As Cain’s pressure enveloped the group, everyone froze. It crashed into them hard, driving fear straight into their hearts and leaving them waiting for the beast to finally lunge.

Apart from Leo.

Leo’s aura skill flared out like a tidal wave, tearing the pressure off his group and letting them breathe again. He pushed it until it filled the entire keep, then turned to glare at Cain, calm and utterly focused.

Cain was the opposite. For the first time since they’d met him, there was a real emotion in his face. Up until now there had only been disinterest, like none of them had mattered enough to notice.

Cecelia found her voice first, holding back a tremble in it. “You intend to hold us here?” she asked, her voice steadier than Leo expected, though not by much.

Cain finally broke eye contact with Leo, looking at Cecelia.

“What the fuck is that thing?” he asked, pointing.

Right at Leo.

“Cece, don’t answer him. We need to go. Now,” Leo said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“If you try to follow us, I’ll kill every last one of you.” Leo’s voice reverberated through the keep, his aura carrying the threat to every ear.

The strain was already biting back, so he eased the pressure slightly, leaving just enough to protect his group.

Cain’s expression twisted. His teeth bared, sharp and predatory, and for a moment, Leo was reminded less of a man and more of the beasts in the dungeon. This was a hunter staring down prey that had made the mistake of standing its ground.

Something he needed to correct if he wanted to stay in control of this fight.

Cain strode forward, uncaring of how his men reacted to Leo’s aura. Leo felt that pressure push against his own again, trying to force its way through, but it wasn’t enough.

It only served to agitate him more.

“You need to go,” Leo said as Cain kept coming.

“We all need to go, you mean!” Ashley snapped.

“She’s right. We can fight them,” Cecelia said, sounding determined but not confident.

“We can’t win this, and we can’t run fast enough for us all to escape. You need to go. Now.” Leo was speaking quickly. He knew what needed to be done. “I can escape after holding them off.”

“No way! We aren’t just leaving you,” Ashley said, attempting to step up with Leo.

The other men began moving once they saw their boss take charge. Cain had drawn two hatchets from his storage ring. Deadly looking axes, with blades that looked to be made of bone with intricate black handles.

“Get out of here!”

“No! I’m not leaving you! I–” Ashley was interrupted. Not by a look from Leo, or a stern talking to from Cecelia.

But from a strike from Ron across the back of her head, knocking her unconscious before she could even react.

He picked her up in his arms and began leaving. Bjorn and Cecelia stood in shock before they also retreated.

Not one of them turned back to look at Leo. They had faith. Faith that he would come back to them okay. Like he always did.

“Okay Ells. We got a real difficult one on our hands. Just need to stop anyone from going after them. Or at least anyone strong.”

He could feel Ellie’s apprehension over the difficult scenario in front of them but also felt the faith she had in her companion.

Cain did not attack at once. He stood facing the man before him. Leo finally identified him.

Human - Level 42

Higher than he was. But not enough to make this insurmountable.

Not even close.

“We both know how this ends,” Leo said. “I won’t let you go after them.”

“Go after them,” Cain commanded.

Leo spotted a man trying to leap onto the building next to him, and began scaling it quickly.

A Frost Lance appeared above Leo’s shoulder, and in a sharp move that took less than a second, grasped it in his hand and threw it.

The man didn’t notice until it was embedded in the side of his chest. He dropped from the side of the building with a cry of pain, hitting the ground as Cain’s men stopped.

The first shot had been fired.

Cain didn’t even look towards the man that was screaming. Eyes locked on Leo.

“Stop standing around you clowns, heal him!” A man shouted, sounding confident. He was garbed in mage robes, possibly Cain’s second in command.

Someone in a black robe ran towards the man as he tried to pull the lance from his side.

“I told you.” Leo’s voice was ice cold.

“You don’t get to go after them.”

*Snap*

An explosion of frost detonated within the man’s chest. The man cried out, the ice splintered his insides.

A notification followed.

You have slain: Human, Hunter of Man - Level 34, Beginner cook - Level 16

Experience Gained

+1466 Store Credits

He knew this wouldn’t stop them all, but if it made one at least hesitate then it was worth it. This kill would make them think he had an Ice Essence. Which was technically the truth, but not even half of it.

