As Rael and Iyvre continued slaying the Withered in what seed like a one-sided competition, not far from the territory at the spot where Rael and Drogon had their showdown ,marked by shattered trees and small craters layed a corpse.
There had been more than one before, five in total, but the black goo now wiggling through the path had chosen to keep this specific corpse for last, consuming the other four first to add to its body mass.
On closer inspection, this specific Withered parasite didn’t seem attracted to the slaughter and tasty scent of abundant aether a few ters away, but was more interested in these corpses. It aggressively consud any other Withered parasite that ca even an inch closer to the clearing obviously it was intelligent or at least close to being.
It eventually slithered toward the last corpse, its mass vibrating in excitent before plunging into the already decaying orifices of Arzuk
...
Rael’s sword split through another Withered spawn, splashing black blood over his chest plate.
"Twenty-one," Rael added to the count of the Withered he’d already slain. He ignored the splattered dark blood clinging to his chest plate and leather armour; it was harmless, though at first he had tried to avoid getting stained. That had proved difficult the mont another swarm joined the remainders of the first one, adding more pressure on him. Yes, just him after all, Iyvre was having it much easier, as could be seen from the few black bloodstains on her
Rael thrust his sword downwards, stabbing a vermin-like Withered that reminded him of a wormrat, except this one was as large as a bear and was wriggled with bony spikes. His sword burst open its head, causing the Withered to squirm as tentacles extended from its body with the bone spikes at their tips.
Rael twisted his sword, imdiately decapitating its head and blocking the spiked tentacles. He kicked the body, sending it smashing into a tree.
Following his already exhausted warrior senses, he was just about to stab another Withered, only for it to be chopped in two by Iyvre, who had leaped over.
"That was mine!" Rael protested at the stolen kill.
Iyvre ignored him as she swung her leg in a roundhouse kick, sending a flying Withered slamming into the ground. She knew full well Rael seed to have turned this into a competition, but she didn’t really care ,though that hadn’t stopped her from increasing her slaughter. She counted twenty-two for Rael while she had thirty-four kills. And honestly, at this point, she was already exhausted, and she knew Rael wasn’t any better, especially since she’d stolen his "kills" more than once stopping the Withered from pouncing at his openings,
"You’re tired," Iyvre muttered mid-swing, her blade clashing with a human-sized maw filled with dagger-like teeths.
"I’m doing fine. You’re sure you aren’t the one who’s tired?" Rael countered, his voice playfully defiant though his heavy breathing already gave him away.
"It’s not a competition, Rael. You should put aside your pride and rest," she admonished with slight concern.
"Competition? Who said it was a—" Rael’s ranting was cut off as a louder shriek drew their attention to a Withered spawn that appeared a few ters in front of them. Its figure was bloated, with five heads of sabertooth worgs extending from its exposed innards. It widened its mass as it charged toward them, moving astonishingly fast for its four-ter-wide, bloated body.
Seeing its charge and realizing it was the last of the swarm, Rael and Iyvre shared a glance making Rael imdiately peeked at his aether reserves.
4%
’That’ll do,’ he thought. He quickly swung his sword forward, sending a red arc whistling toward the Withered spawn planning on slaying the last of the swarm first. But he was too late as a white beam,an aether-white sword pierced right through the Withered, opening a huge hole from its chest all the way through its torso and out its back, slamming into the trees behind it.
"What the..." Rael’s eyes twitched, shocked by how fast and obviously more lethal that attack was. He slowly turned to Iyvre, who had a small smirk on her face
Within the territory, atop the trees, Ayobe shook her head.
"So they were competing? That’s just crazy," she marvelled, shocked that Rael and Iyvre even had the appetite for gas while facing those abominations.
"Oh, you just noticed?" Xaphxan, also seated on the tree, chirped dryly.
"Your boss is truly insane," she muttered incredulously.
"Oh yes, and I think it’s contagious," Xaphxan jeered, clearly indicating that Iyvre too had indulged Rael. This caused Ayobe to throw a glare that imdiately made him choose to perch on another tree
Rael chose not to acknowledge Iyvre’s small smirk and ignored his curiosity about her new technique. He turned back toward the territory, intending to rest and switch places with Yasmin and Ayobe.
He also tried to ignore the gloating gaze Yasmin threw at him from the tree branch she lay on.
"Tsk, not even a fair match to begin with. She’s stronger now," Rael couldn’t help but mumble to himself as he re-entered the territory. There was no way he was going to let her remain the stronger one. He knew that without the help of his Dominion senses and even if he had them he might not be able to defeat Iyvre. Not like he really could before, but she was obviously way stronger than that cultist now. Not to ntion that new technique of hers, which clearly surpassed his Blood Rend in lethality and speed and he also had no idea how many of those she could conjure.
Though he liked the pressure that brought, he couldn’t help a small pang of jealousy and weariness, which he imdiately transford into determination to quickly ascend to the next rank.
....
Back at the clearing a few ters away from the territory, the corpse had clearly undergone a transformation ,a very bizarre and complete transformation.
Only its torso and head remained sowhat human-like, though even those were covered in several bloated poxes and ribs that had ripped out of the chest to form two wide maws on each side. Its arms had extended into four-foot-long sharp claws that shimred with a green hue.
As for its legs, they were made of wriggling muscles and flesh that resembled feline paws, while its hind legs appeared more vermin-like. From its back, a serpent’s tail covered in wiggling thorns extended. A chira was the nearest description for this abominable creature, and even that was being generous.
The corpse that was once Arzuk slowly opened its serpentine eyes, birthing one of the first Withered Husks
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