∼ DAY 48 ∼

Looking upon the scene of the great orc woman's chest that had gotten blown through leaving a hole where her heart should've been, and the splatter of blood that sprayed the pillows and blankets, I felt a creeping chill that ran down my back. Not only the sheer deadliness of the attack would've most definitely even penetrated my insanely hardened carapace-like skin, but also when I looked at the jet-black dagger, I noticed that it was dripping with some kind of vile black ichor, obviously indicating that the blade had been smeared in some kind of deadly poison.

I didn't spare the scene of my almost death another look and directed my piercing gaze towards the spot in the shadows of the room where the unmistakable presence of a creature afflicted with my blood could be found. I was honestly surprised that I hadn't recognized the presence for what it was before now where all covers had been blown but I could only attribute it to some weird mind-obscuring stealth skill that the mysterious, and very much deadly, cat girl possessed.

If not for me having accidentally infecting Meala with Blood Plague, I would've most likely been dead...

"Tsk, Snuggly Guy! I'm sorry, but I really have to get back quickly, or Master won't give me fishy for dinner!" - Meala

From the shadows emerged the lithe form of the utterly boisterous and inconsequentially dispositioned cat girl. What she had just said was more than enough to completely stupe me, even though I had been subject to her out-of-this-world nature for more than a few weeks now.

"So, that's what my life is worth for you?" - Me

While I would've liked to be less caring about everything, but a little bit of dejection did manage to find its way into my tone. While I didn't consider myself bests of friends with the Fealas cat girl, she had still been somebody who helped me stay somewhat sane during these weeks of bloodshed and torment. Mika and Meala had been the only ones not wanting to inflict harm onto me or tried to restrain my freedom, something that had been all too common for me as of late.

"No-no-no, don't worry, it's not just a fishy. It's very-very tasty fishies - Master said so!" -

With her tail wagging gleefully behind her as she spoke, my glum expression only deepened. Taking my stance, I prepared for the fight that would surely ensue, but I knew I only needed to wait for the servants to arrive.

Although the attack hadn't caused much commotion, I believed that the atmosphere in the room with my aura should be enough to alarm the surrounding staff. But to be sure, I still motioned to shout.

Before I could even utter a word though, Meala's still gleeful face suddenly took a 180 and became utterly devoid of emotion, almost as if she had become a completely different person.

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With this change, her aura also took a turn, becoming suffused with endless killing intent even rivaling that of my own. To say I was beyond surprised was an understatement. I was completely floored to witness another monster being able to wield such power at merely just the 3rd-tier.

Bolting towards me like a dark blur, Meala closed the distance in a single moment. I was relieved that the fight had taken a turn towards full-frontal fighting, seeing as I was in no way confident in beating the catgirl in a fight of stealth and skill. A close-combat melee fight of attrition was just my forte.

Exchanging a lightning-fast flurry of attacks, we parried and blocked each of each other's strikes and slashes, unable to break the other's defenses. While I had to at all costs make sure that I avoided getting slashed by the one jet-black dagger dripping with ichor that she was wielding, she similarly couldn't allow a single slash of mine to hit her body as my claws would cut through her frail body like butter.

Where she had the advantage in having two arms, and her sheer talent and skill in fighting, I had my advantage in greatly superior speed due to my high agility. But as the seconds passed by, the fight took a turn for the worse, or at least for me. Meala was not only more skilled than me in combat, but she was also much more talented, meaning as time went on, she quickly became acclimated to my fighting style and began taking advantage of it.

Now, I had gone solely on defense and realized that if I didn't do something within the next few moments, I would start to suffer wounds. Taking a gambit before it was too late, I went for a strike that left me somewhat open to a counter-attack.

Due to the attack's nature, it simply wasn't a choice for the cat girl to evade, dodge, or parry the strike I made with my claws, but it was still blockable while simultaneously giving the opportunity for a counter-strike.

Seeing her go for it, a wicked grin made its way onto my face. Before the dagger barely managed to make a glancing slash on my arm, I used in accordance with Blink, a roundhouse kick that hit Meala in her side, and promptly caused her to fly away and crash into the wall. The sheer force alone creating cracks in the wall.

But before I could take advantage of the successful strike, and escape, my danger sense tickled menacingly in the back of my mind. Suddenly, the catgirl who had just been smashed heavily in the wall of the room disappeared, and the very next moment appeared above me. Incredulousness filled my heart upon seeing the all too familiar skill being used in front of my very own eyes.

Meala had just used Blink...

While I knew the cat-like variants of the beastkin races, the Fealas, had the skill Dash with their evolution itself as a Fealas, I had not at all expected Meala to already having advanced the skill.

With the panicked series of motions to retake my stance before the catgirl was once again upon me, I was barely just able to block the overhead strike of her dagger with my sole reaming arm.

Crashing to the floor with the Meala on top of me, I strained my arm and muscles to keep the blade hovering over my heart at bay. While I didn't know the catgirl's strength, I believed it to be around mine or slightly less. But even so, with only one arm, I could only watch as the blade ever neared my heart.

Up until now, I had fiercely rejected using my trump card, as it could spell calamity upon me, but now I had no choice. It was do or die. Biting my tongue, I let blood fill my mouth like a gushing torrent with it even beginning to spill down my lips and cheeks. Slight confusion was could be spotted on the until now emotionless face of Meala, as she saw that blood that had seemingly been caused a non-existent injury.

But the expression deepened even further when the sanguine liquid started to glow and vaporize into a red and tantalizing mist of crimson. Suddenly, all confusion disappeared from her, now replaced with pain. I was trying to dominate her mind.

With a mental exertion, rivaling anything that I had ever tried to exert before, I let the tendrils of my mind invade hers. Breaking down her mental defenses, one by one, my mind also started to waver under the sheer pressure I was straining it under. But just like as if a switch had flicked over, her defenses completely faltered, and her mind was breached.

Now sporting an expression even more void of emotion than that of her previous expression, she looked like a dead puppet now more than anything. I only let a sigh of relief escape my lips before I looked to the side, and over at the entrance of the room.

Standing there, with slack-jawed expression, were the servants and guards of the castle. At that moment, my heart fell, and I realized that not only was the red mist of my remaining magic of the Blood Conversion still surrounding me in a soft glow, but they had also witnessed the process of me using magic.

Shit, my cover is been blown... I'm really neck-deep in shit now...