"Want me to help here, or..." Clara muttered, looking at the street filled with almost ten of normies.

As Essence enveloped his cloak and hid it inside his soul for the time being, Leo shrugged. He also promptly ignored Clara's soft gasp upon seeing most of his body exposed for the first time.

"Do as you want," he whispered back. "Just don't get in my way."

Finally recovering from the small shock, Clara mock saluted and removed the bow from her back. She quickly notched an arrow and smirked.

"Alright. I will cover you from here then... Just in case."

Leo snorted but didn't argue, even if he really didn't need her assistance. At least this way, he might see a bit more of what the woman was capable of.

Doubt it though... Not enough Voidlings here to show off, and I don't want to alert the entire area. At least not yet.

With a light shake of his head, Leo approached the edge of the roof, a few final words leaving his mouth. "Once they are all down, get to the entrance as fast as you can. I will join you as soon as I secure the area."

Clara nodded. "Roger, roger. Good luck."

Won't need it. Not here. Not now. Leo snorted and jumped off the roof, the blades upon his arms extending. A single Cursed Human crashed onto the hard, unforgiving ground along with him, its head exploding like a melon.

Before any other Voidlings could react, Leo leapt off the corpse, quickly cutting through another beast. At the same time, short shadow blades formed in the air above him. The constructs shot forward like arrows, piercing right through the heads of two monsters.

Not bad. Gonna need to work on accuracy though. I almost missed a standing target. Leo noted as he skewered one more beast. Devour went to work right away, providing him with a fresh wave of power he had really missed...

However, even as the Voidling turned to dust, Leo never had the chance to enjoy the rush of strength.

In the corner of his vision, he caught a streak of blue soaring through the air. No, not a streak, an arrow, one shrouded in the power of Clara's soul. The projectile flew straight through a Cursed Human's brain and embedded itself in a wall behind the beast.

Good aim. Now let's finish it...

Whirling around, Leo's tails, covered in the Kiss of Death, cut right through a couple of Voidlings that tried to use his short moment of distraction. They fell to the ground, blood and gore spilling out of their severed halves.

Neat trick... To think something so blunt can turn into the sharpest of blades with just a single skill... Thanks Focused Bloodlust for the idea, I guess.

With so many Voidlings dead in a matter of seconds, only one more normie remained. Yet, unlike its kin, the monster didn't charge towards its death.

No... instead, the beast began to back off, one step after another, even as its crimson eyes remained glued to Leo's form.

Yeah... I don't think so. He grinned, shadows surging from his body and coalescing into a long spear above his shoulder. Should have thought about running off sooner. With no further ado, the construct flew like a bullet, going right through the Voidling's torso and nailing it to the ground.

The beast screeched, flailing around like a fish out of water. However, before it could do anything else, Leo closed his fist and the shadow spear exploded into tens of tendrils, killing the Voidling on the spot.

So much control... I wasn't even sure if I could do that, but I guess I have my answer now. Gonna need to run more tests later on. There is so much untapped potential in my affinity now that my control has skyrocketed...

Leo shook his head, raising an open hand towards Clara, who was still perched upon the roof. No time for it now though. The nest is waiting.

And so, with this thought in mind, Leo secured the area in front of the entrance to the nest and waited for Clara to come down. Thankfully, just as the woman proved during their travel here, she was far from slow.

"So what now?" Clara asked when Leo met her at the entrance. "We going in guns blazing, or you trying to be stealthy? You are an assassin, after all."

Stealth, eh? Maybe if I had perfected the combination of True Stealth and my affinity, it could work... Without it though? No way. Not in this nest.

"No use being stealthy here, especially not with you here," Leo explained with a sigh. "So unless you want to stay outside, we go in as we are... Besides, I bet those cats already know we're here."

Clara tilted her head. "Huh, you're probably right. The Ameist Colony always reacts before we even get close to one of the entrances. Shouldn't be much different here."

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Nodding, Leo formed another solid shadow dagger. "Just in case," he said, handing it to Clara. "I have no idea how fast they disappear, so better to have more than one, hmm?"

The woman slung her bow over her back and accepted the weapon without a word. She then unsheathed the other dagger Leo had given her and motioned to the entrance.

"Shall we?"

"Just remember what I told you," Leo said, taking the lead. "Stay back, and don't attack anything unless it attacks you first. Holden has sent you to observe, so do that and don't make my work any harder than it already is. Understood?"

Clara grinned. "Aye, aye, Captain. And if anything happens, I will scream."

Why do I have to deal with this human... Leo sighed, and out of nowhere, Hunter chuckled within his mind. You too? Really? Ah whatever? You are awake; that's all that matters... Be on guard. I have no idea what we are really stepping into.

Hunter growled, and instantly, bloodlust seeped into Leo's veins, sharpening his senses just a bit.

Thanks, this should be enough for now.

