Rebuilding a mind

-- Ekrok’s POV: --

I heard somebody knock on the door.

“Come in!” I said as I yawned.

“I’ve returned with the news, Master,” Asa bowed in front of me. I trained and educated her personally and she is the only person I completely trust. Although Padinyss is my master whom I love, respect, and wouldn’t betray, I know that he doesn’t think the same and would throw me away if necessary. It saddened me, but I knew it couldn’t be helped.

“Which is?” I took off my legs from my table and leaned forward in my chair.

“As Master guessed it, every time the devourers attack, they use their original faces and bodies. One of the servants happened to come across them and see what happened during the attack. Based on his report, the dark scars started to appear a few days prior to it and on the fated day, Elena and Dred attacked the palace. The dark scars picked off their targets in groups and then destroyed the resisting forces.”

“He also said that everything happened so quickly, he barely had the time to do anything. Here are two pictures of Elena’s and Dred’s current looks,” she put two pictures on my table and pushed it towards me. Turning them around, I took a quick look and nodded my head.

“Mhm, nice job. It’s time to catch those two. Everyone is hunting the dark scars like idiots, but I’m sure that if we catch these two, the others will also fall.”

“What do you mean?” Asa brushed her brown hair to the side.

“You see, Elena and Dred are legendary beasts, which means they should be similar to Padinyss. The thing is that if they have blood servants and the masters are killed, in this case, Elena and Dred, the blood servants would also die. That’s why I sent hundreds of people to different capital cities and commanded them to live perfectly legal and good lives.”

“As you can see, one of them bore fruits, even if ten of them still died before…” I shook my head.

“Ah! I understand, Master. I hope you don’t mind that I already sent a team to track them down,” she clenched her fists.

“WHAT?! ASA?” I shouted as I slammed the table.

“Master?” she stepped back in fear as my aura coiled around her body.

“They can pick up on the presence of any dark magic user! How could you be so stupid to-”

“But Master! You misunderstood! I didn’t pick people randomly… I selected people who excelled in light magic and can use it to hide their presences. The best of the best!” she raised her hands in defense.

I rubbed my eyes and got around the table sighing, “I’m sorry. Great job, in that case,” I caressed her face. Seeing her turn a bit flushed, a smile crept onto my face.

“Alright, let’s find those two. Once I’m able to take them to Padinyss, I’ll be sure to reward you!” I pulled back my hand and left through the door.

Since the tracking team used a special item to send off their locations, we were able to find them in no time. I learned from Padinyss that even if the devourers were great when it came to hiding their presences, a powerful light magic user should be able to follow them without their notice.

We soon arrived at a smaller cave where our people hid. A dark elf man welcomed me outside the cave. “Greetings,” he bowed like most people did. I never requested it, but I believed people understood their inferiority.

Nodding my head, I said, “Where are they?”

“They’re about five kilometers ahead of us, next to a river. The dark scars were with them for a few hours, but then they left alongside that red-haired woman. Still, we had no way to get too close to them because that panther always seemed to notice our smell. We were almost caught…” he avoided my eyes, probably fearing a beating.

As I raised my hand, he closed his eyes, but I just patted his shoulder, “Nice job, it’s more than anyone else did before.” That fearful expression, it excited me so much. I couldn’t help but feel excited when I noticed those fearful faces.

“Anything else?”

“We-We tried to follow the dark scars as well, but they moved too quickly and left us behind. I’m afraid if we don’t make a move on the black-haired woman and the panther, they too will leave us in the dust.”

“Black-haired?”

“Yes.”

Hmm- so she’s using her real form when not in public. Well, it’s understandable. “Let’s prepare, we can’t let that happen, can we?” a smile formed on my face. How happy will my master be when I bring these two to him!

