Serum

Dirk's shortsword cut apart flesh, the rubbery hides of the monsters before him rending in two before spilling blood. 

He dodged all the claws that slashed down, all the spells that flew with reckless abandon. The monsters hurt each other more than him with their chaotic attacks. A ball of fire aimed for him would soon hit the monster behind him. 

He used these to his advantage. His awareness seemed omniscient as he bounced from monster to monster. He constantly moved forward, whether by a step or by a leap. And with each step, he was swinging or thrusting his swords. 

Stab a neck, step past the corpse, dodge a wind blade from above, and duck under a set of razor sharp claws. Dirk wasn't fast with his movements, nor graceful. It wasn't a dance through a field of violent flowers. 

It was sharp, coordinated, and deliberate. Dirk wasn't one to do anything unnecessary. His plans of attack led him forward one step at a time. And he always saw five or six steps ahead. 

Spyte was running around as well. In her cat form, she prowled between all the monsters that flew across the landscape. Nothing noticed her, or nothing simply spared her any attention. 

She observed. Her eyes were Dirk's eyes. He could see from both perspectives. And above all, both perspectives were that of mana vision, something that went beyond sight. 

Dirk often wished for his sight back. He often wished that he could just see the colors of the world without needing to comprehend some random magical concept. Mana vision made everything that much more complicated, and he didn't really like complicated. 

But right now, being able to see all the tiniest movements of the monsters all around him, see all their spells, the activation of their muscles, the heat roiling off their bodies...

It was another world he was coming to appreciate. Because right now, fighting thousands of monsters, only mana vision could afford him the omnidirectional awareness he needed to survive this chaos. Regular vision would make things quite a bit more difficult. 

He had practiced fighting this way for the last few days. Practiced utilizing both his own and Spyte's mana vision at the same time, and then moving according to both sets of vision. It had taken some time to bridge the disconnect, but he was a quick learner. 

And it wasn't like he didn't use drone feeds on Earth while he fought. This wasn't too different. 

*Shing!*

Dirk's shortsword plunged into the chest of a large bear as it crashed down from above him. He ducked and rolled just as it collapsed, avoiding the body that undoubtedly weighed over a thousand pounds. 

He was getting close. 

He could see the general's guards. 

The general he was approaching was an eagle. It hadn't taken flight yet, just watching him as he approached and slaughtered its armies. 

It had brilliant white feathers, and with Pandora's spell, Dirk could see the thousands of mind controlling strings that extended from this bird. 

The guards around the bird consisted of three other birds along with two monkeys. They stood before the eagle. 

And when Dirk entered the clearing in front of these guards, they attacked. 

The three bird guards took flight, while the monkeys ran forward. The two monkeys scooped some dirt in their hands before hardening it and hurling it toward Dirk. 

The birds also launched some air and water blades toward him. 

These projectiles came from all frontal directions, blocking any routes of advance. 

So he improvised. 

Dirk instantly appeared before one of the monkeys in a black blur, his previous position being subsequently bombarded with their futile attacks. Said monkey wasn't able to react to the sword that plunged through its chest, its eyes dulling as its heart's blood sprayed out of its chest. 

The corpse didn't even hit the floor before Dirk moved to the second monkey. In the split second that he swung his sword though, the monkey was able to duck back and respond with another fling of some rocks. 

Dirk's armor hardened with a glow of golden circuits, the rocks bouncing off the metal. Still, they left some small dents which were rapidly healed. Taking those hits with a bare body wouldn't end nicely. 

Dirk advanced quickly, but his element of surprise was gone. The birds above launched more attacks down atop him, blades slicing through the air and severing the ground beside him after he dodged. 

[Anima levels at 47%.]

Spyte suddenly rang with an alert as Dirk thrust toward the monkey. He frowned when the monkey had its arm cut off, the golden glow around his shortsword cutting through any and all defensive measures the monkey erected. And within a few more moves utilizing Dirk's Rook class Aura, it was decapitated. 

'Come back.'

Dirk retreated with that command. The cat that was prowling about the battlefield simultaneously disappeared as Dirk raised his hand. 

The pistol appeared in his grasp, and with a sharp glow, a bullet of fire was shot at the birds above. 

*Boom!*

The bullet exploded upon hitting the bird in the center, releasing a wave of fire that lightly engulfed the other two. Then, while they were momentarily blinded, he shot out three metal bullets. 

The birds couldn't react to those fast bullets, so they easily tore through the birds' bodies, blasting fist sized holes in their chests. They dropped from the sky afterward. 

