Void Evolution System

Tyler was a rational person.

Throughout life, he would rationalize all things in order to understand them.

He rationalized emotion so he could overcome it, he rationalized fear and understood courage, he even rationalized his relationships so he could maintain them properly.

When someone like him awakened as a contractor, he was originally ecstatic.

As a contractor, he could use his tactical ability more than his personal strength to command an army, allowing his talents to shine.

But…the Contractor class didn't function exactly as he'd expected.

Rather than the wisdom-centric class he expected, he got the most brutish possible subform of the class: a possession type.

His fighting style was rational. His mind could never adapt to the irrationality and primal methods of beasts, which led to him never being able to utilize the full potential of his class.

There was never a moment when Tyler chose to stop thinking.

Until today.

'If I'm going to die, I'll die with pride.'

It was a hot-blooded thought, something Tyler had never experienced before.

Something snapped in his mind.

And he turned off his rationality.

Tyler turned into a flash of light as he charged at Elio. His movements no longer resembled a human's at all.

The panther form was one of speed and dexterity. It was a form that relied heavily on instinct, as when moving with such deftness, one's senses were often too slow to properly utilize the full extent of that agility.

Tyler's natural disposition blocked his power and bottlenecked him.

With it out of the way, there was nothing blocking his full potential anymore.

He moved like a blur of black smoke. He dashed around Elio's body at a speed that even he couldn't completely follow. His body seemed boneless the way he continuously dodged attacks in the most impossible fashion.

But he wasn't merely dodging.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

His claws made high-pitched whirs in the air as they cut the wind in seven.

The sound of metal clashing against metal was accompanied by a bright array of sparks. Though Tyler's claws didn't have the same durability as Elio's armor, he made up the difference using momentum alone.

He didn't think even once. He allowed his body to move as it pleased, and concentrated his thoughts on piercing through the armor.

It was Tyler's first encounter with tunnel vision.

And perhaps…it was somewhat better for him?

Without thought clouding Tyler's brain with calculation, it was able to fire off at a far faster rate. In a completely contradictory manner, the less Tyler controlled himself, the more precise he'd become.

Even as his battle with Elio moved like a hurricane, causing a massive scene within the swarm of Lesser Nox, Tyler adapted and moved like a predator who'd been surviving in the wilderness jungle for years.

Dragon, ape, panther, ox; his form changed so often and so randomly that his attack patterns suddenly became impossible to read.

Elio's fury grew with every second.

Talent, this was talent, this was exactly what he hated.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't grow from battle and grow from hardship. He couldn't enjoy the feeling of being a practitioner.

His prey was supposed to die easily when the Heavenly God Armor appeared. He was supposed to become an invincible figure that couldn't be moved.

Yet…what was the current situation?

Black mana flowed from his body like toxic fumes and polluted the atmosphere. His counters to Tyler's attacks grew stronger and stronger.

'Fate-Severing Slash'

Elio cut down with his broadsword. Its blade gave off a desolate and sacrilegious aura.

Tyler's bestial instinct immediately rang alarm bells in his head. If he was hit by that attack, or even grazed by its aura…

He'd die.

This wasn't a problem that could be solved by instinct.

Techniques were part of the reason why humans were so superior to beasts before the latter species gained intelligence.

Tyler's rational mind spun in search of a solution.

But with the time he had…!

"Hey! Who gave you permission to bully our leader?"

The sass in the sudden newcomer's tone cut through the atmosphere with such force that it felt like time stopped to welcome her entrance.

And then, she resumed it with her own hands.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion descended between Tyler and Elio. While the force wasn't enough to stop the latter's swing, it pushed Tyler away with its sudden momentum and allowed him to dodge the incoming attack.

BANG!

Elio's slash followed through, and at the same time, a massive fist slammed into his skull.

"Haa…haa…"

The rough grunting of a female gorilla was especially clear at that moment.

Tyler looked up in shock.

"You…you guys…when did you get here?"

Synth scoffed in disbelief. "Unreal. You caused all that chaos and expected us not to notice you?"

"Chaos?"

"Look around, asshole."

Tyler did as he was told and surveyed the battlefield.

He was suddenly made aware of a massive trail of destruction that'd followed his battle with Elio. Thousands of kilometers of land had been lain to waste.

"Haa, seriously. If you didn't keep running in the opposite direction from us, we would've gotten here sooner. Since when did you become the reckless one?"

"OOOH!"

"See? Even Ash agrees."

"Haha…"

Tyler laughed uncomfortably at her question. Truly, this was his first time experiencing what it felt like to be Synth.

And it wasn't as bad as he thought.

Smiling, he stood up and popped a pill into his mouth. As he allowed his injuries to heal, he spread his awareness and pierced through the truths of the world.

"Since you guys are here now, I guess there's no need to fret."

His body morphed into panther form for the final time of this battle.

"Let's kill this son of a bitch together!"

With his words as a war cry, the three charged into battle, surrounding Elio with their usual strategies and immediately driving him into a corner.

The Heavenly God Armor barely withstood their attacks. Every time Ash's fist impacted it, the force resonated through the armor and shook Elio's bones.

Not to mention, with Synth's rear support, Elio didn't have any range of movement anymore. He was like a caged beast being prepared for slaughter.

From afar, a pair of eyes watched their battle. A smile formed on that being's face.

'They're doing pretty well.'

Damien slashed Mirage through the air and beheaded the Higher Nox in his grasp.

'If they can stand up to one of these generals with their combined strength, it's better for me. It means I won't have to worry about them too much as long as I attract the enemy's attention onto myself.'

It had only been 5 minutes since the battle started. While this was less than 10% of the time remaining until help arrived, it was an extremely long amount of time for a practitioner with their perception heightened to its maximum.

This battle had been going on for ages.

Damien defeated the first fatty in a minute and moved on to his next target, but even with his current pace, he wouldn't be able to get through the massive number of Higher Nox in an hour.

'If they decide to swarm me, it'll cause problems. But more than that…'

The butler hadn't moved yet.

Like an uninvolved bystander, he watched the battle from the sidelines with a calm smile on his face.

'Goddamnit. I want to punch his fucking teeth out...'