RD 4 Ch 8

Chapter 8

The military assumed responsibility around the hell gate behind us when a deafening roar ripped through the city, from a different direction than we had just left.

I frowned as the shouting and screaming followed. But then a thought clicked. Last time, the city had been completely overrun by the hell gate.

Any additional attacks would have never been reported, because nobody would have been able to differentiate from the sudden onslaught of demons in the city. The demons had been nested inside the Heros clan, Vein City and a global human trafficking ring. What was to stop them from also operating here? 

My pace picked up, and I leaned forward, beginning to charge into the city.

I followed the screaming to a central plaza, not far from the college campus. Half a dozen demons had emerged. They weren't anything like the ones coming from the hell gate.

However, that didn't stop them from smashing their way through, ripping and tearing cars apart, and flinging them into the screaming crowds. They were bigger, their dark amorphous forms consolidated into seven foot tall brutes.

Circe pulled up short as wind gathered to her fingertips, but I grabbed her hand and pulled it back. "Allow me." I rushed forward, a blade of blood sliding down my forearm and into my hand.

The six demons turned, sneering at me. Not a single one of them attempted to inspect me, assuming I was newly initiated.

They should have known better. I didn't move like a newly initiated. 

I slammed into the first with far more force than the demon was prepared for, using my shoulder to check him and throw him back into two of the others. I spun, this time catching my blood blade on a heavy mace that one of the demons swung around with enough power to split a car.

However, I was tougher than a car and merely had my feet skid back an inch before I grinned at the demon's dumbfounded expression.

"You’re going to have to do a lot better than that." I told him before I pushed back.

This time causing his feet to lose purchase as the big dome-shouldered demon grunted and snarled at losing ground. He began shouting in demonic at the others, who quickly turned and focused on me.

I smiled, glad to be the focus of their attention as the citizens fled. I turned my blade in and forced his swing into the ground, smashing concrete chips all over me.

The demon tried to fling me away, but all I did was roll around his arm.

My sword came around far faster than his heavy mace, cutting a neat line across his shoulders and removing his head from the fleshy pedestal it had been resting on. 

By now, the other demons were ignoring everything else and focusing on me, each now bearing a weapon rather than showing off their brute strength.

They seemed to favor heavier weapons of axes and maces. Which was fine, I would relish a contest of strength against these demons.

I swung my blade back and forth, keeping them at bay while I picked the weakest among them when he swung his axe. I stepped in further, catching my blade on the lower shaft of his axe and gaining leverage to push in. That was all I needed as I let go with one hand and grabbed the head of his weapon before flipping him over me. My blade drew a crimson trail in the air and cut off his wrist as he slammed into the ground. I spun back around, feeling perfectly at home surrounded by demons.

They came at me in a semi-coordinated rotation taking turns with their slower, heavier weapons rather than try and fight me one on one.

I felt alive in a way I hadn't in a while, remembering my sword art that had taken me far in my past life.

A slow breath escaped me as my motions became more powerful and focused. They swept back and forth, driving the demons off me. When the opportunity presented itself, I forced one of them into a challenge of strength, one in which I happily overwhelmed them to drive the point of my blade home.

[Sword Proficiency S Upgrades to Sword Mastery E]

[Sword Mastery E -> Sword Master F]

Several notifications appeared in the corner of my eye. I didn’t take the time to dwell on them, but I was fairly sure what I would see. I knew the feeling of the system assisting me with my sword, putting more weight behind every patterned swing. It felt like an old friend was resting in my hands, rather than a foreign blade as I cut down two of them. 

I was in my element to the extent that I tried to use an ability I did not yet have in this life. I expected a small arc of fire to grow from the tip of my blade as I swung, just short of my opponent.

Something pushed out as I over reached with one of my abilities.

Yet instead of fire, a razor-thin crimson wave rippled off of my blood blade and nearly cut the demon in half.

