Chapter 53: Golden Blood
The scouting team, made of the KyrioswithoutKyrios-13 team and Marina, returned to their forward base within minutes.
On her way to meet the Wolf King, Kyriaki briefly glanced at the troublesome High priest who was praying to non-existing gods far away alone. She was as expressionless as ever, but those golden eyes that lingered a moment too long on Warkan had a glint only Euclid understood.
Once they got back, Oscar and the wolf couple were already there.
As soon as Kyriaki judged they were paying attention to her, she opened her mouth without hesitation.
"As I said before, there are two ways to attract ghosts. Sound and…humans." She scanned all the humans with a softened gaze, which were previously so indifferent and passive.
"We have many humans." Recognizing her inner thoughts, Mr.Romanov nodded with an expression as grave as the gloomy Void sky.
"Ghosts are fragments of human egos, left by the souls of the dead humans. Because they were monsters born from humans, they attack humans mindlessly." Mrs.Romanov also wore the same expression as her husband.
"It's risky to enter their domain."
"Even for us." Euclid's words flamed unavoidable curiosity in Marina and Oscar, who knew nothing about them.
"What do you mean?" Oscar asked cautiously.
"Because we are currently in human form, it'll get troublesome." Euclid rolled his ocean blue eyes.
Then, as if he was hinting something, he looked at Kyriaki without blinking, like a doll. Knowing well he was looking at her, Kyriaki avoided his gaze. Euclid suddenly changed his target to Oscar.
Suddenly on the receiving end of Euclid's doll-like eye attack, Oscar tilted his head. Euclid frowned and gestured to Kyriaki with his eyes alone.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to transform into our true forms, then?" Oscar, realizing the truth of their true identity and the final decision to reveal it depends on Kyriaki, turned to her with great enthusiasm. Trying to appeal to her with his big deer-like eyes.
"We don't have to absolutely turn into our true form. How about turning into a lion?" Euclid insisted from the side.
"We'd look like a tiny lion cub."
Kyriaki put weight on the word "Tiny" as she flatly replied.
Because it was true.
No matter what form they took, due to their age, they'd look like the younger version of the species they chose. And in comparison, those forms didn't have any stronger combat power than neither their true form nor human form.
Acknowledging that fact, Euclid opened his mouth once again.
"A Phoenix?"
"Hatchling."
"A Fairy?"
"Baby."
"...An Elf?"
"..." Kyriaki silently looked at Euclid, non-verbally rejecting his offer. After a brief staredown, Euclid exploded.
"Oh c'mon! I know our age gets in the way of polymorph. But still, aside from our true form, there is no better form than that."
"Why not? There are Titans." Erik, with a foolishly proud smile, pounded his chest with his clenched hand. It felt like he was showing off behind the facade of a human child.
Both hatchlings glared at him for a second.
"It's useless to keep our identity hidden longer than this." Kyriaki sighed. "We're directly going to the Selene Palace. They'll know who we are soon anyway. Why bother with a disguise anymore?"
"...that's a valid point."
"If things go as we planned, even if we reveal ourselves, they won't remember us later. Well, except for…" Kyriaki trailed off, glancing at Marina before looking at Euclid.
"Then why did you hide it from the beginning?" Euclid pouted. Stark contrasts his cold and arrogant self.
"To make them less guarded. What if they die from a heart attack upon seeing our true form out of the blue? We have to show them we meant no harm."
"You said that before too…I want to argue. But you are looking at me like I might lose a limb or two if I continue with whatever I'm doing right now."
"Your survival instinct skill is top-notch."
"...Did she just say she was hiding her identity because she didn't want to give people a heart attack?"
"She did."
"...But I feel like the same would happen even if you reveal it later?" Meanwhile, Mrs.Romanov's mumbling went unnoticed by the two hatchlings.
"I think it's too late." Mr.Romanov consoled his wife with a pitying look.
His words were true.
They were too late to go back on their own words.
Marina, Oscar as well as other humans that were within the range where their voice reached looked at the two children with their mouths agaped.
Mentioning legendary races as if it was nothing and saying they could transform into any of them was enough to make those listening feel dizzy.
"Enough with the identity talk…" Kyriaki glanced around. Her cold gaze, which was directed at Euclid a moment ago, was slowly turning to something indescribable.
"Ghosts are a type of monsters." She declared.
Everyone looked at her as if asking why she was stating the obvious.
"And?" Levana asked with lively eyes, anticipating the beginning of a thoughtfully made strategy.
"Monsters are still living things. And as living things, they are bound to have many weaknesses. Only by identifying those weaknesses can we respond to those monsters effectively in various environments."
"My apologies, but ghosts are rare monsters. There is so little information about them. Currently there are no known weaknesses to them." Marina's voice was filled with helplessness when she spoke.
