Chương 19: Skewer-back

"Argh…" Anadis let out a tortured groan as his back slammed into the creek, jagged rocks burying into his back. His heart hammered in his chest. Each ragged breath he took scraped and scorched his throat as though he'd consumed glass on fire. A wave of disorientation crashed over him as he twisted and contorted in pain above the water, one hand clutching his aching back, the other desperately trying to wipe the burning substance from his face.

Hel's wings buzzed frantically beside his ear as she shouted something with urgent haste, but her words were just a blur of meaningless noise to him. This sticky toxin is messing with my senses. I can't understand anything she's saying, he thought as he desperately and hopelessly tried reaching her through their mental bond. It wasn't just his vision—his hearing, smell, and even his tongue all felt numb, like a constant buzzing was vibrating through his entire body.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw a foggy silhouette of what had to be the Grull dropping to the creek and immediately charging straight toward him. Gathering every ounce of strength in his body, Anadis fought through the pain and rolled aside, narrowly evading the Grull. He summoned the Curved Sword and staggered upright. The damn blade was already slipping from his sweaty grip, far heavier than it had any right to be. He quickly splashed water from the river on his face, but it did little to clear his vision.

Still, through the nasty, sticky liquid smeared in his eyes, he could finally make out the appearance of the creature charging at him. It was a hulking, armored beetle-like Grull with prickly black javelin spines jutting from the top of its carapace, each one sharp and gleaming with some sort of greenish toxin. The same toxin that had already almost blinded him. Luckily it doesn't dissolve skin… He shuddered at the thought of his gorgeous face suffering such a fate.

And yes, his face was beautiful, at least his mother said it was. Not wanting to become the insect's next meal, Anadis clenched his jaw and threw himself into a desperate roll as one of its spines shot past him like a javelin, missing him by inches. He slammed face-first into the dirt, cheeks scraping against the wet ground. The Curved Sword flew from his grasp and clattered between rocks several feet away. Shaking his head, he wiped the mud from his eyes.

This was not how he had imagined his first proper fight after receiving a Blessing. And at that moment, doubt began to creep into his mind. Why was he even here, fighting this monstrosity? Why had he listened to that overbearing goddess in the first place? He just wanted to go home. It had all seemed so simple before, a childish dream every kid wished for. Receive a Blessing. Fight Grulls. Become like the legends in the stories he'd always read.

But now that he saw the brutal reality, he understood the truth: this wasn't meant for him. He was just a weak boy with a black core, lost deep in Unhallowed territory. He was an idiot. Honestly, what the hell had made him think he could do this? I was way over my head, a complete fool. Hel's wings hummed frantically beside his ear again, her shouts still unintelligible. She darted directly in front of his face, her glow suddenly intensifying into a blinding flash of light.

For a single heartbeat, his vision went completely white. When the flash faded, the blur vanished, and everything snapped into perfect clarity. What did she just do?! Anadis shoved the thought aside as Hel hovered directly in front of him. Her tiny lips moved with clear intent. He read the single word they formed: Concentrate. But another spine streaked toward him. Anadis shoved himself up on unsteady legs and jerked his head aside just in time.

A glistening drop of venom whipped past his cheek, missing by a hair's breadth. Any second could be his last. He forced the dark thoughts aside. Hel was right. He needed to concentrate. He tried to focus, but it felt like his skull was splitting open. Still, he had to, or else he'd die. First, he needed to calm his ragged breathing. That was easier said than done with the monstrous beetle still charging after him. At least his vision had cleared, and the creature wasn't faster than him.

He sprinted in erratic zigzags, refusing to let it lock on, sucking in deep, desperate breaths as he ran. Little by little, his heartbeat began to steady.

"Look into your soul and do as we practiced." Relief and surprise washed over him when Hel's voice finally echoed through their bond, though muffled but understandable. She gave him a tenacious look as he glanced at her, something genuinely unusual compared to the indifferent attitude she usually gave him. Was she trying to tell him he could do this? Even if he couldn't, he had to try. This was what he had practiced for. This wasn't the first time he had tried to use his Blessing's other abilities. He was ready.

In the past two weeks, Hel had taught him how to summon two more Soul abilities. He still barely understood how they worked and had only managed to activate each one once, and for mere seconds at that. So he figured maybe against an actual enemy, under real danger, it would finally work. As he reached for his Blessing, he felt the essence within him immediately. It was heavy, dense, and even slightly cold.

Those sensations spread through his body in uneven, crawling lines, slithering along his chest, brushing across his arms, and finally reaching his fingers. The Grull shrieked as it charged again, jagged legs hammering into the earth.

"Come on… come here!" Anadis hissed, unable to hear his own voice. He spread his stance and dodged at the last second. After darting behind the Grull, he attempted to strike from its blind spot, but toxic spikes covered its entire shell. Its limbs, however, had no spikes. He seized its closest leg with a sturdy grip and wove his Blessing toward his fingertips, and activated. Soul Drain.

A cold current moved through his veins, and then something else followed, something that wasn't his, but the Grull's own soul essence was feeding into his body, permeating his own soul and restoring some of the strength he had lost. As the numbness retreated and the Abominant's soul essence poured into his body, Anadis smiled. It had worked. He no longer felt the Grull's numbing toxin. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"It worked!" Hel blurted, then quickly stilled, her wings fluttering once as she regained her composure.

"As expected, of course." The beetle screeched, violently jerking its limb free from his grip. Anadis sprang back and summoned the Curved Sword once more.

"Hel! I can finally hear again," he shouted way too eagerly. Her gaze locked onto him as her lips tilted upward, barely noticeable.

"Did you expect it not to work? It's Soul Drain," she said, utterly smug and proud.

