With Nyx at the front, they rushed into the tunnel, never even giving the Nightmares an opportunity to follow. Despite the active pursuit, the Voidlings were just too slow to act, or really too slow in general. A few days ago, the beasts still had a chance to make a feast out of them, but now, all they could eat was dust.

This shows their power is more balanced towards Might and not Grace, like mine or Nyx's. Leo concluded, distant roars of Collectors ringing in his ears. Scouters might be able to match us, but not in closed spaces like this.

'Less thinking, more running!'

He rolled his eyes at the feline as they sped into the mall's offices. He would never understand how she could go from bloodlust personified to worried mom in the span of a few seconds. Although the unique circumstances of her birth might be at least a bit responsible.

Yeah, this must be it. Snorting, he dropped the ignited flare right in the middle of a corridor. The Nightmares were still far away, but he didn't want a repeat of the last time. Extermination of two nests and one Tainted Wasteland was enough fighting for one day.

And so, without anyone on his tail, Leo sprinted into the last office on the right and jumped out of the hole in the roof. Along with Nyx, he settled at the edge of the Graveyerd's entrance, watching its dark insides for any movement.

Yet nothing came. The Nightmares must have decided the chase wasn't worth it and retreated. A fact only proved by the next notification to appear.

Nightmare Pursuit stopped. You live to fight another day. Warning! Wolford's Graveyard Alertness raised from Null to Low. Be careful in your approach.

"Well... Seems like my next plan to kill as many as we can each time they go to sleep won't work," Leo frowned, standing up. "I knew it wouldn’t be that easy."

'Your little experiment failed too,' Nyx decided to remind him unhelpfully.

"I didn't expect it to work anyway," he waved her off. "Hell, it's better it didn't. Just imagine how dangerous creatures like Soullings would be if they could kill anything with a single strike, no matter the power difference."

The feline winced. 'Terrifying,' she muttered. 'One wrong move, one second of inattention, and you're dead, no second chances. You can never close your eyes or rest without the fear of losing your soul.'

"Something like that," Leo nodded, looking into the distance. "Though, all of this already applies to our lives. We're always taking risks, always walking on the fine line between life and death. This is how this world functions now. Not even a Safe Zone is truly safe."

Nyx nudged him with her muzzle before he could go on another tangent. 'Your pessimistic side is showing again.'

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're right. Old habit, sorry... Anyway. Time to move on from this hell on Earth. I got what I wanted, and maybe with those few kills, the next level might not be that far off."

The feline hummed in agreement. 'Where to now? There's still some time before night comes.'

"Don't know about you, but I had enough excitement for one day. Not that there is anything else left for us in Wolford," he sighed. "We pretty much outgrew this place... and man, that's not something I ever thought I would say."

'So, safe zone?'

Leo nodded. "Safe zone... Got to give Holden a heads-up about some of the stuff we did today," he raised a hand to stop Nyx from complaining. "I know I don't need to, but I want to. I lose nothing, and they might survive this shit thanks to the information I have."

'Humans...'

Once more rolling his eyes, he patted Nyx on the head. "Don't overthink it. That's just common decency, nothing more... Come. Enough chit-chat."

----------------------------------------

"You did what?!" Clara shouted as they all, bar Frank, settled in their 'council' room. The Fallen was apparently out, cleaning out the area and searching for supplies with a small group.

Stolen story; please report.

Give me a break. Leo sighed, already regretting coming back here. "The Tainted Wasteland and Ameist Nest Colony are gone. I also destroyed the Soulling Nest, but that's a bit more complicated."

"I heard you the first time!" The redhead scowled, putting her head into her hands. "It was a rhetorical question. You just... I... Bloody fuck! I give up."

'Is the human okay?' Nyx asked suddenly, and if he didn't know her better, he would have mistaken her curiosity for concern.

Honestly? Leo furrowed his brow, observing the mess before him. I'm just as lost as you are. I expected a bit of shock, happiness, and maybe even anger. Not... this.

