76 An Endless Swarm

"What a mess." I say out loud, looking at the information given to me through appraisal.

"I'm flattered." The old man answers, making some gurgling sounds as he tries to change his decrepit voice to something cheeky.

I summon my blood-bound spear, I originally thought he might have had some resistance towards it. But my appraisal has not given me any information related to physical or slashing resistance.

'A mad undead with a dying vessel. Of course, I would have to face such a lunatic.' I think already firmly annoyed by my opponent's existence.

My thoughts don't last for long, however, as a swarm of demonic-looking bees flies toward me. I use dark magic to swiftly kill the pests. Killing the bees was rather easy… Too easy, I notice quickly, as a sharp pain traverses my body. I look down towards the source of this pain and see a bunch of deformed ants have made their way into my shoes. The pain I feel isn't that of being devoured, but rather closer to that of feeling stabbed.

I summon my dark magic wings, flying up to avoid any more nasty surprises. Before I fly up, I took one of the ants and decided to examine it. The ant looks to be some sort of mutation between many species. The part most concerning would be the stinger it has on its behind.

'Poison.' I think, noting the uneasiness and pain I feel spreading in my body. I start throwing up, using my blood magic to forcibly remove all the contaminated blood. The black-greenish blood that I spew looks vile.

'It's quite potent. If I had no way to remove it, then I would have undoubtedly died.'

The old man hasn't made any other moves yet. Not that I know of, at least, but then again he has been able to slip past my perception.

'I should bind him, otherwise, he's going to continue using his insects as a distraction.' I think whilst commanding the chains that make up my sleeves. The blood magic infused into them, making them command my will.

The old man starts doing this creepy laugh again, seemingly amused with my decision. His old and saggy skin started to tear from his irregular movements. Out of those tears, a large swarm of mutated flies start to fly toward me.

'Another swarm, How many insects are in his body?' I begin to wonder, getting even more disturbed by my opponent.

The swarm swiftly gets in my proximity, making me drop to the floor. They give chase as I can see some mutated ants awaiting my landing. I use shadow walk on my own shadow as soon as I make contact with the ground, the end destination being the shadow of the old man.

Stepping out of his shadow, I use this small opening to command my blood-infused chains to bind him. He tries to dodge, but the chain on my right arm connects with his left. A snapping sound reverberates in the arena as the old man's frail bones in his arms almost shatter.

"Where are you planning to run off to? Weren't you the one so eager for this fight?" I ask in a condescending tone fitting for this abomination.

"You're more intimate than I thought you would be." He tries to reply in a bashful tone, that has completely failed thanks to his irregular panting and his voice sounding like that of dying old vermin in their nest.

Ignoring his disturbing thought process, I rush towards the old man, using my blood-bound spear to piece him right in the chest. I succeed as my chain holds him in place, insects are flying out of the wound at a rapid pace. Not willing to give them any chance, I also spew fire toward the wound. Immediately incinerating all the insects that try to counterattack and in the process hopefully doing a considerable amount of damage.

He screams in absolute agony and pain. His own scream was only being outdone by the sound of thousands of insects, parasites, and the sort dying inside of his very own body. Not being dissuaded in any way by his piercing scream, I continue to carve my way through his body. It feels like cutting my way through an old dried-out cloth if you ignore the blood of insects staining my spear.

Having cut my way from his chest towards the abdomen, the old man reaches out towards me with his still unbound right hand. Unfamiliar magic is on his hand as it visibly rots whilst making its way towards me. I dispel the spear, retreating immediately, not willing to risk being touched by his spell.

Having successfully retreated, I use a fireball to kill the swarms of flies that are still chasing me. Having dispatched those annoyances, my gaze turns towards my opponent. I've managed to cut quite deep into him. His "insides" are visible for the eye to see. Well, he doesn't really have any insides to show, not functioning ones at least. Black blood and insects actively rush out of his wounds, which does cloud my judgment.

The arena is silent, nothing could be heard except the sound of his seeping black blood and the burning carcasses of the small army of insects. The old man himself has even gone completely quiet: no irregular breathing, no panting, no maniacal laughter, no cracking of bones, just silence.

The silence of the inevitable, the silence of death.

'Have you accepted it.' I wonder, recalling the rage and despair I've felt.

The body of the old man goes limp. I make my way over, preparing for the final strike. I pierce the skull of the old man who's lost consciousness.

"I envy you." I call out towards the corpse.

"For what?" The familiar dying voice asks.

My eyes widen, looking down at what should have been a corpse. Thousands or millions of insects fly out of the old man, engulfing the entire arena.