When Dorian combined bloodlines that he’d already fully grown, he would automatically start at the most complete Growth Stage, as far as he was aware. It would cost him some amount of energy to fuse the bloodlines, but apart from that, he didn’t need time for his soul to adapt, he was ready to go instantly.
Dorian’s body began to shift, transforming from the Lesser Life Wolf form. His fur changed for slim, gleaming scales colored a faded green shade. His body shifted and expanded, turning into a bipedal, vaguely humanoid creature. His face became one that was vaguely draconic, with two small horns sticking out of his head. A sharp set of small spikes moved up and down his spine, protruding slightly.
Thick, but dense, muscles bulged in his arms, giving him a powerful appearance. His wolf paws transformed into scaled hands, ending in short, pointed claws.
“Ahh.” Dorian breathed out, his scaled face flush.
–
– Lesser Throne Demon – Growth Stage: (4/4) Throne Elder –
Growth Progress – 45,602/0 –
–
He’d used up about 3,000 growth energy points to merge the bloodlines for this form. He paused for a moment, bringing up his status.
–
Dorian – Soul Status
Soul Stage: Grandmaster Class (Pseudo-Lord)
Health: Perfect
Energy: 2,945/2,945
–
He glanced over it, nodding in satisfaction. His soul had grown stronger yet again. As he did so, a mental notification popped up inside his mind.
–
– New Ability Gained –
Ability: Demonic Eyes (2/2)
Description: A passive Ability unique to members of the Demonic Race. Demons have the ability to see through illusions and to see when there is little or no light. In addition, members of the Demon Race have enhanced vision that allows them to see great distances, and have increased visual acuity. This Ability grows in mastery.
–
“Oh?” He said aloud as he finished reading over the ability. He tested it, staring at his scaled hand. He moved his hand from side to side, at a fast speed.
Every single movement his hand made was in perfect detail in his eyes, unable to escape his vision.
“Fascinating.” As he was looking this over, Ausra spoke up in Dorian’s mind.
‘Certain Abilities will sometimes have unique interactions in certain forms. In your Lesser Throne Demon form, the ‘Condense’ Ability does not function like it normally does.’ Ausra gave him a warning.
Dorian listened, waiting. Ausra didn’t say anything else. He rolled his eyes.
‘And?’ He mentally commanded her to explain.
‘Lesser Throne Demons have the ability to give off a Life Aura. It is similar to the Aura a Lord Class being can give off, except instead of an Aura created through the laws of the universe, it is an Aura formed from the latent Life Energy in a Lesser Throne Demon. It has no offensive capabilities, and will feel slightly off when compared to actual Lord Class Auras.’
Dorian listened to what she said and then turned his focus inward. Over the past several weeks, Dorian had gained an almost complete control and awareness of every aspect of his body as he switched forms.
As he focused on his body, he could feel a powerful energy flowing through the veins of his current form. Full of furious, powerful vibrancy, painting an image of colorful explosive light in his mind.
It was very similar to the Life elemental energy he had absorbed from before, but this time it was completely under his control. He felt as if he could move this energy anywhere within his body, combining it with his Constant Regeneration for a powerful effect.
“I see,” He began, practicing moving the energy in his body around, “So what happens if I Condense it?”
‘The Life Energy in your body will start to combust at an extremely fast rate. At the same time, it will temporarily boost your physical strength, perception of time, and durability by very large amounts.’
“Ohh, I like the sound of that. So it’s like my regular Condense, but an upgraded version of it that only works if I have Life Energy flowing through my body. What is the downside?” He queried.
‘The Life Energy of a normal Lesser Throne Demon is not unlimited. Condensing burns that Life Energy up and puts an enormous strain on the body, badly damaging the genetic makeup of the Demon. This normally takes weeks or even months to repair, even with their powerful regenerative capabilities.’ Ausra began,
‘However, with your unique Soul Spell Matrix, genetic damage is easily repairable as long as you switch forms. Most of the normal damage and injuries you take will remain consistent through transformations, due to the unavoidable laws of the universe.’ Ausra continued,
‘Your Soul Spell Matrix can nullify any genetic damage, allowing you to sidestep this downside, though it will cost some amount of energy points.’
“Not bad.” He could deal with that.
He began to walk around his room, getting used to his new form. He stood just under 2 meters tall, not an intimidating size at all. His entire body was covered with small grayish-green scales, sleek and gleaming.
He put on a set of loose black pants and a grey shirt, figuring he’d blend in more if he wore clothes.
“Hmm.” He could speak like normal. He felt at the two small horns on his head and then shrugged.
He hadn’t met anyone that was a member of the Demon race, he hadn’t even heard or read anything about them. However, with how many races existed that he’d seen so far, he figured he wouldn’t stand out too much. He didn’t look too different from some of the Lizardmen he’d seen in the city.
He was probably fine, he thought, nodding his head as he went over his new form. He was glad he’d picked the Virulent Wolf, and gained so much from its subsequent transformations. His second choice, the Fire Imp, would have been a powerful aid, but how could it compare to his Lesser Throne Demon evolution?
Sure, Fire Imps were extremely resistant to heat and other aspects of Fire or Flame Magic, but what were the odds that he would have immediately been able to put that form to good use right after picking it? It could wait a day.
Just as he was thinking this, a rumbling explosion shook the air, very far from Dorian.
BOOM
A huge shockwave blew open his wooden shudders, almost stunning him as he turned around. He leaned his body to the left, watching the wooden shutters fly past him.
He jumped up to the window, looking out up at the sky.
