Leo let out a fake cough. "So… there is a very good chance we might have just alerted the entire layer to our presence."

Nyx tilted her head, looking at him with an expression that literately screamed, 'You think?' He opened his mouth to speak again, but another series of much louder screeches stopped him. Their new friends were getting closer.

"What's the plan?" the feline asked as shadows stirred along her body.

He should have known that deep inside, she was just waiting for the next big fight. Not that he could even blame her; they had spent over four hours searching for this place, after all. His blood was also boiling. Killing lone Daemons here and there wasn't enough.

"Depends on how many of them are coming," he said. "I say we funnel them into the tunnel and kill them there. We will see what happens after."

Nyx nodded, and together, they headed back into the tunnel. Though before that, they also sent a shadow spear into every egg inside the hatchery—no reason to risk getting backstabbed just because they decided to leave potential enemies behind. They even got a total of almost a hundred Ether for that, so it definitely wasn't a waste of time.

"This should be enough," Leo said.

They had barely taken a few steps into the tunnel, but that was more than enough for him. With the passage growing tighter the closer to the exit, he saw no point in going any further. He wanted to be able to move without any restrictions once the Nightmare arrived—which, judging by the noises reaching his ears, would happen quite soon.

All right, let's prepare a bit, he thought.

He took a deep breath and allowed his shadows to spread across the ground, connecting him to a wider network of darkness. With another chunk of Essence sacrificed, dozens of small creatures slid out of the walls, waiting for his command.

Hide for now. Wait for me to attack first.

At once, the minions sunk back into the shadows. And just in time, too, as a few seconds later, a squad of Lesser Infernal Daemons appeared at the end of the tunnel, their blazing weapons in hand. Those ranged from swords and spears to even axes—anything a human ever used to fight, those monsters wielded too.

Leo shot Nyx a grin and welcomed his bloodlust, which came without an invitation. Relentless Hunger ignited in his veins, followed by Spectral Fury that enveloped his blades.

"Let's give them hell."

The feline responded with a roar, and with that signal, they both charged at the incoming swarm. The Daemons met them halfway, swinging their weapons and releasing endless streams of fire.

The duo answered with their own wave of shadows that quickly overwhelmed the enemy element thanks to their stronger Essence. With the path clear once more, Leo and Nyx pounced and engaged the Daemons in close-quarters combat.

His enhanced blades cut through flesh and organic blades alike, sometimes killing the Nightmares with a single strike. His shadow minions took that as a cue and jumped out of the walls to sow discord among the enemy ranks.

The Daemons screeched and wailed as more and more of their kin fell. Some lost their heads to his blades, Nyx's claws, or tail. While others couldn't defend themselves from shadow eruptions or the dozens of specters that disappeared once they delivered their single attack.

Although this was a fight of two survivors against an entire squadron of Nightmares, it hardly looked that way. Sure, sometimes a wave of flames would hit him head-on, but aside from scorching a few of his scales, he barely felt it.

As for Nyx, she had even less to worry about. Her smoke form allowed her to just slip past anything the Nightmares threw at her without too much effort. It was the ultimate cheat code against enemies that had no way of overwhelming her.

Leo would have called her ability overpowered if he didn't have a few aces of his own. He could have probably faced the entire horde with his Spectral Fury alone and still won. Not even Relentless Hunger boosted his combat efficiency as much as the legendary skill did—though that could change if given enough time to ramp up.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

They are running away. He noted after slicing the head off another Daemon. He wanted to continue the bloodbath around him, but there was no one to attack anymore—at least not in melee range. All remaining Nightmares decided to bail and make a break for the exit.

Leo thought of giving chase but settled for a different method. He pushed more Essence into Resonance, expanding his reach all the way to the exit of the tunnel. Then, a series of Eruptions finished the job, summoning more and more System notifications.

He scanned the entire list, frowning when he didn't find the one message he wanted.

"The pursuit is still active," he said, gathering Nyx's attention.

The feline swallowed whatever she bit off again and shrugged. "Maybe the System forgot to send the notification? What else could have happened? They ran away."

He gave her a blank stare. "Do you really believe it would do that?"

Nyx's ears dropped. "No."

"Exactly."

"What are you doing?" she asked, seeing him walk toward the exit.

Leo stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Checking what's going on. You can stay. I will be back in a minute."

The feline nodded and turned back to her meal. How she still had space for that inside her stomach was a mystery in itself. He could swear she had eaten at least ten of Daemons since they arrived here—bones included.

Oh well, I have no idea how my body functions anymore either, so whatever…

Before long, Leo reached the cave's exit and took a quick peek outside. He immediately had to pull back as countless arcs of flames rained down upon his position.

"And that explains it all," he muttered, already walking back to where he left Nyx. She was still munching on her prey when he returned, but she stopped upon spotting him.

"That was fast," she said and licked her mouth. "Are we good to go?"

Leo shook his head. "Not really... This here? That was just the first wave. We got plenty more waiting outside. And it doesn't look like they are going anywhere."

"How many?"

He shrugged. "A lot. Could be over fifty of them for all I know. Or a hundred. I didn't get much time to look before they tried to burn me alive."

Instead of looking troubled, Nyx perked up. "Meaning it's time to go all out."

"That it is." Leo smiled as a piece of his soul infused his body, activating Manifestation. "But we got to be careful. The guardian of this layer might be here too. I doubt it's as weak as the daemons."

"Understood. And Ruination?"

"Not unless they force me to use it. We can do this. And remember, you can combine with my armor if you need a breather."

Nyx shot him a feral grin. "There will be no need for that."

We will see. Leo snorted and called back his bloodlust while activating Reinforcement. For this, he would need everything in his arsenal.

"Let's go."

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

A massacre.

The few minutes after they left the cave were nothing short of a massacre, though not as one-sided as Leo would have liked. He and Nyx had been confident going out, but not even they could emerge unscathed from a battle against nearly a hundred Nightmares—even ones weaker than them.

Still, they won. The sea of bodies around him and the blood coating almost every surface in sight only proved that.

"Ouch…" Leo grimaced as his shadow armor slipped off, exposing his body to the unnatural biting wind.

Despite all the protection from his affinity, scales, and the Narzak armor, most of his chest and right shoulder were now a mass of burned and mangled flesh. The unending waves of fire had managed to pass through his defenses, leaving him in a worse state than he had been in a long time.

Nyx landed beside him, her form still flickering with smoke as she shifted back to her solid state. Her injuries were minimal, thanks to her quick decision to use his body as a shield. However, her Essence reserves told a different story. Even now, she had to use their link to borrow energy from him.

"That doesn't look good."

Leo snorted. "You don’t say... Hopefully, it's nothing the improved Bellatoure can't fix."

A vial filled with a familiar liquid landed in his hand, and without hesitation, he drank it. As expected, a wave of relief washed over him as the regeneration of his damaged flesh sped up. It was far from instantaneous, but at this pace, he might be ready to fight again in an hour or two.

"Much better," he muttered, standing up—or at least trying to. He almost collapsed as pain exploded over his left leg. He glanced down and winced at the deep gash and a few more burns he found there.

"Some help?"

Nyx quickly came closer and let him lean on her body. Leo sighed. "Thanks…"

"You've protected me. It's the least I can do."

"I guess… Did you get all the runners?

The feline beamed. "Of course I did. Check your notifications if you don't believe me."

True… He nodded, calling for the awaiting notifications. Might as well.