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—-------------
/BOOOM!/
/SPLATTER!/
/Shine…/
As he punched upward, blasting whatever was in front of him into smithers, his Skill countdown came to a zero amidst the faint rays of sunlight that squirmed their way inside through all of the destruction.
/CLENCH!/
Heart-wrenching pain suddenly rose from his chest, causing Dale to lose his breath as he fell back onto the bottom of the cocoon, clenching his heart as he gasped for air.
/SCREEECH!/
Meanwhile, the distorted Devil, hurt and in pain fled from the cocoon in a terrifying manner, exposing its half-molted body into the world and Dale, even if only for a split second, like a shadow crossing the end of a hallway.
But Dale wasn't focused on it anymore, instead, he laid on the ground, looking at the light coming from the cracks above him with a tired and distant gaze.
"Shi… T…"
'I'm getting dizzy.'
Dizziness, lack of breath, turbid vision, weakness, and much more.
Dale knew he was dying.
The fact he could still think was testimony to his Constitution, as his muscles weren't the only things withholding power, but his Brain as well.
After all, to be able to hold his breath for many minutes and think without problems, his Brain's ability to tolerate a lack of oxygen and blood circulation had to be much stronger than normal.
Yet, this wouldn't save him right now.
'There has to be something…'
Dale opened his inventory, growing weak by the second.
He sought potions and items, but none of them were going to work in a torn heart.
Maybe if he had an Elixir, not one from the Tutorial, but one made in the Capital.
Players had already discovered all kinds of items in there, and even if they weren't affordable to most, a few had already managed to test them thanks to the support of hundreds of not thousands of players.
Only in a game would people work for money to willingly give it away to someone else's profit and needs...
But alas, the Capital was far away and even if he was willing to buy one, without access to the Church, there was no way to perform long-distance trading between areas.
"Hm?"
'This could work...'
But then, he saw a way.
His right arm raised in front of him, he saw the Tripodal Mark glowing ephemerally.
That's right, whatever Tina sent him here to do, it had yet to finish.
There was still a way, he still remembered how he devoured the Devil's flesh before and how good of a feeling he had as it went down his throat.
There was still Vitality in his surroundings in the shape of a strange mist, but his body wasn't reacting to it anymore.
The carvings on his body were still there, but they now looked more like scars than anything, maybe that was why the mist wasn't working as well as it once did.
He was healing at an incredible rate, or maybe that was part of the Ritual.
So he could only aim at the next target... The flesh and blood on the ground.
It may end up giving him severe constipation later on, but he would rather choose a month of pain rather than eternal oblivion.
Some might disagree though.
"Huff…"
As long as there was a way, Dale wouldn't give up.
/Crawl.../
He crawled out of the ground, looking around.
Not so far from his location, a pile of flesh, gore, and other viscous substances could be seen dripping around the ceiling edges and cracks.
From the looks of it, the Devil had been hanging in the ceiling through a series of cartilage tubes that likely led outside to the roots that held the cocoon in place.
From the gore, Dale couldn't tell what it was, a leg, an arm, part of its torso... But it was enough to force the Devil to flee, meaning it had sustained extreme fatal damage.
It saw Dale as a predator, willingly entering its own habitat to devour it, the worst kind there was.
"Urg..."
'It's still twitching... But why...'
By no means did the flesh look edible, but the sight of it was… Aphetizing and it sickened Dale whenever he thought of it.
His body recognized its need for the flesh, it had a bonfire to burn.
And that was its fuel.
...
/Crawl…/
One arm at a time, Dale approached the pile, eating and chomping at whatever scattered piece of flesh he saw on his way.
He could see it, the faint reddish mist gathered around the flesh and blood, by eating it and drinking it Dale managed to sustain his dying body, even if only for a moment longer.
/Pulse... Pulse.../
His body was shining in red light, the carvings pulsating in a slow rhythm, like the beating of a heart…
But his was dead.
/Chomp…/
One bite after the other, Dale consumed the still-wiggling flesh of the Devil.
He could feel it, something being filled inside of him, a thirst he could not put into words.
