That blood mage was quite good, all things considered. 1000xp at least.

  Strolling along, Xyn reflected on his last three bouts and ranked his competitors. Each subsequent opponent had been a major step up from the last one. Xyn was looking forward to his next opponent if the power progression ladder held true.

  Though I'd like some time to recharge first.

  Since leaving the blood lake, Xyn had drawn a squiggly line with his steps as he shied away from monsters, keeping outside of their radar, which he assumed was around a hundred and twenty metres. That assumption has held true so far.

  Watching the world through his Void Sense, he observed various types of monsters, each resembling an animal or creature he was familiar with. Their interactions interested him. He watched an ogre - identical to the one he fought - drag a club through the dirt past a giant bucktooth hamster.

  The two acknowledged each other's existence with a shared look, then continued about their day. The dynamic was universal among the monsters. They regarded each other as being on the same side, all being cut from the same figurative cloth. It was a cold sort of kinship, an us-versus-non-monsters philosophy.

  Borrowing a knife is not a viable tactic. Well, as long as they don't rush me in mass, there's nothing to worry about.

  Xyn had taken not ten steps before it happened. Every monster within his Void Sense had suddenly and inexplicitly stilled. Then, before the Void Prince could put his confusion into concrete thoughts, the monsters unleashed a thunderous roar, screech or howl before rushing toward him at their fastest speed.

  What!? Why? I should be out of their range.

  Bafflement didn't equal fear or panic. Unbalanced as he was, Xyn didn't fail to defend himself. He became a turret. Void Bullets streaked toward the charging predators. All fourteen monsters died without fanfare, obliterated by his hypersonic projectiles. None managed to get within twenty metres of him.

  Their deaths didn't wipe the bafflement building in Xyn's heart. Whatever sent the monsters after him hadn't simply affected fourteen monsters. In the seconds that passed, another ten had crossed the border into his Void Sense, and he could sense others beyond it thanks to the cacophony of roars. The forest had come alive, the dirt around him jumping high in fright.

  What's happening here? What's the cause of this? No, who is - ah, is that it?

  Locking onto the black-feathered bird in the distance staring his way, Xyn was sure it was the instigator. It was over three kilometres away, hovering in place with sluggish flaps of its feathery wings. Its crimson eyes shone with a mix of intelligence and hunger.

  Monsters.

  Hostile-to-a-fault, artificial, and soul-craving. These terms summed up the creatures that Xyn called monsters. They had existed for over a thousand years in Machaeverosa and were thoroughly documented. There were exactly two hundred and sixty-four types, coming in a variety of shapes and colours. They possessed an equally broad spectrum of magics.

  The Monster Encyclopedia by Afon Condre was a bible for Adventurers everywhere. It had a section on each monster, listing its mundane and magical stats, fighting patterns, abilities and viable tactics. The book also had a section which ranked each monster by danger. Afon's placements were uncontroversial and shared by most, with people having only minor disputes. However, there was one placement that wasn't disputed, the number one spot.

  What was the most feared monster to encounter?

  The Crow Devil.

  The name was a misnomer. It was a raven and not at all related to demons. The title belied its reputation as a dreaded foe and a fearsome killer.

  In terms of personal power, the bird was nothing special. Pathetic even. It would lose to most other monsters in a one-on-one fight. What earned it the top spot was its unique abilities.

  Its soul-sensing ability was the largest by a considerable margin. The Crow Devil could detect a foe from ten kilometres away. This large radar was helpful in locating prey...but also allies.

  The Crow Devil could recruit and lead other monsters to do its bidding via a type of mind control. It was irresistible. The monster was a general, and its fellow monsters were its soldiers. To encounter the Crow Devil was to encounter an army. It never travelled alone and would have dozens around it at all times.

  As if that wasn't deadly enough, the Crow Devil had a unique anti-monster mindset. It was intelligent and never rushed in blindly. After spotting its prey, it would gather forces in the surroundings and then coordinate a devastating charge.

