I liked this chapter, albeit I had to cut many things due to perspective limitations and due to the strange plot I wanted to create.
I hope it came out well, anyway, we're coming to an end for this Arc!
Finally, the Forest Arc is coming to an end and we can go to Babylon.
Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I!
Peace.
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—-
/SPLAT!/
/Crack.../
The knife's tip collided with the cocoon, cracking it and bending it as it made its way inside.
But even with his strength, Dale felt as if he was striking iron with his fist.
A futile endeavor.
But thankfully, Tina seemed to have done something to its structure, causing the cocoon to crack with just the dent created by the knife.
Dale believed he could definitely break this cocoon if he could control his strength, but right now, the most he could do was watch as the small crack grew in size in a controlled manner.
He clenched his fist, ready to face a challenge.
/Pop!/
/Splurge…/
The crack grew following the strange symbols on the surface of the cocoon, forming the shape of a circle.
Once it was done, an entire section of the structure fell onto the ground with a loud pop, and a viscous liquid started to fall from within, together with a thick red mist.
Like a valve being released, the pressure on the inside was considerably higher than on the outside.
/Shine…/
"?!"
Once the mist touched his skin and body, the markings created by Tina flared in light, igniting akin to red flames.
[DING]
[The Mark of the Witch Stirs in Symphony of an Old Ritual]
[DING]
[The Tripodal Mark Stirs in the presence of a grand feast]
On his right hand, the triangular Tripodal Mark resurfaced, as if it had always been there.
His skin twitched and his muscles shifted, what was happening to his body?
Or better put, what had he done to it?
/Shua!/
It greedily started to devour all the air around him, gathering it around his hand.
"URG!!"
When the red mist flowed into his hand, it started to move around his body from within the carved passageways, causing Dale extreme pain and discomfort.
Like taking a bath in acid.
His body wanted to move away, but he couldn't, literally.
He felt as if a boulder had been thrown up his shoulders.
So he could only do what he had been told, resist, persevere… Consume.
Grow.
"ARG!"
'Why does everything have to be so damn painful?!'
[DING!]
[The Tripodal Mark is changing, your body is being enhanced]
His body trembling, Dale could only barely move his head, gazing at his arm as it grew increasingly red due to the mist moving around.
From his forearm to his shoulder, from that to his neck and chest before the rest of his body.
Whenever the light went, pain followed, he could barely process the notifications that were playing around his head.
And due to this, later on, he would have difficulty remembering what transpired here today.
/Shine…/
If that wasn't enough, his heart started to beat faster and faster… And a feeling rose from the center of his chest beside his heart.
Like the center of a bonfire, the heat was unbearable.
The shard within his heart shone in dark light, or at least it looked as such.
Dale couldn't really turn his head to look at it, his neck wasn't replying to his wishes anymore.
So he took it as a positive thing, that the hotter it burned, the better it would be.
Emotions and expectations were everything he could hold onto right now.
[DING]
As the red light grew to cover his entire body, a notification ensued.
[The Ancient Ritual, Vermin's Pot is in effect]
[The receptacle is ready, the offering is laid bare]
[The dormant Vitality within you is being brought forth]
/Inhale…/
/Exhale…/
Amidst the flurry of sensations his body was experiencing at this moment, Dale could only try to maintain a constant but stable breathing.
He had long given up trying to control the forces within himself, so he just let them go berserk, rampaging through all corners, from his arms to his legs.
And now, to keep himself alive, he could only control his breathing amidst the involuntary twitchings of his muscles, a hard task, but essential.
And as the minutes passed, Dale could not really fathom how he hadn't kicked the bucket yet, but by the faint beating tremors of his heart, and by the fact he could still breathe, he figured he was indeed very much alive.
At least for now.
/Tremble…/
As the seconds turned to minutes and those minutes turned into eternities under Dale's perspective, the cocoon atop him finally realized something was severely wrong with itself.
A massive leak was happening somewhere, and a leach was greedily devouring everything!
/CRACK!/
/TREMBLE!/
All across the desolate wasteland, roots rose from the ground, swatting the earth as they looked for this insolent parasite.
But due to Tina's runes and preparations, all of its senses had been twisted and turned, it could not figure out its parasite's location, not even its own body.
Nonetheless, this was only a temporary measure, soon enough, the roots would scout everywhere and Dale would be forced to stop absorbing the Devil's power.
/SCREECH!/
"!"
It was at this moment something nightmarish happened, a pale hand suddenly came out of the hole where the Vitality was being drained, grasping Dale's body and pulling it inside under everyone's eyes!!
/Grab… Stop…/
Testros was the first to grab his sword, his eyes turning red, but Sarferato stopped him, pointing at Tina.
"Never interrupt a Witch… It never goes well."
"But she shouldn't mind if we step closer."
"Let's go." He said as he stepped into the desolate land, immediately causing the earth to burst with roots
"Humph."
But he ignored them, they all turned to ash before even reaching his skin.
Completely unbothered, this was the strength of the Division Commander.
"..."
Despite feeling awe, Testros' attention was gathered on the cocoon as his concern did not vanish.
He would have to trust the plans of his old friend and the potential of that child.
Nothing different from what he was already doing.
"It's time." Tina mumbled to herself as she looked at the cocoon
'Face to face with the source, do not let yourself be overwhelmed.'
…
"?!"
'Where...?'
Inside the engulfing darkness of the cocoon, Dale felt his body be squished by something.
'I can't... Breathe...'
As his senses came to him, he slowly came to realize his surroundings.
Beneath him, he could see faint light coming from the hole had had just been pulled from, but all around him, all he saw was faint darkness…
And a hand, grabbing him.
It was massive, holding onto his chest and legs like he held a doll.
/Breathe in…/
He tried to control his breathing, but panic had already started to rise in his chest.
Even his Skills could not help him much, Dale felt extremely pressured right now.
/Tremble.../
Outside, Caladgolg reacted, feeling the far call of its wielder, it was just a moment's away from flying...
/Grab…/
But something grabbed it, preventing it from trembling.
"Not yet, give your master the chance to prove himself." Sarferato said as he pushed the sword down into the earth
/Tremble.../
But the sword was fierce, causing Sarferato to sweat.
'It's not even being held by someone... And it's already this strong.'
'I tried to lift it in my youth, and I failed miserably.'
'And even now, I can only stop it from moving.'
He turned to look a the cocoon.
'Hurry, my old hands will tear at this rate...' He thought with a small smile
"..."
'Something's wrong.' Tina said as he looked at the cocoon
'There's a disruption, where is it coming from?' She thought as her expression remained still
But inside, she was on the verge of exploding.
…
/Whispers…/
Meanwhile… Dale heard a voice.
Whispers without origin, voices he never heard before.
Tones he couldn't recognize, coming from everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time...
Amidst the cacophony of sounds, he managed to discern a few, stronger than the others, clearer than the rest.
Who was speaking with him?
"Warrior... Do not be afraid." A gentle feminine voice said amidst the dark
It was... Soothing.
"It can do little to you." An old male voice added
Elderly, wise.
"In this situation… You are the predator." A young man with a strong voice said, almost as if ordering him
Strong, eager... Confident.
"It's confusion and overconfidence… Make use of it." A very young voice added, likely that of a young girl
Naive, childish... Simple.
""Devour it."" They said in unison
"...?"
'Who?'
But no one replied.
/Attach…/
Amidst his confusion, tendrils came from the darkness, attaching themselves to his skin and body.
/Pierce.../
Dale felt small thorns seemingly embed themselves onto his skin.
He didn't need to think much, he already knew what was about to happen.
The Devil was planning on retaking what it had lost.
"..."
'This is going to... Ahh, fuck it.'
Reason returning to his mind and body, Dale started to protest.
/GRAB!/
He first grabbed the tendrils, slowly peeling them away from his body, ripping apart his skin with it.
But with each pull, he grew stronger… And more enraged due to the pain.
The tendrils tried to bind him again, and this turned into a never-ending tug of war until…
/RIP!/
Dale lost his patience, biting into the tendril and pulling it with a fierce expression.
/SCREEECH!/
A terrifying noise immediately echoed beside his ears.
And Dale… Smiled.
Strangely enough, the rubbery flesh in his mouth seemed… Tasty.
So he bit onto it… Taking a full bite out of this strange creature.
And as whatever he ate went down his throat, he felt his body flare with energy!
His pain suddenly... Decreased.
And this led him to a terrifying thought.
'The more I eat... The less pain I feel?...'
/FWOOSH!/
/PIERCE!/
But just as he did so… A thorn came flying from the darkness, piercing his heart!
"?!"
Dale looked down at his chest in disbelief, but just as he did so, a smile formed on his face...
"HAHAHA!"
And he started to laugh.
[DING!]
[Your Heart has suffered fatal damage]
[Skill, Vital Heart 2-Star has been automatically activated]
With that, the first second.
/GRAB!/
/CRUNCH!/
Dale moved his two arms, grabbing onto the thorn that had pierced his chest.
He ripped and pulled it apart, throwing it back at the darkness with everything he had.
/BOOOM!/
/SCREETCH!/
Outside, the cocoon suddenly tilted, as if something had hit it from the side.
/Let go.../
When this happened, the hand that was grasping onto his body let go of him, allowing Dale to turn around and grab it mid-fall.
/PULL!/
With a maniacal expression, Dale pulled the arm to him, ripping it apart due to the force.
/SCREETCH!/
Two seconds.
/BITE!/
Like before, Dale took a bite of the arm, uncaring about its looks.
"Haaa... I'm not a fan of seafood." He said as he raised his body mouth to the darkness
He couldn't see anything, but he felt something could see him.
/THROW!/
Dale moved his body, throwing whatever was in his hand to the darkness before he crouched and jumped, cracking the ground beneath him, and causing light to gush through.
One second.
/Shine/
Amidst the darkness, he saw a light, directly above his head.
"There." The child said innocently
"Do not miss it, you don't have much time." The old man said, concerned
Dale did not have any intentions of doing anything else anyway.
/PUNCH!/
Gathering his Mana and overflowing Prime Force into his hand, he punched the light.
/BOOOOM!/
And the top half of the cocoon burst from the inside out.
...
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Notes
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