Born in Blood-Chapter 558: Thinner

"Devour him," the vampire commanded the piranhas. Unlike last time, there was no addition of, ’whatever keeps him alive’.

At the same time, the lines on the ground started glowing bright red.

Giving it a scan with Spirit Sight, Liam realized something.

He was trapped in.

Four invisible walls had surrounded the Quadrant. This time, the Prince of Cruelty was securing his prey, leaving none to chance.

Liam inwardly laughed. He didn’t plan to escape, so the mosquito had nothing to worry about.

At once, a hive of fish, perhaps two to three times larger than the last one Liam had wiped out, surged forward like waves of a furious tide.

Layering himself with illusionistic mental energy, three different clones split off his figure.

At the same time, he mixed White Matter with a minute amount of Chaos, forming a lanky, emaciated humanoid being crackling with overcharged amounts of Primordial Essence.

A Hollow.

Except, this one was unusual.

It had more Chaos than it could handle. In fact, its lifespan didn’t stretch beyond a minute or two.

’More than enough.’

As soon as the hive of piranhas were meters away, Liam positioned himself horizontally – growing thinner, sharper and streamlined – then spun around himself with his Dusks spinning fervently.

WRSHHHHH!

He had literally transformed into a human drill, drilling a hole right through the horde of demon fish, spraying blood like an open vein.

...Yet, strangely enough, their blood had not diluted into the waters.

Instead, they were being vacuumed, sucked in by none other than the edges of Liam’s Dusk Blades!

As it did so, the weapons let off a sweet hum. Its veiny chains throbbed once more, pulsing as it transferred the absorbed blood and spread it evenly across the entirety of the swords.

This was it!

The ’Will’!

Blood now empowered the Dusk Blades, which had the potential to progress it into the next rank!

Of course, the immediate effects of its blood absorption were far superior than its long term results.

As of now, the Dusks were a middle tier Rank 4 item. However, if it absorbed enough blood, it could potentially reach the peak of the fourth!

...Albeit, temporarily. As long as the battle lasted, and the Dusks were refreshed with a constant supply of ichor, they would remain in a heightened state of power.

It was like a fire that burned in a snowy plain. The more fuel it consumed, the brighter, fiercer it would burn... but eventually, it would puff out.

Except, the effects of its heat would remain, even after the fire had been extinguished.

Bulldozing through the schools of fish, Liam managed to form a lengthy tunnel.

Just then, the Hollow’s ethereal eyes crackled with radiance.

On Liam’s command, all the anarchic energy within the Hollow’s body gathered into its chest, causing the waters around it to crackle and boil.

Gorock’s eyes widened. He sent another slash of blood at the Hollow’s direction...

But it was too late.

Right before it was cleaved in half, a beam of concentrated Chaos shot from its chest, piercing right through the opening Liam made.

KRSHHHHHHHH!

Like neurons connecting to one another, Chaos spread from one piranha to another, frying them immediately.

With just one attack, thousands of fish had been paralyzed dead, gliding to the seafloor like feathers of a bird.

The vampire’s bright red eyes narrowed coldly.

He saw four renditions of Liam, but he had absolute certainty of who the real one was.

’I’ll kill the others first,’ Gorock thought, eliminating any threat that could stab him in the back later on.

Making three distinct gestures, a trio of slashes shot at the three clones.

WISH!

...What he didn’t expect, however, was the clones deflecting away the attacks with their swords, before surrounding Gorock from the sides!

Gorock’s face twisted.

He didn’t realize these clones could actually fight back.

Initially, he had thought them to be simple renditions that could execute a few straightforward commands.

After all, he had decapitated one with ease.

Seeing the vampire’s frustration, the corner of Liam’s lips curved to a small smirk.

As Liam would admit, his clones were not strong enough to actively participate in this fight.

They were made out of Rank 4 darkness, but beneath the ocean, they would slowly melt like ice cream.

That being said, they were still a worrying threat, keeping the vampire anxious as to when or where they might strike.

Vampires had a very real weakness, even if they made up for it in terms of experience. Their cognitive abilities were not as fast and precise as humans.

Putting pressure on their decision making would considerably darken their foresight, even though they were not dumb by any means.

’Right, before I forget...’

A spurt of blood emerged from Liam’s chest, which spread outward across his entire figure, coating him in a knightly set of crystalized armor.

Naturally, the set of bloody armor shimmered like red opal, refracting the light in beautiful ways, while a demon mask covered his face.

Although Liam would regularly fight with his skin exposed, this was different. He needed every bit of defense he could.

Silence.

Momentarily shocked by the sudden defenses Liam had employed, Gorock lowered his head, let out another deep breath, then raised it.

Any sense of anger or worry had left him.

Instead, a huge grin was on his face.

He laughed... as a series of lines had formed across his whole face, arms and skin.

Liam watched curiously, his eyes narrowing with a little bit of shock.

WHOOM!

Eyes.

So many eyes.

Each eye had a yellow sclera, as if it was layered with gold, and had a cracked, red cornea, as though made from shattered glass.

Blood leaked from the pupils, spilling over the waters, turning them murky.

At the same time, the vampire’s whole aura seemed to shift, burning brighter by the second.

Liam just realized something.

’...Is it just me,’ Liam thought with squinted eyes, ’or did he just grow a little thinner?’