James walked through the empty streets, listening to the sounds of shuffling steps and claws dragging across the ground. The nearby shops had red eyes watching him from their depths, and the souls of the Forsaken burned bright. He was only a few blocks from the others and the monsters were already going to be too powerful for them.

What is this place?

He wanted the answer to that more than anything. It didn't make sense that the city had such powerful Forsaken. They should have ventured into the nearby forest and claimed more territory. The forest should be dead for miles with even more Forsaken taking up residence.

The mutated creatures should be dominating the land, just like in the normal wastelands. So why weren't they? Why were they staying in their buildings and not coming for him. They felt like level six or seven souls, and even Luna would have trouble against them.

He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

A tremor shook the ground, making him brace. A corner shop collapsed as a giant Forsaken emerged from the rubble. Its soul was blazing bright as it towered two stories tall. At first, James thought it was another humanoid shaped giant, but quickly realized he was terribly wrong.

The head of a giant beetle stood out as the dust settled. Six arms filled with five razor sharp claws each scratched at the air, leaving behind a red haze. The beetle Forsaken dropped onto all six of its legs and eyed him like a piece of meat.

"Well. Hello, monster," James muttered. Summoning his sword, he could practically feel the heat wafting off the soul of the monster. It was easily level seven if he had to judge it. It also looked like its soul was reinforcing its shell, while the red haze it left behind was some sort of eroding attack.

James felt the curse of his weapon take hold as the beetle charged. He barely had time to bring his sword up as ten claws slammed down on him. Gritting his teeth, he felt three of them tear into his arms and side before he tried to push the monster back.

Grunting from the effort, he managed to disengage, but the beetle continued to move faster than should be possible. A clawed leg caught James in the side and threw him into a nearby building, collapsing the wall and nearly bringing the building down.

Rolling through shelves and broken pipes, James calmed himself as he dug his feet into the ground and brought himself to a stop. Scanning the store he was in, he found another dozen smaller beetles waiting for him.

"Well, shit…"

Throwing out his hand, he siphoned all of them while linking to the giant beetle as well. Sending a burst of Soul Strikes, he exploded the smaller beetles, sending shell fragments and guts over the store as he raced from the building.

The souls of his prey flowed into him as he reached the giant beetle. Screeches from the nearby buildings filled the air as the neighborhood stirred. What sounded like hundreds of beetles were starting to search for him as the giant beetle slashed towards him again.

Deflecting the clawed hand, he barely ducked as its mouth lunged toward him, hoping to bite his head off. With a glance, he could see several rows of sharp teeth whirling in the maw of the beetle.

Rolling out of the way, he activated Soul Strike and staggered the monster. Its shell cracked from the attack and ichor leaked from the wounds as the two story giant scuttled toward him.

Lashing out, he dragged his sword through the eye of the monster just as its two front legs slashed across his body. His skin split and ruptured as the red haze sank into his body. A burning sensation unlike anything he had ever felt before nearly shattered his psyche as he threw himself backwards.

What the hell is happening to my body?

The pain was nearly unbearable as it felt like his soul was boiling. Whatever the red energy was, it was eating away at his very being. He could feel himself growing weaker as the smaller beetles started to appear.

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"Consecration!"

Soul Flames ignited the street, coating the world in white fire. The smaller beetles screamed in pain as their souls started to burn and erode as a massive amount of energy flowed towards the source of the attack.

James glanced back and found Mender standing at the edge of the fire with his staff slammed into the ground. A second later, a burning arrow exploded against the head of the giant beetle, coating the entire body in fire that clung to it like liquid.

Jamie waved from the top of a nearby shop, her burning bow in her hands as she pointed to the side street. Luna raced towards the giant beetle in her Soul From. Claws stabbed deep into the giant as she latched onto its back and started to use Soul Rend to rip apart its soul.

The red haze in his body was rapidly healed as he stood in the Consecration Field. The blood he was loosing was replenished as he brandished his sword and raced back in.

Just as he was about to reach he beetle, something pushed off his shoulder, nearly knocking him down. Catching himself, he watched Amber fly through the air and stab her claws into the chest of the beetle. She hung in the air for a moment with her Soul Claws before the beetle shook itself and threw her through a nearby building.

Knowing she would be fine, he took in the situation for all but a moment. Dozens of beetles were on fire and trying to reach Mender to cut off his attack. Their souls were flowing into the man and into the skill, powering both of them as Jamie continued to fire arrows into the mess of creatures.

Luna continued to bite and tear into the giant before it jumped and flipped upside down. The Fenrir had a moment to panic before she was slammed into the ground. Her body cracked the concrete and collapsed the pipes under the street.

The beetle was open for attack, but it would only last a moment longer. Racing in, James leapt onto its stomach and stabbed his sword into its gut. Dragging the blade up towards its head, he carved open its body, spilling ichor and cutting organs before it could recover.

Legs thrashed and tried to kick him off, but he punched and lashed out at them with his feet to keep himself going. Just before he reached the head, Luna recovered and threw the beetle off herself, and him along with it.

Before he could hit the ground, a certain cat caught him and swung. James spun with her movement before she launched him back at the beetle. Disoriented from the move, he barely had a moment to activate Soul Strike and explode the rest of its soul.

The attack detonated the body, sending carapace and guts flying over the nearby blocks. The smaller beetles screeched as they went berserk and swarmed over the buildings and streets.

Jamie pulled her bow apart and formed two daggers as she danced through the beetles. Her screams filled the air nearly as loud as the beetles. Mender was quickly overrun as he stood and took the damage, not breaking his skill. Amber was the first to reach him and started cutting down the monsters as Luna created a gale that ripped apart dozens of the monsters.

James watched in awe as streams of souls flowed into his companions from every direction. Not to be outdone, he pushed his Soul Senses out, but could only reach a few dozen monsters. Tapping into Soul Siphon, he grabbed everything he could feel that wasn't his friends. The beetles had a moment to scream before they were snuffed out and the fighting all but stopped.

Anything that came within his range found its soul ripped from its body as he stood in the epicenter of the fight. His armor was ruined and his body coated in blood as the last beetled died.

Luna dropped out of her Soul Form and rushed to his side. "We heard the building collapse!"

Amber reached him a second later. "What the fuck was that? There's no way that was a normal fight!"

The Consecration Field was extinguished as Mender and Jamie made their way over. Once they were all together, he shook his head. "I don't know. It was fast. Very fast. I don't know how long it would have taken me to win."

"We weren't about to wait and find out," Mender stated. "We saw the dust cloud and came running."

Running a hand through his hair, James felt sticky. "I have to keep searching. Something isn't right about his city."

"I'll be damned if you are going alone!" Luna growled.

Amber crossed her arms as well. "You have a team, James."

Holding up his hands, he gestured for them to calm down. "Fine, but we need to make sure our way back is secure. That beetle was tough enough to kill most of you in one hit and I don't know if you would have revived."

Jamie touched his arm. "We'll handle the smaller Forsaken. You and Luna can tackle the stronger ones, but its clear this is going to be tougher than you can handle on your own."

He knew he could handle it, but was it worth arguing that point or simply allowing the others to help. Would they feel scorned if he turned them away? Would he ruin their friendship?

The answer was simple. "Let's retreat for now. We can regroup with Linda and the others. We need to decide who all's coming with."

Luna let out a relaxed sigh. "Thank you."

Nodding, he turned back to their apartment. "I still can't sense much of anything around us. We should be prepared for anything."

Falling in next to him, Luna dropped into her wolf form and sniffed the air. Her heightened senses led them back.

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