"Clara. Enough, please," Holden spoke up, exasperation dripping from his words. "I'm surprised too, but this isn't a reason to have a breakdown. Get a hold of yourself."

As if a flip switched inside the woman's head, she cleared her throat and chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just... Well, you know what I mean."

"Aye, I do," the older man sighed. "Now, Leo, it's not that we are ungrateful. But I still have to ask. Why? If what Frank told me is true, nothing in Wolford apart from Nightmares can make you stronger."

Huh. So they already know. He mused before shrugging lightly. "A few reasons, but mainly to test myself. I had to get used to my abilities again after the power boost I gained three days ago. Though I wasn't sure if I even could destroy the Wasteland, and like I said, the situation with Soullings is a bit more complicated."

"Please elaborate..."

And just like Leo had already planned, he explained everything he judged necessary. The part about Tainted Wasteland went out first, as while important, it wasn't anything they couldn't come up with on their own. Only then did he follow up with everything about Soullings and similar monsters.

Holden and Clara gave him a few weird looks when he presented a modified story about testing the ghost-like monsters on other Voidlings. Apparently, throwing one beast into another didn't sound normal to them. Who could have known?

In the end, though, they listened to everything he had to say, sometimes dropping a question or two. Some remained unanswered, but neither Holder nor Clara seemed to mind too much.

"And that's pretty much it," Leo announced. "Oh, I also dropped by the Graveyard, but nothing really changed there. Just avoid that place like a plague, and you should be fine. With the way the Void spread there, we need much more firepower to bring it down."

Holden gave a slow nod. "Thank you. Both for sharing all this information and clearing out the city. The nests could have become useful later on, but it's not a real loss when danger surrounds us from every direction."

"Yeah, the fewer nests, the better," Clara smiled before a frown spread over her face. "I bet though that Frank won't be as happy about it. He planned to take a group for ant extermination tomorrow."

"I wouldn't worry," Leo cut in. "If I learned anything about the Void in this short time, it's that it doesn't give up. Sooner or later a new nest will pop out."

Holden shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Frank can complain as much as he wants. He will understand anyway... Now, Hale, I know we agreed only on absolutely necessary stuff, but this is a bit of an emergency."

This I got to hear. He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"There's no fighting involved," the leader explained. "We found a good amount of construction supplies in one of the nearby warehouses. The problem is that with what happened recently, I have almost no people to move it, at least the heavier stuff. We could wait a few days to get stronger, but Vetilim might consume it all in that time."

Leo almost gaped. Physical labor? Really?

"We really need it. Please?" Clara added, begging with her gaze alone.

"Can't you like buy everything from Ether Shop if any of you have the right job?" He asked, still in part disbelief of their request.

"Aye, we could," Holden nodded. "But I would rather not. We have to save Ether for sustenance and other supplies we're missing. Please, Hale, I can have a team ready to assist you in five minutes. It won't take longer than an hour at worst."

Leo looked between the two, and despite not wanting to do this, he still felt some sort of camaraderie towards them and a few others in this group.

"Alright. I will bite, but only this once."

----------------------------------------

'Had fun?'

Leo scowled, lying flat on the Safe Zone's roof. "Don't even start it. I'm warning you."

'It's not my fault you wanted to help the humans. What was it you called it? Ah yes, common decency,' Nyx sniggered.

"Yes, yes. Very funny," he muttered. "Now, if you don't mind, I have better things to do."

'What? More labor?'

"No," Leo grumbled, summoning the System's interface. "This"

Mutation: Minor Regeneration (Gamma Tier)

Death is always waiting around the corner, ready to hurl you into the Abyss at a moment's notice. So why not make it wait a little bit longer? Maybe even forever?

Effects:

Healing speed doubled. You now require less sleep to fully recover your strength. Lifespan slightly lengthened.

Requirements: 1000 Ether, 2 Hearts of Regenerator-Type level 15+ beasts.