V3 Chapter 13
In the silence of the deadlock, the Weredog eyes Cian up and down.
“Who are you? You are not a normal Foxman, aren’t you? Your strength and speed rivals even the elites of the Werewolves, something a mere fox couldn’t simply achieve. Foxman, who are you?!” the Weredog growled in anger.
“Oh really? Then, you’re in for some surprise!” Cian grinned, as he whirls, snapping free of the hold. "Because this is just the beginning~"
The Weredog howled angrily and rushed at him again. The opponent’s attack is a devastating onslaught of speed and power closing in around Cian like a bulldozer, a tank. But Cian is a mirage, slipping and flipping around him in a deadly counter-attack, heaving the Weredog in the air.
Seeing this opportunity-
“Lightning Spear!" his arm was coated with pale-bluish spark, and with a roar, a lightning bolt which violently shook the air burst forth, striking the charging Weredog with the sound of thunder. It pierced through the kobold that was caught off-guard by the sudden lightning attack. It never had expected that Cian would have this kind of card on his sleeve.
A painful howl resounded, but still, the power behind the lightning was weak, and Cian knows that. With a body that seemed to be forged from steel, the Kobold was only stunned for a moment before whisking away the lightning sparks.
But this is enough.
Cian forced all his remaining strength to explode, and he felt his blood boiling, making him extremely hot and steaming. His eyes turned red, his body steaming from heat.
[Blood Release]!
With a roar, his figure expanded in front of the groaning Werebeast and swung his sword, black and slender blade wrapped in lightning.
"Killing Sword- Lightning Blade!"
It descended without mercy on the Kobold’s head. Blood splattered. However, the next moment, Cian’s eyes widened in shock—it was evaded? A long cut wound appeared on the Kobold’s chest, running from his left shoulder to its right waist, but it was able to step backward in time, hence, despite being fatal, it was not able to cleave the opponent into two. But it was not fatal enough to endanger the Kobold's life, and with their distance, the Werebeast made his counter.
Not Good!
“Guha—?!”
Cian tried to block the incoming attack, but the claws still reached his exposed chest, his defense late after just putting all his strength into an attack. Cian felt his chest cave in, and the sharp claws digging in his chest, and he felt his flesh ripped apart.
With that one attack, the Demon Prince felt a pain he had never experienced before. This kind of attack was enough to kill someone with his level. And even if it was not, it's surely enough to incapacitate him. Even a true Marquis-level Demon would have a hard time surviving this one attack. Much less him.
But he was alive—his skills [Physical Damage Reduction] [Barbarian’s Fury] [Hardened] [Feral Regeneration] and lastly, [Barbarian’s Hyper Instinct] activated in the nick of time, strengthening his defense and physical body, as well as enhancing his healing factor. And because of his numerous life-saving skills and abilities, Cian was saved from instant death.
With a large roar, his eyes both gleamed in ferocity, and Cian swung the [Imagis Realis] horizontally as if he was swinging a baseball bat for a massive homerun. His expression distorted in both pain and fury. His mind clouded with intense anger.
"...?!"
The Werebeast stared at Cian in shock. And because of that, all he could do was stared at the incoming blade in a daze. Cian even saw the horror and shock of the Weredog’s eyes staring at him, amidst within was confusion as to how he was still able to move and live after crushing his chest.
“…you gonna need more than that to kill me,”
Cian grinned, with blood dripping at the corner of his lips.
Normally, one would jump away, and take a distance after surviving this kind of attack, but he was different. He let out a crazed smile full of lunacy, his eyes covered in tinted red, and his blood surged upwards it seems to be drowning his brain. It won't be long until the side effects of the [Blood Release] assaulted him. And he had even started to feel the consequences of using such ability--his brain wrecked in pain as if being squeezed. Even his limbs seemed to start to harden, becoming heavier.
However...
One last second…
Just give me a single second...!!!
Cian cried out inwardly. And everything turned slow—the movement of the kobold trying to pull its claws back to defend, caught within his eyes like a freaking camera rolled on slow-motion, and his arm flashed, with light.
Blood splattered in the air, like red petals.
... ...
“Damn, this hurts,”
Cian gritted his teeth, as he felt his knees buckled from exhaustion as well as pain.
He looked at the corpse on his feet and kicked the rolling head in anger.
He pressed a hand on his chest and felt the leaking blood and grating noise of snapping bones. He couldn't believe that he had almost died in the hands of a Werebeast. Though he had not really given out his everything in the battle, and held some powers back, like his magic. However, he was certain that he had used almost 70% of his strength. And yet, to think it would not be enough. And that last attack by the Kobold, as if it had seen his attack beforehand, was really ominous.
