First Trial - Temple of the fallen Demon Lord (part 9)

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Two purple ones were running through the jungle, and one of them was holding the green-eyed golden girl on his shoulder.

The girl had a clear view of what were they running from.

Besides the pile of snow-white corpses drained of golden blood, the jungle floor was covered with blue blood and gray intestines of at least a dozen of the other purple humanoids

The scary purple shaman who was the first to went through a transformation after drinking the golden blood was laying beneath the corpse of the disgusting monster previously hanging from the branch, his neck was ripped apart by claws and teeth and his black eyes with purple irises were staring vacantly into the distance.

The cause of all of that was a gigantic golden tiger-like beast with glowing white stripes.

It had enormous golden fangs and claws, now stained in the blue blood of the purple humanoids, and was hungrily drinking the remaining golden blood from the stone bowl.

The purple ones were shouting at each other horrified trying to get as away from the monster as soon as possible, nearly trampling upon each other.

On the other hand, the golden-skinned girl who was being carried away was staring at the dismembered and mutilated corpses of the killed purple ones and a wide smile slowly crept its way on her face.

"@#$% )(^)#$...!"

She said something completely incomprehensible. The sound she made didn't even seem possible for a human to recreate, more akin to white noise or static than anything else.

But Butaro knew what the girl has said. He understood it on the subconscious level.

Her smile, the look in her eyes, her body language, and the meaning of those sounds was very clear even without actually translating them word for word.

"Serves your right…!"

The golden girl was roaring vindictively, gazing at the corpses of those who butchered her family with morbid satisfaction.

******

"...!"

Butaro woke up suddenly and jumped up with his heart beating to the rhythm of drums in a heavy metal song.

The mountainous boy looked around in great tension, his eyes darted here and there in short spasms as if he couldn't really control them.

Then he localized the corpse of the crocodile-like monster with the blade of the curvy sword sticking out of its skull.

The corpse was floating in the salty water that was slowly being dyed pinkish-red because of the monster's blood leaking from the mortal wound.

"Oh thank goodne…! Wait! My arm!?"

Butaro sighed in relief but then he sucked up the air in panic as he remembered how wounded he ended up!

"…Huh…?"

He touched his arm under the ripped bloodied shirt and tilted his head in confusion.

"It's... healed…? And buff...?!"

He frowned in shock staring at the muscular arm as if it belonged to somebody else.

It was an odd situation.

Butaro clearly remembered the pain piercing his muscles and slicing them open all the way to his bones but when he was looking at the wounds…

They were already almost closed, the blood coagulated over them creating a somehow shiny protective layer.

And the muscles... Although Considering Butaro's strength they must have always been there, actually seeing them without the layers of fat was almost as strange as the ridiculously fast healing wound.

"But I was sure…"

Butaro squinted his brows and moved the wounded arm around.

It hurt, but it wasn't like he couldn't use it...

It was great news, but still, slightly concerning too...

After calming down a bit the wound itself became more worrisome than the suddenly emerged muscles.

"It's not some sort of infection… Is it…?"

Butaro wondered poking the shiny scab with suspicion.

The thing was, his muscles should have been ripped apart and he should have bled a lot, but then why there was so little blood on his shirt and almost none on the floor?

Butaro made a worried face but then he glanced at the water reservoir and a glass bottle in the corner that, against all odds, survived the terrible fight with the monster.

"Could it be…?"

Butaro gasped.

Could it be that the water and bottle weren't part of the trap but a prize? And the monster just got its way in there because it realized it was the best spot for it…!?

"No way! It did have healing properties after all!?"

Butaro exclaimed and rushed over to the edge and stared at the water.

"…It's all polluted with the crocodile monster's blood…"

He clicked his tongue disappointed.

Even if the salty water had healing properties before, there was no way that Butaro would just rub his wounds with something mixed with monster blood! That just spelled trouble and diseases!

It was not fit for drinking, to begin with, and now was potentially dangerous!

Just Butaro's luck, to mess up the healing pond…

"Huh…?"

Butaro blinked a few times and leaned over the water to stare at his reflection in utter and complete disbelief.

"…!"

He then looked down at his body and started touching his chest and stomach…

It became human sized…!

He no longer looked like a beach ball with arms and legs…!

"How could it be…!?"

Butaro could barely breathe from the shock, despite the fact that his muscular arm should be a good indication of what happened to the rest of his body.

He inexplicably gained the human shape he always wanted!

He wasn't slim or anything like that, his figure was more fitted for a large grizzly bear that was standing on its hind legs, but even a bear would count as more human-like than a beach ball, right!?

Butaro trembled and leaned slightly forward.

"No way, I can see my feet without raising my legs…!"

His stomach wasn't completely in his way for the first time in his life!

It was there, but much more contained, the usually tightly -fit extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-large sweatpants were now rather loose!

It was even more moving than defeating the horrible beast, Butaro even sobbed!

"I was trying so hard before and nothing helped but here it just…!"

His voice shook from the overflowing emotion.

"Wait… was it then…? My muscles hurt as if someone was roasting me in flames and I sweated so much that I thought that maybe it would drown that thing…!"

He hurriedly lifted up his torn shirt, there was no loose skin or flab, it all looked firm!

"No way…!"

He checked out his pants too.

Since he was so round he received special permission from his school to wear sweatpants instead of the standard-issued ones since there was no size that would fit him right.

Thanks to how stretchy they were they somehow managed to stay on even though they looked as if they could slip down at any time.

Butaro caught himself grinning mindlessly admiring his changed appearance.

The years of training were clearly revealed now that most of the fat was gone.

He had clearly defined muscles…! His arms and legs had actual muscles in visible from behind the fat…!

And his chest was so big that even his stomach looked almost proportional!

His face also became less round and slimmer but that wasn't the point he was most focused on.

Butaro jumped up and down and did some stretching.

His bear-like body felt so great compared to before…! Such freedom of movement…!

But then the lonely pinkish glimmer of the blade sticking out of the monster's corpse caught the boy's attention and he stopped frolicking around.

"That's right… I'm still buried all the way over my head in shit…"

Butaro gritted his teeth.

Even though his looks changed, which he always wanted, the situation he was in was completely terrible…!