Book 2/ 27 - Conquest 2

HILDELITH'S POV


The pathogen was fascinating to observe. It illuminated why scientists find research so compelling. The devilings that remained were profoundly altered. Their blood now had vines threading through it like veins. Their hearts were completely at the pathogen's mercy, and those with brains were quicker and more adept in both movement and attack compared to those without.

I was analyzing any local organisms that could have fought off the pathogen once it entered the host. I suspected these organisms were delaying the pathogen's journey to the victim's heart. Increasing these organisms might extend the travel time even further. Then there was the question of incubation, once the pathogen reached the heart.

"We need to determine if removing a host's head before its brain is affected will halt or disrupt the pathogen's spread."

"Given its properties, the absence of a brain would significantly impact it. However, the pathogen has shown the ability to function without a brain. Dead brains are absorbed and broken down for consumption. It's unclear whether the pathogen gains any advantage from a dead or living brain."

"Considering this, aren’t both brains essentially dead anyway? It does stop the victim's heart."

"Not exactly. I believe the pathogen precisely calculates when to subjugate the brain as it takes control of the heart. We're here." Our conversation paused as I watched my devilings lead us into another room.


[Floor 2]


Unlike the previous floor, this room was brightly lit. Red streams of lava flowed through ridges in the ground, dripping from parts of the wall and from various holes. I didn’t realize I was frowning. This place lacked liquid silver, indicating that the enemies would be different. The devilings continued along the path ahead.

"What kind of enemies should we expect here?"

"Flamethrowers, for sure. Either Elementals, magma golems, or fiery entities."

The devilings were just in the center when the lava streams began to stir. A large hound, dripping with lava and composed of solidified magma, leapt out of the pool. Its eyes were glowing red, similar to my Elder Titans, and it left fiery tracks with each step.

"I don't see this thing having a heart."

"It wouldn’t." The hound lunged at my devilings, while another one was rising from the other side. My first deviling fell, losing its legs. It clawed and spat vines at the hound, but the vines burned up and turned to ash on contact. Silver dripped from the hound’s maw as it attacked the devilings' leg.

Another deviling grabbed its body, and the fire failed to catch as it spun and threw the hound back.

"Okay, they’ve got this." We watched as the second and then a third hound appeared, and the devilings overwhelmed them. The hounds' fiery forms couldn't burn the devilings' flesh, and the vines were only at risk when they left the safety of the devilings' bodies.

"Look."

Akasha directed my gaze to the first hound, which was lying on its side with magma flowing from a gash in its stone body. Its legs were kicking and thrashing. Akasha seemed more interested in its insides. Silver dripped through its interior and coalesced at its core.

"I don’t remember setting it to target any enemy that wasn’t organic."

"Yes."

"So, what’s it doing?"

"Attempting to find something."

I glanced back at the other fights. Another hound had appeared, and the devilings had it on the ground with silver fire blades piercing its abdomen, head, and sides. I received notifications of three kills.

The devilings prepared to move on to the last hound, but I called them off. Earthen Grace turned the ground around the hound green, forming plates of stone. I lifted it into the air and closer to me. "Let’s continue."

The devilings resumed walking. The one on the ground, which had lost its leg, crawled in an unsettling manner. "Yes, I can see the fear factor there."

Further into the cavern, with the imprisoned hound following, the next set of mobs appeared. The walls cracked, and the lava flowed faster. Earth and lava combined to form hulking golems. "Ah, damn."

The golems slowly advanced, their brutish forms thumping against the ground as they approached my devilings. "Considering what the hounds did, I don’t think they can handle these." I vanished and reappeared in front of the golems.

Red flares fixed on me, and I raised my left palm. The nearest golem leaned forward and swung. Cracking and chilling sounds filled the hot air. Red eyes faded to dark holes, and all five golems stood frozen. I sent the statues to my inventory, ignoring the notifications. We moved further into the cavern, and I retreated to the back, letting the devilings continue.

"The reduction in challenge here is troubling," Akasha observed, and I agreed. The recent fight had been too easy, easier than most battles should be. The devilings soon reached the end of the floor, where a large hole in the wall was blocked by a massive Fire Elemental. Its white eyes locked onto me behind the devilings, and a guttural roar shook the room. It moved, and in a burst of fire, it was already opposite me.

