Unwillingly, Leandra pushed through the thick bushes.
Her frustration grew with each silent step.
She initially thought that this was another of his ploys to tease her, which he somewhat liked to do suddenly. Something felt off about him, but this was not the time to think about that. It was worrying that Lucivar hadn't answered her calls.
"Aren't we supposed to keep a lookout around the carriages?" Leandra mused sarcastically.
Lucivar had no reason to stray this far.
If he saw a beast then he should've informed the others, not doing something like this.
Confusion gnawed at her—but she pressed on, drawing her sword from its sheath in case of danger. Leandra followed the clear trail Lucivar left behind, in the snow, though the distance he covered made her click her tongue in irritation.
She swore to give Lucivar a lesson for straying without telling her the reason.
'He's going too far... is she chasing something? But why?' Leandra pondered.
Glancing to her back, she realized that she had ventured at least a hundred meters, from the carriages, perhaps even more. She followed the trail until it ended abruptly beside a massive tree as if Lucivar vanished like a ghost.
Frowning, she scanned the area, searching for any sign of Lucivar.
Of course, she wanted to call for him but doing so would only attract beasts towards her.
She was put in a spot, not knowing what to do.
Just then, however, her senses picked up something from behind.
"Surpr-!"
Out of nowhere, Lucivar came out of his hiding from behind—wanting to surprise Leandra, but his smile froze when he felt a cold touch on his neck. Looking down, he saw Leandra's sword was touching his neck.
Realizing that it was him, Leandra managed to react in time, stopping the arc of her blade.
Both of them made eye contact for a brief second awkwardly.
Pah!!
Leandra raised an eyebrow when suddenly—a cloud of fine white sprinkles—that danced like snowflakes in the air, rained down on her, released from a small, enchanted scroll in Lucivar's hand with a soft pop.
"Surprise? Hehe~"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
In a burst of anger and annoyance, Leandra snapped, pointing at Lucivar's face.
"Do you really think this is a good time to do something like this?" She asked—fuming with an insurmountable frustration, as she was worked up, over nothing. "Had I not stopped in time— your head would've rolled on the ground!"
Upon hearing this, Lucivar smiled wryly, trying to calm Leandra down, "My bad, my bad..."
"I was only taking a stroll. You're staying away from me, and I'm bored" He added.
Leandra rolled her eyes as she couldn't believe the reason was that, not to mention it wasn't her fault that she did that, since Lucivar couldn't stop playing, "Don't tell me you also bought that thing from the stall earlier? What even is that?"
"It was a party popper, the lady gave it to me free from buying the jacket" Lucivar replied.
Sighing light, Leandra sheathed back her sword, "Come, let's go back"
Just as she said that—however—she stopped when she saw Lucivar looking at her through a frame he made with his fingers. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing now? Are you not done playing around like a kid?"
"Now that I look at you closely, you're like an extension of this forest" He muttered lightly.
Upon hearing this, Leandra tilted her head in confusion.
Lucivar smiled as he elaborated, "Both your hair and eyes blended with this forest, it was as if you're the fairy queen—of this forest. Now I know why the men in the town, were ogling at you wherever you go"
From Lucivar's point of view, the forest and Leandra were one.
Her deep purple hair that was let loose fluttered gently against the brushing wind, the same exact color as the leaves of the trees in this forest. And her purple eyes—it was as if looking at them was the window to see the real beauty of this forest.
Almost instantly, Leandra's face reddened as she was caught off guard by this compliment.
Earlier, she also thought the forest was very beautiful.
It matched her eyes and hair perfectly.
"D- Don't say something like that, I don't like it," Leandra said, turning her bashful face away from Lucivar's intent gaze. "Hearing you say that doesn't make me happy at all, so stop, I do not need your compliment"
Even though her lips said that—her reaction and body language were the complete opposite.
She remained gazing away with her arms crossed under her breasts.
Even when she heard Lucivar closing in, she stayed put.
Just then, a sparkling item fell from the top and into her vision.
It was a slender steel chain that caught the moonlight with a subtle sheen.
Suspended from it was a small wooden pendant, carefully carved into the shape of a cat, the wood, had been painted a deep—midnight black, the sleek silhouette of the feline, exuding a quiet elegance.
A simple necklace, but Leandra was absolutely surprised and also confused by this.
So much that she turned to look at Lucivar with wide eyes.
"I saw it earlier and was reminded of you since you're a Witch Hybrid," Lucivar said with a low baritone voice. "the lady said that the pendant, was carved of wood from a holy ancient tree, it represents a new start"
"A new start...?" Leandra muttered, completely enthralled by the moment.
Both of her eyes were fixed on Lucivar's bright golden eyes.
Leandra didn't even realize that her back was already against the tree, with Lucivar's body extremely close to her, "Yes, a new start—a new start to our relationship. Since we started off badly, I want this to reset our relationship for the better. I'm not going anywhere so this was necessary"
Realizing that she was sandwiched, she snapped from her trance and pushed Lucivar away.
