"Humans... What an iing species they make. They breed like Void spawns, lead lives shorter than most of the other races, ahey somehow keep up with the rest of the Universe.

  Is it because you find them iy much every part of the known Multiverse? Or maybe because even some Old Oake forms very simir to humans?

  This we will probably never find out. However, no matter who you are, remember that humanity will always somehow find a way. So please, don't uimate them and pay attention. Who knows, you might learn something from them."

  ~ Species of the Multiverse, Pre-Outbreak Edition by Eina of Universe Prima

  Rivers of dark blood flowed down the ground, spilling through the cracks of once whole asphalt road. Bess slowly ed the eh as body after body fell, painting the crimson grass in monsters' ichor.

  More and more Cursed Humans approached the man that danced between the corpses, his bdes and cws singing through the air. Cut after cut, ssh after ssh, the monsters ood a ce as Leo became a whirlwind of death, his strikes never missing their target.

  For Leo, he might have fought for hours, yet deep inside his mind, he knew perfectly that whe beast fell, no more than a minute or tassed si all began. That was the differen power between him and the mohat cimed the lives of almost the entire Earth.

  Flig his cws and bowie knife, Leo watched as even more droplets of blood dropped to the ground. Indeed in a matter of minutes, Leo probably spilled more than most humans saw during their lifetimes. Hell, with the fttened crimson grass and bodies lying everywhere, the se around him looked even more macabre.

  A grimaed on Leo's face. I may have gotten a bit carried away. This definitely isn't how an assassin should fight. The beginning was alright, but fag five Cursed head-on? He shook his head. Yeah, I definitely o wait for my css adva and hopefully get something that mixes stealth and CQ fighting.

  Sighing, Leo sheathed his knife arue Stealth enpass his body once more. With the road cleared, he might as well drain a few corpses to get the timer into three digits. No reason to waste perfectly fine resources.

  Not that I really hem at this point. Leo snorted, kneelio the corpse. The body disappeared in a matter of seds, so Leo took this moment to check the System's notifications as he worked.

  Cursed Human x8 sin | No Experience awarded | 18 Ether gained

  Warning! You have reached the maximum raw potential of your race. Please evolve as quickly as you . No experience was gained from defeated eransf the overflow of Esseo boher.

  Ether received: 7

  Better than nothing. Leed as a bst of wind swept through the street, carrying the remnants of Curset Humans into the wide world. Not a moment ter, a pair of growls filled the air. And that's my cue to leave. No reason to linger; I got what I wanted.

  Despite what some would have thought if they saw Leo fight this group of monsters, he really had a reason to do it. Not a good one, but a reason heless. After all, unloading the building-up stress on some weak Voidlings was much better thaing it bubble for the few hours.

  Now, how to go about it? Leo mused as he backed off into the 's courtyard.

  With the entire world ged, traveling on the ground wasn't the only option anymore. The limited spiderweb of Vetilim and Corcera showed another possibility, and Leo was a bit tempted to take it.

  There is no way it will attack me whenever I touch it, right?

  As Leo id his cursed hand onto a tree half covered iilim, he suddenly wasn't sure if this was the best idea. Indeed, he could fight off tiny tendrils of the living matter without breaking a sweat, but what if they struck when Leo had to stay hidden? Or when some flying Voidlings attacked him?

  Yeah no. Leo tsked, taking a step away from the tree. Besides, it would limit my movement too much for now. Not enough standing buildings and trees here. Maybe when I get closer to the city ter. Buildiy is much higher there…

  Shrugging, Leo settled for the good old way of jumping over fences — or rather small walls now, thanks to the growing living matter —, and sprinting through mostly empty courtyards.

  Yet, the further Leo got into the city, the more and more Voidlings decided to block his path. Hounds, Cursed variants, or other evolved animals stalked each er. Two times Leo had to take a detour to steer clear roups that traversed the streets of Wolford.

  He might have been okay with fighting against a small group back then. But now? Now, he would get overrun in a moment. There were just too many Voidlings everywhere.

  And so his trek tinued. Dashing through high grass and hiding in rown bushes as growls and screeches became a stant pany. Still, with every step closer, it became clear that Leo wasn't as alone as he feared. Gunshots and human screams joihe symphony of the new world. Most of them far away, barely reag Leo's ears.

  Those sounds, no matter how horrific, pushed him forward, staining Leo's clothes with more and more dark ichor. The ruined world of broken warehouses slowly disappeared behind his back as the streets led him right toward the city's heart.

  Half-colpsed semi-detached houses and small blocks of fts rose arouheir walls looming over him. Just like with the warehouses, the living matter of the Void spared nothing. With the increased assortment of buildings, it climbed higher, f bridges and pilrs.

  One of those trew outwards, spreading like tree’s brahat culminated in a bizarre image of a flower. Their deformed petals reminded Leo of his cursed limb, while the spots of crimson in them resembled a swarm of fshing eyes.

  They tried to lure Leo in with their unnerving stare, yet he quickly broke his gaze away and jumped into the backyard of the first house in sight.

  What the fuck is this?! Leo shook his head, trying to wash the images of those blinking eyes away. He had seen a lot of weird shit in the past few days, but this Vetilim tree? It defiook the cake.

  I have to at least s it. God knows what it do if left unchecked. Nodding, Leo approached the back of the semi-detached house and slipped iween the cracked door. plete darkness waited inside, and Leo quickly crouched, a pulse of Essehering in his hand.

