The mont Leon reached the main entrance of the Bowen Estate, Alpha noticed him.
"Soone’s here."
"Who?" Foxtrot asked.
"Maybe it’s him." Delta narrowed his eyes. "Leon Bale. The one we’ve been waiting for."
Amidst their confusion, Leon stepped into the estate.
Due to the thick fog blanketing the area, he couldn’t see the five assassins standing at the mansion’s entrance.
"It’s him," Foxtrot said imdiately. His eyes lit up. "Should I send my children?" He said excitedly.
Both he and Alpha had already seen Leon Bale’s picture while investigating him.
Although the young man before them looked different now — taller, more muscular, and carrying himself with far greater confidence — the face was unmistakable.
And Leon was supposed to co here. It can’t be a coincidence. Yet sothing felt wrong.
Alpha’s brows furrowed. ’No mana... I can’t sense even a single drop of it in him.’ He fell deep into thought.
Foxtrot was already preparing to move. But just as he was about to charge forward, Alpha stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait."
Foxtrot looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?"
"That boy..." Alpha’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t think he has any ability. I can’t sense any mana from him."
"What?!" Every assassin reacted instantly.
So nearly shouted. Others suppressed their voices. But the shock on their faces was impossible to hide.
"Then how did he kill all those hunters in the hidden realm? Your cousin was an A-Class hunter. No way so nobody without any ability can defeat him." Delta said.
Alpha remained silent for several monts.
Then he looked toward Charlie. "Charlie."
"Yes?"
"I want you to alter the illusion." He said without any expression on his face. "Make everyone see each other again. Everyone except Leon."
The other assassins imdiately understood what he was planning.
"He should be the only target. Let’s see what he’s hiding."
Charlie nodded. "Sure. But he’s outside the circle."
"Don’t worry about that." Alpha’s gaze locked onto Leon. "He will be inside soon. Just have the spell ready when he does."
His eyes turned cold.
"You just focus on the spell. Also, make that brat appear as an S-Class monster. I want even Jasper, Archie, and Oliver to join the fun as well."
The assassins exchanged glances.
"But he will die that way. Didn’t your uncle order to bring him alive?" Foxtrot asked.
"He did. But he didn’t say in how many pieces."
Alpha didn’t say anything else. The next mont...
He vanished.
It was as though he had never been standing there in the first place. The remaining assassins didn’t react. To them, such a sight was perfectly normal.
Charlie imdiately raised both hands and began chanting. A strange ripple spread through the fog. The illusion shifted.
At that sa mont, everyone inside the circle felt a sharp pain stab through their heads.
"Urgh!" Their bodies staggered. The ongoing battles ca to an abrupt halt. One after another, hunters and monsters alike collapsed to the ground.
Leon remained standing at the entrance. ’Hallucination Zone? What the hell is that? What am I supposed to do? Jenny is inside. I have to go no matter what. But charging into a place like this without any information or prior knowledge seems...’
Leon never got the chance to finish the thought. Suddenly, the space behind him rippled.
And then...
Thud!
Sothing struck the back of his neck. Leon didn’t even have ti to react. His eyes rolled back, and his body collapsed onto the ground. Darkness swallowed him.
Ti passed.
Seconds.
Then minutes.
And eventually...
Jasper slowly opened his eyes. A dull ache throbbed inside his head. "We’re back?"
He pushed himself to his feet and looked around.
The familiar training ground of the Bowen estate greeted his eyes once more. The fog was gone. The monsters were gone. Only eighteen people remained. The hunters from their side.
The rcenaries Simon had hired had vanished without a trace.
"What happened?" Jasper muttered. "Where did those monsters go?"
Nearby, Archie and Oliver had also regained consciousness. Both wore equally confused expressions as they surveyed their surroundings...
Just then...
"What’s that?!" David from the Razor Wolf Guild shouted.
Everyone imdiately turned toward him.
Then they followed his gaze.
Their eyes landed on a figure lying motionless on the ground.
Silence fell.
The creature had the head of a lion. Thick orange fur covered its entire body. It wasn’t particularly large. Perhaps around 1.8 ters tall. Yet the pressure radiating from it was unmistakable.
Oliver’s breath caught in his throat. "It’s..."
Archie’s expression darkened. "An S-Class monster."
He finished the sentence for him.
anwhile, Leon felt as though his body were floating endlessly through an abyss.
Darkness had swallowed him whole.
Then, slowly, the darkness began to fade.
Leon opened his eyes. Or rather, one eye.
Half of his face was buried in the ground, preventing the other from opening properly.
At first, his vision was blurry. But the mont it cleared...
The color drained from his face. Eighteen figures stood in the distance.
’What the fuck?’ Leon’s heart nearly stopped. Where did these black minotaurs co from? Aren’t they A-Class dungeon bosses?
And why are there so many of them?
His eyes swept across the group.
’Fifteen... There are fifteen of them.’
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. Then his gaze shifted toward the three figures standing farther behind the others.
The mont he saw them, his pupils shrank.
"T-They..." His voice trembled. "They are..."
Leon swallowed hard. "S-Class monsters. And not just one. But....
Three..."
For a mont, he remained lying on the ground, not daring to move. It felt as though his entire body had stopped listening to him.
Standing up?
Running?
Fighting?
None of those thoughts even crossed his mind. The pressure was simply too overwhelming.
But then...
Sothing stirred within him. Deep inside. Far deeper than his fear. Sothing furious. Sothing excited.
He pushed himself up. Without him even noticing it, a smile spread across his face. His eyes shone brightly.
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