{[Quest] -locate the domain core- completed. Reward received. Should I activate the information packet now? [Yes] [No].}

Lucas brought his mind to the notification and contemplated the choice for a few moments before deciding to accept. With the [Daredevil] Achievement, his mind could now handle the strain fairly easily.

"Argh, it still hurts quite a bit."

Feeling a sharp migraine, Lucas couldn't help but grumble as he rubbed his temples with his tails. He shook his head to snap out of it and brought his focus back to Wiki, he had some important questions to ask.

"What's a domain core?"

Lucas started off with what he considered the most important question. Given what he had seen from the domain core, it was anything but ordinary.

Surprisingly, Wiki paused for a full three seconds before responding with,

{Domain cores are concentrated facets of reality. Each one holding the boundless properties of creation and existence itself.}

"Seriously?"

Even though Lucas was getting used to these grand, world warping answers and even expected one, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

"How is a domain core formed then?"

Lucas asked his next question with his fingers crossed hoping Wiki would give him an answer.

{You currently don't have access to such knowledge.}

Not really disappointed by that outcome, he thought through his next question. It was quite obvious the battle ahead was related to the domain core in some way, but what was the exact reason? For that he would have to gleam as much as he could from Wiki.

By this point, Lucas knew what type of questions would be answered by Wiki and how to get it to reveal a decent amount of information. If his question was too direct, it would either not answer at all or give a one word reply at best. While if it was too convoluted, its answer would be equally vague. So to strike that balance, he asked an indirect question first to test the waters.

"What's that melody the domain core keeps playing?"

{Domain cores have varying life cycles and growth patterns. What you perceive as an entrancing melody, is its feeding call. Be warned.}

A chill raced up and down Lucas' spine at that last sentence. Wiki rarely answered so directly and it even sounded… emotional. This small shift in tone worried Lucas greatly so he hastily asked his next question, he had no plans of becoming a cosmic tree's lunch.

"How do I get out of this tunnel?"

{There are only two ways, escaping through brute force or waiting for the feeding process to end.}

Confused by the first answer, Lucas asked,

"Through brute force? How?"

Infinitely patient, Wiki calmly responded,

{By forcing your way out of the spatially stretched tunnel or by claiming the core for yourself. I would not recommend either of those options with your current strength.}

"No shit, Wiki. So, how long will it take for the feeding process to end? On that note what is it feeding on in the first place?"

{For your first question, the answer is unknown, it depends on when that battle concludes and the domain core's appetite. As for the latter, it feeds off death.}

"What? Seriously?"

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Lucas asked with a nervous chuckle. Though his mouth was smiling, his pupils shrunk to pins, his form became as taut as a bow, and his digits dug into the cool rock beneath him. The longer he stayed in this tunnel, the louder his instincts roared at him to escape.

The more he learned about the domain core, the more dangerous it seemed as well. With its melody worming its way into his mind he could barely think straight, agitating him even further.

"Crash!"

Crash snapped him out of his agitated state. Now more than ever he needed a cold head. Fortunately, he had Crash and [Daredevil] to fall back on. His nervous smile curved into a proper smirk as he said,

"You're right Crash, it doesn't matter what it is. We didn't come all this way to wimp out. Since it feeds off death, let's give it what it wants!"

Since there was no way to avoid the fight, he would dive into it head first! Lucas was not the same scared teenager who had been dropped into the cavern a few weeks ago, through hours of combat and mind breaking pain, he had forged himself into something more and this would be his proving ground. Make or break, flight or plight, it would all be decided here.

BOOM!

With a terrifying wolfish grin slicing across his face, Lucas bolted forward. His runes activated and assisted his motion making him appear like a ray of white and black light.

When he got within fifty meters of the battle, a change immediately took place. When the crimson sound waves from the bats shrieks touched him, multiple crimson Runes appeared across his body.