Stepping into the familiar reception room, Leo paused in the middle and raised a hand to stop Clara from following. Essence gathered in his body, and he released it all at once, letting Hunter's Pulse wash over the building.

Nothing... As expected.

Nonetheless, Leo didn't move from his spot, his mutated eyes taking in all the shades of grey and violet across the room. "Come on," he muttered, True Stealth disappearing with a thought. "I know you are here."

Yet, once more, nothing answered his call.

Are they scared? Planning something? Leo frowned and motioned Clara to follow. The woman listened right away, bathing the entire reception in a soft blue light as her hand ignited with Essence.

Huh, not how I wanted to do this. Though baiting thouse furballs out with Clara might be the only way… Guess I will just need to be quick. Leo mused, and instead of following in Clara's steps, he summoned more shadows out, enveloping his body in a thin protective layer.

With this done, the duo stepped into the first corridor, or a Vetilim tunnel would be a better name for it now. The walls and floor were utterly irregular and resembled the insides of Amiest's nest more than the warehouse building that stood here in the past...

Still nothing. Leo furrowed his brow as they reached the entrance to the main warehouse area. It was wide open yet smaller than what a human would use for a door. They even had to crawl to fit through the opening…

Well shit. His eyes widened as Leo gazed upon the interior of the warehouse. He had seen some of this nest through the window back before the second Cataclysm, but apparently, a lot had changed since then.

Some sort of labyrinth? He pondered, scanning the three different paths leading into the depths of the building. Vetilim and Corcera walls separated each of them, yet he had already spotted a hole here and there. Unfortunately, none of them were large enough to fit a child, much less a grown-ass human...

"I know I said to keep distance between us, but it might be best if you stick as close to me as you can," Leo whispered, still not moving from the crossroads. "That, or you can go back. It definitely will be safer that way."

Clara gulped visibly, considering the offer as her eyes darted to the exit. However, in the end, she just gripped the shadow daggers harder and nodded to him. "Lead the way."

Leo grimaced but didn't say anything. He knew this type of person; arguing wouldn't change their minds. If she dies, it's not my fault. I doubt Holden will understand that, though...

Fuelling a bit of Essence into Reinforcement, Leo stepped onto the middle path. He had no idea if this was the right one, but they had to start somewhere...

There! Leo shouted internally as a small figure darted out of the corner of the path. The lone Shadow Tail hissed at them, barring its tiny fangs.

Shadow Tail (Voidling) | Rank: F | LVL: 7 | Type: Shadow, Grace, Surface

Only two levels more than the last one I had seen. Not too bad, but there is something wrong here. There must be a reason why they didn't attack before.

Yet, despite showing itself the Shadow Tail didn't attack. The beast just hissed again and ran deeper into the tunnel.

"Weir-" Clara tried to mutter but fell silent as the Vetilim walls on each side stirred.

About a dozen tendrils of the living Void burst out, going straight for them. Leo spun around faster than the Vetilim could move and cut right through the dark matter, one after another. Next to him, Clara ducked and slashed at her attackers, not giving in to such a weak trap.

Good, maybe she won't be too useless after all. Leo huffed as the last tendril fell to the ground. And here I hoped that this could happen only during a Cataclysm. Fucking great.

From there, the duo delved deeper into the tunnel. They had to fight off a similar attack from Vetilim a few more times, but apart from a small cut here and there on Clara, the tendrils didn't pose any danger to them.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later, they reached the end of their path, a complete dead-end. Not even a single Shadow Tail decided to show itself this time.

I really don't like this. Leo spoke to Hunter, the beast agreeing instantly. They chose to follow the path to the right this time, but just like before, no more Voidlings appeared. It was as if, apart from that single Shadow Tail, the nest was abandoned.

No, that's not right. The System gave me the same message as any other time I had entered a nest...

"Leo?" Clara whispered quite loudly as they finished dealing with the latest Vetilim attack. "Any idea what is going on? I was never inside a nest before, but this just seems wrong."

"My thoughts exactly," Leo muttered back, keeping the pace of their walk. "I have an idea, but can't be sure till I..."

Leo froze as he turned a corner, and his eyes landed on the large open area before him. Instantly, a chorus of hisses and screeches filled his ears, washing away the previous silence.

So many...

Leo narrowed his eyes, scanning the tens of Shadow Tails jumping into an active Void Gate, one after another. The ones waiting for their turn glared at him and Clara, probably feeling safe from their position. And not without a reason.

Overlooking and guarding the evacuation was another Voidling. It stood as tall as a huge dog, its muscular legs tense as the beast growled at Leo. Crimson eyes continued to glare while two long shadow tails swayed behind the monster.

Well, well, well. If it isn't a kitty on steroids.

Guarding Two-tailed Shadow (Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 12 | Type: Shadow, Grace, Surface, Special