Chapter 59 - 58: Mother’s Shield
"Leon! The building’s coming down!"
A voice cut through the chaos as Leon sprinted through the burning Shadow Quarter. His freed system blazed with notifications - skill improvements, power enhancements, everything suppressed during imprisonment flooding back at once. The manna-dampening cuffs were gone. His connection to the undead realm burned bright.
Smoke choked the narrow alleys like poison gas. Buildings collapsed in thunderous crashes while screams echoed from every direction. The air tasted of ash and terror.
Leon’s enhanced speed carried him over debris fields where families had lived just hours before. His mind focused on one target - his mother’s apartment. Everything else was noise.
Three blocks from home, his warrior zombie materialized beside him without summoning. The evolved undead moved with fluid grace, spectral armor gleaming through the smoke. Its mantis blade hummed with contained violence.
"Stay close," Leon commanded. "We’re going home."
The creature nodded. Understanding passed between them without words.
They rounded the corner and Leon’s heart stopped.
Three crystalline golems stood where his neighborhood used to be. Each creature reached one story tall, their translucent bodies carved from pure magical stone. Ancient magic animated them into walking destruction. Every footfall cracked foundation stones and toppled support beams.
One golem raised a massive fist. The blow connected with a residential building, reducing brick and mortar to dust in seconds. Families scattered like insects, dragging injured relatives through the wreckage.
Leon’s tactical mind analyzed their movement patterns while civilians fled in panic. The golems moved methodically, crushing one building before advancing to the next. They weren’t random destroyers - they had orders.