1% Lifesteal

Sophia's head was in one piece; there was a good chance she could still be healed.

The scorpion-tailed woman slowly turned her head to face him. While the man had been more like a wild animal, the woman was entirely in control of herself despite the incredible power pulsing through her body. On top of that, while Freddy had felt the man's power as a peak two-star, he didn't sense this woman's power at all.

She was a star above him. And if that wasn't enough, whatever this ritual had done to her, it didn't make her any weaker.

"You beat Damian…?" she asked, looking rather amused. "Fascinating. You were her friend, right?" she said as she turned to face Sophia's dismantled body.

He could hear the woman's voice, but it sounded slightly muffled, almost like she was talking through a wall. The woman seemed to be willing to speak. He lunged at the opportunity. "Why do you want to know?" he asked in turn.

He was exhausted both in body and spirit. He didn't have time to summon Bloodshed or enough blood to make it count, and he was missing an eye and a whole arm. The odds of him winning against this woman were hilariously low.

But maybe, just maybe… he could still find a way out.

The woman shrugged. "I'm just curious. She was always a lonely girl, this one," she said fondly, almost as if talking about her little sister. "Too bad she willingly reduced herself to this. Anyway, you seem oddly calm," she noted. "Do you not want to avenge her? Does your kind not feel such emotions, or are you just particularly barbaric in nature?"

"I could say the same thing about you," he said. "Are you not sad that I killed your friend?"

She snickered. "You are not the one who killed him. You merely hastened his death." She tapped the ritual circle on her forehead. "This power comes with a price."

"You people are fucking insane," he spat. "What are you waiting for, then? Shouldn't you go join your leader in his fight before your battery runs out?"

She smiled at him. "My role is to keep distractions away. I count myself as one of those."

Freddy felt sweat trickle down his back. He tried thinking of something to say, but nothing other than provocations came to mind. Unless a miracle intervened, it would come to a fight. And he would lose.

He looked at the pulsating stinger hanging above the woman's head. That thing could crush his head like a watermelon. Sophia had managed to keep her head. If he could fight her and get a similar result, maybe—

"Oh, and by the way," the woman called. "I'm aware that she's still alive." She moved her stinger over, caressing Sophia's mangled head with the tip.

Freddy's blood suddenly ran cold. Of course she was—she would have felt the influx of ether if Sophia had died. And she wouldn't be fooled by him, either. He stood frozen as the woman cackled, breaking into a manic laughter. Her shrill voice echoed in his ears.

"Think fast," she said as her tail suddenly whipped, sweeping Freddy off his feet, and then impaled him into the ground right through his navel.

He spat blood as he felt a chunk of his own insides rushing up his throat.

She raised his body off the ground with her tail and slammed him into a tree, which suddenly began growing thick branches that coiled around his body. "As I thought, you're undead, too," she commented, quirking an eyebrow. "What a coincidence. Where did you meet her; at a zombie support group?" Her stinger moved closer until it was an inch away from his eye. "I just have to crush your head, and that will be it…"

Then her stinger stabbed into his thigh, shattering his femur and almost severing his entire leg.

He groaned through gritted teeth, focusing on stopping the bleeding as best as he could.

"Quite the pain tolerance you have," she said, walking closer. "Must have lived a difficult life…"

At that moment, her placid mask of calm cracked, and an expression of rage flickered through her eyes. "Tell me… was she happy with her choice? Picking you pathetic beasts over a life for the greater good? Did she enjoy the fruits of what you people dare call a society?"

She flicked her stinger again, crushing Freddy's other leg. "Did she find the happiness and freedom she wanted?" She stopped in front of Freddy, grabbing his jaw and staring him down. Her green eyes were wide open, piercing deep into his soul. Pitch-black hair peeked through her hood, partly covering her face. "I will die so that your people can one day live in peace. Yet I see no gratitude in your eyes."

Her eyes shifted. "It doesn't feel as good as I thought it would. I almost feel like… I'm making a mistake." Her fist landed right on Freddy's mangled stomach. She slowly pulled it out and shook her hand to throw off the piece of flesh sticking to it. "I love my family, and I believe in our cause," she said, sounding almost like she was trying to convince herself. "But I don't want to die for vermin like you. So tell me, then—how did Sophia repel the ritual?" she asked with an intense madness so vivid that it nearly made him flinch. "Is it your talent?"

