Ashura's Incarnation Arc - Chapter 8: Fatal Contact

It was 6am in the morning when Asura and I departed from the city. A thick haze surrounded the entirety of the snow fields formerly known as the grass plains.

Some children were outside enjoying the snow, while some adult men were even making snowmen out of them for fun. Don't they have anything better to do? Well I guess they should atleast have some times they can act like kids.

I could somehow relate. Since Asura was going at a straight line heading to the northwest, the view shifted and I had to make a miniature eye to continue watching their silliness.

"Your highness, do you think orcs are strong?"

That was a question I never expected. The truth is I don't know since I just came to this world, she's asking me because ofcourse the War God Ashura has definitely fought orcs before. So she's asking out of experience. I have to act my part, as unsuspecting as possible.

「I don't know if they're strong or not. They easily die anyway.」

"I-Is that so? You must be so strong when you were young, Ashura-sama."

「Haha, I guess so.」

When she said that, I recalled my earlier years where I often got into fights with gangsters at my school. Ofcourse I always won, what can some thugs do to a heir of a martial arts dojo? Unless they bring some bats or weapons do they actually stand a chance. Otherwise, I'd crack their skulls open.

「Are you sure the intel with the orcs are correct?」

"Hm. I think so. It definitely suggests they're in a truce with the kobolds too so it'll be more difficult to acquire their cores."

「We'll be able to beat them. Don't worry.」

I'm not sure about my claim but I'll make it happen one way or another, if it comes to it I'll take over Asura's body to fight.

"We're here."

Asura positioned herself to a safe thicket, crouching while revealing as less of herself possible. The only thing we've brought with us is an empty bag.

In terms of weaponry, Asura's body is the weaponry.

Asura poked one of her fingers at the gaps in the thicket and I grew a miniature eye there to surveil the enemy camp without much exposure.

"Three orcs and four kobolds..."

Asura noted while seeing through the miniature eye. I turned it back to normal after it served it's use.

After confirming their exact numbers and making sure they didn't have any reinforcements nearby, I started thinking of a course of action.

"Master I want to charge in and kill them."

Right, what am I thinking for? Charge right in and make them lifeless bodies, I can't believe this kid is more brute than me.

Are you kidding me!? I would have to take over her body so she could handle that many!

Woah!

Asura without my permission started moving by herself and headed towards the orcs and kobolds. For the time being, I used the [Skill Share] skill and lent her my [Martial Arts] skill.

Being too careful is never bad.

"Oink!?"

Our opponents seem to have acknowledged our presence already and readied their weapons. Their growling and grunts getting louder as we approached, Asura showed no signs of stopping, in fact, she's even accelerating. Her flourishing speed is going to the point that our stamina is getting drained quicker. Is she doing this knowing we can just get it back by eating?

She's quick to adapt.

With a burst of unstoppable speed, Asura knocked into one of the orcs who wasn't quickwitted enough to defend itself.

Before it tried to get us off it's stomach, it let out an excruciating howl. Asura's hands were throbbing as the mini-mouths on her hands sucked in and digested the orc's guts and organs from it's torso.

It's subordinate could do nothing but watch since I summoned three tentacles from Asura's back that aimlessly flailed around while equipped with deadly blades at their edge made out of steel.

If they came any closer, they'd be taking the risk of getting lacerated just to save a comrade who's already at the hands of death.

"Your highness, my back feels weird when you flail it around too much. It's like my back is getting torn off."

「Ah sorry— I mean get used to it.」

"O-Okay..."

After Asura felt that she wasn't sucking anymore out of the fallen orc, she diverted her gaze to the other orcs and the frightened kobolds. All of them were hesitant in engaging with Asura who would no doubt eat their insides not minding if they're alive or not.

It's a bit of a pity though, the orc didn't give me any sort of resistances or skills. I guess it's not special or anything unlike the fire breathing Rex. How about the Kobold?

Asura glanced at the kobolds who were wielding makeshift spears.

As if knowing my intentions, Asura jumped from one tree to another at such an athletic way that I could never have done in my past life.

After leaping from the fourth three, she darted towards the four kobolds and initiated a roundhouse kick the moment she landed at the nearest kobold.

