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Path to Prosperity - B3 Chapter 16
🕑 Added 2024-11-02 11:00:09 +0000 UTCFiona was drenched in sweat, but not because of her mount. She’d switched her mount to ride on the Holy Triceratops, which could protect her even better than the Guardian Spirit. The Guardian Spirit was the first line of defense and beheaded a Pleacis when the Elite Demon charged at Fiona.
Its’ defense was already powerful, but with [Circle of Protection], it was increasingly more difficult to injure the Guardian Spirit. Once the Pleacis bladed arm pierced [Circle of Protection] and the Knight-type Guardian’s defense, it was decapitated with a single strike. The Guardian Spirit’s injury was healed by [Aura of Healing], pushing the spirit back to full power at once.
But Fiona noticed none of that. She didn’t have to pay much attention to the other summoned Monsters, the nobles, or the Imperials. Percy attracted most of her attention. His mana was burning like a blazing inferno in the darkest night, according to her mana vision. She may not be able to see through her eyes after the incident with her Ego awakening occurred, but her perception through mana was better than ever. Melissa and the Imperials were strong, but Percy’s mana burned fiercely in her mana vision.
Nonetheless, he was not invincible. Fiona ‘saw’ the demonic creatures – their power was evil and tainted – as they charged at Percy. They tried overwhelming him but got overwhelmed instead. Their first exchange injured all Hellhounds and inflicted minor wounds to their bodies, but that was only the beginning. He succeeded in cutting them a few more times via Dragon Fang before the Thousand-eyed Hellhounds realized what was going on.
However, Fiona comprehend the situation at once. She was a Healer, probably the most talented and perceptive Healer in the last few centuries. It was only obvious that she could perceive the severity of the injuries inflicted by Dragon Fang. It was too simple not to notice, yet the Hellhounds took a while to realize that their bleeding didn’t stop. Their beastial regeneration should have healed the shallow cuts and minor wounds long ago, but nothing like that happened.
Dragon Fang cut through more than hide and flesh. It caused deeper damage.
They combined their forces once the Hellhounds realized how easily Percy could injure them and how much damage even the most shallow cut could inflict. They fought as lone hunters before and only switched to working together when it was obvious that their situation was dire. Two Greater Demons attacked him simultaneously, occupying Percy’s full attention until the third pounced on him, biting into his shoulder.
Percy should have blocked the Hellhound’s pounce with a pillar of ice, but he was too occupied with the raging emotions that lent him the power needed to deal with the Greater Demons. The raging fury made it harder to control himself, let alone to keep several Augmentations active at all times. [Hawk Eyes], [Berserk], and [Blade Mastery] had to be actively utilized at all times to fight the Greater Demons, yet it wasn’t like [Dragonblood] didn’t require his attention. It was a passive Augmentation, but it influenced his mind as much as [Berserk].
He circulated enormous amounts of churning mana through his body to cool his boiling blood while infusing mana into Dragon Fang as he slashed one of the two Hellhounds, keeping him at bay. The Hellhound fought more aggressively and sustained a grave wound. The Greater Demon’s gut was nearly cut open, and it didn’t require much for its insides to spill out. In his rage, Percy focused on inflicting more damage by extending Dragon Fang’s blade with an application of [Frostbite].
He applied the Augmentation to the Syreablade as it swept through the Hellhound’s wound, worsening the injury drastically.
The next thing Percy remembered was unbearable pain. The third Hellhound had pounced on him and dug its fangs deep into his shoulder. Percy wasn’t dead right away, but he sure felt like his life was about to end in the next few seconds.
The Hellhound tore on his shoulder, nearly pulling it apart, if it hadn’t been for his new armor protecting him. [Circle of Protection] also protected him, but it wasn’t enough. He still felt like the Hellhound would tear his shoulder apart in the next second if the Greater Demon hadn’t pulled back.
The Thousand-eyed Hellhound squelched in pain and released Percy as if it couldn’t get away from his shoulder any faster. Only then did Percy notice smoke coming out of the Hellhound’s mouth. But that wasn’t the Hellhound’s hellfire being used. The smoke came out of the Hellhound’s throat and tongue, which had started melting. Out of nowhere, the Hellhound’s mouth was melting. Even its razor-sharp and highly resilient canine fangs weren’t spared.
Blood gushed out of the deep wounds on Percy’s shoulder, but he barely registered the pain. Fiona mended his wounds, yet Percy didn’t notice this either. His attention lingered on the third Hellhound, which had pulled back to stare at him with a mix of confusion and…fear.
The Abomination of my Ego hasn’t made a move just yet. It shouldn’t be afraid because of my Ego…right?
Percy swung around when he registered something from the corner of his eye. The other unscathed Hellhound pounced at him, forcing Percy to raise his injured arm. Fiona’s healing was fast but not instantaneous. The wound tore open again, and more blood spurted into the surrounding, tripping on both the gutted Hellhound, which was still writhing in pain, trying to get up to fight Percy and feast on his carcass and the other Hellhound.
What happened next would be imprinted on Percy’s mind. His blood dripped on the Hellhounds and…burned through their hide and flesh like acid.
Fiona also noticed this phenomenon, but she wasn’t as confused as Percy. Thanks to being forced to train her mana vision every day for years to survive on the battlefield as a blind Ego, Fiona’s perception was countless times higher than the norm. She could easily sense how much mana everyone contained, how pure their mana was, and what additional properties their mana contained.
Of course, it wasn’t possible to instantly differentiate all properties and say what every property was capable of, but she could sense them nonetheless.
However, that was not all Fiona was capable of. She was also a Healer, one of the strongest in her family's history at that. It was only obvious, but Fiona could perceive how much lifeforce every living being contained. However, Healing Star was a little different. Fiona could also perceive how much lifeforce someone could hoard in their bodies, on top of how much was left.
Yet, looking at Percy, Fiona couldn’t really tell how much lifeforce his vessel could hold at a time. Yet, she could easily determine that, despite sustaining a grave injury by the Hellhound, Percy’s pool of life was still filled to the brim. In fact, considering it as a ‘pool of life’ like her family had taught Fiona didn’t seem suitable. It was more like Percy’s pool of life was an ocean of abundant life.
Percy was nothing like a Master Tier Ego should have been. Of course, Fiona was aware that the royalty was different from the norm, even compared to other nobles, but Percy…Percy was even more unique. She had once healed Sophia when the princess was even younger, and she recalled how shocked she had been when she saw the princess’ pool of life. A young child shouldn’t have been capable of possessing more lifeforce than the average Peak Mortal Tier Ego.
But even compared to an anomaly like that, Percy could be considered an oddity.
“Your blood is the Demon’s bane!” Fiona shouted at the top of her lungs.
“My blood?” Percy responded even though he was already grasping what was going on. But it didn’t make any sense…or did it?
He swung around, spreading more of his blood on the premises. The Hellhounds backed off, their expressions filled with fear. They stared at him as if he were a mythical creature from the legends.
Almost like he was…
A Dragon.
Percy’s eyes glimmered dangerously as he put the pieces together. Everything started to make sense.
He stepped to the wincing Thousand-eyed Hellhound, whom he had gutted, and stared it dead in the eye.
A moment later, Dragon Fang slithered across its throat, ending the creature’s life.
One down, two to go.
The fear rooted deep in his heart dispersed slowly. It was replaced by excitement.
Come and get me if you can, Devil!
Comments
HideousGrain
Fixed!
Jermel Purse
Noticed a big typo I think. Tripped being used instead of dripped
