Book 2 - Chapter 117

Chaos ensued around me as insects were dropping like flies and in pieces from above. This power that the Demons wield is truly bonkers, especially when you pair it with Frenzy. I doubt even Zen had the luxury of seeing it with his own eyes: the true power of Bloodlust with Frenzy active. As far as I know, he doesn't use Frenzy on his opponents and mostly uses it for stat boosts and increased spell intensity. Honestly speaking, Zen's Bloodlust appears to be different from mine. His one causes uncontrollable fear to his surroundings rather than depicting any sort of Frenzy effects, which I found puzzling. I thought all Bloodlusts were the same. Even Zen had no idea how to even use that fear of his effectively in combat.

Alright, seems like I've steered too far from the main topic. Frenzy is extremely difficult to control on its own as it affects the entirety of your surroundings. I have limited control over this power and it works best when there are no one around me or at most a couple of friendlies. If I'm surrounded by allies, you can forget about me using it effectively. The biggest issue with Bloodlust is that it provides negative effects to both allies and foes, unless you're a Demon who is capable of harnessing those powers naturally.

What is Focused Meditation compared to Bloodlust, huh? It is so much easier to use when all it does is calm your surroundings as opposed to using Bloodlust with Frenzy, who can end up turning your allies against each other. Why did I have to end up being born as a Gladiolus when I literally suck at controlling things?

As I continued to glance at my surroundings, I realised it felt like a waste to not be using my axe to absorb all of these insect's life-force. But I knew it would be foolish to be taking them head-on and risk my life. Better to play it safe than being a fool.

"A human using Higher State of Mind to this extend, how rare, and annoying," sighed the hybrid as it began shrieking loudly. All the insects stopped killing each other and seemed to have snapped clear of Frenzy's effect. Oh bugger, I was expecting the massive bug to have some sort of rallying power but for this hybrid to actually have it too? This is gonna suck for me, big time. Damn it, and here I was hoping that Frenzy would reduce more of their numbers before they snapped out of its effects.

"Your plan has failed, and now you will suffer the consequences," hissed the hybrid.

I wore my gauntlet and waited for it to activate. Seems like I'm gonna need some other strategy to fight this swarm.

"Well, I was hoping that you wouldn't possess the power to rally the other insects. Guess you're not some disposable chump after all," I smirked at the hybrid.

"Our lord had predicted the possibility that you would be staying here to protect the city and specifically chose me to fight against you. Her plans will grant us the seat at the top of the food chain, and I shall be her instrument in making it a reality. You will die by me today, Viking Lord," hissed the hybrid.

"We shall see," I exhaled, and upon hearing the satisfying click of my gauntlet, I unsheathed my axe quickly and threw it at the hybrid where it reacted quickly and avoided my axe.

"Fool, now you're unarmed!" laughed the hybrid as it rushed towards me with unholy speed.

SMASH!!

The hybrid slammed headfirst into an attempt to clamp its forearms onto me, but I managed to hold it back. Those spiky forearms bit into my left palm, but I maintained my grip in stopping the forearms from clamping me. Knowing what a manfette is capable of doing, I did not wish to be devoured alive. As luck would have it, my right palm was also open, which worked in my favour.

"You can never hold me back forever! You'll eventually tire out!" shouted the hybrid as it pushed its entire body weight against me.

"Perhaps so. But I guess your boss didn't inform you about what I'm capable of," I smirked as my axe flew back to me and sliced off the forearm that I was gripping tightly with my right hand.

"GAAAHHH!!! What devilry is this! There was no report about you controlling your axe in this manner!" spat the hybrid.

The hybrid retreated as the other insects began to swirl around me and Kuchisabishii-sama once again. I stood still as my axe started glowing red after having drawn blood from the hybrid. My left palm began to heal after my axe had fully absorbed the blood. Sigh, this axe— is the coolest weapon I have ever wielded in my entire life! Yeah, sure, it doesn't have a Celestial Being residing in it, but as long as I draw the blood of my enemies with it, any wound that I sustain will be healed. How cool is that?!

The insects began to close the distance as they continued to swirl around both of us. I held my axe at the ready with my right hand and readied myself to do something clever, or something that was stupid. I spun myself, holding my axe by the edge and increasing its size. A couple of insects that tried to attack me were sliced apart by my axe. While it sounded cool, there was no way I could continuously spin myself forever.

