The injection coursed through Genji's veins and repaired all the damage sustained by his tattered body. Every inch of his body underwent a complete recovery, returning him to his peak condition. It was a euphoric feeling, but Genji knew it was only temporary.
[You have obtained +5 to all stats for 30 minutes.]
Once the healing finished, Genji felt an unprecedented power course through his body. In combination with [Tyrant Shoulder Guard's] Berserk skill, Genji's physical stats reached a whopping 36 points, rivaling the princes.
"Don't get too comfortable, Connor. I'll be sending some guests your way soon," Genji said, splitting off three elusive figures in different directions.
Then he dashed at Kulo, followed by two streaks of eye-catching shadow flames that decimated all defenses of blood. Genji popped out of the dark mist and whirled his daggers at Kulo's vitals.
In response, a pale arm reinforced by solidified blood reached out to intercept it, but Genji's daggers severed it like a hot knife through butter. The blades tore through Kulo's ribs and slashed his heart, drawing two arcs of blood.
Then Genji disappeared, dodging the storm of strikes that impaled his previous position. In his place, a shadow silhouette took the attack and dissipated.
Suddenly, Genji appeared before the bystanding dukes, catching them by surprise. Genji pivoted his attack and instantly quartered the head of a duke before anyone could react.
Then Genji lunged at a nearby duke, severely injuring him. But as their eyes focused on him and their bodies responded to counterattack, Genji disappeared, flashstepping at unfathomable speeds.
Streams of blood manifested as they initiated their blood arts, but the meager quantity was far from enough to fend Genji off. In the blink of an eye, another head fell, devoured by his flames.
Grave expressions formed on their faces as they realized the danger of this sudden intruder. But as they planned to surround Genji, they lost track of him again, causing everyone to tense up.
Out of fear, every duke initiated a blood explosion, praying that this would be enough to fend off any possible ambushes. Countless explosions doused the area, but not a single one caught the elusive assailant, leaving them wondering where he went.
As the explosions calmed down, a sharp-eyed duke noticed a wavering shadow between the dust. But before he could comprehend it, a body slammed into their ranks, shattering the ground and sending them scattering.
"What the hell is going on?!" One vampire shouted as a huge ball of curses plunged into the crater, exploding and propelling chunks of flesh everywhere.
As the smoke cleared, the Dukes' eyes widened at the sight of a heavily injured Roragen, struggling to stand.
"How is this possible? Isn't Prince Roragen known for his regeneration? How could he be wounded like this?"
The next moment, they got their answer when Roragen tried to regenerate his missing flesh. The moment he channeled energy into the wounds, the black mist in the surroundings rushed at him and forced itself into his body. Then it devoured the blood energy and forcibly closed his wounds unpleasantly.
His flesh wriggled eerily like worms with their heads cut off as it stitched his torn flesh together, ignoring the missing parts. As a result, his skin stretched beyond its limits, ripping and repeating this process. Roragen tried to tear these muscles that had gained a mind of their own, but they were extremely resilient.
It was his own flesh, after all, so it possessed all of his tenacity. Roragen realized this method was inefficient and switched to scalpels of blood to trim the flesh, but the cuts only caused his body to contort further in the repair.
While cutting off these infected parts temporarily freed him from the bindings, the extra wounds only increased the area for infection, worsening his situation.
Then this toxin devoured more energy and forcibly sealed his wounds, twisting his body unnaturally. Seeing how Roragen lost control of his body so ghoulishly, goosebumps chilled the dukes' spines. Would they also experience this if they got wounded?
Moments later, they felt their flesh squirm, and a wave of terror consumed their hearts. Sweat soaked their backs, and their knees shook, fearful of confirming their suspicions.
Panic clouded their minds, and the world warped into a terrifying hellscape, leaving them paralyzed like lost lambs encountering a wolf. Their muscles twitched, and unbearable itchiness racked their minds as their skin mutated. Whispers of alleviating this discomfort tempted their minds, but they forcibly endured it, fully aware of the consequences of doing so.
This resistance, however, did little to stop their mutations as their bodies grew rampantly like a tumor. Each time their blood energy brushed against these cancerous cells, they gained a dreadful growth spurt, worsening their condition. Thoughts of flight or fight coursed through their minds, but neither option was good.
Should they run away and escape this scary fog? But if they did that, they would be abandoning their liege, an act worthy of death in their society. Kulo wasn't a merciful vampire and wouldn't care about their status as dukes. Now that the princes were awake, who cared about some cowardly dukes?
But if chose to stay, was that any better? With each passing moment, they could sense their bodies becoming a completely different organism. It no longer felt like a weapon they were used to, but a prison that was specially crafted to trap their minds. Some of them even thought that they would become monsters, destined to scour the world as prisoners of their own bodies.
However, this thought was quickly dispelled when they spotted the fate of the lower-ranked nobles. Instead of becoming squirming piles of mutated flesh as they had dreaded, the barons became withered husks deprived of vitality.
After their blood energy ran out, the wriggling pile of flesh turned their glutinous jaws inward and ate away at the host's body, trying to obtain even the slightest amount of energy to continue their growth. As a result, the tyrannical cells ate the host alive, killing them and following shortly after.
