Chapter 54: Killing
[You have entered the split spirit realm - Tehmezhya Volcano.]
After appearing in a new land, Leon and his party had no time to study their new environment.
People from various guilds kept entering the crack, so they had to move.
Looking around, Leon spotted camps of the Silver Guild, whose job was naturally to protect the only exit of the split spirit realm. They had laid their tents close to each other, forming a wall. Every piece of land belonged to them, and it was only after their word that others could re-enter it.
Until now, they were professional and strict with their rules. But having no other exit and control over it naturally rubbed many people wrong, including Leon.
It felt wrong, but everyone understood it was the royal guild's right to own it.
"We shall proceed with our plan now." After leaving the only safe zone, Leon and his party disappeared into a pale green forest of weirdly bent trees. "Do your best, Celes."
Ever since forming his plans, Leon knew that Celes would have the most tasks. She was too useful in the new environments without prior knowledge. Thus, he'd decided to leverage this and his natural desire to feed her blood before coming here so that the vampiress would work her fingers to the bone.
And with those words, Celes naturally carried out her master's plan. "I'll leave my body to you, Master."
Leon nodded, not making any joke or remark about her words, for they were in a dangerous zone. With her eyes closed, Celes became motionless and stood straight like a statue. At least one hundred black bats came out from her body, flapping their wings rapidly.
They flew out in all directions.
Celes split her consciousness, and each bat had at least a drop of it.
"She's really good." Leon didn't hide his amazement, for he'd heavily strained his mind while having skeletons and empty fire spirits under his control. And Celes could do that with hundred of her creations.
On higher levels, she'd be enabled even more.
Leon wished she'd share some tips with him soon.
Louise nodded, agreeing with her master. "I'm sure she'll find a good spot in no time, Master!"
"Yeah." Leon nodded.
A few minutes later, the first problem arrived.
Leon and Louise noticed a group of ten humans coming their way. Their movements made it clear that the other party was aware of them, creeping their way through the bushes and oddly shaped trees.
Because Celes wasn't here, Leon didn't know what weapons those guys wielded. He'd be able to properly adapt to their formation if he knew that information beforehand.
However, it was pointless to think like that.
"Don't hold back with them."
"Will you kill them, Master?"
"I will."
Louise's question wasn't without any basis. She knew that her master's world had been mostly pacifist and only fools waged insignificant wars that hurt mainly civilians. He himself hailed from a peaceful continent.
Until now, Leon fought monsters and undead, not people like him and his partners.
"It's the law of the jungle, not a game. I'm aware of it, Louise." Leon didn't add that he knew the reason those guys were even thinking of attacking them.
It wasn't like Leon had stuff with himself, so other than his partners, what else could these guys want? They didn't have any information about Leon's chains and class… And those with a brain should've already guessed that Leon or at least someone from his party was blessed with the inventory feature.
Nonetheless, those creeping toward them surely were blind and thought with their lower parts.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three arrows hurtled at Leon, Louise, and Celes. While it was easy to dodge them, Leon had to nimbly catch the last to protect Celes from any harm. Once Louise and Leon dealt with the first hurdle, the four men revealed themselves.
They were kitted out in typical guild equipment, covering their muscles with leather stuff.
The man with an ax sneered. "You can leave these two to us."
"You still have time to open your eyes and turn around. Before you do that, leave your weapons and coins." Leon replied without any pause — his instant words confused the attackers.
One of them jeered, pointing his wobbling finger at him. Ye have your eyes closed, fuck! Ye think ye can protect that black-haired girl while fighting all of us? Ye fuck doomed to lose her if ye try your luck!"
"I am to understand you aren't interested in my offer?" Leon asked nicely, then without waiting for their next words, he activated his skills.
His right arm burst with flames, eating away his long sleeve. His crimson chains howled and moved on their own, momentarily blinding everyone around him.
Leon used that moment to use his class' special feature.
And then, his weapon went up, circling before him. The chains appeared like a flaming circle one would see in a circus, but their purpose wasn't for entertainment.
Leon shoved his palm inside. "Flamethrower."
A thick and crimson wave of flames shot up from the circling chains, going straight at the man with an ax. He disappeared within a wall of fire, only to reappear without clothes and a crispy body.
He was so burnt that he no longer looked like a human.
With their sweaty faces and trembling eyes, his teammates wheeled to him like robots. Their leader was still alive, his brittle lips trying to say something. But everything else was utterly gone, including his eyes.
Soon, the burning effect took the man's life, toppling him backward like the piece of shit he was.