[Prediction] - He knew that Elite Werebeast's has this ability. However, rather than seeing the future, it's more of a cold-reading boosted by their animal instinct. And it's not really seeing the future. But to that thing just now, it's almost as if the Kobold has seen the future of his attack. Thus, saving its life in the nick of time. If it's not for his incredible vitality, he might be the one that would lose.
He had gone complacent.
So that was an Elite Werebeast.
Despite boosting all his physical ability with numerous skills, the Kobold was still able to surpass him in all aspects. What a fearsome power. They are truly masters of close combat.
Damn it, this bastard really made a mess of me.
He couldn’t believe almost all the bones on his chest had been broken apart in that one attack. If it was a normal human, no, rather even a Werebeast would have already been incapacitated, dying right now. But he’s not just a Werebeast, sadly for the bitch, he’s a demon—his vitality is much stronger than any species in the world, except for a dragon. He would still live for a while, even with a severed head, much less just a broken chest.
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"But it's really painful..."
Although his demon vitality can take up the job of healing him, it would take quite a long time. And he dislikes pain. Without hesitation, he grabbed the Kobold's arm and cut it, and started devouring it like a crazed ghoul, and his [Feral Regeneration] and [Rapid Recovery] was activated immediately, increasing the speed of his healing factor.
I need more Blood...!
With [Feral Regeneration], Cian's anger spiked up once again and he wanted to fight. It's as if, his anger was fueled by the side effects of the [Feral Regeneration] and he had the desire to wreck everything. To kill. To spill blood. To devour flesh and drink blood, and covered his entire body with it.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Like a wildly beaten drum, Cian felt his heart beating wildly, like what happens every time he invoked his [Blood Release]. Or perhaps, this was also related to him using that very same ability. And even, at this moment, his black hair transformed, or rather, had slowly reverted back into a grayish-white color. His demon horn as well started to emerge. Though, amazingly enough, his oversized fox-ears at the top of his head didn't disappear, hence, his horn could be barely seen, especially in a distance due to it being covered by them.
Cian's eyes were already red. Not the blue and red, the normal heterochromatic disposition he has, but pure, blazing red. It was a scarlet like blood, and also the crimson color of burning flames. His Demonic Energy was too powerful that his demonic blood was incensed, gradually turning him into a full-blood Demon.
“Ugg…”
He opened his mouth slightly, as a tearing voice almost ripped out his throat like a violent wind. His body began to convulse. The smell of blood permeates the air. He feels the burn of acid in the back of his throat, as bile rises from his stomach.
Cian seemed to unable to control it, his transformation. His anger is fueling the demonic energy inside him that he was starting to lose control of it, and becoming stronger. If not for the necklace that Oriel had given him, a rare treasure that could hide one's demonic aura, and prevented it from spilling out, and be noticed by others, the people fighting in the distance would surely have felt it.
Gaah! He grasped the necklace on his neck and squeezed the pendant. The star-shaped pendant gleamed brightly. This was also the magical item he had depended on entering the Human City, which has the capability to mask his demonic aura into something else. Like a Human. Like a Werebeast. It had boosted his illusion magic, because of the complementing effect of both related to illusions. But, it was now starting to lose effect.
The raging Demonic Energy inside him was getting wilder, as his anger spiked up. Though he also felt a cold sensation invading his elapsing senses coming from his right eye. A kind of support from his [God's Eye] to calm him down. But with the side effect of using the [Blood Release] ability--a mutation of effect, probably due to his Transmigration--from dying after one uses it, to suddenly trying to corrupt the wielder's mind, and seemly turning him into a Killing Machine who lusted for battle, and blood--the God's Eye cannot focus on either calming his anger, or protecting his mind from being corrupted, and has its effect slowly diminishing.
Although Cian was ecstatic when he found out the first time that the side effect of [Blood Release] had been changed ever since he had arrived in this world, perhaps because he had now occupied a true Demon's Body, it had somehow mutated, even make the ability activation longer. And now without the fear of suddenly dying, he was able to use it more frequently, which made him even stronger.
But in those times, he was still able to endure the side effect after it was used. Especially with his [Night's Eye]'s calming support. But to think, [Feral Regeneration] would make this side effect worse!
Cian was caught off-guard. The combination of [Feral Regeneration] and the side effect of the [Blood Release] ability was worse than he expected. He had never imagined that the anger in his heart, and ferocity of this beast-like ability of the Barbarians, would influence his demonic power as well, and ignite it to burn stronger.
