"AUOBE" Chapter 68. Mirage

AN: Now out for Awakened Tier. 

Just as he approached the trio, Tyler let the last Voidling fall to the ground before stomping hard on its head, a dark blue glow coalescing around his foot. The skull exploded underneath the force of the warrior, the mushy insides spilling out.

Leo quirked a non-existent eyebrow.

That must have been some kind of skill. He reasoned. No way he has enough strength to crush a Voidling's head with one stomp alone... Well, maybe if he placed everything in Might.

Shaking his head, Leo called out. "All done?"

The trio's gaze instantly snapped towards him, taking in the blood splattered all over his body.

"Aye, it seems so," Dylan replied, glancing at the bodies behind Leo. "Bloody hell, mate, you took them out faster than we did. I think I kinda understand why you went with this evolution now..."

Oh, trust me, there is much more to it than that. Leo snorted. "Glad to hear that. Though you three are quite good too. With one person still recovering and another half-tired, you took them out pretty fast."

"Doesn't change the fact that you killed as many even quicker, but thanks, I guess," Tyler shrugged lightly.

"I killed one more, but you can't really see its body thanks to this," Leo brought up the shining ruby crystal, and at their questioning looks, he tossed it to Dylan. "Catch."

Despite being a mage, the older man deftly caught the item mid-air, raising an eyebrow. "Ha, so this is the Crystallized Essence our evolutions have been demandin'. We were wonderin' where to find these..." He rolled the crystal along his palm, locking eyes with Leo. "And you're sayin' you got this from a Voidling? How'd you manage that?"

I guess this is how it feels to be the one in the know for a change. Leo mused. "Yea. There is a small chance that this will form inside a Voidling when they die. I was, you could say, lucky to get a skill from the beginning that drained and turned corpses into dust instantly. Without it, I probably wouldn't know about those either."

"So we either have to dig them out of corpses," Tyler grimaced, "or wait for them to turn to dust? How long does that take?"

Leo shrugged. "Honestly? No idea. Never stuck around long enough to find out... Anyway, if I'm right, you should be able to sense those crystals if you try hard enough and use some Essence. Then I can get them out for you if you want. You're probably gonna need those sooner or later."

The trio nodded and taking advantage of this moment of respite, they all focused on familiarizing themselves with the crystal's energy. Their three recent then kills became the testing ground to see if they could sense the presence of a crystal within.

They couldn't...

Although, with a quick pulse, Leo confirmed that there was no Crystallized Essence inside those corpses in the first place. Gonna need to bring a body with once inside and then let them practice if we get an opportunity.

He voiced this thought, and while they agreed, they also weren't in a hurry. The trio was still far from unlocking the middle evolution, so Crystallized Essence wasn't really needed now.

Their loss... Shit makes for nice grenades. Leo joked in the confines of his mind. They all had seen the crystal's description; he really didn't need to point out its other uses…

And so, with experimentations finished, the trio began their slow trek along one side of the street. Meanwhile, Leo darted straight to the nearest tree, claws paving the way to the top of the nearest building.

Let the fun begin...

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Street after street, they trudged through the city, never really pausing for longer than a minute. On the road, the trio fought like one unit, together destroying anything that stood in their path. Though, in hindsight, there weren't that many Voidlings left to stand in their way after Leo was done with them.

Just like they decided, he mostly stayed ahead, taking down most monsters that could threaten the trio. Whenever he could, Leo remained above, utilizing shadows to skewer Voidlings the same way he did before meeting his new companions.

Sure, some Voidlings had him dropping from the sky and slicing their heads off, but this honor was usually reserved for Runners and a single pack of three Hounds...

Which was quite a close call in itself, as the beasts almost managed to reach the trio when Leo was taking care of another group. Only the merging with his inner beast and a bit of Reinforcement let him intercept those hungry Hounds…

At least that encounter docked Leo another level up, what with all the Hounds being level eight. The surge of strength washed over him as it always did, and without hesitation, he allocated all his available points into Mind. With just another point or two, his control might surpass even his pre-evolution state…

Yet, despite the power-up, later on, they still had to take a slight detour due to five separate Maniacs populating a single street. They could have tried sneaking by, but in the end, no one wanted to find out how loud and dangerous those things could truly be.

Although, now that Leo gazed at the road below and the Crimson Mirrage growing in the distance, he had doubts about their decision. Something seemed wrong here, and going by the soft growling of his inner beast, it agreed.

Shit... How to do this and not end up as food for those fuckers... The trio was just around the corner of the adjoining road, finishing the last few Voidling there. Yet the moment they stepped on the intersection, they would be torn to shreds.

Oh, Dylan knew well to not allow his charges to rush in blindly. However, with the amount of Voidlings below Leo, a single glimpse was all the monsters needed for an army to be upon the trio. And without any stealth abilities, there was a good reason to worry.

So either I deal with this, or we have to go back and take yet another path, this time a much longer one... Fucking Cataclysm had to change the city so damn much... Leo shook his head, eyes still on the problem. So many…

Unlike most areas where there was maybe a single bigger pack of Voidlings and a few stragglers just wandering around, the street below was different. Each beast was part of a group here, a group that had at least one Runner and a bunch of normies.

