Every single bit of light around him got swallowed within a second, as Moonless Night claimed a small part of the chamber for itself. Dark smoke, similar to the one produced by Leo's shadows, filled the small territory, blocking the ability to see, to hear.
Not for him, though.
To Leo, this enhanced darkness was like an old friend, a soft embrace of a mother. Nothing could hide from his sight here, and he didn't even mean his eyes with that. No, his new skill reported everything that happened within its territory to him. He could pretty much fight with his eyes closed and still see.
Of course, he wasn't dumb enough to do that. He needed every advantage he could get for what was coming.
Speak of the devil…
Leo dodged back as the three remaining Bladeforms dove into his territory. With their constant spinning and arms extended, they looked like shurikens thrown at a supersonic speed. However, he was still faster—or so he thought.
The Nightmares didn't stay in Moonless Night for long. They simply escaped on the other side and did another round around the chamber before diving back in. This time, though, they dragged hundreds of gallons of water with them.
Shit. Not good. Nyx, to me! Walls! He shouted as the feline finally jumped into his territory in her smoke form and attached herself to him. With their minds open to each other, she borrowed his senses, allowing her to see and feel just as well as he did.
'On it!'
A mass of shadows exploded from the ground, enveloping Moonless Night in a tight, thick cocoon. The water coming from all sides crashed into the barrier, each element fighting for the upper hand.
The same couldn't be said about the Bladeforms.
The Nightmares cut through the shadows like a hot knife through butter and began their second assault. This time, they didn't try to leave and just bounced around the dark territory, hoping to catch their prey.
Not today.
With Nyx still controlling the shadow barrier using their combined power, he focused fully on the enemies coming at him. He danced between their blind dives, sometimes avoiding getting cut in two by an inch or less. Those things were fast, and even with his own way above-average speed and home advantage, it was still three against one.
Leo winced as one of the Bladeforms finally managed to catch him and nick his shoulder. That must have alerted the other two Nightmares as they severed mid-air and shot right at him. He pushed the pain to the side and Blinked away just before they could touch him.
As a result, the two monsters crashed into each other, stopping their constant spinning.
Leo leaned out of the way of the third Nightmare and dashed toward the momentarily confused duo with another Blink. His enhanced blades sliced through one of them, killing it on the spot, while his folded tail stabbed into the head of the other.
He tried to spin around and deliver a finishing blow, but just then, the only unharmed Bladeform closed on his position. As such, he was forced to abandon his plan and raise his arms to meet the spinning death head-on.
And so he did.
The Nightmare struck his blades like a falling star, sending him flying right into the shadow barrier surrounding his territory. It followed after him, not giving him any time to recover. The beast also stopped spinning and attacked him with eight limbs at the same time. They definitely hadn't lost any of their flexibility despite the bladed form.
Leo did his best to defend as he gathered his bearings, blocking what he could block and dodging what he couldn't. Despite his best effort, the Bladeform scored a few hits initially, slicing through his scales and reaching the flesh beneath them.
The wounds stung, boiling his blood. Yet, he didn't give in to the pain and instead fueled it into bloodlust that drank the powerful emotion like a man stranded in the desert. His power spiked as Relentless Hunger ignited with renewed fire.
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Spectral Fury reactivated at full power, and this time around, each clash of blades left a familiar tear behind. Those soon exploded, releasing the clones that instantly pounced at their new target.
The Bladeform tried to fight back, but not even its eight limbs could defend from tens of specters and their creator. The tides had turned, and Leo caught one of the tentacles within the chaos in a tight grip. The beast screeched as he pulled it forward but could do nothing when his blade struck its unprotected head.
And dead. Where is the last one?
His additional sense coming from Moonless Night quickly pointed toward the middle of his territory. Leo frowned and turned his gaze in that direction.
Would you look at that… He chuckled as he watched the Bladeform crawl along the ground. It left a wide trail of blood in its wake. His tail must have gone deeper than he had thought and almost killed the thing in a single strike.
Oh well. Leo canceled all of his skills, sighing in relief when the drain on his Essence disappeared. Supporting so many abilities at the same time and at that high intensity drained over half of his reserves in this short time. You can drop the barrier, Nyx.
'Wha… It's over?'
The frown returned to his face. "You didn't see any of what happened? How?"
The feline materialized next to him and instantly laid down. As she did that, the dome of shadows faded, allowing water to wash over them. There was enough of it to flood the entire chamber up to Leo's knees.
"See that?" Nyx asked, uncaring of the liquid around her. "Those stupid fishes were constantly attacking my barrier with all that. I had to push my shadow control way past its limit," she whined. "My poor head. It hurts…"
Right… He winced and quickly approached the half-dead Bladeform. He stabbed its head and threw the corpse toward Nyx. "Consume it. Hopefully, it will make you feel better."
The feline didn't need any more encouragement as she dug into her new meal. Leo ignored the loud tearing of flesh that filled the chamber and went to find the other corpses. Devour made quick work of them, filling his soul with some Essence and speeding up the healing of the multiple cuts he gathered during the fight.
From now on, I'm always keeping Spectral Fury at full power. Trying to do this stealthily was a mistake.
He shook his head with a sigh and leaned against one of the many stone pillars around the chamber. Then, he allowed the System messages to come out.
Devour consumed: +5 Might, + 9 Grace, +12 Mind, +9 Soul.
Nice, it's been a while since I got anything. A lot of Mind too… very good.
Trench Bladeform (LVL: 57) slain | Experience awarded | 432 Ether gained
Trench Bladeform (LVL: 68) slain | Experience awarded | 553 Ether gained
Trench Bladeform (LVL: 67) slain | Experience awarded | 494 Ether gained
Congratulations! You have reached level 57. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.
Leo whistled. He had expected a lot after gaining three levels from the first two stealth kills, but to get seven in total? No, that was even beyond his imagination. Though considering how three of those Bladeforms were over ten levels above him, maybe he shouldn't be surprised.
I'm definitely not complaining.
Congratulation! Your Soul has ascended past the Supernatural Tier (500). Second Transcended Tier obtained. The effectiveness of all Soul-dependent skills has been enhanced. Life span greatly improved. Releasing your power is now stifling for any creature with Mortal Tier Soul. Be careful.
Already? Only took seven levels for another one… He scratched his chin before shrugging and dismissing the notification.
As welcome as the second ascension was, it didn't affect him as much as the first one. Sure, the extended life span was nice, and he already felt the sheer potency of his Essence growing beyond what he thought was possible. However, even before this, no creature on his level could match his soul's power.
His title of Prime Akirian and Void's Heir made sure of that.
Though, it's good to know that I need to be careful around the civilians now. His gaze then turned to Nyx—who just finished her meal—and out of curiosity, he activated Identify.
Apex Indomitus Nargon | LVL: 54
Not bad, not bad at all. Leo smiled.
"Nyx!" he called out, getting her to turn to him. "What's your rank now? Did you get an ascension?"
"D-, just like you and my Grace just ascended with the last level up. Oh, and"—she perked up—"my evolution also went through maturity at level fifty. I'm getting only a few less attributes than you now."
Leo nodded. "I guess that's to be expected. The same thing happened when my class advanced after all… Anyway, how you feeling now?"
"Better. I should be fine in a few."
"Good, because we're killing everything on this layer. Fast."