Chapter 555: Smooth
Leonel brandished his spear, blocking the swipe of a devastating claw attack.
His body rattled and shook, his internal organs threatening to shear apart beneath the strain. However, his gaze remained cold an indifferent, as though the frigid energies of the white wolf couldn't impact him in the slightest.
The flickering Runes across his body solidified. In that moment, whatever jarring inner injuries he felt weakened considerably, his gaze meeting the white blue irises of the wolf before him.
'Little Blackstar.'
Leonel hardly finished his thought before an adorable little mink appeared by his side. After observing the situation, the little guy bore his fangs, his hair standing up on end.
Leonel retreated as Blackstar sent a furious claw swipe forward, causing scythes of dark energy to tear through the air and forcing the white wolf back.
The red wolf appeared in Leonel's path of retreat, his teeth spilling over with billowing flames. It opened its jaws, a jagged row of glistening white being accompanied by a blistering heat.
As though a dragon, its throat flexed and its chest expanded. Due to the size differences, Leonel could clearly see the ball of flames forming and building up. It bubbled like magma, causing a slight red glow to appear at the wolf's throat.
The red armored knights trudged forward, their polearm weapons sweeping toward Leonel as though they didn't fear the fiery breath of the red wolf in the slightest.
SHUUU!
The forward force of the red wolf's breath was so great that its body skidded backward, its claws leaving deep marks in the ground.
Leonel watched as this ball of fire made its way toward him.
It scorched the air, revolving at dangerous speeds and reflecting colors of red, orange and gold. The air around it seemed to disappear into a vat of billowing smoke, the temperature of the surroundings increasing to the point where it seemed that anyone standing within its radius would be burnt to ash.
However, Leonel continued to watch it as though he couldn't sense the numerous blade blocking his path or see the looming danger in the slightest.
Just when it seemed that Leonel would be burnt to a crisp, he reached out a hand.
In that instant, the fire ball which had already crossed speeds of hundreds of miles per hour grinded to a halt, resting on Leonel's outstretched palm as though it was a normal ball rather than a three meter tall monstrosity.
Leonel's hand swiped across.
As though an obedient pet, the ball of fire suddenly accelerated, shooting across the battlefield and slamming into the white wolf.
The sound of roars and whimpers sounded, the white wolf losing more than half its vitality in an instant. No matter how hard it had tried to dodge, it simply couldn't. First it had to deal with Blackstar's claw swipe, but before it could even do so, its own partner's attack suddenly bore down upon it, nearly taking its head off.
A resonance softer than even an assassin's footsteps appeared to Leonel's back. Its actions were so swift and controlled that there wasn't even the slightest wind pressure associated with its actions.
The green wolf's fangs glistened, biting down toward Leonel with every intention of swallowing him whole.
'It seems it didn't work.' Though Leonel thought this, his actions weren't slow in the slightest.
"HA!"
Leonel released his Universal Force, tapping into the Four Seasons Realm once again and fusing it with the gravity field of his Bronze Runes.
The instant he did, the minor uptick in gravity suddenly rose explosively.
The speed of the green wolf plummeted, its open jaw crashing down into the ground with such force that its mouth snapped and its teeth cracked.
Leonel had wanted to use the little mink's beast control ability to wrest ownership of these wolves away. But, clearly this wasn't possible. The Puppet Master's control ability was far beyond that of the White Knight Leonel stole this ability from.
In that case... he would just have to take another.
Leonel suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, the strain of using the Four Seasons Realm impacting him once again. But, he pretended as though nothing had happened, strong Spear Forces swirling around him as he slashed downward.
'Little Blackstar...'
Blackstar ripped its way out of the white wolf's body, his little frame and once lush black fur coated in an eerie crimson.
'... Take this ability for yourself.'
The moment Leonel's words finished, he completed his final slash.
His mind was filled with images of a burly man with a chest packed with dense hair. He stood alone in the woods, a darkness pervading his surroundings. The chirps of birds set his rhythm and his beating heart stilled to a crawl.
He rose an ax above his head, his muscles subtly writhing beneath his coat of hair. His movements were slow, but controlled, a beautiful rhythm hidden within them.
Then, he chopped down, splintering a thick piece of wood in two.
Leonel's image and the image of the main overlapped. His actions seemed to be fueled by nature's pulse, carrying a tempo that made them impossible to dodge.
The green wolf's head was split in two in that very instant, its body vanishing into countless motes of light before much blood could be spilt.
The little mink appeared to Leonel's side, grasping with his little claws and causing a shadow to form. Without hesitation, the little guy swallowed it.
A strong wind suddenly enveloped the little mink, his body becoming surrounded with foggy green-black energies.
With a leap, the little mink found his place on Leonel's head. In that moment, Leonel felt that the disconnect he had once had with Wind Elemental Force suddenly vanished. In fact, the Force Strengthening Deviation had never been clearer to him than it was now.
'[Float].'
Leonel shot into the air, dodging an attempted strike by the sand colored wolf. Unfortunately for it, beneath the force field of Leonel's Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, it hadn't been able to use any of its abilities at all.
In the blink of an eye, Leonel stood over a hundred meters in the air. His cold gaze looked down toward the ground as a jet-black surfboard appeared beneath his feet.
Leonel stretched out a hand, his Internal Sight connecting with the nodes of the city. A coldness pervaded the air, filling it with a lurking scent of death.
Despite the fact they were puppets with hardly any emotions of their own, the knights and two remaining wolves below trembled unconsciously, the last bits of their humanity shining through in their final moments.
'Die.'
Space suddenly warped and twisted. By the time it settled back down, there was nothing but a crater left.. However, this crater had edges so smooth that it caused one to shiver.