Void Evolution System

A sea of black ink.

A forced encounter with death.

The terrifying cacophony of war.

Other than the third, something he'd been preparing himself to face for many years, none of these were things Tyler had been expecting to encounter on his first deployment to war.

But, fate wasn't something that could be controlled.

Tyler's legs slammed into the ground, shooting him up into the air. His form shifted rapidly, wings and reptilian scales appearing all over his body.

Raaaah!

He let out a ferocious battle cry as he flapped his wings and shot through the sky. Flaming breath left his mouth, creating widespread damage among the enemies.

Thousands of Lesser Nox died to his every attack, but the gaps formed by their absence were filled in an instant. He didn't have a single second to breathe.

'Dodge left. Defensive form. Switch.'

His form switched again, shifting back into the panther form he used most often.

Tyler's eyes darted around and his awareness spread out thoroughly so he could understand his surroundings properly. His body moved like a machine, completely contradicting his bestial appearance.

His body only shifted minimally at every interval, but he was able to dodge the swarm around him with relative ease.

His speed in panther form was unparalleled, but he sacrificed defense to gain such an effect. In battle, it was far less taxing on his body than some of his stronger summons.

However, it was still incredibly taxing on his brain.

'I need to find a way out. I can't stay surrounded.'

Tyler's thoughts rushed rapidly. Fighting alone in a situation like this was a terrible idea.

He, Synth, and Ash weren't powerful enough to take on those Higher Nox who came along. Even if they had power, their power was still in the range of mid-level 4th class.

Therefore, the best they could do was control the swarm so that Damien and Zara wouldn't be bothered as they fought.

It was an extremely uneven split looking at strength. Over a thousand Higher Nox with high-rank 4th class physiques were terrifying regardless of how many Lesser Nox were on the other side.

But that didn't make fighting the swarm any easier.

Millions were still millions.

No matter how many thousands died with each attack, more would always be present to replace them.

The Lesser Nox had always existed with this exact formation. To simply exist and push forward until the enemy ran out of strength was an extremely brutish yet effective strategy.

'I need to find the others.'

Tyler spread his awareness to its maximum, covering several thousand kilometers.

'I can't see them at all. We must've been separated while figh—'

"…!"

Tyler suddenly flipped backwards and turned into a retreating tail of light. Where he once stood…

BANG!

A massive crater formed.

Within the dust and debris, a lion-like man with wild hair and glistening yellow eyes brushed a hint of blood off his ash-grey skin.

"Hmm, you dodged?" He spoke casually as he left the crater, his eyes never leaving Tyler's form regardless of his speed.

"You're pretty fast," the man said with a smile. "But I'm faster."

BOOM!

The man's figure blurred and appeared directly next to Tyler. He slammed his arm to the side, blocking the young genius' path and forcefully halting his momentum.

Tyler panicked, narrowly evading the arm that would've punched a hole in his head if he'd run into it. He rolled on the floor and stood up, facing the man who stopped him.

'There's no escape.'

He realized it quickly. Escaping this lion-haired man was impossible with his abilities. His only options were to fight or die.

His form changed. It was a near-instantaneous effect.

His body grew and became more robust, his face became more primal, and tufts of fur began growing from his skin.

ROAR!

A powerful fluctuation spread from Tyler's body.

"Oho, I like your courage." The man said.

"My name is Elio. Remember it when you die."

The man, Elio's form blurred. A streak of light shot towards Tyler like a comet, reaching his body in an instant.

BANG!

Elio's fist hit Tyler in the center of his chest, but unlike before…

Tyler withstood the punch with sheer defensive power alone.

"You…won't kill me that easily." He grunted rebelliously.

The Titan Ape was one of Tyler's most powerful summons. It was slow and heavy, but it was equally tough and powerful.

To resist against a few hits from Elio was light work.

But to do it continuously…?

Tyler didn't wait to see what would happen. His fists became weapons of mass destruction. He didn't even aim for Elio as he fought, merely wishing to cause as much damage as possible.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every impact felt like a nuclear explosion. The ground was torn to sunders, space trembled and cracked apart, and the surrounding tens of thousands of Nox were turned into ink stains.

Elio dodged like a cheetah and evaded the brunt force of every hit, but even he couldn't avoid the proceeding shock.

'Tch!' He scoffed inwardly. He could feel his organs rattling, but he had confidence in the physique that'd been built for him. His body wouldn't fall apart with just this much.

Elio's eyes turned cold. He'd come here to play around a bit since the three fighting the swarm seemed weaker than the two fighting the Higher Nox, but he didn't like what he'd encountered.

Talent.

Elio always hated the concept of talent.

The Nox didn't have talent. None of them were able to grow with their own effort to achieve power.

The Nox's way of gaining power was different, far more straightforward and adaptable.

Elio envied talent and he hated it. He hated the fact that no matter what level he reached, it'd never be wholly due to his own efforts.

He hated that the power he had was, to some extent, borrowed.

'Heavenly God Armor'

Talent deserved to die. So everyone could experience the same bleakness as him, so everyone would always be equal.

Talent had to die.

Elio's body was covered in oozing black mana. The mana solidified within sparks of a second, engraving itself with mystical patterns as it formed an ancient armor set that covered Elio's entire body.

A massive broadsword materialized in his grip.

He charged towards Tyler's titanic form and slashed downwards, ignoring the flurry of attacks that was taking place.

Shiiing!

The sword sound cut through the surrounding chaos and rang especially bright.

A spray of blood accompanied it, dying the sky red.

"Ack!"

Tyler clutched his chest as he backed away, his form changing once more into a panther beastman.

The gash running across his torso was clear as day. It was so massive that it almost looked like Tyler's body had been split in two.

'With just one attack…!' Tyler thought, trying his best to ignore the pain.

The Higher Nox experts who were leading the swarm…they truly weren't a force he could take on.

He didn't have the power.

'No.'

Tyler clenched his fists and threw away the thoughts in his head.

'I was going to die anyway, it's just a matter of how I go out.'

He'd never really cared for flashiness and he'd never really cared for pride, but now that he was on the battlefield, he felt differently.

It seemed…he'd been influenced by a certain reckless squad leader.