Extraordinary.
That was the only way I could describe this feeling. It wasn't some flashy laser eyes or actual X-ray vision but it wasn't about that, it was about what real superpowers would feel like.
The clear path of the strikes, a slight finger twitching before it swipes at my face. The beast that had me almost calling for backup the moment I saw it was so... sluggish? Slow? No. This monster was fast and ferocious. To put it simply, I felt like I was in control of this situation.
Sure, it wasn't anything groundbreaking like seeing the future. But I wouldn't complain.
*swish*
The claws of a purple-gray limb cut the air beside me.
The continuous barrage of clawing and snarling from the thrall lost was a bit overwhelming at first. But I now have somewhat adapted.
Hitting the Lost with my overrated metal toothpick did nothing to it aside from knocking it back, and making it buckle when hitting the joints.
I could frankly deal fatal damage with the metal pipe if I put some effort in. But one has to remember one thing; Losts are still Revenants.
They will heal from injuries. And guess what? This bootleg hollow would heal any wound dealt to it before another one is inflicted!
But with all this trial and error, I discovered something... well, sort of.
I think I know why backstabs were a thing in the game now.
The BOR Parasites spread their influence from the heart to the rest of the body. And the path of infection starts from the chest outwards, following the major veins and bones inside the body towards the limbs, but this means one thing. The lower back of most Lost is the softest part of their tempered skin.
That is just a theory of mine. But so far, it makes sense to me.
*swish*
Aside from that, night vision seems to be included in the package too. The darkness around me doesn't bother me. I didn't even notice until Oliver pointed out how hard it was to navigate this place without a light source.
Same with miasma, it doesn't hinder my vision much, but I can tell it's there.
*swish*
Weaving to the side, I dodged a downward strike from the monster. Tensing the tendons in my hand invoking the claws of my blood veil, I let go immediately.
The thorn-like claws lodged deep into its lower side all the way to the heart, crushing it.
"@&$₩¥€" an indistinguishable shrill escaped the Lost. It came out like gravel, not pleasant to the ears at all.
Jesus Christ my ears hurt.
These monsters were more horrifying than their game counterparts. Would shit myself if I heard that coming from my closet at night 7 out of 10 times.
"Fuuhh..." I let go of a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding. I was too concentrated on seeing the slight twitches and other peculiar movements. Man, it would've been embarrassing to pass out because of that.
"...that was something." I chuckled to myself with a shaky tone.
I did maintain my cool while fighting a monster that could be many people's paralysis demons. But that didn't mean I wasn't scared or excited.
The Lost look a lot creepier than in the game. Which made my skin crawl when I saw it feasting on the viscera and blood of another dead Lost twitching every now and then, trying to regenerate and fight back in vain. They seem to have no remorse for each other, which is good for me.
They have claws on their hands and feet plus some spikes around their body. Almost like thorns of judgment but completely black, devoid of any other color.
It also appears that they have the same purple-grayish skin complexity but have extremely dried muscles, like major victims of starvation and dehydration. Don't let this deceive you, they are just as strong or maybe stronger than revenants.
Clothes and weapons are almost fused to their bodies and covered in black pungent matter. This is why they aren't all naked.
God, please don't let me see one of them with their junk hanging out! The last thing I need to see in this world is a dried-up sausage!!
Their masks have also fused with their heads, hiding most features except for their glowing ominous eyes of theirs.
Despite seeing how creepy the basic Lost is, I couldn't wait to see the other variations! The fact that I could keep up with them and become stronger made my fear drown in the sea of ideas that I had to utilize the powers in this world.
No man had not wished to become the strongest at one point, no boy didn't wish for superpowers once.
Hahahaha.
All in all, I say I did pretty damn well.
I wanted to get used to combat as early as I could, mostly because of my curiosity about the talent I've probably taken after the protagonist. So I asked Oliver to let me handle the first Lost we encountered. Though it didn't look like he was listening.
Seeing the ex-revenant turn to ash was a spectacle that I didn't think I would find so fascinating. I'm being reminded a lot that this isn't a video game. The way it turned to ashes didn't look like a million-budget CGI scene from a movie. It looked... real.
I'm honestly at a loss for words.
