After the fight was over, the scene cut to Soren and Noelle both in their cell in the evening
Soren was constantly using his magic to maintain his regeneration spell, channelling power into the wound to heal back his arm. The damage was extensive. The whole upper part of his arm had been chopped off. The damage had taken weeks to heal even with the magical dampening collar around his neck reducing his power
Now, whilst his spell had evolved toward a rank 2 spell, it was still weakened by the prison's restrictions. Soren couldn't pinpoint exactly how long the recovery would take. His best bet toward a quicker recovery would be to have another fight in the colosseum and then use that recovery time to heal his arm
Soren sat in his bed, his back against the cold stone wall. Noelle stood beside him, handing him bandages and a medicinal ointment that she had procured from the healer. She helped Soren wrap the bandage around his arm, carefully dressing his wounds with practiced efficiency. Her hands moved with purpose and care, wrapping the cloth tightly enough to provide support without cutting off circulation
She said to Soren, "I'll pray to the goddess for your quick recovery. But why must you always fight in such a self-destructive way? Every time you fight, you take on as much risk as your enemy"
Soren took a moment before speaking, his mind reflecting on everything that had happened
"I'm still too weak," he said finally. "This is why I must fight desperately"
After this was said, silence ensued as Noelle helped dress Soren's wounds. Different bits and pieces of his body were badly burned and charred from the lightning. The smell of burnt flesh lingered in the small cell
After fights, the colosseum had its own private doctors for its higher-ranked fighters. However, they were only allowed to help when a life-threatening injury had been given to their fighters. Soren's injuries didn't meet that threshold
Soren looked at his arm. His whole body screamed in pain. He never got used to this pain. The pain of exploded bits of his body, of using his own flesh as a weapon. But he had no choice but to go through with it, so he wouldn't die
During the period of mist, he thought back to those crucial moments. I was lucky to come up with such a move
He had seen the thousands of imaginary threads of intent surrounding him, converging from every angle. He couldn't dodge the attack. His blood railgun had been proven ineffective. He had only seconds to react
So he had made the choice. He had chopped off the upper half of his arm. Pure adrenaline had masked the pain as he stabbed the severed limb with his sword, mounting the flesh on top of it before plunging the hilt into the fresh wound in his remaining arm. He had jammed it into his flesh before detonating his blood
The flesh on top of his arm had exploded with devastating force, catapulting the blade toward Mirelle's face
If he had used pure magic, she would have sensed it. But because he had used just his flesh and sword while the spell only activated in that mere second, she had been left unable to react
Noelle finished wrapping the last bandage, tying it off securely. She looked at Soren's face and said softly, "Rest now. Your body needs time to heal"
Soren nodded slowly, leaning back against the stone wall
The pain continued to throb through his body, a constant reminder of the price he had paid for victory
Noelle went back to her bed and knelt in the corner, preparing to resume her prayers. But before she did, her thoughts turned inward
The key to my mission might end up dying before I can even step in to protect him
She thought about Soren's way of fighting. Not because someone might kill him, but because of his own actions. He might kill himself through his own desperation. The way he fought, the way he seemed willing to sacrifice pieces of himself without hesitation. It frightened her in a way she couldn't quite articulate
How does he fight like that? She wondered. How does he use bits of his body, his blood, to fight? What magic does he use?
Maybe some type of water magic, she considered. That would be plausible given how he manipulates liquids in combat, how they seem to respond to his will
But then another thought occurred to her. Blood magic
No. That wasn't possible
She had never seriously considered the possibility of Soren using blood magic. One main reason was historical. After the death of the calamity dragon, the former Saint of Salvation, now rebranded as the Slaughter Devil, had been publicly executed for his inhumane crimes. As the founder of blood magic, his magic was now banned from any form of research and cultivation. The knowledge was forbidden. The practice was forbidden
Another reason was that the Slaughter Devil was never known to have any disciples or to have left any of his knowledge behind. In this world, much of the information about different magic pathways was passed down from generation to generation. Whilst studying without a teacher or master was more than possible, it was still much harder. It required quite a lot of talent and understanding of magic to accomplish alone
So it couldn't be blood magic. It simply couldn't be
Noelle then began to summarize Soren's image in her mind. He is powerful and somewhat skilled. But it is clear that he is mentally unstable. These past few days there have been no outbursts, but previously he had his moments. Times when, alone in their cell, he seemed to break down completely before becoming somewhat normal again
The way he fights with such desperation, as if he's always one step away from oblivion. The way he sacrifices his own body without hesitation. The way he seems willing to do absolutely anything to survive
I wonder if the goddess can grant him salvation, she thought
Next time, I will get him to pray, so that he may receive her grace like I have done and so has many other. As she thought this her eyes went crazed again and it was like all the light left her eyes as she continued to think, My Goddess I will bring you another follower, I will carry out my mission so that I may complete my fated purpose and for if he is my mission then I will wholeheartedly give my life up so that your divine will may be carried out. After saying this, she broke into her usual prayers, her lips moving silently as she communed with her faith
Soren's body still hurt. He was sitting on his bed, his body leaned against the stone cold wall. This gave him a more relieving feeling as his body was left cooling from the heat of his burns from the lightning
His thoughts were clear and concise. Hopefully Mirelle will come seek me out tomorrow in the cafeteria. Otherwise I would have left an enemy alive for no reason. I'll use this sword, which fortunately she seemed to have some sentimental value with judging by her reaction during the end of the fight, to try recruit her
Then he slowly nodded to himself and started to disgustingly smile
Yes. I will start recruiting her. Then she will be one of many who will join me here
Soren started to think back to his actions with the thin blond prisoner. When I slashed that guy's stomach open, it was not only to test the limitation of the restriction of magic, but also to test the guards' reaction toward the actions of prisoners. And it does seem that they won't intervene unless someone's life is on the line
Also due to the fact that there are formations of major gangs within the prison, it would seem that they don't involve themselves with the prison politics. This means that as long as I don't cross any lines, I will be somewhat free to act
The pain continued to throb through his body, but his mind was already moving forward, already planning the next phase of his survival
Soren's thoughts continued in the quiet of the cell
I can't keep fighting like this. Every time I use this magic it hurts so much. Using my blood as a catalyst, the pain is unbearable. Each time I do it, I don't want to keep doing this. Must I have no one to help base my spells off? No one to pass their knowledge of spells down to me?
His thoughts drifted to a memory, then quickly skipped past it, as if his mind refused to dwell there
Wasn't this supposed to be used as a form of healing magic? I mean, that's what that person in that cave said, and as Soren thought of the cave, his thoughts hurriedly skipped past it again
Now thinking in a bit of a daze, he considered: Um, maybe I'm the problem for using my magic in such a brutal way
Nevertheless, I need to get stronger. So I will begin by using everyone here as stepping stones. I will take control of everything. I already am fortunate for my lucky position of raw power. So I only need to act to get others under me
I will use those two as an example to pave my way forward. The two powerhouses here. The one with the iron jaw, Garrick, and the one with the mechanical eye, Tovin. They haven't been outright in protest against me, but it was only a matter of time before they would act against me. I can tell that they are wary of me. So I will prove their suspicions right
And with Noelle by my side, I have nothing to be afraid of
I'm excited for what comes next. Finally, I'm in a position to decide what happens next. It's time to have fun