Genji reached inside his storage and pulled out an assortment of items, all equally diverse. There was vampire blood, poison, the blood diamond, [Jaguar], and other dangerous, radioactive ingredients he had just because.
Genji mixed the liquid ingredients and chugged the questionable fluid, causing his body to pulsate with pain. He ignored these warnings and broke apart the many solid ingredients before swallowing them all.
If this were any other time, Genji would have never consumed such dangerous ingredients together since they had nothing in common. Not even a single bit of synergy, making this deadlier than the poison he drank against Macass.
At least that poison gave him a chance, but these materials appeared to serve no purpose other than to kill him.
It was very contrary to his goal, but Genji was perfectly sane at this moment. In fact, Genji was hoping this would cause his vitals to collapse and enter a state of near-death.
Only that way could he force his body to restructure his vitals and survive. The chances were very low, but that was what made this a gamble. An insane gamble that is.
After swallowing the last piece, Genji felt his consciousness blur as he inched closer to death. He quickly counted the time and waited until the materials dissolved before taking out his last mutation gel bomb.
'I hope you can synergize with your deadly cousin and give me a surprise,' Genji thought before popping it into his mouth as well. 'Otherwise, it's my end. Not that I have any regrets since I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost after gambling so much.'
Lastly, Genji pointed [Jaguar] toward his stomach and stabbed inward, commanding it to unleash all its silverbane. After Genji buried the blade down to the hilt, he fell backward, losing complete consciousness and entering a coma.
----------------------------------------
An unknown amount of time later, Genji woke up with a throbbing headache. He groaned in agony but sensed that something was amiss through his muddleheadedness. He opened his eyes but could barely see. Only a glimmer of moonlight filtered through his narrow field of vision, making it difficult to discern anything.
In fact, it would be more accurate to say he was completely blind, as he could hardly rely on his sight. Everything was blurry as if he had a severe case of myopia.
Genji raised his hand and observed two peculiar aspects of his condition. Firstly, everything appeared gray, as if he had become colorblind. However, that was inconsequential since he couldn't see clearly anyway.
The more striking detail was the transformation of his hand. Instead of a normal, human palm, it resembled a mass of tentacles. His fingers had elongated and lost their bone structures, rendering them completely flaccid. Genji manipulated them, and they followed his command, moving in unnatural, slippery ways, confirming that this was not a dream.
Genji closed his eyes and assessed the other changes in his body. Fortunately, he still possessed his shadow energy, the core of his powers. If he had lost that due to the transformation, it would have been dire.
Beyond that, he sensed the shredded state of his organs, identical to their condition before he lost consciousness. This surprised Genji since any normal human would have succumbed to these injuries long ago.
In fact, Genji questioned whether he could even be considered human anymore because his heart was destroyed, but he was miraculously alive.
This was the most puzzling aspect, but he didn't intend to complain. All that mattered was that he was still alive and grateful for it.
As Genji focused on his destroyed heart, he discovered the source of energy that allowed him to finish the battle. That's because, in the middle of his heart, a cracked shadow core rested. And through these fine cracks, he sensed a substantial energy leakage.
All the energy he had previously infused into it was escaping, causing the core to shrink. Realizing this couldn't continue, he entered a meditative state and prepared to repair the gaps before losing any more.
As his vibrant energy coursed throughout his body, Genji noticed that his body structure had changed. There was now additional mass in the form of numerous long, sinuous appendages that waved unconsciously.
Recognizing this new body configuration, Genji confirmed his suspicions but remained indifferent. Right now, his main concern was to stabilize his shadow core and preserve the progress he had made in this world. Hours passed in this manner before Genji finally stabilized his core using 40% of his total energy stat.
"At least I'm alive," Genji sighed in relief, his voice muffled by his grotesque form.
Genji got up and attempted to walk, but he instantly collapsed. Looking down, he noticed that his legs had also transformed, making it challenging to apply conventional walking techniques to their flaccid form.
Genji sighed again and gradually adapted to his new body, relearning the basics from scratch. Fortunately, he had prior experience with off-balance movements and quickly discovered ways to maintain an upright posture. The real challenge lay in relearning how to walk without toppling over, but he managed.