Cain growled. “Worthless. Your head is mine.”

Lightning.

Leo’s body started to spark as his elemental stance took hold. A cloak, flowing from his shoulders like a visible breeze, started forming.

“Come take it then.”

Leo didn’t even have to say anything as Ellie appeared suddenly, giving her best roar. She knew what Leo was thinking thanks to the new skill—at least when it came to fighting and simple intent.

She covered his flank and started charging up a breath, holding it for when the time was right.

Cain didn’t stop, closing the distance to Leo in a speed that matched his own. Both axes came down like the top jaw of a beast in an attempt to sink their teeth in.

Leo caught the handles in his hands, the force of the blow caused him to grimace as his knees threatened to buckle. Even with Fuel the Fire going, that attack was something else.

They stared each other down, barely a foot apart. Leo, with a grunt of effort, pushed the axes back and flipped into a backspring, with his foot missing Cain’s chin by centimetres.

Cain pounced once again, axes coming out in a flurry of strikes.

Leo parried and deflected them with strikes of his own. The gloves Lena had given him made the act possible.

Each strike was giving him an increase to his Iron Repetition, slowly making the act easier as the axes were deflected with greater power. It was like fending off a wild beast, no pattern to his attacks whatsoever. Just relentless aggression.

Cain felt the increase and backed off with a quick step. Leo gave chase, arm coated in the lightning of Volt Crash. Spark Dash had him in range for a strike to his torso before Cain could blink.

Leo felt a flash of danger from his Nerveflash, telling him to dodge. Now.

Cain’s body vanished like he’d never been. Leo used his last Spark Dash to warp out of the way.

A crash sounded out as Cain’s axes split apart the ground where Leo was a moment ago, glowing red with power.

Some kind of teleport?

Leo was about to attack him again, but his Nerveflash triggered once again as spells and arrows started raining down on him. He kicked his Agility into full gear and began darting around.

There weren’t the full fifteen, or thirteen rather after he and Cain had killed one. Some had left to find his friends. A feeling that made his jaw tighten with rage. But he had his hands too full with this many fairly high level fighters.

Cain was chasing him down, which thankfully made his people less aggressive as they feared hitting him by mistake. No one with melee weapons were approaching. But some of them were going for Ellie.

Leo felt the heat of her flame engulf the street. It helped alleviate the pressure from at least one side of him. He knew that she probably couldn’t take on the four people in front of her, but she was holding them back well enough for now.

He just had to find a way to get Cain out of the picture. Or at least take out as many of his people as he could to make it a fairer fight. He’d not bought enough time yet for his friends, even going at full speed they weren’t all that fast compared to Agility focused classes. Ron was quickest, but he wouldn’t leave the others behind.

I didn’t want to do this. But I don’t really have a choice.

Leo focused on his Call of the Storm.

He hadn’t used the skill since the first night he’d returned from the bank. For some reason, each time he’d used the skill, it had taken a greater toll on his body and control over his bloodline. Like each time he loosened the valve it became harder to close.

What happened when he couldn’t close it anymore?

It was a fear that sat deep in his soul, that loss of control, but right now there wasn’t time to consider what happened. He needed something to turn the tide before he was overwhelmed.

Leo ducked a strike from Cain, sliding underneath it as his hatchets dug deep into the wall of the keep. Still sliding, he slammed his hand onto the ground, raising a series of walls that blocked the line of sight of the spellcasters and hindered Cain’s endless assault—if only for a moment.

He used the time to dash towards Ellie, who was growling at the men before her. They were all skeptical upon seeing the dragon. As they didn’t want to be cooked alive after seeing her coat the street in flame.

She didn’t even glance behind her as she felt Leo take her into his soul-space. He took a breath, focusing. His rapidly beating heart began slowing. Doing whatever he could to keep maximum control over his Call of the Storm.

Coils of lightning started flowing down his arms, his cloak was being hit by turbulent winds as it fluttered around him. The men watching that weren’t behind the walls he’d created started to back away, breaking line of sight as power built.

The walls were shattered as Cain’s furious visage broke through with the combined help of his men. He was about to charge when he felt it.