I took a look at the veil clothing on my arm that had absorbed the Ichor. Not even a drop of blood touched the ground despite almost splitting my enemy in two.
These things are pretty damn efficient.
I crouched and crushed the heart of the Lost that was being feasted upon moments ago. I wouldn't want to let it regenerate completely.
"Was that real?!" Oliver shouted in amazement, running towards me.
He wasn't asking about my incredible performance for someone who lost his memories against a Lost. But asking about the dead mistle I revived with a few drops of my blood a while ago.
"It's easier to breathe, isn't it?" I nodded.
"It's just..." he still had a hard time believing it, "c-can you do the same with the Blood Springs?!" He shook his hands.
"Probably? Not sure, my memories are foggy." I poked my temple. I decided to not explain anything just yet. I wanted to wait until I met Louis, he would make assumptions and then I could throw in my knowledge as if they were assumptions too and such. With the crazy powers like f*cking Gate of Babylon from the last boss of the game, an ability to predict the future isn't that special. And I really wanted to keep any hint of knowing more than I should hidden from everyone.
I also didn't want to waste time with any more explanations. I understood the basics of fighting as a revenant and didn't need to consider anything else at the moment.
Meeting Louis was the foremost priority, and getting a proper weapon was a goal I would get along the way.
"Right, let's find the blood spring first!" He excitedly walked forwards on the lead. I let him do such and simply waited for him to turn around."...umm, can you go first? I can't see in the dark like you."
And there it is.
"Sure. By the way, this isn't the first time you have explored this place, right?" I took back the lead and questioned the brunette.
"Yup. I've done some expeditions here."
"Then why don't you know the way to the blood spring?"
"Oh... There was a cave-in when a horde tried to attack the base at the surface...The route that I used most has been blocked. I tried to remove the rubble once but that resulted in more passages collapsing." I heard his tone waver for a moment.
"So better leave it as is than possibly bring the entire place down," I concluded.
I and Oliver advanced through the ruined parking lot and fought Lost in between. It was mostly me ambushing whenever possible and Oliver finishing the opponent in one attack or maybe two if we were unlucky.
"You said that it will come to me as second nature, right?" I wanted to confirm the little info I had about using gifts.
"Yes, I've heard that it is like that for everyone... I do my empowered moves by just flexing my muscles real hard!" He explained this as I expected from someone who has a very simple and effective blood code. The 'just bonk it until it goes down,' Blood Code.
I know that the protagonist has his blood code destroyed when he suffered a fatal blow to the heart. Courtesy of Jack, the angsty boi of the cast.
In the game, you are given 3 blood codes to start your journey, but I'm not in a video game. So I have no blood codes in me aside from what should be my own, but that has been destroyed, therefore unusable.
BUT my eyes would like to differ. They evidently are a passive gift.
Something is up, and I want to know what.
Maybe I transmigated with a golden finger and I've had no idea up until now?
That was a plausibility.
Heh, like being transmigated as the chosen one wasn't enough of a cheat. But then again, the chosen one always gets chased by problems wherever they go, so maybe a golden finger is needed. Nonetheless, problems wouldn't find me as long as the wrong people remain unaware of my possession of the queen's blood.
A.k.a Juzo Mido or any other asshat like him.
But did I have only special eyes and that's it?
Somehow, I feel that I'm missing something. Maybe this is what the original blood code of the protagonist is in the reality I exist in?
This place isn't an exact copy of the ruins in the game since there was no shortcut at the start, so maybe it's the same for the blood code of the protagonist?
Well, whatever. I just have to keep fighting and find out.
Battling through a few more Lost, I acquired the one weapon everyone loves in the dark souls' games.
Good ol' rusty sword! "Finally!" I held it in front of me as the ashes of the owner dispersed behind me.
The weapons of the Lost will disappear with them unless you take them before turning to ash. Oliver told me that most equipment has BOR Parasite cells in them, so as long as you hold onto them they will disappear and reform with you when dying.
However, the Lost appear to have a weird thing of bonding with the BOR cells in the things they wear, like weapons, blood veils, and clothes. This will often deteriorate their equipment. Some Lost seem to have made their weapons deadlier by infecting them but they are rare.
But this was better than the metal pipe.