  One such monster had locked onto Xyn.

  The Void Prince's attention was yanked away by movement in his periphery. Dragging his gaze down, he took in a daunting sight. Just below the Crow Devil, having crested a hill, were monsters - a horde of them.

  Hundreds of them. Damn.

  The Crow Devil cawed, and the army charged as one.

  What to do?

  Tension filled the Void Prince like never before. He was low on mana, but even at 100%, this situation would be dicey. He wasn't fit for long bouts or dealing with numerous opponents. Despite feeling this way, Xyn couldn't help but smile. He had longed to experience a situation like this. He reclaimed his balance within a few breaths and directed his chaotic psychic energy into problem-solving.

  If I kill that bird, will these monsters lose their coordination? Likely. However, my mana tank is nearly empty. Killing it is doable, but fighting my way out of that cluster...less so. Using Accel Bullet alone won't do. Crescent Wave and Blade Storm are duds as well. That leaves one thing. No, two things. That might be risky, but these times call for it.

  A plan knitted itself together in his prodigious mind, and the Void Prince immediately moved to execute it. White was materialised as far away as possible, to Black's east. Then, the two Xyns took flight, one heading northwest and the other flying in the opposite direction.

  The Crow Devil made a confused noise before splitting its forces. It wasn't even. In its mind, White was the main unit and thus sent 70% of its forces after the duplicate.

  3.5 kilometres, Xyn recalled the fact as he zoomed forward. He had to put at least that much distance between his two selves. Good, it's following along, White thought, eyeing the avian in the distance. It's at the edge. I'll take it out along with the rest of the ver-

  Casual thoughts quickly became a luxury he couldn't afford. Monsters came by the dozens in a devastating tide. Direct charges and various kinds of projectile attacks were levied toward the psionic.

  Were he out in the open, there would be no question as to his odds of survival. If not zero, it would be a percentage close enough to be called its neighbour. Xyn was not, though. He, Black and White, had aimed for the trees, the magically dense variety. The glowing bark would act as a shield and speedbump alike.

  Into the natural maze, he dove.

  Spiralling out of control, he was not. The opposite, he was. All of his spirals were deliberate. Xyn was art in motion.

  The situation inspired panic, but the Void Prince felt none of the emotion. Instead, it was exhilaration that gripped him. Had he enough breathing room and necessary organs, his laughter would be bouncing off the bark and shaking the leaves.

  His path was that of a liar's polygraph. Erratic but beautiful to behold. While never rising above the canopy, he zigged, zagged and spiralled through the forestry while spinning and twisting like a gymnast. At times, he'd grip invisible bars and swing off them.

  Necessity was a dictator, but not an absolute one. Showmanship entered the fray as skids, flips, and other unnecessary manoeuvres were done. Xyn couldn't help himself. Even as he lost half of his limbs, this attitude remained unchanged.

  The lighter, the better. Yeah.

  Thinking this, Xyn continued toward his destinations.

  The Void Prince wasn't being reckless. At least, not completely. He could be two things at once, and the other half of him was crunching numbers like a machine. Dozens of possibilities played across the Void Prince's mind with each passing moment. From them, he chose to branch out toward a future that didn't end in his demise.

  The combination of his winding path, Vanta Drive and the presence of the trees helped his survival tremendously, but it wasn't a perfect solution. Nor a long-term one. A minute would turn this situation from a losing position to a lost one. Even with perfect moves, he'd end up in a forced mate scenario. He knew this and still couldn't keep the humour from his thoughts.

  Dirt and trees exploded all around him. Layers of dirt painted his clothes along with fresh blood. Incomplete and stained, his two selves were marred by punctures, dents and cuts. The injuries were lethal to a regular human body, but merely superficial to Xyn in his Dark Hollow form.

  Down an arm and a leg, White's attention was grabbed by a giant purple frog. Instead of playing bumper cars with the trees like its fellow monsters, the beast had opted to leap to a tall tree. At Xyn's two o'clock, twenty metres away, it opened its mouth.

