Chapter 94 – The Blood That Tastes Sweet
Kaden stood silently.
Surrounded by the corpses of countless beasts—so torn, others crushed, all of them dead—and yet, even in death, their blood still flowed, thick and heavy, as if refusing to give up.
He stood there, black silky hair drifting with the faint breeze, crimson eyes glowing faintly in the shadow of the trees. In his hand was Reditha still gleaming with that deep crimson hue, but now soaked in blood, blood that painted her smooth, delicate blade with streaks of violence.
And perched on his shoulder was a black crow with red eyes, watching in quiet stillness.
Black and red.
That was the the today, apparently.
But the sight, the visual of that scene, was sothing almost mythical. Sothing out of legend.
Kaden looked at the corpses and rembered one of the conditions to succeed in this evolution quest: to drink the blood of every single thing he killed.
Just the thought of it made his head spin, his stomach turn in disgust.
And as if reading his thoughts, Reditha pulsed, her entire body flashing a deeper red, like a protest.
Kaden smiled, amused.
"It’s not against you, Reditha. But truly, how the hell do you enjoy this?" he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "This stuff is disgusting."
But then... a thought crept in.
’ she is just like a vampire...’
It was a ridiculous comparison, yet weirdly accurate. Still, he shook his head again and turned his focus back to the task at hand.
Drinking that blood.
Already knowing he’d have to do it eventually, he sighed and got it over with.
With a flex of his will, Kaden used his blood control to gather all the blood from the beasts he’d killed. He fused it together into one giant floating orb. It was an amalgam of various colors, textures, and consistencies.
It was hideous.
An abomination of blood, layered in shades that weren’t ant to exist together. Just looking at it was enough to make your stomach rebel.
He compressed it. Forced it into sothing the size of a coin.
Still disgusting.
Kaden grimaced.
"...Little Rory," he called softly.
"Yes, Master!" she replied instantly, her voice bright, cheerful, ever-faithful.
Kaden’s eyes never left the blood ball.
"I have a strong will, don’t I?"
"The strongest, Master! The best of all!" Rory chirped, with not even an ounce of doubt.
"Then tell ... why do I want to vomit instead of eating this shit? Even though I know I should?"
This ti, Little Rory didn’t answer imdiately. She tilted her head, thinking deeply.
Then, with the spirit of a coach from a bad sports ani, she punched the air with her wing and shouted,
"You can do it, Master!"
Kaden’s lips twitched.
"...Very motivational. Thank you."
And without further delay, he tossed the blood into his mouth. Straight down. No tasting. No delay. Just straight to the gut.
He exhaled slowly, then smiled.
"Yes... I was overreacting, okay?" he said out loud, already feeling Reditha’s side-glance from inside his mind.
She pulsed again and this ti, the emotion was clear.
His eyebrow twitched.
"...Drama queen? Did you just call drama queen, Reditha?"
She didn’t respond.
He sighed, but the smile stayed on his lips.
Then,
"Alright, focus," Kaden muttered, scanning the surroundings. There were no monsters left in sight. Not even one.
None dared to approach anymore, not after the sheer bloodlust that lingered in this area. The scent of death had saturated the ground.
Which ant...
He had to go find them.
And with his Perception stat? Easy.
And that’s when the idea ca to him. Sothing ridiculous. Sothing daring.
"I believe I can finish this quest in two days," Kaden said aloud.
Little Rory turned to him slowly, giving him a look.
The kind of look that said: Bitch... be serious.
Kaden’s lips twitched again.
"Okay. Not two. But definitely three," he said, firmly this ti.
And then—
DING!
[Your quest has been updated.]
[Ti limit: 3 days.]
[Penalty: Loss of all your death coins.]
Kaden looked at the update and smiled.
Perfect.
This was exactly what he wanted, an excuse to go all out, to be challenged, and to reap the reward that ca with it.
And so,
BOOOOOM!!
He moved.
Shot forward at full speed, tearing through the forest like a crimson blur. Afterimages trailed behind him.
The air distorted, wind howled, and swirls of pressure erupted as his movent shattered the earth beneath his feet.
He was a storm.
Trees, rocks, even the grass itself—everything in his path was slashed down.
He didn’t care what it was.
If it existed in front of him, it died.
Because so beasts hid in ordinary things. And he wasn’t taking chances.
He was right, too.
Many tis, hidden beasts tried to ambush him and all of them were cut down without ceremony.
Any beast he t, any at all, died with a single flash from Reditha. There was no build-up. No dramatic pause. No struggle.
They just died.
Because how could they even fight?
When The Will itself had nad him Transcendent, and the beasts he was fighting were just awakened rank.
They couldn’t.
So they died.
One by one, two by two, sotis in swarms, they all died. And Kaden, without fail, drank the blood of each one.
And after the hundredth...
Sothing strange happened.
The blood began to taste... sweet.
Even the sll shifted, it was no longer rotten, no longer bitter. But rich, powerful, almost addictive.
Kaden noticed it. He thought it was strange.
But he didn’t stop.
He just kept slaughtering.
The bodies piled up. Mountains of flesh and bone. The outer zone was drowned in red, drenched in blood. The scent of death grew so thick it was suffocating. Breathing beca heavy. The air itself seed to choke.
By the ti he hit two hundred, a crimson fog had begun to form.
A fog so dense it could only be born from unnatural death. And it wrapped the forest like a veil of madness, whispering promises of oblivion to anyone foolish enough to step in.
And yet Kaden stood there, untouched after finishing his massacre accross all the outer zone of the forest.
No blood on him. Not a single stain.
Even Reditha was pristine and gleaming.
As if none of it had happened.
And then, he put on his mask.
Without a word, he stepped directly into the middle zone.
And the mont his foot crossed the threshold,
"Blood Manipulation — Chain Explosion."
He whispered it.
And instantly, all the blood he’d spilled across the outer zone...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
It exploded.
All of it.
In one instant, the outer zone of the Forest of Asterion was no more.
Nothing remained.
Only death and blood remained.
—End of Chapter 94—
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