BOOK 4: CHAPTER 24: RESCUE & KILL

Blood pooled all around him. It riveted through the cavities in the ground and spread out at David’s command.

As the tenth Giant fell to Scalemore, amplified with most abilities and consuming energy and mental power, he finally had enough blood stored and spread through the surroundings to drastically decrease the difficulty of each fight.

Normal blood wouldn’t have worked, but the blood of Giants was highly potent on its own. It was further reinforced because the Giants he’d killed had been at the Gold Rank, with two at the Platinum Rank. Plus, they were Sworn who were reinforced by the Might of their Ascendant.

It was all David needed to squash his enemies, using the Law of Blood, [Blood Manipulation], and the Sparks he’d created not long ago.

Liquid blood snaked across the ground and coiled around his victims’ boots, if they wore any. The blood traveled upward and seeped easily through the openings in the Giants’ armor, only to transform into spikes and razor-sharp blades, inflicting light to mild wounds. The Giants that weren’t wearing any boots were poked in their feet, resulting in similar wounds.

However, the Giants’ light wounds, which would have normally healed within seconds due to their race’s rapid regeneration, did not close thanks to [Bleeding] triggering in time. Not only did the light wounds keep bleeding, but the wounds worsened, and more blood to use for follow-up attacks was caked across the Dwarven Sanctuary’s grounds.

Once he could rely on the harmony between [Bleeding], [Blood Manipulation], and the Law of Blood, David stopped overclocking his Skills. He maintained [Herald’s Blessing] on himself but stopped infusing more Blood into the remaining abilities. Meanwhile, the leftover Vitae surged into the ground to feast on the Dwarven Sanctuary’s ruins.

David uttered Words of Power to connect to the lifeforce of the recently deceased Giants and drained them before Vitae consumed the corpses. Once [Aether Breath] was added, his Source replenished more pure Blood than it utilized to maintain his abilities, creating an excess that could be used elsewhere.

He eliminated all those Giants in his immediate range, but he was not a mindless killer who forgot about everything else at the sight of the enemies. Not anymore. David was also a protector and a healer. He was a Lifeweaver, whether he possessed the Class or not.

“H-human!!” a thunderous voice resounded as David gathered the Blood needed for healing and support.

His hair stood on end and he swung around to see a group of three Shamans. They wielded their massive wands in unison and conjured an azure-blue projectile that was larger than a minivan. The projectile grew rapidly to the size of a house until they released it at him.

David was just about to cast [Phantom Rush] to escape the magical projectile when his senses picked up on the wounded gathered behind him. They were still farther away and might not be hit by the massive projectile, but the risk was too great.

“Die!” the Shamans roared in unison, releasing a wave of energy toward the projectile. It bulged and accelerated.

Grimacing, David tapped into his mind space. He conjured the Obsidian Blade and uttered a single Word of Power.

“Silence!” he incanted in the ancient language granted by the Weave, unleashing the power of the Law of Unbinding through Rend.

David sliced downward before the magical projectile was even near him, but it had never been necessary to touch it. He exhaled deeply and watched the projectile split before him, missing both him and the survivors behind him.

A thunderous explosion rang out behind, but the only victims were a pair of Giants charging at the group of survivors. They died and missed the crimson flash that whizzed past them. David, on the other hand, noticed the familiar figure and smiled as the Mythical Electra unleashed her true power to zig-zag through the Sanctuary’s ruins and enemies to reach the prehistoric Rift and the three Shamans guarding it.

Bloodlust flooded the Sanctuary’s center, yet all David heard was a whimper as the dark clouds in the sky released a massive bolt of dark-violet lightning.

Electra’s wrath was apparent. David didn’t have to access their connection to know that the Shamans had made a grave mistake. A mistake that would cost them their lives.

He didn’t have to intervene, but did so anyway. He cast [Herald’s Blessing] on Electra and added Cycle’s Embrace, filling her with life and enough threads of death’s presence to drain the Shamans.

Arcana, Cycle’s Embrace, leveled up.

11 → 12

Arcana, Cycle’s Embrace, leveled up.

