He opened his eyes—or he would have, if his eyes still existed. His head had been pulverized beneath the unrelenting hooves of the bicorn, and what was left of his face was a nightmarish pulp.
Jagged shards of bone jutted out from the exposed remains of his skull. His eyes, once sharp and vibrant, were now empty, blood-soaked pits. His cheeks hung open, barely clinging to his jaw, exposing splinters of teeth and fragnts of his mangled tongue.
With a slow, almost chanical movent, Alicarde turned his head to the side, narrowly avoiding another deadly strike from the bicorn's hooves.
His body groaned with the strain, as if even his immortal form had reached the limits of its endurance. But as the beast's hooves pounded the ground beside him, Alicarde's face began to regenerate at an unnatural speed.
Flesh and muscle knit themselves together with a sickening wet crack, bones aligning beneath the re-growing skin. His broken jaw snapped back into place, and the empty eye sockets filled, his eyes reappearing with an cold violet glow.
He pushed himself off the bloodstained ground, his movent slow and unhurried, a dark expression etched across his now-regenerated face. His hands, bruised and battered, latched onto the muscular form of the bicorn towering over him.
The beast, massive and rippling with strength, fought back, its dark, sinewy muscles straining beneath its slick, black hide as Alicarde forced it aside. Its fiery eyes blazed with primal fury, but there was sothing else flickering in them now—a hint of fear.
A low, guttural laugh bubbled up from Alicarde's throat, distorted and twisted by the madness that had taken root in his fractured mind.
"Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!!" His laughter bood against the sterile walls, echoing with an unholy resonance.
He stood, fully upright now, but was this still Alicarde? His body may have been restored, but his mind—shattered and broken—had been reshaped into sothing far darker.
His true na, Aeternus, had been awakened within him, binding his identity into sothing eternal, sothing far more sinister.
The fractured pieces of his consciousness had reford, but they were cracked and jagged, held together by nothing more than a vengeful rage and a twisted sense of purpose.
What remained was no longer a man, but a wrathful, depraved figure, a shadow of his forr self. His once vibrant violet eyes were now cold and hollow, the warmth gone, replaced by a deep, wintery cruelty that chilled the air around him.
His smile, twisted and unnatural, sent a shiver down the spine of even the intelligent bicorn. It took a step back.
Warth, the bicorn, pawed the ground, flas licking at its mouth as it prepared to reduce the deranged immortal to ashes.
Alicarde grinned wider, ignoring the searing pain as he reached out and grabbed the bicorn by its horns. The creature's horns were razor-sharp, cutting into his palms as blood poured from the wounds, but Alicarde seed unphased. If anything, the sight of his own blood excited him. His grin widened, dark and nacing.
The flas in Warth's maw grew hotter, engulfing Alicarde in searing agony. But this ti, sothing was different. Alicarde did not scream. He did not flinch. Instead, he welcod the pain, a twisted sense of joy flickering in his eyes.
"The pain... it feels good now," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the roaring inferno that consud him.
The flas wrapped around his body, searing his flesh, lting it down to the bone. His muscles burned away, his skin bubbled and cracked, yet his expression remained serene, almost content.
The tornt that had once driven him to madness was now sothing he relished. His true na's power surged through his veins, healing him as fast as the fire could destroy him, regenerating the mind and body as the flas tried in vain to tear him apart.
Warth, sensing sothing was terribly wrong, tried to pull away, but Alicarde's grip tightened. Blood continued to drip from his mangled hands, one of his fingers torn off completely, but his grasp remained strong.
With a sudden, violent movent, Alicarde yanked the bicorn upward. Despite the massive beast's weight and power, Alicarde hoisted it with a single, monstrous hand. He roared with manic laughter, lifting the enormous bicorn into the air and slamming it into the ground with earth-shattering force.
The floor beneath them cracked and splintered with every impact as Alicarde smashed the bicorn repeatedly, bone and muscle giving way to the relentless barrage. The beast's body contorted and twisted, its flesh tearing as the brutal force ripped it apart.
"I could have obey just from hearing my true na," Alicarde said, his voice laced with cruel delight.
"But that would be too easy. I want to break you, force you to submit under my strength, under my rage. I want to see fear in your eyes as you realize your place."
The bicorn thrashed weakly beneath him, its once fiery gaze now dimming with the creeping realization that it was outmatched.
"I am Aeternus, the eternal," Alicarde continued, his voice filled with twisted pride.
"My body is unbroken, my soul is unyielding. I will make all who oppose kneel, and I'll start with you."
He turned his gaze away from the weakened creature, scanning the room. The walls and floor were drenched in blood, scattered with bone fragnts, entrails, and smoldering debris from the battle. His eyes landed on his sword, half-buried beneath the rubble, and a dark grin spread across his face.
Warth, sensing its mont, charged once more, its hooves thundering across the ground as it lowered its horns, aiming directly for Alicarde's heart. But Alicarde did not move, his eyes fixed on the sword. He activated his ability, drawing the sword toward him with a gravitational force. He felt the sword reach his hand.
The bicorn's charge connected, its horns driving through his chest, crushing his ribs and puncturing his heart. Alicarde's back snapped audibly from the force, his body bending grotesquely under the pressure. Yet, in an instant, his body regenerated, bones realigning, skin knitting back together, his spine snapping back into place.
He glanced down at the horns protruding from his chest with mild annoyance.
"Ouch, that kind of hurts," he remarked casually, a soft, almost bemused smile crossing his lips.
