Grace slid between two cars in order to reach the intersection where she could feel the monsters. They hadn't detected her with her skill active and she happily skipped over to the corner of the block. Laying down a mine, she moved across the street, laying a line of bombs for what was coming.

Reaching the next corner, she did the same, and soon each street was primed with mines. All she had to do was swap her skill to draw everything in. She didn't know what the monsters looked like, but it didn't matter. They would die to her poison either way.

Pressing her lips into fine lines, she thought over her morning. She was beyond pissed over what Luna and Amber had done. She could have kept kicking them until they broke, but sadly James stopped her.

Letting out a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. He wouldn't want her hating them, but that ship had nearly sailed. If she didn't calm down and start killing monsters, she might hunt Luna down just to kick her again.

Switching her skills, she spread out her soul and pulled on as many monsters as she could. Energy rushed into her soul, growing her the slightest amount. Seconds later, the buildings exploded around her. Rubble rained down around her as she prepared to spin. The stones bounced off the nearby cars, denting the rusted metal, or collapsing them entirely.

Large humanoid monsters will tendril-like limbs fell out of the open walls, pouring into the street by the dozens. Grace felt her smile grow as she waited. And she didn't have to wait long.

The mines exploded, coating the intersection, streets, and buildings in clouds of poison. The monsters dropped to the ground, writhing as their flesh grew green veins. Gasping for air, they held their throats and thrashed as energy poured out of their bodies.

With a smile so wide that she could have blinded someone, Grace started to twirl. Her tail released more poison, even more potent that killed everything it touched. The last, gasping breaths trickled off as Grace danced on her toes and brought her spinning to an end. Holding her hands up in a dancer's pose, she started stepping to imaginary music before humming.

This is what I've been missing. This is what I needed in life.

Dancing through the clouds of poison, she switched her skill again and moved through the cars with subtle movements. When she reached another intersection, add little skips to her steps while throwing out more mines. Her humming switched to a romantic tune as she stuck one leg out and spun. Changing her skill back to draw the monsters in, she watched the buildings explode once again.

Come to me! Come breathe in my poison!

Slowing her dance, she readied her tail again and watched the misty white poison rise from her fur. A moment later, the mines exploded, taking with them dozens of monsters. Just to hurry things along, she flicked her tail at each street, killing the lingering monsters.

Gotta love the smell of poison in the morning!

She was finally distracted from James and savored her clouds. Wafting the poison toward herself, she breathed it in deeply before blowing it back out in a small ring. Changing her skill back, she moved on. She had a lot of catching up to do and nearly an entire side of the city to herself. The nest was the perfect place for her to level up.

***

Amber rubbed her throat as she pictured James holding her. Even though it was only her hand, it was enough to turn her on. They admitted their feelings to each other, which was a step that she didn't think he would take seriously.

Not that I can do anything about it.

She hated herself for not acting when she could have. She was his agent in the dark side of the world. She would do anything to help him, even if that turned into ways that worked against her. When they first met, she knew he was her person and that she wanted to be with him. She also knew he would feel it too, and he did. Yet it wasn't enough to stop her from doing something stupid.

Letting herself go, she summoned her claws. I'm getting close to level eight. I've pushed myself as hard as I could over the last week. I'm catching Luna. I will pass her and keep my place by James's side.

It was likely that she would have to flirt and possibly sleep with women again if they went back to a city. She would never let a man touch her, as her body was only meant for James. But getting honest information was her job and no one was better at it than her.

Changing her legs into their feline form, she dropped to all fours and sprang through the second floor window of a nearby office. Her claws tore through a bipedal wolf before she crashed into a desk and rolled herself out of the way of descending claws.

Recovering, she spun on all fours and slashed through the nearest wolf, activating both her aura and Thousand Cuts skill. The dozen monsters in the room fell apart in chunks, leaving pools of blood oozing over the tiled floor.

I have to keep moving! I have to be faster!

Racing up to the next floor, she leaped the entire flight of stairs in order to bust down the door and roll into the room. Even more wolves were waiting for her and she crashed into one, slashing her claws rapidly through the chest of the beast three times. The wounds were echoed around the room, ripping apart all of the monsters.

Licking her lips, she tasted the black blood of the wolf before growling. Not fast enough. I have to move. I have to kill faster.