"Whoa." I quickly teleported away, leaving it to crush the ground I had been standing on. Voidbringer appeared in my hand, reddish and purple energy flowing into the blade. Voidbringer trembled, and the edge pulsed.



[Netherling] - [Fire Elemental]
[Lv 47] - [IMPIETY]
Gargantuan elementals of fire, Netherlings born from the nether realms in one of the many universes lost to Primordial Chaos. These beings are inherently destructive, driven by an insatiable urge to burn and destroy.



"Ah." It spun and dashed forward again. I teleported back to its starting position, leaving a blast of black mist in my wake. The spot quaked and turned to lava as well. I appeared above its head and swung down, my Argatan muscles amplifying my strength.

SCRRHHH

The shriek and the rending of stone created sparks as Voidbringer, tinted with Chaos Energy, cut through its back like a hot knife. The elemental roared and turned sharply. I leaped to the side and rolled to my feet. Ordering the devilings to move farther back, I lunged for the Elemental, which was stomping around in search of me.

The ground beneath it froze, allowing me to slide easily beneath it and slash at its hamstrings. I caught my roll with my claws digging through the ice and jumped high as the Elemental’s roar of pain subsided. Voidbringer plunged into its back. Its head rose with a bellow, and its hand swung around to strike me. It stumbled and turned.

Its body flashed and burned brighter, with fire rolling off it in waves.

I withdrew my blade and vanished. The Elemental roared, its body pulsing with intensity. I reappeared at its feet, aiming to sever its ankle. Fire erupted from its body, spreading in all directions with a swift, heavy blast. The flames washed over me, and the pressure and sight of my body being engulfed was astonishing.


[Race - Nothing]


My Godform melted into darkness, my sword returning to storage as I floated amidst the flames. Then it was over. The ground beneath me was red with lava. My nothingness form vanished, and I reappeared behind the panting Elemental.


[Race - Godform (Argatan)]


Voidbringer hummed as absolute chaos flowed over it. The steel vibrated. The Elemental turned as it rose, and I slashed out. A thin line of black and purple swept through the elemental's calves. The spot ceased to exist as the thing tipped over with a roar and fell. I vanished as did the sword.

Appearing above the Elemental's head, I raised my right fist. From the fingers up to my shoulder, my arm warped and became black and flowing like a Hair'jin's body. I struck down like a punch. The elemental's eyes narrowed as my hand descended. Then my fingers became one, forming a short spiked point.

The sound of metal tearing through stone was delightful. I reformed my hand inside its head even as the elemental thrashed and its hand tried to slap and grab me. My blood charged and white currents flowed from my body down my metallic arm and into my fingers, where I held it to gather.

Ice shields shattered and new ones reformed as the Fire Elemental beat at its face to get to me. My body ignored the rest of the fire trying to burn, but it seemed my body had more resistance to its body flames than the explosion it released.

BOOM!!

The Elemental's head erupted with a discharge of white currents. Taking back my hand, I ignored the sizzling palm as my glowing eyes dimmed.

'Tora will be so mad you can do that to avoid the backlash of blowing up charged currents.'

[Fire Elemental - Slain]
[Greater Shard gained]

The Fire Elemental's flames were snuffed, leaving a gigantic entity of hardened stone. "Do you think I can create a variation of the Pathogen that eats through stones or can affect something like it?"

'It's doable. But you'll need to study its inner workings.' I sent a pulse of Akashic Energy into and through its body. The cracks and folds of the corpse glowed with gray light. Slowly Akasha showed me results.

Its anatomical structure composition was an elemental's core, a concentrated mass of fire energy that showed traces of highly condensed thermal energy even after death. There were various energy channels that once carried fire energy throughout the elemental's body. "Those are crystals." It was like nothing I'd ever seen. The unique crystalline structure was capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. "It's like the essence veins of the Elders."

There were various residual pockets of dormant fire energy remaining within the elemental's body, primarily concentrated around the core and some larger channels. "Since it's dead, the Pathogen could use these pockets as the energy source it needs."

