Chương 49: Delectable Blood

Ch. 49: Delectable Blood They buffeted my fall with their bodies. The four leonids' dislodged their teeth from my body and dispersed. I jumped up and snatched Bloodsucker from my holster. I got to stabbing.

"Ready to eat?" Always. Like I was playing a knockoff of Whack-a-mole, I started stabbing at the ground for the leonids. Some rolled out of the way successfully. But I snagged Snir right in the shoulder. Bloodsucker's eye rolled backward as it enjoyed the sweet fuel with which I replenished him. Oh… you're not the only one with delectable blood, Drake.

"You heard what they said about my blood, right, Bloodsucker? I've never felt more beautiful." My mana bar went from a wispy red bar to a strong glowing green pole. Ponzo made a move on me but I slid out of the way, sticking my knife out. I opened a cut along his side as he glided past me. The leonid hissed when he hit the ground. Oku jumped in next. He reached toward me with a bite attack. I grabbed him by his throat and threw him down.

"So strong!" Folus said, "So vastly strong."

"Shut up, dork!" I yelled. I kicked one of the many miniature metal planets at him. He placed his hands up to block and I kicked another one. Ponzo dodged this one. I kept running to a different orb and kicking it at them, overwhelming them with a battery of balls. I started picking them up and hurling them as well. Snir was the first to escape the onslaught. He leapt in the air and attacked from above. He struck at me with his claw. I pulled back.

He landed on his feet but I clasped my hands together and smashed them on his head. I unclasped my hands, reached for my blade and slashed Snir open on the back. Ponzo was on me at lightning speed to defend his friend.

"Yes!" I yelled "Everyone at once! I need this done quickly." Before he could get his teeth in me, I placed a step forward and twisted my torso, sticking my elbow out. It batted him in the jaw and a couple of fangs came out. Oku leapt at me second. I conjured a cloud shield and blocked him. Snir maneuvered behind me, keeping low to the ground, he swiped at my feet. I leapt up and conjured two cloudsteps so I couldn't call back down. Ponzo jumped from the side. I grabbed his throat and cast firefist.

My fist burned from the fire and I singed his neck as I grabbed onto it harder. Ponzo snarled at me, screaming obscenities before I pushed Oku back, dispersed the cloud and stabbed Ponzo with my bloodsucker blade. The leonid fell dead.

"Ponzo!" Oku yelled.

"One down." Folus watched his comrade go down. His widened eyes skipped between Ponzo's corpse and me. That ignited Snir, the nearest Leonid to me. He pounced. His claws outstretched, he made his way to my face. I punched him in his abdomen and tossed him into the air. His body clattered with the metal ceiling as he came down. I jumped in the air with my knife to meet him in the sky. Folus saw this. A member of his pride, incapacitated, and falling. He was set to meet my knife.

Their eyes locked in the sky and he saw a leonid he'd known since cubhood, one of the most fearless warriors he knew. As he fell down, Folus saw fear in Snir's eyes. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Folus ran, and jumped to intercede me. I stuck Bloodsucker in the air as my body traversed toward Snir. I felt a foot at my back as he kicked me out of the way.

"You're going to need more force than that," I said. I stuck my foot up and cast cloudstep. I bounced off of it like a wall and jetted toward Snir. Folus snarled a 'No!' as I came at Snir from an unblockable angle. Snir placed his arms in a cross over his heart when I stabbed into him like a torpedo. My knife plunged deep through his two arms and made it into his heart. We shot sideways until I pinedn him against the column. My hand was still stuck in his limp, lifeless body.

I placed my other hand on the column and pulled the knife out.

"How'd that taste?" Ambrosia. Folus could not help but look into Snir's lifeless eyes. They had lost their soul, and stared off into space. Even still, to Folus, it felt like they were looking right at him. Oku attacked me with the wild fervor of youth. He leapt across the columns, trying to get the best of me. His speed was admirable, but his hunting technique needed work. When he jumped at me, I spit a flare at him. It got in his eyes and was just enough to ruin his attack.

I landed some blows right in his abdomen and he went down next to me. He attempted an evasive tumble, but I got a slash in with my knife. I'd given him a laceration on his side. He yelped but recovered as gracefully as a stabbing victim could. Oku was back up now. Before he could continue fighting, Folus grabbed him by the scruff of the back of his neck and pulled him backward.

"Run, boy. Let me handle this."

"I want to fight!" Oku yelled. My arm was still bloody, but Bloodsucker was shiny and clean. His body had absorbed everything, including the viscera. His vial at the hilt of his blade was full. He began pumping me back full of mana. I watched the bar on my top right screen refill halfway. Folus slashed at me. I rebuffed his claws with my knife. He struck again and again. He was fast. I parried with Bloodsucker over and over.

Each times his razor sharp claws met with my metal, the sharp clanging would bang at our eardrums. Oku got on all fours as I was locked in with Folus. He stalked around us until he found a blind spot. Folus noticed out of the corner of his eye. Oku glinted at him. Folus' nerves shot up. He began striking even faster. His barrage of claw attacks from both hands were beginning to gain ground on me. Oku leaned back, placing his weight on his hind legs.

"He's young right?" I asked Folus. His face didn't give up anything.

"He looks younger than the others," I said as our blades locked, "I'll give you a chance to let him walk out of here. But I defend aggressively. Especially from sneak attacks." Folus watched as Oku pounced. Folus disengaged with me and blocked Oku's trajectory. He lifted his arm and palmed Oku, ceasing his momentum. He pushed Oku down to the ground as Oku fought back from the sudden betrayal.

"I was going to get him! I was going to finish him!" Oku whined. Folus whispered in Oku's ear. Oku clawed at Folus' paw. He kicked his feet. He whined. He snarled. But as Folus continued to whisper in Oku's ear, the young leonid subsided. He stayed their, breathing deeply. Resigned. Folus took his paw off Oku's chest. He stood up and said, "He'll leave." Folus let him go and said, "Go. Get out of here." Oku got up and crawled away, before looking back at Folus. Folus shook his head and waved him off.

Oku ran from the scene. He turned his attention back to me.

"I should apologize," Folus told me.

"I accept your apology. I wonder, watching you save that young leonid. Is there a chance there's some decency in you? Chance there's some reason?"

"Of course."

"There is?"

"There is a chance." He walked forward, swinging his fists, warming back up.

"I'm sorry for halting the fight. I apologize for being so weak, I couldn't end this quickly. It has been a while since I've fought a worthy opponent."

"Every one of you demons I've met has been a power-hungry, maniacal weirdo. I know you guys don't have the word 'humanity,' but it doesn't even feel like there's a close second to that word. Is there empathy? Is there compassion? Do you have these things on the other side?" Something I had said had resonated with Folus. He beamed from ear to ear before he said, "You think I'm already a demon?"

"So nothing?" I asked, "Nothing close to empathy?"

"None for you." I scratched my head and said, "Hey, you let the kid go at least. Would you have allowed me the same courtesy?" Folus didn't respond to this. He clenched his fists and tightened all his muscles. The concentration of strength created a red aura.

"Like I said, I apologize. It's been so long since I've fought a worthy opponent. So long since I've had a good fight. I almost forgot how." And he released the red miasma he's been building up. It sent out a shockwave that washed over me. And for the first time since I became a god, I sensed true power.