All the barons succumbed to this miserable fate, further terrifying the survivors to their impending doom. Madness and desperation quickly took over as they racked their brains for survival. Then, one vampire got the bright idea of killing other vampires for blood energy.
'Since I don't have enough, then I'll make up for it with other sources.'
With this radical action, the situation escalated into an internal war as everyone stopped thinking rationally and devolved into beasts, whose sole goal was survival. At this point, they were no better than barbarians, believing that a sacrifice could appease the gods above and bring them prosperity.
But at least the barbarians believed things would turn out for the better, unlike the vampires here. While the excess blood energy was enough to prolong the inevitable, it came with worse repercussions. As they drank another's blood, they took in more toxins, further mutating their flesh and accelerating the energy drain.
Sensing the extra energy, the flesh entered a state of excitement and replicated itself faster. Then the energy source collapsed, resulting in even more mutated flesh trying to sustain itself on the hosts' vitality. Of course, this resulted in near-instant death for the next vampires in rank, the Counts.
But by the time the other vampires noticed this trap, it was too late. Everyone had drunk some blood, even if they didn't make the kill. Now, they had no choice but to continue killing if they wanted to stay alive. The end result was a bloodfest that killed the vampires faster than it would have if they had remained still.
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As everyone immersed themselves in this frenzy, a shocking scene snapped them back. Two gullies plowed through the rocky ground as Kulo dispelled the force acting on him.
Kulo neared the crater where Roragen was struggling, he stopped, redirecting the remaining force into the ground. Deep cracks crawled through the area before Kulo pulled his feet out.
"Roragen, I don't know what the hell is going on, but unleash your ultimate. If we don't kill him right now, we might not get the chance later."
But before Roragen could reply, Kulo's head snapped back to his original location. His eyes dilated as Genji, with large patches of wriggling flesh, walked into view.
Genji was in a better condition relative to the vampires since the poison was designed to target blood energy, but he was still out of breath. Of course, Kulo was in a worse condition, but he sealed his flesh in crystallized blood and stopped all possible disruptions to his movements.
That was why he could fight Genji for so long, but he still sustained his fair share of injuries. Genji had burned his Quantum Shield to ensure that and forced Kulo onto the back foot.
"Yeah. It's time to risk our lives," Roragen replied, ready to kill Genji or die trying.
Vampire Blood Arts, Ultimate Finisher: Domain of Blood
Vampire Blood Arts, Ultimate Finisher: Recurring Crystals
At this, Roragen completely changed into a stream of blood and unleashed all his energy. Unlike his normal blood transformation, Domain of Blood allowed him to use blood arts with no restrictions. Also, as long as a drop of his blood remained, he would stay alive, making him extremely difficult to kill.
Of course, this ultimate came with equally crippling drawbacks like all other princes' ultimates. In Roragen's case, he literally became the blood around him.
Should the blood run out, he would instantly perish. While that doesn't sound like a huge drawback, understand that every blood art consumed some blood.
That meant every time Roragen unleashed an attack, he was consuming his life force in a gamble on who would perish first. Once he transformed, he couldn't undo it midbattle since it required a substantial amount of time to recondense himself.
As for Kulo, his ultimate allowed him to crystallize all blood in the vicinity and unleash a storm of projectiles. But for every second he stayed in this state, a portion of his body would turn into crystals. If he wasn't careful, he could kill himself in this state. In any case, both princes were prepared to gamble their lives on this next confrontation.
Roragen zipped at Genji, controlling the blood from the dead vampires to augment himself, while Kulo conjured a hail of spikes at Genji. Solid Core entered full-throttle and allowed Genji to endure the relentless attacks as he charged at Kulo. Genji chose Kulo despite being further away because he had a hard time pinpointing Roragen's exact location with all the infected blood around.
Dagger Arts: Threading the Needle
Genji's daggers flowed unhindered, obliterating the majority of projectiles before him as he appeared before Kulo. In response, a crystal shield slammed into Genji, but he dug his foot into the ground and wound up for Kulo's head.
Another block of blood formed between them and locked his dagger temporarily. Then a hammer smashed his other arm, sending him flying aside. After a few rough tumbles, the encasing of blood broke down and transitioned into a rotating edge akin to a chainsaw.
Sparks flashed across his skin and heated up as Genji focused everything on not getting sawed in half. This, however, gave Kulo the chance to launch him upward and turn him into an airborne target.
Genji spun chaotically as he resisted the motion sickness and yanked his arms out to shatter the deadly ring. Then he quickly transitioned to a head dive as javelins and highly pressurized bullets came at him.
Genji twirled with all his might, accelerating his descent and minimizing the deadly period. His head bolted for the ground, and another possible danger presented itself. Genji was descending too fast. If he didn't find a way to slow down, his body would turn into mush, even if his head didn't pop like a balloon.
At least, that was what the princes thought until Genji spread his cloak, defying gravity and instantly coming to a stop without harm.
Like a feather
Then, Genji immediately canceled the effect and kicked off the ground, flashstepping before Kulo. A streak of darkness slashed at him and cracked the crystal shell.
