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Chapter 74 - Darian's Path

The eastern gate opened with a hiss, and Team One drove outside into the ruined city. The air smelled of rust and ash, and a heavy silence pressed down on them.

Isara moved to the front, her silver spear gleaming faintly. Darian took the rear, watching for ambushes.

"Feels too quiet," Darian murmured.

"Everything out here feels too quiet," Isara replied.

They followed the cracked road, weaving through collapsed buildings and burned-out vehicles. After about an hour of searching, one of the Guards called out.

"Over here! Found something!"

They rushed over to a half-collapsed supermarket. Inside, behind a barricade of shelves, were three survivors — a man, a woman, and a teenage boy lying on the ground.

The woman jumped to her feet, eyes wide. "Please, don't hurt us!"

"We're not here to hurt you," Isara said, lowering her spear. "We're here to take you to safety."

Relief flooded the woman's face.

But then Isara's gaze fell on the boy. He was pale, his leg twisted unnaturally, and there was a pool of dried blood under him.

"What happened?" Isara asked.

"Null attack three days ago," the man said grimly. "He got trapped under debris when the building collapsed. We managed to get him out, but… we couldn't move him far."

Isara knelt and inspected the wound. "Broken femur. Internal bleeding."

She glanced at the Guards. "How long will it take to stabilise him?"

"Thirty minutes, maybe more," one of them said. "But moving him is going to slow us down. If a Null pack comes this way, we'll be sitting ducks."

Darian cursed under his breath. "Leaving him isn't an option."

"Bringing him might get us all killed," another Guard argued. "You know how they swarm when they smell blood."

The woman grabbed Isara's arm, her voice breaking. "Please. He's all we have left."

Isara stood, her jaw tightening. This was exactly the kind of decision she hated — the kind that put lives on a scale.

"We secure the perimeter first," she said finally. "Then we decide."

The Guards spread out, checking alleys and rooftops. For ten long minutes, there was silence — then a shrill, inhuman screech echoed through the air.

"Nulls!" someone shouted.

From the north, a swarm came crawling out of the shadows — dozens of them, their eyeless heads jerking unnaturally as they charged.

"Form up!" Isara barked.

The Shadow Guards took position, rifles raised. Plasma bolts lit up the streets as the first wave of Nulls was cut down, but more kept coming.

Darian moved like a whirlwind, his Axe cutting through chitin and bone. Isara's spear flashed, leaving streaks of light as she struck.

But then something strange happened, the Nulls stopped. As one.

"What the hell is that?" one Guard whispered.

Isara's grip tightened on her ice lance. She had never seen Nulls behave like that before.

"They are being directed by something," Darian realised. "Maybe an evolved Null"

As if to prove his point, the Nulls attacked again — but this time, in perfect coordination, flanking and cutting off escape routes.

"Fall back inside!" Isara shouted. "Hold them at the doorway!"

Blaster fire roared, and Nulls fell one after another, but they kept coming, their movements disturbingly precise.

"This is new," Darian muttered as he cut one in half. "They've never been this organised before."

"Then we'd better adapt fast," Isara said through gritted teeth.

The thought of an evolved null gave everyone a newfound fear; they knew that nulls could grow, after all, they had seen the levels of the nulls gradually increase, but they didn't think that they would encounter one this early into the apocalypse.

The battle raged on, the team slowly pushing the swarm back, but the larger Null stayed at the rear, watching. Almost… thinking.

And then it turned and vanished into the shadows.

The remaining Nulls fought like berserkers for a few more minutes, then suddenly retreated, leaving the streets littered with bodies.

"Everyone okay?" Isara asked.

A few Guards had minor injuries, but no one was dead.

But there was no time to dwell on it. The boy was stabilised, but moving him would still be risky. There was no way they could get on the bus now, without alerting the nulls around.

Isara stood at the door, staring at the empty street. "We move him anyway. If we leave him here, the Nulls will be back."

Darian nodded. "Then we move fast."

The Guards fashioned a makeshift stretcher, and the team prepared to head back — but Isara couldn't shake the feeling that the intelligent Null was still watching.

