Now, where is the guardian? Too scared to show itself?

As if to answer his question, fog—thicker than any he had seen before—descended upon the chamber. It surrounded him in a perfect dome, reducing the available space for the incoming battle. Still, Leo took a step forward, expecting the mist to move with him.

It didn't. Instead, it stood still like a solid wall, and for a moment, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he stepped into it. However, the System stopped him before he could make that decision.

Domain trap activated: Mist of Frost.

Ah, there it is, another domain.

Leo smiled and called forth his bloodlust. It answered like an eager pet, activating Relentless Hunger. His sight shifted, and several blurred, dark red silhouettes appeared within the mist. Most of them he recognized.

Let's play then!

Shadows rushed out of his soul, enveloping his entire body in a thick armor that was soon reinforced further by Nyx in her smoke form. At the same time, more of his affinity slipped onto the ground, covering the entire area not claimed by the mist. The guardian might have trapped him, but he wouldn't give it another inch of the battlefield.

Resonance and Manifestation online. His smile widened. "I see you… Come out."

A cold whisper echoing from every possible direction answered his words. "As you wish."

It speaks? Leo's eyes widened, though he didn't get much time to ponder this new discovery. The Voidlings responsible for the red silhouettes finally dived out of the mist, heading right for him.

He had seen all those monsters before and killed over a hundred of them already. There were the massive ogre-like beasts, mutilated animals, and even something resembling a Cursed Juggernaut, just half-dead in this case.

While Leo met the horde in front of him head-on. Nyx sprouted dozens of dark tendrils out of his back, fending off the monsters attacking from behind. He also transferred the control over Resonance to her, allowing her to command the entire battlefield. If the Nightmare controlling the strings didn't want to come out, they would force it out.

Dozens of small shadow constructs climbed out of the ground just as he clashed against the first Caged Frostwraith variant. The beast stood no chance as his blades sliced through its arms and the head they defended. Without sparing the new corpse a glance, he vanished with a Blink.

Thanks to the shadow creatures running around the battlefield, Leo had no issue picking off the Voidlings one by one. Some tried to defend from his hit-and-run tactic, but then a construct would strike them from behind, giving him the only window he needed.

And so, within a minute, maybe less, the wave of monsters lay dead on the ground, slowly getting consumed by the surrounding shadows. Leo almost felt insulted by how weak they were.

"Impressive," the cold voice spoke again.

Leo narrowed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. He even used a quick Hunter's Pulse, but just like before, the skill found nothing.

"I would return the compliment, but quite frankly, this was pathetic. Is that all you’ve got?" he taunted the unknown. "Come on. Show yourself."

"No."

With that, another wave of monsters emerged from the mist, their strength comparable to that of the last one. But that wasn't all that happened. Either his taunt had worked, or the Nightmare had simply decided to escalate the battle.

Not that it mattered which option was true.

A wind, colder than anything he had ever felt before, struck him square in the face, spreading frost all over his armored form. Tiny, almost unnoticeable shards of ice followed, cutting at his shadow armor. For the most part, they failed, but some still got through before hitting an unbreakable wall that was his clothes and scales.

Leo snorted. Nice try.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

In collaboration with Nyx, and without even moving from his spot, he released the hold on the Essence gathered in Resonance. Shadows exploded all over the battlefield at his order, tearing apart the mortal parts of the Caged Frostwraiths running at him. He could have targeted their ghost halves, too, but he had discovered that it took much more energy to kill them that way.

"And dead," he muttered after the last Voidling fell to the ground. He ignored the continuous biting wind. "Disappointing yet again."

"I see…"

At those simple words, the entire cave shook. Leo tensed and stepped to the side just as a gigantic spike of ice erupted from the ground. A blue frozen lance then flew out of this mist, followed by a dozen more. Still, he sliced and dodged them all.

"Weak," he muttered.

That must have enraged the one pulling the strings. Not even a second later, two smaller Caged Frostwraith Basilisks shot out of the fog, spitting blobs of poison all across the battlefield and dissolving Resonance in some places.

