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{Haema: Advent of the Scarlet Prince}
It is the most powerful code I have ever developed.
It is a sort of ultimate form, and I started working on it even before falling into the Tear, when I was a Deathwalker in the Shield.
I had envisioned a cool concept, but I had to pause because it required a ridiculous amount of ardor, mental strength, and ardor control.
The energy and control required to use this code would be on the level of an S rank.
But now that I am an S rank and there is an abundance of ardor in the environment, this code was no longer a cool concept.
The complex crimson construct hovering behind me is an advanced Blood Loop.
It takes in three times the ardor from the environment, accelerates its speed of propagation into my body, and stabilizes the surge so my body doesn't tear itself apart.
It is this massive amount of ardor that is being utilized to maintain this awe-inspiring form of myself.
Asphodel's words stuck with me, comparing my power to the Haema Incarnus.
I felt deeply insulted.
I worked hard to develop this code, and he dares associate it with an Incarnus?
This is my creation, not the twisted blessing of a mad goddess.
My crimson wings shifted, the delicate feathers scattering and releasing a gentle gust of wind filled with ardor.
I extended a hand and pointed a finger at Asphodel.
Let's see what I can do in this form.
A bead of blood formed at the tip of my index finger and glowed, Bloodfire flickering on the surface.
It elongated and turned into a beam, thin and sharp.
It pierced through Asphodel's black flesh before he could even react.
Huh. That is curious.
I flicked the beam upward, and it cleanly severed the writhing roots replacing his left arm.
Another casual sweep outward in an arc, and hundreds of daemons toppled down, sliced in half by the crimson beam.
Wow, this much power in a single finger.
I feel giddy all of a sudden.
My lips curled into a smile.
This. This is exhilarating.
"What are you doing?" Asphodel demanded. "This battle is between you and me!"
I looked down at Asphodel and for the first time, I felt nothing.
No hatred, no anger.
Just nothing.
It's the Madness all over again, but this time I never invoked the name of the Haema Incarnus.
Does this mean the Incarnus' authority over Madness eclipses her authority over blood?
Could the Madness predate her dominion over Haema?
Is the Madness so strong that it affects Haema?
Does this mean that as a Haema user reaches the perfect mastery over blood, the Madness would seep in naturally?
How terrifying.
Just who is the Haema Incarnus?
Well. Let's save that for another time.
I looked down at Asphodel, and his earlier outburst remained in my mind.
My smile widened. I just couldn't help it.
"You're right. This is between you and me," I tilted my head.
"But this… this is much more fun."
My words snapped something in him as he suddenly appeared before me, unleashing his terrifying aura and an intense bloodlust.
"YOU DARE?!"
The roots replacing his right arm twisted and combined to form a monstrous black arm with serrated claws covered in black energy.
He swiped at me, aiming for my skull.
But to me, his movements were glacial under the absolute influence of Transcendence.
My wings flexed, and I tilted back a little, effortlessly dodging his attack by an inch, his claws touching nothing but air.
His severed left arm regenerated and erupted into hundreds of writhing roots that spread outward, each serrated root tip coming for my heart.
My wings flapped, and I shot into the air faster than the speed of sound, the white stone cracking under the powerful sonic boom.
However, the roots were like homing missiles, precisely changing their trajectories and pursuing me at breakneck speed.
Seeing them relentlessly on my tail, I clicked my tongue.
With a powerful burst of ardor and air, I shot upward, spiraling up into the crimson sky.
The roots followed suit, weaving themselves into a colossal twisting stalk that rose high into the sky to get me.
I reached so high in the sky that the palace soon became a blot on the white, endless landscape of the Abyss, but still the roots followed.
I stopped ascending, tucked my wings, and dropped from the sky, falling straight towards the writhing mass of black roots surging to meet me.
Time slowed down as Transcendence tightened its influence.
I reached out to the nearest root and touched it with my finger.
Bloodfire flickered.
A powerful beam of crimson-black energy split the crimson sky from the point of contact, vaporizing the towering structure of roots.
It was quiet and instantaneous.
With my enhanced vision, I saw Asphodel hovering above the pit. The left half of his torso was simply gone, vaporized by the annihilating beam of pure ardor.
His black flesh writhed and bubbled as it began to knit itself.
I frowned. Asphodel managed to shift his heart at the last moment.
I must admit. His instincts are unbelievable, but they were unable to fully save him.
My scarlet wings folded, and I dove towards the ground like a falcon going for its prey.
Just as the ground got closer, I extended my wings, slowing my fall to a glide.
I swooped down and seized Asphodel by the throat and slammed him into the ground.
Shards of stone flew and scattered as I dragged his head through the white stone floor and tossed him into a faraway palace wall that crumbled like building blocks.
Before the dust even cleared, I pointed a crimson finger at where he crashed and unleashed a thin crimson-black beam that blew up that section of the wall.
That was when I felt a presence rushing towards me.
It wasn't Asphodel.
"PENDRAGON!" Genisix roared, his massive claws descended on my head, and his black chains converged on me.
They were painfully slow.
My right wing transformed, splitting apart into multiple blood appendages with crystallized tips.
Sparks flew as they intercepted the daemon's attack and chains.
They coiled around Genisix's arm and, in a wide sweeping arc, tossed him back towards the army of daemons deployed to capture me.
In that brief moment, my eyes wandered to one of the balconies overlooking the chaos, and there I saw her.
Lilith leaned against the stone railing with a calm smile, yet her eyes glimmered with a depraved amusement.
Naberiax towered beside her, his burning purple eyes fixed on me and his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe at the Daemon Queen's command.