A worn-down broadsword almost half my size. Long handle with no crossguard attached, but the base of the blade is wide enough that you don't need one.
This weapon was clearly crafted with the slaughter of monsters in mind... unfortunately, revenants didn't count as humans. The jagged teeth and filth of the blade told me enough about what it has been through. But what caught my attention was the fuller, the center of the sword. It had many patterns engraved, they looked like the ones engraved on the frame that I put before the gas mask. The line patterns were akin to a circuit in which all paths in the body of the sword are connected to a small container at the beginning of the blade.
Photo of the blade in case your brain hurty from the description.
Right, weapons do absorb Ichor from the blood of enemies that you slay. I almost forgot that detail. Olive's hammer didn't have any of that pattern. Probably because a hammer cannot draw blood effectively as a sword does. But even then, it looks a bit different from the game or I just didn't notice but it looks sort of... rudimentary?
Whatever, going back to inspect the blade, there was something else, a few more wild and erratic patterns between the circuits. They didn't make sense to me. It looked cool as hell though. No matter how you look at it, it's a steampunk sword. It just lacks some cogs and gears.
Though this kind of design isn't just to look dope.
As curious as I was about the purpose of this, I decided to just ask Rin, the weapons dealer of the main base in the game, if I managed to get Louis in the first place.
The handle felt incredible in my hand.
Looks like I did gain the talent and muscle memory. I just need to get used to it since this isn't my body.
All it took me to get used to it was a few swings and stabs. I never held a weapon before, other than guns and axes, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was doing.
But this was from the protagonist, now it was time to make it mine. So I will gratefully borrow your talents and put them to good use.
While fighting through Lost and jumping across notches on the floor, I noticed the abundance of barricades and covers. Some were military boxes or bags of sand while others were made with piled-up cars.
"Was this place some kind of base before?" I gave a small cartridge of Ichor to Oliver.
"Oh, we are already there?" Oliver seemed surprised at my question and lifted the hammer from the crushed head of a lost before inserting the cartridge into his mask to replenish ichor, "we should follow the trail. Also, yes. As you know, this place has some blood springs, so the government built some bases here. But miasma dried them up and the increase of Lost forced them to move out."
"I see. If we want blood beads then we look near the government posts." I deduced and Oliver gave me a nod.
"This also means that I could find some proper equipment." I ascertained, hopefully.
"Maybe? This place has been scouted many times so we would be lucky to find anything worth much."
Maybe whatever lot I could've found here is already at the post of our jailers.
Even with a lead to follow I still took every opportunity I could to look down through any crevices. Hoping to find a quick way down but it was fruitless. It was either a fall to the deep dark ocean or just a path blocked by the thorns of Judgment, which now that I notice, are shining with a different light than those on the surface.
They were purple.
I had no clue why they would give off a different shine and neither did Oliver, so I just decided to ignore it for now.
My only clues at the moment were to look for ways to go down, which hasn't paid off, and the other was to follow the traces of military cars and barricades. The government must've surely had its base near a blood spring. And Louis, who is a researcher, should be near one.
And sure enough, we found a hole in a wall that showed a way into the caverns. A set of reinforced doors laid on the ground bent and beaten, most likely a result of constant attacks of Lost.
"Uff, there is no way to ambush that one," I kept my distance from the entrance.
A Lost wielding a sword and shield sitting at the entrance. Its frame is bigger than the ones we've met, it even stands an entire head taller than Oliver.
"Yup, this one is bad news too. The Lost who have shields are usually stronger and smarter than most." My partner gazed around to make sure it was only one Lost we had to deal with.
It made sense in a way. From the info I have now, shields were used by very few revenants, and those revenants happened to be the first soldiers that awakened to fight the Queen.
Considering that we are semi-immortals beings with crazy regeneration rates, shields aren't of much use plus they weren't about wasting resources, so the shield production ended as soon as it started. One could say that a Losts with a shield is 'experienced,' they are the first generation of Lost. Not strong as a boss but certainly tough in their own right. The only reason they aren't bosses should be that they lack affinity to the BOR Parasite to rise above the rest of the monsters.
This also means that their shields have fused to their bodies, so no loot for me.
Sad...
