| ARC IV | Chapter 14: Damned Chimera

 Inside Velen Lon's great labyrinth, a dark figure basked in blood as he distorted and created things out of the crimson liquid. He glanced at the bloody mess he'd made. This bloodshed, this killing spree, was all for the purpose of regaining his strength. 

*Tsk* 

 With a click of his tongue, he became increasingly frustrated. There were no strong beasts around. When he broke through the rift, it felt like he was free. But now he had to deal with a bunch of weaklings and couldn't even regain a fraction of his strength. 

 Annoyed, he questioned, "Is that Red Eyes even alive?" while morphing his body, which got stronger with each kill and mix of blood. 

 "What better am I than a beast now? Are there no pure demons around?" 

 Disgusted by his new form, his eyes frowned upon seeing the reflection of the blood of his enemies. 

 "Am I a king or a pathetic chimera?" 

 The blood which reflected his appearance showed a vile beast. Sharp claws sculpted out of the blood of the slain and fangs akin to Dethros—deadly and hideous. Still, his wings remained the same. Elegant and full of steel-like feathers. 

 "A body like this don't deserve wings like these…demonic wings that don't suit the miserable appearance of a chimera…oh how low I've fallen, My Lord…" 

 As a king who served the overlord, he felt nothing but shame to see himself in this new pathetic state. However, he did not have much choice since he wasn't in the dark realm. 

 What's more…

 "How long are you going to keep talking to yourself?" 

 A voice rang in his ears. With a glance, he saw a vampire with ashy hair and clear crimson eyes. Indifferent to the vampire, he ignored him. After all, in his eyes, it was a mere vampire from a lowborn bloodline. 

 "Please do not ignore me," the vampire complained. "I know who you are," he added. 

 Intrigued, he glared at the vampire, "Oh? You do? A lowborn like you?" 

*Tch*

 Clearly irritated, the vampire clicked his tongue. "Yes, a lowborn like me couldn't hope to compare to some pathetic mixed chimera like yourself." 

 With a brow raised, he glared at the vampire. "What did you say?" he queried in a hostile voice. "You dare talk back to a primordial?" 

 "I do, so what?" the vampire replied with a smirk on his face. 

 "Coward…" 

 At his statement, the vampire chuckled. "Ha…ha-ha, yes, if I am? Who would dare pick a fight with a Primordial Bloodlord even though he's in a weakened state?" 

 In a flash, with his claws tightly gripping the vampire's neck, pushing him down, The Bloodlord emitted a tremendous amount of bloodlust and mana. 

 "Vampire, if this were you but a mere servant, I'd be shredding you to a pool of blood and mend a sword out of you." 

 "Oh? That is an interesting proposition," the vampire replied. "But I doubt I'd make a good weapon," the vampire said while grinning. 

*Sigh* 

 "What do you want, Vampire?" 

 With a playful smirk, the vampire said, "I have a name, you know~?" 

 "…you are a funny one." 

 "Thank you, and welcome back, Lord Xhelk." 

 The vampire seemed to have genuine and warm eyes, having a moment of heartfelt sincerity toward The Bloodlord. However, in Xhelk's eyes, it was nothing but a facade. Underneath the smile and tears lay sinister intent and lust. 

 "….." 

 Xhelk released the nameless vampire. With his interest lost and bloodlust subdued, he calmly stared in a certain direction, probably the exit of this strange space. 

 "You sense it too, don't you? It would be troublesome if you stayed, how about it? I'll help you out." The vampire suggested. 

 "How many years has it been since Alester won?" 

 "About fifty thousand years or so." 

 (…fifty thousand years? Is that Red Eyes even alive?) 

 To the vampire, it had become apparent that Xhelk was getting frustrated. His eyes were filled with rage and bloodlust, but this time, it wasn't directed at him. 

 "What do you say? Let's get out of here before The Hero appears—" 

 But before the nameless vampire could finish his sentence, a sudden remark was thrown their way. "My my, you're not thinking of running away, are you?" 

 What they saw was a girl with deep violet hair, which elegantly fluttered as she walked. Her eyes were golden and shiny, filled with curiosity and confidence, yet cold were they. She looked rather young to be someone down on the 25th floor of a grand labyrinth. 

