Hatchlings

The voices in my head are gone. Whispers and paranoia that ailed me for a hundred years are gone, just like that. I've been on the cusp of high priesthood for twenty years. The bastards yanked my chain, making me do terrible things for a stem of ascension herb. I still remember their smirks when they made me their little puppet. They knew they had me in the palm of their hands. But now I have finally broken free from their control, and I will make them pay for what they did. I'm already a high priest. The only thing I had to do was open my legs for this handsome and powerful young man.

I had to do corrupt things, nudge numbers, and hide wrongs. All for that stem of herb.

The first order of business is to find and have a talk with the scion of the Shamam clan, Yahub Shamam.

I kicked his door open.

"All our dealings are over."

Yahub's face went sour. He was in charge of managing me for the Shamam clan. That meant what I did just now had inconvenienced him to no end.

"What do you mean it's over? How dare you rebel against the Shamam clan?"

I let my power run wild. He fell to his knees.

"Does the Shamam clan want to make enemies with a high priest?"

He started clawing at his throat in terror. All those resources, and he is barely better than my poor ass from back then. What a dumbass! He is an entitled, snobbish piece of sh*t. However, there is no point in trying to take the entirety of the Shamam clan on. I will just say no to everything they ask of me and declare my independence from their influence. Ever since I've become a high priest, I've become far more valuable in the eyes of the Pharoh Osiris''s state, and that clan can do precious little to harm me now.

The little bastard scruttled away to tattle on me to his elders. He will be sorely disappointed. The elders of his clan wouldn't take the risk. And if they did take the risk, they wouldn't be able to kill me. I'm far more powerful than your run-of-the mill high priest. I'm a demon. If they dare to attack, I'll drink their energy rich blood. That would help me rise to arch-priesthood faster. If this was an uncivilized land in an uncivilized time, I would be hunting down my fellow priests right now. I would advance leaps and bounds that way.

I arrived at the government building to do the second thing I have to do.

"I've come to register my ascension to high priest. I'm a high priest of the monster path now."

My superior looked at me, shaken.

"You chose the monster path? How come? Don't you know one wrong move and you would get hunted down?"

I couldn't help but scoff. These bastards yanked my chain about ascension herb for twenty years. Twenty long years.

"It's completely safe for me. However, I'm loyal to my progenitor, and my progenitor is loyal to the state. You can avoid any complications by simply not employing me for important matters. Frankly, I'm tired of playing that retarded political game. I want a simple life. I can kill some monsters for you and kiss my man at night. The resources I'll use for my advancement are now different than those of other immortal wannabes. I can just roam the desert and hunt spirit beasts."

Frankly, I'm tired of sitting on a desk and looking after the library. I want some action. I want to feel alive.

My previous superior, now my equal in power, looked at me with tired eyes. He understood. Oh boy, he did understand. The monster path mutates until one is but a beast in the end. However, I lucked out. My monster path form is still human-like, although I'm a mighty high priest. He doesn't know that my insides are entirely different. I have the internal organs of a predator.

"Understood, we will accept your immediate resignation from the library."

I excused myself and left. I remembered something I had to do. I found Aisha in the library and gave her my plaque. I told her that she was under my protection.

Funnily enough, Master's other girls don't need my protection. They don't have that superior arcane heart and the greedy threat of factions hungry for new blood that comes with it. With my plaque, she can sidestep all the politics, claiming that she is my pawn.

She looked at me like I was trash, but she is not my master. Nazhotep is my master, so I'm not that bothered.

I went to the hunter guild and approached the desk.

"I would like to sign up for the hunter program. Whom can I speak to?" I made it clear with the amount of energy I'm putting out that I was an esteemed high priest.

A familiar face showed up.

"Rasim! How have you been doing? Enjoying your cushy job, I see!"

Rasim smiled.

"You crazy old witch, I never forgot how you put a sour root into my sandwich just because I was mean to you in your dream."

I smiled back, albeit wryly.

"That's water under the bridge, right?"

He sighed. His face is the face of a defeated man. He clearly hates me, but he has no choice.

"Welcome to the hunter's guild. We need hunters of your caliber in our midst. The beasts are getting rowdy lately, and our personnel are unable to deal with them. A powerhouse like you would be a great help."

I nodded. People put their personal emotions aside for profit more often than not. It's human nature. We shook on the deal, and I've been issued a purple membership. It's right below the gold membership, which arch-priests often enjoy.

Next thing, I decided to visit my buried eggs. I don't know when they will hatch. But I want to visit them at least once a day.

When I arrived there, I found out that the eggs had hatched and swam into the sea. What a wonderful sight! I jumped into the water, hoping to see my babies. They were long gone. What great vitality! My babies are wrong.

Since I'm in the water, I decided to hunt a kraken. I have to fill my quota for spirit beasts. The sea is vast and deep. Luckily, I have the proper techniques for this occasion. I drew out a tiny bit of blood and formed a sigil with it in the middle of my palm. A wave originated from the sigil and traveled outward.

"Heh, there you are."

There is a kraken two kilometers north. When I arrived there, I was shown a pleasant surprise. My spawn are devouring, digging into the kraken's flesh, and eating their way in. They are half-humanoid monsters. The kraken seemed to be in agony as my spawn continued their feast. I watched them, full of love. I can hear the low screams of the kraken even though we are underwater. I can't help but smile. Eat, my babies, eat. Mommy is proud of you.

One of them swam at me, intending to attack me. I gently grabbed it and brought it close to me. I nursed it a bit and let it go. It swam back towards the kraken to resume its feast. They don't need my nursing, but I love them so much.

I watched them until the water around them was a pool of blood. It attracted some other predators, which I quickly dispatched. I took the monster core of the kraken. (which is not edible to the hatchlings). I took the cores of the predators too.

I took the meditation position and started devouring the blood around me. It feels great. These beasts live their lives gathering energy. By devouring their blood, I get the fruits of their hard work for myself. By consuming their flesh, my progeny will grow strong and proliferate. I've decided. I will make sure every living thing in this world has the blood of my master. Everything should be replaced by our progeny. Oh, what a glorious world that would be.

I covered my breasts, and after hunting another kraken, I left the water.

The hunters guild was surprised. They weren't expecting me to hunt two krakens at once. These creatures kept capizing Pharos's ships, ruining trade with the Hellenics in the north.

After a day of hard work, I decided to visit Aisha. Master didn't want to devour all the energy on the confiscated golden sands. He gave most of it to Aisha (Asenath), Zaliki, and Naika.

At first glance, it looks stupid, but it's smart when you think about it. Sitting on that much golden sand is dangerous for one's health because people are greedy and violent. It's best to devour the golden sands as fast as possible. These girls are fiercely loyal to him, with the exception of Naika. Asenath has a superior arcane heart, and the other two girls have medium grade arcane hearts. He gives these girls the sand and makes them powerful faster. That way, they would be able to protect him better.

He just utilized his resources in a way that makes sense.