Time and time again, until…
[DING]
[The Receptacle has reached its limit]
He had reached his limit, his body could eat more, but the Vitality within was too strong, any more than this and...
But Dale did not stop eating, he could not, he was hungry.
Very, very hungry.
[DING]
[Corrupted Vitality has begun to overwhelm your mentality]
A dangerous message played in his ears, and for a moment, Dale stopped, reason returning to his eyes as he looked at his bloodstained hands.
"...?!"
But the moment he did so, pain struck his chest, stronger than ever.
He knew he couldn't stop.
He felt that if he continued, something terrible was going to happen.
Was this the right thing?
To trade one bad for one just as terrible?
His hands trembling due to his chest, Dale closed his eyes and closed his mouth again.
/Chomp…/
[The Receptacle has reached its limit]
[The Receptacle has reached its limit]
[The Receptacle is about to burst]
"..."
'It hurts…'
Even as he ate the flesh, the pain slowly returned, causing Dale to slowly lose hope.
He didn't know why, but he had yet to burst, something inside him was actively preventing that.
How? He could not say.
Yet, the pain in his heart was increasing, and his vision was getting blurrier.
He was losing his breath even though his lungs kept working.
There had to be something…
/Shine…/
Right… He remembered.
The faint shimmering light he saw in the dark, the target that prompted him to punch upward.
Where was it?
He looked and looked, but it was nowhere to be found… Until…
"Over here... Listen, please..." The Childsh voice whispered behind him
"..."
Dale turned his head, and there it was, behind him all this time.
He had been so focused on what was in front of him that he forgot to turn around.
He slowly turned back, crawling, his eyes losing their sheen as they turned hollow.
"... Focus." The elderly voice added strongly, jolting Dale back to reality
"..."
'What's happening to me?' He thought as he moved forward
'Is this death, or something else?'
He didn't know, he never experienced something like this before.
And he didn't want to know.
…
Finally, Dale arrived at his target.
"You're here." The gentle feminine voice whispered as he looked at the source of the light
A shattered piece of… Something.
It exuded faint red light, it seemed similar to what was lodged in his heart, but it was by no means the same thing.
Maybe both were somewhat connected?
/Grab…/
After thinking for just a moment, Dale grabbed the object, it was squishy despite its crystalline appearance.
Good, he thought, that makes things easier.
/Chomp…/
He ate it without hesitation.
"!"
And the moment he did so, his pain…
"How could it be so easy?" The youthful male voice said ironically from the dark
[The Ancient Ritual, Vermin's Pot has come to fruition]
[The Tripodal Mark stimulates your body]
[All conditions have been met]
/Crack…/
Indeed… Just when he thought it was over…
[The receptacle has shattered]
His heart broke into pieces, the little that had healed.
/SCREAM!/
Dale screamed loudly, so loudly the cocoon shook around him.
The scream of a being with overflowing power, echoed outside and into the ears of all, causing the trees to shake and their leaves to fall.
…
Dale did not remember what happened after that, only of waking up on a bed.
/Open…/
"Mmn… Where…"
Faint light twinkled above him like stars… Shimmering... Faint vibrations...
But once his eyes focused, he saw a small bottle with fireflies in it, moving around chaotically as they hit their little bodies against the sides of the jar.
He looked around, he was inside a small wooden room and atop a small straw bed.
There wasn't anything special in this room, apart from its vintage style.
It looked almost "too" normal for his tastes.
'I was… Huh…'
Confused, he had survived, but how?
...
Looking around, Dale eventually realized nothing would happen if he stayed still, so he got up from his bed, feeling energized.
His wounds had vanished he even felt refreshed... Wait... Did someone wash him?
There was only one way out of the room, and that was through a door in the corner, not far from his position.
/Step.../
So without hesitation, he moved towards it, grabbing the small handle.
/Creak.../
"I wouldn't open that door if I were you." An elderly voice replied behind him
"!!"
Dale recognized this tone, one of the strange voices that guided him before.
/Turn.../
So he turned his head to face this mysterious savior.
"...?"
...
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Notes
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