"Tsk.This is what happens when human civilizations fall." Euclid coldly clicked his tongue with a more cold fact. Kyriaki, who was silently observing Marina, took her eyes off of her.
"Ghosts are weak against holy power and none elemental pure mana." As she said, she stared straight at Euclid.
He flinched for a moment but then his eyes sparkled as if he was curious about something. Kyriaki rolled her eyes and looked at others. They accepted her gaze and stared back, visiblely paying attention to her words.
"Holy power? You mean the power of gods?"
"Yes, something like that."
"Does God exist?" Oscar was doubtful.
"No." The tone she used to say 'no' was closer to mockery. "But Holy Power exists."
"Then the High priest—"
"That guy doesn't have an ounce of holy power. The god he serves isn't even a real god." This time, it was Euclid who spoke in place of Kyriaki. She nodded in agreement to his words.
"Besides, holy power isn't something someone can share…so," Saying that calmly, Kyriaki stepped forward.
Under the curious eyes of many, she summoned a dagger and immediately stabbed her own palm. Her motions were so calm that it felt like she had nothing sort of pain nerves in her body system.
"Gasp!" Almost all of the people who were observing this scene stepped back in horror as blood dripped from her tiny hand like a spring.
"Ria!!"
"Kyriaki!!!" Both Euclid and Levana panicked, but Kyriaki, as calm as ever, lifted her other hand and stopped them from coming closer to her.
Blood continued to leak. Nonetheless, not even a drop of blood reached the ground. They floated in front of her and fused together, forming a ball of liquid blood.
The survivors couldn't help but pay attention to it. That's when all the noises ceased to exist.
"...Golden blood?" Someone muttered absentmindedly.
Neither the self harm a child committed nor the sudden change of gravity only applied to blood wasn't on their heads. All were unimportant before the color of blood the little girl possessed. It was something they had never seen.
Demons said to have black blood, Angels said to have silver blood. And some monsters have different kinds of blood colors too. However, this was the first time they saw Golden blood, something that looked like holy water.
Kyriaki summoned a bowl decorated with silver and painted with a wisteria branch pattern, pouring her blood in.
"Before you ask, yes, me and Eucee, both of our blood is filled with pure mana. Soak your weapons with our blood if you are interested in eliminating ghosts for your own safety.
"Ah…"
Then it hit them.
Gold was the color of Mana.
And this girl, possessing purest form of mana in her blood to the point there was no trace of color red, was far from beings they had guessed as her identity so far.
∆ ∆ ∆
Marina absentmindedly stroked her belly as she glanced at the caramel pudding free of any elixir power from the corner of her eyes. Just then, the High priest stealthy grabbed the plate of pudding and cautiously walked away, shattering her hopes of eating the new menu item she found interesting.
Since normal food was mainly disturbed among ordinary people, Marina couldn't outright ask for it. As someone who took the role of a protector it was her duty to gain strength by consuming Elixirs as much as possible.
After all, when else could she see such a large amount of Elixirs in her life?
But Marina's desire for sweets wasn't just limited to Elixir based strange but delicious food Kyriaki generously bestowed on her. Anything sweet was heaven for her.
Alas, if only she wasn't trapped in this gloomy world.
"Are all the preparations done?" A gentle and dreamy voice she never got accustomed to, reached her ears. Even without looking back, she knew who it was.
It was Kyriaki.
The rate of Marina's heart beat fastened ever so slightly, but upon seeing the otherworldly beauty of her face, Marina automatically calmed down.
Then again, she felt all of her nerves focusing on the little girl.
Humans are fascinating.
They fear the unknown more than they do towards monsters.
The problem was that Kyriaki, as well as her mysterious team, fell into that "unknown" category. Even though she knew they did her no harm, she couldn't completely be calm before a being bearing golden blood.
"Yes. We've rested enough. I presume there won't be anyone without energy to follow orders." Mr, Romanov answered Kyriaki's question obediently.
Thinking back, the wolf couple had always been very obedient to Kyriaki. Marina finally realized they knew something—no, a lot of things about this mysterious girl.
"Are we taking the role of attack team?" A curious voice filled with boyish charm interrupted the two serious people.
Marina looked at the little boy that walked towards them with diligence. His soft white hair, tinted with aquamarine blue tips fluttered softly in the breeze.
"Romanovs and Sir Oscar will be in the defense team. Levana and Prince Erik will take the rear. Marina and we'll take the front line." Kyriaki's response was as calm as her tranquil golden eyes.
"Hmmm…" Euclid tilted his head to the side, deep in thoughts. "Are they going to use their true forms?"
"Excluding Sir Oscar, Yes."
"That's good. Since his movements might get restricted in his weak true form due to his young age, maintaining a useful form is crucial."
Listening to children chatting, Marina couldn't understand even half of what they said.
