Sanguine Paradise

Chapter 208: [Day 220] – “Futility”

Day 220

Euron Glasmire

The heavy, laboring breaths and the fast but methodical beat of my heart filled my eardrums, drowning out all other sounds. It was as if time had halted to a stop, an instant where I got to take in the sight of my opponent was about as equally bedraggled as I.

But as I inspected the powerful aura and appearance of the elf woman before me, I couldn't help but muse just how foolish I had been. going into the Trials the way that I did. I, who had bested all who had gone before me or taken one step in that path I was carving with blood and hardship.

My eyes fell to the chipped and worn axe in my hand, its broad head riddles with scars of a hard-fought battle. It pained me to see the only gift I had ever received from my father in such a state, but it had done more than just save my life over the years.

Never had I ever heard any words of encouragement or approval from that old prick, despite him investing all of his remaining life into me. Training me. To his very last breath.

The only thing he ever left me, even at his deathbed, was not the words of a father, but this weapon.

It had been his training and this weapon getting me to where I was today without falling countless times in the process, but without him to steer me along my path any longer, I had grown arrogant and over self-confident. I had gone into Trials expecting to emerge a King of Kings.

Little did I know of the monsters outside of my small, small world.

One such monster stood before me, the elf woman an incarnation of pure lethality and deft skill - beyond even that of my own. And she was but one amongst many others I've witnessed the power of since coming here.

I had done everything in my power to fight and survive, but even though the elf was in about as bad a shape as I was, it was clear that I was fighting a losing battle.

The only thing I could rely on now was the sliver of enlightenment I felt in this moment. It was like the axe had become one with me. Not just as if it felt like my very own limb, that it had already for a long time. But now, I could almost feel as if my very soul was becoming one with that of the axe.

I was becoming the axe, and it, I.

As my soul intertwined with the essence of the axe, the sensation oddly fulfilling, I found my concentration suddenly and abruptly shattered. Like a flash, a translucent white and deep crimson light bathed the surroundings, the muffled sounds of the background catching up within but an instant.

The ruckus explosion of both force and sound had me stagger back with a hand to cover my face from the sudden mind-numbing heat and power, essentially making my attempt to fuse my soul with that of my axe fail. I would've been beyond incensed at this as the feeling of being broken off mid-fusion was like someone had torn a piece of my soul asunder, but the tumultuous auras that crashed down upon me stifled in anger or wrath that I might've had.

It was unlike anything else I had felt before, and not even my father at his peak would've been able to compare to this.

A figure, severely wounded and bloody, crashed into the ground like a meteor, his body skittering across the ground. But even in his terrible state, his face seemed entirely focused, without the pain someone would usually have when walking around with something barely more than a corpse. But before my eyes, the wounds were already closing, and even multiple limbs seemed to already be in the process of regrowing. Much to my amazement.

But the figure storming in after him like a flash was even more so stunning in appearance and aura. An angel of white flames carried on massive wings that scorched anything in their path. Leaving nothing but scorched destruction in the angel's wake. The other person who had crashed was already on the move, turning into a blur as he sprung for my injured opponent.

"Die!" A voice with such majesty and magnificence despite the crude word bellowed had me frozen in place as I watched the raw power on display.

In the angel's hand, I was barely able to make out an ivory spear as he swiped at the air in front of him, towards the first person that reminded me a bit of an elf who was dashing after the female elf. Shooting from his spear, a vibrant surge of flames exploded forward, eating the distance before anyone could react. A scream of such pain and agony that it made me want to cover my ears as the sound was unbearable, I could only watch as my enemy, the one I had fought so hard to win against, turn into nothing more than cinders within but a few moments.

The other elf-like person was also caught in the fire, but as I saw him being doused in the white flames, he didn't even utter a word as his body merely turned into a red blob that quickly vaporized

Surprised, I barely even registered the pain and prompt filling my vision as the angel's burning head swiveled towards me with pure anger on his immaculate and perfect features.

[You have taken 142 damage!]

That look promised nothing but death, I realized. With the brief revelation, I looked to my axe in acceptance of my fate, but what I found was a complete lack of my weapon. In fact, my hand was gone, leaving nothing but a cleanly cut stump that gushed blood.

Confusion as to what the abyss had happened struck me, but I didn't manage to catch much more than the few skittering shadows of what I guessed to be a figure behind me before my world suddenly began to tilt without my volition.

In that brief instant before my last breath, my resolve shattered and nothing but fear of death remained.

[You have taken 2002 damage, a critical hit!]

I died terrified and alone.

Xavier Tal'chor

[LVL: 112 - Human "Euron Glasmire, Lord of the Axe" has been slain!]

[You have been awarded 7.2m points of EXP]

[Congratulations! You've reached level 10]

[You've been rewarded with 1 skill point for reaching level 10]

[Siphon]

[You've consumed the blood of an LVL: 112 - Human!]

[5.8m points of EXP have been acquired and stats have been added]

I discarded the decapitated corpse by the human's rolling head, his body turned from full of life to a gaunt husk within just moments as I had drained him of all blood.

It was just in time too as the ruse I had done to fool Cain became evident when the look-a-like he had vaporized was in fact Ketsu who had made a piece of himself imitate me. Not my actual body. I still had yet to recover my ability to create blood puppets, but even those would not have worked to fool the projected god chasing me as he would've seen straight through the deception. But with Ketsu, a literal piece of my soul was within that imitation, so it was just about as close you could get to the aura signature of my actual body. But it wasn't like I went unscathed by the costly act.

Still, I achieved what I needed.

His flames had already dimmed considerably by now, and with this potent source of blood having just stumbled upon my path as I fled from the rapidly weakening angel of death and destruction, I gained just enough more to keep me going for a little bit longer.

However, if I had to go much longer, even with more blood from unfortunate people standing in the wake of our battle, it wouldn't suffice. My soul was in tatters, and no amount of blood would be able to revitalize that.

I saw Cain flying towards me, his flames sputtering but still with just enough intensity and power to carry him so fast he was no more than a blur to my senses.

It was do or die, and I could have no reservations.

I activated Domain of Life and Death.

Just in time, the separate dimension of my creation, of which I might not even be able to hold for more than a handful of seconds in terrible the shape I was in, allowed me to go entirely unharmed by the spear of flames that passed through where I had stood.

"Noo! You cretin!" He bellowed with fury, a plume of flames exploding in all directions but going far as they sputtered out.

He hovered in the sky of darkness, above the sea of blood with a twisted frown creasing his face. One of both unwillingness and anger. There was no fear or dismay on his features though as his flames slowly petered out and left him vulnerable. The expression was more like a cat that had just missed the mouse running into a hole rather than the look one about to die would usually have.

Then again, the god wasn't actually dying. Merely a proxy was.

Even as Sombra and Ketsu, colossal in size within my domain rushed towards him like impending doom, he looked to where I was with now a face of calm anger.

"I will find you again - abomination." He spat moments before Cain's body was torn to utter shreds by my enraged soul familiars.

[LVL: 134 - Human "Cain Al'cuary, The Hallowed Lord" has been slain!]

[You have been awarded 42.5m points of EXP]

[Congratulations! You've reached levels 11-14]

[You've been rewarded with 4 skill points for reaching levels 11-14]

[Siphon]

[You've consumed the blood of an LVL: 134 - Human!]

[8.3m points of EXP have been acquired and stats have been added]

[You've been rewarded with 1 skill point for reaching level 15]