Void Reaper: The Essence Apocalypse

"You have to save her."

Valeria's voice was quiet but firm—almost final. Adam glanced at her, still surprised by her sudden appearance. He had gotten used to her smirks, to that lazy mockery in her gaze. But now... she looked different. Her eyes were narrow, focused. Her lips pressed tight. There was no room for jokes in the air. Adam felt his stomach sink like a stone.

Adam grimaced slightly at her words, glancing at the horde of rats.

"If I jump in there alone, I'll be eaten too. It's hopeless."

Valeria stepped half a pace closer, her eyes blazing with irritation.

"You have that damn manipulation skill! Use it! Think instead of standing there like a pole!"

Before he could answer, his attention shifted to the battlefield. The song still vibrated in the air, and under its influence, the team of five warriors underwent a sudden transformation.

Their movements became synchronized—brutally effective. Every strike landed where it should. Rats fell by the dozens. Adam watched their blades dance to the rhythm of the melody. In barely half a minute, the number of enemies around them dropped by nearly a third. Rats died everywhere he looked. For a moment, Adam felt a flicker of awe.

And then... the song stopped.

Like a knife slicing through the air. The echo of the woman's voice vanished, and with it—the harmony.

The girl who had been singing staggered. Her leg was wounded, and her body trembled from exhaustion. She breathed heavily, sweat dripping down her temples.

"Why..." she whispered in despair. "Why the hell does it only last thirty seconds..."

In that short time, she had taken multiple hits—blood began to trickle from her body, seeping through torn fabric. With a quick, disoriented glance, she surveyed the battlefield. The trio on the other side was still holding on, barely—they were covered in wounds, and exhausted. Then she looked to the side—at the boy with the axe beside her.

She froze.

He was the most injured. He looked like he was covered in blood. His chest rose and fell in rapid breaths, each one more labored than the last. He stood barely upright, trembling all over, but he didn't step back. His hands were shaking, barely holding the axe—yet his eyes remained sharp, focused, as if he refused to allow himself even a moment of weakness.

And then she realized. He had been taking the brunt of the hits, shielding her, fighting too close to the rats so they wouldn't reach her.

Despair exploded inside her like fire.

She clenched her teeth. She wanted to scream. She realized that it was her decision to leave the base, to go for supplies. And now everyone might die because of her.

"Ten minutes..." she muttered to herself. "I have to wait ten minutes before I can use it again..."

Valeria, still floating beside Adam, shot him a sharp, hard glance.

"We don't have time for your indecision," she said in a serious tone. "Get your ass moving and help her."

Adam raised an eyebrow, about to respond when Valeria added with a faint, almost imperceptible smirk:

"You like saving beauties, right? And here's one in real trouble."

Valeria's voice dropped again, serious.

"That skill of hers cut their numbers almost in half. Maybe a hundred left."

Adam stayed silent, conflict raging in his eyes.

"You can handle this," Valeria snapped. "Unless you want to watch them die right in front of you."

Adam let out a heavy sigh, like the full weight of the decision just settled on his shoulders. His face hardened momentarily, his gaze shifting between both fighting groups. The trio in front was wounded but still holding on—barely, with effort, but their formation was intact. The pair... looked about to collapse. The girl was swaying on her feet, and the axe-wielding boy was soaked in blood and barely breathing. Their line had already crumbled. Adam saw it clearly.

He had no choice.

Then he moved toward the pair.

His right hand rose. Five, six metal shards—rusty rods, blades, pieces of torn railing—lifted around him like satellites.

He plunged into the rat horde with force, his appearance like a spark thrown into fire—an instant explosion of death and chaos. The first strikes were precise—one object sliced a neck, another shattered a skull, a third drove into a monster's eye, piercing its brain. Adam moved in a semicircle, never stopping. Void Manipulation worked at full capacity, and a dead zone began forming around him—a ring of corpses no rat could breach.

The shards and railing pieces spun around him like a deadly orbit. With every hand motion, with every shift of his gaze, one found its target—cracking skulls, severing spines, tearing through armored backs. 

The remaining rats seemed to sense the threat. In an instant, the whole swarm rushed at him.

For a moment, Adam thought he could hold them off. They weren't as tough as zombies—they went down with one hit, and his skill handled them surprisingly well. For the first few seconds, he even felt like he had the upper hand, as if he was in control.