'So why am I still here?' Genji wondered after several minutes of stuttering in one direction. Left with no choice, Genji pulled up the long list of notifications that he missed since the end of the battle.
[You have slain: Prince Kulo and Prince Roragen]
[You have exterminated Prince Kulo's clan.]
[You have obtained:]
1. Unnamed Uncommon equipment x469
2. Withered Marquis Origin Blood x119
3. Withered Duke Blood x26
4. Duke blood x3
5. Prince Origin Blood x2
[Due to the targets losing the majority of their essence, item drops have decreased by 1 rank.]
[Withered Marquis Origin Blood]
Rating: Rare
Effect: Upon use, 10% chance to convert your race into a Count-level vampire, 15% for Barront, 50% for normal, and 25% for failure.
Note: How did you destroy origin blood this much?
[Withered Marquis Origin Blood]
Rating: Rare
Effect: Upon use, 10% chance to convert your race into a Count-level vampire, 15% for Barront, 50% for normal, and 25% for fail.
Note: How did you destroy origin blood like this?
[Withered Duke Origin Blood]
Rating: Rare
Effect: Upon use, 10% chance to convert your race into a marquis-level vampire, 20% for count, 30% for baron, 30% for normal, and 10% to fail.
Note: Can this even be called origin blood anymore?
[Duke Origin Blood]
Rating: Epic
Effect: Upon use, 2% chance to convert your race into a Duke-level vampire, 20% for Marquis, 50% for Count, 25% for Baron, and a 3% chance of unknown mutations.
[Prince Origin Blood]
Rating: Legendary
Effect: Upon use, 50% chance to convert your race into a Duke-level vampire, 50% for Marquis. After becoming a vampire, 20% to awaken Vampire Blood Arts, Ultimate Finisher: Recurring Crystals.
Description: The origin blood of Prince Kulo. If you're lucky, you might obtain his ultimate.
Genji had used Roragen's origin blood during the mutation process, which was why he stabbed himself with [Jaguar]. Without the silverbane to keep the blood in check, Genji might have transformed into a vampire and lost his shadow energy. But not consuming it was not an option because Genji needed the strong vitality to sustain the mutation.
When Genji read the numbers of the prince's blood, he knew it was very precious. Take the probability of Duke conversion, for example. Just that number alone was 25 times the chances of a normal Duke-origin blood!
And that was not even mentioning the chance of obtaining the ultimate power that gave Genji so much trouble. For anyone who wanted to become a vampire, this was irresistibly attractive! Genji had no doubt that if he revealed this, people would sell their souls for it!
Apart from the prince's blood, the other drops were also profitable. They might have been downgraded due to his poison consuming the vampire's essence, but their quantity more than made up for it. It was extra income, after all, so he couldn't complain.
As for the normal Duke blood, Genji had obtained it when he killed the Dukes before his poison took effect, essentially preserving their powers.
Genji scrolled past these notifications and finally found the answer to his initial question.
[You have triggered the response mechanism: King's Awakening]
Description: After the death of all three princes, their powers have returned to their origin, awakening a long-forgotten monarch. The King will regain his powers in three days. There is 1 day and 17 hours left.
Note: Due to the King's awakening, the spatial fluctuations of this world have become extremely unstable. Please wait for them to calm down before EverRealm can teleport you back. If you insist on leaving now, there is a 100% chance of your body falling apart in the spatial turbulence. Estimated time: 3 days, 17 hours.
Seeing how the timing lined up, Genji knew this was not a coincidence. Furthermore, EverRealm had informed him that the King was responsible for it. Genji noted this difference in treatment and asked another question to confirm his suspicions.
"EverRealm, what is the exact location of the vampire king?"
[Please refrain from committing suicide like this. It is advisable to stay hidden until the spatial turbulence has subsided.]
When Genji saw how responsive EverRealm was, he knew he could rely on it once again. Throughout his time in this world, Genji had noticed that EverRealm provided very little assistance in answering his questions. Under normal circumstances, this was strange given his high rank, but it made sense when he considered the realm agreement.
Although he didn't know the agreement's entire contents, he knew EverRealm couldn't help him much. That was the entire premise the other realms used to make his life difficult after all.
