B6 Chapter 12: Blood Vials

(Any thoughts on what the blood will do for our felkin's perks? :P)

The muscular oni crashed back to the earth and struck a pose. When he looked up, he froze.

“Uhh, is something wrong?” 

I pointed an accusing finger at the brute. “You yeeted him off the cliff.”

“Is that not what you wanted?”

I facepalmed and pointed behind him. “You could have at least looted the weird bell. The bastard attacked us; it’s only fair if we steal some divine relic.”

“Oh…” Zog scratched his head and cleared his throat. “I’ll remember to do that next time. My apologies.”

“No, ugh. Whatever. Thanks for stepping in. I didn’t need your help, but thanks.”

“Of course! He would be annoying to deal with, but his skill was rather one-directional. He was too busy guarding his front and made the mistake of a novice. I do not think he is dead. His skull was hard; I’d wager he has some kind of physical enhancement as a passive. That and minions of gods tend to be hard to put down.”

“First-hand experience with that one?”

“No more different than yours,” Zog chuckled.

I simply stared at the brute as he stood up to his full height. It had been a while since I last saw him—more than two months in fact. However, not much had changed. 

I still thought he was crazy when he asked me several months ago to join the party. My first gut instinct was to reject the fight-obsessed meathead and run. So far, he was like a bell of doom, bringing along crazy whenever he showed up.

Of course, it wasn’t hard to see how ironic it was for me to think that. I accepted his proposal before I could change my mind. He didn’t stay the entire journey. Every now and then, he’d disappear for a few weeks at the behest of his god. 

Frankly, it was nice not having to deal with his gaze glued onto me like a hungry wolf. The bastard still wanted a fight, but he knew I was damaged.

Was damaged… Fuck he’s going to be a pest once this soul damage goes away.

Sereza walked over with Khrem being helped along. The poor sharkman’s front was stained with bits of glass being slowly pushed out by his clothing’s enchantments.

“I take it this means we aren’t staying?”

I could feel the headache start to crawl its way upward. 

“No. We should probably get out. Ugh.” I scanned the area and frowned.  “Where’s Walter? There’s no way he didn’t hear that commotion.”

The loud chimes, the sounds of combat, hells, even the mana being used alone should have alerted Walter. He was a supernatural hound dog, and in all my time spent at the Lightcrest manor, he was never late.

He couldn’t be, not with his skill.

I extended my senses and found nothing out of the ordinary, but the manor was enchanted against divination. After Khrem helped fix Sereza with a few potions, we headed for the gate.

Of course, that’s when thunder hammered into metal, as the manor shook, the gate chimes went off with a discordant screech.

It came in a series of threes, each a crash of thunder. As I snagged Khrem’s waist with my tail to steady us, the gate to the manor split open.

Then came the door.

A roaring spectral fist smashed it off its hinges. It carried the slab of metal a couple of meters before it too crashed against the earth, leaving behind a fist-shaped indent.

Walter walked out of the manor with glowing fists and his sleeves pulled back. When he saw us, he adjusted his collar and pulled down his sleeves, returning to a picturesque-perfect butler.

“My apologies, sir. There seems to have been some trouble,” he said calmly.

“What were you punching?” Zog cut in.

“A barrier.”

“Well, that explains that,” I said. “Hey, Walter. I’m sorry, but we were attacked by a clergy member. We’ll be leaving now.”

“We didn’t even get to bathe!” Sereza groaned.

Walter nodded. “Understood, sir. Would you like me to draw you a carriage out?”

“Yes, please,” I said.

“It’ll be but a moment.”

He bowed and then slipped out of existence. Sereza shook her head and adjusted her hip so she could support Khrem better.

“Well, I think this is the shortest time I’ve ever stayed in the city,” she said.

“Sorry,” I offered.

She shoved me away. “Waaay too late to say that now.”

We didn’t have to wait long. Walter showed up with what looked to be the same carriage that carried us into the city. The terrorbirds were different, one of them sporting feathers with red dots.

“Thanks, Walter. We’ll be back at some point. I don’t know when. But if any of the others return, or Teddy’s parents, you can tell them we went overseas. Got a lead on Igas, and hopefully it's him,” I said as Walter picked up the broken door.

“Of course, sir. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your return. May your journey be swift and calm.” Walter said with a bow.

He deposited an entire chest filled with prepared food that I had Chomperz swallow. It was genuinely impressive how much Walter cooked in the short time we were at the castle. When we loaded up, the carriage door closed, and we sped off.

Thankfully, we were unmolested as we exited the city walls.