Leo grinned and jumped out of their path, gathering more Essence in his blades. Once again, he infused a touch of Ruination into the growing technique before releasing it when he reached the peak of his jump.

Two perfect arcs of shadows descended upon the Basilisks, which twisted their long bodies in an attempt to reach him. The attacks struck true, slicing through their heads and continuing onward in a shower of blood and poison.

Leo landed at the edge of the battlefield, and a moment later, the Basilisks followed—both dead and their bodies almost cut in half.

"Not bad!" he shouted. "Got any more?"

This time, no one responded. Instead, the dome of mist began to shrink, pushing against his Resonance still active over the ground. He frowned and fueled more Essence into the technique.

The advance slowed down, angering the unknown monster further. The biting wind sped up while another salvo of ice projectiles descended upon his position.

Leo stood his ground, focusing on stopping the mist. Nyx could deal with the ice.

For minutes, maybe longer, they fought in an invisible tug-of-war, a battle of Essence and affinities. The unknown monster was strong; he could admit as much. Nonetheless, it only managed to consume half of the remaining battlefield before his shadows stopped the mist completely.

All right, that took a bit out of me. He grimaced, feeling the sweat gathering underneath his Manifestation. Despite that, he couldn't help but taunt his enemy again. "Man, you really are weak. The Infernal Goliath on the last layer gave me a better workout."

"Amusing, but I can see your weakness…"

Just like that, a ghost made purely out of mist entered the battlefield. It wore a simple, tattered cloak, much like the one he had used to wear. Only a pair of glowing ice-blue eyes peered out from beneath the hood, betraying no emotion—not even the usual hate seen in other Voidlings.

With a dark scimitar enveloped in a thin layer of frost in its hand, the monster flew at him. Leo raised his arms, ready to test its strength. Yet, just as their blades were supposed to clash, the ghost faded before appearing at his back.

Leo spun around and deflected the strike.

"Too slow,” he growled. The monster ignored him and vanished again, though not before he managed to activate Identify.

Apex Frostwraith Reaper (Nightmare Voidling) | Rank: D+ | LVL: N/A | Type: Nightmare, Ghost, Soul, Ice

Got ya! Leo grinned. However, his triumph was short-lived as suddenly, it wasn't a single Reaper attacking him but two and then three. Still, Identify worked on only one of them.

Clones, he reasoned, and allowed his bloodlust to take partial control over his body. Ever since he encountered the first Caged Frostwraiths, he had an idea—probably not the smartest one—but first, he had to check the Bestiary before going in like an idiot.

Race: Nightmare Voidling | Subspecies: Frostwraith Reaper

Expected Potential: D to C+

Arsenal: Caged Frostwraiths

Known Weaknesses: Overall defense

Frostwraith Reaper belongs to one of the most powerful Nightmare evolution paths in the entire Void. They are one of the very few Voidlings that can control other creatures after infusing them with their life force. Thanks to that, Reapers can be active even during the day through their minions. They are commanders, not fighters. However, their minimal intelligence makes controlling more than a few beasts difficult.

Apex variant: Thanks to this variant's enhanced mind and ability to control other creatures, they can absorb a small part of the memories of their victims. This can make Apex Frostwraith Reapers as intelligent as some survivors. Additionally, only the Apex variant is capable of developing minor ice affinity.

That explains a lot, Leo thought as he focused back on the battle.

The Reaper was good, but with his bloodlust, Reinforcement, and Spectral Fury, it couldn't even get past his defense. As the System said, it was a commander, not a fighter. Without its increased intelligence and domain, he would have probably slaughtered it within seconds.

It could work, though, he mused, thinking back to his old idea. Maybe he shouldn't attempt such a thing before his journey into the vast Void, but he really thought it had potential. He just had to play his cards right.

And not overwhelm my body and soul with Ruination, he added as an afterthought. The System might have told him he now had at least two Obliterate techniques in him, but that didn't mean he could be reckless.

Nyx, I got a plan.

'Oh no...'