[Blood Bolt A Upgrades to Sanguine Slash E]

The brief moment caught us both unaware, and a second demon managed to slam his mace into my shoulder, breaking the bones and pulping my flesh. 

I staggered back, bringing the blood blade up to defend myself with only one good arm. I was not at the right point to use my strength directly, but it would be in a moment. 

Already in the corner of my eye, my flesh was knitting back together, slower than it did before the vault, but fast enough for everyone to see.

They started shouting in demonic at me. One of them turned and ran, while the remaining two threw everything they had at me, trying to keep me pinned down for a second longer.

Not that I’d let that happen, dancing back and using my own weapon to deter them from a killing blow.

The runner didn’t get far as fire, arrows and wind tore the demon up before it could even get fifty feet away.

The second my shoulder was ready to fight again, I dropped my blood blade and grabbed both of their weapons with my bare hands. I was grinning as my muscles flexed, and I twisted, ripping both weapons from their hands, only to turn them against each other, smashing both of their legs in the process. 

Blood splattered my face as I stomped on the first one to fall, his head caving in like a juicy watermelon.

The second tried to grab my leg and topple me over.

I used that leverage as I put both weapons aside and let myself fall, pulling my shoulder back and putting as much force into my elbow as I swung it back down, twisting my whole body in the process.

There was a cacophony of wet cracks. The demon let go of my leg just as quickly as he'd grabbed it. 

Another blood blade, this one smaller than the rest, grew from the blood that had come from my shoulder. I buried the short sword up into the demon's skull.

Both of them were bloodied from the fight and I’d managed to finish them.

Breathing heavily, I wiped off my hands, but had a smile on my face as I pushed up from the demons and looked back towards the ladies who had come with me. 

Behind them, there was also a small army of gawkers, all with their phones out, snapping 20 pictures a second.

I waved at them. "Alright ladies, I think it's best we get going. Don't want to put too much of a show. You all are too beautiful and people can’t stop taking pictures of you." I chuckled and wiped at my face only for my hand to come away covered in blood. "Besides, I don’t think I’m very photogenic at the moment."

Simone chuckled. "It depends what you're going for, Bram. If you're going for badass demon killer, I think you've got that covered." She closed her hands in what looked like a prayer and dipped her head as a golden glow encased me and patched up any remaining injuries. 

Somehow Simone's use of healing caused a bigger reaction in the crowd than my own accomplishments. People gasped and several people began to shout in Danish.

Merlin understood exactly what I saw. "Better get going. Everyone seems to have something that needs healing." 

I made a sudden noise of agreement. "Right, who cares about protecting themselves from demons if they can get rid of cancer?" I grunted and jerked my head. "Let's go, Simone." 

"Are you jealous?" The saintess asked, sliding up to my side as we moved towards the crowd who happily parted around me. When I didn’t answer Simone clicked her tongue beside me. "It's a shame I don't have the rest of the Mul Branova with me right now. This would be a perfect recruitment opportunity." 

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Recruitment is key, Bran," she said. "In all of this chaos, by increasing the Mul Branova, we can hit critical mass to the point where worshipping Bran becomes the new religion. Have you checked your character page?" 

I frowned but brought it up, not only to see what she was suggesting, but also to see the changes in my skills.

[Name: Bran Heros

Level: 54

Class: Blood Hegemon S

Status: Healthy 

Strength: 3868

Agility: 2970

Vitality: 6413 

Intelligence: 2239 

Spirit: 12905 

Skills: 

Soul Gaze SSS 

Soul Resilience S 

Blunt Weapon Proficiency C 

Endurance S 

Throwing Proficiency E 

Blood Boil A 

Blood Siphon A 

Sanguine Slash E

Bloodline Collection 110 

Regeneration A 

Ax Proficiency D 

Charge B 

Bloodink Quality B 

Stealth D 

Inscription B 

Swim D (Bracer) 

Last Stand E 

Blood Hex A 

Blood Transfusion A

Blood Blade S 

Crimson Barrier A 

Sword Mastery D 

Worshiped D 

Sanguine Locking A

Drop B (Sword)

Soul Absorption Arts E

Bloodline Manipulation S

Powers of Blood B

Training F

Primordial Titan Bloodline M

Bloodrage Ascension D

Primordial Confluence Titan Physique E]

"So," Simone asked with a smirk, "has there been a change?" 

