Chapter 76 - Despair

In the abandoned building a few miles from the Wilderwolf encampment, the Beast-Eyed Killer continued to sit at the front steps, chin resting in the palm of his right hand. An impatient look can be seen in his impression as his knees bob up and down restlessly.

Around him, his followers have refrained from their previous leisurely activities as they now surround the front of the building, leaning on the windows or standing outside on the front porch. In total, there are about twenty of these formidable looking, vicious thugs.

Suddenly, the Beast-Eyed Killer's bobbing leg stops and his jagged eyes narrow in concentration as he looks directly ahead of himself into the distance of the Thistle Forest. There, he could feel a disturbance in the barrier erected by the mysterious Magician of their employers, the lanky fellow who had just left several minutes ago.

The Beast-Eyed Killer didn't worry that this was an invader as he recognised that this disturbance was natural to the barrier. A sinister smile forms on his rough features as excitement boils down in him. The mission seems to have been successful.

His eyes glow further in the sight of the familiar form of Savre stepping into view, the barrier seemingly opening around his form to let him through. The Beast-Eyed Killer's eyes instantly travel to the fighting girl in the man's hands as she seems to scream and scratch at him, though no sound erupts from her lungs. His pleased, sinister smile grows confused though when he looks at the bundle of fur being carried in Savre's opposite hand which looks nothing more than a normal house cat. No, it was more accurate to call it a kitten, as it was still very small in size. The only unnatural aspect to this kitten was its glistening silver fur, that seemed much more luxurious than the fur on the average cat.

"Whats with the kitten, Savre?" The Beast-Eyed killer questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Don't be deceived by its harmless form. This thing is actually a Magical Beast!" Savre responds, just before he winds the hand carrying Lexa back and then swinging that same hand forward, releasing his grip on her, which sends the kitten arcing through the air towards his boss.

Lexa awakened to consciousness when she suddenly felt a great pain around her nimble neck and she lets out a series of gruff coughs. Opening her greenish-red eyes, she finds that she is being held by the neck by a man with frightening eyes and a scar that crosses the bridge of his nose. She also notices that she can speak again as her coughs reverberate in her ears clearly, which is both comforting and terrifying.

She suddenly feels her body forcefully turned around as the man holding her drags her to directly face him, his jagged eyes seem to study her intently.

"Indeed, I can sense aura in it." The Beast-Eyed killer nods. "But its just a paltry beast. We'll sell it to some noble brat for a good price."

The Beast-Eyed killer didn't spare the kitten another glance after saying this as he shoved Lexa's dangling form into the hands of his nearest follower, who received her with panicked arms.

'Better play dead for now... Need to find a way to save Andria...' Lexa devised internally as she finds herself cradled in the hands of another man, deciding not to put up a fight just yet.

"Hand the brat over." The Beast-Eyed Killer finally stands up from his sitting position and takes slow steps down the wooden stairs on his path towards Savre and the girl hanging from his grasp.

Andria, who was still putting up a fight in Savre's hands, finally takes a look at the source of the rough sounding voice entering her ears and her eyes widen. This man had to be the scariest man she had ever seen, with his tall and muscular stature, his various, gruesome scars and eyes that were like the gaze of a vicious Magical Beast. Andria couldn't help her fighting limbs from freezing, only slightly shaking now.

The Beast-Eyes Killer was pleased with her frightened reaction and let out a cold, sinister laugh as he continued on his path.

Meanwhile, Savre looked at the girl who had been fighting for her life just minutes ago but had frozen like a stone and sneered. "Just a little noble brat after all!"

Without caring for her safety, Savre then threw Andria, much like he did with Leca. Except this time, his throw wasn't directed at his boss, but to the ground just in front of his boss. Andria's voice was finally freed from the Ghost Walker Medallion's area of effect, releasing in a frantic cry as her body tumbled cruelly on the dirt floor, the solid ground and jutting rocks cutting and bruising her fair skin.

