The beast in the palace halls

Some of people present flinched while others instinctively turned towards the noise. Lilith was one of the latter. She had heard some concerning noises from the palace for a little while now but had decided that it was just more destruction. Apparently not.

Breaking through the wall was a massive creature. It's body was covered in fur as black as night with burning golden eyes glaring out from under all the hair. The eyes glowed like stars in the night sky. A golden whirl of malice and aggression hitting them like a wave as they all tried to peer into the fathomless depths of the being's eyes.

It's arms were not down at it's sides but raised slightly in a combative posture. At the end sat claws. Sharp, thick and pure white looking like they were made from bone. If you ignored the blood. You could still see the small parts of the bony claws that looked clean but they were mostly covered in blood and viscera. Pieces of human beings clung to the claws like dying regrets.

It's jaw opened wide and revealed a set of similarly marred sharp teeth. The creature's gaping maw seemed bottomless. It opened wide and suddenly it's long snout pointed up to the sky and a loud howl came from the creature. A wave of pressure swept out from it.

Lilith, Claire and a few of the nobles were the only ones to remain standing. The rest were knocked over. Some screamed in an undignified manner while others flew back like rag-dolls. Lilith noted those who were still standing. They would be useful later.

She found the air rushing into her face a fascinating experience. Lilith couldn't feel the cold against her skin. She could barely feel the air hitting her and her face simply felt slightly tingly. It was the same sensation. Whenever Lilith touched something she would always get a tingling sensation in that area and experience sensations as though a blanket was covering her constantly.

Lilith stared at what her brother had become. She couldn't call him a monster without becoming a hypocrite. Still, she thought others had the right. His form was at least 8 feet tall and likely larger given Lilith's lacking sense of scale. She had only recently started seeing solid heights.

He had smashed through a literal castle wall with ease. His arms weren't even bruised like Claire's which suggested his strength was at least A and possibly higher. That or it was the species difference. More testing would be required but Lilith did not want to be in his general vicinity for very long.

When Lilith got a whiff of his scent she grimaced. His blood smelled meaty like most people she had met recently. Before that blood though was a horrible scent Lilith almost gagged at. It was wet dog but hundreds of times worse. Lilith knew several nobles that kept pet dogs and she had occasionally smelt their pets on them. This was so much worse.

Before Lilith could get over the smell he was suddenly in front of her. "Thought you were dead." He spoke. His voice came out as closer to a growl than actual words. It was still barely understandable however. His cadence was markedly different to when he was human and Lilith barely had time to notice the change.

Wyatt sniffed the air and grimaced. "Smells like you're still dead. Get out of my sight you rotting corpse!" The monster growled. Suddenly Lilith felt something impact her face. Her world started to spin. Literally. She could see the world spinning around her and she could no longer feel the rest of her body.

"Better." Wyatt said as he looked in Lilith's direction. He then turned back to the nobles who had shocked looks on their faces and Nadia had gone pale again. Even the Duke looked slightly put off.

She didn't know what that meant. Lilith felt herself hit the floor. Then she realised where that impact was. She felt the impact shake her entire skull and absolutely nothing else. Lilith finally got a good view of where she was previously standing.

To be more accurate, she was still standing there. The rest of her body was anyway. Lilith was now just a head. Lilith watched the rest of her body start rapidly rotting and eventually turn into a mist of blood that faded into the ether.

"Lilith!" Nadia screeched. She sounded like the bats Lilith could now mimic with how high pitch her voice was. She seemed ready to rush over to Lilith's crumbling form. The duke stopped her however. He shook his head at her and kept his eyes solely focussed on Wyatt.

Claire was also nearby Lilith's crumbling body as she stared at it. She seemed somehow both horrified and unconcerned. Like she knew she should be incredibly scared but had a strange assurance that everything was going to be alright. She was right on that count.

