Chapter 78: Two Days of Blood
Two days.
For two long days, they had hunted through the corrupted forest, the air thick with the metallic smell of blood. Two days since they had faced death in that temple, and two days since Vell had changed yet again. He was stronger, faster, and the way he moved now was like a predatory beast. Sometimes, the cold, calculating look in his eyes made Yenna’s breath catch in her throat.
"Stop." He raised his arm, his predator-like eyes scanning an area far beyond what they could see. The others froze instantly. Wren’s ears twitched, her nose testing the air. The twins, Mia and Sia, huddled close to Yenna, their small bodies trembling not from the cold, but from the oppressive, dangerous mana that saturated the air around them.
"Do you smell that?" he whispered, his gaze sweeping the trees. His senses were heightened, sharper than any blade.
Yenna inhaled deeply, the scent of pine and damp earth filling her lungs. But beneath those familiar smells, she detected something else. Something acrid and metallic, the scent of blood. It was not the clean, sharp scent of a fresh kill. This was old, stagnant, and laced with a dark, corrupting energy.
Wren let out a low growl, the fur on her back bristling. "Something is close," she hissed. "Something... wrong."
A rustling in the undergrowth, the sharp snap of a twig, then a heavy silence. The air grew thicker, and the shadows seemed to deepen, pressing in on them from all sides. Yenna’s hand instinctively moved into a combat stance.
A guttural snarl ripped through the silence, followed by a high-pitched, agonized shriek. A creature burst from the bushes. It was a twisted mockery of a wolf, its fur matted and patchy, its eyes glowing with a sickly yellow light. Its flesh was rotting, revealing bone and sinew beneath. It lunged at Mia, its jaws snapping hungrily.
Vell moved. He was a blur, a shadow detaching itself from the trees. Yenna barely saw the movement, only the flash of his sword and the sickening thud as the creature’s head flew through the air, landing with a soft plop in the leaves.
More creatures emerged from the darkness, their forms twisted and grotesque, their eyes burning with a hungry light. They snarled and snapped, their movements jerky and unnatural. Vell laughed, a sound that sent chills down Yenna’s spine. It was not the warm, familiar laugh she knew. This was something colder, sharper, more dangerous.
"Let’s dance," he said, his voice a low growl.
He moved amongst the creatures, his sword a whisper of death. He did not just kill them; he destroyed them. His movements were precise, brutal, and frighteningly efficient. His team joined the fight, but they were almost superfluous. He was a whirlwind of destruction, his power overwhelming. Yenna’s gauntlets glowed with energy, her punches crushing bone and sending creatures flying. Wren darted in and out of the fray, her claws tearing through flesh. Mia and Sia, despite their fear, fought with a desperate courage, their small bodies a distraction, giving their dad an opening to strike.
The creatures fell, one after another, their bodies dissolving into black, oily puddles that seeped into the earth. The air grew thick with the stench of decay and the metallic tang of blood. Vell stood in the center of the carnage, his chest heaving, his sword dripping with the black ooze. He looked at his handiwork, his eyes glowing with a strange, intense light.
"Is that all?" he asked, his voice laced with a cold disappointment. "I was expecting more of a challenge."
Yenna sheathed her gauntlets, her heart pounding. "Uh, do not you think you should be more careful?" she warned, her voice trembling slightly. "We still have not found Mother."
He turned to her with a smirk. "Do not worry about me. Just focus on leveling up with the kids. How do your new bodies feel?"
"Well, we feel way better and stronger than before. Though, I am not sure what it is, but I keep feeling this strange sensation in my core," she replied, touching her chest.
"Oh?" he said, a curious look on his face. ’Could it be?’
[It cannot be... evolution?] the system noted internally.
’Interesting...’
"Do not worry too much about it. Something good is about to happen." He turned back and continued the hunt, moving deeper into the forest. The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of Mother became.
They encountered more of the corrupted creatures along the way—twisted birds with razor-sharp beaks, giant spiders that spun webs of shadow, and hulking beasts with skin like rotting wood. But nothing could stand against Vell’s power. He fought with a savage grace, his movements precise and deadly, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake.
As they traveled, Yenna watched him closely. He was different now. Not just stronger, but... colder. There was a distance in his eyes, a darkness that she could not quite penetrate. He still protected them, he still cared for them, but there was a wildness, a recklessness in his actions that worried her.
’He is worse than back then. I wonder if I will be able to help him. Maybe I can sing to him again?’ She could not help but worry. She had grown attached and did not want him to go down the wrong path.
They camped beneath a massive, skeletal oak tree, its branches reaching towards the sky like bony fingers. They made a small fire and sat there without saying a word. His kids, feeling the somber mood, huddled close to him, their small smiles a stark contrast to the tension in the air.
Despite their presence, he felt distant, his gaze fixed on the darkness beyond the treeline. He was silent, withdrawn, lost in his own thoughts. Yenna watched him, her heart aching. She wanted to reach out to him, to bridge the growing distance between them, but she hesitated. She did not know what to say, how to reach the man he was becoming.
"Vell?" she finally whispered.
He turned to her, his eyes glowing with a faint red light. "What is it?"
"Are you... okay?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
He looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, a slow smile spread across his face, but it did not reach his eyes. "I am better than okay," he said, his voice low and soft. "I am finally... powerful."
He patted his kids and looked back into the darkness. "Mother is close," he said, his voice barely audible. "I can feel her. And tomorrow... tomorrow, we end this."
He turned back to Yenna, his eyes holding a promise, a threat. "I will make her pay for what she did," he said, his voice hardening. "For what she did to me, to you, and to my precious kids."
Yenna shivered, the bloodlust in his voice was overwhelming. She knew, with a chilling certainty, that tomorrow would change everything.