Chương 21: New Journey

"Let them come." Kayzen stopped Vasser who was about to charge over. She was confused for a moment, but then it clicked. Indeed, Kayzen needed the samples from the crows to deal with them all at once. If they waged a fight of attrition, then it would always be them who were on the losing end. They had nowhere to run whereas the crows had the whole sky to themselves. Even Vasser wasn't confident in killing them all and preventing any future harassment. Crows were known to be vengeful creatures after all.

A dozen or so crows separated from the rest and dove down towards the camp. It looked like their primary target was the basin, or to be specific, the fish that lived in that basin. Now it made sense why they were all flying up the mountain. A lot of creatures were killed by the Angelica. Whatever remained would have fled after sensing the presence of the rift. Now, only these fish were left as a food source. Seeing the crows approach Leon and Enrik took on defensive stances and guarded Derrick.

Kayzen also knelt down and pressed his palm on the cold stone below. His perception spread far and wide and covered an impenetrable dome of thirty meters. Everything, every blade of grass and every mote of dust entered his perception. He couldn't afford to stretch his senses thin when the enemies were up in the sky. Within seconds, the crows flew over after closing the distance of 50 meters. Kayzen tapped into the ever-flowing ether and spread his root-like perception over them.

All of them had varying degrees of Ether currents flowing through their eyes, claws, and wings. This was the easiest method Kayzen had found to identify what type of ability the opponent had. It wouldn't work on those who were stronger than him, but these crows were far from that.

"Help me kill a few and draw away the rest," Kayzen looked at Vasser and gave her the signal. Already prepared, the Eikon of Argia dashed over and blasted a punch at the sky. There was no golden pillar of light this time, yet the sheer shockwave caused by her fists obliterated the dozen crows in an instant. Incoherent caws echoed over the mountain ranges. The murder of crows was drawn to the bloody scene.

It was hard to say whether they were infuriated by seeing their kin slain or were attracted by the sight of raining blood. With a few quick steps Vasser drew them all towards the basin. She wasn't the least bit worried about getting swarmed. If her defenses were penetrated by some mutated birds then the years she spent training would be a joke. At the same time, Kayzen activated phantom shift and collected the fragmented corpses in a flurry.

He ran back to the bonfire and after opening his Hemogaster backpack, he threw an airtight flask to the duo guarding Derrick.

"In case they come closer, throw this at the bonfire and run. Don't look back, don't inhale the smoke, and just run. Got it?"

"Y-yes," the soldier replied, but Kayzen was already lost in his own work. He took out a bottle of distilled water and a couple of petri dishes. Ignoring all the organs he collected the dark red blood of the crow. It was fortunate because unlike mammalian red blood cells which ejected their nucleus upon maturation, the avian blood cells were different. Their red blood cells contained the nucleus, and therefore the concentration of DNA was much higher inside their blood. This made the things a lot easier for Kayzen.

The next part was extracting their DNA by bursting the cell membranes. He picked up a syringe and after taking a few millimeters of blood, he poured it into a petri dish that was half filled with distilled water. Because the inside of the red blood cells contained salt while the outside was clear, it only took a couple of seconds for the cell membranes to burst apart and release whatever that was inside. Kayzen didn't have the time to further degrade the cell's nuclei and gradually extract the DNA.

However, such a scenario was well within his predictions. He took out a shard fragment and placed it above the petri dish. For now he didn't know the full extent of its utility, but from what he'd gathered the shard fragments were sort of a do-it-all thing. As consumables, they accommodated, amplified, and even evolved many abilities. His target this time was record extraction. Kayzen closed his eyes and focused his attention on the records of the crow.

He saw the fuzzy fragments of records that were responsible for the crow's abilities, but he wasn't interested in them. What he wanted to extract was something simpler, something more fundamental that made them who they were. Crows in general were identified by the genus Corvus. Based on their size, the shape of their beak, and many other distinct abilities they were separated into various species. It was hard to tell from whom these fiends had evolved. Yet it didn't matter.

Kayzen wasn't targeting their genes, they were just the precursor for what he actually wanted: The records. The records that made the crows who they were. Beads of sweat rolled over his forehead as a sudden wave of heat washed over him. It looked like the soldier had thrown the flask into the bonfire. Inhaling phosphorus mist was hazardous, but now wasn't the time to care about that. Kayzen activated phantom shift and focused his attention on the task at hand.

He probed the records again and again, but it was to no avail. No matter how he tried his record extraction failed to work on anything except the crow's abilities. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

'Night vision, claws with penetration, and wings that reduce weight.' As Kayzen mulled over the crow's abilities he got a sudden flash of insight. He was going in the wrong direction from the beginning. If he wanted to access the entirety of the records, then he had to repeat what he did with the Angelica. He had to use his soul. A barrier was broken just like that. The shard that represented record extraction materialized in the air and spun at an increasing speed, taking on a new form.