'I believe that upon introduction, the pathogen will begin to travel through the crystalline energy channels. The pathogen's cells will expand to contain and control the residual fire energy. Due to its rules, it won't act till it gets to the core where it will initiate the decay process, converting fire energy into its vines and threading through the core and channel.'

I stopped infusing Akashic Energy and used my hands to form the Pathogen Seed. "Since it has no organs of any kind, how will it affect the rest of the body?"

'Since the channels thread through every inch of it, I believe those will serve for its purposes. Also considering the skin retained some energy, the pathogen might spread beyond.'

I dropped the seed into the stab wound on its head. Stepping back, I watched. One eye was gray while the other remained black with nothingness, ready to block any pathogen spread.

Like with the devilings, it went for the heart. Unlike the devilings, it found and swallowed various pockets of fire energy along the way. 'Since it's not yet in its vine form, the nothingness is keeping it unharmed while it adapts the fiery energy to it.'

When it got to the core, I watched in fascination as it exploded with action. Using all the energy it had taken, it swallowed the core in seconds and was soon moving down the channels. Outside its body, my free eye caught vines breaking through its stone skin and threading around. I stepped back a bit and kept watching. Soon the entire channel network was taken and outside vines wrapped around its entire body.

Vines burst out its eyes as well, and I stepped back as it rose. The ground shook as its feet stamped, its hands beat the floor, and it pushed itself up to a knee. Dark pits focused on me and a thin line shattered on its face to form a mouth that opened in a soundless scream.

'It worked.'

"I see."

I took a single cautious step forward, coating my hand in nothingness and then reached for it. Stone creaked and the ground shuddered as it moved, stretching out a hand, then a finger. I touched the finger and I smiled. 'So I'm a necromancer now.'

'You should know, the pathogen exhibits the ability to manipulate the residual fire energy. I believe it can harness flames to create a new form of decayed elemental energy.'

'Okay. Let's not do something stupid without checking. Its size is okay for now. If it can burn things, then that's good.'

'What I mean is, the Pathogen in it can affect and infect other elementals faster.'

"Alright. So it worked then. I thought removing a set instruction would confuse it, but it simply adapted to what it had. Since the elemental didn't have blood, ordering it to follow energy instead of swim through blood was the next best thing."

'That seems to be the case. Or it simply moved till it found its target.'

I drew the sphere holding the hound closer. Releasing it in front of the Elemental, I focused on it to infect. The Elemental's head turned to stare at the creature below it. A vine from its side moved like a serpent and stabbed into the hound. It thrashed, and I watched the infection take root. The most interesting thing was it getting to the Silver blood that held its old variant and swallowing it as well.

The seed got bigger and continued on its path till it got to the core. The rest was history.

Directing the Elemental ahead and the hound behind them, the devilings following, I moved on.


[Floor 3]


The entrance to the floor was a large broken space that the Elemental simply stepped through. The hound followed and I watched as the devilings went through. It was dark in there, horridly dark. A ball of gray gathered on my left finger. With a snap, it exploded, sending a pulse of Akashic Force ahead of me.

Lifeforms, various lifeforms. Up. There were none down. All of them were above. 'I could use fire, or ...' A blue glow came from my eyes. Looking up, I saw nothing ahead of me. Looking up, I saw various lifeforms. Flying lifeforms. They were as large as the devilings, some even larger and some smaller.

[Soul Sight]

Wings sprouted from my back, my features turned slightly more refined if it was possible. I raised my palm and fire erupted from it. I poured in more flames and it grew. And grew till it was the size of a basketball. Then I began shrinking it even while adding more fire.

Shrieks and cries came from above. They'd spotted me. I looked up, watching many of the flying and some perched creatures begin spinning and rolling in the air before descending.

I wrapped the fire I'd made in nothingness and canceled the space between it and the dark ceiling. It vanished from my hands and appeared up there. The moment I released my hold, it erupted in a beautiful blast of yellow, golden, and red flames.

I teleported into the midst of the ones flying down to attack me. The eruption behind them had shocked them to turn and look. While it wasn't a distraction but an attack, I didn't frown at the benefits. An Ice Glaive formed in my hand. Swinging, I sliced two apart. Up close, these creatures were similar to the devilings but with wings and only two horns.

