Chapter 55: Never Stops Flowing. (Patreon)

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Name: Haell Zharignan

Species: Imp

—Mutations—

Menace Heart: Level 18

Demon Brain: Level 18

Demon Skin: Level 16

Demon Eyes: Level 15

Demon Flesh / Demon Bones / Demonic Musculature(synced) : (All) Level 10

Demonic Hands: Level 17

Demonic Hooves: Level 15

Hyperdemon Gland: Level 11

Demon Horns: Level 10

Mana-infused Blood: Level 10

Regen Heart: Level: 9

—Soul Feats—

Reincarnator

Progenitor

Imp Progenitor

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“A bear.” I pointed at a bear.

Moonwash looked at me. The look was neutral, like what one might expect from her. But I knew, deep down, that she was judging me as an idiot.

Joke’s on her, I was about to prove her wrong. By choosing to fight this creature at least an evolution above myself solo.

What could possibly go wrong?

“Leave it to me. I got this.”

“Sure.”

My level was now in the 17 range, it was only a matter of time until I reached 20 and I wasn’t even of legal age yet! 

Menace mana stirred within me, familiar feelings of negativity embraced my soul in a way that was almost soothing. It flowed according to my will, and the weave over my now very cursed sword finished itself effortlessly. I broke into a run and crashed into the creature before it could react, my blade digging deep into its flesh. 

The bear roared, and I used the same method I did before, years ago now when I first took down a bear by myself. I just circled around the creature, keeping it confused so that it didn’t notice the glaring predictability of my actions. 

The confusion was not all natural, much of it was due to my menace bullets and the magical energies that every slash of my sword left in its wake. It was the result of my training and collaborations with Moonwash, to overwhelm an opponent with so much menacing thoughts that they conflicted against each other!

The bear roared and reared up, standing on two feet. It lashed out at everything around it, but not only did that make it more predictable, the bear’s full height brought it away from the ground level where I was, giving me a wider margin of safety.

Up next was the fire. The blaze roared to life and consumed from all sides, I did not allow my enemy any respite. I savaged the hind limbs while the beast so kindly presented them to me, and I got hit by a wayward swipe for my troubles. 

The hit dislocated my shoulder, spilling blood and damaging my right pauldron severely, but I simply lodged the bone back into place and kept on fighting. Already I could feel my flesh knitting itself back together, if slowly. My regen heart was a constant and welcome companion, if not very flashy. 

Still, I tried to keep myself safe, since I was pretty sure I could not regenerate a missing limb. Something to fix for the future.

The bear was on fire now, it was confused and afraid. The next thing it tried to do was run and flee, but that was the exact wrong decision to make!

The full force of all my intimidation attacks slammed into the creature, further exacerbating the fear. I savaged its behind further until the bear was only crawling on its front two paws. The constant pressure that I felt upon my very existence flared up as the blood on the animal’s left forelimb began to evaporate in the common way that a ritual might. The bear’s paw that was drenched in my lifeblood then withered, weakened to the point of unusability. The animal stared at it in horror, coming to a stop, before unleashing a full-on howl of sorrow.

It did not help. There was no salvation to be found. Only death.

I aimed at its neck and willed the blood within myself to evaporate, finally putting the creature out of its misery after a meager two slashes more.

What the move also did was to make my arms so sore, they could hardly move. Moonwash had to feed me my lunch as I recovered. The indignity! I’m not a child anymore! I’m 17! Plus 30, at least!

I probably shouldn’t have finished the fight like that. There was no need to, the bear was already dead. But I wanted to test out my new mini-ritual casting! 

I had tried to emulate Moonwash’s staff, but I actually ended up with two abilities that were far more limited, but stronger. I could only affect a mini-ritual if my blood and mana were together, I could not sacrifice my blood as I draw out the mana in order to enhance the magic that I weave out of it after. This resulted in two main ways for me to mini-ritual cast. 

The first was to smear blood on my foes in order to summon up a far stronger effect, just like how that bear’s paw shriveled. It was almost like some sort of vengeance effect, and I loved it. The mini-ritual even suffered less from a delayed activation than a common ritual might, perhaps due to both the now permanent connection I shared with my blood, and the temporary marking left by my skin as it flowed out of my body. My results with common rituals seemed to support this theory, I could delay activation in a way that no one else could.

The other possibility with my mini-rituals was to use it while the blood was inside me. This could result in even greater force added to my blows by the menace magic… but it was honestly kind of fucking useless right now. First, the move left me gravely injured. But second, and most importantly, I could already do that! I just had to expend more menace mana. The only reason I didn’t was the aforementioned damage it would do to myself. I could theoretically already reach heights of power yet unseen, but only if I was willing to die for it.

