Festival of Darkness Part 4

"Pui. Pui," Eliz spat and wiped her mouth. Damn, cat! Eliz didn't even kiss on the first date! And he just stuck his tongue in her mouth!

"He needs to be castrated," she muttered evilly, then sighed and looked around. How to get out of this? Besides, why had the cat suddenly disappeared?

Eliz then thought of it and raised the hand she had used to hit him. It was the hand where she had cut herself. Even in this black-and-white form, she could see the shallow wound on her palm and how tiny air bubbles were slowly coming out of it.

"Ah. How strange. If I was in liquid, how come I could talk and breathe?" Eliz wondered aloud. She rubbed the wound on her palm with her other hand. Maybe it blasted him away because she touched him with her blood? Eliz hadn't expected it to go so easily. She just gave him a fist bump, which shouldn't have moved the cat-man on his level.

"Hmm... does that... mean I'm OP when it comes to the Dark Ones?" Eliz wondered, but somehow it didn't feel right. Admittedly, the idea that she could beat the powerful and immortal Dark Ones was really satisfying, but she didn't feel like this was the right way. Eliz needed to understand this power of hers properly. Shannon had said she should repel the Dark Mana. But here, she saw her blood-sucking Dark Mana instead of repelling it.

Eliz wasn't going to mess with this. Even if she was OP against the Dark Ones, it's not like she could actually fight them. She had to touch them first, and that would be hard enough. Wouldn't they kill her first? And was she supposed to bleed every time? Wasn't that a little brutal?

Eliz was sure she could think of a way to use her power, but it had to be safer and less painful. Now, she had to figure out how to get out of the liquid.

She took a few steps but felt no resistance. She reached out, but nothing. The tarball didn't look that big!

"Ah!" she startled as the System Window suddenly appeared. Why did this always have to happen in situations like this?

Attention!

Sleeping God

Description: The essence of the Sleeping God entered your bloodstream. Thanks to your bloodline, you resisted it. As a result, 1x Revive has been deducted.

Negative mutations - Resisted

Loss of autonomy - Resisted

Poisoning - Resisted

Contagion - Resisted

Death - Resisted

Corruption - Resisted

Attention!

Forced fusion

Description:Due to the similarity of your blood to the essence of the Sleeping God, fusion has occurred.

Result of fusion: Achievement: Like a Fish in Water, Bonus: Dark Mana Synthesis

Explanation: Like a Fish in Water - Dark Mana has become your nature and no longer harms you. However, regular exposure to Dark Mana is necessary. If you are not exposed to Dark Mana at least once a month, your body will begin to wither and become sick. Two months without exposure to Dark Mana will cause you to die.

Explanation: Dark Mana Synthesis - Dark Mana Synthesis allows you to absorb a certain amount of Dark Mana into your Mana pool and transform it to your benefit. Every 100 liters of Dark Mana Synthesized adds a random boost: Mana Pool Size, Mana Control, or Body Enhancement.

Eliz's eye twitched as she read the announcement.

"Ooohh... right. Thank you for saving me and eating one of my revives!" She began to mutter sarcastically. But as she thought about it, it really didn't matter. If the System hadn't intervened, she probably would have died so she would have used up one Revival anyway.

And she'd also get the Achievement and the Bonus. But... weird Achievement again! Resistance to Dark Mana was a good thing. But what about the need to expose herself to it regularly? Was the System trying to force her not to stay hidden in her fortress and actively do something later? But as if the System was trying to make it up to her, she got a Bonus where she could turn Dark Mana into something good!

"Now, that's what I call an OP ability! About time!" she scrunched her chin. But how much is 100 liters of dark mana? She understood it was this tar-black thing, but what was its density? Eliz didn't feel any physical resistance, so it was lighter than water?

"Lie... lie...."

Eliz rubbed her chin thoughtfully. As far as she could guess, this ball of tar they were in could be around 500 liters? But if she factored in the density, it should be less. So she'd halved it, and she was probably still exaggerating. She'd instead count on less than more. So, in theory...

"Don't believe.... don't believe...."

Eliz paused as a whisper passed by her ears.

"What?" She asked aloud, looking around. Was she imagining something?

"Lie.... don't believe.... save...."

Eliz heard the whisper again and turned in the direction she thought she heard it from. She squinted her eyes and thought she saw something, but it was gone before she could make out what it was.