I beat my wings to keep myself airborne. I teleported to another one and impaled it. Frost crept over it at an alarming rate. I twirled the glaive in my hand reshaping it into a spear which I threw above me. Past the dissipating flames and into the ceiling.

Ice erupted and spear in all directions. Freezing the spires and rocks over. The creatures not burnt were frozen over. One of the ones with me screeched and beat its wings to get closer. Silver fire was spat from its mouth. Nothingness covered me and I grabbed its mouth through the flames. It froze over till it was a statue and then I squeezed shattering it into ice.

'Won't you infect any? Getting aerial units would be advantageous.'

"I'm not building an army!" I slapped a ball of fire on another. The roar of the blaze was behind me as Akasha was replied.

'Could have fooled me.' Ignoring her, I beat my wings and ascended higher. Soul Sight reactivated and I took in everything again. Just a few were left.

My blood charged. My eyes lost the blue glow and got a white one. 'Wait. You're serious. Infect these ones too. It'd be a good record on how pathogens use skills and activities such as flying.' My eyes dimmed and my charged blood settled.

"Fine." I teleported into the group I'd seen. 'How did Munoron do that thing?' I raised both hands and using nothingness manipulation formed rings around me. The things screeched as they were pulled to me. I vanished and appeared below. The word appeared on my fingertips and I fed it Akashic Force.

A funnel formed in seconds. A funnel that dragged the rings and creatures to me. Canceling the rings, I dove down with the funnel, which in turn drew down the things. I tugged harshly and then vanished.
I hovered above them as the funnel dissipated. My blood tingled and felt charged.

“This is why I prefer Tora’s words when using air,” I thought. I wasn’t yet comfortable controlling the elements with my blood. Each attempt gave me a different sensation of the element. I used Primordial Fire and Primordial Ice, avoiding unnecessary extremes like boiling or freezing myself. It wouldn’t affect me, but it wasn’t necessary since I had Earthen Grace.

My blood began to tingle again, and blasts of wind erupted from my palms. The remaining foes were sent crashing into the devilings. “Infect.” I watched as the devilings attacked their winged counterparts, biting, slashing, or clawing them. My mind pondered the intricacies of my power.

Akasha was proficient with spells and basically everything else. Divinity was similarly effective, but only if the entities were affected by it. That’s why I couldn’t generate darkness with my divinity—Nothingness solved that issue.

I could shift races to access other elements. Absolute Chaos required a Demon form, while Primordial Chaos needed my dear Molliwag's form. Anything else would be incinerated by Primordial Chaos.

Of course, I could use Hair'jin's form for Primordial Chaos as well. However, it wasn’t just about avoiding destruction; it was about how well my Hair'jin body could handle and control the damage inflicted by Primordial Chaos.

“They’re done.” The flying creatures were all infected, and the last one was just standing up. “Can they fly?” I commanded the winged devilings to beat their wings, and, unsurprisingly, they took to the air.

“Now you know,” Akasha hummed in agreement in my mind. “Let’s go.”

A larger flight deviling blocked our exit from the floor. It resembled a bar more than a deviling and wielded two silver short swords. “I have no problem infecting floor guardians.” I was confident I would win; there was no need to practice swordplay against something I knew I could defeat.

I appeared behind it, and the bat-like creature spun quickly. “Not fast enough.” With the Astralium Dagger in my left hand, making the slash was easy. The bat didn’t seem to notice, snarling threateningly. I vanished and reappeared with the others.

“Akasha, wind barrier.” I summoned the barrier, feeding force into it to form a wall of wind that would stop the guardian. I stared at the dagger, focusing on the silver blood on it. “I wonder where its influence ends and my devilings begin.”

The bat struck the barrier repeatedly but couldn’t break through. I stood there grinning until it exploded in a flash of silver fire. The explosion happened in front of me, and the bat descended, swinging its short swords.

“I get to practice.” I drew Voidbringer and blocked the attack. The clang echoed. I tilted the blade as Ozai had taught me, making the short swords scrape down the side of my blade. I twisted and kicked its side.

The bat crashed to the ground. Its single eye flared as I saw the seed already next to its heart. The bat flapped its wings, then stumbled and bent over.

“I could use this as poison, leaving my enemies guessing until their partners rise to kill them for me.”

“Evil,” Akasha commented.

