[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 131 - 27: A Bloodstained Night [2]

Chapter 131: Chapter 27: A Bloodstained Night [2]

Leon felt like the world was spinning on its axis, the ground slowly tilting to meet him.

It was a dizzying sensation, seeing the blood spurting out and the man’s screams of pain echoing in his eardrums. It felt almost surreal, as if he was having a terrible nightmare.

But no, this wasn’t a bad dream.

This was reality.

And if he didn’t do something right now, the man might end up dead, and Leon would have blood on his hands for the rest of his life.

Damn it!

He rushed at the beast and slashed at its snout. The creature howled and reflexively let go of the poor villager, recoiling from the pain. Two townspeople immediately carried the injured man far away from the battle, and Leon stepped in front of them as if to shield them from the beast’s view.

The creature growled as it lifted its head, and then lunged at him in fury. It still had a lot of strength left even though it had been wounded several times and was bleeding profusely.

This seemed to be a pretty tough one to beat.

Focus.

Don’t panic.

Leon steadied his breathing and took a step forward. When the creature was about to reach him with its sharp claws, he feinted to the left and then quickly slashed at the side of the creature’s body with a deep cut of his sword.

The beast roared in pain, its one eye burning with rage.

The creature was larger than Leon and much more intimidating. It also had great strength and speed to boot. Normal hunters would have a difficult time killing this one.

Currently, its mouth was dripping with the villager’s blood, and there was no doubt in Leon’s mind that that same blood had helped the beast recover from its injuries.

Now he was next, and Leon couldn’t afford to let fear control his actions.

So when the creature lunged at Leon again, baring its fangs, he was ready. He dodged the attack and used the momentum to slash at the other side of the beast, causing dark blood to spill onto the ground.

And just like before, the creature howled and whipped its tail in a wild arc.

Anticipating this, Leon ducked under the tail and circled the beast, keeping his sword between them. The other villagers had taken a few steps back, having become cautious and fearful after the man’s serious leg injury. The ones holding weapons even seemed to give up on fighting the beast, afraid that they might get their leg almost chewed off, too.

Fortunately, the beast seemed to focus on Leon at that moment and Leon alone. It growled, low and menacing, and he was unsettled by how grotesque it looked up close. It radiated a dark energy that he had rarely felt in all his years in the castle. The proximity almost made him feel queasy.

The beast lunged at him again, and Leon parried with an upward swing, deflecting the sharp claws. Then, seeing an opening, he moved in and struck at the beast’s legs.

The creature stumbled with a howl, its piercing screech hurting Leon’s eardrums. Leon was about to plunge the sword into its torso, but then the creature swung at him viciously at high speed, and Leon barely managed to jump back in time.

He could hear some women crying in the background, and he knew that he had to end this quickly.

But just as he steeled himself, there was a sudden gust of wind, and then something pierced the night in a flurry of movement.

The next thing he knew, the creature was staggering, roaring in rage and pain.

More blood splattered on the ground.

It took Leon a moment to realize that an arrow had pierced the beast’s neck.

Startled, he looked towards the source of the arrow and saw a woman in her room on the second floor with the window wide open, holding a bow with shaky hands. Her expression was a mixture of rage, fear, and determination.

Leon turned back to the beast and realized that she had given him a golden opportunity.

So as the creature took a step back, Leon drew back his sword and attacked.

The sword instantly pierced the beast’s chest, and Leon left it there for a moment before pulling it down forcefully, slicing the creature in half.

The beast let out a final, pained howl as blood spurted from the wound, its sounds turning to gurgles.

Then, its massive form collapsed in a heap on the ground, and it was no longer moving.

By the gods.

Leon stood over the creature’s now motionless body, his chest heaving from all the exertion. He could barely even process what had just happened.

He felt sweat gather on his face and quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand. He felt for his mask and was relieved that it hadn’t been cut or anything. His identity was safe for now.

