The Fallen Death Dog

Silence descended upon the place when they saw Cain's demeanor had changed. His body was surrounded by a dark aura that looked ominous. His gaze gleamed with hatred and a fighting aura, glowing in purple light, the same as Noir. 

His hands were wrapped around black cloth that seemed alive, and the tips kept wriggling in the air. The leader and its beast hyena stiffened in fright. They could faintly feel it, the death manifesting in front of them. 

A bead of sweat trickled the leader's forehead, and soon, his eyes opened wide when he saw Cain begin his move. 

With Cain's enhanced body and flexibility, he could control his body easily, and in a nick of time, he arrived before the petrified leader while raising his fist up. Noir also followed suit; it rushed forward. 

Noir's body had grown a bit larger, and it was wrapped around by an ominous gleam of darkness. Sadly, the two attributes were restricted, leaving them fighting only using techniques. 

He swung his fist aimed at the leader's face, but he saw the attack coming all along. Even though Cain was enhanced, it doesn't mean his abilities were raised significantly enough that the leader couldn't follow his movements. 

The leader bends his body before jumping to the side; Cain stretches the black cloth on his fist and lets it march forward and tie into the wooden lid the leader used to torture his partner. 

"This is for earlier!".

Putting all of his weight around toward the tips of his fingers, Cain swung his hands, and the black cloth followed the line, forming a beautiful arch carrying the wooden lid. 'Crack!' The wooden lid was destroyed as it smacked the leader's jaw, making his vision distorted for a moment. 

Cain opened his palm and clenched back to gesture the cloth wrapped around the leader's hand, and he pulled the man toward him. 

"!?".

Still affected by the impact that hindered his thoughts, the leader flew in a straight line, approaching Cain's side, who prepared his fist ahead. With all the resentment he held and all the strength he could gather, he put everything into this one punch and destroyed the leader's jaw. 

A 'bam' resounded within the vicinity, making the other men tremble in fear. The leader's body spun around in the air multiple times before it completely stopped and fell head first. 

"...That is still not enough!".

At the same time, on another side, Noir had utterly dominated the battle in its paw as it toyed with the invincible attack of the Hyena. 

After engaging in close combat, Noir noticed the enemy's attributes, and it was Air elemental. Its invisible nature, which also emphasizes freedom and agility, would make it difficult for a beginner to deal with it. 

However, Noir was not a typical Guardian beast; he held something special within him that stood out amongst the rest. 

The Hyena opened its jaw wide, intending to bite Noir's neck, who kept its composure throughout the fight. However, before it touched Noir's neck from its shadow, a black cloth shot forward, grabbing the Hyena's jaw and shutting it tight before slamming it forward. 

All of that was happening, and Noir was just chilling and standing straight, looking at the Hyena's sorry state. Looking at the figure towering before it, the Hyena realized that he was nothing but a weak, insignificant beast. 

Despite being born as a Hyena, who particularly lives in the wild, it could not hold a candle to the personification of darkness before it. Noir shiny purple eyes sucked the Hyena's consciousness, making its body tremble. 

Noir, who noticed its opponent had lost the will to fight, scoffed. From the shadows, several black cloths appeared and fully restrained the Hyena. Noir lost interest in the Hyena and turned toward its master. 

*Woof!

{*Woof!}

Cain flinched after hearing Noir's composed bark; he flashed a grin and turned to the target before him. The leader's appearance had morphed into something gruesome. His hand limbs bent in unnatural ways, joints dislocated. His face twisted in agony and smeared with his own blood, but the leader still clung to life. 

Cain looked around and saw the steel stick lying far away from his side. He stretched his left hand, letting the black cloth take it. He gripped the stick tightly and approached the leader. 

With his immobilized limbs, the leader couldn't do anything but only tears start streaming down his cheeks. From this moment on, he felt a deep regret for messing with something he shouldn't. 

His greed for a sadistic temperament had blinded him from seeing the bigger picture. Is this the time for him to reclaim those sins he planted? 