"You just vacuumed some of its soul essence, which in turn eased the toxin that was dragging you down." She spun upward once in an uncharacteristic way, a flicker of golden-violet dust escaping her.

"Well done." Hearing Hel praise him felt oddly comforting, especially because he more than anyone knew just how proud she was, and how seldom she cared for mortal achievements. In these past few days she had pushed his limits, slapping him in the head every time he didn't correct his form, mocking his stamina, calling him slow, and never wasting a chance to remind him that a proper vessel wouldn't have needed so long to master her Blessing.

Yet as he tasted the result of the effort he had put into those grueling days, he now felt like this Grull was… manageable. Like he could actually slay this thing. I never had any doubts I could do this to begin with. A smirk crossed his face as he shamelessly lied to himself. The beetle's piercing shriek snapped him out of his self-deception. It was ready to attack again, but now it moved with clear caution, circling him warily. It had realized Anadis could actually hurt it.

"Come on, use your other ability," Hel urged.

"You should be able to do it now. Crush that thing to pieces!" She let out a wicked little laugh. He nodded in understanding. Using Soul Sight, the beetle's armored shell became translucent. For the first time, Anadis saw them, pale threads whipping like living lashes around a small, violently pulsing violet Cursed Core in its thorax. There were dozens of them, short and wild, far more chaotic than the single, neatly contained thread of a Blessen's Divine Core.

"Whoa," he breathed, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"So this is what a Grull's Cursed Core looks like?" The beetle lunged with renewed fury, every spike on its carapace gleaming with lethal intent. He dodged the charge quickly, eyes locked on the writhing threads. Which one? Which is the one—"The bright one!" Hel's voice burst in his ear.

"On its left side. That's the one that holds the balance of its Cursed Core. Cut it!" Heeding her advice, he looked toward the left side of the Grull's carapace. One thread stood out, one that was longer, thicker, and coated in a purple hue far brighter than the rest. It extended beyond the shell, writhing like a living serpent. That's the one. Anadis tightened his grip on the Curved Sword and leaped. He was running on fumes, exhausted, yet he still had to move fast enough to kill this thing.

And on top of everything, he had to figure out a brand-new Blessing on the fly. No pressure. Whatever. I've got this. As he ran toward his enemy, eyes locked on the bright thread, the beetle lashed out with one of its limbs. Anadis parried, but the blow was brutally heavy. The Grull broke through his guard and drove one clawed limb deep into his left shoulder. He grimaced as hot blood poured down his chest and coated the creature's limb. Still, he refused to retreat.

With his injured arm, he reached forward but not for the carapace or the spines, but into the empty air between its limbs. A golden hue, the same color as Hel's eyes, flared around his hand the instant he activated his other ability— Soul Sever. Now able to grasp the intangible thread, his fingers closed around it, and instantly an unbearable cold burned through his palm, sharp and searing, like gripping ice so cold that it burned. Blisters erupted across his skin.

Gritting his teeth, he channeled his Blessing into the Curved Sword. The same golden aura spread along the steel. With a fierce cry, he swung it down, severing the thick soul thread in one clean stroke. The Grull let out a hellish shriek and collapsed, convulsing violently. Its gleaming spikes retracted into its carapace, turning dry and brittle as the venomous liquid stopped flowing.

"Did… I do it?" Anadis blinked, and for a brief moment, pride swelled in his chest at the feeling that he had accomplished something truly significant, perhaps for the first time in his life.

"Not yet!" Hel warned sharply.

"Strike it down before it recovers! The effects of Soul Sever won't last long!" Quickly, he pivoted the curved sword and stabbed relentlessly, piercing the beetle's armored shell. The blade rose and fell, slashing left and right. He hacked through the cursed spikes as well. Greenish blood sprayed from the dozens of fresh wounds. Finally, he drove the sword into the creature's head and wrenched it viciously around its neck. What a triumph! You have defeated Abominant-Class Grull: Skewer-back.

The Divine Voice rang its congratulations in the back of his head as he staggered back, chest heaving. His eyes burned. His left palm was blistered and raw. Both Soul Sight and Soul Sever had taken a heavy toll. And that wasn't even mentioning the damn hole in his shoulder. Can't believe I struggled this much… just to kill something with a name that dumb, Anadis thought grimly. The Curved Sword slipped from his hand and clinked onto the creek.

Not even a second later, Anadis joined it, falling back-first beside it, too exhausted to even register his head striking the creek floor a bit too hard for his liking. He lay there gasping, no strength left for anything except thought. Well… at least I killed it instead of it killing me. The twin suns bathed him in their kindly light. He stretched his arms wide, back pressed against the cold running water, and let himself bask in the glow of victory, in the glow of actually using his Blessing.

A real, damn Blessing. Laughter bubbled up from deep inside him, and he let it spill out in a jubilant giggle. Then he seized the moment to thank Goddess Amatheris under his breath for giving him the resilience to keep fighting. She was the ruler of fire, the first to descend, his favorite goddess. Hel landed lightly on his stomach, bouncing gently with each heaving breath.

"You did it," she breathed.

"Be proud."

"I-I never expected to receive praise," he muttered, groaning between gasps, and let out a tired laugh.

"Not from you, at least, and twice at that."

"Not praising you," she shot back brightly.

"I'm simply stating the way you ought to feel." She huffed, lifting her chin with exaggerated disdain.

"Besides, how did you mistake that Grull for a boulder? Your eyes are those of a Blessen now. They're supposed to help you distinguish Grulls, yet somehow you managed to mistake one for a boulder."

"I… it looked like one without the—" Anadis was about to point out exactly how anyone would've mistaken it for a boulder with its spines retracted, and also how she had just praised him despite her attempt to deny it, when the Divine Voice spoke once again. Your bravery has drawn the grace of the gods. A Boon has been bestowed upon you.