Anthesis of Sadness
Chapter 37: The Blood Dance

Chapter 37: The Blood Dance

A smile split like a scar across my pale face as I surrendered to the intoxication of battle. My blood boiled, my entire being vibrated with exhilaration. I activated my Blood Pact, and a burning wave coursed through my muscles, swelling them with strength, my senses sharpening to the extreme. Each beat of my heart demanded a toll, a sacrifice willingly given in the abyss of slaughter.

Then, I struck.

I had stopped thinking. The blood spoke for me. My body moved on its own, driven by a cold certainty: I was made to kill.

Not to survive. Not to love. Just... to kill.

A movement. A flash.

My claws sprang from my fingers, curved like raptor talons, terrifyingly hard. My first strike gutted the nearest insectoid, slicing through its obsidian carapace like fragile flesh. A geyser of black fluids splashed across my face as I was already melting into the next shadow.

The Swarm reacted instantly. Dozens of creatures leapt at me, their legs scraping against stone, mandibles open in a silent scream. I vanished. My body blended into the gloom, slipping through their attacks, evading bites, tail lashes, chitinous blades trying to shred me.

Then I reappeared—behind them.

My claws plunged into an insect’s skull, pulverizing its head in a black spray. My other hand sank into another’s abdomen, and in a smooth motion, I tore its entrails out in a piercing cry.

The insects screamed.

The stench of death was already spreading, yet they kept coming. The Swarm felt no fear, no pain—only the imperative to kill, to crush, to tear apart. I felt the ground tremble under their pounding limbs.

This wasn’t an army anymore. It was a collective thought. A cry of pure hatred, carried by a thousand mouths, a thousand fangs, a thousand biological curses. And I was alone. Completely alone against it. And I loved it.

A living wall charged me.

I leapt, propelled by the strength of my blood. My body soared, and before the beasts could even raise their heads, I unleashed a rain of bloody blades.

My blood manipulation sculpted sharp spikes around me, crimson harpoons that rained down like a storm.

A dozen insects were skewered on the spot, their bodies twisting under the impact.

But the Swarm responded.

With synchronized motion, several creatures whipped their tails at me with brutal force. I spun midair to dodge, but one struck me full-on. A sharp crack echoed in my chest.

Pain exploded inside me, burning and searing. A rib gave way with a sickening snap, a sinister echo resonating through my ribcage.

But my smile didn’t waver.

The massacre had only just begun.

My breath was a rasp. My back burned. My arms trembled. But my mind was clear. Clearer than it had ever been. There was no room for doubt. Not here. Not now. There was only me. And death.

I spat a jet of thick, blackish blood, which dispersed into a funereal rain. Each drop, sharpened like a liquid dagger, hissed as it pierced the Swarm, ripping out shrill chitters, spasmodic convulsions.

Without hesitation, my fingers sank into the flesh of the nearest creature. It thrashed, sizzling with rage, but I pulled it closer, my fangs sinking into its carapace. A sordid crack, a metallic taste flooding my mouth. I drank greedily, feeling the beast’s life drain into my guts. My smile stretched wider, warped by morbid ecstasy. Regeneration.

My body healed within seconds, and with it came a new surge of strength feeding my rage. I laughed now. An inhuman laugh, a cackle that wormed its way into the creatures’ minds. My aura shifted.

Intimidation struck the Swarm like an invisible plague.

Some beasts hesitated. Others froze, trembling, their instincts screaming to flee, not to face the thing standing before them, a crimson smile cutting across my blood-smeared face.

I didn’t wait.

I lunged forward, a storm of claws and fangs. I slashed bellies, severed throats, shattered skulls. My blood spilled with every wound, but I wielded it, shaped it, molded it into spears and slicing whips.

I sank my teeth into the throat of a still-quivering beast. Its blood flowed into my mouth, burning and bitter. My body absorbed that power, and I felt my muscles swell even more. Faster. Stronger.

I dove into the heart of the melee, spinning among the corpses, my body sliding over viscera and shattered exoskeletons. The Swarm overwhelmed me, but I was a hurricane in the middle of the black tide.

A severed arm here. A shattered head there. I kept laughing, twirling in a macabre ballet, a dancer on a stage paved with carcasses.

The ground became hell.

The weakening poison was already saturating the desert. Every drop of blood I spilled carried my toxin, slowly eroding the beasts’ strength. They grew slower, clumsier. Their coordination broke down.

