Every second, every moment, brought forth only more struggle. Even though the Treant was already immobilized, it never stopped moving. Leo had to constantly sacrifice more and more Essence to reinforce the makeshift jail, trying to limit the flow as much as he could to save his remaining reserves.

Nyx! What's the situation?! I'm running out of juice here!

'Most of them are preparing something while a single person is still hitting the Treant on the point you left uncovered,' the feline explained, sending him a mental image of the battlefield.

True to her words, almost the entire group gathered on one of the rooftops and stood there in a circle. He couldn't see much from this angle, but going by the bright light escaping from the gaps between the people, they definitely had something in mind. Now, he just had to hold the massive lifeform for a bit longer.

Easier said than done. Leo grimaced, momentarily opening his eyes to glance through the window. His shadows still clung to the Treant, but he could already spot a few places where they were fading, and he hadn't even noticed it before.

There is just too much to focus on... Maybe if I had more experience with shit like this. Yet, despite a thought like that, he still pushed more Essence into the technique, reinforcing it. Hurry up, you useless bastards!

'Leo! I have an idea. Hold on a bit longer — ten seconds, not more.'

Not wanting to lose any more integrity of the shadow prison, he just nodded to himself and focused fully on the technique. At this point, he had almost nothing to fuel it with, and now only pure control mattered. He couldn't allow even the slightest of shadows he had already created to go to waste.

And that was how each second ticked by. With the prison growing thinner and Leo fighting to stay awake and not succumb to the exhaustion slowly consuming his body and mind.

'Stay awake!' Nyx's sudden shout, along with a surge of Essence in their link, kicked him in the butt. The second wind hit him at once, pushing his eyes open.

Leo gasped and took it all in, directing the new energy where it was needed. A small bit returned to his soul, while the rest once more flowed right into the prison outside.

How? I thought you were running dry? He asked when the situation stabilized again.

Nyx chuckled, her tired voice ringing in his head. 'I ran away and found the nearest normal Voidlings. Consume did the rest. I just don't know how long I can keep this up; my skill isn't as strong as your Devour.'

I know, I know. He coughed, the strain slowly becoming way too much. I can't do this much longer, either. Another thirty seconds, and we are o...

His words died before they could reach their bond as a powerful tremor rocked the entire area. He even fell to the floor, his focus on the prison slipping a bit. Not that it mattered all that much any longer.

Leo opened his eyes again to an ear-shattering howl from the Treant. He peeked outside, spotting the massive, smoking hole in the beast's chest. It went almost through the other side, and for a moment, a hope ignited in his chest that this was it, that the lifeform was dead.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The Treant roared, one of its arms breaking free from the shadows. It swiped at something and going by the loud human scream, it didn't miss.

Fuck! Leo growled and gave everything to the prison, summoning tens of new tendrils to shackle the beast again. Nyx, I need more Essence, fast!

'Understood, but are you sure?' She asked as a new wave of energy entered their link. 'You said we would run.'

We will. He swore. I have one last idea. If this doesn't work, we run. They can save themselves. I'm not their savior.

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'Got it.'

With their link silent once more, Leo dove into his mind, unleashing the sleeping bloodlust. Right away, Ruthless Efficiency activated, but he didn't stop there. He pushed the skill all the way to the limit of its first stage and then fuelled it all into the shadows in his grasp.

The rage, the anger, the unstoppable hunger dived right towards the Treant with every bit of Essence he received from Nyx. Only this time, it didn't go there just to stop the beast. Instead, the shadows filled the entire hole left after the group's attack and waited as more and more energy came.

As the blaze of the second stage of Ruthless Efficiency began to lick at his mind, Leo knew it was the time. The supply of Essence from Nyx almost stopped, and he, too, couldn't do much more. This would be their last stand, and if it didn't work, only escape remained.

Burn in hell. Eruption!

With this simple command, every shadow upon the Treant's body exploded, releasing the accumulated rage in the form of spikes and tendrils. They all dug deep into the beast Vetilim's skin, but even then, those didn't do all that much.

No, what caused the lifeform to stumble and collapse onto its knees was the explosion on its chest, right where the hole was. Shadows burst forth from within, many protruding outward, tearing chunks from the Treant's body and riddling it with more holes.

The lifeform let out a quiet, pained howl before collapsing face-first on the street. At the same time, every shadow on the battlefield faded as Leo released his Essence and sat by the window, gasping for air.

Crimson Treant (LVL: 38) slain | Experience awarded | 372 Ether gained

You have reached level 29. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed. Please assign your 3 free attributes.

You have reached level 30. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed. Please assign your 3 free attributes.

Nightblade level thirty skill granted: Blink.

Soul. Fast. All to Soul! Leo ordered, grimacing. While it was nice to see that he had received a new skill, this was so not the time for this. The sudden rush of knowledge definitely didn't help at all.

'Are you okay?' Nyx's concerned voice came through their link.

Just peachy. He sighed, the pain in his soul lessening a bit thanks to the attribute boost. How are your reserves? I'm about as dry as the desert.

'Similar,' the feline answered instantly. 'I'm hiding in a building a few streets away from you. I need a minute or two to recover.'

Good. Stay there for now. I will deal with the situation here. Leo ordered, hoping she wouldn't argue. Which of course didn't happen.

'But you're no better off than me. They can still kill you!'

He flinched as a shout, along with multiple Hunter's Pulses, came from the street below. I might not have much of a choice. Don't worry. I have a plan... sort of.

"We know you are in this building," a female voice shouted again. "Come out! We just want to talk."

Sure you do. Leo rolled his eyes, climbing to his feet. With Ruthless Efficiency waiting for his call to activate again, he peeked outside. One of them is missing. Someone really got hit... Now, how much Essence do you people have left after all of this? Hopefully, not a lot.

Pulling the hood of his cloak all the way up to hide his face, he put his hands on the window frame and jumped. He sailed down onto the street, landing right on the back of the dead Treant. A single gasp came from the large group at this appearance.

Yeah... This won't go well. He grumbled, noticing the frowns and scowls spread on the faces of the Blessed Emissaries. They must have identified him right away and didn't like what they found. Better take some precautions...

With that thought, the tails under his cloak stabbed into the Treant's body. Devour activated right away, slowly soothing his almost empty soul. Now, he at least could fight if it came to that.

"Well," Leo spread his hands, his claws becoming visible. "You wanted to talk? Let's talk. Like a survivor to a survivor."

"You're no survivor, Voidspawn!" One of them, a blonde man, shouted, and a few nodded along.

Oh dear. He sighed beneath the hood. Don't tell me you guys are one of those groups. I guess your evolution matches.

"Silence, Clarke," the woman who first called out for him snapped at the blond. The two looked at each other, almost as if they were having a conversation with their eyes alone. After a moment, the man nodded, and the woman once more turned to Leo.

"Lower your hood, beast! Let us see your face," she ordered, leaving no place to argue.

He snorted. Did I just find Tyler's long-lost family? What is wrong with you people...

"The name's Leo. Not beast. Not monster. Not Voidspawn. Now stop acting like you have a stick up in your ass, and maybe at least thank me for saving your lives."

The woman in the lead narrowed her eyes, and at this moment, Leo knew this would be a 'conversation' to remember.