“We’ll wait until they reach a clearing, I don’t want to lose them in this forest,” I looked at the thick bushes and tall oak trees. Even if it was early in the morning and the forest was bright, these two were more than good at getting away…

A few hours later, one of the people following Elena and Dred returned and told us they started to move. I followed them for another half an hour until they finally reached a large field. The grass was short, there were no trees, there was nothing for them to use! I transformed into my dragon form and flew out of the forest.

I saw Elena sitting on Dred’s back, as usual, but when my shadow drooped over them, she turned around.

Shit, I read her lips.

“Hello, you two! I’ve been looking for you!” I landed in front of them and reverted to my humanoid form.

“Ekrok, was it?” Elena tilted her head to the side.

“My, you can still remember me,” I smiled at her, while the trackers encircled them.

Her eyes darted around and then stopped at me. “How?” she raised her brows.

“Why would I tell you?” I laughed.

“Because you’re confident enough to share it with me,” she stretched her arms.

“Your bones are creaking a lot, have you become old?”

“No, I’m in perfect shape,” she cracked her fingers this time. Well, I have to admit, you look… delicious, but my master has different plans for you.

“Why do I have a feeling that you thought of something rude just now?”

“Cuz’ his eyes are perverted,” Dred said, seemingly not bothered by their position.

“Pardon me, but I’m not perverted. I was just wondering how would she taste, I haven’t had the chance to taste the flesh of a legendary creature yet and I don’t think there are many who did,” I licked my lips as I wondered what sort of power would I get if I ate them.

“I have to disappoint you because you’re not going to eat us. But I may have a taste of you,” she reacted the same way I did. For some reason, her red lips didn’t make me feel lust but fear… Inspect.

The target’s stats couldn’t be read because of a skill.

Tsk, of course. Why is she so calm? Wait… I’m overthinking it, she is the same as Padinyss, she is just confident in her abilities and wants to scare me. I must stay strong.

“It’s not working, right?” - she pulled out her daggers - “Poor you, can’t even check my stats. But if you step aside, we’re going to leave you alive,” she cut her finger and then stuck it into Dred’s mouth.

“What are you doing?” I furrowed my brows.

“Ah, nothing important. Call it an upgrade, would you? By the way, why did you bring these people with you? To die? And you still didn’t tell me how you found us.”

“Are you not even curious how were they able to follow you without your notice?” I asked as I calmed down.

“Nah, the only way is to use light magic, so I’m more curious about the method you used to find out which city we’d attack.”

“Well, it’s personal so I can’t share it with you,” I pulled out my weapon. I wonder what sort of face will she make when I cut her daggers into two halves, a grin formed on my face. Wait, I should be able to inspect her daggers.

Name: Sica

Rarity: ??? - Unique - (Combined)

Durability:

97 500 / 100 000

Effects: This black blade is a combination of many others and has numerous effects. It’s impossible to gauge every effect due to its ‘combined’ state.

What? Ugh- what’s with that durability? I’ve never seen combined weapons… is this some sort of ability?

“Look, I can see what you’re looking at and I know that you trust that claw, but don’t forget that I’m a legendary creature as well,” she pointed at my weapon. Padinyss transformed into his true form and gave me one of his claws to make it into a weapon. It wasn’t much for him since it grew back in a single day, but as for me, I’ve got my hands on a weapon that was able to cut through any metal on this planet.

“One last question, won’t you surrender? It would make things easier for me. We both know how this will end,” I raised my brows as I started to rotate my mana in my body and enhanced my muscles. Unlike those puny humans, my body was able to handle the increased strength and I didn’t have to worry about overburdening myself.

“Let’s see~ How about no?” she raised her middle finger.

Gritting my teeth, I charged at her and tried to push back that sense of dread in my guts. I knew it was just their aura, they were the same as Padinyss. Creatures like them had auras that made you feel fear. I understood I was a lesser being, which pissed me off!

All of a sudden, both of them disappeared and I felt them appear behind my back in the split of a second. Heh, this much was expected, I turned around and kicked towards them, but instead of the duo, I found only Elena in a shady form. My foot went through her body and I felt three claws enter my back and tear off my scales.

