RD 4 Ch 53

By the time I arrived at the fortress, the damage was startling. Walls were smashed in, and people were strewn everywhere, lying on the ground, moaning and bleeding. Pools of blood marked where bodies had once been before the system reclaimed them.

We had left a skeleton crew to man the fortress, but I had expected them to last longer than this.

I ground my teeth in anger and shouted at the top of my lungs: "Vidar!" My bellow was so loud that the panes of glass in the fortress rattled. I knew he had to have heard my call, no matter where he was in the fortress.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the one who appeared. Instead, a small gang of giant Borrsons came around one of my walls. One of them was still dragging a Mul Branova by her hair.

"Look who it is," one of them said, grinning. "Is this your Lord Bran?" The giant chuckled and threw the devotee to the side. "Just watch. Maybe after you see this, you'll worship me instead."

She looked up pitifully at me, like this was exactly what I was supposed to stop from happening in this new world. The white of her habit was completely stained red from blood, and her eyes were strained from crying.

In the short time that it had taken for me to get here, they’d already been through hell.

My vision went red, seeing what they had done to my people. This fortress, the strength of these people, was something I had been building not just for myself but also for all of humanity. The people within most of all.

I would protect the Mul Branova as if they were my own children.

Before I could do anything, a pink beam erupted from Simone. Her Heartbreaker ability slammed the giant in the chest and threw him back like a toy for an even larger giant.

The bubbly saintess looked more like a pot about to boil over. Her hands flared with magic, and the giant screamed as if he was being tortured.

I thought I was angry, but Simone was absolutely furious. I had never seen her look so terrifying.

Circe looked over, taking a large step away from Simone. "So that's what that ability does." Circe chuckled nervously.

"It's called Wracking Pain," Simone said through gritted teeth. "It's supposed to hurt. A lot." She turned her eyes on the other giants, all of whom began howling like a pack of wolves as she activated the ability on each one of them. "Don't just stand there," Simone seethed. "Go all Bran on them. They hurt our Mul Branova. They deserve the worst."

I didn't say anything for a moment, staring at my beautiful, terrifying woman. I made sure to save that mental image, and she caught me staring and smiling.

Simone stuck out her tongue. "Don't get used to it. I don't plan on letting people do things that'll upset me this much often. I much prefer the happier day-to-day life that you give me."

Merlin looked Simone up and down. "I think you're going to find more people invested in your happiness after this."

"Aw, you say the sweetest things." Simone flashed Merlin a smile and then turned back to the giants whose howling redoubled as she focused her spirit against theirs.

Taking another moment to appreciate my woman, I turned, ready to do my part.

Storming forward, my Bloodiron Blade emerged from my wrist. I went to put them swiftly out of their misery, but they deserved worse, so much worse.

Gathering my strength, I used Bloodline Manipulation and pulled. They were too busy screaming to fight me as I ripped their bloodlines from their bodies, gathering them up in a small bead floating above my hand before I ended each of them with swift strokes of my blade.

The moment they were clear, Simone flew forward. She picked up the wounded Mul Branova and began tending to all of them in the vicinity like a mother hen suddenly collecting her chicks and making sure they were alive.

"Go on without me," Simone said, casting healing spells with each breath.

"This is worse than I thought," Circe said, swinging out several blades of wind that punched through the throats of the Borrson men who had so foolishly attacked our Mul Branova. She wasn’t taking any chances for them to be left alive.

"This is the advantage that the clans have, Circe. We might have been scrambling to build up our own resources and very successful at that, but even if they've had less, these Borrsons have likely had decades to improve themselves. Not only did they use system gold, but they also trained how to apply all of that strength. It's important to remember that even as we grow stronger, the application still matters.” My tone dropped off at the end as I ran through the ruined outer fortress, feeling sick to my stomach at what Vidar had managed to do with a single sweeping attack. "And frankly, my wards should have held up better than this. When this is all done, I need a firm account of what exactly happened. I need to make sure we're never caught so weak again."

The Mul Branova weren’t prepared for a real war with the clans.

"Well, look on the bright side. At least now you have cause to beat Vidar's face in." Circe smirked.

