Chapter 392: Not Exactly Unwelcome

Loud screams and guttural grunts echoed through the sky as the entire army watched in horror. One of their strongest warriors twitched helplessly in the grasp of an F-grade human, their own rules forbidding them from interfering and dishonoring Asir.

Thalion had already suspected something like this. He watched the army from the corner of his eye while the Sanguis Impera slowly retracted its vines from Aris’ body. The birdman’s entire form had changed drastically, and Thalion used one last vine to pump more blood into him. It wasn’t essence blood, of course—but that didn’t make it weak. Thalion even pushed mana into it before it entered Aris’ body.

Aris’ feathers looked ragged, almost blackened near the skin while the edges remained white. His eyes had become crimson orbs, and twisted fangs had begun growing inside his beak. His hands—once humanoid except for the extra finger—had turned into hooked talons. His aura, once sharp and disciplined like that of a veteran warrior, had twisted beyond recognition. Thick red smoke leaked from his feathers and mouth every time he exhaled.

“What did you do TO ME?!” Aris screamed, his voice cracking with desperation as he stared at his own hands. He sniffed the air, trembling. “What is… smelling so good…? Blood… blood… BLOOD! I WANT BLOOD!”

The final roar boomed with mana. A massive shroud of red mist burst from his mouth. That was enough for Thalion. He retracted the last vines. The transformation was obviously complete and there was a whole army full of blood right in front of them. If Aris wanted it so desperately, he could get it himself.

But before unleashing him completely, Thalion had a few questions.

“Now,” he said with a sinister grin as dark-red flames danced around him, “tell me what will happen in the next stages.”

Aris didn’t even seem to hear him. He just kept muttering.

“Blood… blood… I want blood…”

Maybe with stronger specimens it simply took longer until they obeyed commands? It was just a guess, but Thalion no longer needed to fear Aris. If the same changes occurred in him as in all the others he had converted, then most of Aris’ skills were now blood-related—and against blood users, Thalion had no weaknesses thanks to the Sanguis Impera.

“Then go and kill this army,” Thalion ordered. “And while you’re at it, bring me all the treasures and antidotes you can find.”

Aris didn’t move until Thalion physically pushed him toward the army. The fighters’ eyes widened in terror as they saw their precious Aris—changed beyond recognition—standing before them. The moment Aris saw them, his aura twisted again. Pure bloodlust exploded from him.

“Young Master—” the old birdman from earlier managed to say before Aris flashed forward, ripping him apart with his claws. Then he plunged his beak into the corpse, draining the old birdman dry.

Seconds later the man was nothing but a shriveled husk, tossed aside like garbage. Aris didn’t spare him a glance. With a single beat of his wings he shot toward the next group.

Thalion watched with mixed thoughts. Such reckless aggression could get Aris killed. He was powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat an entire army alone. Not like this. And the skyship overhead could vaporize him instantly if its charged weapon fired.

One way or another, Thalion had to enter the fight himself.

But that led to a new problem.

What would happen if he shapeshifted into Eagly?

Eagly was, without question, the best form for this battle. But if Aris had lost all reason, would he turn on Thalion’s eagle form? For safety, Thalion remained in human shape—even if it wasn’t ideal.

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Aris continued butchering his own kin with savage enthusiasm, and Thalion used the distraction to shift into Mistform, shooting toward the skyship. There was one thing he didn’t like: he had completely lost control over Aris. A specimen that strong should at least have enough discipline left to follow basic orders. Losing him entirely could cause problems very quickly.

On the other hand…

Thalion couldn’t deny that he enjoyed seeing Aris go full murder-mode. If even a high-level elite like him fell into total bloodlust, then the curse was far more potent than Thalion had imagined.

The image of Aris tearing apart the old birdman flashed again in his mind. The question was:

would

Aris regain control after drinking enough blood? Or was there never enough to satisfy him?

Thalion didn’t know. But he would find out soon.

Thalion ended Mistform above the skyship. He had aimed to reappear directly over it, but with his still-imperfect control he overshot slightly, rematerializing near the bow. Loud voices carried through the air—fighters on deck shouting at one another.