Lilith felt it as every piece of her body was re-constructed from just her head. Her vision tilted upwards as her neck came back and pushed off the ground. Then the rest of her body grew back. Lilith watched her entire bone structure come first before her muscles and skin re-assembled itself.

Lilith felt her internal organs once again re-constructed like an afterthought. Her nerves also came back. It allowed her to feel the grassy ground she was laying on. With the tingly sensation of course. Lilith looked over to the nobles and thankfully Wyatt was blocking their view. Some of still seemed to be staring at her ashen faced however. They definitely noticed something.

She had just re-grown her entire body in front of them like it was nothing and that clearly wasn't normal. Though Lilith did feel like something vital was missing from her. As though some crucial part of herself had been drained during the re-construction. Thankfully the feeling seemed to be getting dimmer with time. Lilith assumed it was temporary.

Wyatt was not sitting by idly. Lilith had taken several seconds to regenerate her body and he was now in the middle of a speech. "-plain and simple gentlemen and gentleladies. Prove to me your strong and loyal or I kill you all." He said and Lilith could see the shiver running through all of the nobles.

Wyatt was walking towards Nadia with clear confidence. He had just shown he was both capable and willing to knock someone's head off their body. That was coming close to her sister. Lilith considered possible outcomes and motives for this as she thought about what she should do next. She wanted to help. She just wasn't sure if she could.

Lilith had just had an unwilling experiment in how durable she was. Losing her head seemed a mild annoyance. She could stall for Nadia. This was Wyatt's recruitment drive too. If they could escape it would improve Lilith's chances of victory drastically. Course of action decided she turned to Claire.

"Get them to safety." Lilith told Claire indicating the nobles. The moment she moved, Wyatt had whipped around. Lilith barely saw it. He was a blur of motion. Yet he was now staring directly at her. She hadn't moved since her body was re-constructed. It appeared not having a heartbeat and smelling like a corpse had it's advantages.

Wyatt stared at Lilith but she couldn't tell if they met eyes. Wyatt's eyes were predatory. They seemed to swallow everything around them whole rather than looking at it. Which made it extremely difficult to tell where he was looking.

"Ok you were definitely dead." Wyatt growled. In the blink of an eye he appeared in front of Lilith. She could see behind him for a second and noticed Claire attempting to get everyone to safety. She just had to stall this monster.

Lilith attempted to bring her claws up in defence. It didn't matter much. They were shattered immediately and Lilith was sliced in half. For all the good it did. Lilith almost immediately re-connected her severed body parts. That crucial part of her was missing again though. Lilith was sure she had a large amount however. She could afford to lose some more.

"You're a nice chew toy." Wyatt said before biting her midsection. He soft mouthed her until she was lifted high off the ground between his jaws. Then his teeth snapped together. Lilith felt the crunch of her spine shattering. Her flesh tore and her extra body parts crumbled into a bloody paste. She flopped to the floor out of Wyatt's mouth.

Her brother watched on curiously as Lilith re-grew every part of herself that had just crumbled and stood up like nothing happened. She couldn't even see his movement. She wasn't going to be able to hurt him. Even assuming she actually had the means to.

Wyatt's next attempt was to tear her into shreds. His claws blurred into motion and Lilith barely spotted a single swipe. The next moment her body was in tiny pieces. Lilith blacked out. She didn't know for how long. Before she knew it, Lilith had re-grown her head and was soon re-growing the rest of her body.

"You really are a living chew toy. I might keep you around." Wyatt said jovially. He then crunched her legs between his jaws and lifted her up once more. This time Lilith extended her claws. With no preparatory motion she sat up and stabbed at his eyes. It was unfortunately useless.

Wyatt grabbed her claws with one of his hands. Then he crushed them. They shattered and Lilith's nails were revealed to be ripped off. They re-grew just as quickly as any other small wound though. Lilith was starting to lose count.

This continued for some time. Wyatt found new ways to break her body apart every time. Lilith barely felt it however and every second he spent ripping her apart was another that Nadia could use to escape. Yet Lilith felt somehow wronged.

