Chapter 20: Blood and Egg (3)
Chapter 20: Blood and Egg (3)
Ronan’s eyes widened as he witnessed a bizarre phenomenon. The blood that had still been lingering on the ground was squirming and moving somewhere.
“What on earth is this now?”
It resembled blood vessels torn and emerging from the skin. Upon closer inspection, he saw numerous veins wriggling and crawling through the ground. It was eerie yet captivating, stimulating his curiosity.
Ronan followed the matrix of blood as if entranced. Thousands of strands of blood vessels were all crawling in the same direction. Soon enough, what he was searching for came into view.
Stopping in his tracks, Ronan exclaimed in disbelief.
“This is insane.”
All the blood was gathering into a dark red puddle. The blood vessels Ronan had followed were doing the same.
Marpez’s egg floated in the center of the puddle.
The level of the puddle was gradually decreasing. Ronan furrowed his brow as he realized the situation. That monstrous egg was absorbing the blood.
As Aselle caught up with Ronan, he shouted,
“What, what is that?!”
“I don’t know either, man.”
With a determined stride, Ronan reached out and grabbed the egg. The pooled blood around it started bubbling and surging upward. It seemed to be protesting, as if asking for the egg to be returned.
“Did you do this?”
“Of course not.”
Ronan stared at the egg with a baffled expression. Mana wasn’t enough, so now it was absorbing blood?
What kind of creature could have been influenced to give birth to something like this?
Thud!
At that moment, the egg moved slightly. Ronan leaped back in surprise and exclaimed,
“It moved!”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, man! It’s about to hatch!”
Aselle rushed over. The eggshell was shaking little by little. The two boys, filled with excitement, clenched their fists.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
“Am I the only one hearing this sound?”
“No, I hear it too!”
Sounds like tapping were coming from inside the egg. It was becoming increasingly frequent, indicating that something was trying to come out. Ronan knocked on the eggshell as if knocking on a door.
“Don’t be so impatient, come out already and show us what bizarre creature you are.”
Thud!
Thud!
A response came from inside. However, after waiting for a few minutes, there was no further progress. Aselle, who was pondering something, spoke up.
“Could it be lacking nutrients?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s still absorbing mana like crazy.”
It was visible in Aselle’s eyes. The egg was still greedily absorbing mana from its surroundings. If they weren’t careful, it might even steal their own mana.
“People need to eat to gain energy, right? This egg might need more blood and mana to break out of its shell.”
Ronan nodded in agreement. It was a plausible explanation. Ronan gently placed the egg back into the puddle. The puddle quickly dried up.
“You truly have the mind of a wizard. If that’s the case, then we need to give it more blood.”
“Exactly. In my opinion, maybe…”
Aselle was about to say something, but Ronan felt a slight vibration under his foot.
“Crumbling…”
Aselle didn’t notice. Sensing an unsettling energy, Ronan looked around.
“Why are you acting like that, Ronan?”
“It’s… What’s that sound?”
“Why?”
“Listen… I hear something.”
Creak!
Aselle remained oblivious. Ronan sensed something ominous. He frowned and said, “What’s going on?”
“Why?”
“Something is wrong. I can hear a sound.”
The passage of time was marked by the creaking sounds that resonated through the air.
“Really? I didn’t hear anything… Anyway, remember earlier when the animals were dead in the field? Let’s check that place… Ugh!”
“Hold on, Aselle. Something seems off.”
Ronan covered Aselle’s mouth. The vibrations were getting stronger. He opened his eyes wide and looked around. A sound was persistently reaching his ears — not quite like water and not like wind, more like a viscous, continuous sound.
“What’s that?”
At that moment, something red caught Ronan’s attention in the distance. It didn’t take long for him to realize what it was as it undulated above the tall grass.
“…Aselle.”
“Yeah?”
“How do you think it feels to take a bath in blood?”
“Why are you suddenly asking something like that?”
Aselle blinked his large eyes in confusion. Ronan reached out silently and pointed in the direction of the field where they had been before. Now, it was getting closer, visible even to Aselle’s eyes.