One versus four, maybe five, I can handle if I take down the Runners instantly. But the moment I drop, at least one other group will see me and react. Fuck.

With three packs close to each other, there was no way to avoid getting swarmed. One by one, like he did outside the Nest of Shadow Tails, was easy, but that just wouldn't work here.

I need to take out most of them with a single attack... I even have a skill for that, but... Leo's eyes darted between the groups. Even if he fully eliminated one of them, the others would still come. And he really didn't want to risk everything like he did back in the Tainted Wasteland, at least not without a good plan.

And then there was the Crimson Mirrage and the feeling in his gut…

Maybe if I used that... Leo frowned. Lure one to the other and then drop on them with the skill read... Yeah, that could work, but the problem still stands. I had never used Decoy before…

Leo planned to practice it last night, but with the Scouter's appearance, those plans landed in the thrash. Now if he wanted this idea to succeed, he had to execute Decoy flawlessly on his first try.

Yeah, not a problem... Sighing, he quickly confirmed that the trio still had a few Voidlings to kill before setting his haze on the two biggest groups closest to each other.

One attempt. It doesn't work, I go back, and we take another detour. No need to take unnecessary risks. There is still time. Leo promised to himself, running across the connected rooftops.

The Vetilim webs and platforms were still abundant here, creating the perfect playground above the streets. Really, it was good this was happening here and not in an area with separate buildings. Though maybe then this might not have been a problem as they would have just gone through the backyards, avoiding this entire mess.

If only they had stealth and could come up here with me. Leo growled, stopping just above a pack close to the second but farthest from the third. Okay, let's do this…

Still under True Stealth, Leo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The pool of Essence stirred underneath his skin, and he let it fill his entire body, just as the skill instructed.

Give it an image. Create an Outline. And push out. Leo repeated again and again, a clear image of his body forming in his mind. With it ready, he pushed the intent along with the picture toward the Essence enveloping his form.

The energy whirled, almost refusing to accept what was given. Yet a single spark of fury from both Leo and his inner beast forced the power to yield to their combined will. And so intent, a clear vision and a mass of Essence engaged in a dance together, fusing into one.

At the same time, something clicked in his mind, and Leo pushed every inch of Essence that boiled inside his body. It remained glued for a moment but didn't stay like that for long.

With a final push, a final mental roar, Leo's eyes snapped open as a perfect copy of himself slid out of his body like a ghost.

He gasped, struggling for breath as almost a third of his Essence escaped with the Decoy. Holy fuck. I did it. Barely, but I did it…

Swallowing, Leo met the cold and unflinching gaze of his clone. Do you hear me? He called out to the tiny presence in his mind.

The illusion nodded.

Then you know what to do. The clone nodded once more and turned away, almost gliding towards a spot above another pack.

When it paused, Leo reached into his soul again, taking another third of his Essence and gripping it tightly. Instantly, every bit of anger, hate, and fury he could muster went into the amalgamation of power, but his inner beast evidently judged it lacking.

Roaring, the beast and hunter merged, all of the bloodlust diving right into the growing technique.

Gritting his teeth as Essence raged deep inside him, Leo finally let the shadows claim the orb of energy. Now, he called out to the illusion, and the clone dived.

It crashed straight in the middle of the group without a sound, yet the Voidlings took notice immediately. They howled, and the moment the decoy dashed toward the pack below Leo, they followed.

Faster.

He clenched his teeth as the pressure inside him grew with each moment. The shadows wanted to escape, but Leo held them, waiting for the perfect moment.

Three, two, one. Let's do it. Limit Break to one hundred for five seconds, System!

Just then, the decoy below exploded, pieces of glittering glass raining upon the ground. Leo took it as a cue and dived, mirroring his clone's actions.

The combination of two packs at once snapped their eyes to the falling meal and moved like one unit. Their howls filled the air as they readied themselves to tear Leo to shreds. However, no matter what the monsters did or how fast they ran, there was nothing they could do the moment he landed.

"Eruption," Leo muttered, setting his affinity free.

Eager to please, hundreds of thin shadow tendrils erupted from Leo's body, engulfing the world in a dark mist. Unlike the previous experience, where he could barely keep his eyes open, this time, he had a front-row seat of the spectacle.

All Voidlings in sight, that just had to come as close as they possibly could, tasted shadows this day. Every single monster was pierced by at least dew dozens of tendrils that went on and on. They stopped only when the power of Eruption ran out like a dying flame.

Yet, before they all disappeared, the shadows snapped back toward Leo, claiming a final scream from the Voidlings. With their strings cut off, the beasts were free to collapse, and just like a domino, that was precisely what they did.

For a moment, Leo smiled, but only for a moment…

Out of nowhere, a deep croak descended upon the world, followed by a muffled roar. Leo flinched, flickering his eyes towards the source of the former first, a string of curses leaving his mouth.

Harpy (Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 10 | Type: Aerial, Normal

I fucking knew something was wrong here...

AN: And that's the final chapter copied. See ya all hopefully tomorrow.