Crushed fantasy

SWOOSH

BAM

'Damn, I tried landing softly but ended up making even more noise.'

Aster stood still on the crater he had made, just a couple of meters away from the crust of the dreaded devourer flesh.

[[Full body mana coffin] has been activated]

A blue hue swallowed him whole as warmth spread throughout his entire body. He felt like his skin was doing the breathing for him which was a funny feeling.

'This should help my gut keep inside. I wonder if it will grow back if I just cut it?

[Hp: 1,447/6,100]

My hp is low but it's not as bad as I thought. Vitality is a useful attribute no doubt.

I wonder how many can get gutted alive and still live?'

He chuckled a bit, remembering a certain novel he had read before.

'Well that's then and now is now. Gotta do something about this wound. There is no sign that my hp is growing back up.'

'If I remember correctly then I could expend some energy to boost my hp regen right? The skill was vague with its description so this is a good time to experiment.'

***

A few dozen minutes later.

'Alright, I think I've got it.'

'For minor injuries such as scratches, 1-4 points of energy is expended for a single hp point.'

'For more severe injuries, it takes anywhere between 5 to 10 points of energy for a single hp.'

'This method of healing isn't good unless I have a reliable way to recover energy. The only method I have now is to eat and rest.'

'Speaking of eating, I'm starving. Is there any fast food restaurant near me?

Probably not… But I do have fresh fish though!'

He jumped forwards and leaped into the water which in hindsight, was one of the worst mistakes he could have made.

But he still had his common sense, he didn't venture far. He always remained within the close proximity of the shore so if trouble arises, he can just leap the fuck out of there.

However, strangely enough, there was no fish.

'Huh that's weird.'

'Maybe they go into hiding cuz the bigger fishes are more active at night?'

'That should be it… Time for me to get out.'

He crawled back onto the shore and stared at the empty sky.

'No fish… That is certainly a problem.

I guess I should use my reserves then.'

He groggily got up, walked a bit further inland until he went outside of the rocky shore and into the crust.

His guts were semi attached now that he spent majority of his energy on [Regeneration]

With one lazy kick, he cracked a bit of ground under his feet like an eggshell.

He bent over and carefully lifted a piece up. He definitely did not want to touch the goods below.

SCHLIP

"Damn. Look at this juicy meat. It's practically begging to be fried!"

With great hassle, he managed to extract a considerable chunk of meat.

He cut up very thin slices with wind magic and then put it in a wind sphere to keep it afloat and away from the main body to hold it.

He even made multiple wind spheres so that the flesh won't have considerable mass to cause trouble.

'I wish I had an extraction ability or some shit. An undead body is fine too, I'm not particularly thrilled at the prospect of eating mystery meat.'

Aster flinched and skimmed through some of his memories.

'Although, mystery meat won't be the worst thing I have the memory of eating.'

After he was done with his harvest, he burned the flesh again.

He moved to his spot overseeing the sea.

FOOSH

Fireballs materialized in thin air and stayed stationary. The heat it gave off did a good job cooking it.

'Now the difficult part comes. Exactly how much am I supposed to cook it before it's edible?'

Too little and it would regenerate back to raw meat. And if it's inside me then it would consume me from within.

Too much and it would be the same as munching on charcoal.

'What a drag. I want to sleep already.'

With nothing else to do, his gaze turned to the endless darkness that was the sky and the sea. 

The inky black sky blended together with the dark sea, creating a scenery of a lonely island drifting in an isolated void.

There was no sound except his breath and heartbeat, no light except the fireballs and his luminous iris. 

He could venture on the island to find the mother and daughter pair, to ease the loneliness but he couldn't bring himself to.

Something told him he shouldn't.

With a deep sigh, he laid down on his back and waited for his dinner.

***

"Is that bastard seriously planning to eat a piece of the crimson guardian? Is he stupid?"

"Has he not seen what it was capable of? How it sucks and absorb the essence out of virtually everything?"

"Hah, humans are dumber than I thought. As I expected, he should become a Vampire!"

A lone shadow stood where the pride demon Carl once stood. A blue screen was in front of him, depicting a young male with a hideous scar covering his entire face.

'I should take it slow. Let him get even more tired. I'm not a demon full of vain pride, I'm a mighty Vampire! I specialize in hunting and he is my prey. If I should stand here for days then so be it!'

'Oh but the temptation! It is too much! How will my queen reward me if I get her majesty this golden goose? I will be showered with riches and the blood of my liking!

And… and…'

Nicolas' face went red as blood rushed to his face. For vampires who have the utmost control of their blood, such things are proof of one's lack of talent and inadeptness. 

However, an exception is made when thinking about their beloved queen. Her beauty is unmatched with only the angel of love and the demoness of lust reaching similar heights.

Of course, Nicolas' bias as a Vampire, a vampire queen simp to be exact, played an important role in his opinion of beauty.

It is common knowledge amongst higher beings that the vampire queen, angel of love and the lust demon are deemed equal in terms of looks and breedability.

It was also common knowledge that the Vampire Queen does not shy away from rewarding her subjects and those who are willing to donate a couple hundred liters of high quality blood.

Aster's existence had enough value to be compared to a 100 liters of blood from a rare prodigy that appears once in every dozen millenia.

Nicolas drooled as he imagined the things he would request of his dear queen.

Suddenly, he sensed a mental link attaching to his astral body. He cast his dirty thoughts away.

'This humble servant greets the Queen.'

'Hmm, Nicolas. This is urgent news. I was forbidden from communicating with you due to the council so forgive me for late instructions.'

'There is nothing to be forgiven, my lady. This humble servant will fight the council for you.'

'Hmmph.' A tone of approval was heard from her voice which made Nicolas' heart flutter.

'Very well then. I hope this news is nothing of shock to you.'

'The news that I wanted to convey to you is that Lord Beelzebub is heading to your way, to retrieve the ship.'

'!!!'

Waves of extreme fear disrupted his mind. He wanted to believe that it was someone else named 'Lord Beelzebub' and not him.

'Ah..-aahh.. By lord Beelze- Does my- my lady mean the lor-, lord of Gluttony?' Nicolas replied with fear evident in his voice.

'Yes, him. I hope his arrival won't be an issue for the retrieval of the package you have told me. Now well then, I've got a fresh supply of dragon blood this morning so I will be busy for the next few days. 

So I will be cutting off this astral connection now. Succeed in your mission and you will be… rewarded. You have an hour at best if he's distracted and a dozen minutes if he's being serious.'

Nicolas stood there looking like a corpse for a solid minute.

There was no hope in his heart, no thoughts about rewards, only a reliable way he could commit suicide without making his race known so he wouldn't disgrace her majesty's name.

He snapped from his daze.

'Looks like I have to move now.'