Virus: Origin of Blood

Isaac's descent didn't stop, didn't slow down. With each second, the blue-skinned Zerians below grew larger in his sight, feeding him more details about the group. Not that any of it mattered.

They still hadn't seen him… still hadn't bothered to look up at the massive bird and the twelve spears falling toward them like meteors.

It would be the last mistake they ever made.

Go, Isaac ordered, and the Crimson Deaths left his side, moving even faster than he could fall. A heartbeat later, the air behind him flared red again, reshaping into dozens upon dozens of thin blood-spikes.

This quick manipulation of his Origin cost him over a third of his Viron, but it was worth it. The constructs would do well as his second salvo. And if any Zerians survived both the Crimson Deaths and the spikes?

Well… there was a reason why he didn't stay high in the sky.

Halfway into his dive, the first screams reached his ears, breaking the silence of the night. His Crimson Deaths had found their mark.

Isaac watched in grim satisfaction as blood erupted all across the camp. The pained yells of an unknown language did nothing to calm or organize the group. Death had done its job.

[Zerian x11 slain.]

Twelve spears, eleven dead. The results could have been better, but it still felt strange how, in a matter of seconds, he had just eliminated so many Hosts. They never even realized what had hit them before their eyes closed forever.

It's us or them, Isaac repeated in his head and allowed his blood spikes to drop. Time to thin the numbers even further.

And thin them he did.

The blood constructs hit just as Isaac was also nearing the ground. They tore into the few survivors injured in the initial salvo, while slamming into the few shields the others had managed to put up.

Ice, wood, and stone.

Three elements. Three surviving Zerians. That was all that remained of the party of twenty.

Cursed Draw.

The barrier of stone shattered into bits, revealing a small Zerian hiding behind it. Its eyes widened, its sword raised as two pillars of stone burst out of the ground.

Too late.

Still shrouded in the aura of Cursed Draw, Isaac crashed right into the alien. The momentum from his dive and the power of his skill ripped its body in two. The stone pillars crumbled.

Two left.

Now back on the ground, Isaac transformed, the Root already in his hand as it met and shattered an incoming spear of ice.

But it was far from over.

The ground beneath him erupted, and dozens of gnarled roots lunged for his feet. Isaac jumped and swung the Root in a wide arc. The following wave of blood all but disintegrated the incoming attack.

He landed, his eyes locking on the two remaining Zerians.

One was tall and muscular, a warhammer shrouded in a layer of ice in his hands. The other alien, with an obviously female but no less bulky build, carried a spear almost twice as long as her body. Neither looked the slightest bit afraid. Their green eyes burned only with hate and fury.

Isaac arched an eyebrow, trying to force them to make the first move.

They did, just not in the way he expected.

The two Zerians nodded at each other, and without hesitation, the female turned, her body transforming into a creature that somewhat resembled an owl. The weird thing? It was made entirely out of wood. And yet it moved, tried to take flight.

I don't think so, pal, Isaac thought and dashed forward. Two smaller Crimson Deaths shot ahead of him.

A thick wall of ice erupted between them and the bird. A roar followed, coming from the male Zerian, who transformed into some deformed bear-like creature with pure-white fur. It obviously wasn't letting its friend die without a fight.

Fine, you will get your wish.

Even as the temperature around Isaac plummeted, he didn't stop moving. Even as spikes of ice erupted across the bear's body, he kept pouring Viron and blood into the Root.

And when the alien opened his jaws, a condensed glowing blizzard forming between his teeth, Isaac swung his blade. Once, then twice.

Stolen story; please report.

The skill—maybe even an ultimate—tried to leave the bear's mouth, but as had already been proven multiple times during this short, one-sided battle, the Zerians were too slow. Too weak compared to Isaac.

Which was why the twin arcs of blood cleaved through the alien without any resistance. The temperature returned to normal, while another notification came alive in the back of Isaac's head.

He didn't let it distract him. Not yet.

With a thought, he transformed and shot toward the distant shape flying through the sky. There would be no survivors. No one left to spread the word about his abilities and Legacy. Not so soon, at least.

In a matter of seconds, Isaac was right above the owl. He could have shot her down with a well-aimed Crimson Death, but there was no point in wasting more Viron.

He descended and grabbed her much smaller wings with his talons. The wooden creature squeaked in pain.

"Sorry," he muttered before plunging his sharp beak into the back of the owl's neck.

She didn't move again.

