He didn't want to e back to this pce. The memories were still fresh and stung his heart each time they fshed in front of his eyes. Apart from the accursed road where his mother died, this was definitely his seost hated pce. He had to push those feelings away, though, and focus on the current task. Something he had fotten to do when leaving this pce st time.

  "They are still here," Leo noted as he and Nyx reached the field of sughtered bodies. "I thought the Nightmares for sure would find a way to use the remnants of their brethren."

  The feline huffed. 'If I had to bet, they're probably afraid of this area. Dozens of them died here. Why go bad test your luck?'

  "Yeah, I guess," he said, sing the corpses for any they could use. "Quite ironic, isn't it? If you're right, then this pce is now just as safe as it was with a barrier active."

  'Not for long.'

  "True," he sighed.

  For now, the Voidlings might give this area a wide berth, but their instincts would stop warning them against ing here sooner or ter. Not that it mattered too much, as he doubted Holden po return here. However, for Leo, it was a piece of information he could use iure if he ever went on a rampage again.

  'I think this one will do,' Nyx's voice brought him back to reality, her tails pointing to a corpse nearby.

  Leo nodded and approached the body, or rather what was left of it. He had no idea how this Collector ended up with half of its torso and all limbs gone. But as long as the heart ihe rest of the corpse was in good dition, he didn't care.

  Without saying anything, he kneeled and released a weak Hunter's Pulse. It enveloped the body before returning, giving him all the information he needed. One of his bdes extended and, with the power of Kiss of Death, stabbed deep into the dead torso.

  He had to cut through a few bones, but in the end, it wasn't an issue, not with his newfound strength. Extrag the bde, his other hand reached into the bloody mess until it came upon a rge, mushy an.

  Bingo. Leo grinned and pulled out the bck heart of a Collector. "One more to go."

  Instantly, the an vanished in a weak crimson fsh, nding in his Soul Well. It would wait there until nighttime. There was no time to waste for mutations during the day.

  With half of their job dohey resumed their walk around ReachHope's ruins. Some bodies seemed like they could provide another heart, but then they would turn one over, only to discover that it artially devoured.

  "You know," Leo spoke up to fill the silence. "We are gathering stuff for my mutations, but what about you? Do we have to dig out two more hearts after this?"

  Nyx shook her head. 'No. Due to our bond, I utate. Why exactly? I don't know, but acc to the System, I'll still be from each mutation you get. So it's not as bad as it sounds.'

  "True. Saves us Ether, too," he furrowed his brow suddenly. "Wait. If you gain something from my mutation, then..."

  'I don't think your Heart of the Void affects me,' she cut in. 'And if it does. I have no idea how.'

  Leo hummed, but quickly gave up the thought when an almost undamaged body entered his vision. In a matter of a minute, he repeated the extra process and became the owner of two hearts eor-type beasts.

  "Well, we're done here," he wiped his hands with a summoowel. "Let's kill some ants then."

  They had been expl the tunnels food half an hour now, killing endless waves of is only using Essence. Uhe Voidlings above, Ameists didn't run even if there were ten levels of disparity betweehey just attacked head-on, hoping to maybe at least slow down the unstoppable invaders.

  It didn't help, but Leo would give an A for the team effort. The same couldn't be said about the sed Ameist Queen they found. To his immeasurable disappoi, the Voidling was only level seventeen and thus useless.

  However, not all was lost yet. After Nyx killed the st Queen in a matter of seds, the System presehem with a very intriguing notification.

  Two of the three Queens of this y have been sin. gratutions, Survivor! The chamber of the High Ameist Queen is now unlocked. Kill the final Guardian to ralize this instand cim your rewards.

  Warning! The entire is now on high alert. Expect heavy resistance.

  That was five minutes ago. Now, Leo and Nyx stood before the entrao the final chamber of this . A chamber where the High Queen should be waiting for them.

  Nodding at each other, they ehe vast cave that could easily aodate a few hundred people. Unlike any other part of this , this pce had some kind of glow stone running along the walls, illuminating the entire chamber in a soft green light.

  Yet none of that proved as important in the face of the beast standing in the middle.

  The High Ameits Queen didn't look any different from its kin apart from oiail. And that was its pure size that could probably match the two other Queens if they bined.

  A spark of anticipation ignited withi the sight. This had to be it, the beast that would give him another mutation. Only the spark never even got a ce to burn before it was crushed by overwhelming disappoi.

  High Ameist Queen (Voidling) | Rank: E- | LVL: 19 | Type: Underworld, Poison, Armor, Special

  Fuck! He scowled and turned on his heel, leaving the chamber. Is a level twenty too much to ask for?

  'Leo?' Nyx nudged him with her tail. 'Are we really leaving? We still get rewards for clearing the .'

  Leo sighed, running a hand across his face. "I know... Just give me a sec. I got my hopes up only to get this shit," he grumbled. "Let's just kill it quid get out of here."

  Without further unication, they reehe chamber. Nyx tails, like most of the time, stabbed into the ground. At the same time, his body ignited with Reinfort while his bdes snapped out, Kiss of Death activating.

  He was already halfway towards the High Queehe earth beh her exploded. Unlike Nyx's usual tactic, there were no spikes this time. Instead, dozens of thin shadow tendrils s the rge i, ing around its body in seds.

  The Queen screeched, spewing liquid poiso and right. It didn't matter.

  Within a blink, Leo pounced, his bdes raised high as he flew towards the beast's head. The Queen attempted to move, to save its life, but Nyx just tightened her hold, stopping the monster's struggle.

  And so, with a clear shot at the e between the Queen's body and her head, he cut right through it, spraying blood bined with poison everywhere.

  The Voidli limb, shadow shackles disappearing as she dropped to the ground with a thud. Leo didn't waste a sed a Devour do the rest of the job, erasing the High Queeence.

  Devour ed: +2 Might.

  Okay, guess this wasn't a plete waste of time. He reasoned just when a notification appeared in his vision.

  gratutions, Ameist y quered. No Safe Zone creation avaible for this instance. Distributing rewards to all tributors. Warning! The remaining Ameists are esg. Be careful on your way out.

  Bonus experiend 1500 Ether gained. Rare quality on has been delivered to your Soul Well.

  Another on? Leo quirked an eyebrow, summoning the item into his hand.

  It was a simple, long spear made of unknown dark metal. A short double-edged bde sat at its tip, sparking with an eerie green glow.

  Yeah, definitely not for me, but let's see...

  Spear of Endless Pain (Rare):A spear created by a skilled on smith. The blend of metals used in its creation offers a very hard-to-break shaft and a bde capable of pierg most lrade armor. It's highly energy ductive and, as such, be used with a wide variety of Essence abilities.Passive: Bitter Edge - Drawing blood will release a small amount of hal but very painful poison.

  I mean, nice, but it'll be a while before I find any use for it. Leo frowned, sug the spear bato his soul. I doubt anyone from Holden's group use it without hurting themselves. Oh well, we will see...

  Shrugging, he o Nyx. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here. stop, the church."

  Chaos65