A series of laughs broke out from the surrounding followers of the Beast-Eyed Killer as they took pleasure in the girl's pain. The Beast-Eyed Killer's feet came to a stop, as a pleased grin graced his features as well.

Lexa closed her hazy eyes and held back her emotions to the best of her small abilities... She felt so useless and various emotions boiled with her: anger, despair, fear... But most prominent was a feeling of guilt...

'If only I was stronger... If only I had escaped that tent when I could and notified everyone of the intruder!!...' Various thoughts came to her in this chaotic moment, and if she were a human, she would have been unable to stop the painful tears from flowing down her cheeks in droves.

With shaking limbs, Andria attempts to pull her aching body up from the ground, though only manages to get her upper body up as her two legs are too tired to push her up any further. Her breath was coming out in low exhales as she looked with fearful eyes through her blond bangs at the sight of the terrifying man standing in front of her.

She would like nothing else to sprint away from this man, but her aching legs prevent her from doing so. Instead, she can only look on with trepidation as this man looks down at her with his sinister gaze, a playful grin on his lips.

It was then that the beastly, frightening man finally moved, his ragged hand reaching down at her like the claws of a great beast. Soon, her view was nearly entirely eclipsed in the darkness of this hand.

'No! Andria doesn't want to be hurt!!' Andria cried out internally, and now that she was finally free from the silencing of the Ghost Walker Medallion, used her ability to speak to rapidly growl out a chant.

The Beast-Eye Killer did not expect this frozen girl who was shaking like a dog with its tail dangling between its legs to suddenly act so decisively and was completely caught off guard when a sudden gust of wind erupted from her mouth. This gust of wind was sharp and were like hundreds of needles as they dug into his skin. This was less of a calculated spell than a burst of desperation.

But in the end, he was a man at the peak of Spirit Rank and this small spell could only do surface damage, not even lasting a few seconds before his superior natural healing ability recovered all those minuscule wounds. Despite this, the Beast-Eyed Killer became immediately enraged and bellowed out in a growl that shook Andria to the core.

'It did nothing!...' Andria was truly beginning to feel despair when the Beast-Eyed Killer's ragged and scarred right hand captured her head, his palm squishing against her soft forehead, causing her to screech in pain.

"Looks like someone needs a lesson!!" The Beast-Eyed Killer lifted Andria with his five fingers encompassing her small head and made it so he was looking directly into those shaking violet pupils of hers as he spat out his threat.

"You're truly in trouble now." Savre laughed joyfully as he walked over to stand amidst other members of the Beast-Eyed Killers followers, all of whom were also finding enjoyment out of the girl's misery. They were all people who had grown in poverty and held a great hatred for nobility, much like the Beast-Eyed Killer himself.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you!" The Beast-Eyed Killer grinned.

Andria was young, but she wasn't naive enough to believe the words of someone like this. Especially considering he had just hurt her. Instead, his words only caused her further grief.

"Instead I'm going to take away what you Upper-Class b*tches treasure the most!..." The Beast-Eyed Killer spoke directly in her ear when he said this, sending an eerie shiver down her spine that finally broke her as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her whole face was turning pale in fear. "...Your beauty! Let's start with your hair, shall we?!"

Slice!

Before Andria could even register the man's last words, she suddenly felt her heavy, flowing hair had suddenly turned lighter and she felt a sharp cut run across the back of her neck at the same time.

"Oops, I've never been the best barber..." The Beast-Eyed Killer chuckled darkly.

Andria looked on in despair as she saw several thin pieces of hair descending like feathers in the air as they landed softly on the ground below. The remnants of her blond hair mixed in with the drops of blood dripping down her back, a wound she didn't even register in the thick of the moment.

With dull eyes, Andria just kept looking at those pieces of hair as the muted sound of laughs echoed around her. Inside her head, various memories were being played in rapid succession...