'What do you think, how many of them are inside there?' Nyx tilted her head towards him as they approached the church entrance. 'This place is even smaller than my old nest.'

Leo hummed, an old memory of this building's interior coming to mind. "Twenty? Maybe thirty?" He frowned. "Unless there is a nesting gate inside. Then we're probably looking at something closer to three digits..."

'Agreed,' she purred, licking her muzzle. 'Hopefully, there is one here. They just might manage to entertain us.'

He rolled his eyes, pausing a few feet away from the half-open doors. "I swear, you're getting more bloodthirsty with each hour. What's up with that?"

Nyx shot him a dry look. 'I'm still a Voidling. It's in my nature. Maybe you would feel the same if you hadn't forced your bloodlust into hibernation."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again. "Okay... Fair," he finally grumbled out. "Though I still think you're taking it to the extreme. Those Soullings are weak. Nothing to be excited about."

'That's your opinion, not mine,' the feline gave him her equivalent of a shrug. 'Now, do you want to knock, or should I?'

He sighed, shaking his head lightly. "Go ahead," he stepped aside. "They won't come outside anyway. Of that, I'm pretty sure."

'We'll see about that,' Nyx huffed as she passed by him and sat down in front of the mangled doors half covered in Vetilim. 'Watch and learn.'

Choosing not to comment, Leo took a few more steps back and observed about a dozen shadow tendrils rushing out of her body. They all struck the door at different places, going straight through the old wood and Void matter.

You've got to be kidding me. His eyes widened a bit.

'Not at all,' Nyx sniggered and pulled with all her strength, both physical and mental.

The entrance groaned at first, the cracking of wood filling the area. The low popping and bubbling of Vetilim soon joined the noise as the entire door moved. Yet it wasn't enough, and so with a roar more powerful than any other, the feline pulled again, her claws digging into the ground.

The entrance shook for one last time before exploding into pieces, shooting debris in their direction. Nothing remained of the door apart from a big hole, illuminated by all kinds of light coming from the inside.

"Well," Leo grimaced, removing a blob of Vetilim from his head. "You definitely got their attention. Good job."

Warning! Nest of Soullings is reacting to the invasion. Forced awakening of incomplete Soulflame in progress. Good luck, survivor.

Soulflame? He shook his head just as two Voidlings appeared in the hole. Ah whatever. I will find out soon anyway.

Reinforcement filled his body, standing firm as the final line of defense against Soullings. At the same time, pure Essence covered his hands, the thin layer providing him with the tool required for the next part of his plan.

Nyx! Leo called out, taking the first step towards the Voidlings. Leave those two to me. You go have fun. Just don't go too deep. Wait for me.

'Got it!'

The feline slipped past the two Soullings with grace the beasts could never match. They still tried to turn, probably hoping to hit Nyx in the back, but it was too late.

Leo pounced on the two, and with his protection active, they never stood a chance. Hell, even if they faced him head-on, the result would still be the same.

Minor Takeover.

It took barely a blink for the link to appear in his head, for the technique to settle deep in the Voidlings' souls. It destroyed every bit of loyalty they held for their nest and subdued their instincts. There was no place for wild, uncontrolled actions when they had orders to listen.

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Find the nearest empty building and hide there. Don't come out until I call for you. To no one's surprise, the Soullings gave Leo a shallow bow and floated away from the church. That's part one of the plan. Now, to finish it.

Furious squeaks and shrills of pain echoed out of the open entrance, and he took them as an invitation. With his skills still active, his blades snapped out, the usual black flash swallowing them whole.

He burst into the Vetilim-consumed church, his eyes instantly falling on the multiple bodies on the floor. They still glowed with all the colors of the rainbow, but with each second, the light dimmed as the corpses shrunk into themselves.

A bit to his right, Nyx ran around a small army of Soullings. Whenever the monsters got close, she just drifted away at the last moment, her large body notwithstanding. As she did that, her shadow tendrils and other constructs fought for her, giving the feline all the time she wanted to play with the slow, colorful blobs of Essence.

Leo chuckled and averted his gaze. No reason to cut into her fun while there was plenty more interesting stuff here. Like for example, the other dozen or so Soullings floating around in panic or the colossal mass of swirling lights hovering where the main altar should be.

That's got to be the Soulflame. It's even getting power from the tower. Leo mused, noticing the constant river of crimson energy flowing down from the ceiling onto the large construct. This must be the Mirage's role here. Curious.

Despite wanting to inspect the Soulflame right away, all the monsters in the area moved to intercept him. He even stumbled a bit as an invisible force hit him in the chest. Yet that was all it did.

Leo rolled his eyes and summoned a whole arsenal of shadow spears above his head. As quick as they appeared, they shot forward even faster, finding a new home in the bodies of the Soullings. Some died instantly while others pushed onward, their pained squeaks filling the air.

Yeah. No. He snorted, sending another volley at them. This time, all the Voidlings crumbled to the floor, their light dimming. Anyone else?

As if they heard him, the remaining Soullings, even those still fighting Nyx, retreated. Like one unit, they flew towards the swirling mass of energy and jumped inside, their bodies disintegrating on impact.

Huh. Didn't expect that.

'You ruined my fun,' Nyx whined as she sat beside him. 'Why did you kill them all at once?'

Leo arched an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one who said we could clean up this place in five minutes?"

The feline scowled. 'I changed my mind.'

Of course, you did. He remarked, rolling his eyes — a gesture that had become increasingly frequent over the past two days. "Whatever you say... Now, focus up. I think this might be more entertaining than some glowing cannon fodder."

During their short exchange, the mass of power in the distance remained anything but idle. Almost like it was breathing, the mass constricted before expanding again. The swirling colors inside it mixed, slowly settling for a deep purple. Only when that happened did the movement stop, and the entire entity descended to the ground in a splash.

Leo blinked, thinking that maybe something had gone wrong. But suddenly, the blue liquid rose, reforming into a floating giant slime. The thing even had weak flames licking at its heavy body.

Definitely curious.

Soulflame (Voidling) | Rank: E- | LVL: 17 | Type: Soul, Aerial, Fire

And it's weak... Leo sighed, a shadow wall meeting a wave of blue fire released by the Voidling. It just washed over his affinity, not even doing a bit of damage. Yeah. Really weak.

Nonetheless, they couldn't leave now, or at least Nyx didn't want to. The feline already bounded towards the Soulflame, weapons of shadows forming behind her. The wild Voidling tried to hit her with wisps of flames, but just like with any other projectile, she dodged out of the way.

For a moment, Leo thought of just letting her deal with the slime, but then an idea entered his head. He flipped a switch in his soul, and the two chain-scythes materialized in his hands, the weapon already consumed by the Kiss of Death.

Without moving from his spot, he spun both chains and let them go just as Nyx reached the Soulflame. Her projectiles slid into its massive body, but apart from a few squeaks, the beast didn't seem hurt.

Not for much longer.

The Blades of Chained Inferno sunk deep into slime, all but the chains disappearing from view. This time, the beast let out a screech full of pain, a call for help.

There won't be any. Ignition.

Flames spread over the dark metal links, reaching the Soulflame within a second. The blue fire dancing across its body flickered out in an instant as the Voidling once more collapsed to the ground, howling.

Got you. Leo grinned. "Nyx! Finish it!"

Nyx didn't need another invite and jumped high, shadows gathering around her tails. When she reached her apex, she flipped, shooting three long yet thin waves of dark energy right at the slime.

It never stood a chance.