Vincent and his pack came to a stop on the edge of a grassy field that flattened out into a ring in the center. It was there the lion lay dormant and motionless. The grass around them was more than tall enough to hide him and his pack from view while they stalked their prey from fifteen yards away.

Something was definitely wrong.. Judging by it's size it had shriveled down to only half of its original mass, maybe. Vincent frowned. "I have a really bad feeling about this…"

He turned to his compatriots who waited silently beside him in the tall grass. "Stay here. Fan out and surround the beast. Watch my back and do not engage without my explicit command." He ordered. Dawn merely nodded in response and some of the others growled lightly. Vincent took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he slid out of the cover of the grass and began to move stealthily across the field.

He made sure to push Stealth to its absolute limits and even slightly beyond as shadows slithered across him like tentacles, concealing his presence from reality. Once he had gotten within fifteen feet of the beast he paused, a perplexed look gracing his features. 'Even as I am, his stats are high enough to know something is close by.. why hasn't he sensed me..'

Suddenly Vincent gasped in shock as he realized he couldn't read the creature's stats or sense it's energy. Not because he was too weak, as in years past, but because they simply weren't there. "Impossible.." The man muttered. "..Is the Nemean Lion.. really dead?"

Moving around to the front of the lion he stopped, automatically activating his Camouflage while he confirmed his suspicions. "Not good.." The lion was definitely dead, but that wasn't what made him uneasy.

There were no obvious external wounds but the beast's skin was wrinkled and taunt. The lion typically had snow white fur with deep black stripes and green splotches sporadically found across it's body. In contrast, the lion's primary coat of fur now seemed an ashy gray and it's normally pristine, obsidian stripes were thin lines of charcoal. Rather than its usual vibrant green spots, there were areas covered in shades of mustard yellow.

He had seen this handiwork before… Vincent slowly reached out a hand and began sealing the body of the beast into his inventory. It took a lot of mana and time due to the size and quality of the beast, even though it had been desecrated and was only a shell of its former self. "This is bad.. I didn't think any of the depraved were this strong." He mumbled as the lion's body finished breaking down into raw essence and swirled away into his inventory.

No sooner had he finished sealing the body of the lion when his sixth sense exploded in his head. Without warning a blur of pink energy slammed into Vincent sending him flying into the air. Fortunately he had been able to summon his shield and sword just before the moment of impact or he may have been knocked unconscious from the blow. As it was he had taken a lot of damage and cobwebs filled his head. He struggled to piece together what was happening as he landed in a heap of flailing limbs several meters from his original position.

Vincent quickly sat up, spitting out a wad of dirt and grass that had gotten stuck in his mouth. He shook his head and coughed. "What.. What in the hell was that?" He asked rhetorically, grabbing his head. He quickly produced a potion and emptied it's contents into his mouth. The massive gash that had been torn into his left side stitches back together rapidly..

Warning!...

"Shut up.." He muttered, groaning as he forced himself into a standing position. He swayed on his feet but then stiffend as he felt a spark of electricity travel through his Network of Souls which took the form of a message from his companion. "Boss!? You ok? What the hell was that??" His companion's desperation and panic wasn't helping his situation in the slightest.

"Wish I fucking knew!" Vincent barked back, out loud. Even though Lupus wasn't present he would be able to decipher the information being sent to him as if he were watching a movie or a hologram. After a few seconds of huffing Vincent rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. He may have been fully healed but he was still reeling from the lingering pain of the impact and the subsequent feeling of having his bones remerge after being shattered. It was never a pleasant feeling nor one you simply got used to.

Vincent narrowed hus eyes and looked around slowly. Whatever had hit him was close by.. he could feel it. "Lupus.. Remember that engraving we'd been working on?" He asked cautiously.

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'The one meant specifically to counter the depraved?'

Vincent nodded. "Yeah, that one. Begin preparations immediately. I have a feeling I've just gone from being the hunter to being the hunted." He said. C'on it!' Came the simple, yet meaningful reply.

Vincent closed his eyes and entered a battle stance. The field was completely empty and clear. He could still feel his subordinates nearby so he knew they were unharmed for now.. but where had the creature gone..?

'Master!' It was Dawn this time, and honestly he sounded quite panicked. 'Above you!'

"What!?" Vincent gasped, eyes snapping open. By pure instinct the man shadow stepped just in time to avoid being flattened by a large pair of gray feet ending in sharp talons. As he reappeared he looked foward in shock. 'I didn't even sense him until he was right on top of me..' He observed. "Thanks for the heads up Dawn. If not for you I'd be a pancake right now. Just sit back and learn whatever you can for now." He ordered. "This thing is dangerous."

