"Nero!" Jung screamed in his mind as happiness radiated from it. "You scoundrel, where have you been?"
The cat licked her paws, not leaving the comfortable place until the very end. "Sounds like you missed me," said the cat mockingly.
Jung didn't even try to hide it. "Of course, I miss your grumblings, my darling." Looking around the field and the approaching monsters, he added in a hurry, "We have no time for pleasantries. I need your help with something."
Nero went silent. She said nothing for about ten seconds, making Jung nervous. "Why aren't you running away?" she asked and replied to herself. "Wait, I see…" Stopping her words mid-sentence, Nero acted like a cheeky child.
"What do you mean?" Jung called out, but he had an assumption.
"It's about that brat, right?" she said in an all-knowing voice. "The Chosen Punk, or something."
Jung laughed at her innocent remarks and breathed in. "The system told you already." It was more of a conclusion than a question. "If you know that, come out and help me."
"You are making this difficult for yourself," Nero said, too bored to act. "I don't want to."
As Jung was about to scold her and threaten to spank her, Nero left his heart, appearing on his shoulder, and announced. "But I am still going to assist your sorry ass."
Her warmth on his body, including the voice clearer to understand, made Jung giggle and eager to see her in action. He had more enquiries about her adventure, yet he held himself.
Taking out Shadow Star from his inventory, he didn't throw it right away. "Keep running; I can stall them!" Jung yelled at others.
Most of them didn't even bat an eye. Only twins and Mira stopped, along with one elder who had the hardest time moving around.
"What are you talking about?" Leora asked with a voice devoid of any concern. She was angry, clenching her hands, she wanted to punch him in the face. "And what's up with that animal?"
Mira, the other girl, held her, while Astra observed Jung deliberately.
"How can we help?" The boy asked, glued to the spot.
"Are you guys brave or stupid?" Jung claimed and said harshly. "You can't help me, if anything, you would be a nuisance."
His words caused discomfort on Astra's face, yet the boy swallowed his words.
Leora stomped her feet on the ground and said to her brother, "Astra, leave that annoying brat, he wants to die like a hero."
Mira struggled to speak her mind. She had no strength in this chaos to express her opinion, even more so when Jung didn't wait for them or the approaching monsters.
The boy sprinted, ready to clash with abominations that caused doom and hysteria. He was practically alone, only a darkened axe materialized in his hand, the cat being his sole companion, as she still lingered on his shoulder.
Youngsters were too afraid and stunned to stop him, and going with him was out of the question. Even Astra stayed on the spot, the caregiver couldn't move a single step in his direction.
"What is that imbecile doing?" asked Leora. Her question wasn't posed for the sake of an answer.
"I have no idea," Astra said in a grim voice; he, as well as his sister and Mira, couldn't even run.
Ronan didn't flinch or slow his stride. The boy was long gone with other seniors.
The last remaining elder dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. He looked like a dead person, but no one paid any attention to him as their eyes were attached to Jung's back and the cat that licked her paws non-stop.
"When did that animal even appear on his shoulder?" Leora contemplated, touching her blonde hair and asked again.
"I think I have seen that beast before," explained Mira. "It looks like a lost animal that went extinct ages ago." She was in deep reflection as she studied the cat before Jung sprinted away. "But I didn't see how it appeared."
As Jung found himself in the centre of attention and closer to the battlefield, he played with the orb in his hand and took a sharp whiff before throwing it.
[Shadow Star]
-Crystal orb containing 0.001% of its original power with persona energy born from Shadow Star. When thrown, it unravels dark threads enveloping a 10-meter radius. Nora can leap through these threads.
The orb fell amidst the threatening abominations. Nero beamed and waited for the item to activate. It happened soon after, dark threads visible only to her and Jung, spawning and enveloping the monsters like Christmas wrapping.
Before Nero launched and began her slaughter, Jung checked her status window.
Nero's progress was clear to see. Cursefell was on the second stage, and she unlocked another skill, which meant her fighting capabilities increased. Voidpaw was her trademark move. She could envelop her paws in the shadow-like void to advance her firepower. Shadowborn connected her to the ShadowStar, and it was a passive ability that allowed her to leap through threads, as for the Duskveil, Jung had yet to see it. All in all, Nero's slumber and aid to the system brought tremendous benefits to her, which in turn was a piece of good news for Jung. Not wasting time, the cat left Jung's shoulder. She vanished like the world swallowed her whole and appeared on top of the monster. Jung expected her to smack the abomination with her paw. Contrary to his anticipations, Nero knew that as a Tier VI, she couldn't just toy around with other Tier VI monsters. She had an advantage in the skills and wits departments, so she wanted to use that. As she materialized from thin air, right before the monsters felt her presence, Nero drew shadows in her direction, particularly towards her paws. Not all shadows obeyed her command, but it was a sufficient amount for her void-filled paws to control them. Then she adjusted the summoned shadows, just like Jung maintained his axe with the persona. However, in Nero's case, it wasn't energy only from her body. She shaped shadows however she liked, made an enormous sharp pillar, and dropped it on the closest enemy. Just before her action announced the result and before other monsters caught her with their long hands, she vanished into threads once again and appeared in another location, escaping all threats completely unscratched.