Cerberus didn't mind Leon's gaze. Its mind was already in a berserk state, so it immediately attacked him.
Facing the ferocity of the three-headed beast, Leon didn't shy away. Even though he was injured, that didn't mean he'd be unable to fight. If anything…
"Come!"
A feral grin twisted his face as he welcomed the monster's attack with open arms. Its claws tore into his flesh despite the defense of the silver hide. Before it could retreat though, Leon's hands clamped on its forelimbs and his claws dug in, drawing blood.
Holding the creature in place, he delivered a knee kick into its gut. The monster jerked from the force, almost falling.
However, Leon continued to hold it in place. He leaned back, avoiding the middle head's fearsome bite that wanted to claim his head.
The stench of heat and gore assaulted his nose, but he ignored it.
From the side, Daddy Ye quickly supported Ice and retreated to back of the line. Even though her injury wasn't critical, it was better she stayed out of the fight.
The others actively helped Leon, especially Cassie and Shadow. Those two utilized their stealth class and bombarded the monster with attacks while it was held down by Leon.
Unfortunately, he couldn't hold it down for long. The monster grew furious and freed itself from his grip.
It brutally kicked both stealth users away, severely injuring them, then turned to face the real threat.
Bloodied but standing, Leon's feral grin didn't diminish. Instead, it widened. After killing the Undead King, he had gained a new attribute.
[Death Claws]
Coating his hands in death energy, any attack suffered from him would diminish the victim's life force. And now, after holding the creature for almost two minutes, it had weakened considerably.
'Have I become a debuff master?'
The thought made him chuckle as he exchanged blows with the monster. Injuries quickly accumulated on their bodies the longer they fought. At some point, he even had his left and right shoulders bitten while his hands stopped the middle head from claiming his own head.
Suddenly, Cerberus staggered with a confused growl. It had begun to notice the sharp, but gradual plummet of its strength. Not giving it any time to organize itself, Leon unsheathed his swords which had remained unused since. Gracefully, he sliced into the left head, pushing with all his might.
Although the monster resisted, in the end, it lost one of its heads. Seizing this moment, Old Pipe appeared and slammed his hammer on the right head.
Bang! Crack!
The skull cracked from the impact as the monster stumbled, disoriented. It hadn't even had time to recover when Little Tiger performed a flurry of slashes on the injured head.
Facing the pressure of the young boy's dangerous attack, Cerberus struck without hesitation. Even though it was dazed, its instincts hadn't dulled.
Daddy Ye's expression changed, his fatherly instincts kicking in. He appeared before his son and blocked the swipe with his shield. The impact made his arm groan, almost snapping.
Fortunately, he successfully blocked the attack. After a quick recovery for a brief moment, Leon rejoined the battle.
The monster's gradual weakening was noticable. Its reaction speed dulled, injuries accumulated, and blood loss further weakened it. The stump where its left head was had become a blood fountain.
Even though most of the evolved were injured, some more severe than others, they eventually brought Cerberus to its knees.
Using his blades, Leon cut off the remaining two heads with a pale smile on his lips.
'Ah~ finally. I can rest.'
As much as he had been ferocious, exhaustion was inevitable. Even though he was no longer a human and had far greater stamina, being critically injured in such a brutal battle was daunting.
If he had been a human, he'd have died from blood loss and heart injuries.
Under the strain of his exhausted mind, he gave Anna a meaningful glance, then collapsed.
"Boss!"
The others quickly rallied round him, but they were relieved to know that he was only unconscious.
"We'll be leaving after I claim the rewar—"
Before Anna could finish talking, a worldwide broadcast interrupted her.
[Faction 'Cloud Chain' has become the second team to clear a dungeon]
[Faction XXXXX has become the third team to clear a dungeon]
"So another team cleared a dungeon, huh?" Scarface muttered. "Still, they're quite late compared to us."
Anna only lingered on the message for a bit before approaching the floating gachapon. She opened it and took the silver disc from within. As for additional rewards? There was none. It was only available to the first place.
She didn't even bother browsing through the contents before she went over to the others.
She slung Leon's bloodied body over her back, then stood up wordlessly.
"Let's go."
Cassie said, holding her ribs where a deep injury was. Battered but alive, the team left the dungeon.
...….
When they returned to the shelter, the residents were shocked. They had never witnessed the team of evolved in such a terrible state.
Johnson and Bob quickly appeared to support them.
"Bloody hell…"
The red head muttered, eyes wide. He almost couldn't believe his eyes as everyone was injured. Still, no one was missing.
"Get us bandages. Lots of them." Old Pipe grunted, his expression grave.
Leon needed to be attended to, immediately. Anna and Cassie took him to their personal chambers and helped him out of his armor.
They then carried him to the bathroom to wash off the blood on his body. The injuries on him would have made any regular person or even doctor retch, but they weren't. Being evolved, such gore didn't really affect them.
"You'll wash him."
Cassie said, stepping out of the room with hurried steps. Anna was confused but quickly understood. Although they were step-siblings, seeing Leon's naked body must have given her mixed feelings.
'Ah. Cassie is embarrassed…'
She shook her head with a small smile, then began cleaning him up.
Minutes later, she carried him out, then dressed him while Cassie went to call for the nurse; Sofiya.
The half-russian lady gladly helped them bandage his injuries, almost making him a mummy. With his condition stabilized, she also treated the other's wounds and bandaged them.
Holding the silver disc tightly, Anna's jaws clenched. Seeing Leon's pitiful state struck a deep, bitter feeling in her.
'The rewards better be worth it.'