Although easily fired, those four shots cost 35% of his mana. 

These stronger monsters were much more expensive to kill than the basic monsters around him. 

Dirk wasted no time as he proceeded to face the eagle. 

As if snickering, the eagle suddenly spread its wings. It was going to fly high, and Dirk had a feeling it wouldn't let him shoot it like the others. 

With a flap, it shot into the air. 

Just as it ascended though, Dirk took a deep breath. He concentrated, ignoring the external attacks from the armies that were barely a second away from crashing into him. 

His dark mana reached out into the space around him, bending it, creating a channel. 

Dirk had practiced void walking a lot, and he had eventually come to the conclusion that a single one of his steps couldn't go past approximately 8 meters. 

8 meters was enough to get in and out of all kinds of situations, good or bad. When fighting close combat, it afforded him amazing mobility and security. And his dark mana pool was large enough to facilitate more liberal usage instead of keeping it as a trump card. 

But this eagle had gone past his void walking range. He needed to go further than just 8 meters. 

If it got too high, he would have an impossible time killing it. It might outright flee, making his mission a failure. 

He couldn't have that. 

So he pushed himself further. He didn't try to increase the length of his step. 

He just took another step. 

Suddenly, the eagle saw Dirk's body distort. He appeared both in his original position and in the sky, only 3 meters away from it. 

But then, the eagle felt a chill behind it. 

Dirk had also appeared above it, right in its way. 

He had appeared in three different places. He had taken three void steps in a row. 

And then, he settled on the third position. 

The bird crashed into Dirk, who simultaneously grappled onto the feathery monster. The eagle continued to flap its wings even with the baggage, keeping them in the air. 

After scrambling to grab feathers, Dirk resorted to holding on to one of its legs and talons. After feeling what Dirk was doing, the eagle looked down with wide eyes. 

*Screech!*

It yelled at him before the talons twisted and crushed down on his arm, shredding through his armor and piercing into his forearm. 

He didn't seem to feel the pain though as he swung his other arm, his blade slithering through its defenses. Seeing the blade about to stab into its body, the eagle pushed its neck forward. 

*Clang!*

The eagle's beak blocked the sword, sounding as if it were also metal. Then, it kept pecking. 

Dirk swung his sword more as they rose higher and higher, clashing with the bird's beak over and over again, sending ringing noises through the battlefield. 

At the same time, the eagle started calling upon the wind, creating blades that wanted to slice him in two. 

Before that could happen though, Dirk suddenly mustered more of his anima. Obsidius pulsed as his arm jerked the eagle's leg. 

He pulled himself up, outright grabbing the eagle's neck with his free hand. The eagle obviously didn't like this and bit down on his arm. 

*Snap!*

Dirk felt and heard his bones break, but like last time, entirely disregarded it. 

His other hand raised, ripping itself out of the talon that was previously grabbing it. His arm was sliced open as a result before it pointed at the eagle's head. 

The pistol had appeared. 

*Boom!*

The metal bullet came flying out, creating a loud sound as it made contact with the bird's hard skull. With that shock to the brain, the bird faltered and started falling, passing out. 

For good measure, Dirk took out a shortsword and cut off the bird's neck as it was passed out.

[Target 2 terminated.]

Spyte spoke as Dirk stashed the head in his pocket ring. 

But he was still freefalling. 

They had flown pretty high up. The eagle had powerful wings, and usually it was the king of the skies. It was unfortunate that Dirk had to be a pest and grab onto it. 

[So what's the plan?]

Spyte appeared in cat form, perching on his back as he fell to the earth. They both watched the ground quickly approach. 

Dirk shrugged. 

"I don't know if void walking gets rid of my momentum, so I guess it's time to find out."

[Well, void walk downward if you're going to do so. If you retain momentum and teleport upward, you'll only gain more airtime and speed.]

"True."

[Good luck.]

With that, Spyte disappeared. Dirk sighed before concentrating. 

The ground rapidly approached. It was only a few seconds before landing that Dirk cast his spell. 

He took two steps, appearing 8 and 16 meters downward simultaneously. That second step placed him two meters above the ground. 

And then he finished the step.

But he didn't stop falling.

"Shi-"

*BANG!*

A small shockwave shook the ground as he cratered. The monsters nearby all looked toward the impact sight. 

*Cough*

Blood sprayed from Dirk's mouth as he coughed, his helmet retracting and letting the blood fly. Spyte appeared in cat form right after, sitting atop his chest. 