Every time he broke her apart Lilith felt nothing. Yet her instincts twisted and turned. She was going against her very nature just sitting here. She wasn't a chew toy. 'I'll show this disgusting mongrel.' Was a thought that often came to mind. But Lilith didn't know why?

She ignored it for now. She had more important things to think about. Every bone in Lilith's body shattered. She didn't care. She had been smacked against the floor but it didn't matter. Right now the question was how she was going to escape.

She hadn't revealed her shifter forms or the ability to create ghouls and vampires. The area around her was not entirely barren. Corpses littered the floor and there were some guards left. Some of them even seemed interested in Wyatt's previous speech. Others were vomiting on the floor. There were even those who were hesitantly stepping up to stop Wyatt for her.

Lilith decided those were the people who would get to live. Lilith felt her head get chomped this time. She blacked out once again. When she came back her head was once more the only part that remained. It seemed Lilith would always regenerate from her head. Even if there was none of it left.

Every time Lilith regenerated she felt that crucial part of herself have a chunk taken out of it. It was a small chunk compared to the huge amount she had though. Lilith could keep this up for some time but she didn't know what would happen if she ran low. Lilith wanted a large buffer before she would be low on this energy when she escaped.

Wyatt twisted her neck with a loud crack. Lilith felt nothing from this. Surprisingly she also didn't need to regenerate. Apparently her body could survive breaking her neck easily. It also gave her a view of her surroundings. There were a number of corpses nearby and Nadia's group had escaped through the gates. Would this be enough? Likely not.

Claire was waiting by the gates however. She wasn't with the group. Why? Hadn't Lilith told her to gui- then she realised. Lilith felt her neck slot back into place. She looked up and saw it. The sky was orange. It was still daylight and Claire wouldn't be able to leave this place. She'd burn alive.

Claire looked absolutely terrified. Not of Wyatt but of herself. She could see the corpses surrounding her. Most of the guards had stopped fighting. Yet some had not. Claire looked at them and Lilith could see the excitement in her eyes. Replaced by fear as she immediately turned around and stared at the wall.

Claire wouldn't be able to leave and she clearly wasn't going to fight. Lilith could force it if she wanted to but that would damage their relationship further for no reason. She didn't want to take that option. Plus Wyatt was fighting on his own. Using another to fight him made her instincts protest again.

Did that mean Lilith had to sit here and take this for several hours? For some reason her mind wouldn't allow that. Sitting here and getting beat up wasn't what progenitors should do. But it was the most efficient method? Lilith was ok with that. It didn't hurt.

Yet her instincts roiled at the idea that she would just sit here and take this punishment. No. Lilith would fight back. She was the predator. There was no other in this world that wasn't prey to her. She would devour her enemies.

This time when Wyatt picked Lilith up by her legs Lilith twisted her own neck backwards and looked into his eyes. "Take a seat." Lilith gestured with her backwards hands and Wyatt sat down with her still in his grip. Then he violently shook his head and threw Lilith at the nearby building.

She crashed into and through it, breaking several bones in the process. All of them were set back into place with loud cracks and the flesh shifting around them. They were soon back in place. Lilith walked calmly out of the building and glared at Wyatt.

"Mind tricks. That's just like you. I just have to avoid your eyes." Wyatt growled. He sounded surprisingly calm despite his animalistic state. He didn't act it. He immediately charged at Lilith. Before she could react he had plucked out her eyes. Lilith expected as much.

The moment before he charged Lilith had activated curse magic and corruption magic at the same time. She apparently got both recently. Her curse gave away her eyesight in exchange for Wyatt's own and a little mana. Lilith was always confident in the amount of mana she had.

The corruption meanwhile spread. The hand Wyatt had been using to touch Lilith's eye should have been slightly corrupted. It didn't seem to do much. He still managed to splat her against the wall and Lilith blanked out again. She came back to the sight of Wyatt's grin while his eyes were closed. He was really scared of her eyes.

