Making his way down to the final floor, the first thing he noticed was a shift in atmosphere. A light weight began to press down on his body, the feeling akin to a coarse sheet. Yet, upon scanning his surroundings, he found the place to be empty. While there were signs of a conflict, such as bullet holes and claw marks, there didn't seem to be much else.

'There's not even bloodstains or bone fragments like the other floors. It's like the whole place was scrubbed clean,' Jake thought, furrowing his brow. Reaffirming his grip on his sword, his eyes continued to scan the surrounding area. As he did so, he began to notice some things. Pieces of rock shifting a few centimeters from where they were a second ago. The faint sound of breathing not belonging to either him or the presence he noted before. The half-second flickering of certain lights.

Letting out a small hum, he rolled his neck before sheathing his blade. As soon as the blade had been completely sheathed, Jake felt the air on his side become sharp. Shifting his body towards its source, he brought up his shield, only for something to slam into it soon after. Digging his feet into the ground, he felt the strike knock him back, as if he was a chair being kicked away. Pushing the stinging in his shield arm aside, he focused his attention on his attacker. Yet, what he saw gave him pause. While the beast looked somewhat like a Skaava Lord, various traits revealed the truth.

The bone-like spurs that grew out of its body,their appearance akin to broken blades. The misshapen limbs, engorged and pulsing with mana. The smoke-like aura that seemed to bend the light around it.

'A Chimeric Beast, huh. Unexpected, but doable.'

Advance.

Feeling the strength enter his legs, Jake bolted towards the Chimera with rapid speed. Once close enough, he drew his sword before swinging at the beast's neck. Yet, his attack was met with air as the Chimera weaved past his strike before swiping its claws at him. Sidestepping the attack, Jake then swung his shield at the beast's head, forcing it to jump back. Pressing forward, he ran towards the beast before thrusting his sword at its neck. Yet, the beast twisted its body in the nick of time, causing the blade to graze its shoulder.

Focus.

As the world came to a crawl, Jake twisted his body before slashing at the Chimera's back. Yet, rather than the expected resistance of flesh and bone, it was more akin to cutting through clay. Letting out a small hum, he hopped away from the beast as color returned to the world. Stumbling from the blow, the beast let out a low hiss as the wound stitched itself closed with rapid speed. Once it was fully closed, the beast turned towards him, eyes glowing with both anger and caution.

'Alright, there's a healing factor. Quick, but not instant.'

Advance.

Jake bolted towards the beast, closing the distance between them with rapid speed. Once he was close enough, he swung his sword at the beast, aiming for its neck. Yet, the edge of his sword instead met with air as the beast sank into the floor, disappearing into a pool of shadow.

'...That's a Grizimeung ability it just did. A Chimera that's also part Cryptid, huh? Well, this changes things.'

He had dealt with both Cryptids and Chimeras while playing Blades Of Passion before. Often serving as side bosses and special enemies, he found them to be rather neat. The fights had distinct and solid gimmicks, and the loot was pretty useful. Otherwise, they were pretty much any other boss fight; hit it until it dies.

‘Still, never expected to see a Cryptid-Chimera fusion, of all things.’

As he sorted his mind, he felt the air around him become jagged. Turning towards the source, he brought up his shield just as a large spike flew out from the shadows towards him. Cutting through the air, the spike embedded itself into his shield, cutting his arm as well. Yet, before he could do anything, the Chimera flew at him from a different angle, claws ready. Jake stepped out of the Chimera's way, watching as the beast caught itself in a roll. Before it could respond, though, Jake rushed towards the beast, ready to slam his shield into its skull. Yet, the beast leaped away from his attack, causing the shield to instead meet asphalt. Once it had put some distance between them, its eyes flashed a dark glow before bolting towards him. It closed the distance with rapid speed, claws covered in black smoke.

Focus.

As the world came to a crawl, he made quick work removing the straps around his shield arm. Once the shield was removed, he shifted his grip before tossing it at the beast's head like a discus. As color returned, he saw the beast weave past the shield, eyes wide in both shock and confusion.

Now, Focus, Advance, and Strike.

In the moment of the surroundings going gray, Jake moved. He bolted towards the slowed beast, the ground cracking underneath his feet. Closing the distance with rapid speed, he swung his sword at the beast, slamming his sword into its skull. Twisting the blade, he tore it out of the beast's skull before bringing it down once more, decapitating it. Feeling color return to the world, he watched as the beast fell to the floor, blood leaking from the stump of its neck.

'Dealt with the Chimera. Now, for the presence.'

"I know that you're here. Show yourself," he stated, focusing killing intent on where he sensed the presence to be. As the seconds passed, he ramped up the murderous intent at a slow pace, like how one would boil a frog.

"Alright, alright, calm down!" the presence eventually exclaimed, voice cutting through the heavy silence. Hearing a heavy sigh, he watched as a figure came out from where he sensed them. As he listened to the approaching footsteps, he was met with a rather annoyed woman in front of him. Dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, she seemed only a few years older than his current form. "Geez, making it feel like I have a gun to my head."

