Chapter 72: Was It This Hand...
The leader barely had time to process the words before Reon moved. His figure blurred, a streak of shadow and speed amplified by the deadly precision of his dark Sword Aura.
Before the leader could fully react, Reon's sword was already in motion, slicing toward his right arm with a ferocity that seemed almost alive.
The dark energy trailing from the sword was a force unto itself, writhing like a living shadow as it aimed to destroy.
The leader instinctively raised his arm to summon his Sword Aura, but he was too late. The dark energy enveloped his arm as Reon's sword sliced clean through the air, striking with surgical precision.
A sickening crack echoed as the leader's sword-hand was thrown back, blood spraying into the air.
"Arghhh!"
The leader's agonized scream pierced the air as his sword-hand was flung backward, blood arcing in a crimson spray. His sword clattered to the ground, lifeless without its wielder's grip.
Reon stepped back slightly, his sword still humming with Dark flame as he regarded the writhing leader coldly. "Was it this hand that dared injure her?" His voice was low, icy, and utterly devoid of mercy.
The leader stumbled back, clutching his bleeding arm, his face pale and twisted in pain. "Y-you'll pay for this," he spat, his words faltering as he struggled to hold himself upright.
Reon straightened, his presence looming like a shadow over the battlefield. His gaze swept over the rest of the group, who hesitated.
Their terror palpable as they looked between their injured leader and the calm, unyielding figure of Reon. "What's wrong? Afraid? You've got numbers on your side, don't you? Come at me... or will you run like cowards?"
The leader's voice broke the tense silence, filled with fury and desperation. "What are you doing, you useless fools? Corner him! Attack together and cut him down!"
He fumbled with his spatial ring, pulling out a small vial containing a Grade-2 Healing Pill.
As he swallowed it, the bleeding from his stump slowed, the powerful medicine rapidly clotting the wound.
Though he knew the arm couldn't be restored without a higher-grade pill or expert Healer, at least the bleeding wouldn't kill him.
"I'll survive this," he muttered under his breath, his eyes glinting with malice. "And when I do, you'll regret ever crossing me!"
"Yes, Big Brother!" the group shouted, steeling themselves as they surged forward, their combined energy flaring.
But before they could close in, the world around them shifted. A dense fog rolled in from seemingly nowhere, enveloping the entire area in an impenetrable haze.
The air grew damp and heavy, the visibility so poor it felt as though they were trapped in a void. The mist swirled unnaturally, carrying an almost ethereal weight that sent chills down their spines.
Anyone lacking advanced eye techniques, specialized vision abilities, or exceptionally sharp senses would find it impossible to see through the dense fog.
"W-what is this fog?" Yin Shan stammered, his voice trembling. "It's so thick—I can't see anything through it!"
"Me neither!" another disciple shouted, panic creeping into his tone. "How are we supposed to find him like this?"
"This isn't natural!" a third voice chimed in, shaky and filled with fear. "If we can't see anything, we'll end up striking each other instead of him!"
The leader gritted his teeth, his frustration mounting. "Stop whining and use your spiritual sense! Spread out and find him before he—"
A low growl interrupted him. From within the mist, a shadowy figure emerged, and then another—silent and swift. The faint glow of predatory eyes pierced through the fog.
Reon's voice echoed from somewhere within the haze, calm yet commanding. "Cloudia, show them what happens when they overstep. Make sure they can't even lift a hand when you're done."
The disciples froze in their tracks as a deafening roar shattered the eerie silence of the mist, reverberating through the air and shaking the ground beneath them.
It was not the feeble whimper of a small, injured tiger, nor the Fox they had previously underestimated.
This was the commanding, bone-chilling roar of a Mist Cloud Fox—a beast in its true element.
Cloudia's element was illusion, her presence amplified by her innate skill, Mist Illusion.
The dense fog seemed to thicken around her, shifting and swirling as though alive, creating a disorienting haze that rendered the disciples' senses useless.
Shapes flickered and vanished in the mist, their own shadows turning against them in a terrifying dance of deception.
Suddenly, the shadowy figure of Cloudia moved—a blur of pale fur and sharp claws. Her strikes were swift and precise, her movements utterly unpredictable.
The fog itself felt like her ally, twisting around her form to obscure her approach and amplify her terrifying aura.
The first disciple cried out as he was sent flying, slamming into a nearby tree.
Another turned, swinging blindly with his sword, only to collapse moments later as a blur of claws tore through his defenses, sending him hurtling into the lake with a splash.
"P-please, I can't see anything! Where is that fox?!" one of them shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
"Keep your guard up! That fox's just playing tricks on us! Find it!" the leader barked, his tone tinged with panic as blood dripped from his injured arm.
But even his authority couldn't mask the growing dread in his heart.