TSHH!
A dense grey smoke enveloped the area as all the buildings in the surroundings had been reduced to a boiling mess. The beast's acidic saliva had a very strong decaying ability that could reduce a Dormant Human to ashes in a few seconds.
'I should give it a similar treatment right?'
Slice!
The last four eyes slid off their stalks after being cut by Kaiser's dagger.
Hiss!
The beast hissed in pain as its only remaining eye blinked and turned red. Utterly pissed, the beast screeched and spat out a huge amount of acid nonstop. It continued to chase after the small human who was dodging every single drop of the acid.
After a while, it stopped and eyed Kaiser intently. It then released another pulse that targeted Kaiser.
"Still trying the same thing?"
Kaiser asked as he ignored the attack only to crash into an invisible barrier that rebounded harshly against him.
Crash!
He crashed into a building far away as debris and stones rained down on him.
"Ouch. Now that was smart! Almost broke a rib." He said as he emerged from the smoke. His hair was disheveled while his eyes and shadow had grown darker. Squatting, he put a hand into his shadow and pulled out a shiny black knife
"Fun fact: I just wanted to test your shield. It was bland anyway."
He grinned evilly as he crouched down—tensing his muscles then he launched himself upward into the air.
Stepping on space again, he launched himself towards the beast and hurled black knife at the beast
'Space thrust: Once'
The knife zoomed in on the beast but it believed its shield would be enough to stop such a small trick.
Or so it thought.
Just an inch from the shield, the knife suddenly disappeared and reappeared inside the shield— stunning the beast.
Kaiser smiled coldly at the scene then murmured softly.
"Ignite..."
The knife blazed with flames as it sank into the soft flesh of the beast— scorching it from the inside.
SCCCRRRREEEEAAAAKKKKK!!!
It shrieked in agony as its body burned down from the inside. It trashed around for a while before stopping with a final twitch— dead.
[You have slain a Warrior Beast, Decay Worm]
[Your art grows stronger]
[You have received 630 points]
The VR system announced to him as he coldly watched the corpse of the beast burn to ashes.
The knife spun back into his grip as he returned it into his shadow.
'The flames were too potent. I'll have to tone it down next time.'
Giving the corpse one final glance, he faded into the shadows.
Meanwhile...
Kiera was fidgeting while waiting for Kaiser to return. Although it had not even been 10 minutes yet, she found herself slightly worried for him.
'Will he be okay fighting it by himself? Although it seems he can ignore that freezing attack, the beast itself is a menace.'
'Should I go and check up on him?'
'Wait— why do I even care? It's not like I'm close with him or something. And he's not going to die for real.'
'But I have to check right? That's the right thing to do!'
Steeling her resolve, she turned back— ready to go look for him.
Only to come face to face with him.
"Eeek!"
She shrieked and jumped back in fright.
"What the hell? When did you get behind me?" She asked as she pointed at him in accusation.
"You've been pacing around for the past five minutes. What were you thinking?"
Instead of answering her, he asked her a question.
'He's been there since five minutes. Ahh! This is so embarrassing! Why couldn't I sense him?'
"That's because your perception was dulled." Kaiser replied.
"Huh?"
'He can read minds?' She thought as her eyes widened in horror.
"No, I can't but your expression says it all." Kaiser blinked gently as he flicked her forehead.
"Stop overthinking."
She winced in pain while holding her head as a pout formed on her lips.
"So mean."
'Well... It isn't so bad speaking with him.'
...
Kaiser turned to look at her intensely— scanning her from head to toe.
'What was that weird feeling from before?' He thought as he recalled how his body seemed oddly excited while holding her.
'Could it be...? No. That's impossible. The Seven Churches would have come for her the moment she became a Dormant but seeing she's alive and kicking, I doubt it's what I think it is.'
"Stop staring like a pervert."
Kiera shouted then rushed forward to cover his eyes with her palm.
Kaiser wanted to move but decided against it and allowed her to cover his eyes.
The same sensation gripped him again— this time faintly. Although it was faint, he could feel it very clearly.
'Seed of Lust.'
He thought as his eyes widened under her palm. He had clearly felt a small amount of blood pumping towards his nether region— a sign of forced arousal.
'This is so... UNBELIEVABLE! How can she have the Seed of Lust?'
His mind went into overdrive, several scenarios of how it happened playing in his mind.
"Hey. Are you okay? You look pale."
Kiera's voice snapped his mind back to reality as he wiped the sweat forming on his face.
"Yeah. Just a little bit exhausted. Nothing major."
She eyed him suspiciously but decided to leave things as they were and changed the topic.
"Did you go back to kill the beast?" She asked.
"No" He answered dryly.
"You're lying." She scoffed, unable to believe him. After all, he looked disheveled.
"I really wonder."
Kaiser said with a small smirk tugging at his lips.
'This guy!' She thought, feeling irritated.
"Tch. You're insufferable."
"Thanks for the compliment." He took in the comment blandly, causing her to shout in disbelief.
"It wasn't a compliment!"
"I wonder."
'Sigh' She rolled her eyes, feeling a strange sense of entertainment.
"Gods, you're so irritating"
And just like that, something strange had began to bloom between them.