Chương 357: One Of Three

How did you know that the knightly form would have enough strength to pierce his skull? Although it is plenty strong, it has an emphasis on skill and finesse over raw power output, so even with the momentum and the rest, it shouldn't have been obvious whether the skull could have resisted being pierced or not… You told me it wasn't you following your guts, but if so… How did you know?

Even I wouldn't have been able to determine such a thing with accuracy using the available information, but you did so in the blink of an eye and without ever showing an ounce of doubt. You went in with utter certainty… I don't get it Well, let's just say that a random chance encounter reminded me of something important. It reminded me that by all accounts, I am not just someone who used to have a bright future as a knight–I am a knight, even if I never realised.

I was always much deeper into that unnamed way of power knights and warriors follow based on nothing but raw instincts. … Have you never thought it weird that so many heroes and villains of legends are just swordsmen? It is a bit odd, isn't it? What good is a swordsman when the issues they had to deal with long ago were giant monsters capable of causing a continental earthquake by walking a slightly bit harder? Swordsmen…

Not even users of the undoubtedly stronger polearms and such, just fools equipped with what didn't even qualify as a splinter to their foes. Somehow, they had apparently gotten by with just a sword. How crazy is that? Most of the guys with swords I ran into wouldn't have even been able to put a dent in me, so I can't imagine how badly they would have failed against some of the historical monsters and butchers.

Anyway, all that to say, I am a stronger swordswoman than I gave myself credit for, so coupled with the knightly form's strong points and the already impressive strength I wield, it seemed obvious to me that the skull of this guy would be pierced by my attack… Of course, it wasn't my swordsmanship that had killed him in the end. It was my usage of 'Steel Shaping' that did the job.

I simply never completed the manifestation of the sword and kept on extending it all over the place, occupying space that his brain had previously been taking. It wasn't a very elegant way of countering his insane regeneration and resilience, but it had worked like a charm. The fucker had been too confident for his own good and had seriously allowed me to strike his head.

It was one thing to believe that your natural healing was good enough to handle brain damage, but it was another to stand still and allow it to happen. I myself was confident in my ability to survive even through extreme damage, but it didn't mean that I would just allow myself to be scattered to the winds. I suppose part of the reason was that he was focusing on casting some big spell.

He might have simply been staying still because he needed to focus, and had merely been talking big in an attempt to demotivate me. Who knows… The big bastard is dead. His soul belongs to me, and… And who was the one who sent me to that pocket dimension thingy? Was it him? Was it something else? Was the monster in that weird realm the caster? I do remember Nara telling me that there was someone nearby just before I found myself in that place… Well, I do have that thing's soul as well.

Maybe I'll find an answer if I turn them into spirits, but… Should I just make them into spirits using just their soul, or should I try to customise them a little bit? Well, I'll figure this out later. I need to drink the ocean first. With the 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box', absorbing all manner of 'flesh' was much simpler, and I didn't risk running into an overindulgence issue.

By putting my mind to it, the quantities of blood I was absorbing were simply incredible, and with Nara's directions, I could use my absorption coupled to 'Crimson Empress', allowing me to create powerful whirlpools that were dragging the unfortunate denizens of this underground ocean straight to me, allowing them to become my food. Despite the insane speed of the drainage, I was still dealing with a humongous ocean, so I remained in place for days…

It was only then that the level of the blood decreased enough for my head to peek through the surface once more, and I was only about halfway to the depths. Looking around, it seemed like my demonic friends hadn't come back. They should have sensed the demise of the big fellow, but I suppose they weren't willing to show themselves to the one who had killed him, especially since if he had died, then there would be no reason for me not to hover to them and turn them inside-out. Still… Is no one going to show up?

Even if they didn't realise that it was I, Mara Nebulo, then wouldn't they want to try and quickly take out a monster as dangerous as myself? Where is Devilblood? I feel like I could beat him up right now.

'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' is definitely strong enough to do so, that's for sure. It is basically a berserker mixed with a mage. The only thing that worries me about this form is that despite seemingly being capable of dishing out incredible force with physical attacks, it doesn't seem that durable. It gave the illusion of being as tough as nails, but that was only because I was on a constant supply of blood that was ready to heal any damage done to my person.

Without a source of healing, the damage would have quickly piled up. I guess there is something else that makes it seem like this form is resilient, and that's the fact that my current bones are indeed oddly durable, so when I take a hit, I can lose flesh and such, but my structure stays whole, making it seem like I just shrug off damage like its nothing, but I can tell that if I were reduced to just my bones, I wouldn't be able to move.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. … I guess I have nigh-indestructible bones. A trait which doesn't apply to my head, which is nothing but bone. That is quite the bizarre arrangement, but I guess it is meant as an in-built method of trickery. I can pretend to be pretty much impervious to damage, when reality is much different.

