Chapter 8: The Cradle

As I swallowed the body of the archer, I was rather disappointed. It turns out she knew nothing of that strange magic dome further ahead. I have been tracking this party for hours, they were the first Gold Rank adventurer team I have fought. Although I still sensed danger from them it wasn’t as bad as it was on the first day. I could tell that they still could kill me but I could kill them too. My next move will be to go looking for that other man that went ahead.

These past few days have been eventful to say the least. I got a few new essences after hunting in the forest. I finished the horned bear essence which had this weird name attached to it. It improved my muscle density and improved my bone strength, which also improved the strength of my spines and blades. The really interesting one was the Spriggan essence I got from these strange tree people. It gave me the ability to move through the forest without leaving any tracks at all, my body seemed to pass through the branches and the grass would stand back up the moment I went over it. I could turn this off whenever I wanted, which I did earlier to let the adventures know where I was to freak them out. The Spriggan essence also gave something very interesting. It gave me this ability called [Spriggan Decoy] it essentially makes a copy of myself that I can direct to an extent. It’s basically an illusion, it can’t attack and if it takes any form of damage it disappears.

Still it was useful for a distraction. I just had to make the decoy avoid getting hit and draw my prey’s attention long enough to sneak up on them. There was a glaring problem however, mages could apparently cast a spell to tell which one is real me. I learnt this the hard way when I ambushed a silver ranked team two days ago. I found the most problematic individuals to fight were mages due to their spells being able to lock me down, giving the rest of the adventurers an opening to attack. The mages also looked to have powerful offensive abilities but these were so slow I could easily dodge them.

That was why I used the decoy so I could take out their healer and the mage first. If I left the healers there any non fatal attacks would be quickly undone through healing. That and their defensive spells made them very problematic to fight. So when I came up with a plan to kill these ones I made sure I took those two out first.

There is another reason I took out the healer first, after stalking this group for a while I noticed that the priest and rogue were behaving strangely towards each other. More interestingly I could sense the priest and rogue were giving off strange scents when they were together. I figured out it was some kind of mating pheromone. Which means the rogue would be really upset if I took out the healer.

Something I found out after dealing with a bronze ranked team was that humans were extremely emotional creatures. I never noticed it much in my past life but now with my new body I have a fresh perspective on the emotional tendencies of humans. Make a human mad and they would do something stupid…

That bronze rank team had this idiot who was threatening me even as I had him in my hand and about to bite him in half. He was bragging to me about how there was this mithril ranked team that would hunt me down and kill me and make me suffer, put me down like the beast I am, blah blah blah…

The interesting thing about that little spiel of his was that he said THE mithril team in Averlon. I know there's a higher rank of adventurers being the hero rank. So if he wanted to scare me, why use the second best rank? Unless that's the best rank that city has available, not only that the word “the” implies there's only one available. Still, that made them dangerous. I noticed there is a significant spike in power between the ranks.

Honestly if I hadn’t strategized beforehand and I just ran into these guys I would probably have been injured at the very least. I most likely wouldn’t have been able to take them all out, I had to make sure the terrain was favourable. I needed to figure out which targets to take out first and I had to use psychological tricks to get the rogue to basically commit suicide. Lastly I needed to use tricks to get them to defend the wrong direction.

Yet, overall this was well worth the trouble. I was right, the stronger humans were worth much more than their weaker counterparts. I’m already at human genome stage: 6 and I could tell I am much smarter now. My memory was almost picture perfect, I could replay scenes in my head and remember events very clearly. I could memorise the path through the forest and I found I could instinctively predict the actions of the humans I faced just by looking at the way their body moved, their movements telegraphing their actions to me…

As for my conscience, I figured out what was the problem. My mind is obsessed with one thing, survival. If I kill an innocent person that would pose no threat to me and provide no benefit then I would feel bad. But if something wants to kill me and if letting them go puts me in danger, then I have no moral compunctions about killing them. Like that girl from earlier, she had no way to know what I was, all she would know is that the camp got destroyed. Also if my prey is powerful and they would give me great benefit then I would also have no pity for them. It seems no matter how intelligent I become or how human I become, this overriding internal programming for survival will still supersede all other inclinations.