She made a forceful shove and turned her face away, trying to hide her blush.
"Ah, really..." She bit her lower lip, running her fingers, through her hair in frustration. "You are going too far now, there was no need for you to do this. If you just tell me that you want to let the past be the past, I'd be happy to forget our bad start"
But as she said that, she raised her gaze to look at Lucivar once again.
Leandra then stretched her hand, "Even so, I'll accept the necklace..."
"Oh, I was about to give it to Ravenna thinking that you don't wa-"
"Just shut up and give me the damn necklace"
Raising both hands innocently, Lucivar handed over the necklace as Leandra put it away.
Upon giving that, Lucivar stood there without saying anything.
Confused, Leandra turned in the carriage's direction—they should get back for real this time.
But as she was about to do that, her eyes widened when she saw a shadow.
Bam!!
Lucivar was hurled to the other side, scraping off the snow along his path.
On the other hand—Leandra's breath was caught in her throat when he saw Lucivar thrown suddenly across the ground, sprawling meters away on the side as he rubbed his throbbing bruised chin.
"Go back to the others, Leandra. I need to speak with Lucivar,"
Leandra's gaze snapped to the man who had appeared from nowhere—Darwin.
But this was not the meek Darwin she knew.
His beastly side had taken over, his breath ragged and eyes brimming with murderous intent.
Even his once frail body now pulsed with raw power, muscles bulging as ether surged within his veins. It was a transformation she hadn't anticipated—another shock on a night that was already full of surprises.
Rage ignited within her, burning away any hesitation, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Darwin, you aren't supposed to be out like this!" She added fiercely.
Upon hearing this, however, Darwin's predatory eyes slowly turned towards Leandra—a clear warning that he wasn't in the mood to be refuted, "I said go back to the others. Lucivar, and I have an unfinished business"
"Go, Leandra, this has nothing to do with you" Lucivar added.
Despite her confusion and the warning, Leandra walked to Darwin's front, barring his way.
Looking straight at Darwin, she unsheathed her sword, "Let's go talk to Master Tobias,"
Seeing her defending Lucivar, Darwin's face paled as he couldn't believe this.
On the other hand, beyond Leandra—he could see Lucivar, smirking at him—while wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth. Naturally, the sight of this taunting smirk made Darwin lose his mind as his eyes turned bloodshot.
He couldn't stand seeing this, "Then so be it..."
Immediately after he said that Darwin's fingernails elongated, turning into black steel claws.
As an Acolyte-rank Hybrid, he could make small transformations according to his bloodline.
Compared to Lucivar and Leandra, he was way stronger than them.
Leandra lowered her stance, sweating a little as she was going to fight Darwin, but as Darwin was about to make a move, all of them snapped their heads to their right, as a creature came out and ambushed them.
Reacting quickly, Darwin and Leandra leaped away as the creature crashed into the tree.
Crash!
Surprisingly, the three tilted slightly from the force of the beast's impact.
Such a sight caused both Leandra and Darwin to widen their eyes in shock.
Before them stood a massive feline, its pristine fur shimmering with a power hidden within its body. The creature's long, sharp fangs gleamed ominously—and its eyes—milky white as if it was blind, added to its terrifying presence.
Steaming white vapor curled from its body, giving it an ethereal, almost ghostly appearance.
Not to mention, the energy radiating from this beast was very threatening.
Leandra and Darwin gulped harshly as there was no mistaking it, they had unluckily stumbled upon the most dangerous predator of the forest—the Astral Snow Leopard. Compared to the dog creatures that came from the yellow dungeon, this was levels above that.
A level that the three of them couldn't possibly beat.
In front of such a beast, their only option was to flee.
Momentarily disoriented from the crash, the snow leopard shook its head.
It then turned, surveying its prey with lethal intent.
Even its tongue was jutting out and lick its lips, savoring the meal that was about to come.
After a few careful sniffs toward Leandra, and Lucivar, it shook its head and pulled back, it was as if the snow leopard was disgusted by them. Changing target—its gaze locked onto Darwin, its hackles rising in clear hostility.
Upon seeing this, Darwin clenched his teeth in alert.
He cursed his luck for being the one targeted even though his bloodline was suppressed.
Despite being in the same realm as the Astral Snow Leopard, he knew that beasts, had a raw strength that far surpassed Hybrids. A beast like this Astral Snow Leopard could probably be comparable to having the strength of the strongest of Acolyte-rank Hybrids.
A direct confrontation would mean certain death.
As the beast advanced slowly, Darwin instinctively took a few steps back.
'Not good, I'll deal with this later. For now, I need to flee back to the others,' He pondered.
Just then, however, he noticed Lucivar behind Leandra, waving mockingly at him.
Darwin's eyes bulged—the smirk on Lucivar's face was a clear indication, that this was not a regular encounter. Their encounter with the Astral Snow Leopard was not a coincidence, 'It's him! He's the one behind this?!'