Essence surged into his body, igniting Reinforcement in his muscles. The bloodlust he had been holding back for so long followed soon after, filling him with familiar anger and hunger. There would be no holding back today, not against an enemy like this.

Lily and Malcolm weren't lying. He is powerful; I can feel that. And this armor. Leo narrowed his eyes at the Winged Messenger. He is the whole package, isn't he?

'I'm more worried that they knew where to wait for us. Even we had no clue where this exit led,' Nyx pointed out as she glared at the opposing group. 'If I doubted it before, now I'm sure that someone much stronger must be helping them. And considering they are targeting you...'

Then Geron is the obvious answer. He finished with a light grimace. Yeah... I figured that too. I have so many questions now.

'I will try to leave one of them alive,' the feline promised. 'You just focus on killing our main problem. Without him, our plans for the future will become much simpler.'

True that. Leo grinned. Let's do it then. Lead them away from here. I don't want us getting in each other's way.

'Got it,' Nyx hissed and sprinted away. 'Good luck.'

You too. He called out just as everyone aside from the Messenger gave chase after the feline.

"Trying to run?" The one known as Michael Payne chuckled. "It won't work. We have hunted and killed worse than your minion."

With Ruthless Efficiency already burning in his veins, Leo offered the Messenger a bloodthirsty grin. "No, you haven't. Did your 'lord' even tell you who you're up against? Or are you just following Geron's orders like a good little dog?"

There, a reaction, a widening of the man's eyes, exactly what he wanted to see after mentioning the Old One's name.

"Oh, surprised?" He taunted further. "You're not special, mate. You're just a minion in a madman's hands."

He was just spewing bullshit at this point, but going by the hate radiating from the Messenger, it seemed to work. Even the air became heavier as a soft golden glow began to leak from the man's body.

"Silence, beast!" Payne growled. "Leave the name of our Lord out of your filthy mouth. You know nothing, and soon you will become nothing. Any last words?"

"Only two," Leo grinned as more Essence gathered in his body. "Fuck you."

At once, the blades on his arms extended. The energy he had been gathering also surged out in a single, controlled burst, putting him right next to the Messenger.

Consumed by Kiss of Death, Leo struck at Payne's unprotected side, already preparing Phantom Erasure to finish the fight in a single hit. However, before the strike could connect, the man turned and raised both short swords, blocking the attack without even flinching.

"Is this all you have?" The Messenger growled as they kept their blades locked.

"No," Leo growled back and used Blink again to reappear at Payne's back. Once more, the attack was blocked as quickly as before, but he didn't stop there and flashed away two more times, testing his opponent's reaction even further.

He is quick; I have to give him that. He grumbled, putting some distance between them. And he wasn't using all his strength to block me, that's for sure. This might be harder than I expected.

For the moment, he lowered the flow of Essence into Reinforcement and instead focused it all on his affinity. Like a homing missile, he sought every single shadow on the battlefield, connecting them all with his almost invisible dark web.

At the same time, Payne finally moved, and with a single push of his wing, he dashed forward. Only Leo didn't let him even come close as the entire ground between them came alive, spewing shadows right at his incoming enemy.

The Messenger stopped his approach and instead flew higher, dancing between the onslaught of shadow tendrils. However, this wasn't all he had to defend from. Dozens of dark spears soon joined the fight, finally forcing Payne to do something more than just dodge.

Just before the projectiles and tendrils could skewer him alive, Geron's minion exploded in golden light, a shield bubble enveloping his body. It took every attack head-on, the cracks that appeared along the barrier healing just a second later.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Now, that's a good defense. Leo gritted his teeth, sacrificing another chunk of his Essence for another attack.

Four massive tendrils erupted from the ground, going straight for Payne, who still couldn't move thanks to the other shadows. Yet, when the man noticed the incoming danger, his body began to glow brighter and brighter before the entire protective bubble exploded outwards.

It obliterated every single shadow it encountered on the way. Not even the colossal tendrils could resist as they simply ceased to exist upon impact. Seeing this, Leo instantly cut off his Essence. There was no reason to waste more energy when it evidently didn't do anything.

So that's what Lily meant by complete Light affinity. Just what the hell is this? He scowled, also backing off from the expanding bubble's range.

In the end, the all-consuming barrier faded, leaving the battlefield empty as even the Resonance disappeared. It still drained way too much Essence to keep it up constantly.

"I will admit, that wasn’t too bad," Payne said as he still hovered a good few meters above the ground. "Your affinity could most likely overwhelm my subordinates. But not me. You are still nothing in my eyes. Now die, filth! I had enough of this farce."

