I wish I could deal with them soon… God is waiting, and I don’t know how long he can bear his fate. I need to free him.
Upon seeing the black impurities swarm his mana veins, Kai’s consciousness almost smiled. Though he didn’t have any corporeal form. It was more of an idea of himself created through mana. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy it all the same.
Despite the dangers he knew he had to go through, they were much better than having his core be eaten or assimilated by something that filled him with anger. Strangely enough, though, he found that he could impose his will upon the impurities as well as he did upon the mana. Thanks to that he had a much easier time preparing the trap to unleash upon the parasite.
He knew what he had to do, he had the strength and means to do it, so he did it. First, he gathered all the spare mana he could in a single mana vein, placing it in front of the impurities. Then he sent it toward the parasite, giving it the food it so desperately desired. With the safe mana, he also snuck in some impurities, testing the waters and slowly poisoning it.
Kai figured that if these impurities were potent enough to kill him, which they would if he didn’t act fast enough, then the parasite stood no chance against them. At least that was his working theory, and he believed that he was right. If it fed on good mana, bad mana poisoned it.
Seeing no adverse reaction so far, he started his actual plan. Just like before when he broke its flesh and created an opening in his core, Kai planned to do the same. That would mean poisoning his core, but he knew that it was strong enough to last for a few minutes of such intense bombardment.
Kai planned to feed all of the impurities to the parasite, killing it for good, even if it meant taking some self-inflicted wounds. Of course, he was well aware of the dangers, but at that point, it was too late to care for it.
And so, he turned the mana into a lance-like shape, big enough to create a sizeable hole in the parasite. Kai hoped that it would give him enough time to shove as many impurities as he could into his core, which the parasite would then absorb. Without any hesitation, a vicious streak flowed through his mind and sent the mana weapon flying toward the parasite’s wriggly flesh.
It easily penetrated it, though it didn’t try to resist the attack either. It squirmed and let out a vibrating cry, but it happily absorbed the dissipated mana. That’s exactly what Kai wanted, as he willed the impurities to seep through the newly created hole and mix with the pure mana.
They did so in less time than it takes to blink, filling the core to the brim with as many impurities as they could. Kai’s consciousness smiled upon seeing that and let out a mocking thought. If you like to feast on mana so much, then eat this!
And the parasite did, though unwillingly. The impurities trickled in alongside the mana and when the hole created by the mana lance closed, they surrounded the parasite and encompassed it. Kai’s mana core looked like nothing more than a black and purple ball of smoke. He was fine with that, as long as the parasite suffered as much as he did.
Kai felt it getting weaker with every passing second, having no choice but to consume the impurities that would eat away at its very being. That was his theory, at least, and he found it true. Besides the parasite, his core suffered as well, and in turn, he did too. Whilst he was semi-detached from his body right now, he felt the tormenting pain in the Mixed Mana Core went through as it sent waves of danger toward his brain. He couldn’t dampen them with the joy he felt seeing the parasite suffer and writhe in misery.
It wiggled and fought back, and it tried to stop the absorption, but the impurities had weakened it greatly in such a short amount of time. After all, it had directly digested them, unlike Kai’s case, where they simply float and corrode away passively. No, the parasite’s body suffered more than Kai ever could as the nutrients it desired simply stopped arriving. Instead, they were replaced by a corrosive substance that ate away at it from the inside out.
Soon, it would be gone from Kai’s body, and hopefully completely disappeared, destroyed by the impurities. Unfortunately, Kai’s control of them only extended to the ones outside, not the ones inside or within the parasite, so he could only hope that he could heal the damage in time. He had no more Life Pills, but he figured that if he could extract mana from plants, he could extract life force as well.
For the next few minutes, Kai waited and suffered. Waited for the parasite to be done and gone after ingesting so many impurities while being surrounded by them. The minutes turned to hours, though, and he felt exhaustion wash over his body and mind. He didn’t know when, but soon he would faint, and if he did so then the impurities would be out of control. Kai couldn’t afford that, so he decided to take advantage of the parasite’s weakened state.
With the remainder of his strength, he took control of the outside impurities and shaped them into a blade-like claw. Then he dug the sharp ethereal object to cut through the parasite and even sacrificed a tiny bit of his core, all to take a part of its flesh off. It worked, though, as the parasite barely had any strength to resist. Its painful scream resonated through Kai’s body, but he didn’t care, and some part of him even took pleasure in making it suffer.
