Luna ripped into zombie after zombie with her claws and fangs. Zenaria was helping Jamie clear out the inn, killing anyone that was inside that showed aggression toward them.

Tian and Grace were collapsed against the wall in the dining room, having taken wounds serious enough that they were using their reserves to recover. But their healing was much too slow to be normal. Their souls also felt damaged by the zombies, which is something that shouldn't have been possible.

Scanning the streets, Luna found the groups of monsters forming into one massive mob. They sniffed the air before finding her and started approaching. Demi-humans and humans that she had talked to just yesterday were wielding swords, knives, and any other weapons they could get their hands on. She was pretty sure one woman had a pan.

What do I do? There's too many.

Across the city, she could feel Amber in so much pain that she was barely alive. Yet, she seemed to be moving around erratically, still fighting.

Glancing at the approaching group, Luna summoned her wind to aid her. Whipping it down the street, she shredded bodies as if they were paper. Although the souls that were sent to her nearly failed to merge with her own. Something wasn't right with the monsters. Something unnatural.

She needed more soul skills but hadn't been blessed with any for a while. She needed strength. Anything that could turn the tide of the battle.

Turning to the other end of the street, she found another mob forming. The zombies were corralling a group of workers into a building where the men and women screamed as they were torn apart.

Luna wanted to save them, but she had her own people to worry about. She couldn't leave Jamie and the others to fight against an entire mob that would likely come.

We need to get out of the city. We need James.

Throwing out more wind attacks, Luna focused on keeping the inn clear of monsters. When she heard the first window break and the following screams, she started to panic. Forcing her Soul Form through the door, she found Jamie and Zenaria carrying Tian and Grace away from the dining room.

"They're inside!" Jamie screamed.

Luna changed back to her human form. "Follow me! I'll clear a path if you can keep up!"

"Where are we going?" Jamie asked as they burst out the front door.

"To Amber. James will save her first."

Nodding, Jamie hoisted Grace onto her shoulder and started running. Zenaria followed her as Luna changed back to her Soul Form and charged the next mob with wind, claws, and fangs. They had no choice but to keep running.

***

James leapt from the mountain, forgoing the elevator as cultivators scrambled to descend into the city. The elders started ordering a resistance to form as James disappeared.

The drop felt like ages before he slammed into the ground hard enough to sink two feet into the stone and dirt. Pulling himself out, he found the residents forming mobs with vacant eyes as they wielding weapons against their fellow man. Screams pierced the air as thousands died as the seconds passed. With well over a million people in the city, James watched as souls blinked out rapidly.

Amber was in dire straits as he ran past the first mob. His sole focus was on reaching his nekorian as quickly as possible.

Leaping onto the rooftops, he sprinted with everything he had. Miles passed instantly before he summoned his sword and jumped off the last building. A mob had surrounded Amber, and the nekorian was bleeding profusely as she tore zombie after zombie apart. Her movements were slowing with each passing second as he reached out his hand.

Siphoning all of them, he took over for Amber and watched the sludge flow toward him. He realized right away that the term zombie might be too accurate. How they still had souls was the mystery.

Landing at the edge of the group, James slashed his sword through the first zombies he came to. Bodies burst into flames as he forcefully pulled souls as hard as he could. One by one, he either carved through the group or ripped the souls out until they were no more.

When he finally reached Amber, he barely had time to catch the nekorian as she collapsed. Her mouth was hardly working as she tried to whisper something to him.

"Save your breath," he whispered back.

Shaking her head, she continued to whisper and he had to lean in to hear her. "I-I failed you."

Before he could argue with her, he watched her eyes close and her regeneration kick in. Her soul was painfully damaged, and he had no choice but to carry her into the hospital. Linda joined him a moment later.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Finding Mender collapsed on the ground as well, James snarled. "That son of a bitch!"

"James!" Linda screamed, getting his attention.

Turning to her, he released the hold on his soul, flooding the city with power. "That bastard of an elder planned this! I don't know how, but his death triggered these monsters."

Linda fought through the pressure, reaching his side to rub his arm. "We have to reach the others, James. I'll carry Mender and Amber."

Nodding, he calmed himself enough to reach out to his surroundings and start siphoning the corrupt souls. The sludge that flowed into him was horrible, but his golden flames purified it for power. "Grab them. We have to move swiftly."

Dismissing her rifle, she hoisted both of their companions onto her shoulders and followed him out of the building.

He could feel Luna on the move and he started jogging down the street at a pace that Linda could keep up with. Summoning his sword, he round the corner of a block and found a mob waiting for him. Their souls were already being pulled into his and many of them were dying when he started carving through the rest of them.

"Leave who you have to," Linda called out. "There's too many to kill."

