Rising god
Chapter 37: Blood magic

Chapter 37: Blood magic

With an army arrayed before him, one might assume he had a plan, some hidden scheme, or a trump card to sway the tide of war. But simply observing the figure floating above the battlefield told a different story.

He looked like a ghost of his former self, frail and pallid, a sickly shadow clinging to borrowed power.

It was the older deplorable, the one now ominously known as the Blood Deplorable.

He hovered above the battlefield like a harbinger of dread. Though his form was suspended in the sky, his body trembled faintly under the sun’s gaze. His complexion was sickly pale, marred with black veins crawling beneath the skin. Still, despite the clear signs of decay, none could forget the truth: he remained a 7th star.

The ranks of the allied forces—Darkan and the Church—released an involuntary breath of relief. Their leaders, who had spent sleepless nights drafting the most meticulous of plans, silently thanked the heavens. If he was sick, he would be weaker, wouldn’t he?

They clung to that hope, even though his aura had not diminished from the dreaded Seventh Star.

"So, in the end, the blood orb caught up to him..." Baines muttered, standing beside Roderick, his expression unreadable.

If anything in the world granted you power without cost, it was an illusion. The blood orb promised regeneration and strength, but even miracles had consequences.

Without emotion, Baines gave the order. "Release it."

The command rippled through the command chain, passed with urgency until a signal triggered the next phase of their strategy.

Dark smoke spilled into the air like ink in water, thick and unnatural. It emanated from the forces and coiled upward, wrapping around the sky like a noose.

Wherever the smoke touched, it drained everyone’s energy, both mana, and aura was stripped from the user.

The phenomenon was still largely unexplainable, but one fact remained: it worked.

And now, it was their one chance at killing a Seventh Star.

"What are these insects doing?" The Blood Deplorable snarled, waving his hand in a lazy swipe to disperse the smoke.

However, the smoke clung to his hand like tar. His brows furrowed.

His mana, when summoned, faltered. There was a delay, like it was in a moment of confusion.

"Hm?" He glanced at his hand, a tinge of concern flickering across his withered face.

Then he made a mistake.

BOOM!

With a sudden surge, he tried to purge the smoke using brute force and released his full mana reserve in a blinding burst of energy.

But instead of liberation, the opposite occurred.

His mana flickered out, and slipped out his control until it, vanished.

With no force keeping him aloft, he plummeted like a broken star.

THUD.

Dust billowed as he crashed to the earth. He writhed, clawing at the fog, screaming in both rage and terror. "What is this?! Get it off me!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed.

He turned his head and immediately recognized the figure walking through the haze—calm, resolute, merciless.

"You... you killed my brother," the Blood Deplorable snarled, voice thick with venom as he stared at Baines. Pure hatred danced in his eyes. "I’ll rip you apart!"

With a scream of rage, he lunged.

Only the highest of elites—Baines, Roderick, and the 6th Star commanders from both the Church and Darkan—entered this fog. Everyone else remained outside the fog.

As previously said, inside this smoke, only skills and body training really mattered. Meaning, for a mage like the blood deplorable, he was supposed to be the most human-like, right?

So why, why was he still covered in the red aura?

The red aura hadn’t faded. It clung to him like a second skin.

"Shit!" Roderick cursed. The situation had taken a turn.

"DIE!"

Faster than a blink, the Blood Deplorable’s hand morphed into a crimson claw and pierced through Baines’ shoulder with a sickening squelch.

"GAAAHH!" Baines cried out, blood spurting as the jagged claw sank deeper. Unfortunately for Baines, he was the closest to the blood deplorable and his most hated.

"Baines!" Roderick lunged, grabbing Baines and yanking him back. The other 6th Stars moved in to cover them.

’This injury... It’s deep,’ Roderick grimaced, inspecting the wound. ’The fog is still up, and we can’t perform any first aid.’

"We need a priest, now!"

Baines coughed up blood, dazed, mind racing. He asked as Eye began taking precautionary measures.

’Eye. What just happened?’

