Levi controlled the gruesomely disgusting head of the leech like a pilot. The head cocking to the left so much that the entire body stumbled that way.
The sensation coming from the body was strange in many ways, the infinite sensations of the passing winds, the way the belly if the leech crawled through the floor due to his inability to control it.
'Okay we are in'. Levi navigated the body of the leech to roll into the shadows to stay hidden from sight. But Lyra had her head down, breathing heavily and Cecilia had her back to him— fist clenched.
He couldn't see in the convenient way, instead of eyes the leech perceives the world as waves of heat, pulses of vibration, and scents flooding Levi's mind.
To him, it would feel like thousands of tiny tongues licking the air, or a skin stretched out to "see" through touch.
His entire vision was blank, save for the yellowish silhouette of Lyra and Cecilia.
He stubbornly controlled the leech, moving, crawling, sliding, shifting, through the darkness towards Lyra.
Anytime he felt the slightest sensation of getting comfortable, he would change his mode of movement, from sliding to crawling.
This wasn't his body and if his soul had the faintest idea that this was his body, he risked losing his mind and turning to a real leech.
And even if he managed to keep his sanity and managed to arrive at the ashes, he would risk his body being rebuilt in the image of the leech.
Arriving at the back of Lyra, he stopped to question his sanity.
'How?'. He thought in confusion and fear, where did he find the strength to gamble with his soul? His sanity? He was risking the possibility of changing into a leech forever!.
Risk having his body being rebuilt by the fragment of rebirth embedded in the ashes of the three legged golden crow— in the image of the leech.
'For freedom'. Yes that's right, for freedom. He wanted the freedom to choose when to live and when to die, not for it to be handed to him by some script.
'focus'. The more time spent in this body, the more his soul would adapt to this new strange body.
He pried the leech's jaws open. Flesh peeled wetly as its mouth stretched wider, ringed with teeth like tiny hooks. He coiled the body tight, bracing it like a spring. Then he lunged, snapping forward like a snake.
The jaws clamped down on Lyra's neck.
Not to kill.
But to paralyze.
Venom surged through her flesh. Her body stiffened instantly, breath choking in her throat as a rattling gasp escaped her lips.
Her hand shot back, snatching the mid section of the leech in a crushing grip. Pain rang through him as her fingers nearly pulped the leech's flesh. Nearly.
Monsters and humans of the same grade stood equal in rank— but monsters carried the advantage in raw strength. Humans, however, wielded techniques, their true edge.
Yet this had been a surprise attack. Too sudden for Lyra to muster her defenses before the venom spread.
He instinctively wrapped the lower end of his body around her neck, catchier scream in her throat.
She fought desperately, her grip squeezing until his body nearly split. In answer, his bidy coiled tighter, wrapping around her throat like a living noose. The pressure deepened, her face darkening toward blue as her strength waned.
Through his alien senses, Levi felt her glow dim. The paralysis spread. Her grip loosened.
And then, at last, Lyra collapsed, striking the ground with a muted thud.
Although he won the tag of war, he was far from pleased.
'Did I just.... refer to the body of the leech..... as mine?'. He questioned in horror, quickly using his soul sight. He gasped in horror.
Below his knees, his flesh had been remolded. His legs were no longer human. They had stretched, reshaped, glistening faintly to look similar to the leech's lower body.
No wonder he instinctively wrapped the lower end of the leeche's body around Lyra's neck.
He was turning to a leech.