Chapter 545: Bloody Delicious

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tsk

Ares rubbed his eyes and got off the couch. He slid open the nearest curtain and glanced out the window at Ignizz who was being flung around the outside of the Elliot by the war aura flag flying at Mach ten with the little guy still attached. Though he would have liked another hour or two of sleep his condition and improved and his energy levels were much higher, and stable, than previously. Ares was starting to arrive at the more dangerous mountains now so being ready for what lay ahead was paramount. There still wasn't anything that could realistically pose Ares an unmanageable threat but he wasn't one to step into something blindly with arrogance on his mind to boot. Plenty of cultivators stronger than Ares had perished at the hands of cruel traps and unforgiving circumstances that couldn't be rectified once the wheels of fate were already in motion. All it would take was one lethal mishap and poof, Ares had lost another life. Still, only the Frozen Throne, the Nu Kings, and a few monsters located near the tippity top of the mountain were likely to do him any harm whatsoever.

Actually, regarding the Vikings and the Throne, Ares was still deliberating over how to deal with them both in a way that was satisfying. He didn't want to be played by either group but he was in a position where doing anything would benefit one side or the other despite his intentions. The Vikings took up one side of the top mountains while the Throne lorded over the other, Ares would have to fight one to ascend to where he wanted to go and whoever he didn't batter to death would try and capitalise. Honestly, Arse was tempted to just kill them all. It was by far the easiest strategy available to him. He'd briefly considered Rox shenanigans but it was a whole lot of effort when he could just blow up his problems instead and be on his merry way. Doing so might even help Ares up his cultivation to bloodline awakening... He'd consider it and see how things went, for now he still needed to climb the mutated mountain. He hadn't even come across one of the two groups' camps yet so he was better off spending brain power on Skip, passive cultivation, and using nothingness to enhance his pressure control.

Ares stepped outside the Eliot and shoved it back inside the Primordial Blade. He then gripped the war aura flag, bringing it to a sharp halt mid air, and untied a dizzy Ignizz who kept tripping over nothing and face planting into the snow. Ares, finally, chanted the summon art for Ignizz, as he didn't bother doing it yesterday, and told Ignizz to get back inside him. He was curious about where the mini God was staying and, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, it was his heart. Before, Ignizz was holing up inside Ares' stomach because it was quiet in there, with only the occasional rumble, and he found a safe little nook to crawl into. The stomach acid gave him a pleasant tingling sensation similar to burning but, for Ignizz, it was more like a cozy sauna so he was quite content to stay in there long term. Ares thought it was weird but didn't question it because Ignizz was a little weirdo to begin with. As for where Ignizz would stay now, Ares' heart, that made perfect sense as the Extinction Converter was basically a miniature model of Ignizz' current home in the outside world. That heart-shaped golden volcano in Ares' chest not only provided an extremely hot environment for Ignizz, which he greatly appreciated, but plenty of Ares blood flowed through the area and the smell alone was enough to make Ignizz very satisfied. It was like living in a flat directly above a bakery that made coffee and bacon butties, using the next door butcher's fresh meat, every morning... Though that also meant the aroma was extremely tempting and Ares would have to make sure this lizard wasn't constantly stealing his blood when he wasn't looking! Just because Ares had an unlimited supply, thanks to being a revenant which meant it regenerated fast, that didn't mean this guy could go overboard!

From now on, Ignizz would function much like Dominus, summonable at will and hidable at will too. Ares could lock up Ignizz and prevent him from seeing the outside world, so privacy was accounted for, but he could also let the critter out to roam freely like yesterday night when he was sent on a wild ride across the mutated mountains. Unlike Dominus, who was chained up internally, there was a much larger range at which Ignizz could operate independently, and he still had some semblance of his original power, so Ignizz was probably more useful than Dominus in that regard. Ares didn't have to let Ignizz take over his body to get more proactive use out of him beyond the realm of his body. Dominus and Ignizz both also had knowledge of resources, places, monster types, etc... But Dominus actually probably edged out Ignizz in that regard ever so slightly because he was way more well travelled in comparison. Ignizz, however, could launch some devastating arts when Ares summoned him properly through the chant and there was a good deal of variety too. Astraeus was so shockingly powerful that even a basic art of his would prevent Ares from resummoning him again for about a month straight. Ignizz, on the other hand, could tone things down and use weaker attacks that only put him out of commission for a day or two but were still devastating enough to get the job done. Ignizz also had an art that drained him for a month or so but there were other options that were more suitable and give Ares more leeway to summon Ignizz repeatedly over a shorter timespan which was quite nice. That about summed up Ignizz and, overall, he was a helpful addition but nothing as outstanding as adding a God to Ares' permanent party member list would have one believe. Actually, the benefits were really only minuscule because Ares already had everything Ignizz could offer him in some form or another. Maybe Ares would have appreciated what Ignizz brough to the table more if, oh, you know, he was there from the start! 