I wasn’t.

Thus, the only utility of this move right now was to save on mana and instead pay with my blood, but I wasn’t particularly low on the resource. The cost did rise exponentially the more I wished to enhance myself at any one time, so saving on mana could be useful, but as it stood, I’d break my body before I depleted my reserves. I doubted that I would have the durability to survive my full potential anytime soon, not even if I managed a whole species evolution again. The body enhancement of menace mana was at least a little bit multiplicative after all, even if it was also largely additive. 

Maybe I should get Moonwash to run some exact numbers for me.

~~~

“I feel bad,” Luine said, shedding fake tears as I choked out a horned hare. I rolled my eyes and continued with the experiment as Moonwash sliced my other palm and drained my lifeblood into a cup.

“Bottoms up,” I joked.

Baston sighed, exasperated. “At least show some respect.”

“Right, sorry.” That was a genuinely dark road to start on, although I feared it may be too late. 

I fed my blood to the rabbit, and instantly I felt my connection towards the liquid start to dwindle. I still managed to activate some of the menace magic, evaporating the blood and causing damage from within, but I didn’t have enough time until the mark on my blood fully faded away.

I thought I could maybe use my blood plus menace magic combo as some sort of poison, given how I remained able to influence it when they were splattered all over that one bear’s paw. But the interference of someone’s soul was far more powerful within their own bodies, and I could hardly circumvent those rules, even against an opponent an evolution below me. All my advantages remained insufficient for this one maneuver.

Moonwash drank my blood.

…What?

What did she do!?

My friend filled a cup with my blood, and then drank from it.

I saw what happened, yet my mind still struggled to comprehend it.

“Did you activate the blood?” she asked, but I only continued to stare at her dumbly.

“What?” I finally said.

“I asked if you activated the blood that I drank.”

“My blood?”

“Yes. Yours.”

There was another bit of silence.

“Oh, well, I didn’t. I was surprised. You just drank my blood! What the fuck, Moonwash!?”

She was quiet for a few seconds. “I see. Is this one of those things that makes people very uncomfortable?”

“Err. I guess?” My confusion bled away into laughter. “Actually, yeah! Most people would be put off if you drink their blood!”

“Ah. I didn’t realize. I don’t think I would mind if someone drank my blood. If it’s already in a cup, of course. If they have to stab me to get it, then I would not be happy.”

“I imagine not,” I deadpanned.

“I’m sorry, Haell.” She turned around to face me directly. “I got too excited for this new thing. I did not think my actions through.”

I quickly stopped her there, waving my hands amiably. “Hey, hey! It’s fine! It’s all good!” I shoved my still-bleeding palm at her. “I was just surprised is all! You should tell me first, and then I’ll give you all the blood you want to drink!”

She stared at me for a moment before immediately exploding in action, widening the cut on my palm that had almost closed already, and then draining the blood that flowed out into her cup. “I understand now, Haell. Thank you very much.”

“You’re very welcome!” I grinned as she downed the whole thing. It was still fucking weird, but only if I made it weird! So I didn’t. Make it weird, that was. 

“What happened? Did you activate it?” she asked. I felt that her voice was a bit strained, which was already far more emotion than she usually showed. Was she still concerned about drinking my blood without permission? I really was just surprised, but wanting to experiment with my new abilities made total sense. Now I feel bad…

“Oh! The connection rapidly cut off like with the rabbit!” I spoke cheerfully. “More so, even!”

“I see.” She held her head lightly, as if nursing a headache. “So you couldn’t activate it the moment it entered my mouth?”

“Well, no. I could still activate part of it at least. That might even cascade and excite even more of the mana.”

“Oh. So you did that?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve seen what it can do. You’ll die!”

She looked at the carcass of the dead rabbit. It didn’t die immediately, but it had succumbed in the time we’ve been talking.

“Oh. I didn’t realize it’s already died. I thought if something so weak can take it, then so can I.”

I shook my head. “I don’t disagree, but there’s no need to take the risk at all. You could die, when we could just find other… participants to possibly die instead.”

“You’re right. I already feel terrible just your blood inside of me. Especially after that second dose.”

“You what!? Oh my fucking devils Moonwash, are you okay!?”

“No. I’m not. Even just your inert menace mana claws at my mind. It whispers of corruption, to kill you right now so that I can study your corpse and further my craft. It’s like when we tried to kill each other, but thankfully weaker, or perhaps I’ve just become stronger. It’s only my recent experience with menace magic that keeps me sane. I feel sick.”

“Fuck! That sounds bad. What do we do!?”

My friend sat cross-legged and began to meditate. She grabbed her staff after a minute, and then after another grueling wait, motes of menace mana began to stream out of her body.

“Was that everything!?” I shouted at her face once she stopped her casting and let go of her staff.

“I think so.”

“Oh thank goodness!” I grabbed her into a hug. “I thought something bad might happen to you!”

“Something bad did happen to me.”

“Damn. You’re right.” I chuckled, shaking my head. She finally remembered to hug me back.

“I wonder if the beings that have mana repositories within them have to go through that every time they want to cast,” Moonwash said once we finally separated.

I pointed at my leftmost heart. “I have to go through that every second of every day.”

“If I take out your menace heart or string the arteries up like rope, then maybe you’ll stop being so full of mana. You have two hearts, so the remaining one can probably keep you alive.”

“...No. No, no. I’m good.” I shook my head hurriedly, almost frantic. “I'm used to the sensation by now. The violent thoughts and urges are nothing I can’t handle. In fact, I actually appreciate how it fortifies my mind, you know? I like my menace heart. It’s where a lot of my power comes from these days! I can’t lose it!” 

It was clear which of those reasons I cared most about.

But neither Baston nor Luine cared about any of that as they scolded us for being so bloody reckless.

