Blood sprayed across the cracked pavement as Lara burst open the head of the skiver in her hand. A crazy smile appeared on her face as she dashed into the horde, obliterating all the skivers in her path.
[16 kills left]
[15 kills left] [14 kills left]
Leon watched in awe. He was surprised—since when did she learn to summon claws? The skivers stood no chance, but they weren't what he was worried about.
SCREECH!!!
The sound tore through the battlefield as the Ravagers charged toward Lara at full speed. The first one swiped down, its massive, blade-like arm cutting through the air where she had stood a heartbeat before.
She didn't dodge so much as evaporate, reappearing in a low crouch beneath its guard. She balled her hand into a fist and struck the monster in its side.
Bone cracked, but the Ravager was unfazed. It swiped at her again, furious, but she caught its arm.
"So you're tough, huh? Don't worry, I've got something just for you." It was already bringing down its other hand, prepared to bash her skull in. But she didn't block; she just brought her fist back. The air around her hand simmered, and sparks began to fly.
The Ravager's hand was a few inches from her face, but her fist moved faster. It wasn't a strike; it was a detonation. A shockwave of raw force erupted from her knuckles, a concussive blast of crimson energy that hit the Ravager's torso.
Fire burst out from the other side, followed by guts and liquid blood. A perfect, fist-sized hole was punched clean through its chest, spraying black ichor into the air behind it. The light died in all its eyes before its body even crashed to the ground.
[11 kills left]
"Leon! Leon! Look, I killed it." Lara's voice was a bright, eager shout, like a child showing off a captured butterfly. She gestured excitedly at the smoldering carcass, her manic grin returning wider than ever.
Leon smiled. He could feel her joy, and it brought a smile to his face. But his smile quickly disappeared when a large hand appeared beside her head.
"Lara, look out!" he screamed, his voice cracking with the force of his warning as he ran towards her, but he was blocked by a group of skivers.
Lara herself had barely registered his words when she noticed the large presence looming over her.
The hand was so close, the displaced air already whipping at her hair. She braced for the impact, for the shattering of bone that would send her flying. But then...
THWUMP.
A book hit it in the head.
It wasn't a magical grimoire or a weaponized tome. It was a thick, hardcover volume with a faded blue dust jacket, and it struck the Ravager's temple with a solid, almost comical sound.
The creature flinched, its swing faltering for a single, crucial second. Its head turned, a flicker of bestial confusion in its eyes.
That second was all Leon needed. He raced forward, slashing through the skivers in his way before reaching Lara's side in three strides.
He thrust his sword forward, not at the Ravager's body, but up under its jaw, stabbing clean through its neck. The creature gurgled, its confused eyes widening in shock. With a guttural roar, Leon didn't pull the blade back. He turned his wrist and wrenched it upward.
The blood sword carved through bone and brain matter with a sickening crackle, splitting the Ravager's skull cleanly in two. Each half peeled away from the other like a grotesque fruit. The monster stood for a moment, a frozen statue of death, before its body crumpled heavily to the pavement.
Lara, for her part, stared at the bisected head, then at Leon. Her manic grin was gone, replaced by a look of genuine, open-mouthed astonishment. "Whoa," she breathed. "That was... messy."
But they weren't done yet. The last three Ravagers attacked simultaneously, aiming for Leon. A mistake they shouldn't have made.
They had focused entirely on him, forgetting about the girl with the claws.
"Hey, ugly!" Lara's voice cut through their snarls. She simply appeared in the path of the leftmost Ravager, her energized claws meeting its charge with a screech of sundered chitin. She drove it back, giving Leon space.
In that same heartbeat, Leon didn't try to block the remaining two. He dropped into a low slide, the blood sword extending into a wide, horizontal arc. It passed through the legs of the central Ravager as if they were smoke.
The third and final Ravager, now suddenly alone, didn't stop. It continued its charge, its bladed arms a whirlwind of death focused solely on killing Leon.
But Leon was ready.
He didn't even need to move. He just pointed the sword upwards. He didn't need to put his strength behind it; he simply let the Ravager's own unstoppable momentum do the work.