"Do you have a gift to dispatch it in one move?" I asked with the hope that he would have his special move that I always used, Dragon Lunge. Up until now, we've made quick work of the Lost so I haven't seen Oliver use any strong gifts other than basic reinforcement.
"I do, but if it blocks the first hit then we will have to take our time taking it down. As long as it doesn't move for a second and that will do."
What to do... Oliver is confident in taking it down with my help, but that will take time and I would much prefer to make quick work of it like with the other enemies. Could we just ignore it and run through the entrance without fighting it? No, I think that I can outrun it but I'm not sure about Oliver.
There wasn't anything around to set up a trap. Not even a hole in the ground to push it off. No debris to throw either, this place was strangely clean aside from the doors and barbed wire on the ground. This was a place that was raided by Losts constantly but the walls and floor were still holding up, with no weaknesses.
This used to be a government base for a reason I suppose.
Shit...
Oh, wait.
I turned to Oliver. "I will blind it with that." I pointed at the old and worn-out tent, "if that doesn't work then you just whack it with your hammer like always."
"Oh, I didn't see that. But will the blanket hold up?" He was understandably doubtful.
"Yup, just trust in me. If it's smart then it will surely be wary of you from the start. But I will go first. Not much different from what we've done before." I said confidently. No way I was defeating this beast in one on one, and that wasn't my goal either way.
"What?!" He quietly screamed. "Are you sure? Going alone?"
"Yup. Maybe our plan will work even better as it is smarter than the others, right? It might think that you ambushing it is plan A, but in actuality, it's plan B. It will give it a sense of confidence if you fail." I explained further.
"Um... sure." He nodded.
"Alright then, also..."
...
Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked forward.
A beast-like growl came from the Lost sitting at the entrance of the caverns. The red bright pupils under the distorted mask laid upon me.
Holy fuc*ing sh!t!
I tightened the grip on my sword and kept the same slow pace, and my opponent did the same by standing up and getting hold of its weapons. As much as a weapon fused to your limbs can be held, of course.
I now understood why they are something to be careful of. The way it's discerning me with its eyes is like an animal looking at prey. It's not a brainless brute like the others that weren't hard to predict even without eyesight like mine.
Hahahaha.
Damn. I feel like I've entered a real fight now.
It slowly raised its shield in front and held the sword close to its body. A position for stabs... the most precise and fast attack possible when behind a shield.
Wow, this thing even has proper posture...
It slowly approached me, inching a bit closer by the second, seemingly waiting for me to enter its sword range... but-
"WOAH!"
Just a few meters away it bursts with the speed of a full sprinting racing horse and the ground where its feet once stood cracked under the sudden pressure.
Even at the sudden burst of speed, I could see the point of its sword stabbing into my shoulder, the one I held my sword. I simply jerked back but the stab quickly changed into a swipe to my throat which made me duck. In such a position, I closed the distance since it had a longer range than mine.
The idea of tackling entered my mind but the shield would stop attacks aimed at the body.
So I decided to aim lower. Thankfully, the Lost made my job easier as I saw a front kick attempting to add a new turning point for my neck.
It screeched as my sword made a deep gash in one of its feet but a shield bash promptly stopped me from doing any more damage, making me retreat.
Holy f*ck!
I could feel the wind hit my head as the shield was centimeters short of caving my skull in.
It's actually smart, huh?
Even after making that blunder, it didn't retreat as the Lost knew that doing so while almost missing a foot would probably make an opening and decided to stand its ground, somewhat confident in its strength being bigger than mine.
And the monster wasn't wrong. I noticed that I'm considerably weaker than the mob Lost which should be at the same level of brawn as most revenants. But this didn't mean that I couldn't break its defense now. Besides, no way I'm letting it regenerate that wound.
I dashed at full speed and saw a swipe once again, maybe in an attempt to put me in the same situation, but it had the intention of winning this time. It finally saw that I'm more trouble than it was worth and chose to kill me instead of eating me.
Too late for that.
Twisting my core, I didn't swing my sword or kick but clawed, using my blood veil. The jagged blade scraped my armored chest in exchange. It hurt like a b!tch but I wasn't truly injured.
