With [Absolute Vision] failing to map the area accurately, Leo was forced to rely on traditional perception, keen instincts, and peripheral focus, to scan the ridge in front of him for signs of enemy presence.
His breath slowed as he centered his footing atop the uneven slope, dagger gripped tightly in one hand as he locked his gaze on the exact spot that seemed the most suspicious to him.
*Shuffle*
Then it happened, he heard a sound come from behind him, as
*THUD*
A blur of flesh and speed exploded from the ridge's left flank, from his blind side, as a pale figure darted from behind a patch of thorny flowers and moved with blinding speed towards Cipher.
"Cipher!" Patricia shouted, trying to warn him about the ambush, however, it was too late.
The tainted human moved like a beast, not a man, darting across the ground on all fours with a hunched spine and limbs bent at unnatural angles, his speed exceeding what most grandmasters couldn't even dream of matching.
*SWISH!*
Cipher turned, his blade flashing outward in reflex. But the creature twisted mid-air with an erratic jerk, narrowly avoiding the strike as it wrapped its limbs tightly around Cipher's body.
*CRUNCH!*
A sickening sound tore through the air as blood exploded from Cipher's neck, the creature's jaws clamping down and ripping a chunk of flesh clean out, as Cipher screamed in pain.
"Arghhhh—!"
Leo reacted instantly, hurling a dagger towards the creature's skull with deadly precision, while Patricia followed suit, her own blade flying through the air in a mirrored arc.
*CLANG!*
*THUD!*
Both daggers struck true, but shockingly bounced harmlessly off the creature's skin, as though it were armor-plated.
"What the—?" Patricia muttered in confusion, as her Grandmaster strength was usually enough to even embed rocks, however, had somehow failed to penetrate mortal skin today.
Thankfully for Cipher though, Bob was already charging forward, as–
*BOOM!*
He slammed his shoulder into the creature, knocking it off Cipher's back and sending it tumbling through the dirt.
The creature skidded, rolled, and landed in a crouch on all fours, before beginning to hiss like a feral beast.
*SKIIIIRRRR*
It warned, its facial hairs flaring like a beast sensing prey through vibration.
Now that they could see it clearly, Leo's eyes narrowed as he took in the details.
It looked... almost human. But its skin was stretched tight over wiry muscle, and pulsing green veins ran visibly beneath its pale surface.
It wore nothing but a tattered utility belt that hung lopsided around its waist, clearly from another era.
On one foot it still wore half of a disintegrated combat boot, while on the other it was completely exposed to the elements.
Its man parts looked disfigured and chewed upon, as whatever remained was clearly not functional, however, somehow that mess of flesh wasn't the worst body feature it had, as its eyes were even worse.
Wild, and glowing faintly with an unnatural hue, the creature's gaze did not hold intelligence or malice, but rather only madness.
Like it had long forgotten what it was to be human, and was now only driven by instinct and rage.
"He's gone completely feral..." Leo muttered.
"Forget talking. Kill it," Raiden snapped, already moving.
The creature hissed and darted forward, zigzagging on all fours like a monkey on speed.
It lunged at Patricia this time, who ducked and rolled as Leo moved to flank it.
Raiden slashed horizontally, forcing it to leap backward, while Bob already circled behind it, to punch it unconscious.
However, when the beast did eventually come his way, it dodged his strike with an unnatural rotation of its body, and landed on his shoulders, before immediately trying to bite his face off.
*KHAIIIIAASS*
The beast growled, as spittle and germs from its roar spilled all over Bob's face, making the veteran assassin feel really pissed.
"Get off!" Bob growled, grabbing the thing midair and flinging it like a sack of meat, as the creature landed hard but rolled into a crouch again, unhurt.
"Damn this thing doesn't break," Patricia complained, her voice sounding slightly nervous now.
Leo darted in from the side, feinting left then spinning with a backward slash, as the beast evaded by a hair, but the maneuver gave Raiden an opening.
"[Phase Cut]" Raiden announced, as his blade flickered with mana and flashed through the air tracing a green arc.
It grazed the creature's ribs, drawing black blood that steamed in the cold air.
*Shriek*
The creature shrieked and pounced at Raiden, only to be intercepted midair by Bob's glowing fist, as–
*BOOM!*
The punch connected with the creature's side, sending it hurtling through the flowers, its jaw broken, as Leo activated [Blade Switch] and reappeared behind it, his daggers slashing outward in an X to carve open its back.
*SHHHK!*
The first strike failed to penetrate its skin, but the second caught its shoulder, slicing halfway in before stopping against the shoulder bone.
"Now!" Leo barked, as Raiden surged forward with a vertical strike and Patricia released her charged skill [Needle Rain].
Within a microsecond, hundreds of razor-thin projectiles conjured from mana rained down upon the beast, as the feral human hissed and tried to leap, but Bob tackled it from behind, pinning it with brute strength as the needles pierced its body.
*SHRIEK—*
The beast whimpered louder now, as Raiden's blade came down one final time, to slice its head apart from its body.
*Splat*
Raiden's blade buried deep into its neck, stopping just short of a full decapitation as the edge lodged halfway through bone.
Thankfully, that was enough, as the creature convulsed once.
Then again.
Then it stopped moving entirely, its body slumping into the dirt with a final exhale that sounded less like death and more like relief.
The team stood still, weapons raised, eyes sharp and breaths shallow, as they watched the beast for any last twitch or sign of movement that would suggest that it could rise again, however, none came.
Only silence reigned in their surroundings, bar from Cipher's whimpering, as he tried to stop the bleeding from his neck.
A few seconds later, the beast's eyes that were still glowing faintly, finally dimmed and began rolling back into its sockets, as black blood pooled beneath its cheek.
Leo didn't sheathe his blade. He just stood there, watching, his gaze fixed on the half-torn utility belt still fastened around the corpse's waist.
It was the same kind they were all wearing.
Same material. Same type of make.
As it was for sure an assassin belt, which meant that the man they just killed was once upon a time an assassin.
*Sigh*
Leo exhaled slowly, his chest tightening with something colder than fear.
'He wasn't born a monster. He became one in this world, after absorbing the tainted mana,' Leo realized, as just like that, the reality of the Time-Stilled World finally settled over him and the rest of the team like a second skin.
This place didn't just kill one.
It warped one into something unrecognizable.
And if they weren't careful, it was also the same fate that awaited them all.
As apparently, death wasn't the worst thing that could happen to one in a time-stilled world.
In a way, death was a mercy.
As if you lived long enough, much worse things than death awaited you in this accursed place.