Genji assumed that answering his questions and giving him hints fell into this category. Therefore, EverRealm could only offer regular prompts for events as they occurred, rather than providing advance information.
This was also why prompts related to the response mechanisms only appeared so late, such as when he first encountered a duke. If he had known, he would never have stayed behind at that time.
Of course, the prompt about the two princes was an exception, but the other realms had already messed with the rules too much, and EverRealm couldn't be held accountable. Using this loophole, EverRealm provided Genji with the exact time of their awakening and allowed him to plan accordingly.
Now that the punishment was over, EverRealm could answer his questions, making his life that much easier.
"EverRealm, if you want me to hide, at least tell me if the King can track me."
[After a rough scan, the blood of a prince has been detected within you. Since the King is the source of this power, he can lock onto your location.]
"... Even after that, you still want me to hide? Are you trying to get me killed? You might as well tell me his current location and let me face him before he regains his powers!"
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
[-_-]
[The location of the Vampire King has been added to your mind.]
At this prompt, a red arrow, similar to his fox badge's tracking, appeared in his field of vision and pointed off into the distance. Genji smiled in satisfaction and slowly made his way toward it.
While he knew the chances of reaching that location were slim given his current speed, Genji wanted to try anyway. Consider it a coping mechanism after all the bullshit he had to deal with. At worst, he would die chasing every opportunity available to him, entering the afterlife with no regrets.
It was this very mentality that had brought him here, and it was the same mentality that Genji would follow to the end. In a way, it was what made him so audacious and daring in the face of death.
"Hm hm hm hm, du du du du," Genji hummed to himself as he strolled along, indifferent to the world around him. After all, he couldn't see much anyway.
As he walked, the snap of a broken branch caught his attention, sending Genji into full alert mode. His body tensed up, and he snapped his head in the direction of the sound, ready to counter any potential threats.
"Who goes there?" Genji shouted, trying to make sense of the dark figure in his field of vision.
"Neeeiiighhh?" Yet, instead of an attack, a familiar horse's neigh greeted him.
Genji recognized this neigh, but he never expected to encounter the owner like this. Before the battle, Genji had set Bruce free, unwilling to drag the horse into the conflict. But here they were, staring face to face, both uncertain of the other's identity.
To the nightbane, Genji's presence had changed significantly since they last met, making him almost unrecognizable, while Genji guessed it was Bruce based on some clues.
"Oh, it's a horse. Shoo. I don't have time right now," Genji said before turning back to his original path. He was on his last legs and didn't want to put the innocent horse in any more danger.
Contrary to Genji's wishes, the nightbane followed him, trying to determine why Genji felt so familiar. After a while of this, Genji let out a sigh and turned around to address the nightbane once again.
"Look, I know you're curious, but shouldn't you hide? Vampires don't take kindly to your kind, and I'm heading straight for one. Do yourself a favor and save yourself."
Hearing his words, Bruce was certain that this tentacled person was who he thought he was. His form might have changed, but he was still the same person. After all, only one weirdo talked to him like this.
Bruce let out a joyous neigh and galloped over, nuzzling his snout against Genji's tentacled face. Knowing his act was seen through, Genji spoke his thoughts.
"Stupid horse. You're heading right for your death."
Bruce disregarded his grim words and motioned for Genji to get on.
"Fine. Have it your way. Just don't blame me when you meet your end."
Although Genji's words were harsh, he couldn't hide the wide smile on his lips. The only catch was that with his current appearance, this heartfelt smile looked more like a sinister grin than anything.
----------------------------------------
Bruce dashed wildly through the terrain, carrying an exhausted Genji on his back. While they were making fast progress, Genji was having a hard time keeping his body in good condition.
He was alive, but many of his bodily functions had died. Plus, he was spending more time getting used to his tentacle fingers than anything else.
If he wanted a fighting chance against the vampire king, he had to readjust his dagger skills to his new physique. Because of this, there were multiple instances when he dropped them, forcing Bruce to stop.
Despite this annoyance, Bruce continued carrying Genji to their destination and terrifying any vampires that saw them.
Just imagine the scene of a tentacle monster emitting a shit ton of bloodlust, riding a pitch-black horse in the night. Who wouldn't be scared?
