Scarlet

“What the fuck did you just do?!” I shout through the pain as I raise my head to look around, only to find the lunatic appearing right in front of me with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Why, my dear little puppy, I just temporarily cut off the link between the two of you connecting your realities,” he says, making my eyes widen in shock. “This way your little pet can leave my soul barrier without you and find your reinforcements.” His smirk turns into a smile. “Eventually.”

Eventually? So he set Tar free to get Gramps but only after delaying him a bit?

The fuck is wrong with this guy?! Aside from the obvious.

I feel strange not hearing or even sensing Tar’s presence at all. Like something important is missing. And it makes my already pained chest grow even more painful.

But I grit my teeth and push myself to my feet, fighting the pain only for another flash of it to come from my leg, knocking it out from under me and putting me onto the ground on my side.

“Have you ever felt your reality being cut? Not just your body, but your reality itself,” the lunatic starts speaking nonchalantly as I feel tears coming to my eyes. “Oh, wait. You’re feeling it right now. Should I bother to explain?” He pauses for a second as I grit my teeth and try as hard as I can to push myself through to my feet, feeling the whispers of pride slowly beginning to echo in my mind again. “Yeah, I think I will.”

Another flash of pain comes, but from my mouth this time as I let out a scream, suddenly feeling my tongue no longer in my mouth, making it impossible to speak. And it’s not growing back like it normally would.

“So damage to the reality is a lot harder and slower to heal than damage to your body,” he says, sounding like he’s enjoying my pain. “It’ll heal, and probably within an hour or two considering your significant healing speed, but it won’t heal right away like most of your wounds dooo! And it’ll hurt far worse than anything you’ve felt before. Till now that is, in feeling this.”

I grit my teeth and begin using the blood spilling into my mouth from my tongue to power my blood magic skills as I push Blood Sacrifice and Crimson Overdrive to their limits and jump to my feet, pushing aside all of my pain. Only to feel another flash of pain from my left calf, making me drop back down in an instant before I realize that he cut off part of my leg at a point hallway down my calf.

My only break amongst the extreme agony I’m feeling is the sound of Pain Diffusion leveling up once to level 27. Then time begins to pass as I feel my pain beginning to overwhelm my mind, to the point that it pushes down my pride. And over time, my only breaks from it are the sounds of Pain Diffusion once in a blue moon leveling until it reaches the max level, level 30.

Then the pain suddenly vanishes entirely, making me suck in a gasp of air.

“Oh? You retained your senses?” I hear the lunatic’s voice as I quickly check the description of Pain Diffusion, finding it now saying that I can diffuse all 100% of the pain I feel. Something that makes me more than a little fearful for the future when I have to experience that pain some more, but at least it’s gone for now and I can think. “Very interesting. Would you mind letting me test something on you?”

My eyes widen and I immediately try to answer, finding myself vaguely surprised that I can even do so, “Fuck no!”

I look down to find that my leg has regrown and my tongue as well. Meanwhile the rest of me is just covered in scratches all over, as if he had stopped doing major attacks like that after I lost my senses.

But… how long have we been here for them to regrow already?

Looking around, all I find is the same miasma from before. But then the lunatic waves his hand, making it clear slightly to show the sun above us.

It was dusk the last time I saw the sun, right before he covered everything in miasma.

I feel my pride coming back with a vengeance, the voices echoing in my mind.

Kill him. Avenge your pride. Tear it apart. Restore your pride!

I grimace at the voices but try as hard as I can to ignore them.

“You done regaining your bearings?” the lunatic says, a smile on his face as he tilts his head slightly. “Great! Then I can start with the next little test!”

My eyes widen in both anger and fear, but to my surprise, he doesn’t do anything. Or rather, he makes a black and purple light shine all over me, but nothing happens.

“Now dance like a doll,” he says, but still nothing happens. Then he sighs and mutters, “Looks like mind control skills really don’t work on you.”

He… tried to mind control me?

Thank you Leonidas for Blood Domination, even if it’s only the lower rarity version I can’t even see yet.

“Your fae will probably make it past my barrier within an hour to find His Majesty, so I think you should try to stall for time, kay?” he says, making me scowl at him as I climb to my feet and raise my arms while transforming into my bipedal beast form. “If you can keep me entertained until he gets here then I’ll let you live without a single scar!” Then his eyes flare with a black light. “But if not, then I’ll enjoy your head as my last meal before your grandfather tears off my own.”

I grit my teeth and immediately activate all of the skills I have, surprisingly finding him susceptible to blood magic skills affecting his blood.

Is it because he’s an undead kitsune? That the kitsune blood is just that powerful?

I’m not sure. Blood lycans can’t become undead, and I don’t have knowledge on the other clan demons in that area.

I narrow my eyes before rushing forwards and attacking.

Either way, I have to survive.