Vincent raised his sword, leveling it across his shield and glaring at the creature before him. "What the fuck are you?" He wondered in astonishment while examining the beast. He had never seen such a monstrous creature before. Most monsters looked hideous, sure, but at the very least they all seemed to be fundamentally based off of creatures he was familiar with. This creature was the stuff of nightmares.

It was somewhat humanoid but it easily stood at nine feet tall and its gray skin was packed full of writhing, veiny muscles. It had four bright purple eyes spread out across itw forehead that were shaped like diamonds. The top of its head had black spikey profusions that made it look as if it were wearing a crown. Razor sharp teeth lined it's jaw and the creature's long, violet tongue slithered between them. It's broad shoulders supported two arms the size of tree trunks that ended in four ridiculously exaggerated claws.

It's chest, torso and abdomen were mostly bare, but from just under its naval area a thick coat of black fur covered the creature. The fur continued all the way down to its calves where it gave way to gray, muscular flesh once more. "I guess this would be the result if you fused the Gray Hulk with a Harpy and threw it into the system.. Just got to think of this as a boss in a game.." He said with clear and obvious dread. His face was clay and pale, and he readjusted his grip on his sword several times.

He was trying to remain calm but the fact was.. his instincts were screaming for him to run. It wasn't the creature's raw power, as he had felt much greater pressures before such as from Gildarts. But still there was just something about the beast that terrified him to his core. Unfortunately he didn't have any time to contemplate the precarious situation further as the beast began to move. It bent its thick furry knees slightly and haunches its shoulders, lowering its arms until its claws nearly touched the ground.

Vincent's eyes narrowed and he pushed his senses to the max, focusing his attention on the opponent before him. He began activating his skills and felt the power of his Aura coming to life around him. Yggdrasil reached deep into the ground with its roots, feeding on the energy of the environment and converting it into refined power before pumping through Vincent's veins. He studied the putrid energy of the creature as it built and circulated throughout its body.

'A skill..' He realized. The depraved was using a skill. Probably the same one that it had used on him before, if he had to guess. Honestly it made Vincent feel a lot better to know that this thing he'd avoided for so long was as at least somewhat familiar to him. It wasn't some boogeyman, immortal and unseen.. It was just a hideous and disgustingly overpowered monster. 'I can win this.. Remember your training.' He thought to himself.

It took all of five seconds for the creature tp charge its attack, and Vincent knew without a doubt it was a raw force he could not match. Encased In a sphere of dense and erratic energy the creature lunged, looking like a pink speeding bullet. With that single movement it cleared the distance between them faster than even Vincent's shadow step could follow, which is why his sixth sense hadn't used it to save his ass before. The only thing for him to do was move enough so the creature only clipped him instead of taking the hit head on.

"Gah!' Vincent spun like a top blood flying, before he landed with a thud on the ground. Vincent stood and wiped the blood from hie mouth and smirked. This enemy was strong. Stronger than him by far. But for the last two months Vincent had been getting tortu.. trained, by a malevolent entity that was several magnitudes stronger than both of them combined. Though his master's stats have indeed largely declined due to old age, the Orc's skill levels, talent and experience were more formidable than ever before. He was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful beings in Garkan.

Compared to Zar-Rhah.. this creature was slow and docile. All he had to do was stay one step ahead of it and not fight it directly.

The man remembered back to one particularly painful lesson in which his master taught him that sometimes, precision and finesse were key, rather than brute forcing an issue. Tactical planning was a much bigger deciding factor in a battle than who had higher stats and skill levels. Vincet had a hunch that once the thing started moving it couldn't change directions. It was all power and emotion... No control. The creature roared, snapping Vincent from his wayward thoughts. It rushed at him again, using that strange bullet ability.

"Come on you sumbitch." This time as the creature approached Vincent side stepped at the last second and kicked out with a furious low kick. Even with all of his skills active the force of colliding with the beast broke his ankle in an instant. He yelled out in pain but, feeling his center of gravity beginning to shift, continued to spin with the momentum until he was facing the creature once more.

The depraved carved a trench along the ground as it landed, coming to a smoking stop in a small crater. It was bloody and bruised, indicating that it had definitely taken some damage but Vincent knew it was trivial. Not wanting to give his opponent tike to recover he quickly began charging several abilities in tandem.

His right eye began to shine a brilliant blue luminescence as his left eye burned a bright, bloody crimson. Shadow and light converged around the man in various places, licking the air like sentient whips. Using his telekinesis, he levitated his shield and sword beside him so that his hands would be free.

Upturning his palms Vincent began to gather a large ball of black flame containing all of his energy and elements in one hand while in the other he created a Maelstrom Whirlwind which contained all of his gathered momentum and physical force. "You're not the only one who can teleport, fucker." By this point the depraved had scrambled to its feet in confusion and was wobbling slightly as it tried to regain its bearings. It looked up just in time to see a smirking Vincent disappear…

End of chapter 32