Everyone met in James's apartment after they returned from the fight. They still had hours left in the day, but a small reprieve was needed before heading back out.

"We have a lot to talk about," James started once everyone was sitting. All apart from Amber who was pacing behind him.

Telling the story of what the dragon had told him about the city only took a few minutes. He left out some details, such as that he wasn't human. He also left out the baby dragon talking to him.

"The Forsaken like being around you?" Mender questioned.

"Explains the vultures," Bronson added.

"And the panther," Brakin said.

James waited until the chatter died down before sitting next to Luna. "That's the story. We are trapped in the city for now. We need to figure out what's at the center, and why a dragon has not freed itself yet."

"Did she give you any sort of hint?" Luna asked.

"No," he admitted. "I know as much as what I told you. For now, you all need to get stronger while I inspect further into the city."

"Alone?" Amber questioned.

"Yes, alone." Getting back up he moved to the cat and stopped her pacing. "I'll be fine. I need you all to keep fighting in the surrounding area and kill what you can. Luna can handle any giant monsters that show up."

Grumbling, Amber crossed her arms. "What if you get in trouble without me?"

Sighing, he stepped back. "You all need to get going."

Thankfully, the others didn't argue as they stood and started wandering out of the room. Only Luna, Amber, and Jamie stayed behind. Elder Bo was meditating on the roof, likely soaking up the Qi that he could.

Amber promptly punched his arm. "You're an idiot!"

"I agree," Jamie said. "Why are you going off alone when you have an entire team?"

Luna sighed as she joined them. "I have to admit they have a point, Love."

Rubbing his arm, he frowned. "I'm not needed around here for one. You all are strong enough and only getting stronger. I've been stuck watching for too long, or have you not noticed?"

"I have," Luna admitted.

Crossing his arms, he added, "I'm also trying to grow stronger. In order to do that, I need greater challenges. Something that being with the group can't offer. I need greater souls or a vast number of small ones. An entire army wouldn't be close to some of the giant ones I've felt."

Finally, the three girls slumped.

"Sorry," Amber said at last. "It's easy to forget that you are growing stronger as well."

Jamie stepped back. "Will we see you tonight?"

"We better," Amber growled. "If he isn't back, I'm hunting him down!"

Luna patted her back. "Why does it feel like you are the overprotective wife?"

"Because I am!" Amber chirped.

"No, you aren't," James stated. "Now go kill something or else you're losing your bathing privilege tonight."

Amber quickly grabbed Jamie's hand and started pulling her toward the door. "He's washing my tail tonight, we better get moving."

James shook his head as they left. With only Luna hanging back, he turned to her. "Need to add something?"

"Yes," she said plainly. "I still don't like this. How long are we going to be trapped here?"

"I don't know," he said softly. Stepping in, he kissed her gently. "Keep the others alive while I work."

Resting against his chest, she nodded. "Very well. But you better be back each night before it gets dark."

"I will." Pausing, he asked something that had been bothering him. "Did the spiders have any mutated powers?"

Frowning, Luna thought it over for a moment. "No, they didn't. But we are in the wastelands, right? They should have something."

"They should. The beetle had a red haze attack that really hurt, but I didn't gain a skill from it. We need to inspect more Forsaken. Something isn't adding up."

Stepping back, Luna met his eye. "I better get started. Amber will likely wake a giant monster before I get out there."

Snorting a laugh, James turned them toward the door. "Let's go. We still have most of the day ahead of us."

Taking the lead, he left the apartment with Luna by his side. When they got outside, they found everyone waiting for them. Amber was busy moving between each person, checking them over for some odd reason. They all humored her as she patted them down before noticing him.

"Where are you leading them?" he asked.

Amber pointed towards the dragon. "We are going to clear out more of her area. You said we are protecting her and her young, so we are going to clear as much as we can."

Nodding, James pointed toward the center of the city. "I'm heading that way again. I'll be back in a few hours. Luna, make sure no one dies, and if they do, make sure they eat afterward."

"I will." Grabbing his arm, Luna turned him toward her. Pulling him in for a kiss, she rested his forehead against hers. "Be safe."

A throat cleared by their side. Looking over, they found Amber scowling at them.