Using the momentum of my spin, I tossed my axe in a circular arc which miraculously began spinning around me. Ha! My idea works! Now, if I were to lift my gauntlet higher, will it— it most certainly does. I can control the height of my spinning axe with my gauntlet. Now, let's see what these insects will do when we're protected by my axe.

"Insolent wretched. Your little spinning axe isn't going to save you! Our numbers will swarm through that pathetic axe of yours. Attack!" roared the hybrid.

I gripped my right fist, and the gauntlet clicked as it released steam. I kept Frenzy active as I noticed some of the bugs were still attacking each other. Hm, guess this hybrid is losing its grip or perhaps it doesn't have a perfect rallying counter to my Frenzy. I moved my axe according to where the insects attacked us. All I had to do was raise, lower, move my gauntlet forward or backward to move my axe, and it counters any of the insects that tried to attack us. Seems like they are not entirely unified after all.

Despite the horrible visibility, I managed to notice a couple of insects were being eaten by the hybrid. Moments later, the missing forearm regrew with a sickening loud pop. The colour had a much lighter green as compared to the older forearm, possibly due to it being newly regenerated.

Glancing at the situation around me, it would seem like my randomly thought-out plan had not failed me thus far. Most of the bugs were unable to get through my axe due to how fast it was spinning around us. Any that somehow made it through were met with my fists or Kuchisabishii-sama's claws. Thinking I was relatively safe, I was suddenly yanked by the collar and was in mid-air before even realising what had happened. I took a quick glance behind me and Kuchisabishii-sama was dragging me away with his mouth. It was not until I paid attention to where we were standing moments earlier that I realised the reason he did so. The ground was bubbling and steam was rising as though it was doused with acid. I reallyneed to pay more attention to my surroundings, but the swirling insects was disorienting and it was difficult for me to see what the hybrid was doing. Perhaps that was the main reason as to why the insects kept swirling around us.

My axe flew back to me automatically as we had gained significant distance from the hybrid. Thanks for making me fall in love with my axe even more than I already have, Zen. I will never forget what you had done for me. Time for another change of plan, as I doubt I can repeat what I had done earlier. I deactivated Frenzy to conserve my strength, all the while wondering if they will be coming after us or will they continue to destroy the elven city instead. To my luck, the sound of the hybrid sliding towards us and loud buzzing could be heard. Nice, either they had forgotten their objective or they are just foolish to avenge their fallen. Either way, I need to figure out a new plan to stop the acid attack from the hybrid.

"You need to stop that attack should you wish to fight properly, since you seem to be lacking in the speed department," explained Kuchisabishii-sama.

Ouch, does he have to be this direct? I know my weaknesses, okay?

"I'm fully aware of what I need to do. Feast your eyes on how reckless a Viking fights," I removed my gauntlet to keep it safe. I hate to see it getting melted when I fight aggressively.

The hybrid emerged among the trees, but the sound of buzzing had completely stopped. Damn it, did they tunnel themselves underground again? Seems like Kuchisabishii-sama had reached the same conclusion as me, as he placed his ear closer to the ground.

"The Viking Lord sure is a persistent enemy to fight. I shall ensure your quick death before I continue with my assigned task," the hybrid raised its body.

"You're right, I should eliminate you quickly before I head my way towards the big golden tree there. You're just not worth my time to waste," I held my axe ready.

"Your insults mean nothing when you're practically like an insect to me," the hybrid shrieked, and insects leapt from its back to ambush us.

I tossed my axe towards the head of the hybrid, which it avoided with ease. Fully expecting me to still be on the ground, it readied itself to spit acid on me but realised that I was missing. It turned its head towards my axe, where I had teleported to, and once again, I threw it towards the hybrid.

It slapped my axe aside with its forearm and spat acid towards my direction. I quickly teleported to my axe and somehow landed on its back. I wrestled the hybrid with all my might as it struggled to free itself from my grip and began trashing about. It slammed me against some trees in an attempt to get rid of me, but I held on tightly. I tried to snap its neck, but it was difficult as it kept moving about, preventing me from getting a good hold, not to mention its carapace was much thicker than I initially thought.

The hybrid began to roll itself on the ground, to which I had to release my grip as the weight of the hybrid was ridiculously heavy, and I did not want to be crushed. Regaining my balance, I quickly rushed towards the hybrid as it struggled to raise itself after that strange move.

I lunged at the hybrid, hoping to grab its forearms before it lunged at me and getting devoured alive instead. And— I was foolish. I had completely forgotten the speed at which a manfette is able to strike its opponent. Both my hands ended up getting caught in the grip of the hybrid's forearms as I am brought closer to its mouth. Fuck! I'm going to have nightmares about this for days to come.

