"Pattern Four!"
High above, suspended on a spiraling pillar of solidified ash, the shadowy figure with gleaming white eyes raised his hands outwards, shouting into the depths of the fog.
The ramparts of ash suddenly shifted, twisting its labyrinthian shape. One wall to his left swiveled, crashing into the one ahead of him. The same happened on his right side. And soon, he was trapped in a box-like shape, with only the abyssal sky shrouded in fog overhead.
Artemis grimaced, glancing left and right at the pools of shadow around him.
Every time that shadowy figure speaks, something changes in this labyrinth! Is he the one with control over it!?
He's actively trying to cordon me off along with the shadow assassin!
Are we... being hunted!?
He looked over in the direction where he had last seen Cia. It seemed that all of the approaching monsters had been trapped in the main corridor of the labyrinth with him. Of course, that didn't include any of the ones that they had not yet seen descend, but it gave him a bit of time to find her before she was in any true danger.
The problem was... could he defeat the shadow assassin in time before she found herself in trouble...? After all, it was no longer just a face-to-face confrontation. After inviting Artemis to duel, the assassin had gone back to using his most successful method of attack. Artemis didn't think hiding in the shadows to be cowardly, why wouldn't a duelist use their best manner of fighting in pursuit of victory?
Wasn't he too using more than his base skill? Bolstered by the traits of a Daemon, this was merely fair play.
But it was quite troublesome. It would waste time, and he didn't have much of that. Cia was with him now, and a Captain of the Guard did not shirk the safety of the people under him.
He had to kill this duelist of shadows quickly.
Thankfully for him, seeming to understand that he didn't have the luxury of time, the shadow assassin soon dove from the depths of darkness, lunging at him as it wielded an illusory iron blade.
Able to wield his sword now that the crimson serpents were attending to his neck wound, Artemis batted at the strike and pivoted, sending his foot harshly into the attacker's ribs. The shadow assassin flew to the side, crashing into the ash underfoot.
It was then that Artemis was finally able to get a good look at the mystery duelist close-up.
It was a lanky figure, somewhat human-like, but also nothing similar. Its arms fell down to its knees, and its thin legs were thin and withered. There should have been no way it could stand up straight, much less leap towards him like a terrifying beast.
The iron dagger it wielded was nothing like a typical blade, straight and narrow. The part of the blade closest to the hilt was thick and weathered, its length curved and splitting off into two distinct sections of blade. One ran off into the point and the true heft of the blade, while the other portion jutted outwards in a spiral-like manner.
I was lucky to have been cut by the length... if that curved portion had struck me, maybe it would have taken my head off...
The gleam of ruby eyes stared at him from underneath a tattered black hood, mottled and withered grey flesh flashing two rows of misshapen teeth.
He stepped forth in one swift dash.
Artemis struck the heft of the Duelist Shadow, causing it to explode in a storm of midnight-black particles. Before it could try and recover itself, he pivoted, swung his blade around, and chopped its arm clean off. Black blood shot out in a frenzy from the wound, the duelist letting out a shrill, ghoulish cry as it stumbled backwards.
He stepped backwards, his eyes widening.
How is it already over? It took me expending nearly my life to kill the Daemonic Spirit... are the trained killers of the fog not as dangerous as Daemons?
Of course, despite how they could land an injury on him, and how they would dart in and out of the shadows, the assassin did not move as fast as the Daemon did, and his hits did not rattle his skull.
It might have been an obvious assumption to understand that a Daemon was stronger than an ordinary humanoid monster, but this was Artemis's first time tangling with the instrumentations of the inhuman world...
Who would have known that the unknown could be so exhausting?
His mouth didn't mimick his thoughts. He spat out confidence.
"It was a decent fight."
He stabbed his blade into the duelist's chest, kicking at its abdomen and sending it sprawling in the ash.
Staring back up at the shadowy figure standing high above them, its white-eyed gleam piercing the haze, he grinned madly.
Then, he shouted with everything remaining in his chest.
"Is that just the start of things!?"
Artemis raised his sword.
I can't wait to see what's next!
A shrill, strangled groan echoed from behind him. He looked at the body of the duelist out of the corner of his eye.
Sh-t, he's still alive?
As he moved to bury his blade in his opponent's chest, he suddenly stopped. He recalled something he had read when observing the abilities granted to him by Lark.
Isn't this a good opportunity to feed the crimson serpent?
The ability that had described it had said that the size of the serpent would be equivalent to how many living creatures they had consumed. And well, the shadow assassin was still living...
Of course, it had said that he could transform himself into the serpent, but no matter how war-addled and flamboyant he was, he had some qualms about feeling the might of a gigantic beast, like he might lose himself in the depths of its control. What did he know of having a tail, a lumbering form? Would he even be able to twitch a muscle, much less control himself adequately?
