"!! Kuhhh!!!"
A large shockwave repelled Kuro away, blasting him against a wall forcefully. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
All of his bones in his body were broken, and it seemed that he was having difficulty moving even out of the wall he was smashed into. But pulled back down by gravity, he fell face down without a good landing; his already brittle ribcage cracked from that impact.
There was a large crack on the cave wall, signifying how powerful the Abomination actually was.
Name W̷̩̕h̷̼̾͜ị̸͝t̵̺̃e̷͉̋̔ ̵̖̐̕Ṣ̵̽́h̸̬͘i̷̼̮͛̃g̴͓͇̋a̶̝͗̉r̴̺̙̉a̵̠͗͝ḱ̸̲͝i̷͎̓̌ͅ ̸̡̮̀ Level 1 Rank 8 Health 2,000/5,000 Mana 5,000 Strength 1 Dexterity 1 Luck 2̵̩͙͖̫́̌̀͝3̵̮͈̙̜̈̈͘I̵̧̩̤͙̋I̴̻͌̂̉̓͐Ť̸̛͍͚g̸̥̀̃̌͂̚ẍ̶̢̛͇̻́̆̚͜-̴̲͂̈́̂̑͠7̵̝̹̗̽͛̽̄͂ Intelligence 426 Defense 5,000 Magic Defense 5,000
That knockback took out 3,00 HP. Governed by the rules of the System, Kuro had increased White's otherwise pathetic health value of 50.
Feeling blood welling up in this throat, Kuro eased the feeling of suffocation from the bone splinters pressing against his innards, and vomitted out another helping of blood inside of his punctured lungs. He was starting to feel hazy from the blood loss, and was beginning to find difficulty talking and breathing as well.
He recalled something Ruler had told White before in the Soul Forest.
----------------------------------------
"See, the world of Parvula... works like a game."
"...A game?"
"Parvula, where everything is governed by the System. Something that records every single thing in existence."
"Every...thing..."
"And so, the System works its magic on the monsters, race characteristics, ecosystems... It is governed by something called the Influence Value. The world's physics are overwritten with the Influence Value, so Monsters would be procedurally generated smoothly without a worry if they could function properly according to their weight and appearance or not.
Dragons. Giant lizards... everything that has physical attributes that wouldn't even allow them to move, much less attack with their bulky frames... that is the mechanic behind the HP and MP system as well. You wouldn't die immediately after taking a lethal hit that would physically kill you. Instead, stats like Defense, Magic Defense, Strength, all of them are specific percentages of the Influence Value.
The damage done would be delayed, and would not register itself as badly in appearance and pain, proportionate to the amount of HP you have left. But in your case, you have two different health values because of your disposition of having two souls in one body. Stats aside, you would have two lives essentially. And that, I am not sure what it will do to the Influence Value."
"...You mean..."
"...So to answer your question, no. I don't know what will happen to you if you ever take damage exceeding the base value of 50 for that talentless human over there."
----------------------------------------
Now that he had experienced it for himself, Kuro's mind kicked into overdrive. His eyes widened in pain. He remembered the other time he had experienced this before.
Back when the Psyche Swap had expired, and Kuro had returned back into White's body after taking a beating.
It was hell.
It hurt like hell.
Was this... normal? How did Soma even hang on for so long?
It was always on the back of his mind. From that experience, Kuro as an independent personality, has learnt through actual combat. It was not as if he hadn't taken over before back in White's schooling days. He had his fair share of time learning how to fight in the streets when he had been ambushed by bullies who found him to be an eyesore in school.
"Your eyes..." Those were the last words that came out of those people.
In White's place, Kuro had committed murder, yet he never felt himself to be in a pinch. Earth... did not have magic, and monsters that exceeded the ordinary fist fight. That was when this personality of his had attained a powerful sense of superiority over others. Having both physical and mental advantages over his opponents, he was undefeatable... he thought.
And now, Kuro had experienced such an intense amount of pain for the second time.
His eyes flickered between red and orange, the colors of both of their souls in this body. Kuro grit his teeth, and endured the pain silently as he attempted to get up from the ground.
This is just pain. This is just pain... th... ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!"
