The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

Rin's heart pounded hard, her pink eyes wide with fear and defiance as a white-masked cultist appeared before her in a blur of unnatural speed.

Following her instincts, she pushed her staff forward, directing mana into a luminous orb that loudly exploded from the tip.

Smoke curled from a charred hole in the cultist's robe as the orb struck his chest, sending him flying back a few feet and crashing into the dirt. Rin's breath caught when she saw the cultist standing with his white mask glowing eerily in the dim light, his chest unharmed beneath the torn fabric. The spell was deadly, enough to kill a man.

Beside her, Nimbus snarled in his enormous panther form, his purple eyes blazing as he repelled the cultists that circled around him. Even his fury was insufficient to stop the ten immortals' constant attacks, but his claws and shadow tendrils swung out and held them at bay.

Rin's eyes shifted to a cultist Nimbus had previously mauled, who was now standing composedly and reattaching his severed hand with a gory snap of flesh.

"What are you?" Her voice trembled with fear and disgust as she whispered, sweat trickling down her forehead.

With slow, eerie footsteps that crushed leaves beneath his feet, the cultist she had blasted advanced once more. With a wet crunch, Rin's staff swung, calling forth an ice spear that sped forward and pierced his heart.

Blood dripping from its edge, he stumbled, his masked face tilting to examine the protruding shard. He casually pulled it loose, like plucking a thorn, tossed it aside, and continued to approach, his movements unnervingly serene.

Rin's hands trembled because she had only recently learned to fight, had been trained in spells rather than close combat, and didn't have practical experience, leaving her vulnerable to these undying opponents.

With a snarl, Nimbus tackled the cultist to the ground as he reached for her, his jaws tearing through his throat in a stream of blood. Nimbus's face was splattered with blood.

However, the cultist twitched, causing flesh to knit around his neck. The wound healed in a matter of seconds, and the cultist kicked Nimbus hard, sending him sliding across the dirt.

With purple eyes fixed on the reviving enemy, the panther stood up, his growl rumbling through the air, poised to attack once more. With his jaws agape, Nimbus released a shadow orb whose dark energy crackled and screamed through the air.

The cultist deflected it with a quick flick of his blade, but Nimbus was already airborne, his claws slashing with unnatural speed, forcing the cultist to stumble back.

Rin's mind reeled from the chaos as her heart pounded so loudly that it drowned out the whispers of the forest. Unbeknownst to her, a tall cultist approached from behind, his shadow hanging over them like a black cloud. His huge hands caught her as she felt him and whirled, locking her arms in a tight grip that caused her to gasp in pain.

"Let me go!" Her voice was raw with panic as she screamed and kicked wildly. "You bastard, get off me!"

Ignoring her, the cultist yelled to his fellows, "I have the vessel!" in a stern, cold voice. "Now bring the collar!"

A slim cultist approached, holding a slave collar. He reached to clasp it around Rin's neck, but she thrashed, twisting her head away, her teeth gritted in defiance. When he tried again, she lunged forward, biting his hand hard, drawing blood.

His masked eyes narrowed, and he yelled as he jerked back and stared as the bite mark closed instantly.

He growled and lifted his hand to strike, saying, "You little—"

Despite the fear ripping at her chest, Rin glared, her pink eyes burning with rage. With a trembling but fierce voice, she spat, "Try it." When Nimbus roared and rushed to her aid, two cultists stopped him, their combined blows slamming into him and pinning him to the ground with their superhuman strength.

Infuriated, the slim cultist slapped Rin across the face, causing her head to snap sideways and leaving blood to drip from her split lip. The shock stunned her, causing her body to go limp for a moment and blurring her vision.

He lifted the collar once more and proceeded to fasten it around her neck.

A sharp crack split the air, a mana-charged bullet ripped through the thin cultist's temple, shattering his mask and sending him dead to the ground, the collar clattering into the dirt. Rin was being held by a tall cultist who whirled, but then another bullet struck his head, knocking him back and causing his hold to loosen.

Gasping, Rin staggered free, her heart pounding, her pink eyes darting to the trees.

With his dark cloak blending with the twisted branches, Leo emerged from the shadowed trees like a ghost. His crimson eyes blazed with deadly focus, only their fiery glow visible above his black neck mask, and his mana-charged sniper rifle remained steady in his hands, the scope catching a faint glimmer.

Rin trembled, her pink eyes locking with Leo's—part relief, part fear.

Leo pulled the trigger, releasing a mana-charged bullet that ripped through the cultist's mask pinning Nimbus, dropping him instantly with a spray of blood.

He fired again without hesitation, and Nimbus was released as the bullet struck the second cultist who was holding the panther. Leaping toward a cultist who was charging at Rin, the enormous beast roared, his purple eyes blazing, his claws slicing through the air, driving the enemy back.

A cultist's voice, piercing with alarm, broke through the confusion. The ruler is here! Signal the others—right away!"

With a flash of mana, Leo's rifle disappeared into his item space, and he materialized before Rin in a blur of shadow step, his body a sudden, solid wall between her and the circling cultists.

Her pink eyes were glassy with pain and gratitude, and his crimson eyes softened momentarily as they met her tearful gaze. As Rin looked up at him, her body trembling from the moment, her breath caught and her heart raced.

With his gloved hand, Leo reached out and gently tilted her chin to examine the blood flowing from her lip and the slap bruise on her cheek. A spark of anger burned beneath his composed exterior as his jaw tightened in response to his cautious, almost tender touch.

He said, "hold on," in a steady, low voice that was tinged with barely contained rage.

Before she could respond, a cultist lunged from behind and swung his sword toward Leo's back. In an instant, Nimbus snarled and tackled the assailant, but the blade only lightly struck Leo's back, piercing his cloak and leaving a thin trail of blood.

Rin's voice broke in a desperate cry as her eyes grew wide. "Leonhardt!"

He focused only on her and didn't flinch. His thumb brushed the blood from her lip, drawing a soft yelp as pain flared from the wound. "Is it hurting?" he asked, his tone softer now.

Rin nodded, her pink eyes shaking with emotion and tears streaming down her cheeks. Her voice was shaky but fierce as she whispered, "A little."

Leo's eyes went to the cultist he had shot earlier, who was now standing up, the bullet hole in his mask spitting out the bullet as his flesh healed. The cultist's regeneration defied the fatal wound, and the white mask tilted, unsettling and inflexible.

Leo's voice trailed off to a murmur as his eyes darkened. "Every one of them who hurt you… will beg for death."