Yes the humans figured out really quickly that there's some new creature prowling the forest but they obviously have no idea what I am. Afterall, sending scouts into the forest to gather information is a good idea, unless… the scouts you lose end up making your enemy stronger…

If they just sent in a bunch of gold ranked teams into the forest from the start I would most likely have to flee this forest and go somewhere else. But now after sending meal after meal to me on a silver plate, I can deal with gold ranked adventurers now. I just needed to get strong enough to kill that Mithril team, after that there is nothing in this forest that can contest my power…

Well I may get a power up soon, that magic dome looked very interesting. Something in there is important and if I can use whatever is in there… then who knows how much that will power me up…

With that thought in mind and a smile on my face I reactivated my invisibility and forest walking ability. I headed deeper into the forest following the trail of the human that left the group. I left him alone because I was hoping he would have some insight into how to get into that dome. I tried touching it earlier and I ended up getting nasty shock from it. So I need to figure out how to get in…

I followed the trail of the man and to my delight I saw the trail led towards that strange magic dome. When I reached the edge of the treeline and I once again beheld the massive magic dome. It was translucent and blue, crackling with energy. On the inside of the dome was what looked to be a mansion. This time I saw a woman standing inside, she had red hair, pale skin and ruby like eyes. The man was on the outside speaking to her, I focused my senses on them and began to eavesdrop…

“Save your false courtesy welp, is my father too cowardly to even face me now?” the woman spat in contempt.

“There has been a complication Princess, he wished to be here but the circumstances did not allow it.” the man replied courteously.

“So he is a coward, he can lock me in here but he doesn’t have the courage to see it through.” the woman hissed in response.

“The circumstances are... severe princess.” the man replied with another.

“Then what are these circumstances then? The prophecy is supposed to commence in under an hour and he isn’t even here… is he really so confident in this little cage?” the woman said coldly.

“Under an hour? Princess, midnight has passed, you are of age now.” the man said quizzically.

“Fool, did you think I was born when the clock struck midnight. I will be truly a woman in under an hour and if the prophecy comes to pass you will be right here to see it happen…” the woman said with a cold smile.

I sensed the man fidget slightly at her words, I could smell his fear. Something about this whole situation terrified him…

“I lived my whole life under that damned prophecy you think I wouldn’t know the hour in which I was born? Out with it! What are the circumstances.” the woman demanded.

“A new monster has appeared princess. It is dangerous and we know next to nothing about it, that is why your father could not risk coming here.” the man said apologetically.

“A monster you say? Now that is interesting…” the woman said with a sly smile.

The man paused at her reaction, when I came here earlier I didn’t see her or sense her. To be fair I couldn’t sense anything beyond this barrier. My best guess was that this barrier sealed off everything on the other side.

“You see, welp, yesterday something interesting happened. Something tried to break in…” the woman said with a smile.

“What?” the man stammered in reply as he turned and looked around.

“Oh yes, you are not as alone as you think fool…” the woman said as she placed her hands on the barrier. The barrier crackled and I could see blue arcs of electricity course up her body singing her flesh and destroying bits of her dress.

“Princess, what are you doing…” the man stammered as he took a step back in shock.

“YOU THINK THIS CAGE CAN HOLD ME FOREVER? ONE DAY I WILL BE FREE AND ALL OF YOU WILL KNOW MY WRATH!” the woman screamed as she withdrew her arms and her eyes glowed blue.

Elbow length gloves made of swirling runes covered her arms. She thrust her arms at the barrier and began to pry it apart. A hole began to appear and the barrier crackled and arcs of energy flew out scorching the ground. Her dress was now a mess of burned fabric and I could see burns all over her body. Then with a loud bang the hole in the barrier slammed shut and threw her onto her back.

“When I get out… I will take back my birthright… and I will repay this injustice a thousand times over…” the woman said as he panted and stood up shakily.

“How…” the man said shakily.

“Don’t you know? I’m the most talented mage the academy has ever seen. My lord father, the fool that he is, took pity on me and gave me arcane books for my leisure. I have been making a spell that would allow me to escape. It is still incomplete but soon I will be free…” the woman said as she shifted her gaze up and looked straight at me…

She could see me? Well the mages could also see me when invisible but they had to activate a spell to do so. I eventually figured out it would be best to kill the mages first, after all why would they even know to look for me out of the blue?