-Sua-sua-sua-sua!
A torrent of blood was rushing towards them, flattening the bushes and rapidly approaching.
“Yaaah!”
Aselle screamed like a startled girl at thunder. The crimson torrent writhed as if it had a mind of its own. All the blood from the animals that had died in the field earlier was converging into it.
“Invisible Hand!”
Aselle’s staff struck the ground urgently. Both of them were suddenly lifted into the air.
“Whoooa…!”
Aselle felt queasy. Because the egg was continuously draining mana in real-time, their magic was becoming increasingly unstable. He struggled to concentrate to maintain their altitude.
-Sua-sua-sua-sua!
The swirling blood stream was now forming a spiral shape, shooting towards the egg. As the mana flowing from the egg pulled the blood, it seemed like a sentient force.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
“This creature isn’t in its right mind either.”
The egg was shaking more violently than ever before. Ronan chuckled as if amused. For an unborn creature, its antics were excessively disruptive.
“Alright, let’s give it a taste.”
Holding the egg in his hand, he gazed at it for a moment before dropping it into the middle of the blood current. The egg made a splashing sound as it disappeared into the blood. The spiral shape distorted as the absorption began.
“Seriously, you’re going to drink all of that?”
Ronan and Aselle marveled at the sight as they hovered in the air. The gradually transforming spiral only took about five minutes to vanish completely. Once they confirmed that all the blood was gone, they landed on the ground.
“Is… is it over?”
“Seems like it.”
Despite consuming so much blood, the egg’s exterior showed no change. Ronan picked up the egg lying on the ground and cursed.
“Damn it, what the hell?”
The object in Ronan’s grasp was an empty shell. A large hole seemed to have been punctured through it, leaving a perforated pattern on the egg’s surface. Fragments of the shell were scattered like shrapnel.
“Where’s the yolk?”
As Ronan furrowed his brow and turned his head, something struck him forcefully at the back of his head.
“Son of a bitch!”
Clutching the back of his head, Ronan collapsed. The impact felt like a punch directly to his brain. Startled, Aselle rushed over, gripping his staff.
“Ronan… Are you okay?”
“No!!”
“What? what hit you?”
As Aselle looked around, he was struck again by something that flew at him.
“Aaah!”
Aselle let out a scream of surprise and collapsed, his eyes rolling back. Ronan quickly got up and drew his sword.
“Damn it! What the hell…”
Ronan’s words were cut short as he instinctively turned his head. A swift object grazed his cheek with incredible speed, faster than the arrows used by kaliborro hunters.
“Dammit.”
Blood trickled from the spot it had grazed. Ronan’s face lost all trace of ease. He felt that if he took any more hits like that, he might die.
Swoosh!
Seeing the indistinct presence, it was clear it wasn’t a projectile but a creature. It couldn’t be identified by sight alone.
“This is such… ugh…”
Ronan let out a sigh and focused his mind. His vision narrowed, and time seemed to elongate. The enigmatic creature was making a tearing sound as it flew towards them. Ronan swung his arm.
Thud!
Something soft landed in his hand.
“I got it!”
Turning the sword in his grip, Ronan aimed at the object he held. He was about to bring down his sword when…
“Whoa!”
“Huh?”
Ronan’s pupils narrowed. The small life form in his hand was wagging its head, seemingly carefree. It looked nothing like he had imagined.
“Could it be you came from here?”
“Huh?”
Alternating between the shell and the mysterious creature in his hand, Ronan gradually realized that the creature had emerged from the egg. Its appearance was so bizarre that he couldn’t believe it was a naturally existing animal.
“…What kind of creature looks like this?”
It had feathers, but it’s skeletal structure wasn’t that of a bird. It resembled something he might have seen before, yet he couldn’t recall where. Just then, Aselle stirred awake, clutching his head.
“Ugh… What just happened…?”
A lump had risen on Aselle’s head. Ronan wordlessly pushed the grotesque creature into Aselle’s view. Aselle recoiled in horror.
“Drag… dragon?!”
“Huh?”
“Did you say dragon?”
