Chapter 22: Butler Chapter 22: Butler "And what’s that knife out for? Do you really think a newly awakened Beast Master can challenge me?" Arnold spat as he drew out his sword. "Why don’t you try testing me?" Leo narrowed his eyes. He could instinctively feel that Shyra was done preparing and distributed all four unallocated stats in agility for perfect response. Agility: 6.8 -> 10.8 His agility was now officially in the ranks of 2-star. That is, he was faster than any agility-type peak 1-star Beast. Giving him an advantage that was yet to be known to the oblivious enemy. Swoss–! 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 The wolf sniffed the air and snapped its head, spotting a small, shadowy blur streaking toward its master at impossible speed. Awooo! It howled and lunged to intercept. Shyra flashed in to slash at Arnold’s neck, but the wolf came from the side and blocked her path. She vanished back into the shadows, violet eyes glittering. Arnold, momentarily distracted by the sudden appearance of Shyra, removed his eyes from Leo, and that was what he needed. Giving an opening to a trained soldier is never good; with Leo’s enhanced reflexes, he closed the distance between him and Arnold within a second. With his Dagger’s blade shining from the candlelight, he made a powerful stab right on Arnold’s face. Arnold saw the knife’s sharp edge closing in on him at incredible speed, even seeing the reflection of his eyes on the polished surface of the blade. Never in his life had he thought that a newly awakened Beast Master could be this fast. He put all his effort and jolted his head in a sharp twist towards the back, but the dagger trajectory made it impossible to dodge, as it dug into the cheeks and then scraped upward, slashing him across his face as his right eye popped. But Leo didn’t stop there, He followed the momentum and made an elbow strike right at his chin. Thuk! The strike sent Arnold’s few teeth flying, and he even cut his own tongue brutally, filling his mouth with blood. "Leo!!" Lily screamed with a panicked voice. He was on his way to give a liver punch to finally knock him out, but the wolf was closing in with bloodshot eyes, its sharp fangs ready to tear him. Leo spotted the sword in Arnold’s hand that was on the verge of falling from his blacked-out state. He snatched the sword and backed away towards Lily as Arnold staggered a few steps before trying to regain his senses. "Are you fine!?" Lily choked, panic shredding her voice. He handed over the sword to Lily. "Here, take this and defend yourself if someone comes near, okay?" saying that hurriedly, he took his stance and activated his Stealth skill. He couldn’t afford to give a single moment of rest to them! "Huh? Yeah—fine!" Lily nodded shakily, clutching the sword as Leo’s figure disappeared the same way as Shyra’s, mending with the shadows. "Arghh..." "BASTARD!!! I will kill you!" Even though he said that, with his one eye gone and jaw cracked, Arnold was having difficulty sensing his surroundings as his head in a complete mess after the upper cut. Wasn’t his soul a common rank? How is he able to exert so much power!! "You! What is your soul rank?" Arnold asked into the empty air as he saw only Lily standing, holding his sword. "Huh? wher—!" He turned his head sharply towards the side, spotting only the same shadowy small figure that vanished again. "Shit!!" Arnold ducked sharply, dodging a lethal strike that Leo had aimed at his neck. With his long experience, he wouldn’t fall for the same trick. "You like to play games, huh? Wind Hound! Use your skill." The wolf stopped looking for Shyra as magical construct, like that of a crescent-shaped moon, started to form around him. One, two, three, four, a total of 4 constructs. But it wasn’t aimed at Leo or Shyra. This wolf was as despicable as his master! "Lily! Use the table to defend yourself!" Leo shouted. Shyra appeared again and gave a tackle to the wolf’s face, making his balance go awry. [Stealth] - 100% Low -> [Stealth] - 2% Intermediate. -Able to erase complete presence in dark areas, and partially in well-lit areas. Still detectable by smell and other abilities. By this time, Lily had hidden behind the tables as the wind slashes were released by the wolf. But was again disturbed by Shyra’s paw strike to its eyes as his shots went in a different direction. The attacks struck the walls as they started to crumble, forming cracks until they reached the roof and kept spreading out. "No!" Leo shouted as he flashed towards Lily. Even Arnold could say it was bad as he started to retreat. "Go out of the building, Wind Hound!" Lily watched the house crumbling as memories of their good times flashed before her. But Leo’s voice brought her out. "Lily! I am carrying you out. Shyra hop on my shoulder." He said before picking Lily in princess carry, and Shyra climbed over Leo’s shoulder. "Leo! Take the metal box that is under my Bed too. It’s important!" "Alright!" Leo affirmed as he went to the room, and Lily retrieved the box. With all done— He dashed at his top speed. He took the back door, as Arnold might have been waiting for an ambush. He sprinted until they were at a safe distance, watching the house slowly collapse on itself. Lily watched it silently, her grip on the box tightening as she tried to control her emotions. "Shyra, protect Lily. I have some unfinished work to do." A sharp glint passed over Leo’s eyes as he looked towards a certain direction. "No Leo! Don’t go... he won’t come back after what you did to him." Lily pleaded with him to stay, as there was still danger to fight them alone, telling Shyra to stay. Leo consoled her that he would be fine and then disappeared, not even waiting for her to reply. Shyra came closer and just rubbed her face over Lily’s shin, trying to calm her down. Lily looked down at the cute creature, which was trying its best to soothe her, then her eyes went to the sword that Leo had snatched from Arnold. Its polished and sturdy blade unmistakably marking it as a green quality weapon. She held the handle with a strong grip, a cold breeze passing her as she looked towards the direction Leo headed.