Capítulo 38: A Battle Between Predators

A frightening roar was entwined with loud booming sounds in the forest's outer circle. It felt like two predators in the wild fighting for dominance. The winds cheered like a spectating audience as they whistled. The mutated beasts ran away from the frightening scene to avoid getting caught in it. The grounds trembled, carrying the vibrations across the outer circle.

All of this resulted from the battle between a certain boy and a beast. The boy was relentless and fought like a Spartan. No fear could be seen in him as he met the large creature blow for blow, his size in comparison to the beast undaunted by the energy he emitted.

His upper body was bare, with markings on his chest, arms and back. His height was around two and a half meters. He was big, but the beast was bigger. Nevertheless the fight continued, roars and stomps accompanied with the sounds of terrifying punches and kicks.

This wild Spartan was Cain, immersing himself in the fight as his body rejoiced. Although the beast was bigger than him, the power packed behind his punches proved superior. The beast however was no slouch, though it stumbled from time to time, some of its claws and bites hit their mark.

As he traded blows with the beast, his body was covered with bite marks, claw marks, and smudges of blood. He would side-roll, jump, kick, and use all manner of moves against the creature. An eerie grin persisted on his face as he continued making swings, each more powerful and faster.

As the tumultuous battle raged on, the beast kept sinking into a terrible state. Although its bent arm gradually recovered, Cain made sure to break it repeatedly. Having grown furious to this point, its attacks continued to grow more destructive and vicious. The beast was filled with immense rage at being put in this state, its movements became even more erratic.

The beast's arm stretched and clawed ruthlessly at Cain, but he blocked with his arms; and then proceeded to use either punches, kicks, elbows, or knees that would hit the target accurately. It was a close combat brawl between two monsters. The ground already became sunken and so many trees and plants were either broken or uprooted.

But all of a sudden, the beast tilted its head back, its furry neck swelling like a balloon as it opened its bloodied mouth; letting loose an ominous and ear shattering roar. The sound waves cleared everything in its wake as it sniped towards its target menacingly.

Cain was already approaching at an alarming speed and didn't have enough time to change his direction as the waves landed squarely on his body. However, unlike before where his body just trembled slightly, this time he was thrown back like a football and brutally crashed into multiple trees before stopping.

His back became unsightly, revealing a horrifying injury; bones sticking out, scraping at his flesh. The skin on his chest area was as if it was smeared aggressively by sandpaper; looking mangled as blood poured out. Despite that, his body slowly healed, displaying its overwhelming toughness.

He looked at his wounded body and pondered, 'that was most likely a sound ability.' It was almost as deadly as a spell. Yet, he himself had no intention of casting a spell. The dominion body he had gained through his [Dominion Combat] skill was enough for this magical beast. He then focused his attention back on the beast not so far away.

It was almost on its last legs, it seemed like using such an ability with an injured body was too much for it. A slew of nauseating holes and deep dents were stricken across its bloodied body, which did not even bother to heal anymore. The blood poured out incessantly as it stained the coarse floor it stood on. It was evident that the beast put everything into that attack.

The injured Cain just smiled at this. Despite having some broken bones, he was in a much better condition. His body was more resilient and his healing factor proved a little superior.

Cain got up slowly, although he stumbled a bit, he managed to steady himself. When he felt that he could move, he ran directly towards the bloodied beast. That tough body of his continued its healing process. His speed slowly increased at every step he took, carving the whistling winds.

Upon reaching the drained beast, he did not hesitate to deliver a powerful punch on the right leg. The leg immediately caved in as the bones protruded from behind; provoking a deafening shriek from the beast. It became unbalanced as its body swayed to the right, however its right claw clasped the ground as it acted as a temporary leg.

It weakly clawed at Cain with its left arm but he easily dodged it. He grabbed the left arm with both arms as he pulled with all his might, tearing it off from its body. The beast cried out once more from the immense pain and loss. There was a torrent of blood flowing out of the injured area, as the beast looked even more miserable.

