3 Chapter III - Eide’s Demise
Captain Eide rolled to the side as the new Ultio stabbed his spear into the ground.
"This man is at least S-Rank. How did someone like this get here?" Eide muttered to himself as he scooped some snow into his off-hand.
He rolled forward and tried to stab Ultio through the thigh. However, the mysterious man smacked his blade away without difficult.
Just as his attack got redirected, Eide threw the snow in his hand at Ultio's face. Instinctively, Ultio shut his eyes to protect them, but this gave Eide an opportunity.
The Captain lunged forward with the form of a professional fencer and thrust his blade right at Ultio's throat, intending to kill the young man there and then. But just as his blade was an inch away from Ultio, a black and blue blur suddenly shot past him and he felt pain blooming from his side.
He stepped back and touched his left ribcage, only to find blood seeping through his fingers.
By the time he looked up, Ultio was already standing over him with his spear aimed at Eide's throat.
"Now, can I ask you some questions, Captain... Eide, I presume?"
Eide sighed helplessly and let out a self-depreciating chuckle. He had noticed that his maidens had dragged Sevon into a carriage and they had already departed from this encampment, so he didn't worry anymore.
"My apologies, I was just thinking about my companions," Eide apologized, seeing Ultio's blank expression after he laughed. "You can ask away and I will answer to the best of my ability, however I will not betray my Empire,"
Ultio nodded. He didn't really care about this 'Free Empire' he had learnt about from the previous Ultio's memories.
And so, Ultio asked about the terrain and also seized Captain Eide's map of the continent from inside his tent, through Hermes' swift help.
"Thank you for your time. I shall try my best not to end innocent lives in this- no, your Free Empire," Ultio said, out of respect and admiration for Captain Eide's loyalty to his kingdom.
"I understand," Eide said with a satisfied smile. He truly didn't mind dying. After all, his death would open a seal in Sevon's mind, giving him access to all of Eide's skills and abilities. This was his way of passing his position onto Sevon.
With both men staring into each others' eyes, Ultio suddenly felt something activate around his optic nerves. His eyes transformed from a breathtaking light blue, into a sophisticated crimson, with tiny black runes forming different symbols in his eyes. The first one, his left eye, was the Omega* symbol and the second one, his right eye, was the Alpha* symbol.
[A/N: Omega sign is Ω and the alpha sign is not available on my keyboard, unfortunately. Please search the internet to find the Alpha symbol if you really want to see it.]
Due to their eye contact, Captain Eide immediately saw Ultio's eyes morph. Even as the mysterious effect of the eyes reaped his life and the light in his eyes dimmed, Eide still managed to mutter one word.
"B... Balor's... Eyes,"
Ultio nodded and let out a sigh of relief after hearing Eide's last word. "As I guessed, he knew something about these eyes. Since he does, that has confirmed that there would be information about me and where I'm from in the Free Empire,"
He then turned to Hermes, who was kneeling respectfully, like a knight before his king. "Well... I guess it's time for us to move to the Free Empire, Hermes," He said and spun his spear in his hands for dramatic effect. However, it soon crumbled like virtually everything else that Ultio had touched since he woke up.
"Even Ryeen Steel can't last very long under my touch. And I'm clearly not using this ability at full power. I guess I'll just call it 'Grimm Hand' because all I touch suffer a grim fate," Ultio said as he clenched and unclenched his hands. "I have to train this ability so I don't accidentally destroy something I want to protect,"
Once again, Ultio turned to Hermes and stretched out his hand towards him. "Well... I guess it's time for me to let you level up,"
Name: Hermes
Level: 10
Rank: Shadow Soldier (Evolution Available)
Class: Messenger of Death
Title: Death Runner
Title Bonus: +10 to speed. 20% increase in damage while running. 50% critical chance while running.
Strength: 19
Speed: 37
Charisma: 16
Luck: 12
Sprint (S)
Dash (A)
Weapon Throw (B)
Air Walk (E)
Ultio noticed immediately, the explosive increase in Hermes' stats. However he wasn't surprised.
Shadows could experience an increase in stats based on their actions, but the experience they gained was really little, so their level would obviously be behind.
Surprisingly, Hermes had even managed to get a class and a title. It was most likely due to the fact that Hermes had killed an entire army's encampment while running, but Ultio felt he could have gotten a better class and title.
"Ah, so you have reached Level 10? Well I guess it's time, Hermes... It's time for your Evolution," Ultio said as a purple glow shone from his palm, bathing Hermes in a purple light.
When the process was over, Hermes had gotten a visible makeover. His armour covered less of his body, revealing his blue energy-based skin, and he now had a shortsword holstered on his back.
Ultio was satisfied with Hermes' upgrade. Especially since now, he didn't have to find a weapon for the shadow every time a battle was about to begin.
"Some of your skills have improved and you've even lost a skill– most likely due to how you vanquished your foes. Your new skill set seems good enough, so I would like you to improve on your current skills and try not to change them," Ultio said to Hermes while checking the shadow's new information.
Name: Hermes
Level: 10
Rank: Shadow Commander
Class: Messenger of Death
Title: Death Runner
Title Bonus: +10 to speed. 20% increase in damage while running. 50% critical chance while running.
Strength: 19
Speed: 37
Charisma: 16
Luck: 12
Sprint (S)
Dash (A)
Weapon Throw (B)
Air Walk (E)
"Hm... As a commander, you will most likely be able to lead a bunch of other shadows..." Ultio trailed off as he glanced at Eide's corpse. However he shook his head and looked away. Eide's death had been noble enough, and he didn't want to ruin the man's afterlife.
So he turned to the guard that he had split in half and stretched his hand towards him. "Rise, my minion,"
Along with his command, a shadow gathered from both halves of the man's body and formed a basic shadow soldier outfitted in basic shadow armour. Its face was even hidden by a helmet, indicating how weak and basic it was.
"Well you'll just have to do," Ultio sighed and beckoned for the shadow to come over.
The clumsy movements of the shadow were another indication of its weakness. Fortunately, it held a long shadow spear in its hand. But even still, its weapon just seemed like hastily gathered shadows– a far cry from Hermes' detailed shortsword.
Hermes watched as the shadow jogged over to Ultio and went down on its knees. Due to his Evolution, he now possessed basic emotions and a higher intelligence. Even now, he displayed a little bit of both as he watched the new shadow with disappointment and a little bit of amusement.
"Both of you," Ultio said, prompting Hermes to also go down on one knee. "You will do something for me. Search within a ten kilometer radius from here; kill anyone who discovers your existence, and keep note of every noteworthy individual,"
Ultio said and turned around. However, after a step, he turned back to his two subjects. "And Hermes?"
The shadow looked up at Ultio with loyal eyes. A faint twinkle of mischief and playfulness had already blossomed in his eyes after he gained higher intelligence.
"Don't leave your subordinate behind," Ultio said with an exasperated sigh before he finally turned and left.
Hermes scratched the back of his head apologetically. He glanced at the newborn shadow and sighed. It didn't even understand anything.
