Uncharted Waters (Edited)

Disguised as Irene, Carla continued walking behind Hannes and the group, successfully maintaining her act. Seeing that she wasn't messing up, Kaito decided to let her be and returned to the house. As he entered his room, he couldn't help but chuckle at the unusual decor. The walls were covered with half-naked pictures of anime girls, a quirky hobby he had indulged in during his free time. He wasn't about to share this with Carla, but these illustrations were the surprising source of his wealth.

It was a bizarre thought: hentai art remained in great demand, whether it was the modern-day Earth or this medieval-age apocalyptic world. Kaito couldn't help but find the humor in the fact that his peculiar talent had turned out to be so lucrative

Kaito quickly cleared the walls of the drawings, securing them underneath his bed to ensure Carla wouldn't stumble upon them. While most of his artwork was relatively normal, there were certainly a few pieces that ventured into more questionable territory. With those out of sight, he turned his attention to a large painting hanging in the room. With a push, he revealed a secret passage that had been hidden behind it.

Kaito had often found himself in deep contemplation, well, as deep as a guy like him can get. He'd spend his free time pondering the nature of his abilities, like a philosopher with a side of vampire. See, his quest for that royal blood from Diana wasn't just about having a cool new hair color. Nope, it was all about discovering the secret power hidden within that special blood.

You see, that royal blood was more than just a key to unlocking the Founding Titan – it had a hidden talent. It could do some remarkable genetic juggling, keeping his body in tip-top shape. Right now, he was a human-vampire mix, kind of like those dhampirs from legends. All the vampire strength but none of their pesky weaknesses, like garlic aversion or a fear of sunlight.

But there was a catch. His vampiric side hadn't fully merged with his human half yet. So when he overdid it on the super strength front, his human bits started throwing a fit and decided to throw in the towel, quite literally. It was like a bad case of cell mutiny. So, using too much vampire mojo ended up in some unfortunate rotting body parts.

Today was a different story, though. Today, he had a vial of that fancy royal blood in hand, ready to give his body a little pep talk. He aimed to make his human side more vamp-friendly, so he wouldn't have to worry about losing limbs every time he flexed those super vampire muscles.

Kaito continued on his path until he reached a hidden chamber, a place shrouded in secrecy that few knew about. The room was dimly lit, with streaks of sunlight piercing through openings in the roof. What was most striking about the chamber was its floor, which was covered in ancient circles etched with mysterious runes, as if drawn with dried blood.

With deliberate steps, Kaito moved toward the center of the eerie pattern that dominated the chamber's floor. He inhaled deeply, the weight of his purpose pressing upon him. Slowly, he knelt down, taking great care not to disturb the ancient symbols. With unwavering determination, he squeezed his fingers tightly, willing his own blood to seep from both hands and fall onto the pattern below. As his life's essence dripped onto the floor, the entire pattern responded, casting an eerie red glow that seemed to absorb his very existence.

You might wonder how Kaito knew how to create a blood magic circle. Well, he wasn't just messing around for the past two years. This endeavor had consumed an enormous amount of resources, time, and effort. And let's not even get into how he acquired the knowledge of blood magic – it was like a vampire thing, an instinctual understanding. Still, it took plenty of trial and error to make sure his little circle didn't turn into some eldritch summoning portal. One eldritch entity was more than enough for him to handle.

Blood tendrils erupted from the ground, curling around Kaito's arms and solidifying to hold his hands in place. The ancient runes etched in the pattern appeared to come alive, moving in a mysterious and age-old rhythm.

Kaito's eyes closed, but when they reopened, they revealed a startling transformation. Instead of the familiar sight of crimson irises, his entire eyes had turned into a blood-red sea.

With the arcane ritual in full swing, Kaito chanted a series of incomprehensible incantations. His voice quivered with the intensity of the spell.