He had been wondering why the woman even bothered to keep him alive. Now, it finally made sense.

A soft whisper escaped his lips, too quiet for even a three-star to hear.

"Hmm?" She quirked an eyebrow.

Another whisper, barely audible.

The woman brought her ear closer and finally heard what he said.

"Leviathan's Fury."

Instantly, the branches keeping him restrained tore apart as a dozen bony protrusions formed hellish jaws rushing to impale the woman. She was way too close to either block or dodge, and every single one of them reached her skin, piercing through it and drawing blood.

The spikes retracted a long moment later, having severed the branches keeping him tied up, and Freddy's body fell to the ground, with many of his bones fractured—but the backlash wasn't as intense as he expected. A surprising—startling burst of lifesteal rushed in from the woman's body. It was enough to patch him up to the point where he could move again.

The woman screamed in rage as she thrust her stinger, but he used Hydraulic Flex to push himself out of the way. His legs hung uselessly, given that they were attached by little more than pink, deformed tissue. With only a single functional arm, Freddy could do barely more than desperately claw himself out of the way of the stinger's attacks.

The woman's assault was clumsy at first, but her nature affinity wasn't just for show—moments later, her skin was mending as her wounds closed back up. What looked like tiny roots of something growing an inch beneath the surface of her skin extended, pulling her wounds shut while her nature affinity hastened her recovery enough to get a hold of herself. But where her skin wasn't bloody, it was deathly pale.

Even a three-star couldn't afford such a sudden and great burst of blood loss. Her legs shook as she looked like she was barely standing on her feet, and her skin glistened with the shiny sheen of perspiration.

Yet she was still a three-star.

Suddenly, the grass around Freddy started wriggling. Like tiny tongues, the strands licked across his skin and caught on anything they could, slowing him down enough to make dodging the woman's attacks almost impossible.

The next stringer thrust was far too close for Freddy's comfort. "Wait!" he shouted. "Spare me, and I'll tell you the secret!"

She paused. "Speak. Say the wrong thing, and I'll make you suffer a fate far worse than death!" she shouted as she raised her stinger high, preparing to stab him in an instant.

"Okay… Leviathan's Fury!"

The bony head of the leviathan struck out once again, and the sheer disbelief was nearly enough to stun the woman into reacting too slow, but this time, she moved her stinger to block the incoming attack.

The stinger's hard carapace repelled the ivory spikes, sparing her any damage, but the force knocked her off her feet.

The jaws of bone clamped closed on empty air.

As the spikes retracted this time, Freddy was in a far worse state. His body simply refused to move. He did no damage with that attack, leaving him with no healing to offset the now broken bones and mangled flesh.

He watched the woman slowly get back up, leaning on her stinger. The moment she stood again, he was dead. But what else could he even do? Leviathan's Fury was locked as he couldn't afford the price, and he was still in combat, so he couldn't use Blood Sacrifice.

Something tugged on the back of his mind, and he heard a voice. Release me, Master.

With only slight hesitation, Freddy obeyed and released Bloodshed from its shell. Rather than attack the woman, the skeleton immediately entered the Netherecho, disappearing the instant it arrived.

The woman rushed to her feet with a jolt as she turned around and scanned the area. "A spirit…?" she muttered but quickly brushed it off as she refocused on him. "You had your chances." She spit something out of her mouth and threw it over to him. Tiny seeds scattered around his body and quickly took root, growing in a heartbeat as thorny vines wrapped him up from head to toe.

Immediately, he felt his whole body freeze. A poison coated the thorns, sinking into his skin, and it caused pain he could only compare to using Thousand Wet Hells. The inside of his veins felt like it was melting, and what remained of his muscles all cramped, thoroughly paralyzing him.

"The pain will worsen over time," the woman stated matter-of-factly. "Now, make your choice. Either tell me what Sophia did to repel the ritual or spend the last few hours of your life in hell."

