Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 53: The Apex

As soon as he emerged from the darkness, keeping the black-and-white, checkered wall of the cafe behind him, he awaited his opponent to arrive. Of course, knowing the hunter, he would be tracked down within an instant.

However, expecting a direct assault, he instead listened to a particular hiss in the wind, seeming to grow louder and closer.

'Hold on–' He realized.

As the noise became louder, he quickly flipped over the round table beside him, ducking behind it with his shoulder pressed against its underside. It was just in time as the walls were pierced through by a storm of projectiles.

From his cover, he watched emerald arrows decimate the right-side wall, obliterating the counter and everything in their path. It sounded like cannonfire as the grand shots moved with such intense force that the windows of the shop were shattered as a side-effect.

'That's right…He's a hunter. He relies on that cleaver so much, I almost forgot–he should also be capable of using a bow,' he recalled.

As the burst of arrows came to an end, he waited there for a moment, only glancing up after he was sure the volley was over. He found massive holes in the building, large enough that it looked as if cannons shot through the wall, with dust sprinkling down.

From outside, the foul voice of the apathetic hunter called out to him–

"How many times do I have to say it? You can't run. You can't hide. The only thing you can do now is die. So, just try to make it hard for me. I want to enjoy this hunt."

Hearing those words repeated by the despicable person bothered the young man as he quietly approached the front of the cafe while using the wall as cover still. Being lessened to no more than prey to be hunted was infuriating, yet he remained calm and focused.

In his mind, he flipped it; he had to reverse the fear and hesitation he felt about the frightening hunter.

'I'm an assassin. You're not the only one who can hunt,' he resolved, squeezing the handle of his blade.

["Superior Sense: Smell"]

Though not quite the same as a hunter ability, the goblin-plundered skill allowed him to latch onto the scent he was familiar with from Crow; a distinct smell that he was amplified.

A blend of wood and blood; that was what Finn latched onto, tracing that stench from behind the wall. Though he stood there, unable to see onto the street, he could track that smell right to the hunter, replaceing him no more than a few meters away.

'Even a cold-blooded killer like you has some humanity in there, don't you? Let's use that,' Finn planned, pressing his shoulder against the wall, feeling himself in a standoff with the hunter on the street.

["Mimicry"]

As he parted his lips, the voice he spoke with was not his own, but another, "Should you really be wasting your time like this, Crow?"

What rolled off his tongue was the very same tone and cadence of wickedness, with a deepness unlike his own voice, but belonging to another.

"Raven–?" Crow uttered out with, as if speaking with a lump in his throat.

As soon as Finn heard that reaction, he moved out, jumping straight out of the shattered window as he laid his eyes on the hunter, who was standing between a car and SUV in front of the building.

["Blink Slash" ] [2:59]

The instantaneous move brought him right beside the white-haired man, in a low posture as he stabbed he moved his dagger towards the exposed side. That small opening was forged by playing with the hunter's emotions, plunging his blade right into the armpit.

"Nrgh–" Crow winced, wearing stress on his face for the first time. "You!--"

Finn turned his blade as the squelch of flesh being ripped was heard before plucking it out, witnessing the cleaver soaring down upon him in retaliation. He contorted his body into a flip, feeling the wind of the sharp swing brush breathe against his neck before he safely landed.

A gush of blood spilled from the wound beneath the man's arm, bringing Crow to stumble slightly, though his expression returned to one devoid of emotion.

"So, that's how it is. You used his voice to throw me off. I see…I see. Smart," Crow figured out, caressing his wound before moving his hand away as it was soaked in his own blood.

Finn didn't partake in any exchanges of words, dashing right back in as he aimed to finish the man off, sending his dagger right for his heart–

"I'm thrilled," Crow remarked even as the blade neared his body, unmoving as a glint shined in his eyes. "I've never been this hungry before. I just want to devour you right up."

Something about the presence of the hunter stopped Finn as the hairs on his body stood up before he could follow through with his strike. Everything in his body told him to get back, prompting him to jump back.

It seemed to be the right call as he witnessed the snowy-haired man's body undergo rapid changes.