A swing from a claw blood veil was no joke and the ghoul stumbled backward, and I advanced once again, not willing to let go of the opening. But it's never that easy...
For the love of-
The Lost stabbed the sword on the ground to not fall and used its bloodied leg to kick me away.
I couldn't do much being this close. Dodging was out of the question since I was already swinging, so it was either blocking or exchanging blows. And trading blows with a clearly superior foe wasn't ideal, not if I wasn't sure of my chances to win like a moment ago, and I can't use my blood veil again.
The kick was strong enough to almost take me off my feet and I panicked. But I managed to stay on my two legs with the newfound dexterity of mine before the Lost gave an incredibly high-pitched cry that felt like needles entering my ears.
Hell, that was a scream that didn't belong to someone of that size.
Goddammit.
I jumped back before cleaning all the blood on my mask which was somewhat blinding me, and- HOLY SH!T
*Whom!*
A strong wave of wind hit my legs the moment I barely managed to jump over the metal door flying at me like a damn frisbee.
My attempt at keeping my legs on working condition left me vulnerable with no foothold and sure fuc*ing enough, the Lost came at me with a war cry winding up a swing before my feet touched the ground.
F*CK!
*CLANG*
I felt my back hit the ground as most of my body went numb. Unable to make heads or tails when I realized I was rolling on the ground, I simply curled up and protected the back of my head with my free hand.
*bang*
"*cough!* sh!t..." I was sent crashing to the ground and rolled a good dozen meters of distance.
"F*ck sake..." I groaned as I sat up and realized my deplorable state. My hand holding the sword was numb while my other arm used to support the blade to take the hit was dislocated.
Alright, I might feel this tomorrow.
I gazed at the monster charging madly toward me like a wolf starving for prey.
But I didn't panic (much) since this situation still fits the plan.
This is when Oliver comes from behind the wall I just hit and bulldozed the incoming Lost.
The creature was coming towards me full throttle so it didn't have time to stop. I even saw it pointing the end of its blade toward the ground to stop its momentum and avoid clashing with Oliver, but it was too late.
Sparks flew off the ground as Oliver's hammer scraped the concrete floor, he held it beside his waist ready to swing it with full torque by putting his torso, arms, shoulders, and legs in his swing.
That red and berserker aura around him made him seem more threatening than the Lost for a second.
And let me tell you, the beautiful metallic sound that echoed in the parking lot when the hammer struck the hastily held-up shield of the Lost and sent it across the room 3 meters off the ground, painting part of the ceiling red when it dragged across it, was something out of this world.
I would even dare to say that it was the best metallic sound I've heard in my life, second only to the clip ejection from an M1 Garand.
This might've ki- let's not jinx it!
The Lost rolled a few meters before using its sword to pierce the ground, stopping itself from rolling.
... yeah.
Oh well. We still have the other plan.
*click*
The sound of my dangling arm snapping back to its socket like one of those magnet toys made me shudder a little.
I've gotten somewhat used to the sight of blood and entrails, mostly because it's rather enticing now that I'm pretty much a vampire so any disgust that I could've felt as a human is now suppressed by the appetite of a revenant, but seeing my body snap my limb back to its place is a bit creepy.
I flinched as I gave my arm a few swings. But it was just soreness and the broken bones were... weren't there anymore.
Woah... I feel even more weirded out now. Don't get me wrong, this kind of regeneration is still amazing.
"...guess it's still plan B unless you manage to kill it before I get to the tent." I got up and said to Oliver who injected an Ichor container into his mask.
"It just needs another one!" He ran to the creature that stood up ready to engage once again.
His hammer struck the shield again and again in a relentless barrage, hoping that the damage dealt to it would make it buckle. But tough luck, it managed to parry the hits that would make it fall, although that didn't mean that it wasn't being pushed back.
It just would take a bit more time to take it down. The damage it took wasn't something it could shake off like nothing. But I didn't have time to waste.
Cuts accumulated on Oliver's arms from the retaliation that the Lost could put up in between the harsh beatings, but that soon stopped the moment two distinct hound maws bit onto the arms grasping the sword and shield.
However, the mask on the Lost was torn off from the inside out as the fleshy sound of its jaw dislocating resounded, soon, a more monstrous mouth with serrated and black pungent teeth than the hounds showed itself to the world trying to bite Oliver's face off.