Groaning, I summoned my beanbag and dropped, letting the soft cushion embrace my form. I pulled my hoodie up, ready to take a nap, but tapping disturbed my almost rest.

“Whaaaaaaaaat?”

“You want to talk about it?” Sereza asked as she stared at me from above.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Nope. I’m all traumatized out. Besides, it’s not my first rodeo with religious trauma.”

“Rodeo?” Khrem asked.

“Uh, it’s a sport where you ride bulls. The point is, it’s a bumpy ride where you’re ready to be bucked off at any given second.”

“I see. Continue.”

“There’s nothing I continue,” I sighed. “I’m just saying it’s not the first time dealing with annoying priests.”

“He wasn’t a priest,” Zog corrected.

“What?”

He raised his palm and summoned a flame. It took the shape of a stylistic sun with a triangle in the middle. “His uniform had the symbol on the back. Priests have a smaller circle inside the sun. The triangle means he was an outer member.”

“Outer?”

“Has your god not explained the church ranks to you?” Zog asked confused.

“Nope,” I shrugged. “Cal’s not much of a worship kind of guy.”

At that, Zog perked up. 

“Interesting. I am excited to meet him. I know he’s been in talks with my god, but I have yet to see an avatar of his. His name does not show up in religious text, either.”

Sereza tapped the table, drawing our attention. “So he could have been acting on his own?”

“It’s possible. Unlikely, but possible.”

I sat up and started summing the chests from the vault. 

“Either way, he’s gone now and we got more important things to discuss.” I waved my hand and the crates from the vault appeared. One in particular I  grabbed at reread the identification note.

High Demona Blood- A vial filled with tier three blood extracted from a demonic rift monster.

• Uses unknown, alchemic purposes hidden despite extensive testing.

I grabbed the vial and tossed it to Sereza. She nearly dove for the vial but it landed safely in her palm.

“Here you go. Let’s hope it does something.”

“Are you sure?” Sereza asked while clutching onto the vial with a firm grip. “What about you? You can use it too.”

I shook my head. “Remember the auction, before everything went down? The blood I won?”

“Yes…”

“Well I feel nothing. Whatever is inside that vial, I don’t feel anything towards it.”

Khrem had a journal out and skimmed to a section with scribbled notes in the middle. “You said months ago that the blood from the auction was also losing it’s effectiveness. Is that still true?”

I pulled out the vial from the auction and read through its description on cardstock that came with the item.

Higher Demiraven Blood: A vial filled with blood extracted from a tier two fel-fiend Demiraven.

• Uses unknown despite multiple identifications. Potential use for cursed-based ritual alchemy.

• *Note from recorded impressions of multiple identifiers: Drink it! Driiiiink it! Devour! Devooour! Mine! Mine! Mine!

I handed the card around.

They both knew of the item’s description but for Zog it was new. However he simply shrugged and handed the card back.

“It’s a lower tier, but the description of the blood says higher while the demona blood is only high. I guess this means it’s better? Did Cal ever say anything?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t have the chance to show him, the last time we talked. I would, but I also haven’t seen him in months. Eraztis says he’s busy.”

Sereza had to shake herself from a stupor as she pulled her gaze away from the blood vial. I understood the feeling, the vial called to me in a way that made me feel like I was ravenous. A deeper, more instinctual part of me wanted to devour the blood vial and all.

I placed it back in its case and sank into the beanbag. “I’ll wait to see if Ysanna has any suggestions before I mess with this. I doubt it, but she is a goddess so eh.”

“I’m proud of you,” Khrem said unexpectedly. “It is good to hear advice from helpful elders. Too often people are impatient and rush ahead.”

I squinted at the shark-man. “You’re fucking with me, I just can’t tell how.”

“Not at all.”

He said it with a straight face, which for Khrem came with the cold empty grin that came with his beady eyes. I shook my head and pulled out snacks, handing them over.

“Alright. New plan is the same as the old plan. Relax for the journey then we rent a boat to the island and get it done with. I doubt Ysanna will allow the same dragonshit with the churches as the rest of the kingdom but we don’t know.”

“Excuse me,” Zog said, raising his hand.

“Uh, yes?”

“Why are we heading to the Grave of Serpents?”

I clicked my fangs. 

Why? Because I was stupid and made a promise I had no business keeping. 

I groaned and leaned back. “To crush a kid’s dreams.”

“I see,” he said simply.

The carriage rode on, and the others started to gossip. It was annoying how easily Zog got along with the others. Thankfully they let me rest and stew in my thoughts, and eventually I drifted to sleep.

Three to four days, in and out. Then we’d finally be free to chase the lead and rescue Igas.

Just three more days.