A Universe of Bloody Evolution

Hunter roared, the sound reverberating through Leo's entire being as once again they became one. Bloodlust also settled, coursing through his veins, through his mind. It demanded action, and soon, that was precisely what it would get.

Still no Focused Bloodlust. Leo scowled even as his vision sharpened just a bit. It seemed like the skill wanted to come out, but something was still holding it back. Hunter? Any ideas?

The beast huffed, its senses bleeding into Leo's, showing him just what it meant. Not yet? But you know how to get it going? Hunter pretty much yipped, which was a first. Okay then. That's better than nothing... Let's get going before the urge gets too intense.

With each second, the bloodlust flowing through him continued to snap at his consciousness, begging to be fully unleashed, to begin the fight. Leo slowly let the feeling consume him more and more as he approached the entrance.

He stopped close to the opening and glanced at the three taken-over Warriors, pushing a final command into their link. Wait for my sign. Don't show yourself before that.

The giant ants warbled in confirmation, their violet eyes glinting.

Good.

Still under the cover of True Stealth, Leo took in a deep breath and counted to three. The moment his mental timer ran out, he dashed into the colossal chamber, a flicker of Reinforcement pushing him even faster.

The three Voidlings inside noticed him quickly, much quicker than any other beast before. Yet, they still weren't fast enough as Leo pounced onto the nearest Warrior, slicing through an arm and leg in one go. He tried to follow up with another strike, but somehow, the injured creature pushed past the pain and threw a wild swing at him with the remaining lancer arm.

Leo twirled away and deflected another attack from the second Warrior. That was also when the Queen decided to join the fray, shooting a quick series of acid projectiles at him.

Shit!

With the green blobs closing in, Leo abandoned deflecting and blocking. Instead, he chose to jump away, just in time for the acid to splatter against the ground. He barely had time to spare it a glance, but just one look confirmed that the Queen's acid was on another level. It had already burned a small hole in Vetilim, and if the chunk of acid was any larger, he could easily see it going even deeper.

So it burns stronger, but runs out faster. Guess that's still fucking bad. Leo cursed, dancing away from the continued onslaught of Warrior's lances and the Queen's acid. This isn't going how I wanted. I need it to follow me.

More Essence surged into his body, Reinforement's flickering flame turning into a small bonfire. With the additional strength, Leo pushed past the Warriors and dived straight for the Queen.

The massive beast spewed a few last projectiles before raising its four bladed arms, ready to meet him head-on. Leo's eyes narrowed, his own weapons lifting, the Kiss activating once more with naught but a thought.

Behind him, the Warriors screeched, but he ignored them, and with a final push, he slid to the ground, the momentum carrying him forward. Only the Queen was ready, and her scythes descended upon him, hoping to end the threat in one strike.

Not today. Leo growled as his tails dug into the ground behind him, completely changing the direction of his slide. It was still a closer call than he would have liked, with the scythes missing him by just a few inches. However, sometimes a small risk was worth it. Which it certainly was now.

The Queen screeched, almost bursting Leo's eardrums as he left two deep cuts across the beast's front leg. Not waiting for the creature to recover and make a shashlik out of him, he added a few more shallow cuts to its underbelly before sprinting away.

I'm barely scratching her armor... Leo gritted his teeth, running along the chamber's walls, the three beasts biting at his heels. Legs are weaker, but if I want to kill it, I will need to listen to Bestiary. Not even my blades are strong enough for this.

Hunter growled suddenly, more bloodlust following with the sound. Leo flinched as the chamber's exit registered within his vision. Yeah, I know. It's time for the second part of the plan.

With another burst of speed, Leo passed by the entrance. At the same time, his mind reached to his own minions, a simple command echoing through the link.

Now!

At once, Leo spun around, the Queen almost barrelling past him thanks to the sudden change. Quick to pounce on the advantage, he dashed past the gigantic ant and joined his own minions as they descended upon the Queen's Warriors.

Already, the injured Warrior struggled to keep up against two of its kind. Leo grinned and closed the remaining distance with a jump, his blades going straight through the back of the beast's head.

However, before the body even had the time to collapse to the ground, the Queen rejoined the fight, its scythes cutting one of the taken-over Warriors in two halves. Leo's second minion tried to scamper away, but it also fell victim to the apex predator's power.

Nonetheless, their sacrifice wasn't in vain as the moment the Queen focused on its traitorous kin, Leo flew towards the two remaining Warriors. His own minion was losing, barely keeping up with the other ant's faster strikes. Blood flowed down its sides, and going by the multiple stab wounds across its front, the creature wouldn't last much longer.

Doesn't matter. You did well.

Two shadow spears materialized in Leo's hands, only to leave them as quick as they appeared. They flew true, striking the Queen's Warrior right in the back, earning a loud hiss. The taken-over Voidling pounced at the advantage, and with its dying breath, the monster plunged a lance into its opponent's mouth.

Both ants fell a second later, but Leo didn't have much time to watch as a sudden buzzing filled his ears. The Queen, having slaughtered his minions, jumped into the air, its wings carrying her faster than expected.

Here goes replenishing my Essence reserves. Leo grimaced, batting away the fury of strikes. The Queen was relentless, and its attacks almost matched the speed of his own. Only the ant still had an advantage thanks to having four limbs instead of two.