“Why are you telling me this…” the man said as he looked around again, I could tell he was starting to figure out something was very wrong.

“Because I don’t expect you to see the next dawn…” the woman said with a twisted smile and I saw her eyes were consumed by madness and hate.

Well the jig is up, might as well have a chat with this woman… With that thought in mind I began moving closer to the pair. I saw the woman’s eyes widened as she saw me approach. The man still oblivious to my presence started to realise the woman was not in fact looking longingly at the freedom on the outside of the barrier but was in fact looking at me…

The man’s body twitched as the woman’s gaze shifted upwards to look up at me. The man turned and I materialised in front of him. His face went pale and I snatched him up in one of my arms. He screamed in fear as I held him in hands.

“There is no need for him. If you want to know how to get me out I can tell you. If you want to know anything else I can tell you more than he ever can. He is a pawn, a disposable piece on the board. Why do think he was sent here on this suicide mission?” the woman said with a smile.

What she said made sense… and the funny thing about my body is that I can sense when someone is lying. I can pick up all the bodily functions that occur when someone lies and as far as I can tell this woman is telling the truth. I can still gather that much on this side of the barrier

As I look down at the screaming man in my hand. He didn’t look like I'm going to threaten you and give you information without knowing it type of idiot. He seems more of the scream and piss himself until he passes out type…

Sure enough after a solid minute of none stop screaming. His eyes rolled up and he passed out in my hand.

“He even smells like a coward…” I mutter as I flip him upside down and give him a shake to see if he wakes up.

“I think that’s urine my friend.” the woman said calmly.

I lifted my hand and I saw some yellow liquid dripping down from the bottom of my hand.

“Well that’s disgusting…” I mutter as I drop the man on the ground before burying a blade into the back of his head.

Well I have no intention of sitting around and waiting for him to wake up…

“So I assume you want to talk? You seem awfully sure I’m here to set you free…” I say as I turn my head to look at the smiling woman.

“Why yes and of course I do.” the woman replied she didn’t seem at all bothered by the burns all over her arms…

“Who are you? Why are you in there?” I asked as I peered at the woman.

“I am Cecilia Averlon, Crown Princess of the city state of Averlon.” the woman said as she did a graceful curtsey with her ruined dress.

“As for why I am in here, well you see there is this prophecy that predicted that I would destroy the precious order of this world.” Cecilia replied.

“Prophecy? Hmm… what do you know of this world?” I asked as I peered down at her smiling face. Strange she seemed quite familiar for some reason…

“Yes, a prophecy, you see this world of Terra is inhabited by the mortal races but we are ruled by Heaven. The Seraphim and their Divine Council hold sway over this world. They tell us how to live, how to behave, anything that goes against this order that they have set is considered heresy. The feeble minded sheep in this world view the Seraphim as gods, but I know they are not. Gods cannot be killed and I assure you my friend the Seraphim can most definitely be killed.” the woman said.

“Tell me about Heaven…” I ask as I realise this woman might be a wealth of information. If I could get her to tell me everything I would be much more informed on the workings of this world…

“Would you like to bargain, friend?” Cecilia asked.

“You want me to let you out and if I do you’ll tell me whatever I want to know.” I state, the train of thought is honestly quite obvious… the thing is. If I let her go and she goes back to that city, she might tell everyone about me…

“Don’t worry friend, I won’t tell a soul about who and what you are. I know how humans react to monsters and I have never seen your kind before… Although first, may I request you entertain a little question of mine? What are you?” the woman asked curiously with a sly smile.

“If I tell you what I am, I’ll have to kill you.” I reply with a laugh.

“Oh? Now that is interesting… you know your blades look very familiar… that and the way you materialised from invisibility. Did you know friend, that different species have different kinds of invisibility and the way they rematerialise is different.

When I look at your blades and the way you exit invisibility it reminds me of something… a Stalker Chameleon…” the woman said with a smile and I felt a chill go down my spine. This woman was smart… a little too smart…

“You are mimicking the abilities of another creature while putting your own spin on it and I know only of one species that can do that… are you a Primordial Devourer?” Cecilia asked as her smile widened.

I stood in silence as I saw the mirth in her eyes, I could tell she had her answer from my silence alone.