~~~

[Regen Heart has Reached Level 10. Would you like to evolve Regen Heart?]

Yes.

I felt one of my hearts shift, it became more. The blood pumped through my body with more vigor, but not necessarily faster. I cut my finger a little, and then I watched as my red skin knitted itself back together over the course of a minute.

That was far faster than before.

Interestingly, the evolution of the Mutation did not give me a choice like with my blood, but I was aware of that already. Divergent paths sometimes became available, but it was a relatively rare thing. An average person would likely get one over an entire lifetime, if not less.

I immediately wolfed down the rest of my breakfast, and went back out to hunt. My menace magic activated, it flooded through me and my every action. A trail of death followed in my wake as monsters and animals both fell and died for standing in my way. I charged through the forest like a fucking hurricane until finally I found a worthy prey.

I wasn't entirely certain what it was. Far in the distance, withing a peaceful meadow,, there was a large and regal eagle colored in striking greens and silvers. There were two distinct glistening feathers on its head that looked to be made of a far harder and rigid material. Horns. A focus.

I could just feel the magic about the creature who was around as tall as me. I had grown up a lot over the past years, and my presumably final height towered at nearly 6 feet tall. I was only a few months away from my eighteenth birthday.

The bird’s posture demanded a challenge, its eyes filled with a wisdom incomparable to the mere beasts I’d been fighting. My level sense spoke of power around the level of 30, but I was not discouraged. I nodded once, with the understanding that we were about to engage in a life-and-death battle. 

“Raaaaahhhhhh!!!”

I charged forward with all of my usual enthusiasm, running across the glade and towards the eagle atop that boulder. My momentum was immediately halted by a dense blast of wind, but I was not deterred! I put more power into my legs, the menace mana within pulsing its enhancements. I took one step and then another, until I was traveling at the speed of a very light jog.

Even denser bullets of wind followed. They dented my armor, and managed to toss me away, but not for long. I did my best to avoid and swat away the bullets as I inexorably made my way towards the yet stationary eagle. It tried blades of slicing wind next, but it barely did anything, leaving only shallow lines in my armor. I assumed the animal itself knew the futility of the attack and was only testing it out. Wind had little offensive capabilities by itself, at least in the earlier to medium levels. 

The attacks shifted back to the harsh gales and dense bullets of force, and I chose to try a different strategy. 

We were in a forest, and there was no shame in using the environment. In fact, it was only the mark of a true warrior to be able to take advantage of such things. I dove behind the trees for protection, weaving through them in my quest to murder a downright majestic bird. Trunks shook and bark was sheared off, leaves rained down from the canopy because of the sheer. But they served their purpose, allowing me to be within spitting distance of my enemy.

The eagle narrowed its eyes. It squawked loudly into the early afternoon and flapped its wings but did not yet take flight. 

The gale-force winds suddenly grew even stronger, giving me one final challenge. They struck me at every opening given, there were no more trees to hide in so close to the small clearing that housed the bird. I hid behind a particularly tall tree for one final time, allowing the worst of the magical barrage to pass. And then I charged, with such great momentum that I largely ignored my opponent’s attacks, even if they surely did cause some bruises underneath my armor. My sword was raised and my voice was loud as I took those final heavy steps.

The eagle flew away well before I could get in range. My blade only crashed harmlessly against the boulder it once sat on.

“Oh come on!” I whined, and then dove down when I felt another attack coming. The eagle’s offensive was easier to track by the movements of the mana, instead of through my eyes. Wind was really hard to see.