He crushed her slowly in his grip once Lilith had re-grown her entire body. He started with her legs. Lilith felt the muscles squish against her bones. The bones started to fracture. Soon they snapped. They continued to be crushed inward. Her muscles joined the pile and started to rip. They were all crushed into a sort of packed box.

The innards were bone dust and the shell was muscle sinew, tendons and veins. It then rotted and crumbled, soon turning into a blood mist. Lilith immediately started to re-grow her legs. He then crushed her torso in a similar manner. Then her head. Lilith blacked out again.

Coming to once more she found Wyatt still grinning at her. Apparently she reformed in his hands. "How long can you keep this up I wonder? It is certainly pitiful seeing you crushed over and over again." Wyatt taunted and Lilith's instincts seethed.

She did something she never would have otherwise. She revealed something she shouldn't. Lilith dissipated into mist and Wyatt's confused face was almost worth it. She travelled to his back and reformed behind him. "You are my prey little wolf." She whispered into Wyatt's ear and bit down on his neck.

Despite the lacklustre effects of her claws Lilith found her fangs sinking easily into Wyatt's neck. She tried injecting her venom at first but his body immediately crushed it. Apparently there were those who would take longer to turn. Wyatt would take too long. He'd get her by then.

Instead Lilith sucked as much blood as she could manage. It tasted like steak. The best steak Lilith had ever tasted. It had a rough and rubbery texture in Lilith's mouth but the fatty taste and the absolutely delectable flavour made that negligible.

He didn't let her taste it for long. Lilith was ripped from his neck with such force that she took some of his skin with her. Wyatt growled with pain but fought through it. He threw Lilith away and into the outer wall. She burst into a shower of blood. Again.

Soon Lilith was back and she noticed something from that. Lilith had assumed this crucial element of herself was her HP. She had regained quite a lot when she drank from Wyatt. Drinking blood restored her HP. Perhaps with a long enough battle she could win this.

Her instincts demanded this outcome. They wanted Wyatt dominated and gone. He was a threat to the food chain and her progenitor side wanted him gone. Lilith's original mind on the other hand took a more practical approach. She didn't need him dead. She just needed him out of her way.

Lilith's mind was once again at war with itself. By this point Lilith was fairly sure Nadia could have escaped the capital and night would have fallen. She could escape now. With how many times she'd been destroyed however she wanted to prove she was better. She just did though.

As Wyatt held his neck and growled Lilith stared. 'This was enough of a victory. Just accept it.' She told her instincts but they wouldn't budge on their position. Lilith tried to think of a way to satiate them. Then she realised she had just wounded him. Didn't she have blood control.

Lilith didn't want to reveal all her cards but she didn't have a choice. Lilith became a swarm of bats and appeared right beside Wyatt. She used her blood control and pulled as much as she could out from the neck wound that had yet to heal. Wyatt noticed the change. He immediately locked on her.

A moment later she was torn to shreds. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Wyatt's delicious blood fall to the ground. As she woke up once more, Wyatt was ready. He immediately grabbed her head and started squeezing. This time her instincts were satiated. She gave him an 'I can but won't kill you' stare. Even if that wasn't strictly true.

Lilith noticed that the wound had sealed in the time she was blacked out. He was likely able to heal himself as well though far slower than Lilith's own. It still meant it was a battle of HP with Lilith's going down faster. She didn't know how much Wyatt had. He could have just as much or more.

So Lilith slipped through his fingers with the blood mist ability. Then she turned straight to a swarm of bats and flew off into the distance. Claire copied her and two swarms of bats flew through the sky. Wyatt tried throwing rocks at them but it took down only one of Lilith's bats. It didn't regenerate which was concerning but they still managed to leave.

She would've liked to stop him from recruiting any more but she didn't have the time to turn the guards into vampires. She would've also liked to test out her ghouls but unfortunately that was also not likely to be allowed. Not that she could think of this while she was a swarm of bats.