"! Master!!!"
As expected, he could not handle it.
His unstable eye color was a signal that he was almost losing control. The pain was testing his principles... and the true roots of his soul.
...Kuro was empty. He had only become personified through the suppressed feelings from White. This was an ugliness that he had never shown to anyone else, but he was... in truth, someone who had no real emotions on his own. Even if he had gained wrath as a feeling, it wasn't enough to supplement himself to become normal.
Someone living within White and doing all the dirty work... someone who did not experience heavy physical injuries to the point of torturous death, but received a large load of mental stress from psychological faults from his Schizophrenia; a condition that made him experience hallucinations, affecting his daily life...
Someone like that... would never be normal.
He was a psychopath.
"...Kukukukukuku...Kuhahahahaha.... KHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!"
Amidst the agonizing scream, it had suddenly transitioned into a laugh. His loud and menacing laughter filled the cave, like a hyena backed into a corner.
Lestia soon reached the impact area, but she wasn't very athletic, so she took a fair amount of time before she reached him. Before him, was still her Master. She had intended to come closer to heal him, but...
She suddenly stopped moving, paralyzed in fear.
The Abomination that had proceeded to follow up after the shockwave it had caused, suddenly stopped moving again.
But it didn't take long for Kuro to stop. Even if he had gone crazy from the pain, he couldn't keep up with all of his internal injuries. He was slowly losing consciousness, and started to waver. His sense of balance became incredibly distorted.
"M-master...?!"
The gigantic creature had noticed that Kuro's aura had dissipated, and quickly charged forward.
His death was imminent.
Stumbling around her inventory in her Item Bag, she finally got hold of one of her three remaining High-Grade Elixir. She quickly and carefully extended a number of tentacles to move him down to the ground.
Seeing that her Master had finally fell unconscious, she quickly stored the content in her mouth and quickly carried it down Kuro's throat. She did so, through a deep kiss after storing the liquid inside of her mouth.
"Mngffhh..."
As they parted lips, a saliva strand could be seen briefly between them. Lestia held a tint of blush on her face, but she quickly shook off those thoughts away. More importantly, she thought, Master... please be alright...!
The healing effects of the elixir started to become more noticeable after the administering of the potent elixir. Kuro groaned in pain in the next few moments, and slowly opened his eyes again.
"Master!" Lestia wanted to pounce on him for a hug, but his bones were still healing. She quickly fell silent as she remembered their current predicament.
So did Kuro... no...
----------------------------------------
"... ...Kuro... Ghh... ..."
Closing his eyes, White endured on, taking on the lingering pain residing in his body. He had not realized that the title: Acolyte of Pain was something that was only active in White's soul and would reduce the sensations of pain by an amount.
Then, the first thing White did when he returned back conscious, was to appraise the creature he had not believed to be so overwhelming. Kuro had been laid unconscious from just a shockwave of an attack that wasn't even directed towards him.
It just felt like... the answer simply laid behind its Status Window which had been obscured earlier when he was using his origin on it. The fact that it knew how to hide its status, showed its intelligence. Perhaps... it might have already assimilated all of the minds it had consumed and became even more smarter with it.
White took a comprehensive look of the creature with Status Check.