After telling Ignizz there would be no flambés until he made himself useful, Ares let the dizzy God hop drunkenly toward his heart and sink right into his body seamlessly... And that was when all hell broke loose. Ares hadn't forgotten about Dominus, necessarily, but he didn't expect there to be cohabitation issues... Though it made sense. If someone was living on their own for a bunch of years and then an intruder suddenly barged in and dropped off his luggage as though he was expecting to become a permanent resident then it was understandable there would be animosity... Though, in this case, Ignizz had been here for just as long as Dominus; he was merely hiding in a dark corner somewhere unnoticed in Ares' stomach like an unborn child. Still, Dominus had the run of the place this whole time, and actively contributed to maintenance, and he was feeling like he was being conned out of space that belonged to him by some freeloading ingrate!

Dominus took to bickering with Ignizz like a fish to water, and the latter also responded in kind as Dominus repeatedly calling him a 'lizard' would not fly any day of the week, but Ares was having none of it! Ares muted the two and let them argue amongst themselves, they could do this all day for all he cared he didn't want to hear it! They could sort out the allocation of space between them like adults... Although, really, Ares was actually the true landlord here and he was tempted to see if he could kick them out for being loud and obnoxious! Unruly tenants! And they were acting like they owned his body! Why couldn't Ares have had more... 'Reasonable' people live inside him?! Dumb and dumber were not his ideal housemates! Better yet, in all the novels Aejaz read, the cultivation expert trapped within the body of the up and coming hero was usually female! There would be a developing romance between them throughout the story and everything and yet all Ares got was a crusty old wolf and a stupid lizard! Ares wanted a refund on his down payment!

With a kiss of his teeth, Ares took his mind of the arguing duo. He'd already silenced them and didn't have to put up with them anymore... But knowing they were still going at it like cats and dogs was arguably more annoying then hearing them. He could imagine their back and forth in his damn brain! A shake of his head managed to at least refocus him somewhat as he cut open his finger and let a drop of blood hover in front of his face with telekinesis. He wasn't originally planning on doing this but...

Chomp. 

Ares bit into the blood, let it linger in his mouth, and then eventually swallowed it with a great deal of surprise etched onto his features. Yesterday, though only in passing, Ignizz mentioned that his blood tasted unusually nice. Ares hadn't thought much of it at the time but, aside from draconic dreams, Ares' mind later also wracked itself over why his blood's taste might have changed. The answer became obvious pretty quicky as it was the same reason most other things were changing about him as of late! Puberty!... Ok, definitely not, he'd already been through that, his grouchy and hormonal days were pretty much behind him, but the correct answer was actually bloodline awakening... Or as it was more commonly called, aspect assimilation. It was hard to remember this was what most people experienced, as bloodlines weren't as common as someone like Ares would expect given the sheer amount he possessed, so Ares kept repeatedly forgetting there were other benefits to this next realm that he wasn't thinking of. HIs destruction pillar affiliation would finally transcend borders and become more than just a philosophy his entire being revolved around; it would be deeply intertwined and rooted within him through every inch of his body. Destruction magic would be easier to cast and learn, cost less mana, come out quicker, be more powerful, and generally be easier to comprehend as if he'd absorbed an entire library of dedicated literature on the subject.