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

  Xyn expected a tongue attack but was instead treated to a gaseous one. An expanding cone of purple miasma sprayed out of the monster's maw. Magical, it moved with the speed of a bullet and consumed everything it touched. The forest melted rapidly at the gas's passing.

  The wall of purple was unavoidable. Carrying great momentum, Xyn curled himself into a ball and encased himself in a layer of Vanta. As a black ball, he tunnelled through the purple cloud. Once on the other side, he burst free like a newborn chick eager for the outside world.

  He skidded across dirt for a few moments until he was forced to part. A boulder became pebbles as a cluster of force projectiles struck the area. A handful of ogres were in hot pursuit, their trigger fingers suffering from a terrible itch.

  Their projectiles didn't bother the Void Prince overmuch. The ogres' aim was shoddy. What was more troubling was the pink mana bolts fired out by the Frazzle Gorc. It was a yellow and maroon six-legged beast resembling a fusion of a sheep and wolf. Shot from the pink crystal in their forehead, the projectile was soul-seeking and phased through everything that wasn't its marked target.

  Xyn hadn't been hit by the blasts, but he could tell that even a graze would spell his doom. The bolts chased after him relentlessly, but not without limit. Each lasted no more than three seconds and couldn't stay materialised beyond fifty metres from its owner.

  There's no helping it.

  Sensing a second Frazzle Gorc appear on his radar, Xyn didn't hesitate. He had less than fifty Void Bullets in him, but getting rid of the pink bolts was paramount to survival. Two streaks of red killed the monster, ranked 13th most dangerous.

  No Frazzle Gorcs chased after Black. That said, his hand was forced as well. Ranked 12th according to Afon Condre, the Armoured Serpent was a massive snake, wide enough to swallow an average man whole and long enough to be called a train.

  It moved through the earth as though water, and it was an excellent swimmer. Unlike its brethren, it had no trouble following Xyn's erratic movements, and its superior speed made catching up to him a given. Three such monsters snaked toward Xyn. Black realised the danger and opened fire, but...

  So tough.

  The black scales bent inward, but no more. The Armoured Serpent's defensive ability was a sturdy wall that inspired dread in Adventures everywhere.

  Failing, Xyn bit the bullet. It was absolutely necessary, after all. The snakes were split down the middle, killing them instantly. Xyn couldn't rejoice. The three Crescent Waves had slashed at his reserves tremendously. Tension rose in him to heights never before reached.

  I have to get there before I run out. I can't fire another shot.

  As if in defiance of his thoughts, the space five metres ahead of Black suddenly warped. The Rank 7 Leap Rabear was a humanoid rabbit the size of a bear, white and furry. It was leaned forward, showcasing its razor-sharp collection of knives which it called its teeth. There was no room to dodge, and so Xyn didn't. A blackened bone appeared inches away from his forehead. Space rippled around it, and a moment later, it launched forward.

  Xyn swerved upwards, but couldn't completely avoid the monster. The bloody neck of the headless Leap Rabbit was a paintbrush imparting a hue of gore onto the psionic's underside as he scraped by.

  Black and White continued to widen the distance between them while overcoming peril after peril. Finally, the most critical part of his plan was cleared. Relief passed Xyn, but he didn't let himself get complacent; he was not out of the woods.

  Out of the woods is where it'll be the most dangerous. Can I get it before they tear me apart? Only one way to find out.

  Nearing his destination, Xyn's defences grew thin. Trees became scarce and brittle before becoming non-existent. Out in the open, Black’s shadow was cast on peach-coloured rock. It flew across the ground with a desperate frenzy.

  A crescent energy beam slashed at his waist, a force projectile blew off the top of his left shoulder, a needle from a porcupine monster lodged itself into his left eye socket...