"Yes?" Luna asked.

"You're kissing my husband," Amber said with narrow eyes.

Growling, Luna let him go to march up to the nekorian. "He's my husband for one. Two, you are not part of this relationship!"

Amber matched her growling, but there was a playful smirk to her lips.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Amber," James chided. "Stop picking on Luna."

"Fine…" Amber droned. "It's just so easy though."

Scoffing, Luna started to walk away. "Let's go people!"

Mender shared a look of sympathy with him. James shook his head. "Not worth it."

Giggling, Jamie gave him a thumbs up for whatever reason before hurrying off. Linda shook her head at him before fingering her quiver with the few bolts she was able to retrieve. The Elson brothers followed her quickly, and within moments he was left alone with Amber.

"Are you done picking on her?" he asked.

Amber shrugged. "Not yet if I'm being honest."

Sighing, he started walking toward the center of the city. "Make sure the dragons don't need anything."

"Will do!"

He could hear her hurry off to join the others as he left. There were miles of blocks to search, and he hoped he could find something.

***

Luna led the way back to the dragon's area before turning to everyone. "We will spread out from here. Pick your partner or partners and find a building. I'll be clearing my own area while keeping an eye out for any giant Forsaken."

"How many buildings should we clear?" Linda asked.

Taking a moment to think over the question, Luna panned her gaze over the surrounding structures. "That's a good question. I suggest clearing as many as you can as quickly as you can. We aren't here for a vacation. This is what you signed up for when you joined James."

"I joined for other reasons!" Amber called out jokingly.

Rolling her eyes as everyone laughed, Luna said, "behave. You're in enough trouble as it is, young lady."

"Are you going to spank me?" the cat teased.

Smirking, Luna paused for a moment. "No. I think I'll make it so James doesn't give you a bath. Naughty kitties don't get his attention."

Jaw dropping, Amber started pouting. "I'm a good kitty…"

A few more laughs went around the group before Luna clapped her hands. "Get going. If you grow exhausted, head back to the apartments. I'm not responsible for making sure you retreat for the night. If you can't judge a situation, then you shouldn't be out here."

Jamie tugged on her brother's arm. "Come with me. I'll need your healing."

Brakin and Boris split up, taking a different direction. Linda was clearly waiting on Bronson, who looked sheepish under her gaze. Slowly, the two wandered off, leaving Luna with Amber.

"Are you going to get to work?" Luna questioned.

Pointing toward the grocery store, Amber said, "James asked me to check in on the dragons. They might need food or something."

"Do you need my help?"

Amber quickly shook her head. "I'll be fine, Luna. The worst that will happen is that they eat me."

Sighing, Luna shook her head. "Try not to joke like that. James would kill me if something happened to you."

"Aww…does he love me?" the cat teased.

With a blank expression, Luna flicked Amber's nose. "Behave. Go feed the dragons. I'll be nearby if you need me. I really need to practice fighting in my wolf form inside these buildings."

Rubbing her nose, Amber smiled. "Sounds good. I'll find a building shortly. I have to test out my kittens more."

Walking away, Luna could only smile. Leave it to the cat to gain a skill about summoning more cats. As if one Amber wasn't annoying enough already.

***

James didn't walk swiftly down the blocks. By the time the group had made it to the dragons, he had only reached the area of the beetle attack. The giant carcass of the monster had been picked through by some sort of Forsaken. Only fragments of the carapace were left, and what amounted to hundreds of scratch marks on the concrete remained.

Definitely something living over here. I'll need to keep my eyes open.

Walking through the remnants of the destroyed street from the battle, James crossed to a section of the city he hadn't been to yet. The stores transitioned into a suburban landscape, starting with a few squat apartments, followed by two and three story houses. Attached and detached garages still had vehicles in them, but something about them was odd.

James had seen in pictures what the cars of the ancients looked like. They certainly weren't ovals though. What he was finding, even the wheels were oval, and one even had square wheels. Not to mention, there was no traction on the wheels, and every single vehicle was white without a hint of dust or ash.

Scratching his head, James slowed down. He had what looked like miles of the suburban area to search or simply pass through before reaching the next district. It wouldn't do to rush through and leave dangerous Forsaken behind.