I wished I had the same confidence. It hadn't been so long since our little sparring match. If he had come here already, it was highly likely he would have come prepared. He would not have come intending to lose, and he had a recent accounting of my strength. I skidded to a stop at the opening to the fortress.

Three more Borrson Giants stood in my way, clubs patting into the palms of their hands like a gang of thugs. "So you're the half-breed." One of them looked me up and down. "You don't seem like much of a threat."

"Great. Are we done with the random taunts? I have places to be and people to kill." I shot up next to him in an explosive burst of speed, my Bloodiron Blade coming into contact with his club and biting deep into the ranked wood. I gritted my teeth and pushed for all that I was worth, causing the giant to slide steadily back. My muscles bulged under the effects of Blood Boil, my body straining as I twisted and slammed him against the fortress doors.

This time another application of force was enough for my blade to slice through the club and bite deep across his chest and both of his biceps. But, of course, he had a titan physique of some sort. My blade didn't go deep enough to stop him.

I heard the crackle of ice and the gale of wind as Circe and Merlin joined hands to stop the ones behind me. I shoved hard again. "Where is Vidar?" I asked through gritted teeth, though the giant had the gall to laugh.

"Ruining your little fort. You aren't half as strong as you think you are, you arrogant little half-breed." He chuckled.

I pushed hard again, and this time, I drew my blade across his chest and his arms. The blade sliced deep enough for his blood to come gushing out. "It's only arrogance if I can't back it up."

I punched my hand deep into his chest and began drawing out his bloodline, hiding the ability inside of him.

The giant’s eyes popped open wide, and he began to scream, his body swelling and stretching as he activated some last-minute ability in hopes of saving his life.

I had to guess it was some sort of physical growth, which did very little to help him as I ripped his bloodline out, along with much of his strength.

He sagged against the wall like he suddenly didn't have the strength to support his larger form. His eyes were fixed on me in undisguised horror before they flicked to his menu, no doubt consulting it for confirmation.

I snapped a fist straight into his jaw, shattering it and knocking his head against the wall. The last thing I needed was him shouting some sort of warning for the others. I grabbed him by the head and slammed him down on the ground. He might have been bigger than me, but he certainly wasn't stronger.

I stood above him, my blade punching through his back, only for two more swords to emerge from my wrists, joining the first as I skewered him to the ground. He wasn't a particularly challenging opponent, except for testing my patience. I turned back around to see how Merlin and Circe had fared. The two of them had their opponent pinned with wind and ice.

"I don't suppose you want us to finish this one?" Merlin asked.

Circe glanced down at their defeated opponent. “I mean if you can take their bloodlines…”

"By all means, but give me a moment." I stepped up and shoved a hand straight into their chest, rooting around for the briefest of moments while the ability worked its magic and pulled out another bloodline.

"In all of this, if you can keep them alive for a minute, I have use for them," I told them. Their eyes flicked to the hands I had shoved inside the Borrsons.

Circe likely had a solid guess as to what I had just done. "Do you think that's wise?" Circe asked. "If they realize what you're doing, they aren't going to be happy. Not at all."

"Too bad. They lost the right to an opinion the second they went after my people. Besides, maybe for once it would be good for Borrsons to know that they are not the hunters but the hunted. But I’ve got this. Go. Both of you. Tell Simone that after she starts getting our people back on their feet, I want every Borrson here captured."

There must have been something particularly terrifying in my eyes based on the way they both practically fled from my presence. I regretted that I wouldn’t be able to take all of their bloodlines. But I had a feeling there would still be more to collect.

Showing off this ability could ultimately hurt my cause with the clans. Bloodlines were deeply personal and protected. They could avoid me and not want to join forces against the demons if they were afraid to be near me. Hunting me down to remove this ability or force me to use it for them wasn’t out of the question either.

But at the current moment, I was all out of patience.

I stormed through the fortress, its walls painted with blood that told a story.

My Mul Branova had not given an inch of this fortress without fighting for it.

I gave myself a moment to remember that a good chunk of this fortress, especially those who were stronger, had been with me at the Trial of Kings. We had left a skeletal force. But even with that reminder, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Another splash of blood reminded me how much I had lost. With every step I took, I grew more determined. I was ready to vent some anger.