[ABSENCE OF ENERGY IN TARGET’S BODY BALANCED ESSENCE OF BLOOD ABSORBED IN TARGET’S BODY.]

His eyes widened.

’So, he... stabilized it?’

Roderick took him and exited the fog’s reach, where a group of priests had arrived and began working immediately, chanting spells to mend his wound. His skin slowly sealed, pain receding, but the realization in his eyes did not.

Seconds later, the 6th star commanders also pulled out from the fog, their auras returning to them.

"What the hell was that?" One of them asked, not taking his eyes off the fog.

The rest were going to ask the same. How was he able to use his energy inside that fog?

"I think...we stabilized the blood orb for him," Baines muttered.

Then a laugh echoed from the fog—low at first, then climbing into hysteria.

A silhouette walked out.

The man had changed.

The sickly frame was gone. In its place stood a muscular, refined figure, eyes glowing crimson, his aura seething like molten blood. It made it look like bloodlust in appearance.

Maybe the only good part of it was, his rank had degraded back to the 6th star. However, a peak 6th star.

"I must thank you," the Blood Deplorable grinned. "I wouldn’t have figured it out without your help."

Then he bared his teeth.

"Now, I’ll just kill you all and start again."

But Kent, the knight leader of the Church, was already upon him, divine energy crackling across his blade as he struck with holy fury.

SPLAT.

Blood sprayed, but the Deplorable then stood a few meters away, grinning.

"Too hasty," the Blood Deplorable teased, lifting a finger.

The figure Kent had sliced had not been an illusion, yet somehow, the real body remained untouched, and the blood was still there.

Suddenly, the blood Kent had spilled rose into the air, twisting into spears and launching straight at him.

CLANG. CLANG.

Kent deflected them, barely keeping up.

Then Roy and another commander attacked.

However, once again,

Splat...Splat

Again, the Blood Deplorable vanished, leaving pools of blood behind with formed weapons to attack them.

"Keep pressing him!" Roderick barked. "He can’t do this forever!"

’It doesn’t matter; he won’t take any damage unless we attack the main body. So, all we have to do is attack until then.’ He was about to slice the blood-deplorable in two when,

CLANG.

A crimson shield blocked them.

The Blood Deplorable’s sneer deepened. "Do you think I’d keep getting hit by trash like you?"

Chains of blood burst from his body, writhing like serpents, lashing out at the commanders.

"Don’t stop, attack him." Roderick roared, leading the commanders in a coordinated attack.

Each clash was a revelation, not just for the Church and Darkan, but for the Blood Deplorable himself. He was discovering the depths of his new power.

And if there was one thing he largely understood. He no longer possessed mana in the conventional sense. His blood orb had become his source. His essence. His new core. His "mana" was now blood itself.

As for how he was still alive after getting slashed in two, it was thanks to the essences he had absorbed. Meaning he could access the blood from those essences.

Understanding to that extent, he opened his arms, and blood surged out.

From his body, rivers of crimson poured upward and then split, shaping into weapons.

Swords. Spears. Blades. Arrows.

Tens. Hundreds. Thousands.

A blood-red arsenal filled the sky.

"You want to know what I endured? Let me show you."

He unleashed the attack.

BOOOOOOM!

Explosions tore through the battlefield as the blood weapons rained down. The sky wept red.

Commanders screamed orders, ducking and parrying, their blades glinting as they batted away the onslaught. They were overwhelmed by the number of weapons, and that wasn’t all.

PTUI. PTUI. PTUI.

A rapid series of blood bullets tore through the chaos.

"ARGHH!" A commander from Darkan fell to his knees, blood spilling from dozens of holes in his body.

Everyone froze as they turned to see.

He tried to stand, sword still raised. The knight shouted with all his might as he kept deflecting the weapons, despite still being injured.

But,

PTUI.

A final bullet struck his skull.

And,

THUD.

He collapsed.

Silence rippled for a heartbeat.

"Don’t get sentimental," the Blood Deplorable said, "You’ll be joining him soon."

His smile widened, cruel and bloodstained.

For the first time, he had full control over his power.

And now, he intended to use it.