That man's cold, threatening words still echoed in Leon and Shion's ears. Both felt an unexplainable chill run down their spines. 'What the hell did he mean by that?' The thought hit both of them at the same time.
Shion frowned hard, her brain rapidly processing the information. Now she had two main things to think about. First, the clues they'd gathered: a twelve-year-old boy had gone missing, but they still didn't know the exact location. They needed way more information. Second, the suspicious behavior of the kid's father. Why didn't he seem upset about his son disappearing? And why was he threatening them? What the hell had happened in that house?
She shook her head to clear the confusion, then snapped at Leon, who was still standing there like a statue. "Hey! How long are you gonna stand there spacing out? Come on, let's get moving!" Without waiting for Leon to pull himself together, she hurried off toward the next house that had reported a missing person.
The investigation moved quickly but didn't yield much information:
First house: 12-year-old boy (the one they'd just questioned)
Second house: 13-year-old boy
Last house: 10-year-old girl
Shion slumped down on the edge of the sidewalk, her face deep in thought. "Why are only kids going missing? And the circumstances are almost identical in every case... this whole 'new friend' thing..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "A 'new friend,' huh... What does that really mean?"
Before she could reach any conclusions, a terrifying roar thundered from the city center. It sounded like a Vine-born, but there was something different about it - something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Leon jumped, his survival instincts that had been drilled into him over years kicking in immediately. Shion also sprang to her feet, her amber eyes wide. Both of them rushed toward the source of the sound, even though Leon was still somewhat out of it.
When they arrived, what they found wasn't a Vine-born like they'd expected, but a muscular man. His face was covered in bulging veins, his eyes bloodshot red like a wild animal in a frenzy. He was rampaging through various shops, destroying everything and scattering debris everywhere.
"Get it! Get it for me right now!!!" the man screamed in a hoarse voice.
"Stop right there!" Shion shouted loudly, then slowly drew the massive sword she carried on her back. Suddenly, flame-red vein-like patterns began appearing all over the blade, glowing and flickering like dancing fire trapped inside.
The crazed man who was about to pounce on a group of panicking civilians turned to look at Shion and Leon. "Ha! Who the hell are you people? Stay out of this!" Instead of attacking Shion, who looked more dangerous, he changed targets and went for Leon, who was standing still without any defensive stance!
The muscular figure lunged at Leon with shocking speed. In that split second, Xiao Yan's voice echoed in Leon's head: 'Don't let your guard down! Don't blink! Don't be afraid!' But it was too late... Leon, still confused by the guilt and fear in his heart, could only stand there watching the figure charging at him, unable to do anything.
Whoosh! Bang!
The massive sword slammed into the crazed man's body with brutal force! His body flew backward and crashed into a shop wall, bringing it crashing down.
"Hey! Stop spacing out!" Shion yelled at Leon before turning back to prepare for another fight with the crazed man. "If you're not gonna help fight, then get out of the way! Don't just stand there being useless!" Her voice was noticeably more serious and fierce.
The cloud of dust from the impact slowly cleared, revealing the crazed man struggling to get back on his feet. His eyes were still bloodshot red and filled with madness. "You bastards..." he growled in a low voice, then pulled something that looked like a black crystal from his pocket and quickly shoved it in his mouth, chewing rapidly!
Crunch!
"RAAAAHHHH!!!" The man screamed. His body suddenly grew slightly larger, the veins bulging even more than before. Insane power radiated from his body as he lunged at Shion again!
Leon instinctively drew his katana, but Shion, who was already in position, was faster. She swung her massive sword at the charging figure with precision, but the crazed man managed to dodge it by a hair!
"Heh! Same old moves!" the crazed man laughed mockingly.
Shion didn't respond with words. She spun around quickly, using the momentum to add destructive power to her massive sword, then slammed it into the crazed man's body again with serious force!
Ugh!
The crazed man coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body flew even farther than before, then went completely still and unconscious.
Shion stood there breathing slightly hard, the flame-red patterns on her sword gradually fading away. Countless questions about what that man had eaten popped up in her mind. Leon, standing not far away, could only watch Shion's fighting technique with amazement. Her movements looked simple and didn't have any complex flourishes, but they contained incredible destructive power and sharpness that was hard to believe.