Steps echoed over the sheet of the blood ocean as Kai approached the sealed Upper Rank Six demon.
The high-intensity battle that had almost ripped apart the entire Reality Marble had lasted but a few minutes. The dull gray sky was blurring now, along with the distant horizon losing its edge.
But Kai still had a few things to do before Limitless Blood Firmament could vanish for good.
Daki, sprawled on the bloody floor, had regained her original appearance, a yellow star pulsating in the middle of her forehead.
"What does it mean," Kai asked, sending Murasame and Sounga back to his Inventory, "to have one's existence sealed?"
Last time, neither Kai nor Ayin, the Zanpakuto, had gotten the time or power to search for the sealed Shadow Lord and observe the results.
It left Kai in the dark of his own Shikai's ability.
-Kekeke- Ayin cackled, her voice hissing as she appeared near Kai, her long yellow hair flailing without wind. -Absolute Seal. Past, Present, and Future. Daki's existence is now sealed everywhere.-
Kai's eyebrows rose. "Oh!" he exclaimed, grabbing Daki with Telekinesis and bringing her near him. "So if I use D-Mail now…"
Ayin cackled without replying.
Kai had already gotten an answer, though.
No matter how far back into the past or how far into the future he would go now, he wouldn't find Daki.
The existence, Daki, previously named Ume, had been erased from this Timeline, sealed eternally by Qlipoth Genesis.
This was Kai's Shikai.
Once sealed, forget about ever reviving… one wouldn't find that individual even in the memories of a World.
If this is my Shikai, then what path my Bankai should take… Kai ruminated, narrowing his eyes. Ad Infinitum…
"On it." The AI beeped. "Creating a sub-process: Bankai…"
Kai looked at the beautiful white-skinned Daki, bringing her face closer to his own. "You… don't need that soul anymore," he said, not unkindly. "Thank you for the meal."
Then, gentler than ever, he kissed her.
Skill - Dementor's Kiss!
…
[
Skill: Dementor's Kiss
Grade: C+
Specification: The Contestant can suck out the soul of a target, leaving them in a vegetative state. The absorbed soul will be digitalized based on its quality and will upgrade the Status of the Dementor's blood essence
Requirement:
1. SP>0
2. The target must be devoid of all happiness and hope
Attributes: The Contestant may kiss the target
Effect:
1. Suck the soul out of the target's physical body
2. SP Regeneration Rate +25% to +50%, depending on the soul's quality for 30 minutes
3. +5 Breath upon upgrading the Dementor's Blood Essence
Warning: The Attribute Points gained through this Skill will not be counted within a Set's Attribute Points Quota
]
…
A cool, soul-soothing sensation washed over Kai as he drank the spirituality of an Upper Rank demon, sucking it out through her lips bit by bit.
The Dementors born of Kai's Skill could suck out spiritualities independently, and a part of those souls turned to Soul Points, contributing to the Blood Essence's growth. Because of this, the Soul Points, marking the growth of Dementor's Blood Essence, had reached the value of 150 in the last three years.
Now, they began shooting up.
155… 158… 165…
175… 186…
200…
Booommmmmm!!!
A monstrous surge of power exploded within Kai, his chest boiling, sweat and blood vaporizing instantly.
Kai was so drunk in the sensation that he could barely feel himself.
As such, he also ignored the notifications appearing in front of his eyes one by one.
...
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
Your Dementor Blood Essence has updated
…
Blood Essence: Dementor (magical beast)
Grade: B- (Growth; Soul Points: 200.01/400)
Specification: Devour souls to upgrade itself. The devoured souls will be digitized, and the Contestant must fill the growth bar to upgrade the blood essence
Skills: Breath Snatcher (Grade: C+), Dementor's Kiss (Grade: C+), Intimidation (Grade: C), Dementors Progenitor (Grade: B-)
Note: A Skill's grade will upgrade automatically with the upgrading of the blood essence's grade
Upgrade Reward (B- to B): +10 Breath (Effect of Dementor's Kiss Skill; Not Applicable to the Set's Quota)
…
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have gained 5 Breath Points outside of your Attributes Quota
]
...
Both Breath Snatcher and Intimidation Skills upgraded a level.
It was obvious at a glance that with the next upgrade, all Skills will experience a qualitative change. Moreover, even the Dementors Progenitor Skill had a chance of upgrading.
The Soul Points' value… was still climbing, though. Faster than ever.
220… 240… 265…
290… 310…
350…
There it paused, the last dregs of Daki's soul slithering down Kai's throat. He licked his lips, feeling the loss of not achieving the next checkpoint.
Nonetheless, Kai knew he was being too hard on himself.
The soul he had just drunk belonged to both Daki and Gyutaro because of the fusion caused by the Resurreccion Second Stage. Together, they had given him 200 Soul Points, an amount over twice the value given by the Shadow Lord.