"Shit!" The curse, along with a muffled scream of pain, left Leo's mouth as the blunt edge of the Queen's scythe crashed against his side. The force of the strike sent him rolling across the uneven ground. If he was still human now, this might have been the end.

However, Leo had already abandoned his humanity, and the beast growling within him only proved that. Hunter's and his own rage doubled as they rose, the Queen's crimson eyes meeting their violet ones.

The beast screeched, and just like with the Brute, Leo answered with a roar of his own, channeling as much bloodlust as he could into the action. Unlike the Voidling from the surface, the Queen didn't back down and instantly opened its mouth, a constant flow of acid surging out.

What the fuck? Leo's eyes widened as the steam of poison flew over him, hitting the arch of the chamber's entrance. The green substance slid down like slime, slowly covering the opening until no gap remained.

It doesn't want me to escape. It's do or die... Well, alright then.

The grin that claimed Leo's face at the thought of the fight to come was horrifying and definitely out of place. Yet, as blood pumped in his veins with reignited rage, boiling with the need to get out, he could hardly care about how disturbing he looked now.

Come. Let's play.

As if understanding each other without a word, the two met in the middle in a flurry of blows. Even without Reinforcement flowing through his muscles, Leo matched the Queen's four limbs.

He redirected what he could and dodged what he couldn't. Leo learned the hard way that the Queen was stronger, and straight-up blocking her attacks would land him in a land of pain. Which, in hindsight, was quite obvious; the thing was almost twice as large as him, after all.

Nevertheless, Leo didn't give up and pushed onward, forcing every advantage he could find to score even the lightest of hits. The Queen usually retaliated right away, leaving him with another bleeding cut to add to the collection. Not that a few scratches could stop him, as the longer the fight went on, the easier it got...

With each drop of blood, a long-forgotten silvery glow on the Queen's body became stronger and more visible. Vital Strike might have seemed useless for the most part, as it barely ever activated. But now that Leo landed in a fight that couldn't be solved with a single strike, this weak ability proved its worth.

The Bestiary had given him the obvious weak points, but Vital Strike showed him what was hidden. The best part was that this glow appeared everywhere, making it much easier to score a hit. Really, Leo could count the number of times he managed to score a blow on the Queen's gaster on one hand and still have fingers to spare.

The beast was too fast to fall for the same maneuvers as the Brute. And using affinity also didn't give him much of an advantage. At this point, his shadow techniques were mostly supplementary or something to use as an opening to a fight. As such, Leo embraced Vital Strike and its weak points as if it was the only way to win this fight.

Only it wasn't.

After all, no matter what he did, how much Essence he used, Night Hunter's Blade Mastery and the ever-growing bloodlust remained active. The first, like always, taught and guided him during the battle, teaching Leo more and more about the natural weaponry his body possessed. Then there was the bloodlust, fuelling his every move and, guided by Hunter, warning him about attacks he didn't see coming.

Not that this defense was infallible, as once more Leo found himself flung across the chamber, crashing straight into the closest wall. The Queen crooned as if the beast's victory was inevitable.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Leo climbed back to his feet, bloodlust now filling every cranny of his mind. Suddenly, Hunter roared, and the insatiable hunger for violence stilled. With another command from the beast, it began to flow into his soul, forming a perfect connection between the three pillars.

The red hues in Leo's vision sharpened, the distant thrumming in the ground dying out. Only the approaching Queen remained in focus, along with a bright silvery glow littering the beast's body. However, even in this hyperfocused state, Hunter's two words punched through, filling his mind.

'Understand Now?'

Taking another step toward the Queen, Leo nodded lightly as Focused Bloodlust slowly activated. He knew well what Hunter meant; he had felt it, lived through it.

I do. Thank you. Now... Time to die, insect.

Right away, Essence spilled into his body, Reinforcement reigniting stronger than ever before. The darkness of Kiss of Death engulfed Leo's limbs, be it arms, legs, or tails. Even Valron Protection activated, illuminating the ground in the darkest green imaginable.

The Queen paused momentarily, as if sensing the change, but Leo never gave her a chance to truly understand what just happened. He dived forward, blades descending upon the hissing monster.

They met midway in a clash of sparks, two natural blades trying to force another four to submit. Partially, the task was a success as Leo directed the Queen's weapons to the side and spun around, his tails hitting the beast square in the head.

The Queen screeched as it stumbled back, three new gashes now spilling blood all over its ugly mug.

With Focused Bloodlust active, Leo didn't even question how his blunt tails somehow cut through the Queen's armor. Instead, he renewed his assault with even more intensity, targeting every silvery glow in sight.

The Queen took it all, blocking what it could in its disoriented state. Not that the unfortunate condition lasted long.

Enraged, the Queen took into the air, almost reaching the roof of the chamber. Before Leo could do anything to follow, the beast opened its mouth, releasing waves upon waves of acid.

A growl left Leo's throat as he ran on all fours across the room, weaving between the Queen's onslaught. He reached a wall in record time and jumped right on it, his claws and talons digging into the Vetilim surface.

Leo didn't stop there and jumped again, this time his limbs claiming the ceiling as its new floor. Constantly having to fight against gravity, he still sailed across the roof like a rocket and lunged right at the Queen when the beast was finally close enough, still spewing its acid.

The overgrown ant turned; its eyes widened, a flicker of fear flashing in those crimson orbs. Only it was far too late for that as Leo pushed through the stream of acid and landed on the Queen, cutting its wings off.

"Die, insect."