It was a considerable set of changes as is but another matter he glossed over was the integration of the essence of destruction into his very blood. It wasn't at that stage yet but it seemed like tiny bits of destruction had, in prep for the future, already merged and that was the culprit behind the change in flavour of his blood. It was like any other blood prior to now, tasting like iron and unpleasant for a majority of races other than vampires, but now it was had a fresh kick to it. It seemed as though his own personal bloodline, the one that mixed annihilation with pressure, had pushed annihilation to the forefront again now during the merging process and so annihilation would be his predominant aspect going forward. It's not like the other two would suffer or anything, and they'd also take root in his blood, but his annihilation would receive a considerable boost in comparison which was arguably ideal. Disintegration already operated at peak efficiency, there was no 'weak' or toned down disintegration magic, and the same was true of nothingness. One hit infinitely hard all the time and the other didn't really 'hit' at all as it was more of a utility aspect. In contrast, annihilation could always do with being made stronger as that was what gated it from being relevant in fights so Ares preferred this outcome and had no complaints about it.

But what he was more so interested in was this new taste sensation! His blood was like a spicy, cool and refreshing honey that defied the boundary between sweet and savoury as well as liquid and food, becoming usable in just about any type of drink or dish. He could really do it all with this versatile blood and it wasn't even fully integrated with his magic yet! Yes, Ares was already contemplating adding his own blood into food he cooked. It was a decent quality ingredient, something trademark that only he could feasibly use in recipes too, with a unique flavour profile! If he was out here eating stepper limbs then his own blood was trivial to digest in comparison! As a cultivator he was going to have to get used to cooking with odd ingredients and as a chef that was doubly true. He didn't have the option of being picky in a world like this as the potential for greatness would be too well hidden behind a veneer of disgust and repulsion otherwise. He'd gloss over countless delicious tastes if he wasn't a bit more adventurous and he came to understand that thanks to the stepper limb incident that broadened his horizons and opened up a whole new world to him. It should have realistically been quite harrowing and yet he was slowly turning Jebben in to his own personal limb farmer and food source...

Funny how things worked out like this but the main point here was that Ares' blood tasted pretty good and would only taste even better the stronger Ares got as he cultivated. Upon reaching bloodline awakening his blood would change substantively and there was no way in hell Ares wasn't going to capitalise off this rare chance. He would have to do some digging into his blood's new traits because he really didn't quite know the full scope of his personal bloodline or what it encompassed. The draconic one could be upgraded with resources and so knowledge of that would come with time, his revenant bloodline was Garmr and that was self explanatory so nothing needed to be done on that front, but his own bloodline? He only stumbled across annihilation pressure because of the pagoda otherwise he would have been clueless even now. His bloodline was unique, definitely, and analysing it was going to be another thing to add to his list of various pursuits. Speaking of pursuits, Ares cultivated as he walked towards the tip of the mountain. He even got into a few small scuffles here and there with the local population of oversized polar bears but nothing could stop him from raising his cultivation at a pace that was pretty unprecedented.

Anybody who cultivated knew that striking a balance between exploration and cultivating was important for the sake of making progress but Ares was in the position to accomplish both at once! He could fight, which improved his cultivation thanks to to dedication cultivation, as well as cultivate 'normally', AKA passively, at the same time. His rate of growth was pretty extraordinary and it wouldn't be too long now before he started catching up on people like Mako and Enyo. Aejaz was a unique case, a cultivation monster wearing the facade of a human being, so there was no catching him and Ares accepted that. The main point here, though, was that his strength would soon begin to match up to real threats and he would no longer need to fight from an disadvantageous position and overcome cultivation stages and eve realms. Supposedly, according to Dominus, entering a new domain typically put one at the bottom rung of the new society they were entering, as once more there were countless people with a higher cultivation than you prowling about again, but if Ares could at least comfortably and quickly catch up to those people with passive cultivation, whenever he entered a new domain, then it would mitigate the issue somewhat. He went from a nobody in Sheryashka to talk of the town, in every town worldwide, in a matter of months. This was no small accomplishment from someone who was dubbed as a slow cultivator back when he joined the Heaven's Path sect. Rud took his age and cultivation and had nothing positive to say about the combination because it was highly underwhelming and now look! Countless other disciples in the sect had barely even budged, some in the outer court had quite literally not even gone up a single stage since Ares arrived, and yet he was now touching on bloodline awakening. Passive cultivation wasn't the only thing responsible for this, Ares making full use of his dedication cultivation and destruction pillar affiliation was the main driver of this absurd rate, but the passive cultivation was starting to become more and more relevant as time went on! Ares seriously didn't know why everyone else wasn't doing this. It's reputation as being 'terrible' had propagated far beyond what was reasonable so now Ares was curious as to whether this was another psyop of some kind much like dragon's blaming revenants for everything. Perhaps someone really didn't want this method to spread for whatever reason.

