I could hear the sound of blood spurting as yells of pain echoed from the chamber behind me. Agony ruled there, and I could hear splashes of liquid striking the floor. It didn’t take me too long to figure out what happened, what with the knives and the ‘sacrifice ourselves’ declaration.

A simple sacrifice. A blood sacrifice.

But whatever happened behind me was completely pushed to the back of my mind. Because the person who had crept up on me with near perfect stealth to the extent that I couldn’t even find a hint of his presence was definitely dangerous. His hair was as red as blood, and his red eyes gleamed with an animal ferocity.

The man smiled at me, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It was a kind of sympathetic smile. Like the kind one gives when he’s gonna gut you like a defenseless fish.

“You didn’t answer me. Going somewhere?” The man insisted, his smile fading. I somehow managed to stammer out a reply. “I-I just got lost in here… I was adventuring and-“

“That was not my question.” He said, standing up. His silver armor made me intensely regret not buying armor. Not even the rudimentary kind. His hand tensed as he went for his sword, a two handed double edged killing machine.

“I’ve had enough of this adventure, so I’m leaving.” I declared, standing up as he did. A smile flickered on his face before it vanished just as quickly. “Lies. You were about to stop the sacrifice. An interruption. An anomaly. Anomalies must be destroyed.”

It was then I realized how robotic his voice sounded. Like a preprogrammed automaton. Oh yeah. A preprogrammed automaton with a wireless polygraph system. And did I mention the mind reading function?

I tried to assure myself that the reason Detect didn’t work was because he wasn’t alive- I mean, it wasn’t alive- and that it must be because it’s an instrument of magic.

The metallic clang of swords echoed as his double edged sword clanged against Gluttony. It felt like a canon had hit me as I was sent flying merely by the force of his sword. Crashing against the wall, I was sent tumbling through the tunnel into the chamber of the crazy cultists. Did I mention that they only had one hand?

As soon as my legs met the floor, I boosted my Dragon slaying energy and propelled myself off the ground, and into the air. I flew through the air, surveying my surroundings for any tactical advantage. The fountain of violet water was glowing now, its water slowly turning red as the blood flowed into it. All around it, the Margistra cultists were sprawled on the floor, some screeching in pain, others out of it as blood continuously flowed out of the bloody stumps of their right hands.

The arrangement was dizzying when you looked at it from above. There were grooves made in to the floor through which the blood flowed. It formed a continuously crisscrossing floral pattern, that suspiciously looked like a snake as well. All of the blood flowed into a depression beneath the fountain, draining the people of their life.

Barbarians.

I tried to land directly on top of the fountain, but some invisible barrier was present there, sending me flying-again- at a wall. Coughing as a sheet of dust collapsed on me, I struggled to my feet, only to see the silvery glow of a sword tip mere inches from my eyes.

Automaton, it seemed, wasn’t slow. Its eyes were definitely glowing now, as it raised its sword to bring it down on my neck. My senses kicked into action as adrenaline bursted into my bloodstream. My heart pumped with anticipation as Chaos energy flooded into my veins, enhancing my senses, granting me a vision of the world my eyes never could do. A vision that granted me control over space.

The familiar reddish black light floods through the room, in an invisible circle. Taking a deep breath, I enjoyed the feeling of the mad energy becoming me, as I disturbed space and time. “HA!” I expelled all the energy, my self, my being as I instantly felt myself passing through the disorienting feeling of Blink.

An instant later, I was behind the automaton, my back facing its. I cursed myself as I failed to consider the possibility that I would be putting my back to its back as well. A deafening noise echoed as his sword clashed against the stone wall. Thanking god for this unexpected windfall, I twist around, Gluttony whistling through the air as it went for the thing’s head.

CLANG!

A violent rebuttal greets my hand as Gluttony gets violently repelled by the air next to the automaton’s head. The fierce push twists my hand to unimaginable extents, and I could hear the disconcerting sound of my bones yelling in pain as I flew through the air and crashed into the cultists.

Blood drenched my right hand as the twisting tore my skin open like wet paper, causing multiple wounds on my hand. Panting, I grasped my arm and tried to sit up on the bodies that lay below me. A certain panic grips me as I realize that the bodies were merely flesh and bones now, their faces emaciated.

Dead.

All of them, dead.

It suddenly struck me that in this enormous chamber filled with bodies, I was the only one breathing. Even the automaton was just that- an automaton.

I staggered to my feet, panting as I glared at my enemy. For the first time in my life after the forest’s test, I felt it. An astounding sense of helplessness. I knew it. I couldn’t beat him…. Not now, not ever. My sword was gone, somewhere amidst the cave. My arm felt like it had been ripped to shreds.

And as if to emphasize my despair, the Chaos energy cut off, making me weaker, as if I had run a thousand miles nonstop. My legs began shivering as fatigue began taking over me. Taking a deep breath, I released a flood of Monster slaying energy, the invigorating feeling strengthening my limbs and steadying my heart rate.