Digging her claws into the floor, she leaped up to the next floor. Breaking through the door, she cut down another pack of monsters before throwing herself out the window and to the neighboring building.

Her growls grew with her anger. She wasn't fast enough. She still couldn't kill the groups fast enough. She was slow. Too slow to stand by James's side.

Minutes passed as she cleared building after building. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hated herself for not moving faster. She had to reach level eight. She had to get stronger.

Landing on another wolf, she ripped out its throat and watched all of the nearby wolves drop to the ground.

It's not enough…I'm not good enough…

Sitting down among the blood, she covered her face with her hands. The tears wouldn't stop, no matter how hard she tried. She wasn't good enough to stand by James's side.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

***

Venice eyed the city in the distance with her enhanced vision. She only needed another hour or two to reach the Valiant. Her charges were marching steadily, their nerves on a razor's edge. The Priest had stopped attacking them and had fallen behind.

He's finally out of energy.

She could have cheered when he stopped attacking them. Her defensive skills were drained, and she wouldn't be able to protect her charges when they engaged the Valiant. They would have to use their own skills to stay alive.

They are strong enough. It's not possible for the Valiant to have grown so much in only a few months.

A slight smile graced her lips as she thought of the despair the Valiant would feel when they learned his Soul Attacks couldn't hurt them. They would of course try to Siphon her soul, only to recoil in pain. It would be perfect. The sheer desperation they would descend into as her charges played with them until the end.

Each limb would be removed and their soul shattered before she stomped it flat and ground it into the ground. Just like the other Valiants she had killed. This was just another pest to be crushed under her heel.

"We're nearly there, men! Keep marching!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Baring her teeth, she felt the fur on her body start to stand on end in preparation for the fight. The Valiant would be the perfect whetstone for her men. They might even get assigned to a rent or nest after this. She might even earn the privilege of learning a new skill or two. Maybe a promotion. A battalion of her own to tackle a nest.

She wanted to rub her hands together in anticipation for her return. The opportunity to kill another Valiant was something she always dreamed of happening. Now it was real, and it was all hers.

***

James recalled everyone a little before noon. He had spent the morning studying the nest and failed to learn anything new. Frustrated, he wanted to talk with everyone about their future plans.

It took a minute before Amber climbed up the side of his building, her claws tearing apart the stone before she stopped before him on all fours. Changing her legs back to their human form, she slumped and sat down.

"That was fast," he murmured. The moment he said the words, Amber shook her head and buried her face in her hands.

Did I say something wrong? How do I fix this?

He was about to reach out to her when Luna stepped onto the roof. Beaming, she threw her arms around him. "I reached level eight!"

"Congratulations! Did you finally get a new skill?" Spinning her around, he waited for her answer.

"I did. I'll have to tell you about it later though. It's odd."

Humming in understanding, he set her down and glanced at Amber. The nekorian was standing and about to hug Luna.

Embracing each other, Luna said, "you'll catch me soon, Amber. Just a little longer."

"I'm still not fast enough…"

James started to understand what was wrong. Amber thought she had to reach level eight before Luna and had likely been pushing herself to mass kill everything around her as fast as she could. Walking over, he rested his hand between her ears.

"Slow down, Amber. I'd rather see you happy than stressed. I have faith that you'll catch even me before long."

"Really?"

James caught sight of her swaying tail and the happiness he had just given her. With a nod, he turned back to the door as Jamie and Linda joined them. His sister skipped forward and pushed Luna and Amber away. "He's mine now!"

"Hey!" Luna protested. "You can't even sleep with him!"

Raising her brow, Jamie cocked her hip. "Want to bet? I have the parts you know. Even if it would be weird…"

Rolling his eyes, he pushed Jamie away. "Behave, sister. Luna has been in enough trouble today as it stands."

"Are you sure?" Linda teased.

Chuckling, he nodded. "As much fun as it is to pick on Luna, we really should stop."

"I refuse!" Grace growled as she joined them. "She should be kicked off this building."

Stepping between the skunk and the Fenrir, James stopped the fight before it began. "Where's Mender?"

"Here," the man called out as he stepped onto the roof. "Are we a little tense up here?"

"You have no idea," James muttered.

"Grace started it!" Luna snapped.