The creature impaled itself. The blood sword punched through its sternum and erupted from its back in a shower of black ichor.
The force of the impact was so immense that the hilt was nearly wrenched from Leon's grasp, and the creature's charge carried it forward, sliding it further down the length of the blade until its grotesque face was mere inches from his, its hot, foul breath washing over him.
The light in its eyes died, and with a final, wet gurgle, it went limp.
Leon stood, shoving the heavy corpse off his blade with a grunt of effort. It slumped to the ground with a heavy thud. Then, in a single, fluid motion, he raised the blood sword high and threw it down with all his force, impaling the legless Ravager at his feet directly in the head.
Lara was also done fighting. The poor monster that had faced her had holes in multiple parts of its body, each one a clean, smoldering puncture from her concussive blasts. It lay on its back, a grotesque pincushion, thin trails of smoke rising into the air.
She let her claws retract with a soft, sighing sound. But as the last shard of bone vanished, her knees buckled. She staggered. The manic energy was gone, replaced by a sudden, shocking pallor. A thin trickle of blood escaped her nostril.
"Lara!" Leon was at her side in an instant, his own sword dissolving back into mist as his concern overrode his focus.
"I'm... fine," she breathed, but her voice was a ragged whisper. She swiped at her nose, staring at the red smear on her hand in confusion. "Just... dizzy. Everything's... spinning."
"She's probably just overexerted herself," said a familiar voice from behind them.
Leon froze for a second before turning around, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Standing there was Livia. Her silver hair was pulled into a ponytail, her eyes were cold, and she had an aura of knowledge around her.
"Livia?" he asked, even though he already knew it was her.
She ignored his question and the groaning Lara entirely. She moved with a quiet, deliberate grace, squatting down beside him and hugging him with all her strength.
Her cold expression melted as her lips quivered and tears streamed down her face.
"Leon... I'm so glad you're okay," she said, squeezing him even tighter. "I wanted to find you, but those stupid monsters kept getting in my way..." Her voice cracked between fury and relief. "I thought I lost you forever."
Leon stiffened at first, caught between shock and the sheer strength of her grip.
He brought his hand to her head, gently resting it there, steadying her trembling form.
"It's okay," he murmured, his voice low. "I'm here."
For a moment, it was just the two of them—her tears soaking into his shirt, his hand resting gently on her head. But then a weak groan pulled his attention back.
Lara.
She was still slumped on the ground, one hand pressed against her temple. Her eyes fluttered, catching the scene before her.
Her throat tightened. The manic grin she'd worn only moments ago felt like it belonged to another person entirely. She tried to push herself up, but her limbs betrayed her, trembling uselessly.
"L-Leon...?" Her voice was faint, raw with exhaustion.
Leon immediately moved, trying to pull back from Livia's hold—but she clung to him even tighter.
"Livia," he said firmly, glancing at Lara's pale face. "She needs help."
For a moment, the coldness returned to Livia's purple eyes. She looked at Lara, then back at Leon, her lips pressing into a thin line.
"She'll live," Livia said, almost dismissively. But her arms slowly, reluctantly loosened around him.
Leon sighed as he pulled free, kneeling beside Lara and lifting her up with careful hands. She leaned into him instinctively, too weak to resist, her breathing shallow.
Before he could adjust his grip, Livia moved again—quiet, determined. She slipped beside him and wrapped herself around his free arm, pressing her face into his shoulder.
He looked down at her as she snuggled with his arm, her silver hair brushing against his sleeve. She smiled sheepishly, her grip unyielding.
"Livia…" he said quietly, not with reproach, but with an almost pleading expression. It wasn't that he didn't like it; it was just that walking was going to be a chore if she didn't let go.
Livia already knew what he meant and answered with a resounding, "NO!"
A wry smile appeared on his face as he gave up on the idea. He shifted Lara's weight in his arms, bracing her more securely, then looked down at the silver-haired girl still glued to his side.
"You're impossible," he muttered, shaking his head.
"I know," Livia replied without shame, her sheepish smile returning as she buried her face against his arm.
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