"ARRGGH!"
Seth let out a scream as Luna firmly grabbed his wrist and without hesitation, she snapped it.
The servants passing around immediately stopped at the sound as they turned towards the commotion.
Usually, that sound would come from the Ashbourne's failure, but surprisingly, the fourth young master was the one screaming in pain.
Even Orion was surprised at this action, 'that… escalated fast.'
Seth staggered back, clutching his now twisted arm, his face pale from both pain and disbelief.
"Y-YOU—!" he roared, veins bulging on his forehead as his composure shattered completely. "YOU DARE—?!"
Luna paid him no mind as she turned back to Orion and asked, "are you okay master?"
"Hmm," Orion nodded, "I'm fine."
"I see," She nodded before asking again, "would you like me to punish him for laying a hand on you?"
"That won't be necessary," Orion said with a chuckle as he stood up straight.
But Seth was unwilling to let go of that embarrassment, he stretched his unbroken hand out and muttered, "come out… Ironhide Boar."
A summoning circle instantly formed beneath his feet, glowing a dull bronze glowing runes appeared on the ground just a small distance ahead of him.
Soon enough, the ground started rumbling as his summoned beast rose out of the floor, revealing itself to be a boar.
The boar had fur made of metal, and so were its tusks. The moment it was summoned, Orion's system let out a ding as an interface popped up before him.
[Beast Identified: Ironhide Boar]
[Rank: Bronze]
The ground trembled slightly as it snorted, pawing the ground aggressively.
Despite his broken wrist, Seth's lips curled into a smug grin.
"Let's see you laugh now," he sneered, breathing heavily, "a failure like you… dares to injure me?"
His gaze moved to Luna, greed flashing through his eyes again.
"I'll beat you half to death and take that bitch for myself."
"..." Orion speechlessly looked at Seth, he wasn't surprised at the fact that he had summoned a beast, no, rather, "you sound like some type of third rate villain right now."
That did it.
"Kill him!" Seth roared, completely losing his composure.
The Ironhide Boar let out a deafening squeal before charging forward, its massive body stomping through the ground as it rushed toward Orion.
Orion, was a bit shaken, who wouldn't be, when the jungle's equivalent of an angry bull was currently charging at him.
Luna, on the other hand, calmly looked at the beast and placed herself between it and her master.
The moment the summoned beast was close enough, she gently lifted her fist and the next second,
BOOM!
She slammed it at the summoned beast and the defense a beast such as that was proud of was no better than wet paper right now.
A shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact, sending dust and debris flying in every direction.
The beast didn't even get the chance to squeal.
Its massive body was lifted off the ground and sent flying.
It crashed violently across the courtyard, tearing through the stone pavement before rolling to a complete stop several meters away.
[Ironhide Boar has been defeated.]
"…."
"…."
"…."
Orion looked at the beast in surprise before turning back to the system's screen, unable to comprehend what just happened.
Meanwhile, Seth's face had completely lost all color.
"W-What…?" his voice trembled, his mind refusing to process what he had just witnessed.
That was a Bronze-ranked beast, although it wasn't the highest of ranks, it was also not a summoned beast just anyone could one shot.
Hell, even summoned beasts a rank higher than Bronze would find it almost impossible to get through the iron hide and yet....
Seth's pupils trembled as he looked at Luna who casually lowered her fist.
His pride was screaming at him to stay, to retaliate and crush Orion like he always did.
But his instincts?
They were screaming for him to run, and those instincts were a lot stronger than his pride right now.
"This isn't over," Seth muttered, trying to salvage what little dignity he had left as he turned around.
"I'll make sure you regret this."
With that, he left, his movements were a lot quicker than he intended.
Luna then turned back to Orion and looked at him with expectant eyes.
He was a bit confused, until he noticed the sway in her tail, and his years of knowledge in anime and webnovels came in clutch.
She wanted praise.
With a sigh, he placed a hand on her head and said, "thanks for saving me,you did good."
"Hehehe," Luna chuckled as a blush appeared on her face, "then would master praise me more if I killed the pest?"
By pest, she meant Seth and as much as both this Orion and the previous one didn't like the idiot, he shook his head,
"Not yet," Orion said.
Luna pouted slightly at his answer, her ears drooping just a little as her tail slowed its happy swaying.
"...Okay," she replied softly, though the disappointment in her voice was clear.
But it didn't last long.
The moment his hand lingered on her head for even a second longer her entire mood flipped.
"Hehehe… Master is kind."
Yeah, she was definitely an unstable problem.
Orion withdrew his hand with a small sigh and glanced toward the destroyed courtyard, then in the direction Seth had left.
"Come on," he said, gesturing toward the smaller mansion. "Let's get inside before this turns into a whole family gathering."
Luna immediately latched onto his arm again, her body pressing against his without hesitation.
"Yes, Master."
***
Unknown to the two, at the highest part of the main mansion, where a circular window was,
A man stood, looking directly at them.
He had seen everything that had transpired but chose not to interfere, after all, the weak didn't deserve to call themselves Ashbournes.
But he was truly surprised at the outcome.
With a smile on his face, he muttered, "has the failure finally decided to get his life together?"