The cavern reeked of blood and burning ichor. Leo’s breath came in sharp rasps, sweat dripping into the open gash along his ribs. Each movement sent lances of fire through his side, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.A towering brute—the ogre-bat hybrid—swung its massive claw.[Skill Activated: Quick Step]Leo blinked sideways, but pain slowed him just enough—the edge of the strike clipped his shoulder, sending him sprawling. His dagger skittered across the stone floor.“Leo!” Mira snarled, swooping low. Her wings lashed like whips, striking back two wolf-spine hybrids. She slammed into the brute, her claws digging into its throat. But the monster’s hand clamped around her wing, wrenching it at an unnatural angle.Crack.Mira screamed—a sound that tore through the cavern. Her stone hide held, but the joint bent grotesquely. The wing twitched, half-crippled, forcing her to the ground.Leo pushed up, coughing blood. His dagger answered his call, flashing back into his palm.[Skill

Leo sat lazily on a stone bench outside what had once been his ramshackle hut, a cold can of soda hissing faintly in his hand. The carbonation tickled his throat as he took a long gulp, eyes fixed on the translucent screen hovering before him.Through the system’s projection, he could see the chaos unfolding inside the rift — Gareth and his squad locked in a desperate struggle with the mutated hybrid. To Leo, it looked less like a battle and more like a particularly bloody play staged for his entertainment.Inside the gargoyle ring, Mira’s sigh carried into his mind. “You’re cruel, Master. Sitting here drinking soda while they bleed out in there?”Leo smirked, tilting the can back. “Cruel? No. Call it… entertainment. Besides, I don’t see why that Kale guy has had it out for me for so long. He’s practically obsessed.”Mira’s weary voice dripped with exasperation. “Obsession or not, you don’t have to keep controlling the corpse of that demon. You already proved your point when you dropp

The sun had already dipped below the horizon, painting the cracked fields in bruised hues of purple and gold. Leonis leaned lazily against the marble balustrade of his new mansion’s grand stairway, arms folded as he admired the sprawling structure before him. White stone walls, tall glass windows, and ornate gargoyle carvings adorned every ledge. The faint hum of enchantments pulsed through the air, his domain was alive.A crooked smile tugged at his lips. “You know,” he said, voice echoing faintly in the empty hall, “I think I’ve outdone myself this time.”Mira floated beside him, her semi-transparent form shimmering like faint starlight. The golden glow in her eyes flickered as she looked around. “You’ve built yourself a castle out of dirt and stone, Master. I’ll admit… it’s impressive.”“Impressive?” Leo scoffed, sweeping his hand dramatically. “It’s perfect. Look at those arches, those spires! Who else can claim to have a mansion built entirely by gargoyles?”“Only someone too lazy

Leo sat beneath a crooked oak as the crimson mist receded from the Whispering Vale, his breath ragged and shallow. His clothes were torn, his left arm wrapped in hastily tied fabric soaked through with blood.He had used the last of his Ether Threads to stitch the wound, and for three hours he remained still—breathing, waiting, recovering. The silence was unnerving; even the wind seemed wary of disturbing the eerie calm that followed the slaughter.Mira floated weakly nearby, her glow dim but steady. She’d regained partial form—still transparent around the edges but lucid enough to talk.“Three hours,” she said, her tone soft but edged with exhaustion. “You sure took your sweet time not dying.”Leo snorted faintly. “Yeah, I was thinking about taking another nap here. You know—since I just bled out in a fog filled with undead maniacs.”“Mm. Maybe next time bring popcorn.”He rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the faint smirk tugging his lips. After the chaos of the fight, even Mira’s sa

The tower’s air was thick, not with dust, but with the stench of old blood and rotten meat. The dim crimson glow from the ceiling gave the illusion that the walls were bleeding, oozing dark streaks that dripped into grooves on the floor.Leo wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, this place definitely needs better interior design. Ten out of ten for atmosphere, though. Smells like a crime scene.”The system’s faint hum echoed in his ear:[Warning: Multiple hostile presences detected.][Recommendation: Proceed with caution.]“‘Proceed with caution,’ it says,” Leo muttered. “Sure. Because that always works out.”Something scraped across the far end of the corridor. Leo’s grip on his dagger tightened as a tall, angular shape slithered into view. Its body was humanoid but grotesquely elongated — like a puppet whose strings had been tangled. Its face was a blur, and where its mouth should’ve been was a gaping hole lined with rows of jagged teeth.The system blinked another warning.[Enemy Identified: To