[Your left arm is shattered from the bird, your ribcage has several fractures throughout it, your spine has been misaligned, a few organs have been ruptured... I'd say a pretty good outcome, all things considered. Obsidius helped a lot, too.]

"Yea... Good job, blob."

Dirk choked out those words before taking a deep breath. Even breathing sent searing pains through his body, but he entirely ignored it. 

His nanites rapidly worked, realigning bones and sealing any internal wounds. Within mere seconds, his ribcage had been hardened and his arm bones had been realigned. 

Still, he waited as the monster armies slowly approached. They wondered if their enemy was dead. Some were also going insane over their lost leader, attacking the monsters around them. 

Dirk laid there for about 20 seconds before a monster approached with a snarl and sniffed his body. 

*Slice!*

A knife suddenly appeared through its skull. It dropped as Dirk rose, pulling himself to his feet. 

[You have about a third of your mana left and 10% of your anima left. You think you can kill a general and make it back?]

"...We'll see."

Dirk spit out some more blood before Obsidius covered his head again. He gazed at all the monsters around him. Half of them were eating each other, while the other half were watching him. 

Activating his muscles, he shot into the horde.

..............

"Good god..."

The City Lord couldn't help the dreary chuckle that escaped his mouth. 

His soldiers had reported exactly what was going on beyond the walls. He knew Pandora had finally acted. So he quickly left to watch. 

Only, he was shocked to find Pandora sitting alone on the walls, just gazing into the distance. 

He was even more surprised when he saw her face. In front of her eye was a series of light magic circles that amplified the light coming into it and magnifying it. The City Lord, being a former Rank 7, had seen his fair share of advanced spells. But that spell had surprised and impressed him. It was both complex yet profound in its use. 

Deciding to be generous, she also cast the spell for him, allowing him to see what she saw. 

And it opened up another world to him. 

He could see the puppet strings that the monster generals had spread throughout the armies. He realized exactly how they had gone about controlling such mindless hordes. It was chilling, thinking how one monster could wield so much power over others. 

But he could also see a figure. One that dashed through the armies and slaughtered anything in its way. A figure that acted with such ruthless precision that even a general couldn't help but fall. 

Dirk. The sole combatant out there taking on the monster generals alone. 

He had been there to see the first general go down. And then he had watched as Dirk was pulled into the sky by the eagle. 

He hadn't thought he would make it. 

The City Lord, knowing that Dirk was Ryker Strider's son, had become almost desperate. As he watched Dirk fly higher and higher, he turned to Pandora and tried commanding her to do something. She was obviously a powerful light mage capable of helping him. Yet she was standing there, doing nothing. 

But she refused to move, telling him to just watch. 

And then, Dirk fell. 

The City Lord watched as that teenager plummeted a few hundred meters. Any warrior at the Rank 5 stage might barely be able to survive the fall if they could muster the fillest extent of their powers. Even then, they'd be left on death's door, not to mention the threat nearby enemies posed. 

He watched with bulging eyes as Dirk cratered.

*Boom*

They could hear the small explosion from the wall. And with that, the City Lord had all but lost hope. 

They watched for half a minute, but nothing happened. He didn't get up. Not even the monsters attacked. Instead, the armies started going crazy without a general. 

Just as the City Lord was about to curse Pandora though...

That figure rose, killing a monster before standing. Like a zombie rising from the dead. 

The City Lord, though happy that Dirk survived, almost didn't want to believe someone so young could be so damned tenacious. 

And what was even more ridiculous was how he continued. He shot through the armies once more, fighting to the last general. 

"Don't think you know anything about Dirk, City Lord."

Pandora only smirked while watching that figure slaughter his way forward. 

"You only need to understand one thing about him."

She finally looked back, her blood red eyes staring into the City Lord's soul.

"He can't be killed. It's that simple."

"...Anybody can be killed."

The City Lord refuted, thinking that her statement was ridiculous. How could somebody not be killed? You might as well say they were a god. 

Pandora just rolled her eyes. 

"No, City Lord. Not everyone can be killed. Whether through fate, skill, or resilience, some people just end up surviving through all adversity. There's always a survivor. There's always that one person that makes it to the end. And Dirk has all three aforementioned qualities. He's too skilled to be killed. Too stubborn and resilient to lay down and die. As for his fate... he's too important to be killed. Just like me."

Pandora gave a bright smile. 

The City Lord's eye just twitched. How shameless was it to praise yourself like that? He really couldn't understand Pandora. 

Shaking his head, the City Lord just continued watching as Dirk arrived before the last general.