Name E̷̪̙̝͂̌̐̉̕n̷̢̠̺̼̍͋͘̕ţ̸̛̇͂͝r̸͖͕̝̗̓ǒ̷̱͆͝ṗ̷̘̩̗́͜͝y̵̪͒̈́͌̾͘ͅ Level 84 Rank 8 Race H̶͇̘́̏u̵̦̿̔͑͑̆m̵̜͓̌ǎ̸̡̗̪̼̖n̸̨̰̮̓́̄ Gender H̶u̸m̵a̷n̵:̶I̸D̸:̷E̸l̴f̶.̷N̴o̷t̸.̶c̸o̸h̸e̸s̶i̵v̵e̸.̷e̵r̷r̵o̶r̶ Occupation Adventurer, Villager, Knight, Knight Captain Alignment Chaos Class Flame Wizard, Berserker, Cleric, Swordsman, Archer Health 356,788 Mana 239,980 Strength 70,002 Dexterity 10,511 Luck 20,200 Intelligence 14,584 Defense 67,100 Magic Defense 65,340 Traits H̶u̸m̵a̷n̵:̶I̸D̸:̷E̸l̴f̶.̷N̴o̷t̸.̶c̸o̸h̸e̸s̶i̵v̵e̸.̷e̵r̷r̵o̶r̶ Titles H̶u̸m̵a̷n̵:̶I̸D̸:̷E̸l̴f̶.̷N̴o̷t̸.̶c̸o̸h̸e̸s̶i̵v̵e̸.̷e̵r̷r̵o̶r̶ Passive Skills
Intangible Control LV MAX, Acidic Body Control LV MAX, Skill Absorption LV MAX, Monster Evolution LVMAX, Slime's Sense LV MAX, Mental Resistance LV5, Abnormal Status Nullification LV2, Hunter's Perception LV4, Triple Attribute Blessing of a Queen, Worldly Language Comprehension, Taming Mastery LV MAX, Monster Affinity LV5, Animal Affinity LV5, Unlimited Flames Conjuring LV MAX, Heat Resistance LV MAX, Flame Shroud LV MAX, Weapon Appraisal LV1, Sword Mastery LV MAX, Presence Awareness LV2, Status Awareness LV2, Battle Stance Correction LV MAX, Mana Angel LV MAX, Life Essence LV5, Mana Condensation LV5, Axe Mastery LV MAX, Club Mastery LV MAX, Hammer Mastery LV MAX, Battle Stance Correction LV1
Stolen story; please report.
Active Skills
Status Check, Alchemy, Clone Life, Slime Guard, Slime Veil, Harden Skin, Raise Skeleton: Unit / Elite / Knight / Archer / Lord, Mind Drain, Raise Ghoul: Unit, Raise Goblin: Unit, Bloodcurdle, Bone Shield, Whiplash, Induce Passiveness, Summon: Defense Boost, Summon: Attack Boost, Spirit Summoning, Fireball, Fire Blast, Fire Pillar, Flame Vortex , Imbue Element, Fire Shield, Breakmoon, Cutting Edge, Sword Lunge, Cross-slash, Harden Sword, Lightspeed Thrust, Flow Acceleration, Advanced Heal, Heal, Lesser Heal, Lesser Revive, Duality Status Cure, Dispel, Lightwings, Enrage Blood, Circle Swing, Moonshatter, Earth Smash, Flow Acceleration, Axe Acceleration, Breakmoon, Battlecry, Battle Roar, Durability Break, Party Connect: Telepathy
Foreign Elements
Alchemic Reconstruction of Slime Veil
"...As... expected... from something that consumed so much... or was it just because of the heroes inside of itself... this is... pretty impossible to beat... *cough cough*!"
His muttering ramblings were interrupted with a cough that was unconsciously done to clear the clots of blood in his throat.
"! Master, you shouldn't talk now... Your internals are still healing...! Hold on, I'll get us away...!"
"?!"
Lestia hurriedly attempted to lift White up by mounting him up her body. She could do so because her actual body size as a Queen Slime made her better at shouldering weights like this, although White's body was hardly any trouble even for a woman like her.
This startled White greatly, as he remembered that there was a girl that he had been trying to save all this time. Although he wanted to say something, his shyness overwhelmed his actions to act and he let himself get carried away by Lestia.
But...
They had to run away from the approaching colossal, a stitched-up Frankenstein made of limbs and eyes attached all around it like a freakshow. It had become faster than before, and it had finally seemed to take the shape of a giant humanoid. Gaining a pair of legs, it was charging towards Kuro and Lestia single-mindedly.
A fierce look filled with varying degrees of negative emotions were leaking out of its expression... no. It did not have just one face. But they were all laughing maniacally in sync.
"""""""""""""HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"""""""""""""
White squinted his eyes and muttered under his breath again.
"It's too late... I underestimated it, from the looks of its status... it must have held back quick a bit of power earlier when it was repelling Soma's attacks...
Not knowing how the time flow in the Soul Forest worked... I was... too naive... haha... in the end... ...I'm just... a powerless human..."