[You have killed an unknown human Lv. 50.]
BOOM!
Not too far away from Leon, the explosion rang out. It was surely Louise clashing with someone else. She made a lot of ruckuses since Leon told her to not hold back. To catch others, this girl surely lit up some trees and kicked them to bar their prey from escaping.
Leon chuckled, his eyes locked on the remaining three.
His chains were still in that 'whip' mode, circling before him.
"It's so disappointing that my first kill is actually a bad-mouthed fool and his stupid buddies…." Leon lifted his hand, hovering it before the roaring chains. "I can't even feel bad about killing you."
And he pushed his hand into the circle, bringing out a devastating flamethrower for the second time!
During their last moments, the buddies thought about their life. They were rogues under the disguise of guild members, plundering merchants worse than bandits and leveraging their guild's status and contribution points like some gangsters with untouchable protection.
But before the last breath escaped their lips, the idiots wondered where the black-haired woman had disappeared.
Leon naturally turned Celes into a card form.
After all ten men fell to his and Louise's skills, Leon brought her back.
"Insignificant guys assailed us." Leon warmly smiled at the vampiress. "I hope you don't mind my overprotective side."
"I'd mind if I returned with nothing." Celes cast a slightly irritated glance at her master as her consciousness suddenly blacked out, her powers instantaneously returning to her body because of Leon's action.
But that was nothing more than a show, as Celes knew Leon was honest.
"I've found an abandoned fortress, Master. It seems like intelligent spirit monsters abandoned it because it's relatively close to the crack." Celes shared her finding alongside news of wandering wild monsters.
Leon couldn't be happier. "Good. Let's secure that fortress real fast."
The first plan was simple — create a safe zone that Leon, Celes, and Louise could leverage to the maximum.
It wouldn't be just a safe zone for them.
Leon's eyes gleamed as he strode toward that abandoned fortress, not feeling any blood and side-effects of using his mana points, for he had tons of them. "We'll farm contributions points by saving guild members."
He will focus on the Heaven Library Guild's members and their allies.
But before getting that fortress and littering it with his traps, Leon had to get reliable tools to ensure his party's success…
Taking out cards with humans' portraits, Leon faintly smiled. "Humans… are also monsters."
In their case, he'd use them until they died again. For those people, Leon wanted to be merciless. In fact, it was so easy because he felt nothing while killing them, and their intent was simple — to snatch Louise and Celes away from him.
His heart burned while just thinking about it. "Later, we'll lure the dwarf and his buddies to our fortress."
"Will he follow?" Louise asked.
"He will. I have a bait that will turn him blind." Leon chuckled.
His girls smiled, too, for they knew what kind of bait Leon would use.
And with that, Leon followed his plan.
It was just the beginning, though. After all, intelligent races dwelled in the spirit realm.
Looking ahead at the volcano stretching toward the sky, Leon also wondered what plans the dwarf, black asura, and Winterborn had.
It wouldn't be bad to take over their fruits of hard labor… Of course, Winterborn had that ambitious man on their side, so Leon would even help them if possible.
"Because of them, I know that we're about to face… Oh," Leon smiled at the giant centipede emerging from the ground with its tunnel-like jaw aiming at them. "I'm so glad I have bought anti-bug spray."
Leon fished out a spray and used it on the centipede's mouth, forcefully stitching it together. "Now, we must take his HP down… I wish those sprays were of better quality. I bought them from the system shop… I can't ask for too much, right? Be aware of the centipede's movements. He should be pretty angry at us."
"You don't have to tell me that, Master!" Louise hopped a few steps behind, for the centipede thrashed in the indignation of his mouth getting sealed.
Celes was already behind as though she could predict the centipede's movements.
The vampiress took a mouthful of liquor, then said, "Just keep an eye on his claws, Louise. I'll look around for more monsters to fight."
"I hate people that can read others!" Louise let out her feelings before kicking the centipede's side!
Her kick formed an explosion of flames that momentarily stupefied the monster.
[Louise Lv. 31]
[Leon Blade Lv. 25]
[Celes Diamante. Lv. 50]
Out of all party members, Louise was in the middle, yet her powers heavily excelled that of a level thirty! She did so tons of damage and even peeled off the centipede's defenses!
Leon also fought with flames. His stats… froze the monster.
"He's lost consciousness!" Louise wrongly assessed her enemy, dropping her defenses in exchange for more offensive power.
But that was fine, for Leon's absurd stats took the monster's entire attention.
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