Moreover, with every next Upper Rank, this amount would only rise.
-Kekeke- Ayin cackled, not giving Kai time to ponder over his potential victims. -15 seconds more… Can you sense it?-
"Yeah," Kai replied, activating another Skill. "The Despair is overwhelming in this place. Perfect… for creating another Dementor."
Skill - Dementor's Progenitor!
*
*
It had gone quiet in the ruined Entertainment District for the last 5 minutes.
However, Item-M, Moraine the Elegant, and Red Sun were still standing at their positions, ready to act out against any untoward scenario.
"The Bounded Field is vanishing…" Moraine pointed out.
"Can he…" Red Sun said, licking his demonic lips. "Can he defeat that thing?"
Item-M's head spun like a whip. "You dare question Master's power!"
Red Sun frowned. "What?!" he shot back. "Is that a Taboo now? I can't talk about Moraine's big boobs first! Then I can't talk about your virginity! Now I can't even voice out my doubts?!"
Moraine's fingers balled into fists. She barely held herself back, grounding her teeth.
Item-M was just… purely gobsmacked.
Red Sun inflated his chest, feeling pride for shutting the ladies' mouths. "That thing was stronger than me, you know," he said, sneering. "You think defeating a 10th-floor Contestant is a joke?! Weren't you such a figure before, Ms. Virgin…"
"Call me that one more time…" Item-M had just begun when the Bounded Field vanished with a pop.
Simultaneously, a figure appeared in front of the three, dressed in a white long coat, white pants, and white shoes.
Kai's long white hair danced left and right as he threw Daki toward Moraine. "You will remain here," he ordered. "Get the Demon Slayer Title and create a Breathing Style suiting your Inheritance."
Moraine almost forgot to catch the demon. The sheer joy rising from her chest boiled her thoughts, burning her mind.
Staying… in the Verse Fusion Random World… and a sword-based one to top it off…
Moraine recalled the moment when she had decided to help the Five-crowned Prince, and she couldn't help but smile to herself.
Kai ignored the bubbling emotions. "I am sending you all a part of my memories," he said hurriedly. "Get ready."
The words caught them by surprise.
Two yellow crystals bobbed up and down in their eyes as Kai's Ad Infinitum began transferring copies of Reality Marble's memories.
This was the most important step, Kai knew.
His future self had sent him a D-Mail sometime around now. As Kai would jump straight from his timeline to this timeline, as per the working method of the D-Mail, the current Kai's memories most probably would vanish from his mind.
Now Kai couldn't afford to lose all that battle experience.
There were just too many things he had realized from the last fight with the Upper Rank Six demon.
First, there was a time when he had longed for Skills. Now, though, Kai had so many Skills that he couldn't even use them properly. Unlike the Abilities, Skills needed MP, SP, HP, or a combination of them.
Second, unlike his Breath, which he could leave to Dementor's Blood Essence, his MP was rising too slowly to meet up with his demand. Keeping hundreds of MP pills wasn't practical, either. Everything in the Primordial Tower needed Mission Credits. And with each floor, the value of MP pills became even more tremendous.
I need a source of MP, Kai thought, rubbing his forehead. A source…
"… Creating sub-process: Mana Source." Ad Infinitum beeped, finishing the transfer.
On the other side, Item-M, Moraine, and Red Sun's eyes had widened, their knees almost giving out. With each image and memory, they saw what had happened with the Reality Marble…
Item-M looked at Red Sun, who looked away, his mouth drier than a summer's afternoon in the desert.
Hummmmmm!!
Out of nowhere, a giant microwave's image appeared in the sky.
Kai's body shook as if someone had replaced him with himself. He shook his head and looked up, his pupils widening as his gaze landed on the three Items. "It worked, I guess…"
"Collecting memories…" Ad Infinitum beeped, following the planned route.
Memories after memories involuntarily left Item-M, Moraine, and Red Sun, making Kai blink at them with a surprised smile.
"You guys got to see something incredible…" Kai jested, looking at Red Sun, who had begun smiling sheepishly at some time.
There's a serious drawback to these memories' back-and-forth transfer, Kai thought. It wouldn't work if I didn't have someone to transfer my memories to. Hmm… It was then a blue-black portal appeared behind him, marking the end of his Side Mission's Time Limit.
"Don't disappoint me," Kai said, looking at Moraine. He spun around and walked toward the portal.
Item-M and Red Sun walked past him and entered the portal.
Just before stepping into the portal, Kai paused. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "If something happened to Shinobu…
The Insect Hashira was directly related to his Stats. He couldn't afford anything happening to her.
Moraine's joyful smile died a sudden death.
"… I will Seal you."
**************
AN: You can access up to 21 Chapters ahead of WN on Patre0n and Ko-Fi.
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