At the same time, Darian stared at the system screen in front of him. It was time to Rank Up; after all, he couldn't be stuck at level fifteen forever. Looking at the options, he couldn't help it; a smile broke out on his face.

[Choose Your Class]

Three panels shimmered into existence, floating before his eyes.

The first glowed a dull grey:

[Brawler]

[Common Grade]

[Description: A frontline fighter who uses raw strength, endurance, and instinct. Gains basic combat techniques and slightly enhanced physical resilience. Growth ceiling limited.]

Darian frowned. He could picture it clearly — himself reduced to little more than a grunt, fists bloody, relying on nothing but grit. Survival, yes. But greatness? No. The Brawler was a path of mediocrity. He would never forgive himself for choosing it.

The second option radiated a deeper red:

[Barbarian]

[Rare Grade]

[Description: A warrior consumed by fury. Sacrifices defence and finesse for overwhelming, destructive power. Can enter a state of controlled rage, amplifying strength, speed, and durability temporarily. Potential growth is moderate to high. Known weakness: unstable mental state in prolonged battles.]

Now this one stirred something inside him. He could already imagine the carnage, the thunder of his axe smashing through Nulls as rage consumed him. It was a tempting path — glory, raw power, and destruction. But Darian's gut twisted. Rage alone was a fire. Fires burned bright but quickly. He needed something more than a blaze that would flicker out.

Then the third panel appeared, and everything else seemed to dim in comparison.

[Envoy of Mayhem]

[Legendary Grade]

[Description: A chosen harbinger of Mayhem. The Envoy embodies unyielding will, shattering enemies and inspiring allies. Mayhem thrives where the Envoy walks the battlefield, bends to their presence. Potential growth: Unbounded.]

Darian's breath caught in his throat. It wasn't just a class. It was a destiny. His pulse thundered in his ears as the pull of Taurus echoed through his blood. This was it, the path that demanded he never bend, never break, always charge forward.

Without hesitation, his hand slammed onto the panel.

[Class chosen: Envoy of Mayhem — Legendary Grade]

[Initiating Trial Requirements…]

[To unlock the Envoy of Mayhem, complete the following tasks:

[✓] Survive three days of continuous combat training.]

[✓] Endure a direct strike from a higher-ranked ally without yielding]

[?] Slay a Starved Null.]

[Rewards: Rank Up, ???, ???, ???]

Daria looked at the requirements with a weird expression on his face. He could already understand how he completed the two tasks above; he could remember training the shadow guards along with Tyrel and Aiden, so it wasn't really a surprise to him that he had completed the task without knowing it.

But as he looked at the last requirement, a confused expression appeared on his face. He didn't know what a starved Null was; the only Nulls he faced were Withered Nulls. 

As if answering his question, a system panel appeared in front of him.

[Starved Null — Evolutionary Variant][Description: Nulls that have consumed large amounts of human life energy. They adapt to hunt efficiently. Enhanced speed, strength, and endurance. Capable of wielding crude weapons. Emit an aura that commands lesser Nulls. Threat classification: Extreme.]

Even if Darian was stupid, based on what he had seen since, it was very easy to put two and two together. 

"A starved null is controlling the nulls in the area", Darian said, anger and apprehension in his voice.

Anger because, though almost nobody knew it, this street was the street where he grew up with his mum. He left his mum to go to college, but before he could get back, the apocalypse broke out. He was holding on to the little chance that his mum was alive.

But seeing the nulls in the surroundings, his hope was wavering, and the fact that there was an evolved null in the vicinity meant that many humans had died.

Due to his emotional turmoil, Darian didn't think to control his voice, and everyone heard him. A starved null was controlling the nulls in the surrounding.

Isara, for one, was worried; she had never heard about a starved null before, so she went to Darian for an explanation. Darian explained everything to her, and her worry increased. 

This was a type of null that they had not encountered before; they didn't know its strength or weakness, and to make matters worse, they had an injured child with them. Isara's mind was going into overdrive, trying to think of a solution to the situation.

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