"Who are and what do you want?" Jake asked, voice firm as he scanned the stranger in front of him. While obvious that she was no random passerby, he found no indications of any sort of weapon on her person. Still, her build made it clear that she had some level of combative experience.

"Well, it'd be weird to hear what sounds like a gunshot go off and not have questions. Thought I might as well check out what's going on," the lady answered, giving him a small shrug. "So imagine my surprise that I see one of the members of this gang of idiots back after their little stunt here."

"That doesn't explain why you were watching me," Jake refuted, reaffirming his grip on his sword. The lady let out a small chuckle at his words, giving him a small smile. It was as if she had found something interesting to her. Like a cat finding something to play with.

"Well, when I decided to check out what the hell was going on here, I saw the damnedest thing. A bunch of Skaava, seeming to fight and die...to air!" she guffawed, letting out a mock gasp. Ignoring his flat stare, she clasped her hands together before continuing on. "So, to make sure that I wasn't going insane, I decided to follow the bloodshed. Yet, despite that, I never got a glimpse of what was cutting these things down. Well, up until now."

Feeling a sense of static begin to surround him, Jake jumped back as a bolt of lightning struck where he once stood. As the flash of light faded away, he saw a blade flying towards him at rapid speed. Parrying the flying blade, he watched as it flew back to her, her face of both impression and surprise.

"Well, you got either experience, talent, or both, kid," she exclaimed, catching the dagger out of the air. A wild, almost murderous smile grew on her face as a similar dagger appeared in her free hand. "I can't help but wanna see more now!"

With that said, she bolted towards him, covering the distance between them in a flash of speed. Ducking under a swing at his neck, Jake swung his blade at the woman's legs. Yet, his attempt met air as she leapt over his attack before launching a kick at his head. Weaving underneath the kick, he brought up his guard just as another kick flew at him, knocking him back.

Advance.

Shifting his feet, the ground cracked underneath him as he rushed forward. Closing the distance between them, he swung his blade at the woman's head, only for her to evade the strike. Ducking under a slash at his neck, he jumped as she made a stab at him, putting distance between the two. Upon seeing him back away, she tossed one of her daggers at his head, the colored blade whizzing through the air. Deflecting the blade away from him, he then parried a strike from the lady as she swung at him. He swung his sword at her body, only for her to jump back from his reach. Hearing the sound of something flying through the air, he turned and knocked the dagger away. Yet, rather than clattering onto the floor, the blade flew through the air, landing in the lady's open hand.

Advance.

The ground cracked underneath his feet as he closed the distance with violent speed. Once he was close, he swung his blade at her shoulder, bringing down like one would an axe. Yet, the blow was unable to hit its mark as she weaved past the attack before stabbing at his side. Parrying the thrust, Jake hopped back as she slashed at his stomach. Shifting his weight, he unleashed a barrage of strikes, only for the lady to do the same. The sound of steel meeting steel echoed throughout the lot as their blades clashed. Yet, with each second that passed, Jake felt himself be pushed back. For every attack he was able to deflect or dodge, another was able to find its mark, splitting open cloth and flesh.

Parrying another blow, he swung his blade at the lady, causing her to jump back. As the violence between them came to a lull, he began to scroll through the damage to his body. Various lacerations covered his body, blood leaking into his clothes.

'Damage is extensive, but manageable. A healing potion can deal with the major wounds; the body can do the rest. None seem to be particularly lethal, though.'

"Well, I gotta admit that you got a hell of a talent," the lady said, letting out a small whistle as her daggers disappeared. Putting up one of her hands, she then reached her free hand into her pockets. As she searched through her pockets, she pulled out a small item before tossing it towards him. Catching the object out of the air, he glanced down to see a small medallion in his hand. A mix of silver and gold, the design was almost like a thicker playing card. On its front was an etching of a sword piercing through a mask. The symbol seemed to glow underneath the parking lot lights, color akin to fresh blood. "Come around to the Bleeding Blackout sometime. Show that to the guys in front and you'll be treated as if you're with me or the boss. Hope to see you soon."

With that, the lady made her way towards the ramp, humming a small tune as she did so. Once he was sure that she was gone, Jake turned his gaze back to the item he had in his hand, weighing her words in his mind.

'Working with an unknown faction carries a lot of risk. Still, I have a deadline to meet and hunting takes too much time. Besides, there's no guarantee that I’ll get strong enough to deal with what's coming.'

Pocketing the medallion, he then began to search through his bag. Pulling out the health potion from before, he popped the bottle open before beginning to drink it. With each gulp of the sweet-yet-sour liquid, he felt a heat run through his body, akin to a hot bath. Once his skin finished stitching itself closed, he checked where his wounds once were.

'One single potion and it leaves nothing but scarring, huh? Pretty convenient.'

Tossing the bottle aside, he slung his bag over his shoulder before making his way out of the lot. He could fully think through his options later.