“Look who the cat dragged in,” Lily teased. “Woke up early or didn’t sleep at all?”

  Leo sighed as he dropped onto the ratty couch in the corner of his sister’s room. It groaned underneath the weight of his sealed form, but thankfully didn’t break. That wasn’t an argument he wanted to start first thing in the morning.

  “Bit of both,” he said, sinking into the cushions.

  Lily frowned. “That doesn’t sound good at all. Want to talk about it?”

  He waved her off. “Nah… I got it all under control. Just need to think some things through. I will tell you about it later.”

  Her frown deepened, but she still nodded. “If you say so. Unless this is about another group of powerful beings trying to kill you, then I want to know right now.”

  If only, Leo thought. I would much rather worry about someone trying to kill me than the literal meaning of the entire multiverse. My head already hurts, and it’s only morning…

  “As I said, all’s good, sis,” he promised. “Though I was hoping maybe you would have something for me to do. Just please, no construction work. I’m not made for it.”

  Lily arched an eyebrow. “You came to me for work? Are you feeling alright? No way you’re that bored.”

  Leo shrugged. “Happens even to the best of us. I have to wait for Naz’Tor to call me anyway, so I might as well make myself useful. Help the community, you know.”

  “Right,” Lily drawled. “Why not just train? Practice your skills? I’m pretty sure you could even find someone to spar with if you promised to hold back a bit. Or well, a lot…”

  “Funny.” He rolled his eyes. “But no, I’m gonna pass. Training ain’t gonna cut it today. Just need something to occupy myself with, that’s all. Then, after I talk with Naz’Tor, I’m going back to work.”

  She hummed in thought and moved to the cluttered table in the center of the room. Sifting through the scattered papers, she finally plucked out a smaller piece—a red note. Without a word, she handed it to him.

  Leo furrowed his brow. “A robbery?” he asked, more than a bit surprised. “Who the hell would try to rob us?”

  “Plenty of people,” Lily said, plopping down beside him. “Those we turned away from the safe zone, or just groups that didn’t want to join us in the first place. You know how messed up the world is now, Leo. We might be in control of London, but there always will be someone trying to prey on our success.”

  “So my warning didn’t work.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. You didn’t really expect all of the idiots out there to leave us alone, did you? You’re not that naive.”

  “No, of course not.” He sighed. “I just hoped you would tell me when the problems began.”

  “And do what?” Lily asked, sounding more tired than the moment before. “You’re gone half the time, and besides, we can’t keep relying on you to solve every issue. That’s why it’s Frank’s job to deal with those who’ve wronged us. And he is doing pretty well, too.”

  “So you don’t need me.”

  “No, no, no. I never said that.” She raised her hands. “That note in your hands? It’s about a group we’ve been trying to take down for over a week. They’ve never killed anyone, but they’ve intercepted four of our raid teams returning to base. It’s always an ambush, quick in and out. Knock out a few people, steal the loot, and get out.”

  Leo looked down at the note again. There wasn’t much to it—just a brief description of the incident, where it happened, and what was stolen. Other than that, there were also some numbers that didn’t mean much to him. Probably some code that only Lily and the others understood.

  “And your people never managed to fight back?” he asked.

  “They never hit groups above their weight,” Lily explained. “Only those they can take down in seconds. We estimate their level to be somewhere between twenty and twenty-five.”

  “And affinities? Weapons? Anything else you can tell me?”

  She clicked her tongue. “That’s the fun part. They use shadows just like you and Nyx. And from what our people told us, they definitely have more than one user.”

  “That explains a lot,” Leo muttered, turning to his sister. “So what do you want me to do? Kill them?”

  Lily’s eyes widened. “No, god, no! They are just petty thieves. Death is reserved for those who cause any of our serious harm. This? I was thinking more along the lines of sending a message.”

  A grin tugged at Leo’s lips. “I think I know what you mean. Give me a five. Gotta wake up Nyx for this.”

  “And suddenly, I’m worried,” she muttered.

  Oh, you should be. Once we are done with them, they won’t bother you ever again.

  “This is where it happened, sir,” Annie, a young Fallen Human, said.

  Leo scanned the area, his enhanced sight sweeping over every inch of Vetilim covering the street. He had been here a few times in the past. Of course, back then, there were many more buildings around, but even with them lying in ruins now, the layout remained the same.

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  At first glance, a place like any other, just minus the Voidlings.

  For obvious reasons, all the monsters in the area fled with their tails tucked between their legs when they saw him and Nyx. Honestly, it was still just as amusing as ever. Annie’s reaction, though—that was even better.

  Speaking of…

  Looking away from the supposed robbery site, Leo addressed his guide. “Thank you. You can head back now. I will handle things from here.”

  The woman smiled wide and bowed. “Yes, sir. Have a nice day.”

  And just like that, she was gone.

  Next to him, Nyx snickered. “I think you have another fan. Should I start an official Fanclub? I can probably get Lily to help.”

  Leo shot her a look. “Don’t you dare. We both know she would do it just to spite me.”

  “Yes, exactly. That’s the point.”

  He rolled his eyes and turned his focus to the matter at hand. The robbery and tracking down whoever was responsible. Nothing else mattered now. Definitely not Nyx’s little games.