Nodding at his stupidity, he focused his Siphoning directly on the path he was taking. He didn't know the streets well enough, but he could feel Luna wearing out as she tried to reach him. With his soul fully released, he could sense the city in greater detail. Too many people had been converted and cultivators were dying the moment they reached the city. Two of the elders were doing their best to keep them alive, but it was a lost cause. The city needed to be abandoned.

Fighting through the streets started to wear on James and he could feel why the others were so weak. The few glancing slashes he received drained his soul. He was scared to summon his puppet as it would take damage and likely wink out before long, leaving him with even less energy.

Block after block, they came across mobs of monsters that he had to put down. Linda siphoned just as many souls as he did, and he could tell she was growing stronger, and it was only thanks to that increase in power that they were able to pick up their pace.

Rounding one last corner, they came face to face with Luna and the others. Jamie was carrying Grace, and Zenaria was carrying Tian. Luna was dripping blood from numerous wounds before she transformed back into her human form and staggered over to him.

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"Thank god…" she whispered before clinging to his chest.

"We have to keep moving!" Jamie yelled.

James handed Luna over to Jamie, making her carry two people as he turned to the south and started jogging. The mobs were growing thicker and congregating around the last few uncorrupted souls, killing them every second.

He finally had no choice. Summoning his Soul Puppet, he said, "stay by my side and help me cut these fuckers down. We are leaving the city."

The golden creation summoned his sword and started siphoning everything nearby, pulling in the sludge to keep his strength up.

"They're behind us!" Linda called out.

"Ignore them for now!" James yelled back.

"Kind of hard too as they are getting faster!"

Looking over his shoulder, he found the zombies jogging rather than shuffling. They weren't gaining on them by much, but if he had to keep fighting each mob, they were going to be surrounded in no time.

Thankfully, he started to hear his saviors. The flapping of dozens of wings filled the air as his vultures swept down from the skies. The one in the lead landed before him.

"Take the injured!" James ordered. "Get them out of the city!"

Bowing its head, the vultures quickly swooped in and grabbed the injured, leaving James with Linda, Jamie, and Zenaria.

"Don't fight them," James continued to warn the vultures. "They are damaging souls somehow."

Squawking, the vulture jumped back into the air before flying away with the flock.

"Why didn't they take us?" Linda asked.

James growled. "Because we are going to kill as many as we can to get stronger."

Jamie chuckled. "Figures you would think of that."

Zenaria didn't comment as she summoned fiery wires to her fingers. Souls slowly flowed into her as she siphoned the zombies behind them.

"Follow me and stay close," James commanded. "We are reaching the gate as soon as we can."

All three ladies fell in by his sides and behind him as they started jogging. With the women helping him, he spread out his soul and siphoned everything he possibly could. The only ones he spared were the cultivators that were still dying.

***

Victoria used beams of water to carve through the ranks of residents turned monster. Her disciples were dying all around her, and no matter how many they brought down from the mountain, it wasn't enough. Only the core cultivators stood a chance against the zombies.

"Get everyone down here!" she yelled. "We are abandoning the sect!"

"You've given up hope?" her partner Kyle asked.

"You know damn well that we'll starve to death if we stay up in our mountain. We need to escape while we can."

Grunting, the man nodded.

The elevator was in constant movement as disciples poured down from above. The core cultivators pushed back the mobs as best they could while their lesser brethren gathered in a growing crowd. Liquid stage cultivators sent out beams of water, or crescents that knocked back the zombies, but failed to kill.

"Protect the weak!" Victoria ordered. "We move once Elder Johnson joins us!"

Her disciples screamed in pain as they fought for every ounce of ground they could. One by one, they started to go down and their front line was growing weak. She didn't understand how the zombies were so strong, but nothing could have prepared them for this.

Ten minutes later, Johnson joined her and quickly understood the plan. With only three of them, they could only take the sides they could. Victoria pushed toward the east gate, leading the way with a group of cultivators that was still standing.

There's too many…

That was her only thought as she watched a mob well over a thousand strong merge together from the nearby streets. Even more were coming as they were quickly surrounded.

Closing her eyes, she vowed that she would go out fighting. If she could save even one of her disciples, she would. For the rest of her short life, she would curse her fellow elders that caused this and the man that killed them.

***

James slashed through the torsos of several zombies as they gathered around him. By his side, his puppet finished the rest. Zenaria appeared from the shadows by his other side, her stomach bleeding and a cut over her eye was steadily dripping blood. She was growing weaker by the second.

"I have to go," she whispered.

"I know," James whispered back. Glancing at Jamie and Linda, he found them slowly dragging their feet. They were bleeding just as bad as Zenaria as thousands lay dead around them.

Pulsing his soul, he found his vultures outside the city and called for them. They were quick to soar over the city and reach his side.

"Get the girls out of here."

Each of the ladies slumped as the vultures picked them up and flew off. He could feel his companions' souls weakening as their reserves did what they could to heal them.