That’s right. Giving up here is simply useless. If I’m gonna die here, then I’ll do it with a bang!

Deciding so, I got to my feet and increased the flood of energy, feeling my skin thickening and my teeth extending into canines. My body felt rawer, stronger. A green tinge came into my sight as I began regarding everything purely with instinct. But I didn’t stop there. At a steady rate, I could maintain this for about 3 more minutes. But I wasn’t going to do that. I was going to finish it within one.

The automaton looked like it had deactivated as it had bent its back with its sword buried in the rock. It was, however, gradually coming to its senses.

Without holding back, I released an even larger burst of energy, accelerating the Slayerification. Master had told me that once I began gaining proficiency in a type of energy, I would gradually begin gaining the characteristics of the animal whose blood ran in my veins, slowly turning into the beast itself. A maximum stage Energy.

But there was another way. One that she’d warned against. Increasing the rate of energy within the veins to the extent of accelerating the Slayerification process. To reach the third tier by becoming the beast at a faster pace. But the problem with that was the same which would happen if you give a baby an adult’s body and asked it to break dance. Absolute mayhem.

Keeping in mind to not take it too far, I accelerate it just a bit. The effect was instantaneous. It was like an invisible barrier had broken in my body as the flood rushed through my veins. The silvery sheen around me intensified as my hair lengthened. My face felt like it was being pulled in two directions as the pain coursed through me.

Unable to bear it, I crouched down onto four legs and instantly felt a distinct sense of clarity.

It was so simple.

Before my mind could register it, I was at the automaton’s throat. The thing had barely noticed me before my hand- no, paws- were bathing in blood. Blood spurted as my hand once again clashed against the invisible barrier, which seemed like a thin sheet of glass as it gave way under my might.

My hand didn’t stop there, however. Within seconds, my nails were tearing into its throat, with it gurgling blood like a real person. I tried to stop myself as I tore at its neck with a desire to see more-more blood, more flesh.

STOP IT! It was like a minute voice in the back of my head as I continued mangling the body of the automaton. It was gasping, coughing blood before it finally slumped onto the wall, dead. The stunning discovery of what I had done stayed my hand. With my now enhanced ears, I could hear it. Its- No, his dying heartbeat. I realized that …

“I killed him… “

My hands limply fell to my sides as I fell on my knees. The monster slaying energy had vanished, lifting that ferocity out of my vision. My eyes were dragged to my hands, bloodied by blood. By blood, and his life.

“I’m a murderer… A murderer…” I looked back at my victim- his eyes now lifeless, with blood staining his white clothes. But what horrified me was only that I had killed. It was also that I enjoyed it.

“I… really am a monster….” I chuckled.

Meanwhile, the blood flowed through the groove into the fountain with crushing force. Deep beneath the stone floors of the cavern, the blood mixed with the violet waters of the fountain and flowed through the underground pipe.

Past the mountains, past the fields, past the Ugras walls, it flowed into an enormous cavern located beneath the fountain in Ugras, a cavern that greatly resembled the one Yuuya was in. The blood flooded into the dark cavern, filling it completely. The water from the fountain gushed in, trying to stop the blood from filling the cavern, but the mixture of blood and the violet water was too much. Within moments, the cavern was filled with it.

In the depths of the blood filled cavern, an enormous orange eye opened.

Maria felt an increasing sense of foreboding as time passed. Something was going to happen, she just knew. Next to her, Mili felt similarly tensed as she gripped Maria’s robes.

“The ground… something’s happening. Maria, let’s get out of here. Something doesn’t feel right.” Mili insisted yet again, pulling on her robes. This time, Maria agreed. But unfortunately, it was too late.

An enormous earthquake shook Ugras, sending Maria tumbling on top of Mili. The earth shook and rumbled like an ancient beast as cracks began spreading from the fountain. The knights of the Ars continent tensed, their hands going for their swords.

The earthquake stopped, and Maria started to get up. Hwoever, it happened again, sending her off balance. This time, it was much stronger. Someone from amidst the knights- a magician- cast a spell, covering the knights in a green glow, stabilizing them.

Once more the earthquake ceased, but this time the rest period wasn’t for long. An unearthly roar echoed out from beneath the earth, making Maria clutch her ears. Everyone around her did likewise as the roar persisted.

Next however, a voice spoke. A voice that seemed to be ancient, as well as powerful. Carrying a certain fierceness, it seemed as if the earth itself were speaking.

“I WILL BE FREE!!!”

Once more the earthquake occurred, but this time, it was to be the last time. The square rent apart as mud and dirt flew through the air, making it difficult to see. The fountain got smashed to pieces, spraying water like a broken tap.

And from within the ruins of the square, the monstrous snake emerged.