As a result, the trip went smoothly, and soon they reached a run-down cemetery. Unlike the normal architecture that Genji had seen, this one possessed an ancient air that surpassed anything he had seen. If the previous remnants he saw were from the last era, then this one was at least from three eras ago.
Not that any of that mattered since Genji was no historian. As he walked through the gates, his attention was captured by a young man sitting on a burial stone, with his arm resting on his knee. His other leg dangled down as his somber eyes pondered his life.
Everything about the man looked normal, too normal in fact. If EverRealm wasn't pointing straight at him, Genji would never have given this person a second look. Yet, with this plainness, Genji sensed a looming sense of foreboding from him. Something dark was hidden beneath that facade, and Genji was going to find out what.
Sensing his gaze, the man raised his head and met Genji's eyes. He compressed his lips before speaking in another ancient language that EverRealm didn't recognize. After a few sentences, the man ceased, acknowledging that the language barrier was too difficult to overcome.
The King took a deep breath and hopped down from his seat. The moment his feet touched the ground, his presence transformed, fully showcasing his powers. The air around him rippled, distorting and breaking to reveal the spatial turbulence caused by his very existence.
No, that wasn't the primary reason. Genji quickly determined that the source of the turbulence was not merely his presence but his actions. Energy gathered around the man like a violent whirlpool, devouring everything in the vicinity.
The world lamented this phenomenon and lost its colors. The soil in the cemetery dried up and lost its luster, turning into dirt. The wild weeds in the vicinity withered, losing all signs of life. Every trace of life vanished, transforming the area into a wasteland.
With each passing moment, this desolate area expanded, intensifying the King's fearsomeness.
Then everything halted as Genji appeared behind the body, clutching the severed head of the King. Without delay, he quickly diced the head, unwilling to give up this opportunity.
But before he could rejoice, he dove aside, narrowly avoiding a deadly blood spear from behind. Genji rolled to his feet and turned around to see a regrowing head.
'For heaven's sake, can't I catch a break? This guy can even survive having his head destroyed?!?!?'
The King looked at Genji indifferently before appearing beside him and launching a heavy punch. Genji twisted his body, but one of his failing tentacles got hit, exploding into a burst of purple blood.
In a counterattack, Genji swung for the head, bisecting it again. To no one's surprise, this head quickly regenerated and launched another attack.
'How peculiar. Why is he so weak? Shouldn't he have regained most of his strength by now?'
Genji's surprise stemmed from the fact that the King couldn't even rival a Marquis right now. If it weren't for his ability to survive without a head, Genji would have finished the battle in the first exchange. It was a very odd combination, to say the least.
'Let's see how many times you can regenerate,' Genji thought, destroying the head again.
But before he could follow with another attack, a streak of blood pierced Genji and forced him back. Using this opportunity, the head regenerated again, and they continued this exchange.
In the next clash, Genji noticed the King growing stronger, rivaling that of a Marquis. Without hesitation, Genji activated Quantum Shield and Dance of Death, doing everything to unleash a torrent of attacks. The King's body was cut up hundreds of times in the barrage, but he simply came back stronger than before.
No matter where Genji attacked, the King regenerated without pause. It was as if he had no fatal weaknesses, rendering all attacks futile. To compound the bad news, the King's strength was now equivalent to a Duke's, making it that much more difficult to damage him. Genji sustained multiple major wounds during this process, but they were in vain.
At this point, Genji suspected that he needed to destroy the entire body at once if he wanted to kill the King, but that was easier said than done. The King was regenerating faster than even Roragen, and Genji had nothing to hinder it.
Desperation was welling up inside him as he used all his abilities to no avail.
'Dammit! At this rate, he'll overwhelm me. Where the hell is he getting all this healing from?' Genji slammed into the cemetery walls, his muscles writhing in pain.
Then his eyes focused on the vortex around the King and the expanding wasteland. Even the plants beyond the cemetery fences were dead, making the wasteland area many times larger than initially. Realization was dawning, but Genji wanted to confirm it before saying anything.
[Curse Bearer] manifested as he flash-stepped, blasting the King's leg clean off. In retaliation, the King unleashed his own storm of blood, slamming Genji back into the walls.
