Massa's voice rang out, laced with urgency.
"Out of the way!"
Hope and Nefer didn't hesitate. They leaped aside just as Massa's chant reached its climax.
A swirling orb of light coalesced between her outstretched hands, crackling with unstable energy. Her already pale complexion turned almost ghostly, sweat dripping from her brow as she poured the last of her essence into the spell.
The Carapace Scavengers weren't idle—they sensed the shift in power, their clawed limbs twitching as they prepared to lunge. But something was wrong.
They were slower.
The air around them shimmered with residual energy, an unseen force weighing them down. It was subtle but enough to delay their reactions by mere fractions of a second.
And then—
BOOM!
A burst of fire exploded from Massa's orb, roaring forward like a living beast.
The cave walls trembled from the force of the eruption. The scavengers reeled back as the flames engulfed them, their grotesque forms twisting in agony. Shrill, ear-piercing screams filled the air as their hardened carapaces blackened, their bodies convulsing wildly as the fire ate away at them.
Massa staggered, barely remaining upright, her breath ragged. "Now! Finish them!"
Nefer didn't need to be told twice. She surged forward, her blade gleaming in the firelight.
Hope followed—but differently.
The moment Nefer's foot hit the ground, he vanished, dissolving into the darkness like smoke.
Then, as Nefer reached the writhing scavengers, he reappeared right beside her.
His make-shift dagger flashed, slashing through the weakened carapace of the nearest fiend. The earlier fire had burned through its natural armor, leaving cracks and exposed flesh underneath. His blade struck deep into a joint, eliciting another high-pitched screech.
But one slash wasn't enough.
Hope twisted, vanishing again. When he reappeared, his dagger was already stabbing into another weak spot. Then again. And again. Each time, his strikes were quick and precise, tearing into the same areas to deepen the wounds.
The scavenger flailed, trying to retaliate, but Hope was never where it expected him to be.
He reappeared above it.
Without hesitation, he drove his dagger straight into the creature's unprotected head. The crude blade cracked even further from the sheer force, but it was enough.
The creature's body jerked once. Then went still.
A sharp voice whispered in his mind.
You have slain a Carapace Scavenger.
Rank: Corrupted Fiend.
Your Darkness Fragments grow stronger: 13/5000.
Your essence is regained.
A surge of energy rushed into him, like cold fire flowing through his veins. The fatigue weighing down his limbs lessened, his breath coming easier.
Soul Essence: 25/5000.
Hope grinned. That was something.
Then—
You have gained a memory.
His mind jolted as the Veil's voice continued.
Memory Type: Armor.
Rank: Awakened (2nd Tier).
Memory Description: "For I shall be indestructible," said the Demon of Treachery.
Armor?
Hope barely had time to process before instinct kicked in. He summoned it.
A swirl of dim light wrapped around him, twisting into shape.
The sensation was strange—his bare skin suddenly encased in something solid yet weightless. As the glow faded, he found himself clad in a set of armor.
It was brown, with intricate patterns etched into its surface—almost like veins running through stone. Despite its seemingly solid form, it moved with him like a second skin, offering no restriction.
All of this had taken only seconds.
But Hope wasn't done.
He leaped from the corpse of the fallen scavenger, landing with a roll before twisting mid-motion, ready to cut down the remaining fiends.