The bombardment continued, but I took little damage. I could never reach my opponent from all the way down here, but I did not lose hope. Every attack wasted in this inefficient assault is just another hit to the eagle’s mana, and the monster would eventually run out.

It was a shame that I could not take the fight to it myself, as the sky was yet out of my reach.

Thankfully, the monster was a prideful one, and it decided to meet me in a proper melee once I had proven myself to be worth its time. The bad news was that the eagle was fast, its speed was nothing like I had ever experienced. 

The winds obeyed the bird’s will, and its claws raked through my shoulder before I could even react, damaging my armor greatly. I did swing my sword in response, but it was long gone by the time that I moved. I could only watch as the eagle soared across the trees and back up towards the sky. 

“Oh shit!” I cursed, when the eagle dove back down after only a moment’s rest. I tried to shoot menace bullets at it, but the eagle’s instincts were good, and it dodged the barrage of purple energy with ease. My eyes spun afterwards as the creature rocked me in the head. I swung on instinct, but again, it was long gone. 

Blood trickled down to my right eye soon after.

I smiled. I knew this was an ill-advised fight to pick, but I had not yet exhausted all my options. I wanted to win!

The next time the eagle dove, I was truly ready. My intimidation combo slammed into it, and the eagle halted in the air, falling closer to its death. My menace bullets slammed towards it, and the monster jolted into motion, dodging. Some of them even veered off course or dissipated because of my enemy’s magic. But it could not evade them all like last time. 

“Kkiiii!!!”

The monster screeched, its ability to react diminished further. The curse seeped deep into its mind, and terror surely screamed at the eagle's senses. 

I swung, and my blade veered off slightly, but I pushed through the winds of my enemy and kept my hands as steady as I could. The bird itself tilted at the last moment, and my strike slashed a wide gash across its belly, but I missed its wings. The animal cawed again, and I kicked it in desperation before it rose once more. I poured more menace magic into the motion than I should’ve, and I winced when I heard a crack.

It wasn’t enough. I managed to nick the eagle’s foot with a painful crunch with that last attack, but it managed to fly back up into the air where I could not reach.  

The eagle dove again, far sooner than I expected, for it was in a hurry to end the fight on account of its bleeding guts.

Demon eye. Menace aura!

I tried the same trick again, and predictably it did not work nearly as well. I only got clawed in my back for my troubles, unable to even land a cursory blow at my foe.

The next dive I was ready for, but I still found myself losing no matter how good the timing of my counter-slash. I nearly fell when my opponent raked both claws across my left leg. It was only the armor that allowed me to keep the limb.

“RRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!” 

I shouted in anger and frustration. I tried to use fire next, but it was only thrown back at my fucking face. 

I searched for another way, the battle seemed more hopeless by the second. But I dug deeper than despair itself, in search for any solution.

Naturally, my enemy did not allow me the respite I needed to plan. The eagle repeated the same diving maneuver, and I fared no better. Wounds piled up on my body with every attack, from a beak taking a chunk of my right shoulder, to a claw slashing through my sides, and more. I was beyond a bloody mess, the life leaking out of my body in impossible chunks, but I was not yet broken!

Not yet…

The eagle descended once more, drenched in blood both mine and its own. I faced the monster with a surreal clarity, a worthy and strong opponent deserving of proper respect. I could see in its eyes that it thought the same.

Sadly, only one could be the victor. The blood smeared on my opponent suddenly evaporated, and with its departure, the eagle’s flesh shriveled and died. Its flight wavered, both from the damage and the surprise, and it allowed its mind to be vulnerable once more.

Another mistake.

My demon eyes activated, along with my menace aura. My intimidation package worked to its fullest extent for the second time today, and the motherload of all menace bullets crashed against my foe.

It was a fun fight.

My hands were already braced. My grip tightened around the pommel of my sword as I awaited the approaching moment. The bird descended inexorably forward into my waiting jaws, rendered unable to change course.

Blood evaporated inside of my body.

An unnatural level of power flooded my arms, and my muscles strained in ways they were never meant to. My flesh tore at the force of my swing, and every inch traveled was another bone broken. It was all I could do to keep holding on to my weapon, an observer within my own body. 

But it was enough. 

My greatsword blurred, as if the world itself suffocated from the sheer force of it. The blade was thrown towards its inevitable flight, to pulp and mince the one foe who was far above myself. It was with respect that I welcomed the eagle’s death.

Someone stepped on it. 

Someone stepped on my sword 

The same sword that was going faster than it ever had before.

The lithe and graceful woman winked at me. Her eyes were like literal gems, orbs of pure glittering green with seemingly no sclera. She was beautiful, with large pointy ears and impossibly clear skin. Her kind and caring smile was the last thing I saw, before I truly became a mere passenger in my body.