The moment the black had covered his eyes, Miles felt the spark blaze into a wildfire of hatred, and his mind was overwhelmed by indescribable rage. This rage was directed at no one and nowhere, but everyone and everywhere, both at the same time.
It didn’t come from him, but from the ally, the thing, inside him.
And with that, he finally realized who it was.
Miles had thought wrong. It wasn’t an ally, but it wasn’t exactly an enemy either.
He had only read about it in the vague mentions in the status, but with the anger affecting his mind, he knew who it was. It was the Beast Within.
Honestly, he should’ve felt worried by the name alone, but he wasn’t. Right now, he couldn't. He couldn’t afford to care. The Beast didn’t seem to care about him either.
How could they, when neither of them had control? When their control was being stolen by someone else?
Thus with the full force of their concentration, Miles and the Beast ushered that unfathomable rage towards a singular purpose.
The anger that had hated nothing and everything, now directed its gaze at one single object. And that was the marionette core, the foreign power halting their control.
Instantly, a flash of inspiration exploded in Miles’s mind.
[By the power of the Beast, the user has achieved true sight. Magicae Aspectus-Inferior unlocked.]
His pitch-black eyes glowed with awakened knowledge. Within the red world where nothing but blood could be seen, he could now observe a vague line of blue, a thread. It connected the repulsive core of blue light inside him, to the diamond-like object at the center of the human-shaped silhouette up in the air.
Having discovered the culprit, the one who dared to control them, fury boiled within the depths of their soul.
The Beast Within was outraged, outraged beyond measure.
Miles’s body jerked suddenly, as tendrils of black smoke began to waft out of his pores. This smoke gathered, forming a vague creature, a shadow beast floating in the air above him.
With that, his eyes returned to normal. They were pitch-black no more, as if the thing that had influenced his eyes, had left.
Zhan Shen, who had rushed over to help, had already stopped mid-way, watching on with shocked eyes. Xavier in the air was doing the same.
Suddenly, the eyes of the shadow creature flashed red.
Miles could feel the blood that had soaked into his shirt from that bullet wound, start to evaporate into the air. The blood vapor was instantly liquified, forming a small pebble-sized drop in the hand of the shadow.
[Blood Manipulation (Discipline: Haemomancy) used.
-1 Blood Points. Remaining Blood Points: 7]
Miles was mildly surprised, ‘Huh? That used up Blood Points?’
The blood pebble began to transform, to shift about, finally solidifying into a small scalpel-like blade.
Slash!
The blood scalpel slashed through the thread of blue.
As if the attack had struck him instead of the thread, Xavier grunted in pain while clutching his chest. His eyes started to weep tears of blood, as he collapsed onto his knees, having lost control of his telekinetic flight.
Even with pain wracking his heart, Xavier was shocked beyond belief. He had used the Marionette Core to come on top of several battles. Even in the few he had lost, not a single person had ever been able to see-through the ability, no one.
But this creature of shadow, it could, it knew. And the first thing it had attacked was the crux of his skill, the thread from his heart to the core.
Even Xavier himself couldn’t see it. He could just barely sense it as he was the user of the skill. He could only wonder, how?
Fortunately for him, the attack was not sufficient to sever the blue thread. The thread merely blurred for a moment, before reforming again.
Unfortunately for him, the Beast Within was not pleased by the result, not pleased at all.
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*SCREECH!*
Raising its shadowy maw towards the roof, it let out an inhumane scream.
[The Beast Within has absorbed energy.
-6.5 Blood Points.
Remaining Blood Points: 0.5 ≈ 1 BP.
Warning: Blood Points extremely low.]
Miles was horrified to learn that the Beast Within had used up almost all of his Blood Points! If it wasn’t for the approximation working in his favor, it might’ve actually hit zero!
Immediately, he began to feel weak and lethargic, as if he could fall asleep on the spot.
But he couldn’t, as this was followed by a burning, blazing sensation in his throat. He was thirsty, no, parched. But it was no longer just that, it was actual physical pain.
His throat burned, as if set on fire.
