Chapter 10: The Hunter’s Edge
Karsten Rell moves like smoke, two blades spinning in his hands as he circles the pit’s edge. Leon tracks his movements, his manna gun steady.
The crowd knew this fighter. Whispers carries his dark reputation—three hunters dead over a contract dispute, his license revoked, and now living underground ever since.
Leon remains silent, conversing his breath.
Rell closes the distance in an instanst. Leon fires once—misses. The ex-hunter weaves between shots as if he can read Leon’s intentions.
A knife flickers toward Leon’s throat. He jerks back, the blade grazing his collar instead of finding its mark.
Rell’s second knife comes low, aimed at Leon’s ribs. Leon twists, feeling the steel part of his fabric. Warm blood trickles down his side.
The crowd roars in approval. Real blood. Real danger.
Leon backpedas and fires again. Rell bats the manna shot aside with his blade, deflecting it as if it were a physical object. The round ricochets off the stone.
"Stand still," Rell taunts.
Leon’s next shot catches only empty air. Rell has already moved, circling left with predatory patience, reading Leon’s rhythm and timing.
A weighted club appears in Rell’s off-hand. He whips it across Leon’s temple before he can react.