Dimensional Descent

Leonel's pupils constricted.

A Domain that cut off the senses. A sharpshooter that wasn't bothered by it. A leader that could ignore it all with intuition. And now a fourth team member that could make use of the all encompassing shadows to move where they pleased?

The composition of this team was enough to make anyone numb. But for Leonel, his eyes suddenly lit up. He had gotten the final piece of the puzzle he needed.

'Little Blackstar.'

"Yip! Yip!"

Shadow Rat suddenly found himself frozen, stuck in a state of corporeal and shadow. He couldn't retreat and he couldn't advance. It felt like some higher being had grasped onto his very soul.

PCHU.

In the darkness, a little mink flashed. When he appeared again, grasped between his little claws was a still beating heart. With just the smallest squeeze, it burst apart, falling in a rain of blood and gore.

Panda was the only one who could see this scene. The contrast between Blackstar's adorable little twitching whiskers and his bloody actions made even the apathetic veteran's heart seize.

To use a darkness domain and a shadow teleportation ability against a Sovereign of the Shadows… It was like leaping with both feet into an early grave.

Panda was at a loss for words. He didn't quite understand how to explain this. In the midst of battle, the greatest weakness of his ability was how long it took to communicate things. This was why it was so important to have Shadow Rat who was unaffected by the darkness, Double Shot who could mark his target ahead of time and aim accordingly, and Manson, who could move on instinct.

Together, they needed minimal communication even in the midst of such darkness. When Manson said 'ten meters', that was about the only communication that would come from others to himself. When it came to those with high level sensory abilities, Manson was the only one who could pinpoint their limits quickly.

Yet, not only had Leonel dodged two bullets that were shot from outside his range, Shadow Rat had picked the time just after Leonel dodged to attack as well. Usually, this was the perfect moment. But, in practice this time, he had walked right into a trap.

'That little mink?! Why wasn't there any information about that little mink?!'

The laziness of Panda's eyes vanished. He realized that he had to pull his domain down. This was the only way they would have a chance.

However, he realized right then that his movements became sluggish. A mental coercion dulled his reflexes. All he could see were two floating orbs of violet hovering within the darkness piercing into his soul.

When time sped back up, he grabbed at his throat, the words he tried to speak coming out in a gurgle. He couldn't fathom how the old gentleman, a man known for his care and meticulousness, could possibly miss such an important detail. Not once had he mentioned this little mink… Not a single time….

As Panda's vision darkened, he felt that at least it was good that his domain would fade away… That would give Manson a chance.

Unfortunately… His last sight was of a little mink leaping down from his throat and tearing a hole through his chest, taking with him a shadow that somehow felt eerily familiar to him. He couldn't even think about what this meant before he collapsed completely, dead.

Leonel lightly tapped his foot, appearing before Double Shot in a flash.

The latter panicked. He couldn't see in the darkness like Panda or Shadow Rat could, but his ability was a Sensory Type under the category of Marksmanship. It allowed him to attach a marker to a given target that would give him information about their location and give him the ability to aim toward them even with his eyes closed.

Obviously, it was a low level marking ability because it didn't have a homing ability, but it was still enough to tell that Leonel had suddenly gone from 50 meters from him to less than five.

Knowing where Leonel was, he was still able to aim and shoot. But, how could Leonel be pinned down so easily?

Leonel sidestepped once, sliding out of the way of the bullet the instant Double Shot pulled the trigger. The latter however, was still a veteran.

Flipping the holster of his second gun he aimed and prepared to fire, only to feel a piercing pain to his back.

His hands trembled, his shot firing awry. Even though he couldn't see a thing, he didn't need to, to feel that gaping wound that now hung at his chest.

He died…? How…?

As had been said long ago… The best chance one would have at beating Leonel was on as neutral a ground as possible. The more variables you added, the more abilities you had, the greater advantage you thought you had grasped…

The more likely you were to end up dead.

Leonel turned toward Manson's location. All of this had occurred in just a few seconds, it seemed as though she was still waiting for Double Shot and Shadow Rat to finish their probing strikes before she took action again.

Those flashes of her death she had felt when she fought Leonel were firmly imprinted onto her heart. Even now, she was being as cautious as she could be, having no idea that three of her teammates had already died.

Leonel calmly took out his sniper rifle, resting it on his shoulder. Now that Little Blackstar had taken Panda's ability, he could feel Manson's presence with absolute ease, even without risking her sensing his Internal Sight.

But at that moment, Manson's hair all stood on end. She suddenly felt that danger that had been to just one direction was coming from everywhere. The suffocating feeling of her death bore down on her from all sides.

A bitter smile curled her lip. It seems that she was dead too.

Leonel pulled the trigger, sliding back a meter beneath the recoil.