Troublemakers

Really? Leon lamented internally, his brief moment of peace shattered. Troublemakers, just when I find Yuna?

His entire demeanor shifted. The awkward softness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp focus.

Kira, floating beside him, noticed the change instantly.

"Leon? What is it?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "Your face just got scary again."

"We have company," Leon said, his voice a low murmur.

"Bounty hunters. Four of them. They've breached the veil."

Kira's spiritual form flickered violently. "What?! No! How?"

"They're going to find Yuna! And Roric and the others!"

"Leon, please," she begged, her voice frantic. "You have to help them! You have to protect Yuna!"

"I was planning on it," Leon replied calmly, his mind already working.

He gently but firmly pushed Yuna away from him. The fox-kin girl looked up, confused by the sudden change.

"Stay here," Leon commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Go find Roric. Tell him to gather the others and hide in the deep caves. Do not come out until I come for you."

"But what about you?" Yuna asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"I'm going to greet our guests," Leon said with a thin smile.

He turned and walked towards the shimmering curtain of magic, leaving Yuna to scramble off and find her guard.

He passed through the veil, leaving the vibrant sanctuary behind and re-entering the oppressive gloom of the forest.

He didn't hide. He stood calmly in the middle of the clearing, waiting.

Four figures emerged from the shadows, their eyes locking onto him immediately.

One of them, a man in fine leather armor with a polite smile, seemed to be the leader, Jax.

The others were a hulking half-orc, a sneering woman with twin daggers named Vex, and a robed mage.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Jax said, his polite smile not reaching his eyes. "A little lost lamb?"

"The veil's magic must be weakening if a kid like you could wander in," Vex added with a sneer.

"Doesn't matter," the half-orc grunted, cracking his knuckles. "He's seen us. He can't leave."

"I have no intention of leaving," Leon said, his voice calm.

The leader raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You've got some nerve, boy. I'll give you that."

"We know the fox-girl is in here," he continued, his smirk widening. "We tracked her scent to this cursed forest. Hand her over, and we might just let you live."

Leon's first instinct was simple.

End them.

A flick for each. A quick, clean solution.

But just as the thought crossed his mind, the system's mission reminder popped up.

[Objective: Neutralize the bounty hunters or chase them away. Rewards: 200 NP, Rank-Up Progression if only necromancy spells are used.]

No physical attacks, Leon realized with a surge of irritation. It has to be magic only.

This was a problem. His only offensive spell was laughably weak.

He turned his thoughts inward. "Kira. That illusion you used on the demon prince was powerful. Can you trap these four in a nightmare?"

"I... I can't, Leon," she replied, her voice sounding faint and tired. "That spell... it took almost all of my energy. And that was just for one mind. Creating a whole new reality for four people at once... I'm not strong enough yet."

Leon's mind raced. He was cornered.

He couldn't fight them physically. He couldn't overpower them with magic.

So, he had to be clever.

Leon's calm demeanor suddenly shattered. He took a panicked step back, his eyes wide with feigned terror.

"Her?" he stammered, pointing a trembling finger deeper into the woods, away from the sanctuary's veil. "The fox-witch? You're looking for her?"

Jax's polite smile faltered, replaced by a look of keen interest. "Fox-witch? So you've seen her."

"I... I saw something," Leon babbled, playing the part of a terrified lost child perfectly. "Glowing eyes in the dark! And the trees... they whisper when she's near! Please, I just got lost in here, don't hurt me!"

The bounty hunters exchanged glances. This fit the rumors of the Gloomwood.

"Looks like the kid stumbled into her territory," Vex whispered to Jax.

"Forget the boy," the mage said dismissively. "He's useless. Let's follow the direction he pointed. If there's a witch powerful enough to scare a kid this badly, that's where we'll find our target."

Jax nodded. "Get out of here, kid," he said to Leon, waving him away. "Run home before the witch finds you. We have business to attend to."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Leon cried, before turning and scrambling away, making a show of tripping over a root as he fled.

"Leon, no!" Kira cried out, her voice filled with betrayal and despair. She started hitting his spiritual form with her small, translucent fists. "You can't! You promised! You promised you would protect her! Don't give up!"

"Patience, Kira," Leon sent back, his mind calm. "I have another plan."

Once he was out of their sight, he melted into the shadows, circling around them.

He watched as the four bounty hunters cautiously advanced deeper into the forest. Though they were close, it was not easy to notice the entrance to the place where Yuna and the others were.

From his hidden position behind a massive, gnarled tree, he took aim.

"Dark Fire Bolt," he muttered.

A weak, sputtering ball of black-purple fire floated from his hand.

It drifted slowly and harmlessly towards a thick, ancient tree near the bounty hunters.

The bolt hit the tree with a soft poof, barely scorching the bark.

But then, a heavy, dead branch high above, weakened by the magical impact, creaked ominously and crashed to the ground right next to the bounty hunters.

They jumped back in alarm. "What was that?" Vex hissed, her daggers in her hands.

"Just a rotten branch," Jax said, though he was now looking up at the canopy with suspicion. "Be careful. The boy said this place was strange."

Leon smiled. It was working.

He fired another bolt. And another. Each one was silent and unseen, but each one struck a tree trunk, causing another dead branch or a shower of leaves to fall nearby, always just ahead of them, luring them deeper into the woods.

The bounty hunters grew more and more agitated, their confidence replaced by a growing sense of dread.

"Kira," Leon thought, his mind racing. "Your illusions are weak right now because creating a whole new reality is difficult."

"But what if you didn't have to create a new reality?"

"What if you just had to... change the color of what's already there?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

*"I'll make the 'rain'," he explained. "You just make it 'fire'."

A flicker of understanding lit up in Kira's mind. "Oh! I just have to make the leaves look like they're burning! That's easy!"

"Get ready," Leon thought.

He raised his hand and fired a volley of five Dark Fire Bolts in quick succession, aiming for a cluster of dead branches high above the now-distant bounty hunters.

A large shower of leaves and twigs rained down on the clearing they had moved to.

"Now, Kira!"

As the debris fell, Kira cast her spell.

The falling leaves and twigs instantly ignited with illusory flames. What was a simple shower of foliage became a terrifying rain of fire.

"What is this?!" the mage screamed, batting at embers that weren't there.

"Fire from the sky! It's the witch!" Vex shrieked, her face pale with terror.

"It's an ambush! Retreat!" Jax yelled, his earlier confidence completely gone.

They turned and fled, scurrying away through the dark woods, cursing the "blasted magic of the fox-witch" as they ran.

Leon stood in the clearing, watching them go, a satisfied smile on his face.

[Mission Complete!]

[Objective: Chase away bounty hunters. Status: Success.]

[Rewards: 200 Necromancy Points (NP). Necromancy Level Progression: 20/100.]

"We did it, Leon!" Kira cheered, doing a happy little loop in the air. "We scared them away!"

"We did," Leon said. "Now, let's go check on Yuna."

He turned and headed back towards the hidden sanctuary, his step a little lighter than before.