"And down it goes," Leo whispered, watching the massive shopping center collapse. Vetilim and debris rained upon the earth, sometimes joined by pieces of glass that somehow managed to survive this long.

Even when the entire building was reduced to a large pile of rubble, the ground didn't stop shaking. Ever so slowly, the earth swallowed the destroyed nest, creating a vast hole in its place.

Some buildings close by couldn't survive the sudden change in the terrain and collapsed, too. Within minutes, nothing remained in the area aside from multiple piles of debris and a deep crater in the middle of it all.

Well, now I am sure this nest ran deep into the ground. No way it would have collapsed like that if it didn't. He snorted, turning his gaze away. Now what?

With his task for today pretty much finished, he still had plenty of daytime before he had to go back to Wolford. Of course, he could return earlier, just like Lily told him, but that would be a waste of time and energy, in his humble opinion.

I can always kill some Voidlings around here, maybe do a few tasks, and then run straight to Wolford in a few hours. He nodded. Yeah, sounds good. Some mindless hunting is just what I need right now...

'Just don't go overboard,' Nyx's voice suddenly filled his mind. 'This city isn't exactly the safest right now, and I doubt you want to fight Payne today.'

Leo winced, the feline's words reminding him of the few remaining injuries on his body. While Bellatoure and Devour dealt with the worst of his wounds, the new Ruination technique left its mark on him. He needed at least a few more hours to heal completely.

I will be careful, he vowed. What about you? Finished with the nest?

'Yep!' Nyx exclaimed. 'The Guardian was pretty weak even for an E-rank nest. From what I heard a few minutes ago, you definitely had more fun than me.'

Leo glanced again at the ruins on his right and shrugged. Not sure if I would call it fun, but whatever. It was definitely worth it, though.

'Oh?'

You will see, he teased. Where are you?

'Close. I'm running toward you right now. Don't move,' she answered. 'By the way, did you get anything when I destroyed my nest?'

He frowned. Now that you mention it, no, I didn't. Did you get the notifications this time?

'That's right. I was surprised, too. It didn't give me an option to create a safe zone, though. Only informed me about my rewards, and that's all.'

And? He prodded.

'A bunch of experience and two thousand Ether. Do you have it? Remember, I don't have an Ether counter in my status.'

His frown deepened as he summoned the System's interface. He quickly made simple calculations and nodded. Yeah, I have it. Interesting... I got it without any notification. Think the same happened with the experience?

'Probably, otherwise, I wouldn't be level thirty-seven now. I killed a lot, but not enough for three levels,' Nyx admitted as she finally reached his position and sat down next to him.

Apex Shadow Claw | LVL: 37

"Huh, you really got three levels." His brow furrowed. "Wait. What about your evolution?"

'I unlocked it,' she grinned, showing her razor-sharp teeth. 'The System gave me a similar offer to yours, but I can only evolve close to night, so it doesn't matter anyway. Slightly disappointing, but there's nothing I can do about it.'

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"That's a shame," he clicked his tongue. "Did you get anything good, or do we need to do more?"

'I'm good. I have a max tier evolution waiting for me. Surprisingly, it still has an Apex prefix despite being a mix of a Voidling and an Akirian. I thought it would be gone for sure.'

"As long as you like it and it fits you, it doesn't matter." He patted her head. "So what is it called?"

'Apex Indomitus Nargon.'

Leo couldn't help but laugh loudly. "You know what? I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. Either that bloody Nightmare influenced us more than normal, or this is just one big coincidence."

Nyx snorted. 'Considering everything we went through until now? I don't believe in coincidences any longer.'

"Fair," he admitted with another chuckle. "Can't say my opinion is any different. Now all we need is for Lily to evolve into something with Indomitus in its name, too."

'Even if she gets an evo like that, I doubt she will go for it.'

"Yeah, you're probably right." He grinned. "Still, it would be funny."

'You really have a weird sense of humor.' Nyx sighed, shaking her head. 'I need to get going. Lily should be out of the city by now."

Leo nodded, giving her another pat on the head. "Go on then. Run fast and stay safe."

The feline swatted his hand away and looked him right in the eyes. 'What about you?'

He shrugged. "Like I told you before. I will kill some stuff, run around a bit, and then go back. I need some time just to let loose."

Nyx's gaze softened. 'I understand... See you in Wolford.'

"See ya," he muttered back, watching her go. Once she disappeared from his sight, he sat down and closed his eyes. "All right, let's see if I can do this."

A tiny bit of Essence gathered in his hand, forming into another Hunter's Pulse. Yet before he let it go into the world, Leo fuelled every bit of information about Payne into the growing technique. Then, when he couldn't think of anything else, he released it.

He opened his eyes to the brief flash of light, waiting for a trail to appear. Only it never did, leaving him staring at an empty air.

Nothing can ever be easy...

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

Although his first attempt to locate Payne didn't work out, Leo continued trying. He ran around the entire city, continuing to release Hunter's Pulses once he got far enough from his previous position.

Of course, just as he had expected, the result never changed. The skill still left him with nothing. At one point, he even tried to find some people from Payne's group just to make sure his ability didn't suddenly stop working.

It didn't, and that was how he found himself close to the ruins of the hospital Nyx had destroyed. Under Stealth Shroud, he followed the marked Emissary, observing the lone man from a safe distance.

Why did you come here? Leo frowned. Not even an hour has passed since Nyx finished. It's way too early for anyone to realize what happened. And then there are the explosions...

His frown deepened. As much as he didn't want to face another Emissary today, it looked like he didn't have much of a choice. He had to know what those bastards were planning.

Before he could convince himself otherwise, he dashed toward the lone survivor still inspecting the ruins. Limiting his strength, he punched the man with a closed fist right in the shoulder.

The Emissary screamed as he tumbled to the ground, the cracking of bones filling the clearing. His eyes opened wide, first tears already leaking out as he tried to crawl away with his one good hand.

That was when Leo revealed himself and struck again, sending his shadows to trap the other man. The sad attempt at escape instantly stopped, and he slowly approached his new prisoner.

Fear entered the Emmissary's gaze, and he almost stumbled when a pitful stutter left the man's mouth. "S-stay away, monster! I-I will kill you!"

Looks like Geron's brainwashing is as strong as ever. But you're scared... maybe I can work with that. Leo took a deep breath, crouching before the fallen man. "You can try, but I’m the one in control here. Answer my questions and you might live to see tomorrow."

The man shuddered at the sound of the demonic voice, trashing against the shadow constraints. "I-it's you. I won't tell you a thi—"

Leo extended one of his blades and put it right next to the human's neck, stopping his useless speech. "Think again. I can kill you right here and find another one of you. It won't be hard. You are replaceable; remember that."

The man gulped, his gaze jumping between the blade and the monster attached to it. Yet, a glint of determination flashed in his eyes. "No. I won't speak. You can just ki—Argh!"

A scream filled the area as Leo ordered a few of his shadows to stab the man.

"Last chance," he hissed. "You either talk, or you will join all your friends who died here today." This time, the spark of determination vanished, replaced by pure terror. Leo grinned wide. "Oh yes... Ten here and another seventeen at Westfield. I killed them all, slaughtered them, really. Is that what you want?"

Instantly, the man shook his head, tears now freely flowing down his cheeks. "I will talk. I will talk! Just, just don't hurt me anymore. P-please."

Leo nodded, his monstrous grin fading away.

You were right, Lily. We're all going to hell, and I will be leading the charge.