“One of your strongest failed miserably and even

joined

the enemy! Now our man will take over,” a lizardfolk warrior hissed at the birdfolk opposite him.

Interesting. So there were more elite fighters waiting up here. Thalion paused, unseen. The skyship’s shimmering shield prevented those on deck from sensing him and also blocked out the aura of bloodlust pouring from him.

Should I even stop their teleportation?

Right now, he had one murdering monster. Why not get a second one?

A teleportation circle began forming on the deck—glowing right beneath Thalion’s vantage point. He already knew where the presumptuous lizard would appear.

With a single well-timed strike, I can apply the curse and end this whole fight instantly.

He charged up two monstrous bloodclaws, their shapes warping with power. Almost the entire army below remained focused on Aris’ carnage. Only a few soldiers near the skyship noticed Thalion gathering blood and fire. They shouted warnings toward the shielded elites, but too late—far too late.

The teleportation circle ignited.

With a thunderous

boom

, a three-meter-tall lizard appeared. Clearly male, clearly elite—massive and broad even compared to his kin.

“Finally, I get to kill that annoying Ar—AGHH!”

He never finished the sentence. Thalion buried both bloodclaws deep into his back. The lizard didn’t stand a chance; vines shot from the wounds, flooding his body with an overwhelming dose of the curse. Thalion even had time to activate Identify.

Raskari – Level 128

A bit lower than Aris. That likely explained why this one hated the birdman.

“I am Rakati, you fool! GET OFF ME!” he roared, the last words empowered with mana. A shockwave blasted outward, flinging Thalion across the deck until he slammed against the ship’s hull.

But Rakati’s victory lasted only a moment. He staggered, clutching his head, the curse tearing through him. Thalion recovered just as quickly—he wasn’t going to be knocked out by a simple shockwave.

He fired a barrage of bloodthorns into Rakati’s back and followed with a roaring jetstream of bloodline fire, launching the lizard through the sky like a comet. The flames melted patches of Rakati’s scales—but the fact that not all of them melted under such concentrated heat only proved how absurdly sturdy the elite lizardfolk were.

Then Rakati glowed—green like his scales—and Thalion felt the curse pushed back for an instant as the creature’s wounds closed. Brute regeneration.

Thalion’s eyes widened in satisfaction.

He activated Mistform, shooting straight toward the recovering lizard.

The rest of the army didn’t matter—Aris was turning them into minced meat. And the skyship wasn’t charging a weapon; it was preparing another teleportation, not an attack. That gave Thalion all the time he needed to break his second victim.

He slammed into Rakati’s chest with brutal force, both bloodclaws cutting deep. Rakati refused to fall, even with the curse ravaging his body and climbing toward his heart and mind.

“AGH—DIE! DIE DIE DIE!” Rakati shrieked, slashing wildly with his long claws. At this range Thalion couldn’t dodge without Mistform, and with the curse progressing nicely, he chose to trade blows instead. Unlike Rakati, Thalion had full insight into the lizard’s weakening condition.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Aris tearing through warriors like a rabid beast. Sometimes he didn’t even drain them—just dropped the empty corpses and launched at the next target. Shockwaves, wet tearing, snapping bones… the battlefield was dissolving into pure carnage.

Thalion and Rakati clashed, exchanging brutal strikes. Thalion’s dark-red flames were wrapped around every attack, making each wound burn like agony incarnate. After several exchanges Rakati weakened significantly.

Thalion seized his chance. He shot upward, then slammed his right claw into Rakati’s neck. Two vines whipped out, binding the lizard’s arms. Rakati trembled violently, trying to wrench himself free with sheer brute force, but it was useless.

Thalion had him completely under control.

He loomed over him like a demon made flesh, crimson eyes glowing like burning coals while dark-red flames licked across his skin. When he spoke, his voice boomed with mana and unshakable conviction.

“NOTHING WILL STOP ME FROM WINNING THIS SYSTEM EVENT.”