Razor-sharp pricks of refracted light assaulted my eyes, forcing me to blink and then squint as I took full stock of my surroundings. I was restrained and encased in a chamber filled with some amber liquid—likely designed to keep me nourished. My arms, legs, waist, and chest were pinned by thick slabs of high-grade steel, covered in ancient Japanese lettering and iconography meant to suppress me.
My bare skin was wrapped in clothing marked with the same sigils, and beyond my containment chamber, decorated streamers crisscrossed the rafters—bare bone beams—before drooping down in long lines that swayed in the air-controlled wind.
Red alarms blared. The mass of armed and unarmed guards, along with four Jujutsu sorcerers, reacted immediately, pointing and gossiping. I recognized every one of them. They had all taken turns in the ring, brutalizing me.
My irises, now glowing red, reflected faintly in the glass—pulsing with low light.
"What's with his eyes?" a stray soldier muttered.
"It's likely some side-effect from the changes," a scientist replied, hunched over a widescreen console, fingers blurring across a touch keyboard. "Perhaps some kind of secondary adaptation related to that exotic energy he wields."
A pale sorcerer snorted. "It's called Cursed Energy, doc. Not that hard to remember." He wore a plain white T-shirt beneath a black leather jacket and pants that were a touch too tight, in my opinion. Striding up to my containment pod, he sneered. "After fifty lobotomies, you'd think one would take."
His name was Damien. He was new to the Death Cult but already on the fast track to Special Grade. Even Artisan seemed to think so. He certainly had the Cursed Energy for it—he just lacked control and refinement. Dangerous, even by my standards. His Cursed Technique was item five on my wish list.
Adrian stepped in, blocking Damien's path. "He's a cockroach. Bastard will probably outlive us all. Radio Gina. She'll be glad her boyfriend's awake."
Damien didn't respond right away, earning pointed looks from the others—Ada, Connie, and a few faces I didn't recognize.
The silence broke when Misha grabbed Damien's elbow. Frost spread instantly. Cursed Energy burst from her mouth in reaction, and the air cooled sympathetically. Frost clung to Damien's arm and half of his upper body. He swung with his other, but Misha caught it before he could gather his technique, twisting hard and forcing him to his knees.
More Cursed Energy leaked from her, a growing mist appearing as the temperature dropped further.
I blinked in surprise.
I can see Cursed Energy. Did that mean I had Six Eyes? No—wrong color. This was something else.
"Unless you've somehow challenged and beaten Shelim," Misha said coldly, "you obey when your superior gives an order."
Adrian blinked, lips curving in approval at the show of dominance.
Damien struggled for a while before Misha tightened her grip, coating his other arm in ice.
He clamped down on a desperate scream. "M… my bad," he managed through chattering teeth. "Won't happen again."
Misha released him and snapped her fingers, shattering the ice. Damien fell back, seething, then climbed to his feet and met Adrian's gaze.
"I'll deliver the news personally—if that's okay with you?"
Adrian took his time responding, amusement flickering in his expression before he finally nodded. Damien was gone in seconds. Adrian laughed, and Ada and Connie joined in. Even the guards chuckled. Only the scientists and Misha didn't.
"I didn't do that for you," she muttered.
"It was still appreciated," he winked.
The display made my stomach churn. Misha couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen—conditioned through violence, her future already stolen by Artisan. She'd probably end up just as sadistic as her seniors.
My heart wept for her, but she was already dead. They all were.
They belonged to Artisan and could not survive today.
It would be a mistake.
Drawing a deep breath, I shut my eyes and pulled at my Cursed Energy. It sputtered the first two times, sluggish and resistant, like squeezing clay through a tube of toothpaste. But I had enough for what I wanted.
Eyes darted toward me, but it was too late.
Cursed Inventory: Maw.
A large portal opened above my wrist, sawing through the clamp that held my left arm. It gulped down some of the amber liquid with it. I dispelled it and summoned another above my other wrist, then moved on to the huge clamp across my chest.
It came easier this time. The invisible portal sliced through both ends, swallowing more fluid. I wrenched the rest off and sent it into my Cursed Inventory.
"Shit!" Adrian cursed. "Drain the chamber and get it open!"
He transformed instantly, growing nearly a foot taller. His skin reddened and hardened as bone warped out of his skeleton, forming jagged armor over vital spots—crotch, knees, feet, chest, lower back, elbows, fingers, shoulders.