Left with his Soul Puppet, James turned his attention to the cultivators. Their number was dwindling quickly and as he watched, one of the elders winked out. How the zombies were strong enough to kill an elder was beyond him. But the monsters seemed to be growing stronger as they grouped up.

Tightening his Soul Siphon, he focused on the thousands that were coming for him. With his companions gone, he released his full might and watched as the air wavered. The rubble around him started to float a few inches off the ground as windows shattered. All around him, souls winked out and he started walking, clearing the area as he headed toward the gate.

Zombies raced toward him, somehow sensing him from across the city. The moment he released his hold, the cultivators were left alone and they fled as quickly as they could from the city.

Thankful that he could help them, even if the smallest amount. Glancing at his Soul Puppet, he gestured to the area. "Copy my Siphon. We'll extinguish everything."

Nodding, the golden creation threw out its power as well, doubling the strength of the Siphon in the area. The surge of power made all of the souls of the city sprint toward him. The sense of death was ripe in their tainted souls, and he knew he had to put an end to them in order to protect the region.

Standing still, James waited for the souls to come to him. The steady supply of souls merging with his was unrivaled to the growth he had before. He could feel his strength rapidly climbing as hundreds of thousands perished. He knew he had already reached level eleven, but his growth only slowed from there. His soul was still gold, but he also sensed that his next level was where he needed to be. He would be in violet if he could just kill even more monsters.

Minutes passed as he sensed the cultivators made it out of the city. They were heavily wounded, but many of them were alive. At least a few hundred were saved.

Hours passed and the sun reached noon before the last soul winked out. All around the city, bodies were piled high. The corpses of his enemies blotted out the sky in some areas, casting shadows over his section of the street. Buildings were collapsing under the weight and he finally had a moment to check his notifications.

Souls absorbed: Soul Strength: 11.246441 (+1.234190)

Corruption Resistance: Level 9/10 (+2)

Soul Resistance: Level 5/10 (+2)

He didn't gain a new skill from leveling up, but over a million souls were claimed by him, bringing him to new heights. The city was officially dead. There was no saving it, and yet he didn't feel remorse. Part of him was excited that he was able to grow so much. The feeling of his soul exploding with power was intoxicating.

He was happy things turned out the way they did. He wasn't happy his companions couldn't grow with him, but at least they were alive and he didn't lose any this time.

Speaking of his friends, he called for a vulture and waited to be picked up. It was only a minute later that the leader of the vultures swooped down and grabbed him. With a satisfying smile, James let the bird carry him away from the carnage.

Flying over the city, James took his first real view of the destruction. Corpses had created small hills that destroyed sections of the districts. The river had bodies floating in the water, drifting downstream. The scent of blood and bodily fluids filled the air.

Checking on the cultivators, he found them huddled together outside the east gate. He was going to have to check on them before leaving. They needed shelter for the night and supplies.

His own people needed shelter for the night as well. They were weak and James didn't know if their resistances were working. In a passing minute, he was lowered to the ground in a clearing with Shadow Paw and the other vultures. His companions were all laying on the ground, resting as their Regeneration and reserves healed them.

"Can you keep them safe for a bit?" James asked.

The lead vulture nodded.

Rubbing the back of his neck, James took a deep breath. He could feel their weak souls, slightly growing stronger. They were all damaged and he needed to give them time to recover.

"Find food for them. Anything they can eat that isn't you." Summoning a tub, he filled it with clean water for his companions to drink. It was crude, but he had little choice. "Make sure they drink from this. I'll be back."

Shadow Paw joined his side, clearly expecting to come with. The panther had not only filled out with muscle, but looked bulkier than a panther should be.

Giving the cat a pat on the head, James started walking toward the cultivators. At least two of the elders survived, and he needed to find out what their plan was.

***

Amber woke up shortly after James had arrived and promptly left. Her body hurt more than any other time in her life. Wounds were slowly healing, and she was starting to feel hungry, but not ravenous. Not yet anyway. Instead, she focused on her thoughts.

I can't keep doing this to him. I have to make a choice. I have to tell him what I know, even if it'll cause something worse to happen. I won't keep secrets from him any longer. I can't. Not to him.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and found a flock of vultures all around the small clearing. The only one with slightly graying feathers eyed her before cocking its head at her as if questioning everything about her.

"Hello…" she murmured nervously. "Are you going to eat me?"

Shaking its head, the vulture flapped its wings lightly before using one to point toward the tub that she hadn't noticed.

Amber caught on quickly that she was supposed to drink to replenish her energy. Really, she just wanted to submerge herself in the water and not think about how James was going to hate her after she spoke with him. If he ended up hating her, she would leave and not come back.

Closing her eyes again, she focused on letting her body heal. He would be back soon, and they would talk. Then she would determine her future.

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