  “Shadow affinity and pure humans,” he muttered. “This shouldn’t be too hard…”

  Nyx nudged him with her tail. “Let’s see it then. Show me those hunting skills the Primes taught you.”

  He shot her a bored look. “What? Are you jealous that you can’t learn them?”

  “Never,” she huffed. “Now get to work.”

  “Aye, aye!”

  Quickly, Leo unsealed the rest of his power and crouched in the middle of the street. Closing his eyes, he reached for his Essence and prepared the next Hunter’s Pulse. Piece by piece, he fed it the feel of pure shadows and the lingering traces of his humanity. To end it all, he stripped the ability of everything else it didn’t need.

  Go.

  At once, Leo’s eyes snapped open to the sight of multiple dark threads floating before him. He discarded over half of them and touched one of the few that held a faint light within the darkness. The feeling he got from it was unmistakable. After all, there was no way for him to forget about his previous affinity.

  Got you. Now to put a tracker on you…

  A sliver of his Essence entered the thread and carefully moved along it. Before long, it hit a wall, a wall that had no defenses. Without hesitation, he painted his Essence over it, activating the Hunter’s Mark.

  Leo clicked his tongue. “They aren’t in the city,” he stated, glancing at Nyx. “You up for a short flight?”

  The feline grinned.

  “Always.”

  Inside there.

  Even with this callout, Leo kept circling the small city below. It took him over ten minutes of almost full-speed flight to reach this place, but Hunter’s Mark didn’t lie. The crimson silhouette of his target was waiting inside one of the bigger buildings in this place.

  ‘What’s up with you humans and warehouses?’ Nyx asked, her hidden form following after him. ‘Why not caves? Or, I don’t know, regular houses? It’s always a damn warehouse.’

  If he wasn’t flying, Leo would have shrugged. I don’t know? They offer a lot of space? Are easier to locate and manage? Fewer windows also mean smaller chances of somebody seeing you’re inside? Really, there are plenty of reasons.

  ‘Yeah, yeah. So, how do you want to do this?’

  Quick and simple, he replied and explained the plan. Wait for my signal.

  ‘You got it.’

  Just like that, Leo tucked his wings and dived straight for the medium-sized warehouse below him. Vetilim had consumed most of it, but obviously, that wasn’t a problem for the thieves. Too bad they would have to find a new home soon.

  Slowly…

  Before he could smash into the roof, he spread his wings and stopped the fall. A few seconds later, he landed beside the warehouse, his form still cloaked in Stealth Shroud. Not that it stopped him from using another Hunter’s Pulse.

  He hummed as the feedback returned.

  Nyx, two humans outside. Take care of them first when we begin.

  Even though the feline didn’t give him a verbal answer, he knew she heard him. As such, he moved on to the next phase of his plan and summoned Ruination from his soul. Now, he just had to keep control over the volatile element.

  Easier said than done… At least it will be good practice.

  The red and black mass of destruction slithered onto his claws, bubbling and writhing. Instead of holding it back, he pressed his hands against the warehouse wall and let Ruination seep into the Vetilim.

  The Void matter dissolved into nothingness.

  Nyx, now!

  A dome of shadows sprang up around the warehouse at his command. Flames followed right behind, spreading across the ground until only the building remained untouched. Not for long, though.

  The constant flow of Ruination continued to spread over the walls, eating them away inch by inch. Yells and screams soon filled the shrouded area, but after a quick nudge of his link with Nyx, they faded within seconds.

  Before long, the warehouse was gone, leaving behind the few dozen survivors—each one trapped in a cocoon of shadows. Aside from that, it wasn’t hard to spot all the different loot scattered around the place. Weapons, armor, colorful crystals. This group had them all.

  If Leo had to guess, they had probably been robbing more than just his faction. Four raids were not enough to gather this much stuff. Not with their levels…

  Let them see.

  Right away, the tops of the cocoons peeled away. Yet, before they could scream or beg for mercy, Leo took a deep breath and roared with all his strength. The ground trembled while the few remaining shelves within the remnants of the warehouse wobbled and collapsed.

  That froze everyone in place.

  Good.

  Stealth Shroud slipped off his body, and for the first time, the jailed humans laid their eyes upon his form. Some fainted on the spot while others attempted to break free, their pitiful affinities igniting around them. A quick tightening of the cocoons—and the snapping of a few bones—stopped their struggle.

  Leo cleared his throat.

  “Now then, ladies and gentlemen. My name’s Leo Hale,” he announced, his low, demonic voice filling the area. “I remember very clearly the warning I gave everyone on Earth when I sent out that first global message. The question is, do you? Can any of you remind us what I wrote there?”

  As expected, nobody spoke. Hell, those still awake didn’t even dare to blink.

  “Of course you can’t… What a pity.” He sighed. “Now, my sister told me to go easy on you. As a show of mercy, you know. After all, we’re supposed to be the best Earth has to offer—a beacon of light for the rest of humanity.” He paused. “Well… I disagree. You, my dear friends, decided to go against my warning. For that, you have to pay.”

  Still no reaction. Had they all died of heart attacks or what?

  Eh, doesn’t matter. My job here is done. Well, almost. Nyx, proceed.

  ‘Gladly.’