But that feeling vanished quickly.

More rats. From every direction, endless. He tried to keep up—aiming, controlling the blades—but some started slipping through. Where one fell, two more came.

He felt his focus beginning to fracture. The floating weapons still carved deadly arcs, but sometimes missed by inches. Adam started mixing in close-quarters combat—his dagger danced in his hand, slicing through rats that got too close.

But he knew he was losing his edge.

He kept killing, but the creatures were closing in. One leapt onto his back, another bit into his calf. He felt the sharp, burning pain. A claw tore through his shoulder, shredding fabric.

He roared and spun instinctively, blade in hand. He sliced the rat on his leg in half, then stabbed sideways, piercing the one to his flank. The shards around him responded to his rage—striking harder, with brutal precision, shredding rats like rag dolls. Adam panted heavily, sweat glistening on his forehead, but his eyes gleamed with cold fury.

There were too many. Too many for one man, even with a power like his.

He realized he was nearing overload—his power wasn't infinite, and his reflexes couldn't keep up.

Before Adam reached them, the sword girl looked at him in disbelief.

"Someone... someone's helping us?" she gasped, almost unable to believe it.

The axe boy looked up from the rat he just repelled.

In the same moment, most of the horde began peeling away from them, charging toward the man coming to their aid. Their screeches turned higher, more aggressive.

He was close—almost there.

The axe boy noticed hesitation in the rats' ranks and turned to the girl.

"Run now! Quick!" he barked hoarsely, pointing. He didn't wait for her reply—he shoved aside an incoming rat and rushed toward the approaching man, gripping his axe tighter.

His face twisted in pain, but a flicker of hope lit in his eyes. The girl stared at him in surprise, then shook her head sharply.

"Forget it," she hissed, ignoring the pain in her leg. "I'm not leaving you."

Instead of fleeing, she tightened her grip on her sword and ran after him, ready to fight at his side.

The axe boy broke through the rat line first, just about to call out to the incoming warrior—an offer of teamwork—when he spotted a familiar figure beside him.

He clenched his teeth.

Anger flared in him like fire. He wanted to scream, but held it in. Now wasn't the time.

"We've got your back," he rasped to Adam. "Focus on the front."

Adam looked at them in surprise, then gave a slight nod. At first, he didn't trust their skills—he didn't know them, what they were capable of. But then he noticed how the sword girl deflected attacks with surgical precision, and the axe boy, despite his wounds and exhaustion, blocked every rat trying to reach them from behind. One of his strikes knocked back three creatures at once. They moved together—not chaotically or desperately, but with determination and fading technique. Seeing their efforts, Adam allowed himself a sliver of trust.

For the first time in the fight, he could focus purely on the front. The hovering blades flew more freely, each striking exactly where intended—neck, eye, spine. His dagger led a series of precise slashes, cutting down rats before they could get too close. Adam's movements became smoother now that he didn't have to worry about attacks from behind.

Twice he saw the axe boy almost get hit—from the side, from behind. Adam reacted instantly, sending a blade to rip apart an oncoming rat.

The boy glanced back, surprised. For a heartbeat, he looked at Adam, as if about to speak—but seeing his focus, he just nodded and dove back into the fight.

Minutes later, the last rats fell.

Adam looked at the girl and boy. They were exhausted, nearly collapsing the moment the final rat stopped moving. They dropped to their knees, panting too hard to lift their weapons. Adam didn't pause.

His gaze shifted to the trio farther away—barely standing, bleeding, struggling to fend off the last wave of rat-like monsters. Fifteen, maybe twenty left, but their every movement was slow nad delayed. Adam knew every second could cost them their lives.

He clenched his teeth and ran, crashing into the side of the enemy group. Shards and dagger danced again in a deadly rhythm. The rats weren't ready for the new threat—one by one, they fell, unable to react. Adam cut them down swiftly, precisely, like he had a single purpose.

Finally... silence.

The three defenders stared at him in disbelief. Their eyes showed gratitude, but also exhaustion close to collapse. At the same time, they dropped to their knees, leaning on each other, too drained to speak.

Adam exhaled deeply, ready to lower his weapon when suddenly...

A system notification appeared before his eyes.