As if his flesh boiled and bubbled up, Crow spread his arms while his muscles coiled, his bone structure altering, and his skin changing from differing shades.

"Everything," Crow pushed the words through his lips. "I need it all."

["--Minotaur"]

["--Orc"]

["--Stone Golem"]

["--Goblin"]

["--Basilisk"]

["--Scarlet Moon Vampire"]

["--Cyclops"]

["--Skyfaring Hawk"]

["--Grand Widow"]

["--Raven"]

["--Yuno"]

["--Hassan"]

["--Gerald"]

All of it, all at once; the many creatures welcomed into the bottomless stomach of the predacious man bore their aspects. From skin of stone, to scales like that of obsidian; faces pushing from his skin, the groaning victims; wings sprouting of black feathers; horns growing; muscles swelling and expanding.

All of it crumbled away; the man was left with his pale complexion, as if sharpened by the moonlight. The wings that sprouted from his back cast away their dark feathers, growing in their place ones whiter than clouds.

It was an utterly confusing sight to Finn, witnessing the rapid evolutions all condense into what looked almost far too simple of an endpoint.

Yet, there was no doubt that Crow was different; glistening skin and eyes that had become infused with a scarlet essence. Across his torso, the faces of those that he consumed pressed against his skin, like that of the monuments of Mount Rushmore.

"I've emptied my stomach," Crow remarked, caressing his abdomen as his heavenly wings parted, bringing his gaze to the assassin. "It's time to fill it again."

["Apex Predator"]

Finn realized what he was up against; the entirety of what the Predator System had consumed; a daunting sight. It was a sickening reality before him, seeing that one that falsely resembled an angel.

The gluttonous man caressed one face in particular on his chest, one that did not cry, tilting his head down as he kept his eyes on the assassin, "The person you killed…I loved him. A kindred spirit; you took away half of me. But, he's here with me. As you will be soon. I'll reserve a special place in my stomach for you, Finn." Crow spoke as a single tear trailed down his cheek.

"No thanks," Finn declined without hesitation.

Glancing to the side, he noticed the gaps between buildings were becoming crowded with inhuman gazes; goblins, orcs, kobolds, among other monsters. They did not rush out nor try to attack, but Finn could tell why.

It wasn't his own presence specifically, but the hunter who bordered the line between human and monster.

'It's the same as with that guy from when I first came to this city–monsters may be stupid, but they're not entirely devoid of reason. Even they can tell when it's pointless to attack,' he thought.

Amidst those thoughts, he found himself plucked from his focus as the winged figure was already right in front of him, gliding right for him.

["Phantom Flow"]

He quickly slid back to avoid the hardened cleaver, though found the hunter spinning around with his wings curled up before expanding again. There wasn't any opportunity to foresee what came–

From the dazzling wings, countless feathers launched with stunning sharpness, bringing Finn to evade with little time to react. He bobbed his head and swerved his body, though it wasn't enough to completely avoid the harsh feathers.

Across his bicep, grazing his neck, lacerating his thigh; the beastly projectiles sharply left their mark.

There was no switch in pace from the man of coalesced lifeforms; Finn found himself being rapidly rushed down again. The first instinct he had was to sidestep to the right, though his body refused to listen as his muscles stiffened.

'Shit–' Finn thought, gritting his teeth as he focused past the acute pain.

He could feel his veins aching as they turned black with a harrowing sensation resonating through his body. All of his muscles cramped up as if attempting to be wrung dry by an unseen force.

It slowed him down enough to only be capable of raising his arm as the snowy-haired man thrust his hand towards him as if using his fingers as a spear. He winced as the nails pierced right into his skin, stabbing through flesh and hitting right into the bone of his forearm.

"Agh–!" Finn let out.

Not noticing it until that moment, he found the nails of the hunter to be elongated to an unnatural degree; as sharp as knives and as durable as nails.

"It's unpleasant, isn't it? Those feathers were laced with the venom of a Grand Widow. Don't worry, it's not fatal in that dosage, but your body certainly won't feel that way," Crow calmly remarked, pulling his nails away.