They were no longer a tide. They were prey.

And I, their predator.

For every drop of blood lost, I drank ten.

For every wound taken, I dealt ten.

I danced in the Swarm like a rabid beast, smiling.

But my mind wavered.

A moment. A single second.

The heat of my own blood felt suffocating. My legs faltered, ever so slightly.

Had I... pulled the thread too far?

No. Not yet.

So I screamed. To keep from collapsing. To stay what I had become.

Dancing among the beasts’ cries and the system’s Dings!

Time lost all meaning.

Hours of carnage.

My body was drenched in blood, my claws in tatters, but I was still standing. Around me, a field of corpses, a sea of chitin and black fluids, the air saturated with the stench of death.

The last creatures had fallen silent.

In the darkness, their kin watched me. Petrified. Motionless.

Their instincts had finally understood.

They hadn’t hunted prey.

They had awakened a monster.

The Swarm was now just a pitiful handful of trembling creatures.

They fled, panicked, but I gave them no such luxury. I exhaled another wave of intimidation, a crushing pressure descending upon them like a malevolent shadow. Already terrified, they collapsed under pure dread—some frozen, others convulsing before slipping into unconsciousness.

A cruel grin twisted my face.

Every drop of my blood spilled on that battlefield quivered, vibrating in response to my will. My control over blood reached its apex. A shiver passed through the air as the pools of blood rose, stretching into thousands of crimson needles.

With a gesture, I unleashed the storm.

A hurricane of blood blades erupted, shredding flesh and chitin with merciless precision. Every beast was pierced, crushed, swept away in a macabre dance, their screams drowned in the fatal whistle of my will.

Then, silence fell. A red, sticky silence.

The battle was over.

Returning to where I had left Lysara earlier, I found her asleep, peaceful despite the chaos that had raged nearby. A surge of warmth flooded my heart upon seeing her.

But that warmth carried a shadow.

What if one day, she was the one I had to face? If this world tore her from me as it had taken everything else?

I pushed the thought away. But it lingered. Like a scentless poison lodged in my soul.

It was probably because of her that I held on, that I hadn’t completely fallen into savagery. After all, she was my responsibility now.

Letting myself fall on my back beside her, I felt no physical fatigue, not even a hint of injury, thanks to my regeneration. The real struggle had been mental. Controlling my blood throughout the battle had been a true challenge, and the final attack, an exhausting mental feat. But as the fight ended, I felt a certainty: my control over my power had undeniably strengthened.

Opening the notifications, a flood of information overwhelmed me.

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 29]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 29]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 27]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 28]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 21]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 26]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 24]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 23]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 22]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 26]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 32]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 22]!

You have slain [Zar’Kha (evolved) – Level 25]!

You have slain [Za...

You have...

...

Sweeping aside the useless notifications with a simple gesture, I finally reached the ones that truly interested me.

Your class [Blood Warrior] has reached level 83!

Your class [Blood Warrior] has reached level 84!

Your class [Blood Warrior] has reached level 85!

Your class [Blood Warrior] has reached level 86!

Your class [Blood Warrior] has reached level 87!

Your skill [Claw (Adept)] has evolved to Expert rank!

I opened my status to review my new boosts.

[Stats]

Strength: 7

Speed: 250

Perception: 107

Vitality: 124 (+10%)

Intelligence: 111

Mana: 0

Mental: 40

Endurance: 66

Free points: 6

[Skills]

Universal Language (Mythic)

Identification (Adept)

Dual Dagger Style Mastery (Novice)

Stealth (Master)

Intimidation (Master)

Claw (Expert) – The user’s claws reach a hardness and sharpness surpassing the most resilient metals, capable of slicing through even some enchanted defenses. Their length and curvature can be instantly adjusted to suit each attack. They also generate subtle vibrations, improving cutting ability and effectiveness against armor.

Weakening Poison (Expert)

Blood Manipulation (Expert)

Blood Pact (Expert)

Regenerative Blood (Expert)

Shadow Veil (Unique)

?????????? (Unique)

[Titles]

Sovereign of the Tutorial

Monstrosity of the Tutorial

Blessed by Noctis

I extended my claws, trying to make them vibrate.

Gradually, they emitted subtle micro-vibrations, an almost imperceptible quiver—but deadly.

It was definitely a boost.

The material had changed too. I’d noticed it during the fight, when they became sharper, more resilient.

An undeniable improvement.

Closing my status, I let my adrenaline fade.

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