Blood poured from the new growths, gathering into floating supernovas of crimson. He kept them orbiting above him, a blood-soaked halo.
Misha and the others joined him as the scientists scrambled to obey. The fluid drained rapidly. I felt the vibration of machinery below as the chamber locks disengaged.
Reaching down, I yanked off my waist clamp, channeling more Cursed Energy. The world slowed to snail's pace, the 500% boost nearly overwhelming me instantly. I had to tone it down several orders of magnitude, settling around about 100%.
"Attack!" Adrian roared.
The glass shattered. I invoked Inverse and braced through the impact without a flinch, prying off the leg clamps with a screech of metal.
Blood splashed and refracted off my skin, cutting machinery apart. Ice formed around me, stone spears shattered, high-caliber rounds stopped dead, and a jet of flame engulfed my lower body.
I let the rage I had dutifully cultivated consume me. A mad grin spread across my face as I moved.
I exploded forward—shutting off CE reinforcement entirely. I wanted to savor my new strength. One of Luthor's metas rushed in, thin and wiry, twin blades flashing for my midsection. I pivoted, produced a mace from my inventory, and splattered his head with a single swing.
His body blurred forward, twitching as it collapsed. I only slowed down when I was behind my enemies. Only Adrian had managed to keep up—barely. I splattered another enhanced soldier's head before he could fire.
Multiple piercing blood projectiles launched from Adrian's orbiting supernovas. I danced between them, then hurled my mace with a burst of Curse Energy. His eyes widened as he raised a partial blood barrier. It wasn't enough. The weapon crashed into him, shattering bones and sending him flying.
A massive wave of ice swept toward me, coalescing into sharp spears. I flicked my finger, channeling positive energy, and shattered the attack with a shockwave that sent Misha flying. She slammed into Ada, and both went through a computer station and crashed into some complicated equipment that collapsed on them. Their screams choked off as their breath slowed.
They were out of the fight for now.
I sidestepped Connie's sneak attack, ducking under a torrent of flame from another meta. My hand arced, sending three knives flying. Two found the chest of enhanced soldiers, and the last pierced the fire user. Their bodies exploded with blood and bone.
Connie came again, claws flashing. I caught her arms and met her eyes. There was fear there—real fear. A reluctance she was obligated to ignore because of Artisan's vows.
The streamers overhead burned, setting the room ablaze.
It pained me to throw her behind me. Adrian's blood projectiles shredded her midair. He had been trying to flank me.
My eyes swiveled to him. He scowled, slick with blood but still standing, wounds already healed through RCT.
He inhaled sharply, and his blood flow spiked.
"Red Flowing Scales," he said, voice low. His veins bulged, bruising the skin beneath his eyes into a crimson cross that stretched to his chin and across his nose bridge.
"I was saving this for Shelim," he said, "but you'll do."
A scientist—the one who had speculated about my eyes—tried to run for the stairs. I threw a knife without looking. He exploded before finishing his first step.
"It won't make a difference," I said flatly. Adrian's face went even redder with rage.
I struck before he could retort, raising a hand and unleashing Inverse: Expanse at 30%. The expanding shockwave tore through the chamber, flipping him back and shearing half the room apart. Guards in his path were pulped against the walls, as was nearly everything not nailed down.
I heard Adrian's wet, choked gasp behind the wall of debris. I wasn't the least bit surprised that he was alive. I stepped forward, drawing a blade from my inventory.
It was time I ended this farce.
As I advanced, I expanded my awareness, letting my senses breathe for the first time since my transformation. My sphere of perception brushed every corner of the massive base, cataloging every heartbeat, breath, scent, and shift of air.
All the guards were dead or dying. Ada was gone.
Connie still clung to life. Misha was stirring but crippled—her leg shattered. Adrian was recovering fast, but it wouldn't matter; he'd burned through a quarter of his reserves already.
Above me, I sensed Damien—his heartbeat quick, his Cursed Energy churning with excitement and fear.
I counted several dozen other heartbeats across the floors, some stronger than others—enhanced soldiers. On the fifth floor, I recognized familiar ones: Priya, Luthor, Gina, and Mercy. They were arguing about something I couldn't make out.
I shelved my curiosity for now. The Special Grades came first.
"If Ade could see his favorite students now…"
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