Void Reaper: The Essence Apocalypse

Chapter 78 78: If you're ready, we move

Zombies dropped one after another, their bodies piling into a crude barrier that slowed the ones pushing from behind. Limbs tangled at unnatural angles, boots slipping on blood-slick concrete as the pile rose higher with each collapse. The wet thuds of falling corpses blended into a dull, rhythmic backdrop.

Leon watched without blinking, eyes tracking not the chaos but Roland's footwork - the precise economy of motion, the way every strike ended exactly where it needed to.

Roland really had been the loudest voice against rushing straight into the dorm - talking responsibility, risk, numbers - and now he'd taken the most demanding position anyway. He'd become the bait, drawing the monsters' attention and carving a corridor through them.

"He's not against saving people," Leon said calmly. "He's against dying stupid."

Natalia's jaw tightened slightly at that, though she didn't argue.

She watched the old man slip around a reaching hand in one smooth motion, drive the tip of his cane into a zombie's temple, then instantly hop onto a concrete ledge to avoid being surrounded.

"And that's exactly why we need him," she murmured.

Adam released an arrow.

One zombie collapsed onto its back.

"If whatever's up there hears this," he said through clenched teeth -

Leon gave a slight nod.

"We're about to start the next phase."

He didn't wait for comments or confirmation. He simply stepped back from the roof edge and spoke as casually as if he were saying he was going to grab water, not about to throw himself into a swarm of corpses.

"While you hold this, I'll handle my part."

He didn't look at Natalia or Adam because he didn't need their permission.

He walked to the concrete railing, judged the distance to the lower roof on the right - wind direction, landing angle, margin for error - and jumped. Dust swirled in the wake of his takeoff.

No hesitation.

His silhouette slipped out of sight in one fluid sequence, like gravity was a suggestion.

Adam swore under his breath, stepping forward despite himself, eyes straining to follow the descent.

Natalia didn't flinch; she just tracked the direction Leon vanished.

The plan had three parts, and everyone knew their role without needing to say it out loud. The noise would draw the ordinary zombies. Roland was already clearing space. Adam supported from range. And Leon would test the reaction of whatever lurked higher - and force it to move.

Minutes later, in the dorm stairwell, Natalia stood with Marek. He rested his heavy war hammer on his shoulder like it was a simple stick, not a weapon capable of crushing a skull in one blow. The metal head was smeared with dried blood, and the grip bore the scuffs of hard use - better proof in this world than any certificate.

They weren't one hundred percent sure the thing above was a Highest Order entity, but in a reality where death waited behind every corner, it was safer to prepare as if they were facing something stronger than themselves - even if it turned out to be "only" a freakishly fast mutant.

Natalia drew both hands back, breathing hard. Her chest rose and fell in a steady, visible rhythm - because she'd poured a massive amount of mana into a single point.

In front of her, embedded in the concrete floor, stood an ice stake about half a meter long. Not a simple pillar of ice, but a narrow, hardened structure lined with short barbs angled backward along the shaft. If something hit it at speed, backing out without ripping muscle would be nearly impossible.

"That should do it," she said quietly, fatigue audible in her voice.

Her face was paler than usual - not fear, but mental strain. She'd condensed nearly ninety percent of her mana into this one object instead of spreading it across multiple smaller constructs like she did in a normal fight.

Marek stared at the ice stake, then at her, then back at it, like he was deciding whether he really wanted to swing at it with full force.

"If this shatters, don't blame me," he muttered, adjusting his grip.

"If it shatters, it wouldn't have worked anyway," Natalia said coolly. "Hit it."

Marek raised the hammer high overhead. The muscles in his arms tightened under his sleeves as he drew back, using the weapon's weight, not just his own strength.

BOOM.

The impact echoed through the stairwell, rolling upward through the concrete shaft. Fine dust sifted from the ceiling, pattering softly onto the floor.

The ice stake didn't even quiver.

A thin, almost invisible cold radiated from it. Frost began to creep in hairline veins across the surrounding concrete, and Marek's breath briefly fogged when he exhaled near it.