That aside, Ares eventually arrived at the peak of his current mountain and came to a stop before the next leg of his journey as he'd come across the legendary frozen shark river! The base of the next mountain he would have to climb was frozen all around the edges, encircled by a large frozen moat. Deep within lurked a frozen shark that had been infested by some frosty parasite over the course of many years. The parasite grew unhindered in its secret medium, occasionally utilising some of its power to pull unsuspecting prey underneath the frozen lake and feed on them, so it had become a problem in recent years after unveiling itself. The ice here was thick, making it hard to fight back against the parasite buried underneath it all, and the parasite possessed powers similar to golems in that it could manipulate its preferred element flawlessly which, in this case, meant ice. It invaded the shark, rotted its carcass and turned it into an inky black demonic looking monster, and now used tentacles to lash out at anyone who trespassed across the lake above it. The parasite could swim the shark through the ice and hunt for prey around the outskirts of the mountain while dragging those who were too weak to resist down under and using them as fuel for its growth.

The parasite would swim away whenever large groups looked to finally kill it for good so it was a real nightmare to deal with. Individually it was one of the strongest things on the mutated mountain, and couldn't be tackled by anyone other than higher ups of the Nu Kings or Frozen Throne, but it was in its natural element and could flee on demand even if such a person showed up, wasting their time. Unless someone destroyed the entire frozen lake that parasite shark was going to be a menace for the foreseeable future. It might even become a problem that necessitated the intervention of the force of the round. The C.O had actually been in talks with the Frozen Throne about this very matter before and they vowed to do their part if things got out of hand... At a cost, of course. The reason they weren't here already was because the Throne were reluctant to part with whatever it was the C.O had asked of them and they were, simply put, being stingy. Lives had been lost en masse, and wildlife was fleeing from the area and invading already densely packed habitats, causing infighting at unprecedented levels, but the Throne didn't care because this wasn't their territory and it didn't affect them. That was how things worked, unfortunately, and the Throne wouldn't take action until it dented their own margins and pockets.

Actually, the Throne were hoping the matter would adversely affect the Nu Kings before it ever touched on their doorstep but, now that the Torchbearer issue was forcing their hand, they had to have more of a presence on this mountain... Especially from this point onwards so they'd crossed this path multiple times recently and suffered every time as a result of their own negligence. Everything came full circle and those in the know couldn't help but laugh at them at the bed they made and were being forced to lie in. It wasn't a major issue, they had significant numbers and could just escort people across the lake, but it was a massive waste of time and resources to constantly ferry people across and so they did it with gritted teeth every time. Plus, if the Nu Kings were aware the Thrones executive members were away, escorting people across the lake lower down on the mountains, then those at the peak were free to wage war with a numbers advantage. It was a problem the Throne were wracking their brains over day and night.

Ares killing this shark would technically help the Throne but Ares was going to be dealing with those insufferable stalkers later anyway. Giving them breathing room now and then suffocating and choking them later hardly seemed like he was doing them a favour overall. Ares was interested in killing the shark to see if he could potentially get any rare materials so skipping over it, like he originally planned, wasn't really in the cards any more. The shark body itself was whatever, it hadn't been anything fantastic while it was alive, but the parasite piloting it like a remote control toy now? It was a fascinating creature and Ares hadn't seen or heard of anything like it before. Not just on this mountain either, or in Isaz, it was looking to be a one of a kind creature across all of Sheryashka. Allie would probably really like experimenting with it and maybe even Dabble could stand to gain from whatever materials Ares brought back. He hadn't yet picked up a souvenir for Allie and now as good a time as any so, long story short, it was time to go hunt a shark! Coincidentally, he had jsut come across some rather perfect bait... His own blood!