Oh, come on! Leo groaned as the sky above was suddenly filled with over hundreds golden orbs. This is gonna suck.

Reinforcement flared to life at full power, and even Limit Break activated with naught but a thought. The bloodlust raging in his veins ignited even more, and the signs of a blaze slowly showed themselves within the fire. Holding back would only bring death now.

"Do your worst," he muttered just as the golden rain began.

Leo jumped away from the first orb, barely registering as the earth behind him exploded. More explosions followed a moment later as the entire battlefield became filled with bright light flashes. Most of the projectiles flew right at him, while others tried to cut off his path of escape.

They failed.

The orbs were fast, very fast. He had to give Payne that. However, when it came to speed, Leo was still unmatched. He simply weaved between the explosions, his eyes darting all around to spot every orb that even came close.

Nonetheless, with most of his mind focused on dodging, he almost had no time to react when the Messenger descended and slashed at his back.

A scream left his throat as he spun around and blocked Payne's other shortsword. Yet, as he did that, the other man pivoted and kicked him right into the path of another golden orb.

The projectile exploded right over his stomach, burning the skin and the muscle beneath. Leo ground his teeth as the pain became unbearable; it felt worse than even holding the Ether flares for too long. He just barely stood up, trying to ignore the river of blood escaping his mangled flesh.

"Do you see it now?" Payne said as he strolled over the scorched battlefield, not a single scratch on his armor. "You're just a rat drunk on the power of the Void. Next to me, you're nothing. Allow me to put your soul to rest."

The swords in the man’s hands ignited with golden fire, and with another few steps, the man closed the distance between them.

As the blades came closer and closer, Leo raised his own and blocked the attack. A grunt of pain left his lips as Payne's swords somehow sunk into his own blades. It was the first time something managed to damage the weapons given to him by his evolution.

Must be the fire. He winced as the Messenger attacked again and again, each strike cutting of a small bit of his blades. Is this how I go out? Really? Killed by some fucking cliche fanatic?!

The rage in his veins reached its boiling point, pushing Ruthless Efficiency over the edge. Blaze consumed his entire body, giving him the much-needed strength to push Payne a few feet away.

"Oh?" The man muttered. "Interesting."

At the same time, Leo fought to stay afloat as his injuries and primal instincts tried to take over. But he didn't let them, not now. This was his battle, and he would finish it even if it were the last thing he did.

"Screw you," he roared, and using bloodlust and rage to control his primal instincts, he pounced on the Messenger.

His speed reached new heights, and not even ten consecutive uses of Blink forced him to stop. All the same, Payne still defended, parrying or straight-up blocking every strike. Sometimes, the man even used his wings to protect himself, which, in hindsight, should be impossible.

Oh no, you don't!

He growled and summoned a wave of shadows that swept over the dozens of golden orbs that again appeared in the air. Some exploded right away, while others bounced away, crashing against some buildings in the distance.

"You can't harm me," Payne spat, and the fire on his swords surged in intensity. This time, when their weapons met, Leo’s blades almost got cut in half. "I see everything! The Lord's hand guides me. Give up!"

But Leo didn't care about mere words, and as they separated for a brief moment, he summoned most of his remaining Essence into his hand. Rage and bloodlust were the first to enter the mass of energy. The wish to destroy, corrupt, and consume followed right after. As the final piece, he added the wildness and primordiality of Ruthless Efficiency into the mix.

Just then, black and red Essence seeped onto his skin, covering it like a glove. He dashed forward, pointing the hand right at Payne's chest. Instantly, the gathered energy shot out in a beam, going faster than anything he had ever seen.

The Messenger still somehow managed to put a massive wall of light in its way, but it was all for nothing. The true Void affinity — as there was no mistaking what the power was — punched right through the barrier and continued onward.

Payne screamed as even though he managed to lean a bit to his right, the beam still pierced his armor and then shoulder. Finally, the black-red ray disappeared, leaving behind a deep gaping hole surrounded by decaying flesh.

Both Leo and his enemy collapsed to their knees. Even then, he still called forth the rest of his Essence and molded it into the final Eruption. His tails stabbed into the ground and released the technique.

Yet, the spikes that erupted from the earth never found their mark. Payne just jumped into the air and flew away, grasping at his massacred shoulder.

Leo blinked, watching as the blurry figure disappeared behind some buildings. Only then did he collapse completely, rolling onto his back.

"I'm alive..."