Side Story: Blood Hunt (Part Four)

As soon as Kulkiri saw that black branch, he recognised it for what it was. An item imbued with the Divinity of a God, likely to be Aenrys' from the texture. Considering Kismet believed in "Him" over Navruavati, that was also more likely. But regardless of who it belonged to, the branch gave Kulkiri a feeling of imminent death, and unfathomable horror. So disturbed by the branch was he, that he failed to react to a Vampire's attack and paid for his inattention with a cracked rib. Swallowing back a grunt of pain, he reacted by impaling the Vampire through the gut, but this individual was stronger than his peers, and managed to lacerate his chest with his claws before dying.

Feeling the familiar itch of corrosive Nether growing stronger each second, Kulkiri stepped back from the fray and placed a hand on the wound, pouring Mana into it to neutralise the Nether. This would set him back a fair bit, but whatever was affecting the Vampires made them weaker than normal. Half of them lay dead already, while the Adventurers were only wounded. Dealing with the insidious Nether rampaging in his blood, Kulkiri felt the negative effect of Fenrir's Bite kick in again now that he wasn't looking at that branch. That reminded him...Steeling his nerves, Kulkiri looked at Kismet and the branch again, resisting the sense of disgust and despair that automatically swelled up as he did so. Activating his Analysis Skill, the description of the branch appeared before his eyes. 

[Branch of Degeneration (Divine Artefact)(A): A corrupted branch of the World Tree baptised in the blood of the God of Degeneration and Filth, carrying a minute amount of "His" Authority as well as hundreds of curses.]

[Ability 1: Drastically increases the user's Affinity with Darkness, Poison, Blood and Nether.]

[Ability 2: Grants the user the characteristics of a Devil.]

[Ability 3: Allows the user to subjugate others weaker than them, commanding them like puppets as well as stealing their lifeforce and EXP]

[Ability 4: Can be used as a medium for a Curse capable of felling a Legendary, or tens of thousands of Mortals. This will destroy the Branch, but lesser Curses can be used to slowly deplete it with each use instead.]

[Negative Effects: User will gradually degenerate into a monster the longer they hold the Branch, starting with losing the ability to feel remorse, love or compassion. Additionally, there is a chance they will be afflicted with a random Curse, which will always be capable of killing them, for every ten minutes they hold the Branch.]

Kulkiri's eyes constricted to pinpoints as he read the the results of his Analysis. Being labelled as a Divine Artefact meant it carried Divinity, even if the Branch of Degeneration was only A Rank. That meant that it was invulnerable to anything not possessing Divinity, even an SSS Artefact. Shooting a fleeting glance at Isabelle, he prayed that Return to Roots was also a Divine Artefact. The box interfered with his Analysis and the description he was given didn't point it to be anything out of the ordinary, but he believed that the Harvest Church wouldn't be ignorant to the grade of items the Vampires were smuggling in. 

What the Branch of Degeneration was to be used for, Kulkiri did not know. It was too weak to be used as a weapon against Le'garde, so he guessed its primary usage lay in the Curse ability. Creating a plague capable of killings tens of thousands was nothing to scoff at, especially if said Curse was able to mutate and spread beyond its original limit. Self-sustaining Curses were amongst the most heavily banned Skills by the Orthodox Churches, and even the Dread Three and Seraphic hesitated to use them. Aenrys seemed to have no such reservations however, and Kulkiri knew that stopping the Bats had just gained a whole new level of importance. Reacting to his determination, Fenrir's Bite let out a shrill screech as lit up with silver, Kulkiri jumping back into the fray. 

Victoria had spread her poison as a cloud, swallowing the Vampires and causing them to tumble over as their skin began blistering. Himmel swooped down, his flaming sword impaling their hearts in quick succession. Menes and the giant Vampire had both abandoned their weapons and engage din a brutal game of fisticuffs, each blow threatening to break bones. And some already had, if the Vampire's bust eye was anything to go by. Aryll saw glowing with a soft white light that deflected any attacks launched at her, and enforced her blade to enable it to tear through muscle and bone with ease. 

