173 The Strength (3)
“Good job, Leo!”
Leo’s mind churned with a strange and unsettling mix of emotions, causing his heart to race and his muscles to tense. He felt a sudden surge of aggression and an eerie desire to fight, as if his very being had been hijacked by an unknown force. As he heard somebody call out his name, a disturbing image flashed through his mind: he saw himself using his razor-sharp bone blades, slicing the person in half with a sickeningly effortless motion.
Leo’s head snapped to the side, his eyes scanning the faces of the players in the crowd, trying to identify the owner of the voice. His breathing became shallow and ragged, and his heart pounded in his chest as if trying to break free.
As Leo’s gaze swept over the faces in the crowd, the players themselves began to notice a change in his appearance. His shadow seemed to stretch out unnaturally, flickering and twisting like a living thing. His previously calm purple eyes began to shift, turning into narrow slits like those of a predatory animal, giving him an eerie and otherworldly appearance.
Leo’s own senses seemed to be numb to the strange changes occurring within him. He felt nothing different within his body, but he was growing increasingly agitated by the unwanted attention and the judgmental gazes that seemed to bore into him from all directions. The pressure was building up inside him, fueling an uncontainable annoyance that threatened to erupt at any moment.
Suddenly, Leo felt a sharp twinge in his elbow, and he glanced down in confusion. To his surprise, he saw that one of his bone blades had slid out of his arm, its white tip glinting menacingly in the night sky. He tried to push it back into place, but it refused to budge.
‘Annoy????????????????i??????????????n???????????g???????...’
The players in the crowd, who had been murmuring and whispering in fear, fell silent as they caught sight of the bone blade. Their eyes widened with terror and disbelief, and some of them began to back away slowly, as if afraid that Leo would lash out at any moment.
The players in the crowd knew that, technically, they couldn’t harm each other, but the sight of Leo’s bone blade made them question whether that was still true. Leo was notorious for pushing the limits of the game’s logic, and breaking them.
.....
Despite knowing that they were all safe, the players couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease and apprehension. They had never seen Leo like this before, and they knew that he was capable of doing the impossible, within the confines of the game.
As Leo, once again, tried to push the bone blade back into place, the players backed away even further, their eyes fixed on him with a mixture of fear and fascination. They were both horrified and intrigued by the strange and unsettling changes that were occurring within him.
The players in the crowd averted their eyes, not daring to meet the gaze of Leo’s slit irises. They could feel the weight of his stare upon them, and they knew that drawing his attention would be a grave mistake.
As they lowered their eyes, the players began to shift nervously, trying to distance themselves further from the situation. They knew that Leo was not to be trifled with, and they were afraid that they would become the target of his anger if they were too close.
Some of the players even began to glance around at each other, searching for the one who had called out Leo’s name. They were all too aware that one foolish mistake could have dire consequences, and they didn’t want to be the one to make it.
“G????????????????????r??????r????????????????r?r????????.????????????.????????????.?????????????”
The tension in the air was palpable, a thick and heavy blanket that seemed to suffocate everyone in its grasp. The players halted as they heard a strange sound leave Leo’s throat, nobody spoke or moved, each player frozen in place as they waited for the next move.
Leo’s eyes continued to flicker and shift, and the bone blade in his elbow remained stubbornly out of place.
Shriek...
A deafening screech echoed through the sky, causing the players to instinctively lift their heads. As they did, they saw a massive bird with bat-like wings and a wingspan of at least five meters hurtling towards Leo with alarming speed.
The bird’s long, sharp beak glinted in the moonlight, and its gleaming red eyes seemed to bore into Leo with an otherworldly intensity. The players could feel their hearts racing as they watched in horror, knowing that the monster was at least a couple times their strength.
As the bird descended upon Leo, its wings flapping furiously, the players could see the calmness in his eyes. He didn’t even try to evade, his bone blades not moving an inch, leaving him completely vulnerable to the bird’s attack.
For a moment, the players held their breath, watching in horror as the massive bird descended upon Leo with its sharp beak gleaming in the moonlight. But just as it seemed that the bird would strike Leo and end his life, it suddenly veered off to the side, rising high into the night sky.
As the bird disappeared from view, the players were left staring in shock, unsure of what had just happened. They noticed that the bird’s red eyes were full of a strange fear as it glanced back at Leo’s shadow, which seemed to be stretching out further and further beyond him, as if trying to catch the flying monster.
The players were now even more unnerved as they saw Leo’s shadow, which was now visibly moving, although Leo himself remained motionless. They could feel the hairs on the back of their necks rising as they watched in horror, wondering what kind of skill was at work.
The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of the players’ breathing and the faint rustling of leaves in the breeze. They didn’t know what to do, or even what to say, and so they simply stood there, frozen in place, waiting for something else to happen.
Rustle...
The silence was finally broken as Leo took a slow, deliberate step towards the crowd. Even though his purple eyes were now those of a monster, the players could still see some kind of reasoning within them. However, despite the faint glimmer of humanity still visible in Leo’s eyes, all of their instincts were screaming at them to run.
“Leo!”
As Leo took another step forward, his eyes fixed on the terrified players before him, another voice suddenly echoed from somewhere within the crowd. The sound made him hesitate, and he turned his head towards the speaker, his slit pupils narrowing as he tried to identify the source of the voice.
The players held their breath, watching in silence as Leo scanned the crowd, searching for the person who had spoken. They knew that if they made a wrong move, or if they said the wrong thing, he could lash out at them at any moment, his bone blades slicing through the air like a pair of deadly scythes.
Leo’s head whipped around as he noticed someone jump down from the wall and immediately he was in hot pursuit. He didn’t even know why he was chasing the speaker, but he felt an unexplainable need to catch them. Strange voices were echoing in his head, causing him to struggle to see through the grey veil that seemed to cover his eyes.
The players watched in shock as Leo darted after the fleeing figure, his bone blades glinting menacingly in the moonlight. They knew that they had to do something to stop him before he hurt someone, but they were frozen in place, unsure of what to do. They were also kind of happy that they were not the target.
As Leo closed in on the speaker, his mind clouded by the strange voices in his head, he became more and more determined to catch them. He didn’t care who they were, or what they had said, all he knew was that he had to catch them.
The people watched in terror as Leo and the other player disappeared into the vast city, their footsteps echoing in the darkness. The sound of their footsteps grew fainter and fainter until it finally faded away, leaving the players alone in the silence.
“I wonder who was stupid enough to irritate Leo...”
Eli spoke, her gaze fixed on the disappearing figures. She scratched her neck absentmindedly and put her scythe back in her inventory. Since they had a whole hour to rest before the fourth wave, she and Ava were planning to just relax.
“Ava, can you give me an MP potion?”
Eli called out, stretching her hand towards the shadow where Ava was standing, but received no response.
“Hello?”
She called out again, but there was still no sign of Ava, as if she had disappeared into thin air.
“Really!?”
Eli exclaimed in frustration, wondering where Ava could have gone. She had been standing there just moments ago, and Eli had not heard her move. Eli’s unease grew as she looked around, trying to find any trace of Ava.
“The Ice Queen is becoming suspiciously emotional...”
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