"I shall enjoy snacking on you for causing me so much trouble. Might be tough to chew, but better than having you causing me more problems," said the hybrid as it brought me closer to its scary mouth.

I released my grip on my right hand to call my axe, only to realise I had removed my gauntlet earlier to prevent it from getting melted. Damn it! There is only one thing I can do now, and I need to make it count.

"Quit squirming. Fine then, I'll eat your head first!" The hybrid brought my head extremely close to its mouth.

I made my move when I was close enough to the hybrid. I twisted my body upwards and kicked the chin of the hybrid as hard as I could. The spines in the forearms bit into my arm's skin, but I ignored the pain as I needed to take advantage of the situation. The hybrid's head flew upwards, and I quickly pulled my left arm so that I could move more freely. The spines bit into my left forearm, and blood was gushing out by the second. After ensuring I had enough freedom to move, I quickly slammed my left foot on the hybrid's right forearm. Perhaps it was due to it being a newly regenerated forearm, I had no problem dismembering it with just the strength of my foot.

Now that my right arm is free, well technically, since the dismembered forearm was still attached to my arm as the spines had embedded deeply into my flesh, I quickly reached into my pouch to wear my gauntlet. The hybrid was starting to recover itself, but I was quicker. I reached out to my axe as my gauntlet clicked, hoping that it would reach faster as the spines in the hybrid's left forearm were biting deeper into my left arm since it was the only thing preventing me from falling straight down.

The hybrid recovered itself and almost spat acids at me, but not before my axe sliced through the hybrid's left forearm, instantly sending me into a free fall. I was not expecting my axe to be coming from that direction, as I had no idea where it went, honestly speaking. Acting on instinct, I threw my axe and somehow managed to pierce one of the hybrid's eyes, sending it roaring in pain. I quickly teleported to my axe again to prevent myself from falling to my death.

Without so much as thinking about the consequences, I used my axe as a handhold and slammed my left fist into the mouth of the hybrid. Upon finding what I was looking for, I grabbed onto its tongue and pulled it out as hard as I could. Despite the mouth of the hybrid being riddled with teeth and mandibles, I powered through the pain and focused on getting rid of the acid sacs inside its mouth.

Having fully ripped the tongue out, I pulled myself upward using all my remaining strength and propelled myself above the hybrid. Gripping my axe with both hands, I increased the size of my axe until it was large enough and swung it towards the neck of the hybrid, decapitating its head with a satisfying clean slice. Once again I was falling towards the ground, but I proceeded to jam my axe into the hybrid's long carapace, using it to reduce my falling speed and reaching down safely to ground level. The hybrid's body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Gaining some semblance after finally placing my feet on the ground, I noticed what I ripped out wasn't actually the tongue but looked like some sort of poison gland with a tiny-looking hose at the tip. Not wanting to figure out the extent of my wounds, I took a peek at my left arm and it was in a horrible shape with the flesh and skin melting from the poison. But none of this worries me as I knew I had drawn a lot of blood from the hybrid. My axe was practically soaked in the hybrid's blood and as though on cue, it began glowing red and absorbed all the greenish blood from the blade to the hilt, healing all of my wounds in the process.

I scanned my surroundings, wondering why everything was relatively quiet when there were supposed to be a bunch of insects remaining that I had to eliminate. It was not until I noticed Kuchisabishii-sama resting on the ground and waving at me that I realised he had already killed all of them. I approached him, hoping that we could take a quick look at the elven city before making my way towards the golden tree, but to my surprise, he started reprimanding me.

"And here I thought the other young one was dangerous, as it turns out, you're even worse with that recklessness of yours. However— it would seemed that axe of yours is exactly what you need to complement your fighting style," he chuckled.

"Oh, um, thanks? Is it okay for me to ride you? We should be heading towards the golden tree as time is of the essence," I asked him.

"Absolutely not. I am not letting you ride when you're practically drenched in all of those green blood. A dip in the river is what you need to do before I allow you to ride me. I ain't letting my fur be sullied by those icky blood," he blew steam from his nose.

"O— okay, where's the nearest river then?" I asked him as I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I thought he, of all beings, would be eager to protect that golden tree from whatever was trying to attack it.

"Right this way, youngling. Make sure to scrub yourself properly. I want to see all of that blood gone before I allow you to ride me," he led the way.

Guess a quick shower is needed before I can be on my merry way. Be safe up there, Zen and Elementalist. Don't do anything foolish until I get there.