Erich and Johan had been forced out of the shadows and suffered slightly from it, but weren't in danger just yet. These Vampires were of a higher pedigree than the ones in the first layer, but the Branch of Degeneration's sapping ability equalled out that benefit. In the back, Ruby had finished her chant as she turned her staff horizontal, pointing it right at Kismet. The Viscount's eyes locked onto hers as a small smile suffused her face, her staff glowing a white light far more intense than Aryll's. With a loud hum, a beam of white shot out from the staff tip and flew straight at the Vampire leader. 

One of the Grandmaster's intercepted the beam with their body, coating themselves in Nether. An explosion rang out on impact, causing Kulkiri's ears to ring and the battle to momentarily pause. The Vampire who blocked the attack fell backwards, both arms erased and his body heavily scorched. He was still alive though, and his flesh was already squirming as it tried to regenerate from the damage. The attack had drawn attention to Ruby, and Kismet gestured to two other Grandmasters to attack her, reducing his guard to two and the injured Grandmaster (who's new arms had already started to take form.)

But the Vampires weren't the only ones that decided to take things seriously. Isabelle straightened up as her clenched hands began to release a soft green glow, and the smell of earth and leaves tickled Kulkiri's nose. Previously looking at Ruby, Kismet's gaze snapped towards the Priestess as his nostrils flared in alarm. Raising p the Branch of Degeneration, he started pouring Mana into it. The Branch shook as black droplets fell onto the ground, making ominous sizzling sounds upon contact. Around Kismet, the shadows darkened into an oily black and surged towards the twins and Ruby.

Anne stepped forward and splayed her palms, causing the ground to rumble and then surge forward in a wave of concrete to meet the black. The two Elements tangled together and Ruby began tussling with the Grandmasters with her staff, of which a blade had attached itself at some point in time. Moving with remarkable dexterity, like a dancer, she skewered one Vampire in the neck but had to withdraw to avoid the swipe of another. The wound barely slowed the Vampire down, and the two started encircling the blind woman. Isabelle shot her a glance, but focused on restraining Kismet's attack.

Isabelle lifted her right hand, revealing a curled up sapling that glowed in a dense green light and caused the air around it to freshen up. The sapling's presence made Anne's earth to grow stronger, pushing the darkness back and sweeping away an unfortunate Vampire in the process. Seeing this, Kismet bit the palm of his hand and dripped several droplets of blood onto the Branch. Dark red tendrils of energy started being emitted, wrapping around the Branch and the hand holding it, causing Kismet to grimace as the rationality in his eyes began fading, replaced with bloodcurdling madness. 

Not to be outdone, Isabelle rose the sapling higher and began chanting. "Oh Mother Earth, bestow your blessings to your faithful children. Oh Matriarch, allow the misguided to return to the warm embrace of the Soil" she spoke reverently, her eyes burning with the flame only zealots possessed. Her words had an effect too, as the sapling lit up brighter as the vibrant green turned darker and deeper, spreading over Isabelle's body. Her skin began to take on a slightly waxen tone, like dried out tree bark as her green hair grew longer and more tangled, like vines. 

Taking a deep breath, the Priestess threw the sapling towards Kismet, who recoiled as soon as it approached. Landing right in the middle of the surviving Vampires, they started screeching as green energy surged out of the sapling and latched onto them greedily. Under Kulkiri's eyes, they began to stiffen and turn wooden, their eyes betraying the mute agony they were undergoing. Kulkiri subconsciously trembled at the sight, as Isabelle's words went over in his head. She claimed the Artefact would "slowly" turn those around it into trees, but the process seemed anything but slow. Looking back, he saw that the Priestess had fallen to her knees, arms trembling as sweat ran down her face. Clearly, boosting the Artefact had cost her greatly. 

But she wasn't the only Blessed in the building.

Seeing his defence collapsing all at once, Kismet grit his teeth and brought the Branch down on his own hand, piercing his palm and lodging the Artefact firmly in his flesh. "Oh Lord of Degeneration, Master of Darkness and Monarch of Filth. I beseech you, impart a fragment of your majesticy unto my humble flesh!"