Draven's chuckle turned into a mocking laugh, his hand pressed to his forehead as he shook his head at this red haired stubborn defiance. "You're unbelievable," he sneered with cruel amusent. Leo's usual cocky smirk was replaced by a fierce, burning rage and his red eyes glaring up at Draven.
"Tied up, beaten, and still acting like you've got the upper hand?"Draven taunted.
Leo's jaw tightened. "Like I told you, you'll be on your knees, begging not to end you, exactly in nineteen minutes."
Draven's grin grew and his eyes narrowed with fake disbelief. "Bold words for a man who's lost everything," he scorned. He gestured to the rcenaries standing nearby as his smile turned cruel.
"You think we still haven't got your burning star? Oh, we've got sothing special for you."
A rcenary walked into the forest. Leo's eyes followed the man. Monts later, the rcenary ca back, dragging a dead body with silver hair, her body covered in blood. He threw her to the ground beside Leo with a heavy thud.
Leo's breath stopped seeing the girl. "Erin?" His eyes widened as he saw the deep wound across her chest, her lifeless violet eyes staring at the sky.
Draven's voice turned cold and victorious. "This little nuisance?" he said, nodding toward Erin's body. "She thought she could interfere. I dealt with her personally."
Leo's teeth clenched as his bound hands shook with rage. His eyes flicked from Erin's dead body to Draven's smug face, but he stayed silent, his quiet more dangerous than any words. Draven's smirk grew, and he shoved Leo aside, knocking him into the ground next to Erin's body.
"Look at you," Draven spat, standing tall. "Pathetic."
He turned to the huge rcenary leader, the sa one Leo had trashed before, now glaring with a bruised ego and a scowl. "This one's slippery," Draven warned, pointing at Leo.
"He'll try sothing clever to break free. Keep your eyes on him, and don't you dare kill him. His suffering belongs to ."
The rcenary grunted. "Got it, sir."
Draven gave Leo one last look. "Let's move," he ordered his cult soldiers as they followed him into the forest.
Leo watched him go, his fists clenching behind his back, blood dripping from his swollen face. He didn't take his eyes off Draven—not even when he vanished into the woods.
Slowly, he looked at Erin's lifeless body beside him.
Elynn, how many are around right now?
[Scanning... 20 rcenaries and 10 cult soldiers in the imdiate area.] Elynn's bright, cheery voice replied.
[Also, I traced Draven's path. There's an old tomb under this clearing—twenty more cult soldiers down there, maybe.]
Leo's lips curled into a sly grin. "Well, damn," he muttered quietly, almost to himself. "We've got the whole party right where we want them."
The huge rcenary leader saw Leo's grin and sneered, his face twisting with disgust. "What's so funny, punk?" he growled, yanking Leo's red hair to pull him back onto his knees. "Gone crazy now that your girl's dead?"
Leo shrugged, with his calm voice. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just enjoying the view."
The rcenary's eyes narrowed, glancing at Lucian's unconscious body a few feet away. "Heard you're really fond of that brother of yours," he said as his sneer turned into a cruel smirk.
"Draven said we can't kill you, but…" His voice grew dark and threatening. "Nobody said anything about keeping my hands off you for what you did to my brother."
Leo chuckled, not bothered by his threat and his crimson eyes shining with defiance. "Your brother, huh? Gotta be honest, big guy, I've killed so many losers, they all blur together. Was he the one with the bad haircut or the worse attitude?"
The rcenary's face twisted, but instead of getting mad, a cold, an smile spread across his lips. "Let's see how cocky you are when I cut your little brother's throat right in front of you."
"Poor guy is barely alive with a low pulse. He'll die any mont."
He expected Leo to panic or beg, but Leo's gaze stayed calm, almost amused. "Hey, big man," he said teasingly, "wanna hear a fun fact?"
The rcenary is confused by Leo's cool attitude. "What're you yapping about?"
Leo's smile grew slowly and his voice dropped to a sly whisper. "Why the hell would you believe my little brother, who mastered the blood techniques, even manipulating his pulse, was dying?"
The rcenary's confusion grew, his eyes flicking to Lucian's still form. "What the hell are you—"
"Oi," Leo turned his head toward Lucian's unconscious form. "You done napping?"
Lucian groaned, then let out a dry chuckle, rolling onto his side despite the ropes tying his wrists. "Sorry brother," he said with mockery. "You were putting on such a good show, I didn't wanna steal your spotlight."
The rcenaries froze, their eyes wide as fear spread through the clearing. One stamred, "Boss, look up!"
The huge rcenary leader looked up and went stiff. Above the clearing, floating silently in the misty air, thousands of blood-red needles hovered like a swarm of death. Long, sharp, and pulsing with magic.
Lucian's grin turned cold, his gray eyes flashing with deadly intent. "My turn to steal the spotlight now," he said.
With a flick of his eyes, the blood spears ca down in a blur, tearing through the forest like a storm of blades. Screams erupted while rcenaries dove for cover. So were skewered instantly while others fell as the crimson hail tore through armor and flesh alike.
Leo didn't move, he just watched calmly as the carefully laid trap activated.
One of the cult soldiers tried to run. A spear impaled him mid-step, pinning him to a tree like a butterfly on a board.
The leader's face twisted in fury. "You bast—!"
He tried to attack Leo—but a spear sliced down, missing Leo by an inch and driving straight through the big man's thigh. He howled, collapsing to one knee.
Lucian tried to undo the rope from his wrist but he couldn't cut it even with the blood spear.
Leo saw a lone rcenary had broken through the chaos and was charging at Lucian.
"Lucian!" Leo barked. "Cut it. Cut my damn arm—now!"
"What?" Lucian looked horrified. "You'll lose your arm!"
"Just do it!" Leo snarled. "You won't be the one who kills today."
Lucian gritted his teeth, hesitated for a second, but one blood spear shifted its trajectory and sliced down in a perfect arc.
Schlunk!
Leo's left arm fell to the ground with a wet thud. Blood gushed but Leo didn't scream. He just bit down, eyes burning with pain, sweat beading on his brow.
[Ergency Healing Protocol Activated. (2/3)]
A faint glow spread across his body. His veins lit up and flesh began to regrow in seconds, his bones snapping back into place, skin weaving together. His new arm regenerated like a phoenix wing unfurling.
Lucian stared in shock. "You… what the hell…?"
Leo lifted his regranted hand and fingers forming the shape of a gun.
He aid directly at the charging rcenary who had almost reached Lucian.
"Bang," Leo muttered coldly.
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