The pressure Leo gave off was something to behold. The valve had been loosened once again, this time at an even higher level. More power to control.

More power to unleash.

Like a booming cannon, rings of wind started crashing down on the squad gathered at the wall. The wind was coated in lightning, rippling across it like it had its own sparking veins.

It detonated.

Leo’s ears rang as the attack tore apart the paving and started to do the same to the people. Some tried to leave, others activated defensive skills.

He thought it was over when he saw how many he’d caught, but a dome of magic enveloped them, like an arcane barrier it protected them as the rings of storm echoed out. It wasn’t quick enough to completely save everyone from harm, but it negated the majority of the damage.

Cain didn’t even flinch as he stood inside the dome. Being at the front caused him to take the harshest hit. His skin was torn and burned across his exposed torso, but began rapidly healing as a man in the barrier started channeling a spell.

Fuck. They have healers. Of course they have healers.

Cain looked pissed. His body began glowing, despite the barrier of purple mana that had discoloured them.

His skin, once exposed, was now being coated in a thick fur as it spread across him. His eyes grew sharp and yellow, his limbs grew thicker and more muscular. It was like a humanoid roid raged panther had just revealed its true nature.

Leo felt the pressure, even while his storm was cracking against the barrier in waves of assault. Each second it was buying him was another for his friends. And another for him to recover.

That attack had been devastating on his control over his bloodline. Even now it was like trying to stop the spray of water on a sink that had been broken off the wall.

Storm’s Guidance was helping him tame it, but it was limited. Even with the skill of a god, it could only help so much.

He got it under wraps just in time for his storm to end, and the barrier to crack and crumble, the mage’s nose bleeding from the strain of holding it and the no doubt monumental mana cost needed to sustain it. At least he was out of the fight.

Leo didn’t switch from his Lightning stance, needing the speed and reaction time increase against this quick opponent. But he did break out his other ace in the hole.

Draconic gauntlets began coating his hands, dazzling onlookers with their lustrous glow as Ellie became his weapon. She was excited. This skill was one of her favourite things in this world, but right now that excitement was overtaken by the seriousness of the situation.

Round two began, with the beast-like Cain and draconic Leo clashing like superheroes. His Scarlet Impact crashed into the blade of the hatchet. For a brief millisecond it was like the attacks negated each other.

But the panther could not withstand the might of a dragon.

Fire boomed, heat rose, scorching the fur of the hatcheted attacker. Leo took the moment Cain turned his head to shield his face to spin his fist into a corkscrew, Spiral Break coming out in a low strike.

Cain’s body vanished once again. I’ve seen this move already.

Leo’s leg struck out in a high arc directly above his head as he basically did the splits while standing. His Echoing Talon cracked into the downward strike and he attempted to force it off its mark and follow up with another kick.

Unfortunately, the kick wasn’t strong enough to stop the vanishing strike.

His Nerveflash triggered as Cain’s body twisted around Leo’s kick, a hatchet aimed directly at his skull with no way to block it.

Leo’s body shifted in a speed that eclipsed Cain for a brief moment, warping him out of the way.

He stumbled as his body righted itself, a wave of dizziness overtaking him before a cry from Ellie inside his mind and another spark of danger intensified.

Two hatchets came at him like the jaws of a beast, one from below, another from above. Leo’s hand flew up to stop one, but the other he missed.

It drove itself deep into his stomach, carving out a chunk as it cracked through his Stoneskin with little resistance. Cain moved to strike again, following up to finish him off, but Leo burst out with all the aura he could muster to delay him.

Cain froze under the point blank assault on his soul, which was enough for Leo to crack him in the body with a Volt Crash, sending him flying into a wall as sparks ripped through.

Leo collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily. The strike had taken over half his life in just one hit.

He glanced around for an escape as this fight had turned too ugly to sustain it.

Everything was cut off.

More men had shown up, lining across the rooftops. At least ten of them directly in front of him. Others were approaching from his side.

A thought crossed his mind. A dangerous thought that would likely still end in his death, but not guaranteed.

He knew what lay on this side of the keep. Which meant he knew what lay on the other.

The dungeon entrance.