“I guess you’ll have to kill me now… come and get me.” the woman said with a laugh. I growl as I look at the massive barrier, I know I can’t break through this thing…

“Now then back to my proposition, I would like to make you an offer. Free me and help me take back my rightful throne. In exchange I will give you something only I can give… protection…” Cecilia said.

“Protection? How exactly are you going to protect me?” I asked as I lowered my head closer to her.

“If anyone finds out you are a Devourer the news will go straight to heaven, then you will have to deal with the Seraphim. Let me tell you friend, you will one day be able to defeat the Angels but not as you are now. If the forces of Heaven find you as you are now, you will be turned to ash.” the woman said.

I’m starting to see where this is going…

“So if I help you do all of that, you will carve out a place for me to live. You will keep my existence a secret, if someone finds out for me you will silence them. Is that your offer?” I ask.

“Exactly.” Cecilia replied.

“My only problem with your proposal is that in that situation you could threaten to report me to Heaven. You will have me on a leash…” I say with a growl.

“Of course not, I could report you in that situation… if I have a death wish that is… do you know why I’m locked away all the way out here?” Cecilia asked.

“Why?” I asked as I brought my head an inch away from the barrier.

“Because that prophecy was made by a great seer, the seer once served the Divine Council. The seer appeared on the day of my birth and told my father the prophecy. She told him that this would be her last prophecy and she was right… My father killed her to keep the secret…

You see friend, I was always different, too smart for my good, too magically powerful for my own good, my parents saw all of my potential and instead of being proud they grew to fear me. My whole life I lived in the shadow of that prophecy. So they isolated me from the rest of the world, they called me sickly to the court, they said I couldn’t leave bed most days.

Back then I was just a girl. I listened to my parents who told me of the dangers of the outside world. But as I grew older I saw my siblings free and happy while I alone remained sealed in my room.

Then as I had my first blood I found out that I preferred women to men. After that I met a servant girl, she was pretty and I grew to care for her and so she did for me as well. One day we decided to escape together, to go somewhere far away. No prophecy, no judgements…” Cecilia said as she lowered her head and I could sense a deep sorrow start to leak out of her. This was a long story, I suspect this was the first real conversation she has had in a long time.

“We failed, in the end they tortured her and she revealed how we loved each other, how we layed with each other…” Cecilia said then her voice started to change to one of anger.

“To heaven a man must never lay with another man and a woman must never lay with another woman. Unnatural they called it…” Cecilia spat as I saw her eyes once again filled with hate and rage.

“So they hung her and then they sent me here. Away from everything. Four years I rotted in this prison, four years I waited here alone as a bird in a cage and I have had four years to learn to hate everyone that wronged me.” Cecilia said as she once again reached forward to grasp the cage as the cage crackled at the touch.

“If I am free I will not betray you, we are both monsters friend. I just happened to be born with human skin. All in creation despise the likes of us, I intend to carve out a life for myself… and I could use some help. I have no loyalty, no love for any of my kind, what I want is for Heaven to fall, I will shatter their precious order. I will break this cage they call a world.

Help me and you will be my ally, my friend. I will do everything in my power to help you, maps to better hunting grounds, I can tell you where to find the likes of Phoenixes, Dragons, Mountain Trolls, your power will soar until even the Heavens can no longer challenge you.

What do you say? Friend…” Cecilia said her gaze pleading and hopeful.

Throughout this entire thing she hasn’t lied once and I know that she means every word that comes out of her mouth. Even if she’s a liar, I did hear from another source that other races exterminated the Devourers. So chances are she’s right, it’s only a matter of time before I mess up and someone finds me. If I had help from an entire nation, a knowing collaborator with power, that improves my chances significantly. She could spin a whole story about me, the word of a human would certainly be more convincing. Furthermore I couldn’t help but shake this nagging feeling that something was very familiar about her. My gut told me to trust her, not sure why though. This may be fate and all that prophecy thing but yet… something was definitely there…

Well even now I could possibly defeat her, it won’t be easy but it was possible. Give me a few more meals and I can kill her easily. I can just demand she give me the locations of some prey first before I help her. That should make things safer…

So with that thought in my mind I made my reply…

Take your hands off the barrier friend

I will need you fully functional when I get you out of there…