'For an ordinary human, I'm doing well.' she proceeded to praise herself in hope of soothing her nerve system.
Sword Aura or Magic spells don't work on Ghosts. However, Kyriaki taught them how to eliminate that troublesome monster.
Apart from Holy Power, the next best thing was to attack them with Pure Mana. Whether with mental energy, simple mana missiles or physical attacks, if it was coated with Pure Mana, the scale of victory definitely tilted toward them.
Marina stared down at her arrowheads, soaked with glittering golden blood. Goosebumps rose on her exposed arms, but she managed to maintain her natural expression.
'I don't want to uncover the truth of their identity anymore.' She sincerely thought.
She was truly grateful to the point no words matched her feelings. Even if she fails to leave this wretched place, she wouldn't blame the children. No matter what their identity was.
However, the unknown was still terrifying. She didn't want to die. Not because she feared death, but because she cherished life. Not her life, no. But a life she had to live for.
Sighing heavily, Marina's eyes absentmindedly followed Oscar. He was listening to something Erik was explaining with a subtle expression.
He was supposed to operate a Pure Mana barrier with the help of an artifact Erik lended them. After having one on one lessons with Euclid, who acted like a brat—both subjectively and objectively— all the time, Oscar succeeded in creating a simple barrier to contain all the survivors.
Although not very strong, it was enough to withstand several attacks of below C rank monsters.
The only high ranking warriors in their group, the Romanov couple, were discussing defense strategy while putting their heads together with serious faces. The middle aged couple looked relaxed unlike Marina, who had cold hands and feet due to nervousness.
As she was about to take a deep breath, she felt a presence approaching.
Marina only turned her head to confirm the one approaching her, only to be surprised by Golden eyes looking directly at her.
They had been considerably softened in the past days. Despite her inner turmoil, Marina was glad to see that change. At first Kyriaki expressed her detachment by distancing herself with politeness and indifferent eyes.
But gradually, with time, Marina noticed Kyriaki's distance and polite attitude that drew a line was changing to interest and desire to understand. She began to be patient and gentle with the people. She listened and helped. Even though her actions weren't over the top, even though most people didn't notice, those who paid attention already knew.
Because that simple change could save their lives, because it could protect them in this endlessly suffocating world, It was reassuring.
"Thank you. Despite our lack of strength and the will to be protected out of our selfishness, you never complained or abandoned us. You are truly kind." Marina whispered softly to Kyriaki, slightly bending her waist and covering her mouth as if sharing a secret.
Kyriaki stared at her without a word for a while before parting her lips.
"No, I didn't do it for kindness. I just found it interesting to interact with humans, because it had been a long time."
"Even so…"
"I'm doing this for my own self-satisfaction." Kyriaki brushed her off with a leisurely attitude and a sincere voice.
Hearing that, Marina felt stupid for having fears. Someone who spoke and acted honestly wasn't the type to withdraw their promises.
"We are ready." Oscar, appearing behind them like a ghost, reported with a serious expression.
Marina instinctively tightened her bow, cursing the deer-beastkin bloodline for having traits similar to assassins.
Meanwhile Kyriaki, who seemed to have detected his presence beforehand, nodded.
She glanced at the camp, which was full of life half an hour ago, now erased of every bit of their traces. Her gaze slowly landed on the survivors, gathered in one spot, and the two wolf beastkin guarding them in two-wall-castel formation. Marina observed this scene beside Kyriaki with approval.
"Depart in five minutes!" With Kyriaki's shout, the wolf couple immediately enveloped in a thin mana coat. It looked like a thick water vapor to onlookers.
Quarter of a minute passed.
Before them, they transformed into wolves.
Mrs.Romanov, with snow white fur and ruby red eyes, transformed into a Cave Wolf. Due to beastkin genetics, the true form of a beastkin was twice the size of the real beast. Mrs. Romanov, standing on her four feet, had a height of nearly two meters.
And Mr.Romanov on the other hand, had a height of over two meters with grey fur and golden amber eyes of an apex predator.
Seeing their transformation, some people stiffened or shivered in fear. It was an instinctive reaction to coexisting with a predator in the same space.
Marina, too, rubbed goosebumps rising on her arms, though her deep green eyes held admiration. When else would she get to see the true form of the Wolf King and Queen?
"Good." Just then, Marina heard a soft mumble.
Looking sideways, she saw Kyriaki nodding towards Erik. The boy grinned happily and saluted before closing his eyes.
The space around him blurred and mixed like a paint basket of a painter, causing mummers among survivors.
It didn't take long for them to fall into a deep silence.
A two meter tall giant, with four arms and a light blue skin stood before them with a grin. He had a milky way and unrecognizable golden letters painted on his face, as if he came to life from a painting of the God of Art.