Gritting my teeth, I ignored the pain and used pure mana to attack Elena. That was the only weakness of ethereal forms. Despite my quick reaction, she managed to get away in time, while I felt Dred moving in for another attack. But I stepped to the side this time and evaded his claws. He jumped back in a hurry, while I turned around, expecting Elena to appear behind me.

She was still inexperienced, which came in handy for me. I punched her in the chest and as she got far enough, I swung my weapon. The tip of the claw cut through her armour and I felt the resistance of her flesh. Her red blood died the claw and I used earth magic to push them away. Pulling the tip of the claw closer to my lips, I licked her blood, curious about its taste. Unless we both wanted it, I wouldn’t turn into her blood servant, so I had nothing to fear.

This taste, oh, my creator, my lips quivered. This is heavenly!

“Could you wipe that dirty expression off of your face? It’s disgusting,” she said with a clear tone of scorn.

Her armour started to ‘heal’, which was more than strange to see… shaking my head, I pointed my palm at her and called forth a powerful lightning. An earth wall raised in front of her and my lightning entered it instead of her body. I knew I had to go for the kill else I’d be killed. The earth turned charred black and dry, but in the next moment, thick vines shot out of it and wanted to coil around my body.

I covered my body with a thin layer of dark magic and as soon as the vines got close to me, they withered and fell to the ground. Dred swiped towards my side, while I shot a huge fireball towards Elena. Lowering my arm, I prepared to take on his claws with my elbow. My scales were very thick there and I knew I could trust them, but this time they failed me. His claws penetrated my scales and got stuck in my flesh as I straightened my arm.

I shouldn’t underestimate his body because of his low level, it seems. But it gave me a good chance, at least! I swung my weapon and cut a deep wound on his side. What the hell? This should have cut him in two halves… I felt amazed seeing the resistance of his fur.

I should thrust instead of cutting, but this weapon is no good for that, damn it. As I pulled back my weapon, his blood spilt on the ground and dyed the grass red. He opened his mouth and a huge fireball struck my face in the next moment. I hurried to use water magic to negate it, making steam form around us.

Shit, this can’t go on. This damned devouring skill. I looked at my blackened hand. The two of them had been trying to suck me dry. “What the hell are you doing?! Attack them with all you’ve got!” I shouted at those idiots. For even Asa to just look… she must go through another training.

“Yes!” Asa shouted and appeared next to Dred and swung her staff towards Dred’s back. His body turned into a black mist and once her staff hit the ground, he solidified. I wanted to attack him, but Elena was coming upon me. I covered my hand with a thick layer of rocks and swung my arm as I turned around. She leaned forward, evading my arm, and thrust her dagger towards my belly.

I felt it enter my body and the blackened part on my hand became even larger in the next moment. Gulping down the blood that rushed up my throat, I kicked her in the chest. Her daggers slipped out of her hands as she flew backwards, but this time, one of my people was awaiting her.

Damn it, I can’t even use my weapon, they keep coming into my reach recklessly… what the fuck is wrong with them? I pulled out her dagger and grit my teeth. Painful didn’t describe well enough what I felt.

My servant thrust his spear towards Elena’s back, but she turned into a black cloud and flew past his body. As she solidified behind him, she used her other dagger to slit his throat. Tsk, useless.

She smiled as she cut off his head and threw it towards my other servant, who raised his left hand to push the head to the side, but at the same time, Elena shot a ball of darkness towards him.

“Ah!” I heard Asa’s shout, so I turned around, only to see Dred standing behind her. He pulled back his paw and then lunged at me. I used my weapon to block his blood-covered claws and opened my eyes wide when I felt his resistance. Just what sort of monstrous strength does he have? How can he resist me?

“What’s your level?” I tried to pull it out of him, but he just stepped back and evaded Asa’s strike. She used earth magic to grab one of his legs and I used that moment to shoot huge balls of fire all around him and swing my weapon at the same time. It was covered in nothing but mana, so even if he used his shadow form, I’d cut him. He shot a ball of water to the right and hit the side of my weapon to push it away. I had no idea how was he able to even perceive it, not to mention hitting its side.

