Dark Magus Returns - Chapter 1605

Chapter 1605: The Bloody Awakening

For Beatrix, who had also been relentlessly going up against one of the Masked Individuals, an elite warrior from the Cerebus Guild, the fight was proving to be intensely troubling and emotionally draining. She found herself locked in the exact same impossible situation she had faced before, fighting an opponent who seemed utterly unkillable, as if they simply couldn’t die. In fact, this was more than just the second time she had faced such an eternally regenerating, self-healing foe. It was becoming an infuriating pattern.

Why is the world continuing to give me opponents like this! Beatrix thought in an intense burst of silent frustration and magical analysis as she moved into striking range. She closed the distance and managed to slash her sword, a highly enchanted and exceptionally sharp blade, right through her opponent’s neck. Even though she felt her blade cut clean through the muscle and bone, the energy was already moving. Almost as quickly as she had inflicted the mortal wound, the golden energy that permeated the warrior’s body was flowing back, instantly healing the severed tissue and closing the gap.

The conclusion was instantaneous and grim: her current tactic, which relied on inflicting physical, irreparable damage, was useless. This was distinctly unlike the fight she had before where she could simply destroy the opponent’s weapon or focus on a known weakness to stop the healing process. Here, the healing was innate to their form.

Do I have to rely on that power again? Beatrix thought, the question laced with genuine fear and concern for her own stability. The unstable, blood-soaked power hidden within her was terrifyingly effective, but it came with a colossal price. Lately, more and more, I’ve been relying on that unstable power to deal with my biggest, most insurmountable problems. And honestly, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing for my long-term control or sanity. The increased reliance felt like a surrender to the darkness she had worked so hard to contain.

A different, more pressing thought broke through her internal hesitation, driven by pure loyalty. She had to act. She jumped back, avoiding a sudden barrage of golden beams, and smoothly transitioned her body into her highly disciplined Moon Stance to deflect the remaining attacks with focused precision.

I promised Raze that I would help him with his monumental issues, she reminded herself, her conviction hardening. I came here telling him that I wouldn’t be a pain, a liability, or a burden on him. She looked up towards the massive hole in the ceiling. With that huge, impossible flow of energy that just erupted, Gizin’s power, it means Raze is in serious, perhaps desperate trouble. And I’m currently stuck here, unable to break through.

If I can’t beat the person in front of me using just my normal, stable magic, and I have to rely on another, stronger, more destructive power to ensure I can get to him, then so be it. The risk is worth the potential reward of helping Raze.

In the middle of the desperate, swirling fight, the observers from the Underside suddenly saw Beatrix perform a jarring, almost inexplicable maneuver: she abruptly closed her eyes. Her arms were still moving, her body still deflecting, her feet still dancing in the muddy water, even though her sight was gone. She was forcibly pushing herself into a profound, intense Zen state, the mental space necessary to allow the other persona access to her physical form.

As the golden energy beams continued to fly towards her, a fierce, reddish, almost liquid aura began to surround her fingertips. The aura surged up her arm, crackling until it reached her elbow. Then, she threw a sudden, explosive fist forward. A massive wave of raw, volatile Qi mixed with an overwhelming blood aura erupted from her fist and splattered outward in every direction.

The combined aura instantly shattered the golden energy attack and even violently disintegrated the delicate wings of the masked warrior, sending the Cerebus member staggering backward slightly, genuinely injured for the first time.

“What is this power? What the hell happened!” the Masked Man exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and a rising note of panic. “How did she suddenly get so strong and gain such a large, destructive boost of energy!” Before he could even fully articulate his surprise, he saw the woman was already right in front of him, covering the distance in an instant, her fist now fully consumed with crackling, red, life-destroying energy.

He quickly tried to gather all of his restorative energy and blast it out in a final, defensive explosion, but before he could even gather the necessary concentration, the fist slammed right into the man’s face.

The force was staggering; it felt like his mask was attempting to consume itself under the pressure. His entire body was then immediately flung with horrific force down into the dirty water river. The foul, thick river itself appeared to split apart, the water scattering on either side from the sheer kinetic power of the impact.

What is this monster! the masked person thought in absolute bewilderment as the golden energy flowed to him, trying desperately to heal his rapidly forming, painful wounds. Just as he landed on the riverbed, he saw a blood-red, shimmering hand reach out of the spray and clamp with an iron grip onto his face.

The hand then slammed his head violently into the wet, disgusting floor again, pinning him down and stopping him from continuing to move or effectively regenerate.

“Wow… wow… wow!” the figure controlling Beatrix’s body, the bloody woman, commented, her voice low, delighted, and utterly predatory. “You really are tough to kill, but let’s see if things still work out for you like that, now that I’m here.”

The entity lifted her hand and the blood aura began to swirl and spin around the Masked Man’s face with gathering speed. Then, the fist was thrown right into the man’s head again.

The blood aura continued to spin like a high-speed drill, and it was almost like the man was continuously getting punched by the dense Aura itself. The concentrated force was unstoppable. That’s when the impossible happened: a large part of the protective mask began to crack and splinter.

The Masked Man could hear the agonizing sound inside his helmet. No, that’s impossible. There has never been a case of this! The mask is supposed to be indestructible! This can’t be happening, right? The mask can’t be breaking!

The drill of the aura continued to hammer the Masked Man, and he couldn’t even summon any magic or mana to fight back. The intense, spinning force of the red Qi was effectively pushing all of the life-giving energy away, preventing it from returning to his body to be reused. He was being violently disassembled on an energetic level.

And then, finally, the mask shattered. The attack continued without pause, like a drill gone wild, splattering the inside and the entire head of the Masked Man until there was nothing left but fragmented remains in the river water.

The masked warrior had been utterly annihilated. The woman stood up from the messy, bloody situation, looking down at the corpse she had created.

“I guess divine energy is stronger than whatever cheap parlor trick you were using,” the bloody woman commented, wiping a nonexistent stain from her hand. “Oh well, I can go back now.”

She paused. “Wait, what’s this?” The bloody woman looked at both of her hands, examining the now-still hands with detached interest. “She’s not taking back over… I guess this is interesting. I finally have a body of my own.”

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