Although the demonic expedition didn't show up again, the Blood Wights inhabiting the underground did show up and started singing hymns in gibberish. I listened to them, but the end of their song included them raising their arms high in the air, and… Well, they just offered themselves up as a sacrifice, it seems. All of a sudden, I felt that I could just absorb them from where I was without problem, which was abnormal as they were living beings.

I shouldn't be able to just devour them so easily without even being anywhere near them, but I was able to, and I did. The underground somehow grew even quieter afterwards. Life in the blood ocean died down as I drained it. The various 'masters' of the deep attempted to defeat me in desperation, but while some of them had some good tricks up their sleeves, they were all ultimately swimming in blood I had dominion over.

Before, the big guy had been the strongest influence around, but now that he was gone, it was me who held all the cards. Thus, the challengers were crushed by the very blood they had swum in for years, flash frozen, impaled by dozens of spikes that seemingly appeared already stabbed into their bodies. I could get used to this overwhelming power, but I know that while 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' is indeed powerful, it is elevated much further by the environment.

The same environment I was erasing from existence altogether. Under the might of my absorption, even the ambient energies bearing traces of blood were pulled to me, and as such, after one more week of focused efforts… Well, there was nothing left. The blood ocean was no more. The bloody energies had been eradicated and were being replaced by a more typical assembly of ambient energies, and even the crystallised blood resting at the bottom was devoured.

When I feasted upon the crystals, even this form wavered a bit under the sheer quality of the types of blood that had solidified. I hovered slightly over the dried bed of the ocean. My dark, thin, misshapen body with a bony head floated ominously over a place once thriving with life, but there simply was nothing left now. That wouldn't be the case for long. My prolonged presence had allowed 'Corpse Kingdom' to activate.

My tainted humanity–Whatever that might mean–Had already seeped into the ground below me, and although the effects were not yet obvious, I could feel it clearly. Life would sprout again. I buried a plush in my effigy in the ground, and then proceeded to open up some system panels. I was curious if I had missed some things whilst I was unconscious, and indeed, there were some new things to look at.

Mascot Form Pure Spirit Form Rusted Plague Form Biobot Form Ghost In The Machine Pure Curse Form Giant Form Accordion Jack-Out-Of-The-Box Remanent Jack-Out-Of-The-Box Naturally, 'Revenant Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' had vanished from the list now that it had been fully unlocked, but two new forms had joined the list. Two forms bearing very similar names to one another, at that.

It seems like the 'Jack-Out-Of-The-Box' theme is a recurrent one, with there at least being three separate forms which were named after this concept, though just by the names, it was easy to tell they were quite different from the revenant one. The first one's name was quite clear. An accordion is a musical instrument, so I could only guess that unlocking this one was linked to 'Music Box' upgrades, and that it would heavily rely on music to spread whatever effects it might have. As for the other one…

Remanent is a rather unusual word. If I remember correctly, it means something that lingers, specifically something that lingers even after the source that was causing the original effect is gone. This makes me think that it has something to do with ghosts, as there are a limited number of themes to pick from when it comes to me, and the idea of something lingering on after the departure of its cause sounds pretty spectral to me in this context. And… That was it.

The great quantity of flesh I absorbed and stored seems to have only caused me to unlock this one form, which in turn led to two new forms revealing themselves… It does seem like there are a bunch of forms for me to unlock. I made my way out of the dried ocean and hovered to where the settlement had been. It was still present, but no signs of life were to be found anywhere.

They had truly retreated without looking back, which was a sensible decision on their part, though attacking me right now would be the best move as the environment is no longer to my advantage, but they missed their chance–Too bad for them! Well then, if that's all, I'll be taking my leave– I turned my head slightly to the side. –And I fucking knew it.

"Hello there, it's been a little while since I had the displeasure of being in your presence, whatever your name is" The raspy voice of this form rang out as I addressed the dark spectre. He was standing oddly closer than usual, and I had to admit, the fucker felt a whole lot more ominous as well. An actual voice rang out from him, or rather, several voices overlapped.

"It will be soon""What will be soon?"

"Your reunion with your brother… And the time to face your sins" I suddenly moved forward, but he disappeared in a puff of dark flames before I could reach him.

"When did you grow balls, bastard?"