Chương 350: Of Course, There's Always Something...

I suppose asking for some peace is simply too much for little old me… I am just trying to drink ocean-worth liters of blood. Why do I have to be interrupted whilst doing so? Couldn't those things just keep projecting their confusion and annoyance but stay put? Instead of doing that, one of them had suddenly started to freak out. In fact, all of them had suddenly experienced a moment of fear. Only the largest one sitting deepest had kept its cool.

Unlike this guy, another one suddenly exploded with a dangerous mixture of ire and terror, and it rapidly ascended to the surface. I, for myself, hadn't budged, so I was able to tell by the sheer amount of negative emotions that thing was emitting that it wasn't in the ocean anymore, but seemingly floating above it… I wouldn't have expected a creature of the deep to know how to fly, but I suppose it could be useful to know how to do that in liquid. It probably could move as it saw fit in the blood.

Regardless, the surface of the blood ocean was being disturbed, and a bunch of small critters I had barely even noticed until now suddenly arrived en masse. They started to swarm near the surface, seemingly frenzied and leaping out of the blood in an attempt to attack whoever or whatever the flying thing had engaged in combat. I detect a few mana signatures and spells that belong to demons–Also, I recognise Holgod's fiendish blood magic.

It would seem that the people stationed here have come to intercept the enraged monster in our stead Splendid, I didn't want to waste time fighting, and it is great if my opponents kill each other without me even needing to be involved… Even if the monster is only here because I did something to both piss it off and terrify it. What did I even do? What was that last special blood I absorbed, Nara? Let me check… It was the blood of a more typical marine abomination–Oh, I see.

The blood you absorbed was that of a creature that isn't really properly named. Some people call it a type of Kraken. Some others just refer to it by appearance and call it a Colossal Squid, and others even say that it is a Leviathan In any case, it is a species of creature that strongly resembles a giant squid, but which is known to have the ability to breathe outside of water just fine, and also the innate ability to fly in the air.

The blood you absorbed was rich in well-trained mana, another sign of this creature, as they are suited to be mages from birth and even learn spells innately as they age They are quite the menaces, but they rarely show up in front of the typical sapient species. Based on this information, I can deduce with near certainty that the creature that rose to the surface is a blood-infested variant of this very creature This is certainly why it reacted so strongly amongst all of the old creatures of the deep.

You absorbed the blood with apparent ease, infuriating it, but also making it understand that it might not be able to defeat you at the same time, since you overpowered the blood It would seem that a proactive approach was what it picked. It surely rose with the intent of finding and fighting you right now, but was interrupted and was forced to engage the people from the nearby base instead What a nice summary of the situation. Thank you, Nara. As always, I can rely on you! Which of them do you think will win?

That is hard to say without knowing the specifics of the mostly demon side. Unless they have ways to force the Blood Squid to come very close to them, they can really only force a draw The Blood Squid is smart.

It will remain at a distance, using the blood ocean as a natural barrier to prevent close-quarters fighters from reaching it easily, and since the environment is ideal for it, it can cast spells from far away, whilst the opposite is true for its opponents This fight is likely to stretch on until one of the two sides decides to retreat–Also, the Blood Squid is intentionally troubling the blood and sending lesser creatures than itself into a frenzy. I believe this is an intimidation tactic.

It is trying to make its opponents believe that it will bring another powerful creature into the mix, or will otherwise tilt the scales by calling for reinforcement I quickly got the feel that the second option she mentioned was the most likely, considering all the activity I could feel nearby. Many small creatures went right past, or even bumped into me, trying to get to the epicenter of the disturbance that seemingly enraged them beyond belief. However, these small creatures weren't the only ones.

The Blood Eels and even the so-called Blood Kraken were lured over as well, immediately tilting the scales in favour of the Blood Squid. After all, both of those monsters were well known for not being afraid of approaching the shore. I remained still, feeling the ground and blood shake as spells crashed down and Blood Eels began throwing themselves at the people from the base. I felt quite a few beacons of irrational and bestial hatred vanish, indicating that quite a few of the eels were getting themselves killed.

I guess I'll just wait it out. I am fairly far from the fighting, and the odds of a stray spell hitting me are low… Or should I slightly accelerate my absorption to lure over more monsters from the deep and make the situation as chaotic as possible? Mmh… Nara, you could identify some rarer bloods for me, yes? Then, I could pause the normal drain and focus on some notable types of blood. With some luck, it will cause a similar reaction to that of the Blood Squid. You might be reading a stolen copy.

Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Mara, something just showed up five meters from you. I don't know how it got here. It's like it just appeared out of nowhere Is it strong? Seems like it Where is it? It's standing on two feet behind you. It isn't moving and is only in the blood deep to its ankles … Well then, I suppose just wanting to remain still is too much to ask for…

I rose from the blood, the opaque crimson liquid sliding off of my steel bones and wires, getting caught and absorbed when it met a bit of flesh growing upon my body. My 'Faraday Box' hummed slightly as if waiting to be used.

"Well–ell, this isn't where I remembered lying d–down" If I had been in my 'Gynoid Form', this would have been my cue to frown. It wasn't anywhere near the shore as I should be. I was about ankle deep in a seemingly endless swamp of blood. The disturbance. The distant fighting, all signs of life beside myself and my new acquaintances–Everything had simply vanished. I don't know when exactly this happened. All I know is that I didn't notice it immediately. Quite the frightening event, if I dare say so myself.

At the very least, I could cross off having been dragged into a dream or something similar. My 'Nightmare Form' would have reacted in some way to such a thing. Though the alternative was that the same thing had happened as when Kyrtian had first taken me to the Gravescape. This was probably some sort of pocket dimension or alternate realm. I focused my gaze on the only other entity present here aside from me. It was a gaunt humanoid made entirely out of blood-red flesh.

Its body seemed to be put together using only bleeding ligaments, presumably wrapped all around a skeletal structure, though I wouldn't be so certain as to believe that it actually has bones. Its mouth is agape. The lower jaw is slack, revealing no teeth or a tongue inside. The eye sockets are much the same way–Empty. All they did was shed blood every so often.

This thing just stared at me–Down at me, in fact, since it was taller than me by probably about ten centimeters, and while overall thin, it had some long limbs that were definitely thick enough to not be called twigs. The entity remained still, probably gauging me as I did the same thing… But something was wrong. Not only was it not directing any negative emotions toward me, but I also don't think it was having any emotions whatsoever. I couldn't feel anything negative or positive about this thing. It was just…

There. It presumably wasn't friendly, considering the way it was standing, but my trusty ability had nothing to give me to chew on. Is it a construct, perhaps? An entity controlled by something or someone else? Mmh… Speaking of emotions, I still feel the negativity of others flow into me, but I can't identify their sources anymore. They are just appearing within me without any trails showing up…

I can tell I am physically present in this space, but it feels as though my real body is still lying in the blood whilst my mind or something else was transported here…

"Would you be will–willing to explain yourself, buddy?" The creature didn't react, nor did it budge whatsoever… Until it did. I suddenly felt its fist strike the side of my head, and I was thrown away like a rag doll. I was sent rolling to the ground across several dozens of meters throughout this endless marsh of blood before I stopped my momentum and rose from the ground. … That was pretty damned fast, and because that thing has no emotions, I didn't see it coming whatsoever.

I'll have to get used to not reading my opponent's emotions. I've been doing this for so long during fights that having it cut off let me get hit by an attack I should at least have been able to defend against. The indent left in my skull was only minor damage, but it was still a clear sign that a single strike from this thing could actually deal noticeable damage to me. It means that allowing it to actually stack up hits, or to have an occasion to whale on me, would be bad.

Especially since the blood here isn't one I can absorb. It isn't recognised as 'flesh' at all… Or rather, I am not capable of absorbing this blood for whatever reason. A higher authority of this place, perhaps? Whatever… I'll start by dismantling the bastard rushing me down first. It's been a while since I got to test my 'Base Form' in a proper fist fight. It is about time I got to try out the upgrades Mari added for real. I watched as the monster was rapidly closing the distance between us…

Its face remained just as inexpressive as before, but its behaviour was erratic, and it was making… It was making noises that I believe were pretty much exactly those of a chimpanzee. Do you confirm, Nara? Nara did not respond. … Is this damned place cutting me off from… Not just Nara, but the Mindscape as well, and I have no trinkets to test the Gravescape right now. They are all stashed in the Mindscape at the moment. I can't summon any spirit for assistance. How… How displeasing.

The bloody monster arrived closely, trying to get a hold of me, but I punched it in the jaw before it got the chance to. It was thrown to the ground as its lower jaw was blasted off, revealing that it did have bones underneath the flesh. The missing chunk regenerated in the blink of an eye. This ugly thing screamed at me with enough force both to make the blood shake uncontrollably and make my steel body tremble from the sheer loudness.

That shout could probably kill a normal person on the spot, and might even crack normal steel… It doesn't have such an effect on me, since it seems committed to this attack, I quickly close in, in a straight line, grabbing the monster by its freshly regenerating lower jaw, pulling it forward, face first into the blood. I jump onto its back, beginning to mercilessly stomp down on the back of its head, keeping it under the blood. I have the feeling that I should do my best to be swift with that creature's execution…