He looked down at his hands. At his bloody sword. At his trembling fingers.

Throughout the fight, he had struggled not to use his magic. Sure, magic was strictly forbidden during duels, especially since he wasn’t supposed to reveal that he was a Guardian according to his father’s orders.

He looked back at the villagers who stared at him in awe, their fear slowly giving way to relief.

But Leon couldn’t feel relieved just yet.

He ran over to them, towards the man with the injured leg. The man’s face was ashen, and he was moaning in pain.

Leon knelt down and took a moment to assess the villager’s condition.

The man was a burly figure in his mid-thirties. He was sweating, and his breath came in ragged gasps. His leg was a mess of blood and torn flesh where the beast had clamped its jaws around it.

Leon felt another pang of guilt and remorse.

If he had used his magic in the first place, would this have happened?

"Stay with me," Leon urged, placing a steadying hand on the trembling man’s shoulder. "You’re going to be okay."

"We already called the doctor," one of the villagers said shakily. "He should be here any minute now."

Leon examined the wound closely. The beast’s fangs had torn deep into the flesh, leaving jagged, gaping gashes. Blood still oozed from the punctures, pooling on the ground beneath the man’s leg.

The muscle was shredded, and he could see glimpses of bone where the flesh had been torn away.

Fuck, he cursed, hands trembling from guilt.

I should’ve protected him.

I should’ve...

At that moment, the village doctor came rushing towards them. He dropped to his knees beside Leon, his hands already reaching for his supplies.

"Let me see," the doctor said, examining the wound. He frowned, his expression grim.

A woman suddenly ran over with tears in her eyes. "Is my husband going to be okay?" she cried out. "Please, I beg you! I can’t lose him!"

Leon’s eyes widened. He recognized her as the woman who had shot the arrow at the beastspawn earlier.

"The wound is serious, but we can save the leg if we act quickly," the doctor said, pulling a small bottle and a roll of bandages out of his pocket.

Suddenly, at that moment, Leon’s keen ears heard something.

A low, threatening howl from far away.

Leon’s heart skipped a beat, and he turned sharply towards the sound.

The villagers and the doctor were still talking about something, but Leon could no longer hear them. He tuned them out and stood up slowly, taking a few steps towards the direction of the entrance.

And he could see, from the shadows beyond the village...

...that more figures began to emerge.

Leon felt as if his feet were frozen to the ground. He could only stare into the distance and watch as the figures slowly approached menacingly.

The moons shone on the trees, illuminating the silhouettes for a brief moment.

More.

There were more of them.

Leon felt the words crawl up his throat, but they seemed unable to escape his lips.

May the Spirits save us, he thought to himself in dread.

Suddenly, a firm hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality.

Leon turned around to see Luke with a calm expression on his face.

"Remember what I said, Leon," he said. "Don’t die on me, okay?"

Leon took a ragged breath. "I..."

He was afraid. He was so scared that he even doubted that he could do this.

But he had promised... didn’t he?

He had promised to help.

Luke smiled and patted him on the shoulder, and it was as if he could clearly read Leon’s thoughts. "I’ll be your backup later," he whispered. "Right now, we need to get the villagers to safety."

Leon looked at him, then nodded, the gravity of the situation starting to sink in.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Luke turned to the villagers and the doctor. "Let’s go inside the inn," he instructed in a firm tone. "There’s more of them! We need to go."

"What?!" the woman — the injured man’s wife — exclaimed in horror. "What do you mean there’s—"

Suddenly, the howling grew louder, reaching the ears of the villagers and causing them to freeze in place.

And the next moment, chaos struck.

Leon watched in horror as the figures began to charge towards the entrance, their roars filling the night air.

Damn it!

They must have smelled it.

The tantalizing scent of human blood.

The villagers, still reeling from the first attack, could only stare in horror. They did not move even an inch.

"Shit," Leon cursed under his breath, holding his sword tightly as he made for the entrance. "Go. Go now! All of you!"