"Enough!" James snapped at all of them. "I didn't call you back so you could fight and bicker. We need to decide if we are moving on from the nest tomorrow or not. The rent isn't that far away and the dragons are supposed to be scouting it for us. The monsters will be harder, but we are stronger than when we first came here."

"I say we move on," Mender voiced. "It'll take a few days to reach the rent, but we'll grow stronger, faster than fighting here."

"And you need more monsters, James," Luna added. "If you don't level up again, you won't be able to defeat the nest."

"If that's all I need," he pointed out. Crossing his arms, he regarded his team. "Does anyone want to stay here an extra day before I move on?"

"Nope," Grace said. "I'll finish fighting hard today and I'll be ready to leave in the morning."

"Same," Linda and Jamie said together.

Turning to Amber and Luna, James raised a brow. "And you two?"

Amber stood and took his hand. "I'm staying by your side."

"Damn right you are."

Luna rolled her eyes. "I don't dare leave her alone with you ever again. I'm coming."

"Not yet you aren't," he teased.

Everyone groaned. Jamie smacked his arm. "That's horrible, James. Keep those thoughts to yourself."

"Are you telling me you haven't picture her face in pure bliss?" Smiling innocently, he waited for her answer.

Jamie blushed a light pink as she nodded.

Luna sighed. "That's enough, you two."

Spreading out his soul, James searched the other side of the city. "We still have a few hundred monsters to kill. We can do that in a bit. I want to hear about how your fights have been going."

Pointing out Grace, he motioned for her to start them off.

***

Venice reached the city and scouted from the top of a building with her team. Her eyes scanned the streets, destroyed apartments and offices before settling on a rooftop a few blocks away.

"He's out in the open," she stated.

"With others," one of her men pointed out.

Using her natural Pact ability, she judged their souls and her eyes widened. The Valiant was far stronger than he should have been. She was going to have to step in right away. That, and one of his disciples was an even match for her men. The others were borderline, and would put up a good fight.

"You lot are taking the disciples," Venice ordered. Summoning a red javelin made from shimmering light, she locked onto all seven of them. It was her job to weaken them as much as possible. "Prepare to attack."

The men nodded and she hurled her projectile.

***

James listened to Luna talk about her fights before a sense of dread flooded the rooftop. Luna was the first to jump up, her eyes snapping to the horizon. James followed her gaze and watched as a red beam of light broke into seven pieces, heading straight for them.

The sheer power in the attack made him start to panic. Throwing his soul at the weapon, he tried to push it off course, only for his soul attack to pop like a bubble.

"Soul Sacrifice!" Luna screamed. A wave of energy washed over all of them just before the beams of light struck. James felt pain unlike anything he had experienced before. His soul dented and twisted from the attack as the building collapsed around him.

He struggled to feel his friends as he fell. All of them were in pain, their bodies weakening before all of that pain was pulled towards a central point. James felt a ripping sensation in his soul as Luna's soul blinked out. Hitting the ground a second later, the world turned dark.

***

James woke in a black void with the ghostly visage of Luna by his side.

"It worked," she whispered.

James tried to feel her soul, and confirmed it was all there, yet when he tried to grab her, he passed right through.

"Luna…" Tears streamed down his face as the truth settled in his soul.

"I'm sorry, James. I couldn't let everyone die." Wiping her eyes, she grabbed his shoulders. "I'm giving you all of my energy. Someone is out there that threatened our family. Someone that nearly killed all of us with one attack. It was too much for me to absorb."

Touching her ghostly hands, he sank to his knees. "This isn't possible. I can't…"

Luna knelt with him and pressed her face to his chest. "I'll always be with you James. Take my soul and my love. Carry me to the end of the world. Help me explore everything. I love you more than anything in the world, and now I must go. One day, we'll meet again. One day, I'll be in your arms and we'll talk about all the places you took me."

Resting his hand gently on her back, he sobbed. Little by little, Luna's soul merged with his, the cracks in his mind and soul healing just that much more. He didn't dare open his eyes, lest he admit she was gone. He didn't get the luxury of ignorance.

Soul Absorbed: Soul Strength: 11.75 (+0.5)

Slamming his fists into the ground, the void of his mind shattered. Pain and sorrow flooded his heart, only to be replaced by an inferno of rage. Someone took away his soulmate and he was going to rip them into tiny pieces.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.