Where is everyone?" Leo demanded, his crimson eyes piercing into him.
"E-everyone on the experintal floor evacuated," the soldier blurted, his gaze darting to the mutilated corpse. "Only guards are left. Soone... soone infiltrated the prison. They killed Warden."
Leo’s smirk widened, a spark of triumph in his eyes, he throws the guy to the floor. His plan had worked—Erin, the bait, was walked her way through, searching for him. "Where’s your leader? That bastard Treachery or whatever he calls himself?"
The soldier shook his head, crawling backward. "He evacuated too. Please, I told you everything! Spare !"
Leo’s smile turned cold, predatory. "You did good. But I’m no hero who forgives." He grabbed the alcohol bottle, pouring it over the soldier. The man’s pleas turned to screams as Leo flicked a spark of lightning mana, setting the liquid on fire. The soldier erupted in flas, stumbling from the room, his shrieks echoing through the corridor as he ran, a living torch.
Leo scooped Lysa into his arms, her frail form clinging to his neck, too weak to walk. She clung to him, but her eyes lingered on the smoke drifting from the hallway. She didn’t know if she was being saved by a hero or taken by a monster—but for now, she chose to believe in him, as a shining star.
He stepped into the corridor, following the burning soldier’s path toward the fourth floor.
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