The force that the chagi displayed, made the struck head of the kobold generate a cracking sound that made it's head dive and bury itself to the ground. It's neck obviously dislocated.

Seeing Asura's attack recoil as an opportunity, the other three kobolds assaulted Asura in different directions.

To avoid the spear tips heading towards her head, Asura bent and rotated her waist before gifting a back kick to the chest of the kobold from her right side.

With quick flexibility, she disabled the kobold at the left by setting the back kick to a side kick and breaking the shaft of their weapon. Then delivering a critical hit with a repetitive kick at it's jaw.

Simultaneous to that counter attack, I pierced the mouth of the kobold at the middle with one of the sharp knife-like edges of the tentaculums on Asura's back before it provided any aid.

Now that we were done, I quietly ate the three kobolds with the three tentaculums by converting the blades into leech-teethed mouths. To my surprise, I actually gained a +4 on Constitution from them and a +1 from the orc earlier.

›

Name: Asura

Race: Ashuran

Constitution: 84>85/89

Mana: 0

Skills: [Archery Lv1], [Swordsmanship Lv1], [Spearsmanship Lv1], [Danger Sense Lv1], [Fire Resistance Lv1], [Luck Lv1],

Special Skills: [Ashura's Wrath]

›

Name: Fake Ashura

Host: Asura

Race: Mutated Heracles Worm

Constitution: 40>45/45

Mana: 200/290

Granter: Clodwal Okamura

Parasite Skills: [Physique Optimization], [Martial Arts], [Mind Invasion], [Telepathy], [Observer], [Skill Share], [Memory Space], [Matter Conversion], [Detect Life], [Power Boost], [Self Evolution], [Self Regeneration], [Layout Perception]

Absorbed Skills: [Fire Magic Lv1], [Fire Resistance Lv1]

Special Skills: [Monster Book]

›

The arrangements of stats in the statuses feel like they're messed up. It seems that both I and Asura benefit from the stat increase in constitution but she isn't getting any mana. Other than that, she possessed the [Fire Resistance Lv1] skill but not the [Fire Magic Lv1].

This leaves me to one conclusion and that's she can't use magic but I can.

And unlike hers, my status was differently aligned. There were three categories which were the Parasite Skills, Absorbed Skills and Special Skills.

Come to think of it, I haven't checked out the special skills section yet. I'm curious, but I'll check that later when we're done with business outside.

「Asura, kill those two orcs off already.」

"Understood."

Since I was eager to read the last skill in my status, I was wanting to wrap things up quickly.

"K-Kwiii!"

The orcs released deafening screams as Asura skinned them alive to let my chompers have their fill easier at the softer parts.

She chopped off their arms and legs so they couldn't escape by asking me to grow a blade right at her elbows.

Their screams reverberated inside the forest and passed from tree to tree as Asura absorbed life out of them. After two minutes or so did they stop resisting and their screams diminished, this meant they were already dead.

I still don't get why Asura preferred killing in such a cruel way while staying composed. It's as if she's only playing an instrument, and when she's bored she just throws it at a corner.

"We should head back to grandma now, your highness."

「Not yet.」

The blood-stained Asura looked confused. I have my own reason and that's because I'm sensing life from nearby. There's more prey to eat and I can't pass on that when we still have time.

"But we haven't eaten breakfast yet..."

「This is breakfast.」

"Y-Yes!"

Asura looked reluctant at first but she obeyed me afterwards. I'm not being selfish, I'm being strict. If she wants to save the Ashurans she has to be stronger first, what is her confidence with me on her side if it doesn't have a backbone?

The presence of life was looming closer. I didn't even have to go to them myself.

Asura positioned herself and hid behind a huge tree trunk the moment I told her to hide.

The sound of orcs talking in their own language gradually came. I'm guessing they came here to check on the situation. It was unavoidable with how loud those two pigs screamed before they died.

"Master, do we kill them? There are ten of them now."

「Are you scared?」

"..."

Asura fell silent. But she gained the courage to speak again just a few seconds later.

"No, they're not many. I can do it."

As if to support her claim, Asura dug a snowball out of the ground and threw it at one of the orcs. It hit one of them cleanly in the head making it jerk it's head to look for the culprit.