 Both Xhelk and the vampire could not feel anything from her, but they were cautious nonetheless. Her confidence, smug look and nonchalant attitude screamed danger for the two. Even for someone like Xhelk, she was definitely stronger than the current him. 

 "Bitch, who are you!?" the vampire cried in hostility. 

 "Woah!? Calm down there, glorified leech! It isn't nice calling someone that as soon as you've met them!" the girl retorted. 

 "Shut it! Who are you!?" 

 The girl shrugged, "Well, let me introduce myself then! *Ahem* my name—"

 Without much hesitation, Xhelk launched himself at the girl. (She's dangerous; I have to get rid of her!) He channelled his mana and used the blood to strengthen himself further. 

 "I call upon blooded steel! Oh! Lord Isth! Grant this body a blessing by the sacrifice of the fallen—" 

 "Bla-Blah! What a long chant!" 

 The girl complained and grabbed Xhelk in mid-air. She tore and dug her hand into his chest and threw him onto the dungeon floor. A loud thud was followed by a splash of blood as if an earthquake had erupted. Blood gushed out of Xhelk's chest. Calmly, he glared at the girl pinning him down. 

 "What are you?" he calmly asked. 

 (What the hell is this bitch doing to him!?) 

 Flustered, the vampire watched in horror as the human girl tore through one of the primordial while pinning him down. 

 "I was about to introduce myself, wasn't I? The name's Aetlise. I suppose it's nice to meet you?" 

 While Aetlise had the upper hand, Xhelk wasn't so weak he'd be pushed around. The blood around him morphed, turning into something steel-like infused with magic, snaring the girl in an instant. Now that their roles had reversed, Xhelk chained her in the air as he altered the blood to become spears. 

 "Die, puny human," he voiced with blazing rage. 

 Dark magic engulfed the entirety of floor 25, and Xhelk agonised over the rapid loss of mana. This was his way of showing his disdain for the mortal who dared to disrespect him casually. The spears were rapidly fired as if they danced in the air. But the girl somehow defenced against his attacks while being chained. 

 "That all you got? Demon?" she provoked. 

 "Human!" 

 Fumed by wrath, he leapt into the air, dragging and weaving the morphed steeled blood. The girl broke free from the chains, her lips curved. She knew she was in a pinch, thus breaking off her limbs. The sight disgusted even Xhelk. His brow raised into a frown as he stabbed through her abdomen. 

 "Disgusting little thing…" he remarked. 

 Aetlise, however, kept the smile on her face; she gazed into his eyes and let out a small chuckle. Xhelk, seeing how she was dying, thought he was needlessly worried she might've been a threat. But look at her now, shattered and scattered on the ground in a lake of blood. 

 But…

 (things aren't always that easy, are they?) 

 "You almost had me, demon; I'll admit, you're quite something, alright," Aetlise's voice echoed as she slowly got up. The thorn limbs were reattached, and she cracked her neck as if nothing was wrong. 

 "You…!" Xhelk howled in rage. "You aren't human! What are you!?" he started to question her being. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a human to recover from those fatal injuries, having their limbs torn and their innards twisted and stabbed. 

 "You're a chimera…?" the vampire hesitantly voiced; he slightly trembled along with the look of horror spread across his face. 

 Aetlise briefly looked his way. Her gaze was cold and indifferent compared to her chuckles and giggles from before. "You dare call me a chimera?" she questioned the vampire. Rage and resentment built; she could practically feel her body boil, and her rationale became hazy. "You dare call me? An A-Logic such as myself a mere chimera!?" 

 Materialising her Star Steel, Aetlise instantly pierced the vampire in the heart and kicked the filth of her blade when she was done. It wasn't dead, and she'd completely ignored Xhelk, who watched in amusement and fear.

 "This bitch was playing with me?" he hushed. 

 But what took him by surprise was the vampire. He'd started to laugh as he sunk into the blood and reappeared behind Aetlise. A smile filled with malice lurked up on his face. "You? An A-Logic?" he provoked. "I've seen your kin; you're but a liar." 

