Spectral Regalia

Ch 11: Heart Beat

"Killing one of your own, just because he is different..." the voice spoke out in a demonic tone as the shadow-like aura engulfed Avrin, revealing only a deep metallic blue set of eyes. "I'll make sure not one of you leave here alive." The Nemean tribe gave frightened looks to the point of their tails rising up, completely stiff. Avrin took a step forward, still engulfed in this aura and then another step. The Nemean tribe was completely in shock as they tried to comprehend what had happened.

Avrin focus, on the other hand, was clear. He was going to kill these creatures for making him experience such a helpless feeling he would have preferred to forget. His footsteps left black scorch marks on the ground that began to eat away at it. It was clear that whatever form Avrin had taken was not good for the mana around him.

One of the Nemeans slowly built the courage to try and move a muscle and it slowly took a step back before turning around. Avrin saw this and glared. In a split second he vanished above the Nemean before pressing his open palm against his head and pressing down on it with his immense strength. The Nemean looked like it imploded with its organs and brain matter splatting everywhere including on its fellow tribesmen.

This surge of power didn't come without a downside. Avrin's body felt like it was being devoured from the inside and every time he moved it hurt even more. He coughed up blue blood that seemed to glow. Little did he know that his blood was nearly identical to liquefied mana.

"It...hurts...so...much....but not as much...as what you made me...EXPERIENCE!!!!" With a slash of his converted demonic claw, engulfed in this shadowy aura, it sent out a wave of dark energy that cut across four Nemean's as well as trees in the vicinity almost identical to the lightning attack that had exhausted him, but stronger and even more exhausting.

"Argh..." Avrin fell to his knees, panting heavily as the area around him began to slowly break down. Rocks, leaves, earth, and even the bits of flesh of the dead Nemeans began to float up and slowly break down as Avrin began to absorb it.

"My body can't handle this." Avrin knew he had bit off more than he could chew with this form. It was as if he ran before learning to walk and so he decided to end it quickly. In a few quick moments he went around dismembering the remaining Nemeans and executing them gruesomely, while leaving the leader alive who seemed to be sweating a little too violently as it fell to its knees.

"That position....you look exactly like him." The Nemean didn't understand Avrin's words but they would not have reached its ears even if it did. After all, Avrin to it was a shadowy figure of death that killed its tribesmen in a few moments of him willing it.

"And I'll return the favour..." Avrin stabbed his hand into the Nemean's chest as he opened it. As it pierced through the Nemean's rib cage ignoring the lesser organ' as well as the blood, his hand was now opened and ready to grasp at its heart.

Avrin gave a cold, grin-like smile before he began to disintegrate the Nemean's heart and devour it. The Nemean's eyes began to violently shake as it began to spasm, blood coming out of its mouth. Then it went limp

It was finally over. Avrin panted heavily as he tried his best to release whatever power he had just used over himself, but it was like removing four layers of clothes that were wet with energy. He felt his body heat up as he coughed out more of his mana-like blood before falling to the ground. As blood came out of his mouth and his eyes, the aura began to dim down and seconds later it vanished completely, leaving Avrin in this slightly grotesque demonic appearance.

"It hurts. I can't breathe." Avrin panted and tried to gasp for air. He figured, from the feeling inside as if lava had been poured in his body, his own organs were going haywire and his regeneration was trying to deal with it

Avrin remained quiet as the entire area followed in this hushed feeling. Nothing but the smell of blood and a strange ash filled his nostrils. As he looked up in a daze, he seemed to hear something. A pitifully weak thumping sound.

"Did one survive?" Avrin stood up even though he was about to keel over and looked around for the source. He wanted to keep his word and kill all of them. Even if it meant nearly killing himself. He didn't know why he went through all the effort, but it was obvious that feeling such anger and anguish over emotions enraged him in this state.

Avrin looked around for a little bit then widened his eyes as he stood above the source of the thumping sound. It seemed, since he was in this augmented form with the aura removed, his senses were still heightened even more so then his single augments, allowing his hearing even in this near-death state to pick up the delicate sound that was emanating from the chest of the fallen Nemean that Avrin had thought he failed to save.

"He's alive?" Avrin fell to his knees as he tried to think of what to do. He figured that this creature most likely didn't have much time left - seconds, minutes, who knew? So he decided to risk it. He moved his hand inside the open wound of the Nemean caused by its thought out execution. Just like how Avrin executed the leader of the attack, Avrin's hand was opened over the heart of this Nemean. He shut his eyes, trying to feel for his energy. Of course, this was more to reassure himself that maybe it would help by doing so.

With one hand on the ground, absorbing it, and another over the damaged heart of the Nemean he began to try and reassemble it the best he could. Avrin was no doctor, nor did he know directly how a heart worked, he just inserted energy with the wilful feeling of repairing and enhancing, and hoped for the best.

As the dark matter entered the Nemean's body and into its heart, the flesh around it began to reshape and deform slightly and it seemed like it was working. It was like a carapace over the wound that would continue to grow around the heart itself. It felt easier than growing an arm.

Is this because of my current form? he thought to himself, before ignoring his own thought, as he figured being in such a near death state would just remove that positive.

"Come on....work" Avrin desperately tried to revive this Nemean, even though it had tried to kill him before. In the end, it came seeking help and in Avrin's past he could not help those he had left to die and even killed himself in the purging. He at least wanted to save one life. Even if it meant that he would not continue to fulfil whatever goals he might have had here.

Avrin slowly let out a sigh in relief as he felt the carapace encase the heart and felt it thump quicker and better than before. The Nemean's wounded body even reacted by moving slightly as he felt it breathe better. Avrin carefully removed his hand and stood up. It was good that he had finished because he felt himself about to fall unconscious. But the spirit of the general within him didn't let him. He felt that he was still in battle and it wouldn't be wise to fall here and be easy pickings for the creatures.

Especially the Hecate gorillas, who would love to devour him. Avrin blinked as he felt movement rushing towards him. Not one, not two, not 15, it felt like there were dozens of these quick moving figures heading toward him. They felt much quicker than the Nemean's and Hecates. He gazed in their direction with his unfocused eyes barely able to make out the aura of the creatures heading his way. They seemed unshaped in his exhausted state.

"I'm too tired to tell." He coughed up more blood and fell to his knees. Then he stood up with a stingy looking voidsword that seemed as if it would eat itself, as it was made using weak dark matter that was nearly depleted. Avrin could absorb dark matter around him but he could not use it to heal himself yet, as he was not skilled enough.

It took a few more moments before a figure jumped out of the trees while the rest stayed behind. It was an elven female, baring a large bow. If Avrin could see better he would call her beautiful, but instead he just saw the blurry figure and only knew it was humanoid and smaller than the Nemean.
Little did he know, in front of him was the elven maiden Syrana with an angered look, as if she was disappointed.