At first they mistook Asura as a monster with how modified her body was right now but later realized she was just one.

Seriously, our enemies are always more than one and we always won.

「Go now.」

Like a fearless warrior, Asura bravely charged at the direction of the ten orcs like she had no chance of losing at all.

The blade on her shoulders sprang and she now looked like a mantis with parasites rampaging in her body, with all that three bladed tentaculums that tore the orcs apart she looked no longer a human but a weapon made for combat.

「Asura, your back.」

"I see it."

Whether it be weakness or blindspots, I covered all of them for her. With my miniature eyes positioned to cover 180°, surprise attacks from behind, our sides, above or even below, I'll make sure none of those will make it through to her.

Since Asura was occupied in dueling with two sword wielding orcs at the same time, I grew another tentacle from her back and dug through an orc's chest that tried to attack her from the back.

This was a battle that needed an unimaginable amount of concentration, adherence and patience from me. Especially when I had to deflect arrows from the archers by pushing them away with the tentaculums, if I didn't do this then Asura would get hit by them and that's going to be bad for me. In the first place, I don't even know where my real body is. So if she gets hit somewhere that I'm in, it's going to be the end for me.

Right then, a brilliant idea came to my mind as if it was a heaven's descent.

A way to protect her vital organs, that's it.

Asura was surprised, alot of her energy was being drained from her. To make it any worse, numerous wounds appeared on her body and started to bleed until her whole body was drenched in her own blood. Ofcourse I was replenishing her blood by consuming the orcs.

[Physique Optimization] worked not only on the organs but the blood as well. Meaning I can even make them into bones if I want to.

「Keep fighting, don't lose focus. Forget everything else besides the melee, I'll handle the rest!」

With my clear intent, the blood started to crystallize and solidify. The more blood that came gushing out of Asura's body, the firmer and stronger the blood got.

Less than half a minute passed.

The blood had become an exoskeleton that could deflect most long ranged attacks.

As Asura had commendable and indiscardable flexible movements, I can't sacrifice her mobility so I made limited space for her joints to move the same as when she's not wearing an exoskeleton.

Since the exoskeleton is directly connected to her own skeletal system in many areas, the archers would have a hellish time even so much as budging this thick shell.

For experimental purposes, I allowed an arrow to escape my defences and hit Asura at her shoulder's armor. As I expected, she barely even felt it.

"Kwiik!"

I bashed the archers one by one by suddenly extending the tentaculums and bludgeoning them with it's now knuckle-like edges.

"A-Ashura-sama, please be careful. I'm losing my balance."

Ah, I forgot she's still taking in the weight of the tentaculums so me making one-sided movements will affect her.

That being said...

Asura is really good at fighting. It's as if she already knew how to use those weapons on her body to begin with, how is that even possible? Ashurans are amazing.

I noticed now but it looks like her opponent are three now. All this time I've been taking care of the orcs at the rear and those that dare came close. If I was to count, I eliminated 7 out of 10 enemies.

Asura is still stuck in a deadlock by exchanging sword strikes with these three. The orcs' swords were being chipped apart little by little.

Until...

One of the orcs' swords broke and it's owner was instantly deboweled, blood spraying out and dropping to the frosty ground as it screeched.

"Oink! Kweee!"

Now that a burden was lifted, Asura overpowered the two remaining.

Their swords were unable to break through her quick parrying and even if they did, her skin was protected by a thick exoskeleton.

The tentaculums returned to Asura's body after I deemed this an absolute win.

The orcs completely absorbed in a fight with swords didn't expect that Asura would abruptly evade their slash to execute a back kick on one of them.

Using the element of surprise, Asura grasped the remaining orc on it's neck and rotated it's head strong and fast enough that the sound of bones cracked. It died instantly.

Then there goes the last one writhing on the ground. The pain from the back kick that damaged it's internal organs seems like it's not disappearing for it yet.

So far, this might be something new from Asura. Instead of goring them alive, Asura sat on the orc's stomach and began punching every corner of it's body in rapid succession. Each blow broke a rib or two.

When she had enough of this, she punched right through the orc's stomach right through the other side. It's spinal cord broke entirely.

This girl is a seasoned murderer for sure.