The worst combination.
Fortunately, Asceius and the others are too busy fighting and were quite at a considerable distance. Furthermore, with the incredible unknown, and mysterious force that weakened and limiting one's senses within this forest, or probably this world, no one had felt something unusual. Yet. But it's not for certain that this would last.
With his Demonic Energy spiking up, it's only a matter of time before he exploded.
Still, to think I would be saved by this unknown force that was protecting this world, really... I never imagined I would be grateful that one's senses are being impeded in this world.
As Cian was doing his utmost best to restrain his demonic power, suddenly, his eyes locked onto the corpses of the Kobold beside him. He found his attention locked onto the monsters spilling blood, and he gulped.
Wait, is this desire? Hunger?
Did he desire to drink blood?
Did he burn too much blood that he wanted to replenish by drinking blood?
With his [Plunder] ability, Cian felt he could do so. Though, he had never confirmed such an effect from the [Plunder] ability up until now, since he had never been in this kind of situation before. All he knows is that the [Plunder] ability harvest attributes, skills, and abilities from eaten creatures. As for replenishing lost blood, or other similar abilities, he had yet to test if it also works the same.
But it's what's his mind was telling him.
He grits his teeth, and two pairs of fangs slowly appeared, growing at the corner of his lips. He was not a vampire, but for some reason, he lusted for blood. Without hesitation, he once again grabbed the Kobold's corpse and hurriedly disappeared from the place.
[You have successfully Plundered [Kobold Language] Ability!]
Behind a huge tree, an area that could not be seen by Asceius and the others' direction, he started to devour the Kobold's body.
[You have successfully Plundered [Dark Vision] Ability!]
He devoured the head first. Crushing its skull, and then slurping on its brain. He drunk on its blood, it tasted like fermented grape wine. He devoured the Kobold's Corpse slowly and felt his raging lust for blood slowly calmed down as he does so. His demonic energy also slowly calms down, his mind getting clearer.
[You have successfully Plundered [Animal Morph: Jackal] Ability!]
When Cian had already devoured the entirety of the corpse, his condition finally subsided. Though, only for the most part. His thirst for blood has yet to diminish. He needed more. Though, however, his demonic energy had already stabilized, returning to its dormant state.
I need more...
Cian licked his lips. He looks at his hands which were now covered with blood and grimaced. He's becoming more and more monstrous. Though, it can't be helped. Most of his abilities were obtained from Monsters. Hence, so the skills he used were also slowly turning him into a true Monster as well.
[Plunder] ability of the Chimera, is not a human-friendly skill. It was an ability that turns anyone it possesses into a Monster itself. In fact, not just a mere Monster, but a True Monster that stands above all Monsters in the world.
The Devourer of Heaven and Earth.
The Taboo Beast.
if Cian was a normal human with this kind of ability, he would have no doubt, turned into one long ago. But because he was originally a Demon, body, and soul, he was able to offset the side effects to the minimum, causing him to fortunately still retain his humanity at the very least. And with the [Night's Eye] that calms his mind, and protects him from any mind corruption- he was able to protect himself from the corruption of the [Plunder] ability as well.
But it would not be forever...
His [Night's Eye] might be a God-level skill, but it still depends on his current strength.
If he remained weak, he would be devoured.
It seems like I really need to put a lot of attention on this before everything becomes too late. I might desire strength, but I don't want to sacrifice my humanity for it. There would be no use if I become a mindless monster.
Cian let out a sigh.
Was obtaining this ability, a fortune...? Or a Misfortune?
Whatever the case, my murderous intent is still unable to settle. I want to kill more.
... And devour more.
He took out Potions from his storage rings and started drinking them like water, completely ignoring the side effects. Well, to them the said side effects are nothing though. The pang of hunger slowly diminish, but there is still the desire to devour. But now, it's not that strong. This would not disappear unless it had quenched the thirst of the beast inside him.
"Now then...who's next,"
Taking a deep breath, he felt his power returning rapidly. He then turned towards Asceius on the side, taking up two Werebeasts. They should be good, though, With Asceius helping, killing them should not require him to use his full strength, or even his [Blood Release] due to the former's already powerful strength.
Well, not like I can still display my full strength, without fearing any irredeemable consequences.
When Cian saw Asceius back away, his mouth moving into a chant, he decided to make his move. He was about to help the Ice Prince and charge to try to assassinate one of the Werebeast still living when a tugging sensation appeared on his mind.
Leona?
The Manticore is also having a dangerous battle…and she’s losing.
Not good!!
Without any hesitation, Cian dashed into the forest.
... ...