Cain's footsteps were calm, yet they were terrifying. Holding a sharp steel stick in hand, walking toward the man who gave him a tremendous fridge earlier. The other men, petrified, couldn't even have the power to speak their minds. 

Arriving before the limp man, Cain crouched down to face him for the last time. He observed the leader's face, etching it deep into his memory. 

"...Kuhk, What are you waiting for?". The leader's voice was low and hoarse, struggling to hold a groan from escaping his lips. 

"Ah, I will".

As soon as he said those words, Cain stabbed the man's throat, spilling blood from his throat and flooding the stick in his hand. He kept the position for a while to make sure that the man's sign of life had completely disappeared. 

{Noir, can you do it?}

{*Woof!} 

Came a confident reply from his partner, and Noir tightened the cloth around the Hyena and broke its neck, reaping their first kill as a Resonator and its guardian beast. 

Cain pulled away the stick covered in blood. He stood up and pondered the atrocious act he had committed. He looked toward his hand; it didn't tremble, indicating that Cain had no shred of guilt. 

This was his first time doing something like this, yet his heart was calm and not stirred at all. 

He wondered what caused his heart to change this much, but eventually, he shoved those thoughts aside and exhaled. 

[Resonator Experience up!]

[Progress +13%]

[Guardian Beast Experience up!]

[Progress +18%]

A transparent blue panel appeared before his eyes, and it took him a moment to absorb it. 'To think the first thing I would kill was Human and not our common enemy'. 

*Woof!

Cain's mind jolted to the surface after hearing Noir's energetic bark and the warm feeling of his body sticking to his leg. He looked down and found Noir was biting a small ball in its mouth. 

"Is that a Beast core?".

Noir put down the core, Lifting its gaze to ask for permission from Cain. He hesitated before taking the core in his hand. 

Beast Core, as the name implies, it was a core from Guardian Beast that contained its experience ever since it was awoken from its dormant state. If consumed by another Guardian Beast, it will give them a tremendous amount of experience in their progress. 

"Here, take it!".

Cain crouched down and extended the core to Noir's mouth, which happily gobbled before swallowing it in one go. 

[Noir had consumed Beast Core]

[Experience up!]

[Progress +30%]

"Not bad, Noir!".

*Woff!

Now, when the two of them were talking harmoniously, there was a group who had tensed all along ever since Cain had changed. They were still, or rather couldn't even move, due to fear of their own future. 

After witnessing their leader's death, dread washed away all the feelings within their heart, coloring their future in a black void. 

Cain stood up from his place and faced the three men, who somehow submitted to the ground, trembling all over. Witnessing their state, Cain's heart thumped before it hardened, as did his expression. 

He looked over and found the stick was still in his grasp, and he tightly clenched it. Then, in an instant, Cain took them all down with the same stab wound on the throat, brain, and heart, dying while spilling blood all over the place. 

"...Finally, It's over!".

[Resonator Experience up!]

[Progress +3%]

The place reeked of blood, so Cain took the boy in his embrace and left. A tranquil feeling washed away the demon he possessed in his heart, letting Cain loosen his tensed muscles. 

His action proved fatal; Cain's gaze flickered, and he almost lost his balance. Thankfully, the wall beside him supported him. For a while, he leaned his back to regain his composure. 

"Huff, I can do this!".

Strength began to fill his body, and Cain resumed his walk, carrying the boy in his hands. Probably because of the uncomfortable position he was in, the boy's eyes fluttered open, staring at Cain in an absentminded state. 

"...Big brother?". The boy hesitantly called Cain's surname, making sure that it was not a dream. He pinched his own cheeks, which jolted his consciousness awake. 

"Are you awake? Can you move? Sorry but, I am too tired after all the events happened".

"Ah, right, sorry, and thank you".

Cain put the boy onto the ground, and he could breathe a faint sigh of relief for being freed from the heavy burden. 

"Huuf, what a long night!".

"...Big brother? What happened back then?".

Facing the boy's curious and guilty conscience he held, Cain scratched his cheeks and intended to open his mouth when Noir leaped forward and began to growl in wary.

*Grrr! 

"Hou, I don't think that those guys will lose to a single brat".