  The energy rushed into the wooden floor, a crimson wave instantly lighting up the entire corridor for a moment. As quickly as the pulse escaped, it returned just as fast, bringing back a handful of information.

  One Voidling on the sed floor and no ons, no surprise there...

  Feeding a bit more Esseo the veins of his cursed arm, Leo squi the now visible interior of the house, or rather what was left of it.

  Cracks grew along every surface, inviting the dark mass of Void's material. Yet, even with the living matter spreading, the building remained bathed in darkness. Obviously, something was missing as no matter where Leo's gaze traveled, the crimson and violet of Vetilim and Corcera didn't appear.

  Weird. Leo mused as he weaved through the debris c almost every er. He stopped before a stairway and grimaced as the entire stru squeaked heavily under his first step. I swear if you try to colpse on me…

  Gulping, Leo almost flew up the stairs, his enhanced body carrying him higher like a feather in the wind. An even louder creak echoed through the air when his feet touched the first floor, instantly freezing Leo's body.

  Sed after sed passed, a nothing happened. Maybe I'm w too much.

  As fast as he could, Leo looked around, a frown f when he spotted a rge hole in the ceiling leading to the sed floor. This was where the only monster lived, and if Leo's s was anything to go by, it wasn't a Cursed Human.

  Cirg around the hole, the bowie knife slipped into Leo's hand, the Kiss of Death following.

  With the edge of his on, Leo kwice, the bangs eg softly through the entire house. An almost inaudible hiss responded immediately, sending a chill down Leo's spine.

  Bag off, Leo slid into the only open room and hid behind a fallen shelf, just out of the reach of a single window. The hissing tinued, followed by a soft skitter of multiple feet.

  Shit, I don't like this.

  Leo took a deep breath and leaned just a bit over his caze instantly nding on the distant hole, or rather what was crawling out of it.

  Inferior Crawler (Voidling) | Rank: F | LVL: 7

  The monster's six spider-like, yet human arms stuck to the ceiling, never showing signs of falling down. The beast stretched its head, bald and ugly, with saliva dripping off its razor-sharp teeth. It sniffed and hissed, the sound almost resembling a horrifying purr.

  Holy fuck. Short and simple, but those two words perfectly summed up the creature's appearance. Hell, Leo didn't even waste a moment to hide again and summon the Bestiary.

  Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Inferior CrawlerExpected Potential: F to E-on of choice: Jaws, Cws, Paralyzing salivaKnown weaknesses: Emaciated body, Weak boructureFirst evolution in the infamous line of Crawlers. Formed from children's bodies that bonded with the nearby is during an Outbreak. Found mostly in abandoned locations where they prey on unsuspeg travelers. They hunt aloh speed and precision unmatched by most Voidlings of the same ranking. be immobilized with one precise strike.

  Goosebumps spread all across Leo's body. The Bestiary might have given him some valuable tips, but he could have gohout the part about children. The single piece pulled Leo's mind in a dire he definitely didn't to go…

  Right, you are dying now. No other way to go about it. I'm not taking the risk that, somehow, even a tiny part of that child might still be suffering somewhere deep ihis beast's mind.

  As this thought went through Leo's head, the shadows beh him stirred, climbing into his palm. There, an unventional on twisted iehree ected, serrated bdes formed, each fag in a different dire and attached to a rope of shadows strohan any in the world.

  Smiling lightly at his creatioepped away from the shelf and waited, his arm ready to strike. Sed after sed, breath after breath, the hissing grew closer, and thehe shadows on the ceiling moved, Leo moved along with them.

  The slightly hooked on sailed through the air like a bullet. Just as Leo wanted, it struck the Crawler from the side, one of the bdes stabbing right into the monster's fnk. It hissed loudly, and Leo smirked when he gave the bde one and.

  Stretch.

  Essence surged through Leo's veins, rushing towards the shadow rope. The struct drank it all like a man starving in a desert. And when there was nothio e, the Crawler released a blood-chilling wail as another bde of shadows burst from its other side.

  And now.

  With all the strength his muscles could muster, Leo tugged on the rope. The monster wailed even louder as its body went flying, only to crash into the ground with enough force to send a tremor through the entire house.

  For a moment, Leo hesitated, almost fearing that the building might colpse. However, a pained hiss quickly brought him back to reality, and like a tiger, Leo desded on the downed Crawler, slig its head off with a sirike.

  Inferior Crawler sin | No Experience awarded | 4 Ether gained

  Boher received: 2

  And may you rest in peace. Leo bowed slightly as the Crawler's body faded to dust. With a sigh, he approached the only window and took a peek outside, right towards the line of buildings on which the Vetilim pnt grew.

  Crimson Mirage (Rare):A Vetilim struct that many mistakes for another pnt from the Void. Crimson Mirages form in high-density areas to provide high-ranked Voidlings with additional support. It possesses the potential to evolve into a Special Void Lifeform. Warning! Gazing into the Mirage's eyes easily mess with the mind of a lesser being.

  Well fuck... Like I didn't have enough things to worry about. Leo thought with a frown as he averted his gaze from the struct. Huh, what's going on there…

  At the end of the line of semi-detached houses, a rge group of Cursed variants gathered. Part of them scratched at the partially colpsed building, while others banged against the cracked entrance door like beasts possessed.

  How the wood didn't break pletely, Leo could only wonder. And well, one of his ideas seemed pretty possible sidering his past enters.

  For the love of all that's holy, just please let them be normal. I really don't want to i with another crackhead...