When our eyes met, I realized that he would not interrupt me like Genisix did.
At least, not for the time being.
A deep and guttural laughter tore from the crumbled remains of the ruined palace wall, and Asphodel emerged from the rubble.
"YES! THIS IS IT!" his distorted voice echoed in my ears.
He strode towards me, now back in his original form, a tall, muscular body made of sinewy black roots.
The blank visage on his head was broken by his disgusting smile as his steps quickened and he broke into a sprint, cracking the stone underneath his feet with each step.
With a mighty leap, he quickly covered the distance between us, and his fist filled my vision.
But he was still slow.
I shifted to the side, dodging his strike before seizing his extended arm and yanking him towards me.
Black ichor covered my fist as I punched straight through his torso before tossing him over my shoulder like a rag doll.
I snapped my fingers, and the air behind me filled with numerous needles of crystallized blood floating in space like a crimson constellation.
With a flick of my fingers, half of them fell like rain on Asphodel.
The squelch of the needles piercing Asphodel's black flesh filled my ears, and the sickly sweet smell of his black blood wafted into my nose.
Since my senses were enhanced in my current state, I must say it was quite unpleasant.
My blood appendages lifted his spasming body and held it over the pit, its bizarre gravity pulling at his feet like the yawning maw of a monster.
This feels kind of familiar.
"Thanks for not dropping me into the pit earlier," I told the daemon, who weirdly did not struggle, only continued to grin.
"But I'm afraid I can't extend the same courtesy to you."
And with that, I let go.
Asphodel made no sound as he fell. He just kept on grinning as the darkness of the pit swallowed him whole.
Yeah, that's definitely going to come back to bite me.
"ZYGAXIS, YOU FOOL!" Genisix's enraged shout was music to my ears.
I turned around, sending the rest of the blood needles streaking toward the other daemons.
Surprisingly, they weren't just standing there to spectate my fight with Asphodel.
Immediately, the first line of elite daemons formed a wall with their armored bodies, letting the crimson needles shred them into pieces.
The white stone of the courtyard was splattered with black ichor, and my attack all but annihilated the first line of daemons.
"ALL TROOPS! CAPTURE HIM!" Genisix's distorted voice thundered, and the daemon army surged towards me like a black wave.
Watching the daemons come at me triggered some memories.
An army of daemons marching silently out of the Tear, like a black tide of quiet destruction that swept all over Blood Valley, Deathwalkers charging at the oncoming army, entering a brutal massacre.
A memory of Asphodel crept up in my head. A lone Abnormal daemon decimating an entire Deathwalker force.
Now, looking at Genisix and the daemons rushing at me, I realized why this situation felt odd.
The tables have turned.
The daemons, like Deathwalkers, are charging towards a lone powerhouse.
I felt blood slowly dripping from my nose, and a crushing headache ravaged my skull.
Warlocks aren't constrained by the amount of ardor they can hold; their bodies are merely conduits capable of drawing ardor from the environment.
But controlling and directing this ambient ardor requires focus and a strong mind.
And this intricate and divine code I'm running is taking its toll on my mind, cracking my focus and making me lose control.
But seeing Genisix and the daemons coming at me, just like how Deathwalkers charged at Asphodel, and knowing that I can easily destroy them with a wave of my hand, weirdly makes me want to keep on going.
And what if the strain breaks my mind?
It was broken a long time ago.
Iris's hallucination glitched into view behind me, her arms snaking gently around my neck. Her smile was far too tender for this slaughter.
"Looks like Lilith succeeded in creating a monster." Her words trickled into my ears like honey.
I smiled. "Yes, she did."
I extended my hand towards the charging daemons, as if accepting their very beings.
Which definitely wasn't the case.
The crimson sky above me darkened in shade as hundreds of vortices swirled into existence. Out of each emerged long scarlet lances wreathed in Bloodfire.
"And thus, a rain of crimson spears plunged the land into death."
Iris's terribly made-up yet ominous statement echoed in my ears as the lances rained on the daemons.
Hundreds upon hundreds of daemons were impaled in a single moment, their bodies bursting into crimson and black flames immediately upon contact.
Chains rattled as Genisix unleashed his spiked weapons at me, coiling and shuddering like serpents.
I simply unleashed an ardor pulse that shattered them like glass just as they neared me.
But new chains formed just as immediately.
I continued to rain down a torrent of Bloodlances on the charging daemons while destroying Genisix's endless supply of black chains.
But I couldn't find the daemon commander himself.
He could be using the chains and daemons to cover his movements and hit me with a surprise attack.
He was hiding.
Waiting for the right moment.
And just as I thought, he appeared suddenly.
In front of me.
His serrated claws converged at me, ready to devour and shred me whole.
If only he were quicker.
Black ooze deflected off my skin as my fist buried itself deep into his chest.
But it felt odd.
Something is terribly wrong.
Genisix isn't someone who would make a mistake like this. Sure, he is the weakest in terms of power, but he makes it up with his craftiness.
Unless…
My eyes widened, and I immediately tossed him away.
But his amused chuckle told me that it was too late.
A sharp pain shot through my body, and the blood crystal embedded in my chest cracked and then shattered.
Just as quickly, my wings were sliced apart, crimson feathers scattering in the air.
I only saw a brief flash of black before getting hit. My gaze went over to the far-off balcony.
There.
She stood there, leaning casually against the railing, chin balanced in one hand, her other arm raised lazily, a thin trail of white smoke trailing from her fingertip.
Lilith's voice whispered in my mind, soft like velvet.
"That is how you do an energy beam, my love."
The pit's gravity took over as my ruined body faltered in the air above it.
And then I fell.