'Shit! This guy's devouring the world's energy to heal himself. How the fuck am I supposed to counter that?'
Genji coughed out multiple mouthfuls of purple blood and pushed himself out. His legs stumbled, and his daggers threatened to slip from his fingers. His breath became ragged, and his unwanted appendages hung lifelessly by his side.
'Dammit! Even if I exhaust all the vitality in his range, won't he simply heal up by moving to a different area? Then he can return to finish me when he recovers. No wonder EverRealm was so pessimistic about my chances. To stand a chance, I would need something to hinder his ability. My poison would have done the job, but I'm out. What a troublesome ability. If only it were weaker, I might have figured out a way. But now, it's impossible. Nothing I have can deal with how he is devouring energy...'
With that thought, Genji's eyes widened, and he had a flash of insight.
'Devouring! That's it! Why do I need poison to do it? Can't I use my energy as a substitute? Since Dance of Death could impart a new energy property, why can't I try to mimic that? Isn't that why I pumped everything into my special stat? I just need to make my energy devour his life force before he can heal. And don't I have the perfect references for it as well?'
At that realization, the flow of time expanded infinitely, turning a mere moment into eternity as Genji entered an ultra-concentrated state of mind. His brain throbbed sorely as Genji overloaded it to process every ounce of information in his head, but he persisted despite the risks.
It was a dangerous process that no human should attempt, but Genji didn't care. Consequences be damned; he needed to survive first. Only then would he be qualified to lament his injuries.
First, he referenced the vortex around the King, paying careful attention to imitate its structure.
He understood the purpose of each part, disregarding those that benefited the user, and turned it into an energy structure with the sole goal of killing the King. Genji discarded everything for that purpose, knowing that replicating all the intricacies would waste precious time.
Next, he referred to the concept of mutation and infection on which he built his poisons. He needed something that could adapt to any body structure and persist like gum.
Without them, Genji had no confidence that the technique could kill the King in time. Luckily, these two concepts were the essence of his inheritances, making this the easy part.
The hard part was figuring out how to impart these qualities to his energy. Genji eliminated the impossible solutions at lightning speed and cross-referenced the remaining answers. Soon, different versions of the technique faded and fused together until only one version remained.
Once he confirmed the possibility, his brain relaxed, and the world returned to normal, leaving him with no stamina. His ragged breathing worsened drastically, but the smile of a gambler plastered itself onto his face, ready to risk it all one last time.
Genji circulated his energy, and soon, a pitch-black vortex emitting an ominous smoke formed around one dagger. It was a powerful technique and Genji was willing to bet his life on it. Then his foot landed on the ground and disappeared from the King's perception.
Like A Feather, Untraceable Movement, Flashstep
Using this forbidden combination, Genji further destroyed his body and appeared behind his foe. In his hand, the severed head of the King was held, drenched in Genji's blood.
"It's my win," Genji said to the head.
"Aowhe slhfa owpyrq," the King replied, instilling a tremendous sense of crisis in Genji.
Without hesitation, he threw the head with all his might, causing his arm to tear apart from the recoil. The next moment, the head exploded, and the King regenerated again, leaving Genji in hopelessness.
'I guess I'm fated to die then,' Genji thought. 'The technique didn't work as I thought. Now, I don't even have the energy to move anymore.'
As his body weakened, his view blurred into darkness, leaving him with the King's approaching footsteps. The King said something, but Genji was too muddleheaded to hear or understand, but it was not like he could understand anyway.
'Just what did I do wrong? Everything was theoretically correct, so why is he still alive?' Genji wondered before smiling and fully accepting his defeat. 'It's not too bad to die like this. At least my foe was worthy of ending me, though I do wonder if my technique could still be improved.'
At that thought, Genji returned to the drawing board, dissecting every detail again for areas of improvement. This wasn't him scrambling for a method to reverse the situation, but purely for his own enjoyment.
Before entering EverRealm, his hobby had always been pushing the limits of his techniques. To theorize about what was possible and how to optimize his abilities. It was everything in his boring life, and he wanted to spend his last moments doing this. He entered EverRealm with his techniques and he would leave with them.