"L̷̡̺̬͕̥͉̻͎͛̅̇̄̓ͅe̴̲̜̬̞͇̬͒̌̅̏̽̎ë̷͚̬͙͇̟́͊́͗͒́̅͐j̷̛̖̐͆̽͌͗͆͠͠ ̵̨̩͇͔̀̈͐̉̈́a̶̡͓̩͉̱̤̟̤̓́̐̀̃̊͝ų̴͍̼̮̬͆͛̇̇̀̓̋̈́͜n̷̮͖̺̜̫͍͉̺̳̊̋͠͝s̶̮̣̘̫̺̟̠͓̘͈̉̄̄̀̀̐͆̂͠ǒ̵̞̮̪̻̘̮̄̎ ̷̤̺̞͈̏̍̑̎͋͋̒̊q̷̧̖̹͈̥̯̿̒̈̀̕õ̴̻͑̃͛̍̈́͗͆q̵̤̥̹͔̯̞͍̣̄͑̃̿̌̊̏̾̃͘l̵̛̜͈͇͓͍̥̝͖̃̀̏̉͂̇̊̅̒".

As he continued the chant, he could feel his own body undergoing a terrifying transformation. His skin melted in various places, blood oozed from his eyes, nose, and mouth, and even his hair fell away, leaving him with a bald, bloody head. An excruciating amount of pain coursed through his being, and the air was filled with his agonized screams.

The ancient runes's glow intensifying as they wriggled and contorted, struggling to contain the overwhelming energy threatening to break the spell itself.

"A̵̷̧̨̪̻̻̩̩͖̼̜̰͈̩̥̝͙̅͊̀ͧ̑͆ͥ̇̀̍ͧ͛ͤͨ͊ͬ̆̈́ͭ͘͟ͅͅt̝̤͖̥̣͌ͅ l̴̡̥͉̩͓̯͎͔̭͙̥̪ͤ͊͋͑ͭ́̾͂ͬ̓ͭ̚̚͜͞s̖͚̠̲͙̰̱̳̦͇̙͗̿̋̀̊́ͫ͆ͩ͒̚͢͢͞͝͠ͅt̴̶̯̩̻̠̣ͯ̅̏̇ͤͥͦ̎̎̀͢͟ͅ_͎̦̓_̛̜̻̻̞͈ͪ̀ͬ̾͛̈́̍͡r̹̰͙̃̍ͯ̕͝_̸̷̪̣̜̪̳̏͒ͪͪ̇̾͑͜͞ę̸̶̛̞͓̟̝̼̘̠͇̭͔͈̖̦̲̰̹͓͋̀͗͒̽̿̾́̌́͜͜͝͡""

Time itself seemed to stretch, and it appeared that Kaito was teetering on the edge of death's abyss.

Just when it seemed his life was on the brink of being snuffed out, something unexpected happened. The blood magic circle he had spent years crafting began to disintegrate into shards, and the crystalline restraints that held his hands shattered. Kaito's body was flung backward, crashing into the chamber wall.

Kneeling on the ground, he spat out more blood, and the crimson sea in his eyes gradually receded into his pupils. A twisted smile played on his lips. While not a complete integration, the hybridization had certainly increased significantly.

With his hybridization process significantly improved, Kaito felt like he had just upgraded his character in some bizarre video game. It was as if he unlocked a new skill tree, and the "Vampire-Human Hybridization" skill was now buffed to a higher level.

He was no longer that rookie with a fear of overusing his vampire side. Nope, now he was a more confident, maybe a bit cocky, hybrid vampire-human.

He might not be ready to challenge Titans to a wrestling match just yet, but hey, he could definitely lift a few more boulders in the gym.

And the best part? He had a whole new understanding of his body. It was like reading the instruction manual to himself. By training without relying on his vampiric attributes, he could level up his human side. It was the equivalent of doing push-ups for his humanity stat. The result? An increased upper limit of his true strength. If Kaito could high-five himself, he would totally do it right now.

As his battered body lay sprawled on the chamber floor, its strength depleted, the vampiric regeneration he possessed slowly began its work. The miraculous ability worked to mend his wounds, but at a pace that tested his patience.

"Feels like i just had a wanking marathon..."