Thankfully, it had mentioned the option to simply summon it before him, as all Spirit Contracters could do...
But how was he supposed to do that?
Recalling how it felt to use the other abilities left to him by the Daemon, Artemis simply willed the serpent to arise, as if he were twitching his fingers or taking a deep breath, a simple, instinctual command.
He felt their heart slowly rise up from his neck, settling at the front of his head. They twisted in his empty socket, but instead of forming an iris, they continued forward, spilling out of his head onto the ground.
They immediately burgeoned, growing several times their size. These several lace-like serpents twisted and coiled into one cohesive being, about the width of his arm and the length of his body. This was the [Serpent Prince] ability given to him by Lark. Bolstered by having eaten one living creature, its size was much larger than expected of a typical snake.
Of course, he wondered when it could have consumed a living creature, seeing as how he had only received the crimson serpent an hour ago...
It had menacing fangs as large as daggers, and piercing eyes as deep and black as night. Its stalwart scales were a blood-red hue, and reflected the minimal light that pierced through the veil of grey fog.
It glanced towards Artemis, slowly slithering towards him. He instinctively took a step back, but the serpent was far too quick to be avoided. It towered over him, and as it was about to reach him... it suddenly bowed its head slightly.
His eyebrows flew up, and then the corners of his lips followed suit.
He patted it on the head several times. It shut its eyes as he did so, letting out a soft and gentle whirring noise, almost as if it was purring, leaning into his touch.
I wonder if it has the sense of smell of a normal serpent...? Can it locate a way to Cia for me?
How should I ask it? Will it understand me?
"Ah, do you..." he paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow.
How should I refer to it?
"Do you... have a name?"
The serpent blinked both of its eyes slowly, individually, and for a moment, Artemis felt it couldn't understand him. But then, just as he was about to try a different approach, the snake slithered backwards.
It spun around like a dancer's lace, dragging the sharpened tip of its tail in the ash behind it. Slowly and surely, the lines drawn in the pearline powder took shape into a larger symbol, prompting Artemis to think himself a fool as the serpent tapped the symbol with its tail.
It was the shape of an eye that the serpent had drawn. It was talking about [Eyes of Discernment]. This was how he should have learnt the name of the serpent.
He let out a curt laugh.
"Of course, why am I failing to think of all the things I have under my own sleeve, putting it on you to tell me something I should have known from the start?"
But then, his head tilted curiously.
"Although, I suppose I naturally raised the question as to whether or not I could activate [Eyes of Discernment] without you acting as my second eye. Is this actually possible?"
Of course, the serpent was no longer in his body. Every time he had used [Eyes of Discernment], it had risen up his neck and settled in his eye socket, forming into an illusory iris. What would it become if he tried to use it in his current state, [Eye of Discernment]?
However, to his surprise, when he willed the ability to activate, it worked completely normal.
The essence arising from the crimson core in his chest, while not circulating by the contorted serpent, still arose and surged up his neck, eventually settling in his eye. His eyelids opening with a flutter, he could suddenly see through a faint haze of red. His lips curled up, looking back at the serpent.
"So it wasn't the case that Lark's essence was wholly dependent on you to be circulated, simply that it was faster if you carried it along with you?"
The serpent stared at him for a moment, before slowly mimicking the act of nodding its head... or rather, its snout. Its forked tongue quickly flitted in and out.
At the same time, crimson runes had risen above the form of the gigantic serpent, the discernment of its very being. He had been worried that [Eyes of Discernment] wouldn't be able to describe something that had derived itself from one of the Daemon's abilities, since it hadn't even been able to peer into Cia's history, but it seemed to work out fine enough.
"[Name: Leon of the Godwater]
[Status: Living(*)]
[Lineage: N/A]
[Aspect: Witch (Stage 2: Wyrmsoul)]
[Spirit Contract: Lark, Serpent Prince]
===
[General Description:]
She was the greatest prospect of the wretched dwellers of the Godwater. If it were the case that she was allowed to arise, Leon would have been able to lead her people from the poisonous murk and grant them prosperity, cultivating hope for their children and their descendants.
But the Daemon Prince, eldest son of the Blossom Daemon had other plans for Leon. Subjugated by this terrible figure, Leon entered a lifelong contract to serve the Will of the Prince.
Unable to use her abilities, Leon became a pawn of this proclaimed Prince of Serpents. She knew that the world was cruel, and imagined that power would allow her and her people solace.
But this virtue of strength was only true for the strongest.
Still, she was beguiled by the fact that she had been defeated by the Daemon Prince. She had only been one step away from becoming a true Deity.
Was there really an existence more cunning than a Serpent?
===
As he finished reading the lines, it felt like all of the air had been sucked from his lungs. Breathing was too tall a task for someone stunned. Artemis glared at the crimson serpent out of the corner of his eye.
One step away... from becoming a Deity...?