The orb of condensed Stormveil flew high, easily reaching the canopy of the massive trees all around. Leo could have ordered it to go even higher—to cover more space—but with a technique so untested, he didn’t want to risk it. Besides, Nyx would be mad if he took out the entire village with a single attack.

  “Call of the Storm,” he muttered, triggering the mental switch that connected him to the orb.

  Just like that, a blinding flash consumed a good part of the sky above the village, followed by a thunderous roar that rattled the earth below. Dark storm clouds materialized as the flash died down, their smoky texture swallowing the surrounding light even as streaks of violet and crimson lightning raced across their surface.

  “Descend.”

  With this single command, the first bolt of Stormveil shot down toward the village. Earth shook again, lighting up the entire area as the lightning found its mark. First screams soon joined the continuing rumbling of the clouds above, some filled with pain, others with panic.

  And this was only the beginning.

  Barely a second after the first bolt struck, dozens more surged out of the clouds. Leo had to grab onto the nearest tree to stay upright as a literal earthquake took over the area. Screams turned to howls, both of the dying aliens and the sudden wind that arrived with the storm.

  Nothing was spared—not even the wall mere steps away from him. One bolt tore through it, reducing a large section to smoldering ash. Leo blinked but didn’t do much else; at least now he had a clear view of the inside of the village.

  And wasn’t it a beautiful sight?

  The once-disciplined Hexadrones devolved into utter chaos, running around like a horde of headless chickens in the face of the storm. A few brave ones tried to shout out orders, but their voice was drowned out by the cacophony of thunder and cries of agony. That every single lightning obliterated at least a few aliens also didn’t help.

  For a brief moment, Leo considered stepping in to cut down those trying to hide in the buildings, only to discard that idea. He didn’t know whether the storm could harm him, and now wasn’t the time to find out.

  As such, he backed off and waited for the rain of death to end.

  It took about another minute—he counted—for the clouds to clear out, taking the lightning with them. However, that didn’t stop the pained wails and screams from echoing through the entire village. Obviously, Nyx was also busy.

  My turn.

  Stormveil again surged out of his soul, enveloping his extended blades in crackling lightning. Maybe it was cruel to continue using what probably annihilated a good chunk of the village, but Leo didn’t care. He activated Bloodmail and jumped through the hole in the wall.

  The Hexadrones, who somehow avoided any serious damage, instantly turned toward him. Yet that was all they did. Most must have lost their weapons in the chaos and could do nothing when he descended upon them like an angry hound.

  A few others—even those lying in puddles of their own blood—tried to snatch a rifle, sword, or even a knife off the ground. He allowed them this much. They would all die anyway.

  And so they did.

  Leo slaughtered everything in his way like the second coming of the storm. Even with only Stormveil-enhanced blades and one skill active, the scattered remnants of the Hexadrones stood no chance. Their energy bullets skidded off his scales, while their blades never even reached him.

  Soon enough, though, he reached the deeper part of the village—a part untouched by the storm. And yet, everywhere he looked, corpses littered the ground, some charred to ash, others cut apart by unknown force.

  Well, not really unknown.

  Having fun? Leo asked from his perch on one of the taller buildings. Below, Nyx danced between the few remaining Hexadrones, one of her front paws blazing with flames while her tail dragged countless shadow blades.

  ‘I’m not complaining,’ the feline said as another burst of flames swallowed two Hexadrones.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  You’re getting good with it. For a minor affinity, it ain’t bad.

  Nyx huffed in their link. ‘And I’m still nowhere close to combining it with my shadows.’

  Give it time, he admonished, casually slicing the throat of a Hexadrone that had tried to sneak up on him. Anyway, don’t play around too much. I already saw a few runners. Finish up here—I will take care of them.

  ‘Understood.’

  With a satisfied nod, Leo leaped high into the air. Violet lightning erupted from his floaters, quickly forming two powerful wings. A Hunter’s Pulse left his body next, and with that, he was off.

  By the time he returned from his hunt, the village was silent—well, almost silent. Nyx couldn’t even be bothered to wait for him before she dug into one of the dead Hexadrone. The soft crunching of bones still sometimes sent shivers down his spine for some reason.

  “What am I going to do with you?” Leo muttered, shaking his head at the feline.

  Nyx stopped mid-bite and tilted her head at him. “What? It’s surprisingly good. Want some?”

  He glanced at the bloody corpse, then back at her, his expression dry. “I will pass this time, thanks.”

  She shrugged. “Your loss.” And with that, she returned to her meal.

  Leo snorted and left the feline to her antics. There was plenty to do—loot to collect, notifications to check. Finding the Void Gate the Hexadrones had used would be ideal, but he figured that could wait. Or, better yet, Lily could assign someone else to handle it.

  Yeah, I ain’t coming back here unless I have to, he decided internally while picking up another rifle and storing it within his soul. Got anything for me, System?

  Technique Stormveil: Call of the Storm obtained.

  Stormveil: Call of the Storm (Novice)

  A powerful elemental technique capable of wiping our armies if supplied with enough power. At its current mastery, it can become a double-edged sword—be careful to not get caught in the crossfire. Currently, you lack the control to do more than begin the storm. This technique can be combined with other affinities at the cost of stability; proceed with caution.

  So, it did become a proper technique. Leo smiled. Nice. And a good amount of information, too. Now, if only I could get Manifestation to work… Whatever, next.

  Greater Hexadrone x274 slain | Experience awarded | 63521 Ether absorbed

  Congratulations! You have reached level 97. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.

  Leo’s eyes opened wide. Now, that was unexpected. Sure, he and Nyx slaughtered an entire village of aliens, but they weren’t even half his level. So either he was really, really, close to a level-up, or the System just rewarded him for genocide.

  I’m not too sure how to feel about that… Oh well, what happened, happened. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  He dismissed the notifications and continued looting the village. While weapons still made up the bulk of what he found, there were other valuables, too. Crystallized Essence, a few elemental cores, a couple of Eternal Hearts, and even some armor. Not that it would fit anyone back in London, but it could always be reforged into something useful.

  Though, there was one important problem with all that loot.

  Leo’s soul could only carry so much before the phantom weight upon his shoulders became too much.

  Nyx! He called out through their link. Finish eating and come here. I need you to store some stuff.

  ‘Be there in a minute.’

  You better, he said, closing their connection. His gaze went to the nearby corpses. Your turn, Devour. Leave nothing behind.

  Leo yawned, rolling his shoulders as he picked himself up from the makeshift bed. He scanned his room and frowned when he didn’t see Nyx anywhere. According to his internal clock, it should still be the middle of the night and she rarely woke up before sunrise.

  He considered reaching out through their bond but dismissed that idea. For all he knew, she was training at the bottom of the Supercluster. No point in disturbing her…

  It had been two days since he returned from Terlasfor, and things had been uneventful since then. Sure, he still trained and helped around when he could, but aside from that, he was once more bored.

  The Void Gates that opened around London didn’t pose any real threat—no aliens this time, only Voidlings. As for Terlasfor? The Wildborn Chief Council—as they called themselves—decided that they could handle it without his help for now. Hell, they had already sent a team of ten along with Lily there.

  Apparently, his sister had grown tired of sitting around and organizing the Hexadrone loot. Who would have thought? Certainly not Leo. It wasn’t like he’d bolted out of the room the moment they asked him to help.

  Frank must hate me now. He chuckled. Just then, he felt a familiar thrum within his soul. Oh?

  Not wasting a single second, Leo summoned the transmitter to his hand and opened his chat with Naz’Tor.

  ‘All’s done. Here are the coordinates, kid. Happy hunting.’

  Read the end of book 4 now:

  Discord: