Chapter 68: Spoils Of War
The ruined temple descended into silence once more. Signs of battle were everywhere and at the center of it all lay the corpse of the Rank One Anima.
The gigantic feline remained sprawled across the floor in a growing pool of black blood while it’s lifeless amber eyes stared into nothingness.
Yet none of them were looking at the fallen Anima. Instead, all eyes were fixed on the Forgotten Knight himself.
Regaleon stood beside the dead feline with his Halberd planted into the ground. The crimson glow that had illuminated his Soul Essences moments earlier had already faded but the memory still remained fresh in everyone’s mind...
Vaelorin was the first to break the silence. The failed Pyromancer limped forward while helping Valmyr walk.
"What in Aetherium’s name was that?" His voice echoed throughout the temple, with an undertone of something curious in it.
Valmyr nodded immediately as he pointed at the failed Knight’s Armour. "Yeah. What exactly just happened? Don’t tell me one of your Soul Essences was trying to evolve again."
As he spoke, the bulky youth’s eyes gleamed with a strange light.
Meanwhile, Kaeloris adjusted his glasses thoughtfully before speaking.
"Uh, Regaleon... Was that the energy you mentioned earlier this morning? The one you said your Soul Essences absorb from the creature’s you kill?"
The moment he said those words, realization appeared on the faces of both Valmyr and Vaelorin...
Right. Earlier that morning, Kaeloris had questioned Regaleon regarding the circumstances surrounding the sudden evolution of his Halberd.
At the time, the silver-haired Knight had explained that his Soul Essences appeared to be capable of absorbing a mysterious energy from slain creatures.
In fact, the whole purpose of this expedition was to test whether such a thing would occur again, and now, they had finally witnessed it firsthand.
Regaleon affirmed with a nod. "Yes, it is the same energy."
Then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Though I am quite surprised that all of you could also see that red wisp..."
"Huh?" Vaelorin blinked confusingly. "Why would you be surprised at that?"
Regaleon shrugged before explaining. "Normally, the energy is very faint when it is being absorbed by my Soul Essences. It was so faint that I barely noticed it myself at first..."
His golden eyes then drifted toward his Armour before he continue. "If I hadn’t meditated deeper after killing those Wights, I might never had discovered it at all."
Kaeloris lowered his gaze as his mind began racing with assumptions and theories. Clearly, he was trying to decipher that unusual phenomenon mentally...
After several moments of silence, Valmyr suddenly asked. "So... What do you think your Soul Essences are doing with the energy?"
Regaleon looked at him. "What...?"
"I mean..." The failed Vanguard gestured vaguely towards both the Halberd and the Armour. "...If they absorb that energy everytime you kill a creature, then surely they must be using it for something."
The failed Knight maintained a thoughtful silence before answering. "Actually, I think they feed on the energy."
"What the..." Vaelorin nearly choked on his saliva. "Did you just say ’feed’?!"
The failed Pyromancer looked horrified by that concept. And why wouldn’t he? This was literally the first time he would be hearing that a Soul Essence feeds...
Regaleon heaved out a sigh before explaining. "I didn’t mean it in a literal manner. What I meant to say was that they seem to utilize the energy to strengthen themselves. You know, to grow... And evolve."
That answer immediately caused Kaeloris’ eyes to brighten as he snapped his fingers suddenly. "Of course!"
The failed Gnost shouted like a detective who finally noticed the missing piece to a crime scene.
"What if yesterday’s evolution wasn’t solely caused by the Aether Core? What if your Halberd already accumulated enough energy from previous kills and the Core merely pushed it pass the threshold."
Regaleon considerer the possibility and realized that it was plausible. "I suppose that’s true..."
Valmyr’s eyes gleamed as he pointed at the silver-haired Knight. "So basically, what you are trying to say is that your Soul Essences can evolve by devouring some sort of energy from any creature you kill, right?"
Regaleon rubbed his forehead as he replied. "They don’t devour things. They just utilize the energy from slain beasts, that’s all..."
"And it isn’t just the beasts." Vaelorin suddenly chipped in. "They also devour the energy from Aether Cores."
Hearing that, Valmyr’s eyes suddenly widened. "Right! The Aether Core!"
"Say what now?" Vaelorin raised a brow at him.
The failed Vanguard pointed excitedly at the fallen feline. "Why do we even bother standing around discussing Regaleon’s weird man-eating Essences when we have a Rank One Core waiting for us."
Immediately, the atmosphere changed as the quartet turned toward the fallen Anima simultaneously.
Right. There was still the loot from the battle...
Valmyr’s eyes gleamed with a strange light as he forgot about the exhaustion and bruises on his body...
Then suddenly, suspicion appeared on his face as he turned toward Regaleon with narrowed eyes.
"Hold on... We aren’t going to give this Core to you now, are we?"
"And why would say that?"
The failed Vanguard answered accusingly. "Well, I refuse to watch you crush a priceless core all to make rust fall of your Amour again."
Regaleon was almost dumbfounded, then after a few seconds, he raised both hands resignedly and assured. "Fine. I promise I won’t crush the Core this time."
Hearing that, Valmyr immediately relaxed...
Then, Regaleon approached the corpse. Even dead, the feline still looked enormous as it’s body occupied a significant portion of the sanctuary floor.
The silver-haired Knight turned towards Kaeloris before speaking. "Help me move it."
Without hesitation, the failed Gnost joined hands with him and together, the moved the carcass, rolling it slowly onto it’s back to expose it’s underbelly.
Regaleon crouched before it and extended his hand toward the failed Vanguard. "Valmyr, lend me your sword."
Enthusiastically, the bulky youth relinquished his Soul Essence. Regaleon gripped the weapon and without hesitation, he drove the blade into the creature’s chest.
This time, the scales way and the steel disappeared between flesh and muscle. Black blood poured outward as the failed Knight began carving out it’s chest.
The process wasn’t elegant nor was it pleasant, but none of them looked away. Instead, they watched intently...
Several minutes later, the cavity was opened and Regaleon’s gauntleted arm disappeared into it. Then, he pulled out something a few seconds later.
The moment it emerged, the entire chamber seemed brighter as amber light illuminated their faces. This Aether Core was nearly twice the size of the ones they aud received from the monstrosities.
"Damn!" Valmyr exclaimed with his eyes nearly bulging out. "Give it to me, let me hold it."
His expression was like a moneygrubber seeing a pile of gold as he extended his fingers...
Vaelorin slapped his hand away. "And why should you hold it first? You weren’t the only one who fought the creature now, were you?"
Valmyr looked offended as he pointed at himself. "And so what? I almost died several times while fighting. But what about you?"
Vaelorin’s eyes narrowed. "Hey! Who provided cover for you? And if you are talking about nearly dying, then, what about me? I was this close to being shredded to pieces."
The failed Pyromancer brought his thumb and index finger together to emphasize how close he was to dying...
Regaleon stared at both of them and shook his head.
"Enough! We can decide what to do with the Core when we get back to the others. But now, there is still much to be done."
Kaeloris’ brows furrowed as he asked. "What else is there? Isn’t the Aether Core the only thing we need from the creature’s body?"
Regaleon shook his head before gesturing toward the Anima. "The Core is just a part of it. There is still the rest of it’s body to harvest."
"And what do we need the rest of it for? We got the Core, so let’s get back to the others." Vaelorin suggested.
"Not yet. You see, we can make use of the creature’s fangs as weapons and equip the noncombatants amongst us, especially Sylveris." Regaleon said.
Then he turned toward Kaeloris and continued. "Even you are in need of a weapon, aren’t you?"
Kaeloris nodded his head as he realized that the Forgotten Knight makes a fair point. He couldn’t keep invoking "Law Script " all the time during battles because it was too exhausting...
Then, Regaleon spoke further. "Also, we could use the beast’s mane as bedding. Or would any of you deny that sleeping on a cold stone ground hasn’t tired you yet?"
Again, none of them argued that he was wrong. Sleeping on the Cave’s floor really was unpleasant, even with the flames that kept them warm.
"There is also it’s meat. Looking at it’s size, I would estimate that the meat would he enough to last us for about two days including today. And we shouldn’t forget it’s claws, scales... In fact, almost everything in its body is useful and we are not leaving without harvesting them."
"How do you suggest we carry all of these things? It is not as if Caelestra is here to help with the load." Vaelorin remarked.
The Forgotten Knight smiled faintly and replied. "Don’t worry about that. Just get to work..."
And with that, the quartet worked towards harvesting their spoils of war...