Under ordinary circumstances, those words would make anyone feel pure terror. To Freddy, however, that sounded like salvation. He doubted she'd wait there the whole time. And if she left him alone, he'd have Bloodshed save him from his predicament.

For a few long moments, he gave the woman a rebellious glare, but then he pretended to succumb to the pain as he groaned and squirmed. It sucked enough that he didn't really have to pretend to be suffering, but it wasn't nearly enough that it would break him.

Several minutes passed, but the woman kept staring at him, waiting.

Does she really have nowhere better to be!?

"Are you seriously that stupid!?" she shouted. "Just tell me what she did! Are you going to die to keep it a secret? Or are you delusional enough to believe that you can still fight your way out?" she spat, and a moment later, she brought her stinger behind her back and hung it right above Sophia's head.

He froze, stopping his squirming as he watched the woman.

She chuckled in disbelief. "I guess the pain suddenly vanished? Dear me… You really are something, aren't you?" Her face suddenly fell as an expression of rage descended on it. "Give it up."

He gritted his teeth.

"Who are you, anyway?" the woman asked. "Such a powerful spirit ability is something I'd never expect to see on a two-star." She paused for a moment. Suddenly, her expression of rage softened a bit as she worked to place a smile on her face. "Look, I know you don't trust me to spare you, but I swear on everything that ever meant anything to me that I will if you just tell me what to do!"

Her desperation was the only thing keeping Freddy alive. And, obviously, he had no answer for her. Not one she wanted to hear. Unless she could somehow heal Sophia enough to wake her up, she was a dead woman walking.

Just as he was about to get desperate, something bizarre happened. The glowing ritual circle on the woman's forehead appeared to… turn off. It dissipated some form of sinister energy, and a moment later, her bulging muscles deflated as the strange power coursing through her faded away.

She breathed out a shivering breath, relief washing over her as a tear ran down the side of her face. "I'm alive… Master must have—"

Before she could say another word, Bloodshed suddenly appeared right behind her and swung its clawed fingers, severing her Achilles tendons.

She screamed in surprise and fell over back-first as if the ground had vanished from under her feet, landing on Bloodshed's extended arm, which pierced right through her back and, a moment later, ripped her still-beating heart out.

The woman tried screaming, but it came out as a wheeze. She squirmed on the ground, watching the emotionless spirit with an expression of terror as she muttered, "I… don't want… to die…" She clutched her robes right where her heart used to be. And a moment later, she stopped moving.

Freddy stared at the bloody skeleton, mouth wide open. "Holy shit, Bloodshed…"

"I hope my service is to your satisfaction, Master. I apologize for taking my time. The construct upon her forehead was exchanging her life for power, and while it was still active, I wasn't confident in my ability to execute her. I took too long to break the construct. I will do better next time."

"No, you—you did fucking fantastic!" he said with a manic laugh, relief washing over him. The vines keeping him wrapped up shriveled as the last of the woman's life faded away.

Surprisingly, he seemed to get all the ether for the kill, likely as Bloodshed couldn't absorb any of it. And boy, was it a lot. Not as much as he got for killing the patriarch, but still, it was a massive influx.

He thought of getting up, but nothing wanted to move, no matter which muscle he tried commanding mentally. A few could still twitch, but that was far from enough to help him move. As the relief truly sank in, so did the realization that he was barely holding on to his consciousness.

So much for kicking the habit of passing out at bad times…

With the last of his willpower, he extracted the spark of undeath from his storage ring. His eyes met the empty eye sockets of Bloodshed, who nodded with understanding. And with that, his awareness blinked out.

***

The empress stood, her body tense as she stared at the man before her. "You goddamned psychopath! How the hell are you still alive!?"

The sounds of fighting echoed throughout the forest around them, with the terrorists fighting the soldiers. Shouting and metallic clinks sounded in the background, reducing to the all-too-familiar background drone of war.

"Nice to see you again, too, Kaiya." He chuckled. "I thought you'd drop those senseless allegations against me by now, but I suppose that wouldn't serve your agenda, would it?"

"Senseless allegations?" she spat, chuckling sardonically. "I think that's enough talking." She raised her sword, getting into a stance.