'I see. My entire thought process was wrong. I shouldn't have pursued a persistent effect but an instantaneous burst. The mutation and infection concepts needed to be for damage, not weakening. It's my mistake.'
At that realization, all the discarded versions resurfaced in his mind and entered another round of merging to form another technique that defied logic. It was a beautiful technique, filled with intricacies that he never expected or considered. It was flawless.
'Alright, I can die happy now,' Genji thought and fully relaxed his body.
Yet the killing strike never came, making him wonder what was going on. Why was the King taking so long to reach him? Shouldn't this be easy given his regeneration?
Eventually, Genji's vision returned, and he saw a vampire King, hunched over with each step. His vision was still blurry, but the scent of blood told Genji everything. The King was heavily injured and had a hard time moving.
In fact, his technique did work, just not the way he initially envisioned. If regarding how he applied the concepts, this technique could even be considered a success.
'But that doesn't change anything, does it? I'm completely drained of energy, so I can't fight back.'
But the moment Genji thought that, the scene of his fight against the princes popped into his mind. More specifically, the time when he obtained extra energy when he should have been completely spent.
*Sigh*
'Why do all my ideas seem crazier than the last?' Genji asked himself, raising his dagger and angling it at his destroyed heart.
Then, in one final burst of determination, he yanked down, piercing his shadow core and violently flooding his tattered body with energy.
Once he felt his energy recover, he pulled out the dagger and channeled the new version of his newly created technique. A similar vortex and dark smoke to before formed around his daggers, twisting with newfound ferocity.
Despite the resemblance of the two techniques, this perfected version gave off an immeasurable sense of danger. It was like a single scratch could kill the target, no matter what.
The King sensed the threat posed by Genji and stopped his approach. A serious expression etched itself onto his face as he finally considered Genji a deadly foe.
A river of blood manifested around the King as Genji continued charging up his technique. The two fighters sized each other up briefly and made their final preparations before sprinting at each other, ready to decide the outcome of this battle once and for all.
Vampire Blood Arts: Era Annihilation
Shadow Devour
Both fighters swung with all their strength, ready to emerge as the winner. At least the King was, having full confidence in this ultimate that he developed to end a civilization.
'His attack will land first,' Genji determined, having understood the difference between their reaches.
That was the one flaw with daggers, and there was nothing Genji could do against that. Unlike the other close calls he experienced in the past, Genji had nothing to give him the edge. Nothing to buy him a sliver of time. Nothing to ensure his attack landed first.
'A worthy foe at least. I'm glad you were the one to end me.'
The King's attack converged on Genji's neck, primed to claim victory in a result both parties acknowledged when suddenly, an outside factor interfered.
"NEEEEIIIIGGGGGHHHHHH"
Bruce let out the loudest battle cry that he could manage and rammed into the King's side out of nowhere, deviating the attack slightly. But this intervention came at a heavy price, with Bruce being cut down by King's deadly energy and blasted aside harshly.
Both parties' eyes widened at this unexpected disruption, but Genji continued his attack with everything he had. His life depended on this after all. Capitalizing on the brief difference in time, his dagger slid through the King's neck, decapitating him and dissipating the incoming attack as it brushed against his neck.
Coming out the other side, Genji's dagger drew a breathtaking arc and launched the head upward.
As the head ascended, Genji sensed the vortex drill inside the head, poised to claim his life.
"So this is how it ends. It's about time for me to rest," the King's voice sounded, EverRealm having finally received enough information to translate his words. "Rachael, I'll be joining you again after so long."
Then the ability kicked in, ending the former king.
Genji nearly collapsed in exhilarated exhaustion, but he forced himself to stand and walk over to the dying Bruce. At his approach, the innocent nightbane weakly looked up at him and gave a proud whimper, content with his accomplishments.
"Stupid horse. Why did you do that? You really did send yourself to your death."
Bruce didn't respond, having used all his strength to give Genji one last goodbye.
As Genji stared at the limp body of this weird horse, complicated emotions washed over him. Gone was the triumph of his victory, replaced by melancholy for his trusted companion. He dwelled on this feeling for a few moments before opening his mouth to ask an absurd question.
"EverRealm, can you save him?"