Truly, horrors within human comprehension.
"Holy sh-" he jumped back disgusted and pale-faced.
But before the monster could approach the brunette, a dark green cloth with metallic spikes showing through it coiled around the creature like a snake.
These monsters may tear apart metal as if it was paper. But warped paper takes an entire b!tch and a half to tear apart. So using the cloth of the tent to keep the twisted barbed wire together, I made an improvised steel wire rope.
You know, the one made to keep bridges up and stop them from collapsing on their own weight, the ones that support that weight and some tons more? That kind of wire rope.
It wailed as its arms were stuck in an awkward position and Oliver just stared at the burrito monster that had scared him sh!tless a moment ago...
"What are you waiting for?!" I urged my partner as I was feeling my improvised wire rope actually grinding within my hands. This monster was really about to escape!
My yell finally woke him up and rushed back to the monster. Red crazy aura surrounded him as he wheeled his hammer sideways before sweeping the Lost's feet.
The moment it fell on its face, Oliver didn't let the momentum of the first swing go to waste and revolved the hammer above his head before bringing it down on the creature with the strength that would make Hercules proud.
A crunch and fleshy sound filled the air as the ground and walls shook from the impact.
That was a beautiful execution.
Splattered blood, mashed flesh, and broken bones began to turn into ash. Only a small clump of gray-yellow matter was left.
Must be Haze. I've only seen small grains of it from the regular Lost around here. This one looks like a small pebble.
"You okay there?" Oliver shouted, panting in place.
"Yup, I only got some ouchies for grabbing the wire with these damn fingerless gloves." I shook my hands that by now had healed, not that I was hurt by those thorns. But their attempt at piercing my skin wasn't pleasant.
A chuckle from Oliver told me that he was okay too.
______________________________________
Word count... about 5,000
Too lazy to copypaste to google doc and pres crtl+shift+c after fixing this chap lmaoxwjfieowijshdi9023e4r9ifjc
Btw, what kind of playlist do you have for reading?
I do have different playlists that I use according to the general feeling I get from the material. Like, I have playlists from Shounen, Seinen/Thrillers, and Fantasy-like, and that would be most of them.
And as for how they are set up. I have songs in a certain order that I can change while reading depending on the situation.
Examples here. Only providing two, one for a shounen (sort of since I listen to this ones with almost all I read except for a few) while the other is for a fantasy-like setting.
1. Comeback or decisive moment. Usually an anime op for variety
[scaPEGoat from Seraph of the End.]
(at'ask ON titan <WMId> from Aot.)
2. Dangerous Confrontation. Bodies about to hit the floor.
[raTEoREkiSImeAra Telethia Battle from Xenoblade Chronicles X.]
(Apple Seed from Aot.)
3. Comeback or decisive moment 2.
[In the forest from Xenoblade Chronicles X]
(This is a Fight to Change the World from Sengoku Basara Ni.)
4. shit's going down!
[KN from Thunderbolt Fantasy.]
(APETITAN from Aot.)
5. Shit might go down.
[63194 Emma's theme from Promised Paradise.]
(Royal Blood from Aot.)
6. Calm moment, usually piano melodies and such. The default song kinda. Playing when there isn't something happening.
[X-BT4 from Xenoblade Chronicles X]
(TPF-2 from Thunderbolt Fantasy.)
7. Feels moment
[Grenzlinie from Kabaneri of the iron fortress]
(AshesMODv from Promare]
8. Fun or entertaining moment. Mostly chill soundtracks.
[NLA Night from Xenoblade Chronicles X]
(Diane and Hawk from Seven Deadly Sins)
9. Build up to an important event. Basically, shit going down but in a hype way.
[1coma from Kabaneri of the iron fortress]
(E.M.A from Aot.)
10. Confrontation! Mostly about a fight but not with the world at stake. Like those tournament arc fights.
[Black Tar from Xenoblade Chronicles X]
(WORLDBIGFLAMEUP from Promare.)
11. Build up to an important event 2. Though this is more for a character moment.
[THEMEX from Xenoblade Chronicles X]
(Wings of freedom from Aot.)