Kulo felt an intense force on his shoulder, as another strike pierced at his face. To prevent himself from being skewered, a block manifested between them and converted this sharp stab into a smashing attack. Kulo's face was crushed into a pancake, but he managed to open the distance.
Genji clicked his tongue in annoyance and flashstepped again, suddenly changing his target to the ever-shifting Roragen. Neither prince expected this, allowing Genji to shred apart most of Roragen's energy.
In retaliation, a storm of blood encapsulated him, barraging him with attacks from every direction. Genji blocked his face with his forearm and charged at the boundaries, using everything he had to break out.
The next moment, a huge cut broke the perimeter of this storm, destroying the edges as a bloodied Genji ran out. Sensing these openings, the black mist rushed into Genji's body like sharks to blood and sealed them shut.
A burning sensation coursed through his flesh as the mutation extended out, swinging uncontrollably around him. Genji ignored their weird behavior and chucked some of the origin blood he obtained from the internal conflict. Sensing this uncontaminated blood essence, the mist plugged at it, instantly dyeing it black.
This concentrated poison in disguise sailed through the air and mixed with Roragen, causing a relapse in mutation. Genji left the browning blood behind and used this chance to charge at Kulo again, pausing occasionally to avoid the knock-up abilities. Pillars of crystals exploded behind him, showering him with shards as Kulo did everything to wound him.
As Genji closed in, he chucked more vials of origin blood at him, greatly flustering Kulo. A wall was frantically raised and blocked the second burst of poison, but it soon cracked as Genji sliced through it. His body mutated further as the wind of cancer followed him, dissuading Kulo from entering melee range.
Using this cover, Genji lunged at Kulo and penetrated his crystal armor. Then he jerked the weapons outward, widening the wound with a forceful tear. The armor shell shattered from the attack, triggering Kulo's mutated flesh inside him.
Genji stepped forward to capitalize on this distraction but was interrupted by Roragen, who appeared between them and unleashed a giant explosion. This attack damaged everyone greatly, but it was the better option since they fended Genji off. If Roragen hadn't done that, Genji would have killed Kulo, instantly ending this battle.
As Genji and Kulo slid away from the explosion, Roragen lost half of his blood, leaving him drastically weakened against his mutated part. This, however, didn't discourage him from continuing his offense as thin strands of blood broke off and shot at Genji. Genji moved to dodge, but these strands ricocheted off the air and changed directions erratically.
The next moment, Genji was surrounded by a web of blood with each strand moving unpredictably. Suddenly, Genji felt his organs jolt in pain as the strands pierced his body and coiled around his innards. Many of these spots were dangerous points, but they paled in comparison to one spot.
That was because sticking out from his chest was a strand wrapped around his heart! But before he could react, the strands tightened and shredded everything. A mouthful of blood spewed from his throat, and his body mutated further, but all this was futile. Now that his heart was destroyed, the countdown had begun, and nothing could stop that.
Then, out of nowhere, Genji felt an unprecedented rush of energy, filling his depleted pool rapidly. While appreciative, Genji had no time to understand the source of this. Using this newfound energy, Solid Core pushed itself to new heights, and Genji activated Untraceable Movement to triple his speed.
Genji appeared before Kulo swinging his daggers with the strongest shadow flames he had ever ignited. Genji pushed his collapsing body further and exerted every ounce of strength, desperate to finish this.
Sensing this lightning-fast attack, Kulo had no choice but to launch his own attack and pray he could survive. His body rapidly converted to crystals as he also over-exerted his ability, using everything to conjure a viable defense. As long as he could stall for a moment, his attack would kick in and reap Genji's life.
'My ability is faster,' he thought, having estimated the time between his conjuring and Genji's attack. 'It's going to be close, but the wound won't be fatal.'
But before he could rejoice any further, an eye-jarring black crystal formed in the path, halting his crystals momentarily. This moment, however, was all Genji needed for his dagger to land first, instantly reversing the outcome of this battle.
'You're not the only one who can crystallize energy.' Genji remarked as he delivered the final blow.
As Kulo's head burst into segments, Genji spat out another mouthful of blood that crystallized midair and plopped down. This was Kulo's final attack that would have transformed Genji into a human crystal if given another moment.
Genji counted his lucky stars and pivoted his body to attack Roragen, who was struggling with the poison. Genji emptied his remaining energy and drowned Roragen with his shadow flames. As these flames flickered, they slashed away at the blood, dividing them into countless droplets before extinguishing with the last ember of Roragen's life.
[You have slain: Prince Kulo and Prince Roragen...]
The moment Genji got the killing prompt, he instantly closed the notifications and quickly shoved his daggers away. Right now, he had more pressing matters than reading the rewards he obtained, specifically his destroyed heart and collapsing body.
"Time to gamble again," Genji said with another crazy smile and an equally crazy idea to survive.
[author] Fun fact, each of the princes' ultimate covers a different state of matter. Macass uses gas, Roragen uses liquid, and Kulo uses solid.
One more chapter before I wrap up this arc.[/author]