The human silhouettes, their blood-filled veins, their beating hearts looked extremely appetizing now. The cool blood flowing down his throat would be sure to cure the pain.
Had it not been for his inability to move, he would’ve loved to pounce on the closest body and feed to his heart’s content--
Miles couldn’t help but be startled by his own thoughts, as he forced himself to push away these dark desires.
For a moment there, he had almost lost himself. The only reason he had been able to come to, was because he had felt the Beast Within preparing to act.
And he had felt right.
With a burst of red light, the Beast moved. It dashed forwards with immense speed, its smoky physique revolving around and along the blue thread, leaving a continuous trail of shadow wisps as if marking its path.
These black wisps seemed to form a vague black spring or a coil that wafted around the blue thread...
Seeing the creature dashing towards him, Xavier, the Knight, the General, was horrified. He was frightened like a little child. He felt nothing but terror.
But if he couldn’t even bring himself to fight back, all his hard work, all the hours he’d put in, would’ve been for naught.
Calling for the bullets he had used before, Xavier shot them towards the shadow creature.
It didn’t even dodge, as the bullets punctured through, ripping holes in its smoky body. But the smoke simply wafted around for a moment, and the holes closed.
The Creature was unharmed!
Xavier was once again horrified. This creature was made of gas or shadow or some similar intangible substance. At least, that boy’s regeneration was reasonable, with some definitive limits. But an untouchable physique? This was down-right monstrous!
He had already tried to use his Marionette Core to force the boy to kill himself, in hopes of killing the creature as well, but his commands didn’t seem to pass through the thread. No doubt due to the slash of that creature.
It seemed Xavier would have to try something else. Since he wasn’t in any state to move, he could only use the power of his mind.
So he forced his telekinesis to the limit, to the very edge. His head throbbed, his vision blurred, but it wasn’t enough!
The veins on his forehead bulged out, as he expended all of his mental power.
RUMBLE!
The entire building started to shake and tremble, as dust and concrete shards crumbled off the rather low roof. It was as if an earthquake was passing through but accurately focused on bringing down the building.
Xavier would destroy the entire building! He would put his own life at risk, rather than letting himself be at the mercy of that monster!
Even if its body was made of smoke, he refused to believe it could move unperturbed through concrete. And even if it could, the boy the creature had manifested from would long be dead!
Honestly, this was a great achievement. Xavier had never been able to do such a massive movement before. In all records, this was an impossibility for an Epsilon Faehuman. And yet he had, and merely with his mind!
Xavier smiled, his eyes crying blood, his nose leaking even more. He had improved under the pressure and was more than pleased.
But his smile died instantly.
Why?
Well, the Beast appeared, right next to Xavier. And as if pulled by the momentum of its sudden appearance, the black coil tightened, trapping the blue thread and crushing it like a python would constrict its prey.
Just like before, the blue thread blurred and reformed. Unfortunately, Xavier couldn’t do the same.
He clutched at his heart, feeling even worse pain, and coughed up blood.
The rumbling slowly came to a halt and the earthquake stopped. Xavier had lost his focus.
The Beast’s shadowy maw curled up into something resembling a grin, as it gazed upon Xavier, coughing blood and on his knees, defeated.
Even with the pain in his heart, Xavier couldn’t help but shudder, horrified by this monster, feeling fear from the core of his soul.
But he couldn’t give up! He had just improved! And how could he leave Cassie alone? He had to fight bac--
The Beast opened its maw, and it sunk its fangs of shadow into his flesh.
Xavier instantly froze, all movement coming to a sudden halt.
He had been wrong. It wouldn’t be his victory. He wasn’t the last one standing.
Far from it, this would be his--
The Beast inhaled.
All thought vanished as his face transformed into one of silent agony. He could feel nothing but pain, as his blood and his flesh were consumed. The body began to wither, deflating like an airless balloon.
His skin sagged inwards, his physique thinned, and his body seemed to have begun to putrefy.
Suddenly, a flash of white light burst out, and the plain-looking, mannequin-like face collapsed, revealing a handsome youth with striking blue hair.
Miles’s eyes widened in recognition. Now that was the face of Sir Xavier Jones!