I chuckled. Voidbringer vanished into storage, and we watched the bat writhe and spasm until it fell. “It’s good to know that neither living nor dead guardians can resist my Pathogen I or II.”

I observed the bat as it flapped its wings to stand again. Its two silver eyes remained unchanged. I watched it stand there unblinkingly. “Join the rest.” I descended into the next floor.


[Floor 4]


I emerged into a bright space. A green sky arched above, and marshlands stretched below. My legs were stuck knee-deep in the water. “Yeah, no.” Nothingness coated me as I manipulated it to cancel my gravity. I floated above my infected.

“Give them a name,” Akasha suggested.

I shrugged. “Forward.” I grew wings to stay aloft while canceling my Nothingness. The Elemental marched forward with the Bat beside it. Behind them came the devilings, with the Winged variants above. The hound stood between the guardians and the small fry, the marsh water touching its abdomen.

The marsh stank of rotting wood and humidity, with flies and mosquitoes buzzing around annoyingly. Primordial Fire seemed like an appropriate choice.

“All-powerful goddess uses her powers to slay mosquitoes. Beautiful.”

“If I can’t be comfortable, then I shouldn’t even be a goddess.”

“Fair point.”

“Don’t you ever want to be free?”

“I am free. I am you. I am the universe. I can experience and observe all life, and you are still me, existing in both realities.”

“Are you sure?” I paused mid-flight.

“I am you.” Smiling, I continued my flight. “Instead of just wasting time slogging through the marsh, I could drop a seed.”

“Actually, I want to see how the Pathogen affects other organisms in such a grand deployment. The original intent of Pathogen I was for a grand deployment.”

“Yes, but we need some sort of life. Without that, we’d need to use Variant 2 and find some energy.”

“True.”

A large fly emerged from the water, followed by more flies. “They’re here.” The flies headed straight for me, ignoring the infected devilings below. I understood why immediately as pale-skinned figures and skeletons rose to attack.

A ball of fire appeared in front of me and then reappeared with the flies. The creatures split and tried to evade it.

BOOM!!

The flies fell, some turning to ash. My blood stirred, and currents raced over my body.

CRACK!!

Thunder clapped as the current surged toward the scattered flies. They fell like—well, like flies. Below, skeletons clashed with the devilings, while the pale creatures were harassed by the Winged variants. The hound assisted by throwing itself around the battlefield.

Surviving flies scattered and attacked from all angles. I released Holy Breath on the closest ones and then formed the word for water. Akashic Force flooded it, and streams of golden liquid fell. Directing it with my right hand, I formed whips and controlled them like a conductor. The ends of the whips were frozen, and each strike cut through a fly.

The last fly fell. Using Earthen Grace, I formed stone beneath each infected and raised them above the water level. I folded my wings and dropped into the water. My legs transformed into those of a Haif'jin, and lightning flowed down them and into the water. I heated my blood, increasing the white lightning’s intensity. The water boiled, and the pale creatures became charred flesh. The skeletons were less affected.

I leaped out of the water and spun mid-air, slamming the water surface with my index finger. From the point of contact, the water froze, spreading ice with a cracking sound. Everything that wasn’t mine turned into ice—statues and cold. The frost reached as far as it could.

I landed with a thud, crouched and feeling the chill. I looked around. White spread in all directions, freezing trees, vines, and everything that was part of the water. Even parts of the earth were frozen, though it didn’t reach my infected.

It was over. The sky vanished, the cold dissipated, and the land and wind with it. The sky darkened with gray clouds, which I suspected were smoke. The land itself was a scorched wasteland with smoldering ruins. Streams of lava flowed north. Dead soldiers littered the field, some sinking into the lava and burning as they vanished.


[Floor 4]


My gaze landed on an Iron Fortress. It was a massive, imposing structure built entirely from dark, cold material. Its tall, thick walls radiated infernal energy. The desolate landscape around it was scorched black. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and brimstone, which would have been difficult to breathe if not for one thing.


[Race - Godform (Elder Devil)]


“Why this?”

I smiled, taking a deep breath of sulfur and brimstone as my skin turned pale and my horns retracted. I locked my purple eyes on the fortress and the movements on its walls.

“It would be too easy.”