I spoke slowly, "It seems the Mul Branova is making quick work. What exactly do you have them doing?" 

"They should be," she puffed out her cheeks. "After all, there are like eight new branches cropping up today." 

She’d organized eight different recruitment stations?! Where and when? Simone was often in the back healing and supporting, but I hadn’t realized just how much the Mul Branova had grown.

I looked back at her incredulously only for her to lift her chin, challenging me to grumble about it.

“Think of the number of devotee’s we’ll make. They’re going to do a lot better at surviving this mess.” She said and began to win me over.

"In some ways, I can't believe anyone mistakes you for an 18-year-old," Merlin spoke, breaking our stare off. "You're clearly an old man." 

Those words caused a bout of laughter from the ladies and for me to just let out a heavy sigh. 

"Yeah, yeah, all of you have plenty of fun with this," I said, smiling as I went through my menu for a few more details. Blood Bolt was gone. Instead, it had been replaced by a new ability, Sanguine Slash.

[Sanguine Slash - Blood flicked off a limb or weapon can become a powerful crescent that will cut forward.]

I grinned. "Ember Cut," I said with a slight grumble, remembering my skill from my past life. Everything I did this time around was blood-themed and I just had to get used to it. Not to mention, the system had finally acknowledged my sword skills, which was another step forward.

It had been a while since I'd seen improvement. But now that the barrier around Earth was gone, the system was going to give everyone rewards even faster. I remember in my past life, more than a few people who had become initiated prior to the Demon Wars had commented on the difference in leveling and skill gain before and after.

Finally powerful initiates like Circe and Merlin had been able to progress. It was like the system was in some sort of catch-up mode for the time being, and we would make every use of that that we could take.

A group gathered in a coffee shop that we passed that caused my head to turn, only to see the giant instance portal hovering in the back and a bunch of patrons staring at it with confusion.

One man was unfortunate enough to poke it as a test, only for his finger to get stuck, and the instance portal slowly drew him in. 

I glanced at it. I raised an eyebrow at everyone with me. "Anyone interested in that?" 

Simone shook her head, her phone out as she began texting someone. She paused, looking up. She spotted the name of the store and then dipping back down, texting once again. 

"No, but the Mul Branova could certainly use it," she said distractedly. "I think at level 53 is going to need Sandra to lead the charge, but she might be able to carry a few of our new recruits through there. It would be good leveling. Not to mention, a C rank is a great place to level up some skills if they can pin a monster down and let the new recruits have at it." 

I chuckled, watching her. "Look at you. You haven't even been initiated that long, and you already know how to build new recruits." 

She glanced up from her phone, an eyebrow slowly raising on her forehead. "Really, Bran? For everything you put us through, you think we aren't going to take the opportunity and torture as many newbies as we can with it?" 

I laughed. "I wouldn't call what you went through torture. It was fairly tame. Building your resistances is important, also it was Thorin who threw Gloria off the cliff." 

Gloria snorted. "Why don't we let Circe and Merlin decide? He made Simone heal me while B rank monsters wailed on my back." 

I held my hands in the air. "You have Tough Skin! It's a really good defensive ability, but only if you rank it up." 

Now both ladies were gesturing at me, looking for backup from the older two, but I held firm that I had been rather tame in my approach. These were all basic things, it was far more dangerous to try and upgrade abilities or push them into SS rank.

AN - I got rid of that lingering extra tracker for Bran's stats, so I think it's on track. But feel free to do your worst.