It gave her goosebumps. Perhaps her resistance to Dark Mana wasn't entirely without consequence. She could think about things later. It was time to get out of here.

Eliz concentrated momentarily and stretched out her arms, activating her new Dark Mana Synthesis bonus. Eliz thought it would look soo cool as she sucked the dark fluid through her hands... but she was wrong in her imagination again.

She gasped in shock as the dark liquid began to flow into her nose.

"Aggrr!" Eliz cried out in anger and frustration.

*****

Miel, Holm, and Haidi watched cautiously but confusedly as the cat-man sat on the ground, looking at the tarball and scratching his head.

Holm gritted his teeth and began to pick himself up off the ground. Still, he could not act, but at least he could move now.

"What happened?" Haidi whispered.

"I have no idea," Miel replied, looking at the dark liquid orb that stayed in place and occasionally shuddered a little. He was genuinely worried about Eliz, who was inside the thing, but... he snapped to attention when the cat man stood up and walked over to the tarball.

He stood in front of it briefly before shaking his head and reaching out, but his hand didn't go through.

"Huh? What?" the cat man wondered, touching the ball with both hands. He tried to push on it, but it didn't budge.

His cat tail began to flick from side to side in agitation, and he began to pound on the tarball with his clenched fist.

"Hey! Hey! You're kidding, right? That's mine!" He called out with a mixture of surprise and frustration. "Do you know how long it takes to make that amount, dammit?"

Miel looked around and noticed the dagger Eliz had dropped earlier. He bent down to retrieve it, but Holm put his paw on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Just a moment longer. Then I can help you," he said quietly, and they both looked at the intrigued cat-man. They just had to wait a little longer before they could pounce on him. Now was the best opportunity.

The cat race man used his mana, which was as blue as everyone's and tried to strike the dark orb. It flexed and wobbled after the blow, but he still couldn't move it any other way.

The man backed away, shaking his head in incomprehension. "What the hell happened?"

The cat race man named Grash couldn't understand. He just wanted to play around a bit and was robbed of his Dark Mana? And now he couldn't even get it back. What was going on? He thought the woman was just some kind of mistress. Beautiful and delicious, and something drew him to her, but other than that, she seemed ordinary. He still had the Dark Mana. It was part of him now, but producing and condensing that amount took a while. If he lost it, the guys would make fun of him forever!

Grash flicked his tail, and his ears twitched; turning to look at the three onlookers. His instincts warned him that the bastards were up to something.

"Hey! Don't think I can't fight you guys as equals just because I'm weakened!" He bared his teeth at them, raising his hands, and his extended claws covered Dark Mana.

Grash saw that the blond man raised his dagger and stared intently at the ball of Dark Mana. Grash snorted. "Don't even try... you... eh? Wait! Bear! Shouldn't you be in the middle of transforming?" Grash realized that the bear he was fighting earlier was standing and looked perfectly fine. Aside from the usual injuries, he didn't see any signs of turning into a Dark One anywhere.

Grash stepped back. This was weird too! What kind of people are these anyway? Grash thought he should back off and tell the others about this. But he didn't want to go back without his Dark Mana! He looked at the tarball and jumped into the air in fright like a startled cat. The ball was shrinking!

"No!" He quickly ran over to it, but his hands hit the smooth, cold surface again, and he could do nothing. How could his own Dark Mana possibly reject him?

He watched in dismay as the orb of his Dark Mana shrunk faster and faster, beginning to take shape—the shape-changing into the outline of a body, the outline rounding into the shape of the woman who stood with her back to him. Finally, the liquid black mana began to become transparent until colors began to appear, and finally, the black mana slithered down to the woman's head and disappeared.

Everyone was silent, and Grash just stared.

"My mana..." He muttered haplessly.

Kitty sneezed twice and turned around while rubbing her nose, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Eliz! Are you okay?"

"Lady Elizabeth!"

"She's alive!" Three different cries echoed, but Grash ignored them.

He grabbed Kitty by the shoulders and shook her. "What have you done? Where's my dark mana!" He asked, shaking her so hard that her head bobbed up and down.

Kitty grabbed his arm, so he stopped and watched her in frustration. Kitty blinked a few times and glared at him. Her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. While Grash was concerned about his mana, he still liked her look. After all, had Dark Mana affected her somehow? Maybe she had fallen in love with him? That wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he'd lost his mana, but he'd brought home a hot chick.

