Brandon glanced at the head as it rolled towards him, and when his eyes caught the face, he froze.
"Laura."
He knew who the woman was. She was a friend who looked out for him even after Levi had isolated him. But now she was dead. In such a brutish manner at that.
This made Brandon furious.
His aura got more dangerous, and everyone, including Hazel, felt his killing intent. This made the muscular man grin. He had tossed it to intimidate him, but it had a different effect.
"Idiot, you only provoked him."
"It's Fenris. And that's a good thing. The angrier the better. It's fun that way."
Lupin shook his head at this statement, regretting he called on the brute for help.
"Hazel, head towards the secret path like we discussed. I'll handle the rogues."
"Brandon," Hazel called, moving close to him. She couldn't help but show concern as she saw pain in his expression.
Brandon raised his hand to stop her as she got close. "If you're here, I wouldn't be able to go all out. You have to leave, Hazel."
Hazel, understanding this, nodded. She wasn't a blessed one, and if she chose to stay, she would only be a burden. But she would help in anyway she could.
"Watch out for the dull-looking guy. There's something off about his eyes."
Hazel warned and Brandon acknowledged with a nod.
Hazel then turned away, but she noticed the vial that had flown out of Malcolm's hand--when he got speared-- close to her and picked it up. Who knows, she might need to poison someone in the future.
Hazel then turned to Brandon and said in an emotional voice before leaving.
"Brandon, thank you. And don't die."
...
At this, Brandon grinned, but he didn't take his attention off the rogues. They seemed to be planning something, but Brandon couldn't tell what it was. He didn't think it would be anything good, and he was right.
Lupin and Fenris charged at him. And Brandon noticed something. Fenris was coming at him, but Lupin—
"Bastard,"
Lupin was running towards Hazel.
Brandon cursed, creating an ice wall to slow down Fenris while he moved to stop Lupin.
But then—
*Crack!
Fenris' powerful body shattered the wall of ice, stunning Brandon. He didn't think Fenris would be that strong. But that wasn't the only surprising thing. Lupin, who he ran to meet, had already run past him.
"Shit!"
Brandon raised his hand to use his ability to stop Lupin, but then Fenris arrived before him.
"Arrogant of you to take your eyes off me," Fenris said and then slammed a blow into Brandon, sending him flying. Brandon cursed as he tumbled on the ground, but he steadied himself by using his hands. He ignored the pain he felt and turned towards Hazel, who Lupin was catching up to. He then used his ice powers to freeze the ground, about half of the entire large platform.
The attack caught Fenris' foot, and it spread fast, catching up to Lupin who had almost reached Hazel. It froze Lupin, stopping him from moving any further.
Hazel turned backward and saw Lupin dangerously close to her, his feet frozen. This made her suck in a deep breath and laugh shakily. Brandon had saved her once again. She didn't waste this chance and hurried away, leaving Lupin cursing as he flared his hands.
He used his fist to break the ice restricting him and would have continued the chase if he hadn't felt something deadly coming at him.
"An ice spike?" he muttered and rolled away from the attack. But what followed next was Masked man with a sword aimed at his chest. Lupin's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't sensed Masked man coming. There was no space to react, and Lupin panicked until he saw it.
...
The masked man froze just before his sword almost pierced into Lupin, unable to move.
"Gotcha," Lupin grinned, his bluish eyes glowing. Initially, he couldn't see the mask man's eyes due to the distance and the narrow eye slit in the mask. But now he was able to, as they were only a couple of steps from each other. This met the condition needed for his ability to work.
Seizing this chance, Lupin wasted no time, aiming to take out the masked man's throat. But then a voice rang.
"So, that's your ability. Real handy. But you should know that I'm not just anyone." The masked man tilted his head.
Lupin's mouth fell open, shocked that the masked man had managed to break free from his ability, so soon. He withdrew his attack and immediately hurried to Fenris' side.
"Lupin... what the hell is this monster?"
Fenris asked as he broke free from the ice holding his leg. Lupin's brow furrowed as he noticed slash marks on Fenris' body. The masked man had done that before he came at him. A monster indeed.
"It's Brandon," Selena said as she walked towards them. "The masked man is Brandon, one of Levi's enforcers. I didn't take note of him because he wasn't important, but..."
"Wasn't important. How is someone this strong not important?" Fenris interrupted, looking displeased.
"Shut up, muscle head... The reason I didn't take him into account was because he was weak. At least until Levi died, releasing the cursed seal he had placed on him."
Lupin placed his hand on his neck, clicking his teeth. This was going to be troublesome.
Brandon's eyes glowed red as he walked towards the trio. "You haven't seen anything. Not yet. When I'm done with you three, you all will be begging for your lives."
Immediately, Lupin ordered Fenris and Selena to shift to their beast form. "It's the only way we stand a chance."
Fenris shifted into his beast, turning into a rhino, which explained his brute strength. Lupin followed, his body cracking and twisting as he let out a feral groan, turning into a cheetah.
Selena transformed into a wolf, and because she had lost a limb, she only had three legs. Her beast didn't look too happy about it, as she growl hatefully at Brandon.
Brandon watched the three with a cold gaze, unfazed by their transformation. Then he raised his sword, ready to fight.