Without warning, he lifted his sword, now humming with mana, its edge gleaming as he swung it toward Warth's shoulder. The blade, infused with unimaginable power, sliced through the beast's thick hide like it was paper, driving deep into its flesh. Warth roared in agony, biting down on Alicarde's left hand, severing his wrist in a brutal snap.
Alicarde barely reacted, watching with playful fascination as blood gushed from the wound. His exposed bone was sharp, jagged from the break.
Without a second thought, he drove the sharp bone into Warth's eye, twisting it with a cruel smile as the creature howled in pain, its body convulsing from the excruciating wound.
"What, I was just playing with you. Be a good boy and take the pain, Warth!" Alicarde taunted with a grin as his arm grew back, pristine and strong. He wasted no ti in lifting the creature by the neck, slamming its massive body into the floor with a thunderous crash, the force breaking the ground beneath them.
Crack!
Both Alicarde and Warth plunged through the collapsing floor, debris raining down around them as they fell into a brightly lit lab room below. Alicarde hovered above the bicorn, his eyes glowing with a sadistic thrill.
"Ha! Brace yourself, Warth. This is just the beginning," he whispered as he gently descended, his body gliding effortlessly down while the bicorn scrambled to its feet, horns crackling with violent energy.
Warth roared, firing a violet beam of concentrated magic. The attack was too fast to avoid, and Alicarde made no effort to dodge. The beam tore through him, splitting his body in half from the waist up. Flesh and blood scattered, but almost imdiately, the torn halves of his body wriggled and sewed themselves back together, leaving Alicarde standing fully regenerated.
"That was kinda dumb," he muttered, flexing his newly reford hand, "I probably should've dodged that."
The bicorn wasted no ti. Warth lunged at Alicarde with brutal ferocity, fangs bared and hooves ready to shred him apart. But Alicarde was prepared. He swung his sword upward, the tip piercing through the bicorn's tough hide, just enough to draw blood but not deep enough to deal a fatal blow.
Warth howled in pain, thrashing as Alicarde kicked it back, yanking his sword free. The beast retaliated, spitting a wave of violet flas that engulfed the entire room.
"Really?" Alicarde groaned, unimpressed. "I've already seen that. Can't you do sothing new?"
The flas dissipated, but Warth had vanished. Alicarde stood still for a mont, scanning the room.
"Hmm… where did you—"
Suddenly, a violent impact slamd into Alicarde's back, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. The force shattered the concrete, and the ceiling collapsed on top of him in a cloud of dust and debris.
"Right, he can teleport," Alicarde grumbled, pushing the rubble off himself. He stood up slowly, shaking the dust from his hair, and grinned at the sight of the bicorn standing across from him, ready to strike again. "Almost forgot about that."
The bicorn panted heavily, its energy waning as Alicarde's words pierced through its mind.
"Fine then, be like that. I'll just wear you out. The pact puts a strain on you the more you fight . Just give up and obey , like a good little pony."
Warth snarled in defiance but couldn't mask the exhaustion that had begun to set in. Every ti it attacked, Alicarde endured it without a flinch. His wounds, no matter how deep or lethal, healed within seconds.
The more Warth struggled, the weaker it beca. The magic of the pact was draining it of strength with each passing mont.
Alicarde laughed, a dark sound that echoed through the ruined lab. He swung his sword lazily, making no effort to defend himself as Warth charged again, slashing at him with burning claws. The bicorn's attacks grew more frantic, but Alicarde's expression never wavered.
"Just give up already," he teased, his voice dripping with malice. "We both know how this will end."
Warth staggered back, its legs trembling beneath its enormous weight. Alicarde's eyes glinted with cruel satisfaction. He will break countless opponents soday, and Warth would be the beginning.
Finally, the beast's head drooped, its once proud horns lowering in submission. Alicarde's smile widened. The sight of the once-powerful bicorn bowing before him filled him with a twisted sense of triumph.
"All this trouble for sothing that was already inevitable," Alicarde sneered, stepping closer to the defeated creature. "Lower your head."
The bicorn, now completely subdued, collapsed to its knees, exhausted and broken. Alicarde's cold, calculated voice seed to strip away what little defiance remained in the beast. He placed his hand on its massive forehead, sealing the pact with a sinister grin.
'Today is the day I shed my weakness,' Alicarde thought to himself, his eyes gleaming with madness. 'I will never be humiliated again. I will make others bow to , just like this.'
Alicarde dismissed the battered bicorn, letting it vanish into the shadows. He glanced down at his body—covered in dried blood, soot and torn flesh. His tattered hospital robe was long gone, leaving him nearly naked.
"I can't let anyone see like this," he muttered, his tone light despite the violence in his eyes. "Not even those useless chiras, no fan service from . Speaking of the chiras why didn't any of them show up when I was fighting Wrath."
He glanced around the destroyed lab, spotting a discarded lab coat and hospital robe on a nearby table.
"Tsk, Victor's minions are so useless" he muttered.
He quickly donned the garnts, smirking as he admired his reflection in a shattered piece of glass. "Heh, I kinda look like a doctor now."
He floated upwards, effortlessly ascending toward the elevator. His newly discovered ability to control gravity was still raw and imprecise, but he was getting better at it with each use. As he reached the elevator room, he paused, surveying the area where he had nearly t his end.
"I was so weak," he whispered to himself, his fists clenching tightly. "Never again."
The vault-like elevator doors were dented from the earlier chaos, but they appeared functional. Alicarde landed on the debris-strewn floor, walking slowly toward the doors as they began to creak open, signs soone or sothing was coming.
He sighed, sword in hand, swinging it lazily in the air. His violet eyes glowed with an unholy coldness. "Can't a guy catch a break around here?" he muttered, ready for whatever new obstacle awaited him.
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