The bats instantly went insane as more than a dozen of them left their opponents and began heading to his direction. Their figures were coated in a deep crimson as they raced towards him, a fierce fury blazing in their demented eyes.

To make matters worse, that ominous black Rune appeared on Lucas' core once more and all the tree men had a visible reaction to his presence. Thankfully, they were not as crazy as the bats and stayed in their formation.

'What the fuck? Are these bats brain dead?! The main issue is the tree people, not me!!'

Lucas bared his teeth in anger and frustration as he accelerated further. No matter what he did, it always seemed like his luck was absolute dog water in this cavern. But that wouldn't matter if he ripped all his foes to shreds!

His eyes burned with a sanguine glow at the thought. Unbeknownst to him, his Life and Spirit energy's revolution speed cranked up dramatically. His Life energy swirled within his core as his Spirit energy flared throughout his ultra athletic form. An instant later, he clashed with the first bat.

The bat dove at him with zero sense of self preservation, Lucas didn't even regard it as his bladed tail struck out like a streak of silver lightning. He didn't even slow down as he cleaved it in half.

As he rushed forward, his tails became silver streaks as they cleaved through the air multiple times per second. He easily made short work of the bats while conserving as much energy possible.

In no time, he was on the battlefield. The foul scent of blood, ichor, tree sap, faeces and so much more hit him like a brick wall.

Each clash resonated through him like a tremor as he took in every detail from around him. Due to this overwhelming input of information, his restraint on his [Spirit Sense] loosened but instead of his senses radiating outwards, they solidified on a fixed range.

Everything seemed to be moving in slo-mo as he weaved through the horde of monsters. He had only one goal in mind—kill as many tree men and bats as possible.

The bats seemed eager to assist him as they abandoned whatever they were doing and headed straight for him. Lucas forcibly stood his ground within the horde as he prepared for the onslaught. All the creatures around him gave way and created a neat circle around him due to his bloodthirsty aura.

He couldn't risk fighting both the tree men and the bats at the same time so he would handle the bats first. The bats didn't care about his thoughts however as they crashed towards him with their signature dive bombs.

Lucas expelled a breath of cloudy steam as the world slowed down even further in his perception. The bats who once outpaced him were now moving at a snail's pace.

"Come, you fuckers! Let's settle this!!"

With that explosive roar, Lucas leaped straight into the air. Trusting his instincts, he didn't hesitate to step on the first bat with a crushing stomp. With his lightening Rune and new form working in tandem, he smashed the bat into the ground while soaring even higher.

As the bats rained on him, he used his tails and claws to disembowel them with brutal efficiency. He somehow managed to conserve his momentum and stayed mid-air with every other kill.

His Mind, Spirit, Physique, and Runes worked in unison to make this impossible sight a reality. The longer he stayed mid-air, the further he pushed everything he had learnt so far. Each movement was like an entrancing dance of death.

Each cleave, stomp, claw, and weave wasn't planned out or coordinated in his head. It was all raw instinct and bloodthirsty desire. The more he fought in this manner, the clearer his mind became. The melody had been muted to almost nothing as all that was left was a feeling of euphoria. His pupils roared with a sanguine blaze that consumed his eyes entirely but he had never seen the world so clearly.

In simpler words, Lucas was slipping into a blood frenzy.

AWWOO!

Lucas unleashed a piercing howl as he did a front flip. His tails came down like a guillotine, cleaving the final bat into five uneven pieces. Landing softly on his four limbs, it's blood rained on him as his laughed,

"Hahahahaha! Is this it? You charged over here just to get annihilated?"

Barely fifteen seconds after the bats initiated the conflict, Lucas had cut them down to the very last. He could feel he had used about a tenth of his Spirit energy but with his current rate of regeneration, that was almost negligible. And this was not considering the abundant Life energy he still had left.

"CRASH!(★ω★)"

With a manic grin, Lucas rushed towards the tree humanoids. His heart thumping in his chest chest violently. He was far from done.

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