Chereads / My Beasts Of Calamity / Chapter 9 - Blood.

Chapter 9 - Blood.

"HAHAHAHA!!!!"

"Finally!! I have it!! I have it!!"

"The power that I've always wanted!"

"Was the key to awakening it a near death experience?! If I had known I would have thrown myself off a cliff!!!"

"HAHAHAHA!!!"

He bellowed within the infernal that was the energy enveloping him, his face painted by dried blood.

[I finally have Mana...]

[I can't believe it...]

His ecstacy slowly faded and he became emotional, and with that, the orange energy around him crackled more calmly than before.

"Fuuuu.... Haaaa."

He took a deep breath and fortified his mind, effectively regaining control over his rogue psyche.

[After so long...]

He shed a tear which instantly vaporized.

[I feel stronger than before...]

He clasped his hands and raised his already healed arms, albeit, they were not without deep scars.

[I would've had to swing my sword a billon times to reach this level of strength...]

He smiled bitterly and jumped up and down to test his mobility, disregarding the large serpent that was quietly observing him.

[I don't know how else to explain this but,

I feel a connection of passageways beneath my skin — No, beyond that? Inside of my bones?]

He mused, and within said "passageways," he also felt a flow of energy, one similar to the one crackling around him.

These "passageways," as he calls them, are more commonly known as Mana Veins, which are a series of circuits connected directly to one's Mana Pool, allowing them to draw and wield Mana.

"This is a dream come true..."

He wept bitterly, once again disregarding the great serpent before him — Well, not that the Basilisk minded, so long as it could feed its curiosity about him.

"All my hardwork wasn't for nothing..."

He muttered under his trembling breath, his tears vaporizing and the energy was no longer turbulent, adopting a laminar state, an indication that he was now in full control.

"Hisss... I am glad that I found you."

The Basilisk bore its maw of poison-filled fangs, a crude attempt at mimicking a humanoid grin.

"Is that so?"

Aric finally paid the Basilisk attention, not a single glint of fear present in his mute hazel gaze.

"I'm glad you found me too, otherwise I would have never accomplished this."

He spoke with a genuine smile which faded a second later.

"That's why I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."

He said, the corner of his upper lip twisting into a smirk, contradicting his words.

"Hiss... Don't be so full of yourself, I am one of the rulers of this forest, you think that a mere Human like you who just awakened can co —"

Bang!!

[!!]

The Basilisk blinked once and Aric was nowhere to be seen, the deep footprints left on the earth the only proof of where he was stood.

"Hup!! "

[!!]

The Basilisk heard a sound coming from the left side of its jaw, and in the corner of its eyes it beheld Aric, having already swang his sword.

CLAAAANG!!

"HIISSSS!!! "

The Basilisk bellowed in pain, it felt as though a mountain had struck it.

Had it not been for its scales, its jaw would have completely shattered.

But it didn't focus on its pain for too long and launched its tail at Aric's rib.

Fwosh!

Aric spun his body in mid-air, shifting from a vertical alignment into a horizontal one, deftly evading the great serpent's deadly tail.

Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!

Crackle!

He wasted little time and began running across the Basilisk's long body, whilst instinctively drawing more power and condensing it on his blade.

[!!]

"Hisss!! "

Fearing Aric's blade, the Basilisk coiled its neck and unleashed a violent ripple, like the sudden snap of a taut rope, aiming to eject the Human from its massive form.

"Kugh!"

Aric leaped and evaded the violent ripple, but the Basilisk shot out its snout and opened its maw, aiming to swallow him whole.

Crackle!!

Aric drew more power and twisted his waist and roated like a propeller.

[!!]

Crackle!!

Once again fearing his blade, the Basilisk drew its own Mana and covered the entirety of its long frame.

CLAAAAAANG!! BOOOM!!

The two energies collided in mid-air and resulted in a miniature explosion that rattled the cave, engulfing a portion of it in blue and orange flames.

CRAAASH!!

"Hisss!!! "

The Basilisk was flung backwards and crashed into a few boulders in the distance.

Thud!

Aric crashed into the roof of the cave, gravity immediately claiming his frame afterwards.

Thud!

He landed on the ground and immediately began charging at the Basilisk, and it too did the same, slithering on the rough cavern floor at speeds that contradicted its size.

Clang! Boom!

Clang! Boom!

They exchanged blows a multitude of times, each impact flinging them backwards as they repelled one another like the opposite poles of a magnet.

"Pant... Pant..."

Aric's citrus-colored energy began flickering, like the dying flame of a candle.

