An Illusion of Will

Chapter 95: Ancestral Bloodline Ritual

Al plummeted over five stories, his chest caved in. Elissa was left alone to deal with the green skinned Dark acolyte. The body grew tougher and stronger after a cultivator stepped passed the Physical Domain of the Mortal Chasm.

Still a fall from that height would fracture his bones and hurt his internal organs. Just before hitting the ground Al used the spell Flash Denial flooding his entire bloody with Stubborn Will only for a split second. He landed without taking any damage as his Stubborn Will accumulated for a flash denying all damage and healing his caved in chest. Al's eyes scanned the deserted streets.

In an unfamiliar chamber, a figure cloaked in darkness grinned a dark cloudy gas entering his nostrils. He was cradling a skull, lifting a single finger with a long nail he gave a delicate tap to the skull. A pulse of vibrations emanated. Instantly, a wave of agonized cries and excited shouting erupted from various rooms of the hotel.

The cloaked figure persisted, each tap deepening the fractures on the skull until it shattered and disintegrated into ash. "I need more time!" he declared, summoning more of the dark miasma from the hexagram beneath him that flowed into his nostrils.

Hearing the reverberating cries, Al sprinted back toward the hotel's entrance. Before he could get near, a colossal black hound with the feet of a chicken and four wings burst through the opening.

It wasted no time, flapping its wings propelling itself towards him, talons slashing with fervor. The grotesque hybrid did little to faze Al. Employing his spell Flash-Denial just before the talons connected, for a brief moment he became near indestructible and shattered them.

With a swift motion, he slashed left with his scimitar and old longsword, cleaving the beast in half. Yet, the monstrous maw of the dog managed to clamp onto his right shoulder, tearing at him Flash-Denial no longer in affect. Al crunched his face enduring the painful bite taken out of him.

Fortunately, almost immediately, the defeated hybrid dissolved into mist, which his ring greedily absorbed. He dropped to his knees, blood pouring onto the floor in torrents. His breath, however, remained steady.

Still drawing from the reservoir of his Stubborn Will, Al swiftly regenerated the wound and entered the hotel. He navigated the first floor; the brick hotel was already in poor condition however now there was scratching, blood, and body parts thrown around the ground. Al knew what had occurred, his anger slowly manifesting and growing. He Raced towards the stairs, the ceiling of the lower level began to tremble ominously, threatening to collapse.

"If every soul in this hotel has succumbed to becoming Hybrids... Without Midnight Abyss, do I even stand a chance?" Al's thoughts raced, the urgency pounding in his chest. However, he knew one thing, he had to reach Elissa as soon as possible.

Ascending the stairs and arriving at the second-floor corridor, the reason for the trembling ceiling became painfully clear. The floor was overrun by different hybrids, each of varying sizes, rampaged through the rooms, shattering doors and walls.

Blood-curdling screams reverberated as the Hybrids mercilessly turned on their own untransformed family members, leaving behind gruesome scenes of carnage. Those without awakened Will's couldn't even comprehend the horrifying malevolence that had befallen them. With a deafening shout Al got the attention of the horde of Hybrids before running to meet them head on.

On the fifth floor, after Al had been thrown off Elissa entered the room where she had forced the green skinned Dark acolyte. Her eyes swept across the chaos, bricks and debris scattered in disarray. A colossal hole in the wall led to the next chamber. "Where did she vanish to?" Elissa asked in a soft voice, heading toward the hole int the wall, a faint grin on her face.