 Wordlessly, Aetlise seized him by the neck. "Talk more, and it'd be the end of you," she warned. 

 The vampire didn't seem too intimidated, and more figures surfaced from the blood. Xhelk watched as he materialised and imbued souls in the blood-steel armours. Moreover, a void rift suddenly opened, and people in cloaks appeared. She was outnumbered and surrounded. 

 At the sight, Aetlise scowled. 'Such bad taste…' she murmured to herself. 

 Before Aetlise could prevent them from surrounding her, Xhelk snared her yet again with blood magic—this time, she broke through more easily, but Xhelk wasn't having it and decided to be more aggressive. Their blades clashed and danced as she tried to make it past him. Even the newly formed Blood-Steel surrounded her, preventing her from gap-closing onto the cloaked mages. Their numbers were in the hundreds, and they began to channel magic and restrained her inside a seal—abruptly, a flash of warnings rang in her head.

 [System Warning: Logic Core(Not Found). System Notice: Energy reserves activated. System—] 

 "….." 

 Quietly, she glared at the mages surrounding her; she felt her body tremble and her legs weaken. For a moment, when her system suddenly shut down, her vision became hazy as she listlessly looked around. For a moment, it was as if she didn't know who she was. But in the next split second. Xhelk stabbed her in the heart. 

*Argh*

 Aetlise slowly, in agitation, fell down on her knees as Xhelk's spear slipped out of her heart. She lay on the bloody ground, gasping her chest in pain as tears streamed down her eyes. With a cold look, Xhelk stared down the girl with dark hair and golden eyes. 

 Her eyes were filled with confusion and pain. The confidence she exuded before had vanished as she kept gasping for air. The mana surrounding her had completely dissipated when the seal became active. She looked like any ordinary dying girl. 

 But as Xhelk was about to deal a final blow, the vampire and his followers turned and directed their weapons at him and his Blood-Steels. 

 "Do you know who you were about to kill?" the vampire asked sternly. 

 "What do you mean?" Xhelk mused with a hint of cation. 

 "She is indeed what she claims she is," the vampire shrugged. "She's an Ex Machina. The highest quality one there is—except for the creator, Alester, of course. But…it has one flaw. Do you know why this anti-puppeteer seal is so powerful against some Ex Machina while others won't even work?" 

 Xhelk frowned as he heaved a sigh. "Why?" he asked despite the lack of interest. 

 "Essentially, some are puppets. She's an A-Logic. Meaning her core is external. It's…presumably a compromise in her design." 

 "Compromise?" 

 The vampire began to stroll around in circles while watching Aetlise's struggles. He observed as she clenched her chest, breathing heavily as she became more pale. Seeing an Ex Machina in such a miserable state aroused his sadistic side. He smirked before kicking her in the abdomen. 

 "Normally, when you kill an Ex Machina, they would blow up from the destabilisation of the core. But this one doesn't have a core—at least not one to generate its energy. It's…a receiver core. Not as exciting as the main core, but it's understandable." 

 "…Get to it already," Xhelk complained. 

 "She introduced herself, did she not? Have you ever heard an Ex Machina introduce itself? What would happen if she were to die? Personally, I wouldn't want to anger a being I so respect." 

 "You dare say that to my face? Fully knowing I worship Master Isth?" Xhelk clicked his tongue. "So what if the body dies? Her core is somewhere else; thus, she won't truly die. I don't see the problem, or am I missing something?" 

 The vampire pondered before shrugging. "Certainly, but I still wouldn't if I were you." His followers then made a path directed toward the void rift. "Come with us, Xhelk. And do not worry, I certainly do not worship Alester. It's…simple admiration." 

 Xhelk squinted his eyes in slight surprise. "You're not taking her with you?" 

 "We would if we had a death wish," the vampire sarcastically replied. 

 Xhelk sighed and collected all the available blood. He gazed at the unconscious Aetlise before clicking his tongue in frustration. 

 Pleased by this, the vampire smiled as he watched Xhelk walk into the rift. His heart was filled with excitement as he followed. And when he made it through to the other side, where there was a massive palace in an underground cave, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. 

(I'm glad this body made it out before The Hero arrived…it would be such a waste after raising it until now, after all…)