"Hisss... What's the matter? Can't keep going anymore?"

The Basilisk spoke in an uncharacteristically mocking tone, one that was clearly concealing its feeling of relief.

[It makes sense that his Mana Pool would run dry since he just awakened, the quantity he possesses is that of a mere fledgling...]

[However...]

"Hisss..."

[... The quality is frightening, I can't imagine the catastrophe he would turn into if left alone.]

The Basilisk trembled slightly in fear, but that soon turned into shivers of excitement as it thought about how powerful its offspring would be by injesting him.

"Pant... Pant..."

[I can feel it... I'm running out of time.]

[I tried attacking that one scale, but its most cautious about it and those horns on its head get in the way.]

"Huff... Huff..."

[What should I do...?]

He racked his brain for answers, its cells colliding against one another, attempting to spark up an idea.

[!!]

He flinched once an idea illuminated his cranium, but he knew not to overreact.

"Hiss... Give up now and I'll make your death painless."

Declared the Basilisk, its words exposing that it was still wary of Aric's power despite its impending depletion.

"Yes... You're right."

Aric slowly lifted his blade with his right hand, his posture suggesting that he was about to discard it and surrender.

"Hiss... Wise choice."

Said the Basilisk.

But...

[Human, you think I'm a fool? What are you plotting?]

The great serpent's muscles became tense and coiled up.

"But... If I'm gonna die anyway..."

Aric grinned maliciously, rendering the Basilisk extremely uneasy.

"I'm not going alone! I'll take your future away!!"

Fwosh!

He roared and chucked his sword into the distance.

[!!]

"Hisss!!! No!!"

The Basilisk's finally noticed his intentions given the sword's trajectory, It was hurtling directly toward the egg with impeccable precision.

Slither! Slither!!

The Basilisk moved as fast as it could, the Mana around it leaving a bright blue blur in its wake.

Slither!! Crackle!!!

It drew more Mana and finally caught up to the sword which was only a few meters away from the egg.

"HISSSS!!! "

The great serpent bent its head and extended its horns.

Clang!!

It tilted its maw up and parried the sword out of the way, successfully saving its egg.

But...

[!!]

... The great serpent soon found out that its actions came at a price as its orange eyes reflected the Human already above it.

[Oh... No...]

It muttered inwardly.

But there was no escape, it was too late, its positioning was far too awkward and it had already garnered too much momentum.

And most of all...

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"

Crackle!!

... Its weakness was exposed.

Aric let out a guttural roar and condensed all his energy into his right fist, and it burned almost as bright as the sun.

CLANK!!!

BOOOOM!!!

He sank his fist deep into the weakened scale, resulting in a vibrant explosion of citrus that blew the roof off the cave.

The impact was also so immense that the Basilisk bit off its forked tongue and its head was plastered deep into the earth soon after, deep into the crater that formed.

/

"Ugh..."

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Aric regained consciousness and found himself lying atop a bed of the splattered remains of the Basilisk's head.

Which consisted of its brain matter, ground bones and smeared flesh.

"Did I..."

Aric glanced around and grinned victoriously from ear to ear, the clothing that once clung to his upper body completely burnt to char.

"Yes, I did it!!"

He celebrated his victory, surrounded by rubble and fissures.

"Haha!"

He continued giggling at his immense achievement.

That is until...

"Sniff... Sniff..."

He caught a whiff of a sweet scent, much sweeter than nectar or perfumes, or anything he'd ever smelled for that matter.

"...What is that?"

He wondered, the sweet scent was incredibly appetizing.

He glanced around frantically for the source of such a sweet smell that strangely came after such carnage.

And finally...

[!!]

... His eyes widened when he finally found the source.

It was the murky purple blood that flowed into the crater from the decapitated head of the great serpent.

"Blegh!! "

He gagged...

But he soon realized that he wasn't actually disgusted, he only reacted that way because that's what a normal person would do in this situation.

[...]

He was speechless as he watched the thick blood flow directly beneath the soles of feet.

[... Should I just...]

He gave in to this carnal desire that he did not understand and scooped up the thick, murky blood with his hand, his brows furrowing as he did so.

But he hesitated, his mind screaming protests even as his body betrayed him.

What kind of monster would drink the blood of their fallen enemy? Would that not make him more of a beast than the Basilisk?

But the scent, oh, that sweet scent was a symphony of temptation, drowning out every logical thought.

His hesistation did not last long and he...

"Gulp! Gulp! "

...injested the Basilisk's blood, his face lighting up and his taste buds rejoicing, he'd never tasted anything so delectable in his entire life.