12 → 13

Arcana, Cycle’s Embrace, leveled up.

13 → 14

“Not good enough,” David murmured, discarding the notification.

Cycle’s Embrace was more efficient than it had been when he first obtained it. There was no doubt about that, but that didn’t mean the Arcana was powerful. It was versatile and weakened enemies while simultaneously healing his allies. Yet it required constant healing to leverage the siphon to a level where it was truly noteworthy. ȒἁＮó𐌱Еṡ

Electra did not need any healing, which meant the life siphon wasn’t strong enough to surpass the Giants’ natural regeneration. On the other hand, Maja had still not fully recuperated, even though the effects of a dozen casts of [True Restoration] and [Vital Weaving] were still working on her. She was also attached to more than a dozen [Healing Sphere]s, which turned the lingering threads of death’s presence into a proper weapon.

The amount of healing Maja received was not normal, though. As a result, Cycle’s Embrace was not efficient enough to be used at level 14. But all that only meant that David had to work even harder to level his Arcana. He didn’t have centuries to push the Arcana to an adequate level.

Thus, David applied his Arcana to everyone. He offered them healing and empowered them with [Herald’s Blessing], overclocked and maintained for as long as they needed it to fight the Giants.

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His eyes landed on a strong Classer, a Tirac, fighting a Giant, and he gave him a helping hand. [Herald’s Blessing], healing, and Cycle’s Embrace, for one, and the Domain of Vitae coursed through the group and surged into the defenseless enemies, weakening them by devouring them from within.

David weakened his enemies and strengthened his allies, creating a balance that allowed the defenders to fight back. To struggle to survive – to thrive. He noticed Lukas and his people—drenched in blood—as their blades carved through thick Giant hide, and he offered them the same treatment as the others. Their bodies and equipment were empowered, their wounds healed, and their enemies weakened as geysers of Vitae burst from the ground.

They looked like dregs even after everything David did to bolster their chances at victory, but that had to do. He didn’t have the luxury to pay more attention to them. His eyes lingered on Melach, and to his great surprise, the elf was still alive.

But something was wrong, and David rushed into the ruins of a building. He hurled rubble and parts of a wall to the side and revealed dozens of vines and roots that grew… out of Melach’s chest. The vines and roots stabilized a part of the collapsed building and ensured Melach would not be buried alive.

More veins burst from all over his body, creating durable armor. However, blood oozed from the vine armor, and the elf’s life signal weakened rapidly.

Melach turned weakly to David. The motion drained his lifeforce even faster, and tears welled in his eyes. David ignored the crying elf and cast [Lifeweaver’s Bond] to understand how the roots and vines had grown from Melach’s body—and how to avoid killing him in the process.

He cast [Healing Sphere] first and relied on [Vital Weaving] to stabilize Melach and target his worst wounds with [True Restoration].

“Where have you been? David… where have you been when we needed you–...” Melach whimpered, looking nothing like the confident elf David remembered.

His body was a mess as well, and that had little to do with the Giant invasion. The bones in his left arm had to be realigned, he was missing a chunk of his stomach and one kidney, yet those wounds were already old and healed—somewhat—and that wasn’t even the worst. His heart was the worst.

David had no idea what happened to the elf, but Melach’s heart contained a core. It was mantled in bark and resembled the core of a Nature Elemental more than an elf’s. It was similar to the implantation of Blood storages, the Beast Core, and the Maelstrom, yet it was different. Melach was only alive because of the core in his heart.

Melach’s lips parted again, but David wasn’t having it.

“Shut up and listen, Melach!” he snapped. “Am I your motherfucking nanny or what? Be happy that I’m back, or do you want me to leave to watch you and the others be stomped to death?”

He was already troubled enough by self-inflicted guilt. Blaming himself for the fates of others was great and all, but it was useless. So what if he wasn’t in the Dwarven Sanctuary? Was that his territory? Was he obliged to stay around the Dwarven Sanctuary to protect it at all times?

Fuck that shit! The Sanctuary was Fortress’, and it had Torb and a god-forsaken council full of Champions to protect it. Was it David’s fault that they were too weak to protect the Sanctuary? No!