Around half a dozen miles from the city wall, a vast ball of fire could be seen, expanding in a gargantuan explosion that was at least two miles wide. Brilliant orange light emerged from this blast, violent gusts of wind slamming into the city.
Bright beams of fire seemed to shoot straight up into the air from the meteor of flame, giving off an even more brilliant light.
“Ahh!”
“Oh my god! It’s the end of the world!”
“Run!”
In the background, the screams and yells of people in the street echoed as panic set in. Pedestrians rushed into each other as they fled in the direction opposite the explosion, merchants abandoning their wares, Wizards casting spells to protect themselves or aid them in fleeing.
Dorian, meanwhile, just stared at the deadly meteor, the biggest he had ever seen in his life.
“What the-?”
Before he could finish the thought, a painfully loud voice echoed across the city, a fierce, mighty yell.
“MY DEAR BROTHER, I HAVE COME TO GREET YOU!”
“PLEASE COME OUT, LEST I BURN THIS CITY ANEW!”
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
“Damn.” Helena, a powerful vampire sent by Highlord Marcus to track down Dorian, stared up at the massive fireball that had appeared to the west of the city, biting her bottom lip. She winced as she heard several harsh, Draconic syllables shake through the air, indecipherable unless one spoke Draconic.
She had been pacing back and forth on the western city wall, waiting for her comrades. They were supposed to arrive shortly, according to one of her Blood Wizards.
“Gordon. Where are Trajan and Probus?” She asked her gaunt Wizard underling, turning her eyes to the left. Several of her men, well, technically General Carus’ men that she had borrowed, stood there at attention, waiting for her orders. Her Blood Trackers weren’t present, still out hunting for traces of their Anomaly in the city.
“Lady Helena. They should arrive shortly. They did not give a specific time.” The Wizard Gordon stepped forward, his voice apologetic.
Meanwhile, the massive, two miles wide ball of fire began to shoot towards the city, giving off an unholy amount of heat.
Helena moved her eyes past the incoming fireball.
In the distance, she could make out a roughly 50 meters long dragon, glowing with orange light. Faint trails of fire fled from its wings as it soared. These same orange flames seemed to sheath its entire body, like a warm, comfortable blanket.
“Damn it!” She stamped her foot down in anger, but at the last second caught herself, freezing before it could make contact. She remembered when she accidentally caused the 6th Palace of Potor City to cave in, destroying its central roof.
She’d managed to blame it on the Anomaly they were chasing, saving the Aurelius Family some face after her subordinates met with all the Palace Masters, trying to gather intel.
Several hurried movements caught her eye as she stood frozen.
She looked up, staring at her subordinates.
All of them had jumped backwards several meters, one of the Wizards even going so far as to begin to cast a defensive spell. They looked palefaced and fearful, watching her every movement.
She gave them an annoyed glare and then turned her attention to the fireball that was two-thirds of the way to the city.
“It’s King Class, and a true, powerful King Class. Gordon, send word to Trajan and Probus that they need to get here as soon as possible.” A powerful Aura began to gather around her as she spoke, her words containing pure authority. This Aura gave off a sense of martial might, of physical prowess that could not be stopped.
“I will engage it for as long as I can. There are too many innocents here.”
Helena leapt up into the air, sailing through till she landed on the ground, three hundred meters away from the city walls. The air around her turned a strange red color, her Aura seeping outwards as she glared at the miles wide fireball bearing down on her.
It was like a giant meteor, obliterating everything in its path. The ground in front of her seemed to melt away as the huge star of flame roasted by.
Helena clasped her hands together,
“Impact Magic: Royal Impact Series Number Six.” Her eyes glowed a brilliant white shade as she squared up, shifting her body slightly to the side. She pulled her right arm back. As she did so, two circles of white light formed in the air, one about two meters across, and the other three meters across, surrounding the first one. Muscles began to bulge and swell on her arms.
“Grand Meteor Impact.” She punched forward.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Dorian’s eyes opened wide as he heard the message, instantly understanding what was happening. He jumped out his window and pulled himself onto the roof, readying himself to run away.
‘This must be the Eleventhborn that Mello mentioned. How did he find me?!’ He frowned, his mind racing as a sense of danger overwhelmed him.
Before he could think any further, another shockwave almost knocked him off his feet.
Before his eyes, the massive fireball that had been bearing down on the city abruptly split and fell apart, a large hole drilling through the center of it. Stray blobs of fire shot in all directions, raining down upon the ground outside Potor City for miles. A few of the higher set balls of fire rained down in the city, setting several residences on fire.
The entire horizon had transformed into a massive, blazing storm of fire, stretching for miles. The raw heat of the blaze washed over the city, smothering everyone.
Thousands of Wizards in the city began casting spells, designed to protect themselves, their charges, and their homes. Every man fought for himself, the situation devolving into a chaotic one.
Without a City Lord to cement leadership, the defense plans of the city rapidly fell apart.
“Oh my god.” Dorian stared at the apocalyptic scene in horror. This level of power… this was ridiculous. How could one being be this powerful?
‘Think, Dorian. Think.’ He forced himself to calm down, analyzing the situation.
A member of the Flock was here, and it was able to trace him. If he stayed in the city, it would keep attacking and slaughter thousands. Someone had just blocked its attack, but was unable to stop it entirely. Still, they were able to put up a fight.
‘Think. I need to survive this.’
The Flock member wanted to meet him. As his mind raced ahead of him, a rough plan gradually began to form. He needed more information to be sure it would work… but it was better than nothing.
He opened his eyes, a determined look in them.
‘Alright. Let’s go.’ He leapt away from the roof, headed towards the origin of the firestorm without a shred of hesitation.
