Shadow Essence dived into the ground, slinking across the Vetilim surface right toward the lone Emissary. The poor man had no time to react when a literal maw of darkness erupted underneath him and swallowed him in one bite.
A soft yet powerful crack of bones filled the corridor as the mass of shadows slowly shifted into a large wolf. The living construct turned toward Leo's hiding spot and licked its lips, its misty tail waggling.
Not bad. He admitted, approaching his new creation and scanning the spot where the Emissary had died. As expected, no sign remained of the man—his shadow creation combined with Devour managed to consume everything, just like he had ordered it to.
Not bad at all. He chuckled quietly and patted the wolf. Return. I have no need for you yet.
The construct gave a brief nod before its body turned into a cloud of shadows that flew into him. He could still feel a weak connection to his new minion that slumbered on the edge of his soul, waiting to be released again.
Of course, it couldn't stay there forever. The wolf wasn't like his minions created by Minor Takeover. In this case, he could only summon the construct again as long as it had the necessary Essence to sustain itself. Thankfully, this shouldn't be a problem anytime soon—it had the entire energy of the Blessed Emissary to use after all.
Gotta test how strong it is later. Leo noted, firing off another Hunter's Pulse. A frown spread over his face as he analyzed the remaining trails. Four of them are coming back. What the hell?
Quickly, he jumped high, sticking his claws and talons into the ceiling to rest there. Stealth Shroud spread over his body again, stronger than ever, and he refused to move any of his muscles. The four new arrivals would never know what hit them.
As it was, he didn't have to wait long for them to appear at the end of the corridor. The three women and a single man walked in a tight formation, their weapons ready to be put into action at any moment.
Not that Leo planned to ever give them a chance to react.
Once the four found themselves right beneath him, he released his hold on the ceiling and descended on the Emissaries. His blades instantly found their mark in two skulls while his long tail stabbed one of the women through her heart.
The remaining Blessed tried to turn when the squelch of splattered blood reached her ears, but Leo never gave her a chance. Multiple shadow tendrils escaped out of his back and wrapped around her neck, snapping it before she could utter a sound.
Five down, he grimaced, quickly consuming the bodies. He also grabbed the leftover equipment and stashed it in his soul. Tony's and Lily's group could use this stuff.
Nyx, fair warning, but they somehow knew when I killed one of them.
'Really? Do you think it might be that job Lily told you about? They can talk with their minds just like us, after all.'
Leo palmed his face. Of course... I completely forgot about that. Now it all makes sense. I guess complete stealth was never an option.
The feline snorted. 'We will be fine... Focus on the task. I'm shutting the link; I'm close to my first target.'
He nodded, and just as the bond went dormant again, a weak tremor traveled through the ground. Not even a second later, it was joined by the muffled sound of an explosion.
That's mine. Now, five more minutes until the rest go off. Good luck, Lily.
With the hallway cleaned up, Leo proceeded deeper into the nest. He passed through more corridors and some small chambers, barely glancing at the corpses of Voidlings left behind as he followed the remaining golden trails. This time, the Emissaries didn't separate.
They aren't going for the exits. He clicked his tongue. Motherfuckers are probably trying to set up a trap for me. I know I would if I lost five people in a matter of seconds.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
He reached toward his taken-over minions and ordered them to move into the nest. If the holy bastards were planning something, he would have to make sure that whatever they cooked up wouldn't work.
You can come out too, he said to the shadow wolf resting at the edge of his soul. The construct listened instantly and wrapped itself around his torso in its cloud form. Now, let's see where you are hiding.
For a minute or two, Leo continued sneaking through the nest, sometimes going up, sometimes going down. The amount of Voidling corpses grew in number the deeper he went, and he had to admit that at least the Emissaries knew what they were doing.
Not for long, though, he thought as he reached the opening to a giant chamber. All of the trails led right into it, and it didn't take much time to understand why the holy bastards stopped there.
The room easily encompassed two floors, giving the Emissaries enough space to utilize their numbers. To make it better, thanks to some remnants from the original shopping center, there were plenty of spots to hide behind. It was a perfect mess for a group that could communicate with their minds.
Well then. Good I'm not alone.
Leo quickly sent another order to his minions and stepped into the chamber under the cover of his Stealth Shroud. Yet, somehow, the moment his feet passed the entrance, dozens of arrows and other light projectiles flew at him.
He cursed and dived out of the way. Of course those people had a way to detect him with enough time to prepare. He shouldn't even be surprised.
As the shadow wolf detached from his body, Leo cast his gaze across the chamber one more time, instantly spotting a few of the Emissaries. They were all far away, in positions he couldn't reach right away.
Or so they thought...
At the same time as a Decoy escaped his body, he released a burst of Essence that flashed him right behind one of the archers. The man didn't even get a chance to blink before his head rolled off his shoulders.
Somewhere, a person shouted, and instantly, four more humans jumped in the open, their swords glowing with golden light. Leo was ready to Blink himself in the middle of them, but before he could do that, another woman dived out, her wings securing her place in the air.
Winged Emissary | LVL: 27
"Face us, beast!" she shouted, summoning two glowing javelins into her hand.
He snorted. No, I don't think I will. And just then, a low buzzing filled the chamber, putting a grin on his face. Have fun.
Koukars, of all possible elements he could find, flew into the room, going straight for the Emissaries.
A man with a staff, who hid the closest to one of the entrances, barely had time to create a thin barrier as a burning insect crashed into him and exploded upon impact. The shield didn't hold, and the man soared across the chamber, blood sprouting out of a stump that once was his right arm.
Ten remaining.
The death of another comrade put all the remaining Emissaries into higher gear. Light exploded everywhere as they hunted the higher-level Koukars, which could never match their synchronization and teamwork. Not that they needed to.
In the midst of it all, Leo once more disappeared behind the cover of Stealth Shroud and dove for the nearest exposed human. He didn't care much for his minions; they were here for distraction—the same went for the shadow wolf sprinting over the battlefield...
Two more Emissaries fell to his blades within seconds, while a third one became a target for his shadow eruption. That was when the rest finally realized that putting all of their focus on the Koukars just wouldn't work.
It was the Winged Emissary who placed herself between him and yet another poor archer. She threw light javelin after javelin at him, hoping to slow him down.
It didn't work.
Leo pounced on her like a demon, his blades overflowing with Essence as they clashed against a new pair of javelins. The woman lasted only for a moment before his superior strength pushed her back and destroyed the weapons in her hands.
She tried to recover, forming another sword of light. However, he quickly used his tail and slashed her across the chest. The woman gasped as her armor split like butter, releasing rivers of blood.
Yet, despite it all, she still stood tall and rushed at him with a sword in her hand.
She was good, Leo could admit as much, better than anyone in Eden. But compared to Payne, she was just an ant—an ant he crushed within seconds, even when she attempted to use her affinity and wings to defend herself.
He grabbed her wrist when she overextended and crushed it with his strength alone. The woman screamed, but the sound was cut short when the his second blade pierced her neck. He then released his hold and retraced his blade, letting the corpse fall to the ground.
With that, the chamber suddenly became almost silent, with only the buzzing of Koukar's wings reaching his ears. Leo looked up, spotting the last of his minions among the sea of bodies and blood. In the end, with their numbers reduced, the Emmissaires couldn't match Voidlings straight out of Supercluster.
He sighed, glancing down at the blood dripping from his claws. He did it—he killed them all, but at what cost?