He didn't drop her, though. Instead, he just turned around and flew back to the massacred camp. There, he landed and returned to his human form, his eyes already on the corpses strewn around him.

He let out a sigh.

Too easy. Way too easy, Isaac thought, grimacing.

Sure, if not for the nighttime ambush and his ability to rain death from above, the fight could have been much harder. If they had managed to get a few Ultimates going, maybe they would have even killed him. But that didn't happen.

He had slaughtered them all in what? A minute? Less?

It really put into perspective just how much damage a single invader could cause, thanks to the element of surprise. The location reveal just wasn't enough yet. It was too rare and didn't really tell the defenders what they should look out for. It only made them a bit more careful.

Which, obviously, was far from enough.

Hopefully no one got to Earth yet. Wishful thinking, really. He probably wasn't even the first to use a Warp Portal.

Back to work then.

First came the notifications, or rather a notification.

You have leveled up. You are now level 25. Distribution of Ascension Power has advanced the tier or grade of the following attributes: Agility (Developed V->Refined I), Regeneration (I->II). No further changes detected.

And that was it. Not that Isaac minded. Getting another level this fast was quite mind-boggling alone. Skill upgrades could wait for later.

Okay… Now what do I do with you all? He wondered, his gaze back on the corpses. I could just leave, but…

He shook his head. Even if most of the Zerians were now in pieces thanks to his initial assault, they could still have some loot on them. At the very least, he should take a look.

This is gonna be fun…

By the end of his quick looting session, Isaac had found little worth taking. There were some Virality Gems, a Blueprint Shard, and even a low-grade artifact related to sound. Beyond that, there were only weapons and shredded clothing scattered among the dead.

He took none of the latter. They simply weren't worth the storage space.

Still, Isaac was glad he hadn't left right away. If he had, he would have missed this—an opportunity he had forgotten about after his Pioneer Trial.

You have defeated a foreign Host. All requirements necessary for Virus absorption have been met. Proceed?

This message arrived only when he had touched the corpse of the cleaved white bear. With every other Zerian, the Interface remained silent. And that could only mean one thing.

Somehow, this alien was at the same Virus stage as Isaac. Quite surprising, considering just how fast it had died.

Then again, I'm at Phase 3 already, he thought, before allowing the Interface to proceed.

Bright light washed over the two halves of the corpse, slowly spreading until not a single inch remained visible. Then, just like Isaac remembered, the glowing body shattered into countless particles of light that soon flew into his chest.

A quiet gasp left his mouth at this sudden influx of power. It was stronger than any of the Virality Gems he had ever consumed.

Absorption successful.

There was no notification about his Virus advancing. Instead, he got something even better.

Your Virus is now capable of forcing your Legacy to advance to its next growth stage. Do you wish to proceed?

Maybe here, Isaac should have refused, or at least delayed the process a bit. However, from what he remembered, stage advancement was quite quick, and he still had over twenty minutes before the next location reveal.

All right, do it. Fast.

The Interface obeyed.

His body shifted in a blink, and the pain he had forgotten about slammed into him with full force. Bones broke. Flesh reformed. Immortal Mana once again flooded his body, altering it ever so slightly.

And then, just like that, the process was done.

Isaac let out a breath of relief and climbed back to his feet.

Not bad…

As with every growth stage, his improved form felt stronger, the passive flow of Immortal Mana now impossible to miss. His Viron still took most of the space, but the ratio had definitely changed a bit. As did his size, for that matter.

Unfortunately, he had no James to compare this time with. Still, he had grown by maybe a head? Two? Something like that. And switching back to his human body confirmed that. There was almost no height difference between those two forms now.

And to think I was just a little bird not that long ago. Isaac chuckled, summoning the next notification.

Congratulations! Your Legacy has advanced to its next growth stage (Adult). Your ultimate, Crimson Flock, has achieved a breakthrough and advanced into Crimson Fury.

[Ultimate: Crimson Fury]
An updated version of an inferior ability. You may now summon copies of your form that share more of your power. They are more durable and may even regenerate unless completely destroyed. They can also now manipulate blood to a lesser degree.

Isaac blinked. Now that was an unexpected bonus. He hadn't even known that Ultimates could be upgraded. A much welcome surprise.

He didn't dare to test it out now, though. He had lingered in this camp for too long. Time to get the hell out of here before the next location reveal happened. No reason to show everyone that he had already killed some of their people.

Get out. Wait for the ping. Then find another group before the night ends.

That was the plan. Short and simple.