Right now its head was slouched, only supporting itself with its right hand which was on the floor. Its loud roars had already faded to whimpers of pain. Cain, however, paid no heed to its piteous whimpers as he straightened his right hand into an aggressive knife pose.

[Dominion Combat: Third Movement - Executor's Slice]

The surface of his skin became extremely sharp like the edge of a sword. Due to the beast's sagged posture, Cain didn't need to jump much. Bringing his arm down, he slashed. His aim was the neck of the beast.

The beast whimpered piteously, but then everything came to an abrupt halt when its head was separated cleanly from its body and rolled to a stop. As if from a fountain, blood gushed up and splattered everywhere. Likewise, Cain was drenched as the blood dripped from his body.

The body of the beast fell with a loud thump on the ground, its blood quickly forming a river. A grin still adorned Cain's bloody face as he watched. The colour of his eyes mixed perfectly with that of the blood. He could perceive the stench of the blood but it wasn't repulsive to him, in fact it smelled slightly sweet. His hair was also dyed red, giving him a Carrie-like appearance.

His height gradually decreased as his markings slowly faded. He surveyed all the destruction they left behind, but was met with only the sounds of the wind. Additionally, he sensed some dead creatures not far from his location. It seemed the unlucky creatures were too slow to leave the area, causing their demise.

After taking in the surroundings, he shifted his gaze back to the beast. He then walked towards the beast confidently, stopping just in front of the large creature. He crouched and then placed his hand on the beast.

[Predator Commencing]

Its dead body suddenly shook as its bones began to be crushed. All the blood and meat belonging to the beast were swiftly gathered into the concoction. It continued till the creature's bones were completely pulverized. Its body then crumpled — like a piece of paper being squeezed — into a black paste which entered Cain's body.

[Assimilation In Progress]

[Locating Critical areas]

He felt a large amount of energy assault his body. It was as if he was bathing in a pool of endless vitality. That euphoric feeling came upon him once more as he relished it. His remaining injuries closed but his body brimmed with more vigor and power.

[High Energy Increase]

[Body Modification Incomplete]

His ears were deaf to the notifications and his eyes were closed to the surroundings. Right now, the energy in his body kept increasing. Some were directed to his mind as they kept on compressing, becoming more condensed.

Suddenly his body shuddered. His mind expanded as his elements became more potent. He squeezed his fists as it made cracking noises. Then he opened his eyes which became slightly deeper in colour. He exhaled a cold and satisfying breath and then sported an honest smile.

"Finally at the peak stage," he said with happiness, sensing the little changes in his body. "Not much has changed except the denser elements and of course the strength of my body."

He had to smile, any small increase in power brought him closer to the apex. Still, he felt like he was born in the wrong empire. His heart now burned more with desire, Croye was truly a treasure trove for him. This was just one of the many places which contained magical beasts, and he could only imagine what would happen once he absorbed them all slowly.

The greed was apparent under his yearning gaze. But he calmed himself, there was no rush. Excess greed just led to one's untimely death. He continued inspecting his body but frowned a little when he noticed something.

He stroked his chin as he thought to himself, 'Blood element...seems like it's the final key to my body's modification.' He had a theory that he wasn't sure about. It was a rather simple theory which he felt might work. But he would use the next battle to test it.

Normally, humans aren't meant to have affinities for blood elements. It was something unique to the vampire elementals who were also known as the 'Blood Elementals'. They were the ones who had strong affinities with blood and it was only them who could manipulate it freely.

However, his own bloodline gave him clues, most especially his [Predator] and [Nano-Parasite] abilities. It seemed like his own body was guiding him to an answer.

Snapping out his thoughts, his gaze shifted towards the direction of the first circle. Now, that was the area he was meant to be in; a place filled with rank one magical beasts. Croye had an abundance of it, and today he was going to help them cull their numbers.

He let out a low chuckle as he dashed towards the entrance with incredible speed.