Chapter 174: Chapter 174- Fangs of Lightning
Leighton tugged his hair back and tied it in one motion, his voice calm but steady. "I’ll draw its attention. Vivi, you focus on Zoe. Get her ready for the strike."
Vivi frowned, her daggers catching the glow of the storm overhead. "Why don’t I distract it instead? I’m not great at... convincing people. That sounds more like your job."
Leighton gave her a side glance, the corner of his mouth twitching. "And hand the heavy lifting to someone younger? Not a chance. I won’t dump that burden on you."
Vivi let out a long sigh, muttering under her breath. "Ugh... why’s it always so hard to argue with old men?" Then, louder, she added, "Fine. But don’t you dare get yourself killed."
With that, they moved.
Leighton stepped forward, boots grinding against the cracked earth, his eyes locked on the lightning lion. He crouched low, then launched forward with a burst of speed so sharp it split the air. His skill [Speed] ignited, his body blurring as he surged straight at the beast.
The lion roared, its mane flashing with violent light, but Leighton’s strike landed first. His dagger slashed across its shoulder, forcing the creature back a few paces. The impact kicked up sparks and dust, separating it from Zoe in one clean move.
Leighton stood tall, twirling his dagger once before pointing it at the beast. His voice cut through the thunder like steel on glass.
"Your opponent," he said with an almost casual grin, "is me."
Leighton dashed forward, his body flickering in and out of sight with every [Speed]. The lion’s claws slashed where he had been a heartbeat ago, but the air only crackled in its wake.
Fast, but predictable, Leighton thought, sliding under the beast’s chest and firing two quick shots from his pistol. The bullets sparked against its lightning-coated fur, forcing the lion to recoil for a split second.
The beast roared, mane bursting with arcs of electricity. It stomped, sending a shockwave across the ground. Leighton kicked off the debris mid-air, twisting his body with impossible agility. He landed behind the lion, dagger flashing, carving a shallow line across its hind leg.
"Not so untouchable now, are you?" he muttered, lips curling into a smirk.
The lion spun, jaws glowing as it charged an orb of raw lightning. Leighton’s eyes sharpened, timing was everything. He sprinted in a circle around the beast, his movements blurring into afterimages. To the lion, it looked as though a dozen Leightons closed in at once.
The orb blasted forward, but hit nothing. One afterimage shattered in sparks, then another, until the real Leighton appeared on the lion’s blindside, sliding low and firing three more shots at its legs. The bullets pulsed with kinetic energy, staggering the beast just enough for him to leap onto its mane.
Electricity surged up his arms, biting at his flesh, but he gritted his teeth. "You’re not the only one who can play with speed."
He stabbed the dagger down, wedging it between the armored ridges of the lion’s neck. The monster roared, thrashing violently, lightning exploding in every direction. Leighton used the force of the blast to propel himself away, landing in a crouch, his pistol already reloaded.
The lion, furious, lowered itself for a charge. Leighton exhaled slowly, leveling both weapons.
The lion lunged, a blur of muscle and lightning.
Leighton sidestepped with [Speed], his body flickering just out of reach. As the beast’s claws tore the ground where he had stood, he fired two quick rounds into the earth beside its paw. The bullets weren’t meant to pierce, it was bait.
The moment the lion shifted its weight, the embedded rounds pulsed, detonating with compressed kinetic force. The blast unbalanced the monster, forcing its head low.
"Got you."
Leighton darted in, dagger flashing silver. He drove the blade into the lion’s shoulder, using his speed to push the strike deeper before flipping backward, narrowly avoiding a retaliatory swipe. Sparks trailed across his coat as lightning grazed him.
The lion snarled, fury sparking in its mane, but Leighton only smirked and spun his pistol on one finger. "Predictable."
He switched his grip, dagger in his right, pistol in his left, moving in a weaving pattern that blurred like a mirage. Every slash of the dagger was followed by a gunshot angled to ricochet against exposed nerves: ankle, jaw, rib gaps. The constant rhythm disoriented the beast, like being attacked from two directions at once.
The lion reared back, gathering lightning into its maw. Leighton’s eyes sharpened. He feinted with his pistol, firing at its snout, and when the beast flinched, he was already beneath its throat.
Dagger up. Slash. Gunshot. A dance of steel and fire.
Electric arcs exploded, blasting him back. He rolled, coughing from the static burn, but his dagger dripped with blood and his pistol smoked from overuse. He steadied his breath, twirling the dagger once before raising both weapons again.
Leighton exhaled slowly, his body trembling from the burns and strain. The pistol in his left hand clicked empty, while the dagger in his right dripped with the lion’s blood. His eyes narrowed, sharp as a blade.
"This ends now."
He vanished in a blur, [Speed] pushed to its limit. The ground cracked where he launched himself, his silhouette splitting into afterimages. The lion’s golden eyes flicked left and right, trying to track him. Too slow.
Leighton reappeared above its head, both weapons drawn. In a single motion, he jammed a fresh round into the pistol’s chamber and pressed the dagger along the barrel. Sparks flared as his speed charged both weapons, forging them into one lethal strike.
"[Final Velocity]!"
He pulled the trigger—
The bullet shot forward, guided by the dagger’s edge, turning into a streak of steel and light aimed straight at the lion’s skull.
But the beast wasn’t done yet.
With a roar that shook the battlefield, the lion twisted at the last instant. The bullet grazed past its mane, exploding harmlessly in the distance. Its paw, wreathed in lightning, slammed upward into Leighton’s ribs midair.
CRACK!
The impact threw him like a ragdoll, blood spraying from his lips. He hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and rubble before crashing into a broken wall. His dagger slipped from his grip, clattering across the stone.
Leighton coughed, his vision blurring, but he forced a smirk even as pain racked his chest. "Heh... he got me."