This time, Lestia heard it. She quickly realized too, that they were not going to make it. The Abomination would trample them in a matter of seconds.
"Uuu, Slime Ve-..."
Lestia was surprised by her Master's sudden lack of motivation to fight back. Even so, she did not hesitate to cast protection abilities on him.
...But she quickly remembered. She didn't have Immortality anymore.
Lestia's face suddenly hung with an expression filled with disappointment and helplessness. She had thought that Kuro could get them through in this pinch, like a hero... she thought that everyone are protagonists in their own stories and should capture their own future with their own two hands... but reality always seemed to lurk in every corner wherever she went, reminding her... that her life was destined to be a cruel one.
Lestia bit her lips in regret. It didn't bleed, nor did it hurt because it was the body of Inaho that she had mimicked with her originally viscous form. She recalled all the times she has had boyfriends in the past.
Being a Gyaru, dressing up like a doll to meet up with various men just to keep her loneliness in check. Being raped, gaining trust again, then losing it all in one go once more, from someone she thought would help her after all this time.
It seems that her misfortunes around individuals of the opposite sex always had her losing out.
But now, Lestia had actually roped up someone with her. She was excited that she had finally found someone, a companion; to share the burden, to go through tough times together like a spouse would.
However, it quickly vanished away.
She didn't want to die.
She didn't want someone she had finally started to like, die.
She didn't want things to end like this.
Not again.
Not again, she thought.
White's eyes darkened at this moment while behind Lestia's back, and Lestia who was told it would be futile, looked at the hopeless look on his face one more time.
The stomping and shaking of the cave floor was getting louder. They would be either squashed or eaten within a few more seconds. White was right, they would not make it in time since both of them did not run very fast. Their health points weren't enough to withstand a single hit from the Abomination either.
It... was... the end.
...Lestia's eyes were suddenly twitching with tears... even though she was an emotionless monster.
----------------------------------------
...Ah... I'm... crying...? ...Haha...
Hahahahahahahaha....
No... is... is this how it ends...? Why...? Why is this happening...? Someone...
No... ...this isn't fair... this... please... anyone... please...!
...Save US!!!
----------------------------------------
"But..."
"?!"
White stood back up from the ground, and stared right at the Abomination which didn't seem to stop at all... a few seconds away from collision. He bit his lips with his teeth, so hard that it started to bled. Using the one emotion that he had gained, he spat out words with rage. It seemed to overlap with White's tone, as if they were talking in sync.
[https://i.imgur.com/IBf8lj9.jpg]
"As if... I can accept this outcome...! I cannot. I must save everyone... This... every single fiber in my body is telling me to reject death...!!!
The concept of death itself...
I WILL... I WILL OVERCOME IT!!! AND I WILL USE ANYTHING, ANYONE.... WHATEVER IT TAKES... TO LIVE ON...!!!"
Lestia felt a surge of powerful emotions coursing through her body as she heard that. She was staring directly at White, who had suddenly formed a determined expression on his face.
That brief thought on using everything in his disposal no matter what it takes, was triggered by his urgency for survival.
Status Check was activated once more on Lestia's Status Window and his own.
White's... and Kuro's eyes were highly focused now, with two souls channelling their consciousness into them, they were trying to find something.
...And then, he found it.
Aspect of a Ruler activated.
Character: Lestia.
...Tracing Origin Branches.
White's face went blank for a moment from that unexpected System Announcement and familiarity of those terms. But he quickly rode the flow of this momentum.
He turned to look at Lestia, who abruptly clutched her head all of a sudden.
"? ...Mast...er...rrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...!!! Aghhh, what is this?! What is this?!"
"Accept the power, Lestia. Become stronger. That is the only way. Your roots... will determine the outcome of this conflict."
Lestia's originally slime-like body... was glowing cyan just like the time Kuro and White had taken their origin appraisal with the Sigil.
Within the shrieks from the back of Lestia's head where her vocal organs were from another head, her entire figure started to pulsate with a see-through light like an X-Ray. There were signs of a skeletal structure forming within her. She was turning into a human... anatomically.
