The flying beast shot into the air straight from the Crimson Mirage, its broad and red feathery wings carrying it like an omen of death. And maybe that was what the creature represented, with its body easily matching the size of an average human. Add to that, the bird also possessed two short arms growing out of its torso, their clawed ends glinting in the sunlight.
Overall, if Leo had to give the beast a short description, a demonic, overgrown vulture would sum it up quite well. At least it doesn't have a human head like its namesake... Thank the Void for small mercies.
The blood-red bird circled the area above the Crimson Mirage a few times, its croaks filling the air. However, the creature soon grew bored of its task, and after one final loop, it swiftly shot toward Leo. At the same time, a shout came from behind him.
"Leo! Come on, lad! We have to hide!" Dylan's voice reverberated through his mind.
Still merged with his inner beast, Leo snarled as the bloodlust came rushing back in full force. Hide? You want to hide now when more than half of the job is done? He shook his head as screeches of the remaining pack, croaks of the approaching Harpy, and the distant, muffled roars echoed in his ears.
No hiding. There is no reason to, not from something so weak!
Leo's vision sharpened in an instant, the red hues growing stronger as the all-compassing noises went almost silent. The blades upon his arms snapped outwards, and his gaze darted from the Harpy to the buildings on his right and the small Vetilim tower growing there.
Yes, there is no reason to run. Leo nodded just when a short but loud growl left his throat.
"Everything is fine. Use the guns if you have to."
In a whirlwind of dust kicked up by his feet, Leo soared above the bodies of his victims, bounding straight for the nearest wall. The croaks grew closer, and closer, but he paid them no mind as, with leap after leap, he climbed the vertical surface like it was nothing.
A little bit of Essence surged into his body when the roof came into sight. With an enhanced pull, he threw himself forward, dodging the diving Harpy by just an inch. The beast croaked as it flew up again, and Leo answered with a growl, not even sparing the monster a glance.
He had a destination, and not even the increasingly louder roars in the distance could deter him from reaching it. No, that noise would have to wait for its turn.
Come, you bloody chicken. Leo grinned as he stabbed into the wall of the Vetilim tower and pulled up, scaling it just as he had done with the building he stood on.
Just when he neared the top, the Harpy circled back and plunged straight towards him, ready to spear him with its long beak. Leo faced the beast, still hanging onto the tower, and the moment it came close, he jumped.
Leo's legs and arms pushed with everything they had, sustained by lowly powered Reinforcement. Even his three tails, in a show of support they had never given before, helped with the motion and, like a spring, fired him toward the incoming bird.
Arms raised high and blades glinting with a soft black glow, Leo sailed through the air, ready for the meeting with the red, flying chicken. It was only a matter of milliseconds and the lessening distance between them.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One…
And so, their meeting, bloody and painful, began.
As the Harpy attempted to sink its claws into Leo upon impact, his long, enhanced blades came down to intercept the attack. They meet the incoming limbs head-on, slicing straight through them in a shower of blood and then continuing onward to their next target.
Wings.
The bird, through the haze of pain, tried to shift its position a bit, but it was all for naught, especially in their position... Leo clipped the long feathered limbs too, stopping midway as the force of his strike finally ran out. The monster screeched, a long and mournful sound as they began to free fall.
Leo's tails and legs came to hold the bird in place as it began to wiggle, hoping to maybe save itself from the incoming doom with whatever power it had left. Yet, just like anything the Harpy did in the last few seconds, it failed.
They crashed hard into a random roof, the beast opening its beak once more as the crunching of bones accompanied its howl. Leo just gritted his teeth, feeling the rattle of his own bones. The body beneath him mostly cushioned the fall, but it wasn't enough.
And so, without any further ado, Leo took a decisive swing and plunged his blades right into the Harpy's head. No reason to make the fight any longer when another prey waited, its roars, and only them, growing stronger with each second in his mind.
However, before Leo could leave, Devour surged forward, diving deep into the Harpy's body and ripping away its remaining life force with no remorse. Truly, in the blink of an eye, or perhaps even faster, the monster was there, and then it was not, dust fading into the wind…
Fresh Essence poured into Leo's soul in waves, and almost instantly, the flow reversed, fueling his body with renewed strength as Reinforcement strengthened. Snarling, he dashed to the edge of the roof just in time to witness the second prey breaking free from the confines of its own prison.
Bulging, naked muscles, similar to the Cursed Juggernaut, crashed straight through Vetilim, splattering the living matter in all directions. The massive beast's two arms snatched the closest normie and, with sheer strength alone, tore its head from the body.
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The mini-Juggernaut roared, dropping the body of its kin as its eyes snapped to the beginning of the street in the distance. Leo followed, his gaze narrowing at the image of the three humans facing a Runner and a normie. They all gripped their puny powder weapons that had already claimed a few lives of the Cursed idiots.
Pathetic but unimportant... Leo growled before gazing at the block of muscles running slowly toward the humans. Where, you lowly dog? You. Are. Mine.
Brute (Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 11 | Type: Surface, Regenerator, Might
On all fours, Leo dived through the Vetilim jungle, leaping from one web onto another as if it was normal hard ground. Not once did he stumble or miss a step, not once did he falter, and he only came to a stop when the Brute was almost underneath him.