Kayzen was unaware of all that since he was inside his spiritual realm. In front of his eyes was a flickering sphere of light. That was all there was to it when it came to the soul of the dead crow. It made sense, and now he believed in the theory of Ether singularity. Kayzen reached out his palm and touched the flickering sphere of light. A flood of memories flowed into his mind in the next instant. Most were useless, just like they had been when he assimilated with the Angelica's records.

But this time, he wasn't absorbing anything. He was just watching, looking for something that was connected to the crow's species. Guided by intuition he picked up a particular portion of the records. It wasn't something he could see, observe, or interact with. However, his warlock's gut was telling him that this was what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and found himself outside once again. The whole experience was surreal.

He looked down on the dark red shard that was floating above the petri dish and heaved a sigh of relief. The medium was complete. Without wasting any more time Kayzen ran to where Vasser was. Along the way he saw bits and pieces of dead crows. They were no match for Vasser; but even a lion would die when besieged by countless ants. And these crows were no ants. They were fiends. His ears found her before his eyes did. Booming sounds of exploding air echoed from the basin ahead.

The clear water of Sambia had turned into a deep pool of red. It was unknown how many crows were dead, yet just as many, if not more were diving down at Vasser.

"I'm ready," Kayzen spoke after standing beside her.

"Great, their shrieks are getting on my nerves." Kayzen smiled at her and clenched the deep red shard in his hand. The medium was thus connected to the flow of ether. His records were the source, and all caught in his roots of perception became the target. However, he didn't plan to launch an indiscriminate attack. His first targets were the ones who were the farthest. He closed his eyes and stretched his perception into a single root, much thinner than he had ever done. 300 meters… 400 meters… 500 meters…

all the way to 700 meters. That was his limit. And it was more than enough to kill every single crow. After doing a blanket search Kayzen shortened his range and kept it at 500 meters. Now, the root was just wide enough for him to draw the hex by tapping into the ever-flowing ether. A polygonal mark appeared on the farthest of crow, and one after another they fell without even letting out a dying scream. The Phototoxin dissolved their organs from within and left them no chance at survival.

Only now was the true power of the Shaper of Hex realized. It didn't matter who the enemy was, where they were, or what abilities they had. So long as his hex connected, they would fall all the same. All it took was a single minute to kill every single crow. He had come a long way compared to when he was exhausted after dealing with the ordeal bean.

"That was great," Vasser tapped his shoulder.

"But I don't think we can rest here anymore." Kayzen nodded.

"Indeed, I doubt the crows are the only ones who have evolved. This scent of blood is sure to draw some unwanted attention as well." The duo were aware of the gravity of the situation. The faster they made it to the Elgon Pass, the better. Still, there was one important thing to do before all that. The crows were dead, and now, it was time to collect the loot. … Torches lit up the aged stone walls of Elgon pass.

Yellow flames cast towering shadows over the walls, and gleaming under their light were polished crossbows and trebuchets; pointing towards the wilderness. The air had become dry since the flames had burned away all the morning dew. However, this was a welcome feeling for Kayzen and the group who had trekked through the night. This warmth was something they needed right now. No one spoke a word and dragged their feet towards the gates. Leon and Enrick were exhausted due to their wounds and carrying Derrick on top.

Kayzen who had the weakest stamina barely made it here, a feat only possible due to the pain resistance shard. Vasser didn't have much trouble except that her stitched-together armor was once again bloodied and tattered. The crows were indeed relentless in their attack. Not long after they left the mountain range, another bunch attacked them on the way. They weren't enough in number for Kayzen to overdraw his ether and hex them at once. Thus, Vasser had been clearing small flocks along the way.

It was to the point where the group didn't even bother to collect their materials. Their first priority had been to get to the Elgon pass as soon as possible. And now, the target was within their sight.

"Halt, the gates won't..." Vasser cut off the guard and threw her insignia over the hundred-feet wall. The wary guard looked at the golden object now embedded in the hardened stone, and immediately straightened his posture.

"Greetings Lord Crusader." Vasser nodded.

"Get us a carriage to the Ironheart town. A medic as well." The guard nodded in a hurry and left the wall. Soon, a cacophony of noises came over from the other side. With creaking sounds the iron doors swung open, and Kayzen saw the camp that lay ahead. Soldiers in worn-down armor were moving about and doing their tasks. Some were fixing the weapons, some were making the arrows, but most were sprawled against the edge of the wall.

One look made it apparent that the Elgon pass didn't have a particularly quiet night either.

"Greetings, lord crusader and-" the captain in charge halted his speech as he noticed Kayzen's hair.

"I'm an Ashbourne. The youngest." Kayzen gave the man a military salute and thanked him for the hospitality. Seeing that the group was exhausted, the captain didn't waste their time and went ahead with his inspection. The first to arrive after that was the medic. The middle-aged man took Derrick to the infirmary while Leon and Enrick decided to stay behind as well. Part of it was due to loyalty, another part was the fact that they wouldn't be getting a single coin without Derrick's report.

Only Kayzen and Vasser were left by the time the ox-driven carriage rolled up. Unlike its hard metallic exterior, the coach had soft cushions on both sides. As if they had planned beforehand, Kayzen and Vasser sat side by side, leaning their heads against one another as their new journey began.