The height, color of his skin, the number of arms, everything was foreign. Except for his face.
Those teal blue eyes and hair, as well as the playful and good-natured smile was undoubtedly of the boy; Erik.
"Hah…I can finally breathe!" He rotated his left upper arm, warming his body with simple exercises.
"What the—" Marina couldn't help but mumble in a daze.
"What is that?!" The one to speak out aloud was the High priest Warkan, putting up a false bravado as always.
"A Titan, obviously." A cold voice reached their ears, splashing cold water all over.
Marina looked at Euclid, who was observing the giant he called a "Titan" with a faint interest.
"That's right! My apologies for keeping it a secret. You know, orders from higher ups can't be disobeyed." Erik shrugged his shoulders, not at all apologetic. The way his teal eyes gleamed was rather mischievous.
"Is that really a Titan?"
"How'd I know? I've never seen one."
"Neither am I."
"I thought Titans were mythical creatures, extinct for a long time."
"Yeah…I've read a couple of fairytales about them when I was a child."
"Wasn't there a Titan hero in the demon king legends?"
"Ah! There was that too!"
The surroundings became noisy.
"My goodness…"
"No wonder we couldn't see mythical creatures anymore."
"Why?"
"Don't you get it? They hide among us, acting like humans. So how are we supposed to recognize them?"
"True."
"Then the other two kids…"
"Are they Titans too?"
Amidst the increasingly noisy atmosphere, Marina noticed Kyriaki signaling Euclid. The charming boy flashed a breathtaking smile and nodded.
Soon, he released a white mist from his body. Like a ghost ship from pirate horror stories, he disappeared in the thick fog. This unusual phenomenon of transformation caught the eye of all people present, making them shut their mouths with anticipation.
Not long after, every single one of the people, except for the wolf couple, Titan and the young Elf, had their jaws dropped on the floor. Their eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
'Wh-what is that?!' Marina was one of them.
Before her, a creature with a long slender neck and a body covered in fine white scales emerged from the vanishing mist.
It had a set of wings that looked like wings of a swan, pure white with aquamarine blue tips. Sharp and dangerous claws, predatory and authoritative ocean blue slit pupils, a long tail ended with the same kind of feathers. The graceful creature's length was around 6.5 meters and the height was around 3.2 Meters.
They froze before the creature they had never seen before. There was something deeply enigmatic about it that made it so reverent. They could instinctively feel it.
—Bow before the greatest and noblest being in the vast universe!— An arrogant yet a voice full of boyish charm leaked from the creature.
Fascinatingly, it didn't open its mouth. But Marina heard it clearly.
In fact, she wasn't even sure if it was right to say that she 'heard' it. Rather than relying on her ears to hear the voice, it seemed more correct to say that the voice dug directly into her head.
Bam!
"Stop it, you are disgracing our kin."
The creature received a kick to its side. It staggered, swallowing a groan so painful that Marina was momentarily confused as to who had such strength to hurt that kind of strong-looking creature.
Her curiosity was relieved as she saw Kyriaki glaring at it.
"K-Kyriaki?" Oscar mumbled beside her. Marina was too stunned by repeated secrets blowing up left and right to even notice how Oscar had gone stiff.
And yet, her brain failed to recognize what the creature before her was. If not for the voice, she'd have never thought that was the same charming boy she saw a minute ago.
As Marina was caught up in her own strom of thoughts, Kyriaki also released a golden mist from her tiny body.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
And…
"Roar!"
Marina felt shivers running down her spine. The roar she heard was still too childish, nevertheless, it was enough to make her believe she was no match for the being who let out that roar. It was something on the apex of the food chain. Something that has the right to look down on others.
She felt like she was facing a natural born ruler, destined to wear the crown.
It was a heart-shaking, mind-freezing experience.
The creature that emerged from the golden mist was a bit smaller in size compared to Euclid. However, except for the two scales under her eyes, her whole body was covered in dazzling golden scales. Massive bat-like wings, long tail, strong limbs and four tiny horns made up a creature so captivating it felt like something straight out of a fairytale. Above all, those golden slit pupils shimmering with intelligence held untold secrets one could only imagine.
Marina wobbled. She felt her legs going weak, her mind losing any will to go against it. It was all instinctive, born from the depth of her soul. It was as if those feelings were engraved to her very being even before her birth.
She took a deep breath and lifted her head with superhuman strength.
Deep green eyes captured the image of a dazzling golden creature, standing there with majesty and wisdom of something ancient.
Now, this was something she had seen somewhere.
'Ah, right. In the book cover of "The Demon King and Seven Heroes", Leader and the…'
"...First Hero, Golden Dragon." Marina unconsciously mumbled the last part of her thoughts out aloud.
Just like that,
They all recognized the creature they had interacted with all this time.
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