As soon as the parasite bit was removed from the whole, the impurities devoured it like hungry wolves, adding it to their total mass. Kai’s curiosity and wonder over the impurities increased, but he had no time to experiment with them at that moment.
He repeated the process of ripping apart the parasite over and over again until there was almost nothing left of the thing. Its once wriggling flesh became nothing but food for the black gas eating it away, and he finally regained control over both mana and impurities. He didn’t hesitate to send the poison scouting through his Mixed Core, searching for any trace of the parasite.
After he scraped every last tiny speck of its flesh, a strange sense of fulfillment washed through his body, however, he had to deal with the impurities now, which more or less mixed with some of his mana. That made it almost useless and too dangerous to use. He had to act quickly.
…
Kai’s body jolted awake, breaking into a coughing fit soon after. He fell from his upright position, one that Léandro had put him in. Supporting himself on his elbows, blood mixed with a black, jelly-like substance escaped his mouth with each shallow breath he took.
Onyx jumped to his aid, but there was little the canine could do to help him. That was the case for Léandro as well. He looked at Kai with a more than panicked expression, and his hands shook as he tried to touch him. Seeing Kai vomit so much, though, he figured that the best thing he could do was open the flaps to the tent, letting some fresh, icy air in.
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Zeliph had a better idea of what to do, though, as he pulled out a bag and took out a few candles out of it. After liting them, an aromatic smell of tree flowers and vanilla filled the air. The group caught on quick and covered their noses just as quickly. Léandro was the first to step outside, followed by Zeliph. Then the cook and the short, bald man escaped, carrying Lilith with as much gentleness as they could afford.
Léandro wanted to pull Onyx out as well, but he was afraid of getting bitten, or worse, so he shrugged and let the tent flaps close. Soon, the sounds of Kai’s retching intensified, and he almost ran out of breath. Other gagging sounds echoed as well, different from Kai’s, which were then followed by Onyx bolting out of the tent and throwing up not that far away from it.
…
Kai wished he could stop vomiting after ten minutes, but he had no other choice but to do so if he wanted to stay alive. A lot of the impurities have not only mixed with his mana but also blood. He had to get rid of both poisons but could only focus on one at a time. With the parasite dead, he could take his time with the impurities attached to the mana, as he still had control over them. However, he had no such privilege with the ones flowing through his bloodstream.
Thankfully he felt them disappear in large chunks, both ethereally and physically. His arms, chest, and every part of his body were covered in blood and a jelly-like substance, sticking to him like a disgusting mix of mud and gore. Kai’s vision switched from hazy to clear, with little in between. Through the little he could see from his turned-up mask, he realized that he was alone, so he took it off and took in deep breaths.
Zeliph’s weird fragrance mix made his stomach churn even worse than before, being able to inhale so much more. That sped up his waste-removing efforts at least.
After another five or so minutes, he was finally able to stop, and spit out the last bit of impurities and blood left in his mouth. He found the experience as unpleasant as it was painful, but a wave of relief washed over him after finally expelling everything. Lastly, he took out a few vials and gasped. A black, nauseous gas escaped his mouth and flowed within the vials, which he then sealed shut.
Letting out a heavy sigh of relief, he gagged and picked up his mask. Taking a few seconds to gather himself, he placed it on and rushed outside. With a deep breath, he sighed, happy to feel fresh air once again. Though he couldn’t afford to enjoy it for long as an incredible weakness washed over him, and he all but collapsed on the ground. He did fall to his knees, and Onyx rushed in to support him, but other than his pale expression and trembling hands, he was fine.
Léandro, who watched over Lilith with the others, immediately jumped to Kai’s aid. Ignoring the black and red gore covering him, Léandro raised Kai to his feet. An excited smile creased his lips, yet his ocean-blue eyes shone with worry. “You… you did it!” Joy flowed in his voice as he said, and Kai sighed upon noticing the smile he had seen all those months ago.
“Took you two people almost dying to finally smile, bastard.” He quipped and coughed, blood splattering inside his mask. “Let me take a look at her. Help me.” Kai stepped on his own feet as he advanced using Léandro as support. Onyx circled them, getting ready to catch him if anything happened. Walking toward Lilith, whose calm figure breathed softly on the cold ground, an odd sense of accomplishment flowed through his body.