My fireball had more mana in it than his, so it still struck his side when he dodged, making the smell of burnt hair spread in the air. The explosive force of my fireball also threw him to the side and Asa was awaiting him with an overhead swing. Got you!

I smiled as I saw her staff reach his head, but a dagger came through Asa’s chest and Elena pulled back Asa’s hand. Her attack lost almost all its strength in a moment and Dred simply shrugged it off. “You’ll follow soon,” Elena whispered as a slit opened on her arm, which revealed a void-like space within.

Asa managed to react in time and move to the side, so I could still save her, but Elena coiled her arm around Asa’s head. “Mas-” she wanted to plead for my help, but Elena devoured her in no time. When I turned my head to the side, I couldn’t see even a single one of my servants, but the blackened part also stopped growing for a while.

Did she devour them instead? Damn it… But I was able to heal, at least. My scales almost grew back and my wound closed while she killed my servants. Quite a good trade, I nodded my head, seeing their beaten up and bloody states. But for them to kill Asa… I must take revenge for her, at least. I put no little time and effort into training her and she had dragon blood in her as well!

“You seem to be tired,” I smiled at them as I used my aura to pressure them. Elena put her hand on the wound on Dred’s side, which opened up again.

“Correct me if I see it wrong, but you’re the only one left now, no?” she asked, probably knowing the answer. Let’s see, maybe I can make them more careful if I lie.

“Heh, who knows? Reinforcements could arrive any moment.” Even though I never contacted anyone… damn it. Well, it’s going to be fine. They can’t fight for much longer in their current state. I need a bit more time to finish healing.

“By the way, does it hurt?” I pointed at her broken ribcage.

“It was a nice kick, luckily it didn’t cause internal wounds,” she replied.

“Ah, we can change that in a bit. You shouldn’t have killed Asa, I’m going to take revenge for her when I catch the two of you. Inhe has been looking for you for a long time now. Guess what she wants!”

“No thanks,” she muttered as she lunged at me, followed by Dred.

I shouldn’t kill them, but if Dred lost a bit more blood, he could easily fall unconscious. I’ll risk it, let’s take him out at first. I threw her dagger towards Dred, making him step to the side and I also blocked Elena’s other dagger with my weapon. She pulled back her hand while I swung my arm to hit the side of her head. Fucking hell, she’s too close again and this damned devouring skill. So fucking annoying!

She caught my arm and moved with it to slow it down while she thrust her hand towards my side. She was way shorter than me and her arm wasn’t long enough to reach me until the ground moved below her and she came closer to me. I felt her grab my side and something entered my body. I quickly elbowed her and when I looked down, I realised nothing entered me, rather, it left me.

The smell of rotten flesh hit my nose, my scales fell off and my flesh rotten at the place she touched me. I shot a water blade towards her, followed by lightning. This time, she had no time to evade from up close and I saw her body twitch. Using that moment, I kicked her again and heard her ribs crack probably at other places as well.

These bastards were like mummies, not feeling pain and just attacking non-stop. Raising my arms, I swung my weapon towards Dred’s face, who was about to attack me, but he had to roll on the ground to evade it. I awaited him with earth spikes, but he created water behind his back, turning my sharp and pointy spikes into piles of mud.

As he stood up, I swung my weapon horizontally and almost sliced through his body when I felt my body get stuck for a moment. I couldn’t move! I felt Elena put her hand on my back, right behind my heart and the same pain rushed through my body as when she touched my side. Dred also lunged towards me and I saw a slit open on his paw as he put it over my heart.

I got back my ability my move, but they also reached my heart at the same time and I felt a twinging pain in my heart. Shit, I fucked up.

I felt my mind blanking out and fell forwards, but Dred caught my shoulders. The last thing I saw was a green light and his pair of slit eyes.

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