It was only now that Ronan conjured an image of a fantasy creature in his mind. The ichor of a dragon, similar to Hatchling’s bodily fluids. He hadn’t seen it directly, but the creature before him was uncannily similar to what he had seen in the guidebook.
“Now that I think about it, it does seem somewhat similar. The only resemblance to Marpez is the feathers.”
Though it had just been born, its four sturdy legs stood firmly. Two sets of wings were abnormally long compared to its body.
The only difference between it and Hatchling was the presence of feathers where scales should be. Except for its face. The soft, feathery plumes, reminiscent of Marpez’s, were a deep, dark black, like the night.
“But still… I guess I should test it.”
Scratching its neck, the creature made a growling sound. Ronan muttered to himself as he touched it.
“…Its face looks half and half.”
The creature, its vine-like tail swaying, stared into Ronan’s eyes. Its large eye sockets were like mirrors reflecting Ronan’s face.
“But this… Nah, this isn’t it.”
Ronan’s head tilted, and the creature in his hand squeaked. When Ronan opened his hand slightly, the creature scuttled up his arm.
“What? What are you doing?”
The creature, nestled on Ronan’s shoulder, gazed at him. Aselle’s eyes widened as he observed this. The creature’s eye, like a large cat’s, reflected Ronan’s face, shimmering.
“But still, you little rascal. You nearly got me killed.”
“Huh?”
Ronan turned his head to reveal a wound on his cheek. The creature that had been quietly sitting suddenly began to struggle. When Ronan relaxed his grip, it climbed onto his shoulder.
“What? What’s going on?”
The creature was looking at the wound on Ronan’s cheek. As Aselle watched, fascinated, a small magical circle formed in front of the creature’s eyes. The wound on Ronan’s cheek began to heal.
“Ro… Ronan! Your wound’s healed!”
“What?”
Ronan wiped his cheek and chuckled dryly. His smooth skin didn’t show any sign of the wound anymore. As the healed wound on Ronan’s cheek came into view, the dreamling nuzzled against it.
“This thing is a life-saver.”
“It’s… cute. Ronan, it seems to like you.”
There was no separate living being. At that moment, the dreambirds wings began to unfurl slowly. As the four wings, reminiscent of ravens’, spread fully, nearby mana began to gather.
“Huh…?”
But it wasn’t just mana. The residual blood still present in the air floated up, seeping into the soft feathers. Stains on Aselle and Ronan’s clothes coalesced and fell in droplets as they converged.
“What kind of magic is this, Aselle?”
“I… I don’t know either…”
Aselle shook his head left and right. Magic that used not only mana but also blood. It was something unheard of.
It seemed eerie and even potentially dangerous. But that wasn’t particularly important. Ronan found himself rather fond of this strange creature.
Ronan extended his arm, and the dreambird’s wings folded as it climbed onto his palm.
Facing the dreambird, Ronan spoke.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“Beah!”
The dreambird chirped briefly, as if answering. Ronan playfully swung his arm as a test, but the dreambire, who had grabbed his finger with its claws, didn’t budge.
“Alright then, let’s consider that a yes.”
Ronan reached out and scooped up the dreambird. The creature didn’t resist, and its blinking eyes made it look quite endearing.
“I should give you a name. What would be a good…”
Ronan stroked his chin, deep in thought. He didn’t want to name it carelessly, after all, he had gone through the trouble of hatching it. Suddenly, a memory from the past surfaced in Ronan’s mind, and he nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go with ‘Cita’.”
“Beah!”
The dreambird responded as if acknowledging the name. It was as if it understood the spoken word. As Ronan reached out to pat its head, the dreambird unexpectedly took flight.
“Aaah!”
Traumatized, Aselle screamed and clutched his head. But the dreambird wasn’t targeting the boys’ heads.
Swoosh!
Cita, like a flying whip, shot towards the distant trees and vanished. Within seconds, a collision sound and a piercing scream echoed, as if the breath had been knocked out of someone.
“Aaaah!”
Ronan and Aselle looked at each other and ran in the direction of the sound.