And then, the searing of the sigil began.
Lestia's eyes widened in shock. She had never experienced such painful responses from something before in her slime body. But now, it was as if she was now in a very fragile state where every tint of pain would spread throughout her current hypersensitive state.
She couldn't move at all, paralyzed by an unimaginable amount of pain she had never felt before.
"Master! Masterrr!!! Masterrrrrrr!!!!!!!"
Lestia's eyes were brimming with tears from the pain, helpless and not knowing how to stop it. It seemed that this imprinting of the Origin was happening to the entirety of her body. Or to be precise, a skeletal frame had been created within her slime body just for this reason.
Through the cyan lights, White and Kuro watched as patterns formed onto the surface of the bone slowly like tattoo.
Suddenly feeling a sense of guilt, White moved his body closer to the immobilized Lestia. And Kuro returned a kiss to complete in response to what White had set out to do.
"...!"
Lestia's unsteady heart was wavering violently, unlike the monster she had always been. There was another source of warmth asides from the skin-tearing sear of the extended Sigil imprinted on her new bones.
An unwavering warmth. From a human. Someone who cared for her.
She could hear a voice inside of her head.
"I told you, didn't I. You are my woman. Don't go dying on me now, will you? Hikari?"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
There was a loud blast suddenly.
The Abomination seemed to have been repelled by a barrier encompassing the two at this moment.
It was pushed back from the inertia accumulated from its charge.
The various individuals inside of it were squirming around restlessly when they were forced back. It seemed confused for the first time and just stopped moving, as if assessing its prey.
Origin traced. Status Window has been updated.
Finally, the imprinting was finished. The cyan glow begun to fade away. Yet, Lestia was still keeping her lips locked onto her Master.
She was intoxicated so much that she had begun to feel nothing about the pain earlier.
They were not clear of the waters just yet. And probably, her Origin could still be a useless one. Origin Branches were based off of the essence of one's soul after all, and he himself was probably the only exception from this fact since Ruler had ceded to his request in exchange for the information of the Parasites.
But... that doesn't apply to Lestia. If Origins dictate the state of their inner consciousness, ...then...
Lestia parted lips with White at this moment. And moved one step backwards.
She closed her eyes, and moved her lips to say the name of her new ability.
"Graveyard... Lovers."
Nothing happened for a moment, but soon, the ground suddenly started to tremble. A large number of tombstones sprouted out from the ground. Miasma started leaking out from the ground, turning the place into the image of a Graveyard.
The Abomination screeched loudly in annoyance, and burst into flames.
It had activated Unlimited Flames Conjuring. The hands along the surfaces of its 'skin' had became hardened through Harden Skin and had turned into monstrous steel blocks enchanted with fire.
[https://i.imgur.com/xLb4Dam.jpg]
"̶M̵O̴.̵.̸O̸R̷E̷E̷E̴,̷ ̶L̸E̶T̷ ̸M̴E̸ ̶H̸E̶A̸.̸.̸R̶R̵R̸.̵.̴ ̶Y̶O̶U̵.̴.̸.̸R̸R̸ ̸S̸C̸R̸E̴A̸M̵S̵.̶.̵.̸!̸!̵!̶"̸
It was Urayama Ichiyo's voice.
But Lestia didn't budge at all. She turned towards White, who was looking at her in awe. Her figure became extremely mesmerizing in this silent field under the moonlight, as if she was ethereal. As if... she was a spirit... Her blue flowing hair, light green eyes... everything about her captivated the heart of White, even Kuro who was sharing their consciousness currently.
Suddenly, a bony hand bursted out of the ground. And then another.
Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [121%]
Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [13%]
Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [14%]
Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [15%]
Character: Lestia. Race Instinct triggered; Monster Aptitude has been raised by 1%. [16%]
It continued on, the unreal scene of the dead rising from their graves made White flinch. But as the dead started to rise up and show their bodies... they didn't seem to be ordinary skeletons at all.
Lestia's glistening eyes were still locked onto him. She licked her succulent lips, as her eyes turned even narrower like a cat.
Extending her arms out for an invitation, Lestia smiled provocatively.
"Master, ...shall we dance?"