Grash's confidence rose a little, and he puffed out his chest, softening his grip to be more sensual than painful.

"What? You want something?" he asked, his lips curving slightly in a smile.

Kitty smiled back and put her hands on his chest, and at that moment, a bolt shot through Grash's body, bouncing him a foot away from Kitty as if he'd taken a powerful electric shock.

Grash's mind went blank for a moment, and his body jerked in shock before it calmed down and remained lying there. Grash quickly came back to himself but found he couldn't move.

'What... damn...' He pondered and then saw Kitty approaching him. She was reaching into the blue vortex of her storage space and pulling out a coiled rope.

She smiled at him. "I think I've found my regular supply of dark mana. Hehe." She chirped while squeezing her palm to cover the rope with her blood.

Grash couldn't even blink, but his mind was still working. Why did it sound to him like he was about to become her food? It doesn't sound right!

*****

Eliz smiled cheerfully as she tied the cat up and took her time. She used her blood to ensure the rope could hold and restrain the cat man. It may have hurt, but once she saw him, she thought of a way to gain Dark Mana and overcome the restraints the System had granted her.

Then she had to keep the kinky cat man locked up somewhere and go to him for doses of dark mana. Ha! Eat it, System! As you did to me, so I do to you!

"Eliz?" Eliz heard a cautious voice and looked up to see Miel, Holm, and Haidi approaching her, staring at her in amazement.

"Yes?" She asked, securely placing her foot on the stiff Grash and tightening the knot. Her only stroke of good fortune was that the first time she used Bonus Shock, it didn't backfire on her. She had originally been afraid to use it because of the problems with her mana pool, but then she realized that it probably didn't apply to her mana the same way when she used Potential. So, in theory, she shouldn't faint. She was worried about trying it out on someone and accidentally killing someone, but this was the perfect opportunity.

"Feeling alright?" Miel continued to ask cautiously, looking back from her to Grash. Eliz smiled at him. "I felt peachy." She replied with genuine enthusiasm, but her reassurance made the three even more concerned.

Eliz finished the knots, reaching into her storage ring again and pulling out a chain. When they had been shopping with Team Balvan, she had bought quite a few things she thought might come in handy. And they did come in handy. The others stared as she wrapped the chain around Garsh. "Should we... well... kill him?" Holm suggested.

"Oh, no. Absolutely not. I have plans for him," Eliz replied dismissively.

Miel's eyebrows twitched, Holm groaned and began to shift back into his human form, and Haidi squatted down next to the stiff Grash's head, poking his cheek curiously with her finger. "It's the Dark One," Miel reminded.

Eliz stopped checking to ensure the chains were tight enough and looked at him. She considered what to say; she really had to explain this somehow. "The thing is..." She began slowly. "My blood... has special effects. It has some connection to my bloodline. My blood processed the Dark Mana to save myself, but it has a side effect." She explained, thinking. Luckily, they were the only ones here, and she supposed she could trust them not to say anything.

"I'll need regular access to Dark Mana now." She sighed heavily.

The statement shook Miel, and Holm looked concerned. "So you're going to turn into the Dark One?" Holm asked slowly, but Eliz shook her head. "I won't. I have immunity against it. The problem is that my body, or blood, has probably developed some addiction to Dark Mana. If I don't come into contact with it now and then, I'll suffer a shock and die."

She raised her hand and patted the bound Grash, who was already slowly starting to feel his fingers and toes. The paralysis was wearing off. "So I'll keep this one. He'll be something like my dealer," she explained with a shrug.

Miel looked at Grash and then at Eliz. That didn't sound good at all. It sounded to him like she was one step away from becoming a Dark One like this. "Shouldn't you tell the Church of Light? They could cleanse you of the dark mana," he suggested, and Holm looked at him before shaking her head in disapproval. Eliz shook her head as well. "What would the Church of Light do if they discovered my blood was special? Besides, I don't know if it can even be removed. It's bonded with my blood. They might as well vaporize all my blood like that, and I'd dry up."

Holm also spoke. "The Church of Light is best not messed with, my lord. Lady Elizabeth is right about that. Having special abilities only the Church of Light normally has is dangerous."

Miel wasn't such a fool as not to understand the warning, but he couldn't help but wonder if Eliz would actually be okay or if the Dark Mana had already infected her and become just like the cat monster.