  Without the cover of trees, Xyn was moments from death. The psionic didn't waste those precious instants. Two hundred metres separated him from what he desired, what he needed to survive. Leaving the forest was incredibly risky, but the alternative was certain death.

  There!

  Honing in on his target, he rocketed toward it. Down the slope and into the indent proper, he kept low as he flew. Attacks rained down around him, sending blood splashing up and around. He plunged through the drizzle with a single-minded focus as his remaining hand swept the lake's floor. Twenty. Ten. Five metres.

  Finally, he reached his destination. He snatched up the object of his desire in passing, Medric's left arm, and the Void Prince immediately moved to direct his aura. His earlier concerns were tossed aside, and he went for it. He drove his mana into the red tattoo.

  Xyn was confident that it would work, but not certain. This sliver of doubt ate at him throughout his journey, but now, he realised his worrying had been pointless.

  The tattoo was hungry for connection and eagerly slurped up the young psionic’s mana. Bond established in an instant, Xyn’s mind expanded as he felt an intimate connection with the glowing blood in the area. It was his, even more so than the blood in his body.

  The red river rippled as the Void Prince’s will spread to all parts. Fully leached, Xyn controlled the liquid as though it were his own limbs. His thoughts and imagination spurred its immediate movement. A wave of blood surged up and formed a massive wall – just in time.

  Thud

  The goat monster’s charge was stopped dead in its tracks - along with a cluster of various projectiles. Xyn hit the brakes, spun around and turned to face his pursuers. To their approach, he showed a bloody smile.

  My turn.

  All the magical blood within three hundred metres responded to the Void Prince's killing intent. The liquid served him no differently than it did Medric - no, in Xyn's hands, it was a touch more enthusiastic.

  Thousands of blood swords coalesced before becoming high-hypersonic beams and saws. Each one was a Sword of Damocles that finally dropped. Monsters were helpless before the newest blood mage's projectiles. Dozens died each passing second, pierced and reduced to clean chunks.

  Xyn watched the slaughter while releasing a wordless laugh. On his one leg, he swayed back and forth, drinking in the moment. Controlling the blood felt good - great actually. Not to mention, the mana cost to the ability was next to nothing compared to any of Xyn's techniques.

  Getting bored with the swords, he had them dissolve into a lake and from the crimson, dozens of giant arms punched out. Monsters were ripped apart and crushed.

  Monster numbers dwindled quickly. The final ten rushed forward undeterred by their fellow monsters' demise. They found themselves in crimson clutches in no time.

  “Krraa!”

  “Riii!”

  “Fukwaaa!”

  They roared and screeched, but it was in vain. Struggle as they might, there was no escape. The monsters fueled their body-enhancement magic to avoid getting crushed. However, contrary to the intense squeezing, that wasn't Xyn's intention.

  While not exactly the smartest move, it was by far the most stylish. Xyn was a slave to two mistresses, practicality and showmanship, and the latter was tugging on his chain.

  He has his crimson limbs forcefully line up the monsters after constructing a right arm with blood. His constructed pointer finger and middle finger squeezed together, then ignited with black flames. Then, he slashed.

  The arc, which ended with a flourish, was easily the most satisfying Void Cut in memory. The air whistled as though impressed, and the splashing sounds that followed sounded no different to applause to the young psionic’s ears.

  The bisected corpses became flashes of light and condensed into monster cores, joining the rest that were scattered across the area. Xyn noted the gems with sparkling eyes. The young man sported the biggest of smiles. Any wider would split his face. It was an innocent expression, yet when paired with his blood and dirt-stained figure and mutilated body, the young man appeared psychotic. Not helping things was the horse cackling that followed.

  No, now's not the time to celebrate.

  Xyn reined in his maelstrom of emotions and willed all the blood to him. Better safe than sorry was the reasoning, as he had the liquid form into an igloo-shaped bunker around him.

  Kilometres away, White reached the bottom of a lush ravine. He ground to a halt, and then instead of continuing to flee, spun to face his attackers. In the natural amphitheatre created by the moss-covered cliffs and slopes, he was the centre of the stage, and soon to be the star.