Seeing the expression of gratitude on the other three made him feel good, but he couldn’t dwell on that feeling for too long. He needed to make sure that Lilith was healthy before doing anything else. That was his duty, at least, that’s what Aina and the books told him.
Under the watchful gaze of Léandro, the short bald man and the cook, as well as a figure he couldn’t see, but sensed, Kai verified the woman’s state. He sent what mana he could into her body and inspected the organs and Mana Veins in detail. Much to his relief, everything seemed normal, and any trace of the parasite disappeared without a trace. There were no dots, or foreign entities feeding on her Mana Core, and every other vital sign was as normal as it got.
With a light sigh of relief, he removed himself from her and turned toward Léandro as he got up. “I need a bath.” He said after taking a closer look at the gore covering his body.
“There are no rivers close by.” Zeliph’s glowing eyes dimmed as he turned to Kai. “Your best bet would be conjuring water for yourself or going to an inn in town.”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t wanna bother making a bath for myself… let’s just go in town. I think there’s an angry group of people waiting for me somewhere. If they hadn’t already left.”
Léandro blushed upon hearing that and lowered his head in shame. “It seems that we might have created some trouble for you.”
“Not really,” Kai said, dejected. “We don’t really get along.” However, he didn’t feel the need to explain any further, but he did gaze toward the town.
“You may need to put up another tent.”
…
Kai walked into town, dragging his feet and supporting himself on Léandro, with Onyx always ready to catch him. The cook also accompanied them. The man didn’t speak much, but his grunts were comprehensible enough to get what he wanted to do. As they passed the gate, Kai got a couple of weird looks. He couldn’t tell whether it was because of the fact that he wore a mask and a hood, which he used to hide his silver hair. Mind your own business, you never saw a mask before?! He yelled at them in his mind, as he didn’t dare do so out loud.
Léandro had already removed it once, but the group also more or less knew of its actual color, so it didn’t come as a shock to them. Kai also trusted that they wouldn’t tell any Inquisitor about him, even if they asked, especially not after what he had done for them.
“I know a good inn in the center of the town.” Léandro said with a reaussuring tone. “Don’t worry, I erm, got enough funds… Besides I could never repay you for what you did.”
Kai raised an eyebrow and a sly smile creased his lips. “That’s fine, you can just give me one hundred gold and we’ll call it even.” Of course, he didn’t mean what he said. However, his jaw metaphorically dropped upon seeing Léandro pull out a large, jiggling bag from his ring.
“I’m sorry, I can’t give you more right now. I can get more in the next town if you can wait.”
Kai shook his head, but happily took the extra funds… no, to say they were extra would be an understatement. Your Majesty… So that’s what such a title brings you. He didn’t question Léandro about it, he had no reason to. He was a prince of a large, powerful, and wealthy kingdom… Kai was the alleged prince of… a kingdom of murderous blood-thirsty villains. Almost equals… He thought with as much mockery as he did disgust.
Their wobbling footsteps soon brought them to the inn Léandro spoke of. It definitely couldn’t compare to the one in Nivero, as this town wasn’t nearly half as large. Despite that, the inn still spent a lot of money on looks. Decorated with as many flowers and golden window frames as possible, the entrance shone with the soft light of fiery orange crystals. A soft chatter invited Kai and the rest in, their entrance announced by a jingling bell.
Some people in the crowd stopped talking for the fraction of a second it took them to look at the group, others just took a short glance at them without a care in the world. A certain few raised an eyebrow upon seeing them, and a very limited number watched them enter with awe.
Feeling so watched, even if for a moment, made Kai feel exposed, naked, almost. Why does everyone have to turn every time I enter a bar, fucking Chri- Lumiera! As usual, though, he didn’t voice his thoughts.
He did notice Léandro give a nod to the receptionist, who replied in kind. They didn’t stop to chat with her, either to pay for the room or introduce themselves. Very discreet… Your Majesty.
They climbed to the first floor and got ready to climb up to the second when a surprised voice rang in their ears.
“Ichor?”
The three turned and saw Yasa, alongside Lutha staring at them with equal amounts of perplexity and anger. However, both fell to their knees as soon as they realized who Kai was with.
“Your Majesty.” Their voices resonated with bowed heads. However, Léandro paid them no attention and instead turned to Kai.
“Blood and Guts?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Your Majesty?” Kai feigned ignorance and replied with a question.
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