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Demonic beast: Enkindle
Grade: (C) Lesser demon
Given Ability: Deconstruction liquid
(Information: As the creation is known for shapeshifting qualities, the liquid from its talons does the quite opposite... it deconstructs the atoms of any object; however, how long it takes relies on the object's will.)
Power level: 500
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"Break down atoms?" They all stare blankly at the newfound information, and the realization that it's going to be harder than they had first thought simmers in.
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'Just our luck.' Carnage hisses.
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"While that fixes, our only question lies within: how do we defeat or hold off a beast of that caliber until the error is fixed." Ernest questions the sinners, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead as he stares at it.
""This isn't right. How do they expect us to know about this sudden quest or the conditions of the nightmare category?" Flor says with a mixture of justified aggravation and helplessness. "I didn't do all of that just to die here."
'What did you even do?' Artticus thinks, face twisting in confusion. 'Stand and complain?'
"We are not to blame the lack of information but our own wishful thinking that everything would play out easily." Agnar cracks her neck.
Carnage nods. "This isn't some realm within Coronach; this is hell, unforgiving, cruel, and unpredictable. We just have to learn to adapt to its horrors."
"Ya guys, you better hurry up, or this thing is about to finish any second now." Arttticus warns, head tilted to Enkindle.
"For now, Ernest, look through the guidebook and the records, and find any information on skinwalkers, most importantly their weakness. Flor, you focus on having potions on standby. Agnar and Nuru, you're with me; we only heal when we're near death." Carnage takes charge. "We must be the first to draw blood for the rewarded boost, understood?"
"Understood," Agnar agrees, unsheathing both her swords and handing one to Carnage. "Sadly—" She begins about to reveal to Nuru that she only had one spare, but he extends his black claws, stunning her into a fighting stance.
"Be calm. He's with us now." Carnage relays, stopping the advance of her blade with his own.
"I'm sorry, but I do not understand." Agnar voices.
"Too long of a story now; just trust in me."
She scoffs. "Trust in you? A man? Never..." She hesitantly straightens. "However, I must put aside my hatred for now. I hope to receive a full detailed eplaination of the truth after this war."
"Yes."
Carnage affirms, facing Enkindle, his mind clearing as he recaptures the fragmented memories of his training during his time as a mid-tier god.
'Memories, please, guide me.'
The transformation ceases, and Enkindle plummets, crashing down with a loud thud, uprooting the stone floor. The shockwave ripped through the chamber, hurling Carnage, Agnar, and Nuru into the air as the ground erupted underfoot.
'We're already airborne.' Carnage grimaces. 'This is dangerous—'
Midair, before Carnage can recover, Enkindle blitzes toward them, a lightning-fast sidekick aimed straight at their chests. Carnage's arms fly to shield the upcoming hit, tensing every muscle, meeting the strike head-on.
'T...to fast...'
The whiplash of the attack hurls him right to the wall with a deafening crash. Pain lanced up his spine like a coiled serpent, corroding his senses like spreading mold. Blood edges his throat, its metallic bitterness on the verge of spilling.
His hand rushes to his mouth, covering it, forcing it down. The boost is way more important than succumbing to the attack.
"Omg..." Flor gasps, Artticus is wide-eyed, and Nuru winces just watching.
"Ignore it." He urges, and the sensations of pain that coat his nerves go still, numb.
'Ugh...' He groans, shifting slightly. 'One...maybe two broken ribs?'
"Carnage, are you alright—!" Nuru starts, but Enkindle is already upon him with another strike. He snaps his claws up just in time, catching the blow, the force still slams into him, propelling him back.
"Pain is a factor that is easy to ignore." Carnage says through gritted teeth, speaking it both for them and himself. "Don't worry about me. You should only focus on not letting a single drop of blood leave your body before Enkindle does."
He lifts himself off the shattered wall, the impact still reverberating through his arms.
"Okay." Nuru lands a few meters away, rolling to absorb the shock before springing back to his feet. "Close one."
"My turn." Agnar zooms up, sword fast behind as she slices ahead, aiming for the creature's torso, attacking air in its stead as it vanishes. "Shit." She spins, ducking a swipe from its oozing black claws as it appears behind.
'She dodged without looking. He blocked an upcoming attack with ease and remained uninjured. While I'm already one or two ribs down. Asa god I would have destroyed it with just one mere glance.' Carnage positions the sword to his front. 'I am nothing without the title and power of a supreme. I can't even remember who I was before becoming a god.'
Agnar leaps into the air as it crashes down, gliding back a few, then readjusts her hold.
Enkindle looms in the center between them, its figure pulsating with crimson energy, black veins across its chest like living chains. With every drop of the corrosive liquid from its talons, the ground crumbles as it eats through the debris and stone.
'Is it waiting?'
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Its body bubbles, its neck and limbs crack as they contort. From the matte-black skin, a pallid hue begins to bleed through. Slowly, its elongated frame shrinks, everything diminishing except the claws. Until, at last, it takes the shape of a…
Human.
"Me." Carnage acknowledges coldly, eyes locking on himself.
"Good greif..." Artticus gulps away the disgust.
"Don't let it get the chance!" Carnage roars, darting up to it.
'It's mediocre how far I've dropped. It's mediocre that I'm letting a creature of this level wear the face I bear. It's mediocre how I've let my fate fall into the hands of others...of this world.'
A feeling rises past the many barriers that have been placed to regulate his emotions. Anger. Cold, unforgiving Anger... no, it's more like wrath.
"It's all their fault." He mutters, arching his sword forward.
Enkindle, unfinished in his morphing, a mix of both skinwalker and Carnage, slips aside with effortless speed, evading his attack, reappearing at his flank before lunging in with a vicious swipe.
'I can make it.' Agnar thinks, eyes reddening, her body glimmering green as she nears just in time to parry its attack perfectly, ignoring the droplets of black fluid landing on her clothes.
'I don't care how many times I miss. I'll continue until the end. If I don't make it out, then what is the worth of my revenge?' Carnage ponders.
Taking the chance, Nuru bolts behind it. Enkindle responds instantly, spinning its massive body and driving a talon into the floor where Nuru is about to be. He's already gone. Instead, the shockwave throws dust and fragments into the air, and the smell of burnt stone makes Agnar flinch.
"Up here!" Nuru yells, splitting the air in a slash.
Enkindle catches it, suspending Nuru midair. Its talons glisten as it pulls back, lurching forward. Nuru tries to wiggle free, to no avail.
'I made a promise… My retribution of the heavens hasn't begun yet, but it will. All I have to do is prove myself.'
Without knowing it, Carnage's body syncs with his past; the more he recites the snippets of memories during his sword training with his mentor during his ascent in the heavens, the more his body adapts, executing a slash all swordsmen would envy, exactly on the approaching arm.
Clank!
Carnage's sword clashes with skin as tough as steel. His sword propelled back, out of his grasp, onto the floor.
Nuru cries out as it pierces into his flesh. A sickening sound that makes all eyes zip in his direction.
「First blood Drawn!!」
「Reward: Abilities enhanced by 5%」
"No."
Carnage stares wide-eyed, and in the next second a fist comes flying straight at him. He doesn't have time to block before it slams into his stomach, the impact stealing the air from his lungs.
A kick follows, launching him into the air, and before he can breathe, Enkindle reappears beside him and rams him straight down into the floor.
This time it came out without a thought, as blood swelled in his chest and poured out in heaps. "It hurts..."