Spreading out his soul as much as he could, he could sense the houses on either side of him. Souls greeted him inside each building, and dozens of them snapped their attention to him. What more, the dead trees between the road and sidewalk had souls.

What is going on here? Why would a tree have a soul?

Frowning, he sent jolts of his soul into the trees and froze. What reached back was a growing source of power. The flickering souls that he felt around him started to grow stronger and merge together. What was once dozens became a sparse four that raged like an inferno.

Oh…

Summoning his sword, he was ready for when the first soul exploded out of the house. Wood and rubble rained down over the street as a green giant made from what looked like flowers and vines swung its arm toward him.

Narrowing his eyes, James stepped into the attack and swung. The giant pushed its soul into its limb, but he matched the power with his own, Severing the hand from the monster.

It tried to scream in pain, but no sound came out. Instead, a misty green pollen rained over the area, making his chest burn as if he was breathing liquid fire. Every breath became a struggle as his head started to swim. One moment he was standing, then the next, he was on his knees, clutching the ground.

The removed hand crawled back over to the giant before breaking up into flowers and vines. Flowing over the Forsaken's body, it reformed the hand before the creature stepped out of the rubble.

James felt a sharp jolt in his soul when he gained his next skill.

New Skill: Antihistamine: Level 1/10

His breathing became easier as his Regeneration and the skill started to help. The pollen in the air finally reached the ground, where it created a low hanging fog that would be easily kicked up.

Climbing back to his feet, he wasn't in time for the hand to come back and smash him in the side. His bones stressed from the impact and his vision flashed black just before he crashed into a house.

Three more buildings exploded nearby as the other giants made themselves known. All three of them rained down more pollen and spores, flooding the surrounding area with a death.

Blood trickled from his mouth as James pushed the wooden beam off his chest. The pollen was flowing towards him and he couldn't risk having another attack. His Regeneration was already mending bones and tissue as he tapped into his Soul Puppet.

His puppet sprang to life as a large portion of his energy dropped. With a helping hand, it pulled him from the rubble before raising a brow.

"Yeah, I know," James croaked. "There's four of them."

Summoning its sword, the puppet pointed out two of the giants, before moving to a third.

"You're not having all three of them," James said, trying to laugh.

Shrugging, the puppet raced off, ready to start the fight. James took a moment to watch as all four giants turned their attention towards his puppet and swung. Their limbs extended, stretching far longer than should be possible. But he did notice that individual souls separated when they were at full length.

How many souls are these things? If I can simply separate them…

Summoning his sword, James raced back in. Using Soul Siphon, he latched onto all four of them and his puppet copied him a second later. It only took a second to realize they were attached to dozens of souls rather than one giant one. The flow of flames to their bodies was massive as they absorbed the power.

Reaching the first giant, James dragged his sword across its leg, cutting through the vines with ease. The foot disconnected with a hiss as his blade caused flames to race up and down the leg. More pollen rained down on him as the monster struggled against the pain.

Holding his breath, he looked up at the towering monstrosity. Even though it resembled a humanoid shape, it shifted and bulged like the monster that it was, never truly settling on a form.

I need to end this quickly so I can breathe again.

A huge burst of soul energy connected with him a second later and James watched as one of the giants collapsed into a pile of dead plant material. His puppet was already racing onto another, using Soul Strike to obliterate its body.

Focusing on the fight, James started to do the same. Fists and feet slammed down around him as he pushed through his curse to charge the monsters. Even if his body didn't want to dodge, that didn't mean he couldn't rush up on them to avoid the attacks.

With each Soul Strike, sections of the giants collapsed to the ground as energy flowed into his body. Siphon started to work as even more material fell to the ground and within minutes, the four giants were dead.

Panting, he scanned the street for any more life. All of the nearby souls were gone apart from his puppet. The street was in ruins with large fractures and chunks missing from attacks. Plant material lay everywhere among housing rubble and even a few of the odd cars were upside down nearby.

A notification was waiting for him as he calmed his breathing.

Souls Absorbed: Soul Strength: 8.0115

Antihistamine: Level 2/10

Picking through the remains of the plants, he found several vegetables that still looked good. Maybe they could make stew for dinner.

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