  Hundreds of eyes pointed toward him. At the back of the pack and high in the sky were two beady ones. They belonged to the Crow Devil, who hovered with slow, arrogant flaps. The loss of over a hundred minions to Black was no concern to it. When it was out of monsters, it would flee and replenish its forces and later return. Again and again...until its prey fell. This modus operandi was what cemented its status as the most dangerous monster.

  Xyn was ignorant of this anti-monster characteristic, but he acknowledged the monster's threat. You made me sweat, I’ll give you that. I’ll also give you this…farewell.

  Black had his Vanta move within the graviton bomb’s interior. The seventeen switches were turned on, and the circuit was connected. Activated, the bomb began shining brightly from within his ribcage.

  The monsters charged. Xyn barely got to flash a smile at them before it happened. From the heart, from where the heart would be were he a mundane human, it came.

  No shockwaves or pulses of heat radiated outward. It was a clean bomb. The shell shattered, releasing a monochromatic energy which expanded at a significant fraction of the speed of light. The giant egg's exterior was formed and engulfed every monster present.

  It was black, making seeing inside impossible. Not that there was much to see. Space bent and warped like a rowdy ocean, ripping apart everything inside on a molecular level. The black egg lingered for a blink. Its departure saw the air rush into the vacuum the bomb created, resulting in a loud pop that resounded for tens of kilometres.

  Xyn neither felt nor heard it in the darkness. He collapsed his shell of hardened blood and felt the sunlight – the light of victory - on his split and cracked skin. It was a good feeling. The young man basked in his hard-fought victory for a few seconds as he healed himself before his attention turned to the matter at hand, or rather, within his hand.

  This thing really came in clutch, hands down the best thing I’ve picked up all day. Xyn had the red river swirl around his feet. It feels slimy to use, but it’s really useful. Also, the mana cost is next to nothing compared to my magic. I should have snatched this up earlier. Would have saved me a few brushes with death. Yep, I'm keeping it.

  Xyn ate the words not even three seconds later as the entity on the other side of the tattoo made its voice heard.

  The voice boomed like thunder, and Xyn recoiled in agony. The mental command was a hammer striking his head, and the dark entity wielding the hammer wasn’t content with one strike.

  The voice that soothed Medric’s soul now tormented Xyn’s. Cracks formed in his psyche at each word uttered, imparting a pain both unfamiliar and unbearable to the young psionic. He tossed away the arm and ceased pouring mana into the tattoo, but that didn't help. All it did was cause the surrounding blood to become subject to inertia. The voice of the evil entity continued to echo all the same.

  Enough. Get out of my hea-

  As Xyn’s psyche was on the verge of shattering, he found a second wind in a combination of anger, pride and indignation. The emotions flared up like never before, overpowering the waves of psychic pain. He was Xyn, the strongest psionic. Peerless. To be treated as a lesser by another infuriated him to no end. He found his voice and rebutted with the weight of his arrogant soul.

  Begone, trash.

  If the other’s voice was a shout, his was a whisper. Yet upon uttering the words, everything went silent. The connection snapped in an instant, and the tattoo lost its crimson glow.

  Xyn huffed and puffed in the aftermath, his face hot and twisted.

  “Bastard,” he cursed as he stomped down and erased the tattoo from the physical plane.

  The Void Prince's narrowed eyes darted about. He did a full rotation before stopping. He clenched his fists. Xyn couldn't detect where the dark deity was located. Even the general direction couldn't be ascertained. It was as if he were everywhere.

  You hide well, leech, but you can't hide forever. I'll find you and teach you the pecking order, well and proper. Just wait.

  Xyn thought as he was knee-deep in flowing blood. He remained frozen in place for almost a minute before he blinked away the last of his killing intent. He put the God of Blood and Slaughter behind him. Glittering objects caught his eye, and his mood gained wings.

  Looting time.