Marek lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay. That's not normal ice."

Natalia nodded. A hint of satisfaction flickered in her eyes, then vanished - there wasn't time to admire her work.

"If it charges us at full speed," she said evenly, "and doesn't notice in time… even a Highest Order creature will have to take damage."

Somewhere above them, a low, drawn-out sound rolled through the building - nothing like a zombie's growl, nothing like wind whistling through broken windows.

Marek slowly turned his head toward the stairs leading upward.

"Guess we're about to find out," he muttered, tightening his grip.

"I see you're finished," Leon said, appearing without warning in the fourth-floor window. He caught the frame and, in one smooth motion, shifted his weight inside - like climbing in at that height was as normal as taking the stairs.

A week ago he would've snapped an ankle trying something like that.

Now, with boosted stats, strengthened muscles, and sharpened coordination, it didn't even register as impressive.

Marek turned first.

"Done," he said shortly, resting the hammer against the wall. "Trap's set."

Natalia didn't speak. She watched Leon closely, like she was trying to read something beyond a simple finished from his face.

"And your side?" she asked calmly.

"Done." Leon walked to the opposite wall and sat down in the corner, back against the cold concrete.

He didn't look physically tired, but there was something heavier in his eyes.

"Most of the zombies went down after Roland," he said after a moment. "But that thing… I only caught it in the corner of my eye. It didn't come down. It watched."

He paused, brow faintly furrowed.

"Not like prey. More like it was deciding something."

Silence fell. Somewhere far below, a corpse shifted, followed by the distant rattle of something loose rolling across tile.

Marek frowned.

"How big?"

"I don't know," Leon said without hesitation. "It's not about size. The way it moved. Too fast for a normal zombie. Too calm for a mindless beast."

Silence fell.

"We wait," Leon added. "No point going higher until your mana regenerates." His gaze flicked to Natalia. "And until Roland and Adam get their stamina back. If this really is Highest Order, one mistake is enough."

Natalia nodded, though impatience still smoldered in her eyes. She was cautious by nature, and life had taught her even more restraint - especially around men who'd spent years looking at her through the lens of appearance instead of decisions or strength.

That was why the fact Leon had kept his word and returned despite the risk - rather than using the situation as an excuse - was something she couldn't just brush aside.

She said nothing.

But she filed it away.

Time crawled.

For the next hours they sat in the half-dark of an empty dorm room, doing nothing dramatic - because in the new world, survival often meant waiting for your body to return to baseline. For the next hours they sat in the half-dark of an empty dorm room, doing nothing dramatic.

Mana regeneration came in slow, heavy pulses - like pressure easing inside the skull. Natalia flexed her fingers now and then, checking for tremors. Marek paced in short loops before settling again. Muscle endurance even slower. Pushing too hard ended with trembling hands at the worst possible moment.

Marek threw out occasional offhand comments to bleed the tension away. Natalia answered in half-words. Leon spent most of the time by the window, watching the courtyard.

The silhouette he'd only seen in the corner of his eye kept returning to his mind like a stubborn shadow.

Too quiet.

Too aware.

He furrowed his brow, running through possible fight patterns - corridor angles, blind spots, maneuver space.

"My mana's almost full again," Natalia finally said. Her voice was cool, but steady.

Leon turned slowly.

The distant look was gone from his eyes. In its place - focus.

"If you're ready, we move," Natalia added, gesturing toward the upper floors.

Leon stood without hurry.

"No point wasting more time," he said calmly. "The longer we wait, the higher the chance it chooses the timing."

Marek hefted his war hammer.

All three of them moved toward the doorway.

Leon was about to step out first when Marek spoke behind him.

"Listen."

Leon turned his head.

"If you decide it's too much… don't play hero. We fall back. The dorm isn't going anywhere."

For a second Leon stared at him without expression.

Then he nodded once.

"In the next phase, I'm relying on you."

He didn't add anything else.

And he led the way toward the dorm stairwell.