So why did he feel guilty, and why did Melach think he had the right to blame him for this?!

It didn’t look like Melach agreed. His eyes were still teary as he looked at David, but a spark of defiance ignited even as tears streamed down the elf’s cheeks. David didn’t wait for Melach to gather the courage to speak up. He released a wave of Blood and removed the walls and rubble around them.

“I don’t know what happened to you, but you should stop blaming others for your misfortune,” he considered mentioning how weak Melach was and that he could have defeated the Giants with his own strength if he’d grown stronger in the last few months. Rather than squashing Melach’s spirit, David listened to Electra and the mini Electras.

He was up to date, relief flooding him once it became clear that most survivors had been brought to the gathering spots. The minis proceeded to carry them out of the Sanctuary once their condition improved enough to allow rough transportation. Maja helped by creating portals, but the Portaligist was still wounded and recuperating.

One of the minis landed before David, who slung Melach over his shoulder and threw him onto mini Electra’s back.

“Regardless of what you think, surviving a disaster that killed others is a good thing. You may not understand it right now – hell, even I don’t get it – but if you only think about the bad things, you will never be able to enjoy your fortune.”

You don’t have to be like me or Zachariah, but the least you could have done is grow stronger. You are not a Sworn nor a Champion, so you don’t get their boost, but that gives you the power to become an Ascendant. If you truly want it.

Melach’s tears ceased, yet he remained silent even as mini Electra swung her wings to leave. However, the look in his eyes was enough to tell him that the elf understood.

David ran a hand through his hair and turned to a powerful Giant whose behavior had piqued his curiosity. He lifted his left arm and willed Deryadus’ Arm to shift. His hand rippled and bulged. It split apart and reshaped into the barrel of a hand cannon gathering energy.

The transformation took only a moment, but [Primeval Pulse] required even less time to charge. A destructive sphere formed in his left hand, and David triggered it at once, releasing a short, gray beam.

Looks almost like those laser guns in science fiction movies, David thought as [Primeval Pulse] struck the Giant’s face, popping the humanoid’s eyeball and bursting its brain.

Deryadus’ Arm returned to its original appearance. The Ancient Relic was unscathed and flawless, yet David could already think of dozens of tiny flaws and miscalculations that had to be fixed. He had to recalculate the materials it had to devour and replace characteristics if that was still possible in the first place.

But as important as the Ancient Relic’s growth was, so were the changes to the Obsidian Blade. It had transformed after consuming the cursed sword; however, David had yet to find the time needed to examine it properly.

He studied the Obsidian Blade that had transformed into an elongated scimitar and willed it to shift into the cursed sword. A moment later, David willed it to transform into an obsidian-colored katana.

The Obsidian Blade rested perfectly in his hand, and their soulbond hummed excitedly at the prospect of more blood and death in the surroundings.

That was when David felt it—the death of more Champions.

It was subtle at first. He nearly missed it as he focused on the cursed energy swirling through his soulbound weapon. However, as more Champions fell victim to the predator they faced, it became more apparent. The deaths of the Champions affected the Weave, and in a way David couldn’t have expected.

The Weave rippled and stirred at the death of every Champion and Sworn. He had experienced that feeling from a front-row seat not too long ago. After all, he’d killed enough Champions and Sworn in his fight against the Goblins—and the Giants, though the Giants were barely worth mentioning. Even calling them Pseudo-Sworn was a stretch in and of itself.

But this time was different. The Weave shifted, yet the Might infused into the Champions and Sworn was not returned to the Weave. It moved from the deceased to someone else. It gathered in one spot and… changed.

David’s stomach tightened, and he cast aside all thoughts of researching the Obsidian Blade and slaying Giants. He retracted the Vitae in his immediate surroundings, circulated pure Blood through his body, and rushed to the other Champions.

He activated [Phantom Rush] and appeared in the market square, and then he saw it—he saw him.

David’s eyes bulged and his heart skipped a beat as he locked onto the abomination.

“W-William, is that really you?”