"Now, now," he said, waving her down. "You must be aware of the disadvantage you're at. I'm giving you the chance to live for another few minutes; the least you can do is humor me for a bit."

"You are overconfident."

"And yet you still haven't made your move. How curious."

"What do you want?"

"A debate, I suppose," he said, chuckling. "I want to see your point of view."

She smirked. "Please spare me the nonsense, Nathaniel," she said, slightly lowering her sword's tip. "Or do you still go by Silver Heart?"

"I go by Master Kirurg these days."

"Figures."

The tension between them grew. The eidolon of authority waited patiently as the two five-stars waited, seeing who made the first move. The seconds passed by, and soon enough, they turned into minutes. The sounds of fighting in the background gradually quieted as the conflict came to an end.

The crimson sky suddenly began fading.

Both of them knew how this realm functioned, so they thought it was merely the Crimson Twilight coming to an end. But then, something bizarre happened.

Blood from all throughout the forest started glowing. It lifted into the air, traveling towards the center of the realm. A power began roiling.

The eidolon of authority raised its sword—but not at the empress. It turned towards the strange source of power at the center. The overwhelming aura of blood grew concentrated, focusing on a single point. And a moment later, it vanished.

The two opponents couldn't afford to look away. They kept their attention firmly directed at one another, but as the seconds passed, the feeling that something was deeply wrong became undeniable.

And judging by the eidolon's reaction, something indeed appeared to be coming.

Nathaniel's eye twitched as both of them noticed that the eidolon was no longer paying attention to them.

Almost instantly, the empress raised a wall of earth as she activated all five stars and started running in the other direction. She tried slashing at the red barrier to free Leona, but…

Leona nodded with an expression of understanding. The barrier wasn't going to go down that easily.

"Stay alive," the empress commanded and continued running.

***

"Damn it!" Nathaniel shouted as he gritted his teeth.

Just as he had her in his grasp, the damn eidolon had to—

He turned around just in time to spot the shadowy figure, barely discerning its form in the darkness. It stood over four meters tall, glaring down at the eidolon of authority as it held its sword in its grasp. The eidolon couldn't even budge.

The creature's skin was a deep, crimson red, sleek like polished metal, and stretched tightly over its lithe, muscular body. Its face was like that of a demonic cat, with a grin spreading from one ear to another, massive, red, slitted eyes bulging wide open, and bat-like ears twitching in excitement.

Nathaniel watched in horror as the creature grabbed the eidolon's head and crushed it like an apple.

With the death of a powerful eidolon, the surrounding Netherecho briefly overlapped with reality, the two sides of the world interposing with one another, and a moment later, the world settled again, yet a few flickering wisps of ether remained in reality, fluttering through the air.

Nathaniel couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't suppose you're an asura of forgiveness?"

The creature spoke with a deep, raspy voice, a playful tone dancing through its words. "I bear no grudge against anyone. But since you asked so nicely, I suppose I could give you a chance." Its grin began spreading wider and wider as its eyes opened wider. "Run."

Nathaniel immediately turned around and bolted towards the nearest passage. He quieted his presence as much as he could, covering himself in thick shadows as he pulled himself forward with Black Whips.

Within less than thirty seconds, he was on the brink of stepping through a passage. A pleasant forest awaited him on the other side, but before he could make it, the asura peeked its head from within the passage, grinning widely at him.

Razor-sharp claws tore his entire body into shreds, and just like that, his legend would forever remain just another page of the history books.

***

Bloodshed kept the spark fed as it helped move Master's hand. The dagger pierced the mound of flesh, and with every swing, Master's complexion grew slightly brighter. But it was a slow process.

The damage Master's body sustained was fierce this time; only second to that time when he'd been reduced to a mere head.

Suddenly, the red glow of the sky blinked out, and the aura of bloodthirst disappeared. It was an odd phenomenon, but it was nothing Bloodshed could control. It had a task.

It would complete it.

It kept at it, swinging the dagger over and over.

Eventually, it was interrupted by a sound.

The leaves rustled as a strange, sleek, crimson figure stepped from between the trees.