No. Running.
Dropping like an avenging angel — demon — his blades retreated, and instead, the Brute tasted his claws. The beast was smaller than a Cursed Juggernaut, but it still dwarfed Leo by a good margin, and so he had plenty of space to slide down its back, leaving ten long, gushing cuts behind.
When he finally stopped, still attached to the Brute's behind, Leo kicked with both legs and tails, flipping in the air to land a fair distance away from the stumbling mass of muscles. The beast turned, its ruby eyes burning with rage as it roared right at him.
Bloodlust surging through his entire being, Leo spread his arms, blades extending, and roared back, freezing the Brute in place. Yet, it only held the monster for a moment before it ran forward, spit flying out of its mouth.
A meaty fist descended on him, ready to crush. Leo scowled and twisted away, bringing his own claws down onto the arm and pulling. The Brute didn't do as much as stagger, but the action still gave him enough momentum to sail above and cut a straight line along the beast's neck and add another to its back with his blade.
The red of the Brute's muscles bled together with its ichor, yet as Leo landed once more, his eyes narrowed at the steaming wounds. Regeneration. Annoying dog. The cuts also weren't that deep, but he barely registered that fact in his mind.
It was unimportant. If it bled, it could die.
Big. Strong. Slow. Leo snarled, dancing away from yet another swipe and adding another gash to the Brute's body. It growled back and dived again, this time swinging both hands.
Leo waited for the right moment, and just when the fists almost crushed his skull, he stepped back. Bleed. Grinning, he brought the blades down upon the still-closed hands and jabbed deep. Before the Brute could even react, more Essence surged into Leo's body.
At once, he pulled both blades to the side, cutting right through the hard flesh, almost separating the Brute's hands from its arms. A fountain of blood sprayed from the limbs, but Leo didn't waste a moment as he jumped right toward the beast's head.
The Brute stumbled back, even trying to swat him away with barely functioning hands, but it was all for nothing.
Too. Slow.
Grabbing onto the beast's neck with both hands, a dark glow settled over them. The monster tried to reach again, but Leo just twisted away, settling on its back.
Too. Stupid.
With more power than ever, Leo's claws impaled the Brute's neck. Before Kiss of Death could run out, he dragged his arms back without withdrawing from the beast's flesh, separating its head from its body in one go.
Too. Dead.
Even as the head dropped, rolling along the ground, the Brute still stood tall. Leo scowled and pushing with all four, he jumped off the massive body. The corpse stumbled a few steps forward and fell, crashing onto the street with a thud.
Lowly Dog.
Not even registering the sudden silence all around, Leo approached the fallen prey and drove his claws into its body. Devour activated right away, draining everything it could. Yet, at the same time, something else began to drain away, slowly flowing back to the recesses of his mind.
Bloodlust.
It backed off, almost tentatively, and the world gradually regained its colors, losing some of its sharpness. The distant sounds also flowed back into Leo's ears, no longer blocked by the bloodlust that only cared about one thing.
Fuck... Leo groaned, ache spreading over his body even as Devour fought back to remove it instantly. That was... intense. The bloodlust... so overwhelming. But the focus... the precision... How? What was that?
There was someone speaking behind him, but Leo shook them away, still on his knees, draining the Brute. It was you... He called to the beast inside his mind. But how? We have merged before. We fought together for most of the day to practice, but never to this degree... Your bloodlust, it was never so strong.
A rock skipped next to him, but once more, Leo paid it no mind. No, only the softly growling beast inside had his attention. Especially as, somehow, he could now understand it as if it spoke English.
The System? Leo frowned, and the beast hummed. Alright then…
The bloodlust of a Prime Night Hunter is boiling within you. You have already made your choice; now live with it. May the blood of your enemies guide your way. The next part begins now.
Another stage of the Synchronization it talked about? Leo questioned thorough the haze, summoning the next notification.
Congratulation, User. You have managed to awaken Focused Bloodlust. As long as you accept yourself, you will never be without support.
Focused Bloodlust (Rare)
People think that bloodlust makes you mad, makes you unhinged. And they are mostly right, but what most don't understand is the potential that slumbers inside it. Moreover, few truly comprehend the sheer power that a focused bloodlust can unleash.
Effects:
You can now enter a highly focused state by perfectly channeling bloodlust through your mind. During it, your perception of the world and martial prowess is enhanced. Please note that this enhancement refers mostly to melee combat and self-enhancing abilities. Affinities and techniques are often ignored during this state. Additionally, this ability usually lowers Users' inhibitions, bringing their minds to a slightly more primal state.
There was no knowledge, no rush of information, yet Leo didn't care. By all means, he should be scared, terrified even, that this ability probably manipulated his mind and twisted it into something different, but he wasn't.
He couldn't, not when he was perfectly aware of everything that was happening during the trance. Those were still primarily his actions, and whenever Leo wanted, he could have broken the skill, stop it almost the moment it began.
And yet he didn't.
Why?
Because... it was still me, all of me... And... they were all weak.