PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

641 Chapter 641 Against Time.

Having used the innate ability, <Crimson-Gift >, Desmond suffered from a degree of fatigue. Still, he didn’t have the luxury of taking a break. Barely a second after Desmond believed he had murdered Emerard, chunks of the remaining necrotic mass of bone and flesh began to twist and reform into a new entity.

At that point, it wasn’t a matter of regenerative abilities anymore, or if that was still Emerard, Desmond had the feeling that this thing was foreign to all of that. Although he had no basis for his beliefs, Desmond felt that this mutant mass was something similar to one of the necrotic beasts used by that necromancer whose name he no longer remembered.

If Desmond’s assumption is true, there would have to be something, or someone behind said beast. However, this was unlike his adventure in Erack, where the mastermind was a newly resurrected necromancer whose powers were barely enough to infect a tiny patch of a forest. The creature in front of Desmond was being fed and strengthened by an unholy essence that had plagued and twisted an entire world for thousands of years; to say that this was far above Desmond was an understatement.

Using what little mana he had left, Desmond attempted to bombard the growing necrotic mass to death, but the results were disappointing. In addition to regenerating from all damage dealt, the unholy essence around the creature was now so dense that any attack made against it was almost entirely corroded.

At some point, the concentration of corrosive essence in the catacomb had agglomerated around the creature, and now Desmond didn’t dare to be too direct with his attacks. Something inside told him that even his sword, <Sky’s End>, ironically, would meet its end if he used it to attack that thing.

Desmond was tempted to rely on lightning mana to deal with the problem. Yet, his thought was quickly answered by an electric shriek that conveyed a sense of fatigue and helplessness that told him such a plan was not feasible.

At this point, Desmond no longer doubted that what had taken his heart as a home was some kind of energetic life form similar to what he had seen back at the association. However, the symbiotic relationship with this life form and its exact nature was still beyond his comprehension. Although Desmond had at least the slightest suspicion that he was some elemental being of the Natura race, he knew at least as much of Titania’s hints.

With no more tools on his belt, Desmond turned and focused on opening the damn door to Lilith’s tomb, wanting this woman with powers beyond his comprehension to deal with his problem.

Seeing that the next key bore the symbol of the Tremor clan, Desmond accessed the rest of the blood gems stored within his heart. Having had more than enough time and access, it was only to be expected that Desmond would have obtained a blood gem from the Araksia blood of the Tremor clan.

.....

As the blood gem burned, the innate power and abilities of the Tremor clan began to course through Desmond’s veins, causing another set of physical changes, just as the blood of the Lupan clan did.

From Desmond’s blood, infused with the power of the Tremor clan, a set of organs and appendages were created that greatly mimicked the appearance of a Tremor clansman in their humanoid form.

Four pairs of spider legs made entirely of solidified blood protruded from the back of Desmond’s tailbone, and rows of blood-red gems imitating additional eyes formed in front of Desmond. In addition to the physical changes, Desmond experienced a change in how his senses operated, becoming hypersensitive to the vibrations around him.

Although there was much to experience about his new abilities, Desmond could already feel the foul and ominous vibrations emitted by that necrotic mutant mass of death. Without wasting a second, Desmond pressed the Tremor clan key with his right hand, activating a hidden mechanism.

Inside the door, immune to any kind of energetic scanning, small mechanisms kicked into action, emitting vibrations that only a member of the Tremor clan could have detected with his innate senses.

As a certain sequence formed, Desmond used his newly acquired blood-crystallized appendages. He hit the hidden spots in the same succession that they activated. A second later, with one last blow, he sent a vibration that counteracted the one emitted by the last hidden mechanism, which illuminated the Tremor clan key.

With a sigh of relief, Desmond looked at the three remaining keys. “Just a little more.”

As if trying to remind Desmond of his presence, the nearly reformed and enhanced necrotic beast filled with unholy essence shot a huge bone spike at Desmond. Even with his enhanced senses, Desmond could barely react to the speed and force contained within that bone spike.

With less than the time necessary to use any of his mana-based defensive abilities, Desmond poured the full power of the Tremor clan’s blood into the spider legs, which quickly took on an unbelievably ruby-like appearance.

Crossing all eight limbs of crystallized blood power, Desmond parried the huge bone spear, but his back quickly met the mural behind him. Desmond felt the impact rearrange most of his organs, but he gritted his teeth and refused to lose consciousness.

A casual attack from that still-forming creature nearly turned Desmond into a crushed spider. God only knew how strong that thing would be that kept feeding on the unholy essence of this world.

Enduring the urge to vomit a mouthful of blood, Desmond used the remaining power of Tremor’s blood to deflect the bone spear, freeing him and causing him to fall to the ground. Slowly, almost as if it were an appendage it wasn’t used to using, the necrotic beast retrieved the bone spear.

Although lethargic, the necrotic beast was putting a lot of pressure on Desmond, who still pushed aside the state of his body and forced himself to undergo another transformation to use a <Crimson-Gift >.

Nothing but red ashes remained from Desmond’s earlier transformation when his pale, exhausted face took on a faint purplish hue, and his presence became alluring to the extreme.

This time, the physical changes were few, but Desmond’s body still gave off a very different feeling. Without even finishing experiencing the new sensation, Desmond pressed the next key, the one with the Hearth family symbol.

A series of unreadable runes immediately glowed below the five keys, and Desmond knew what to do. Concentrating the seductive hormones he exuded thanks to the Hearth bloodline on his fingertip, Desmond overwrote the runes, causing a reaction of some kind that slowly lit them up. A second later, the third key flashed, and Desmond found himself one step closer to unlocking Lilith’s tomb.

The next key was perhaps the easiest of all. In their arrogance, the Darkblood clan valued their blood above all else, so Desmond had to put some of his bloodline’s unique blood energy on the key, which activated it.

The problem was the fifth and final key, the one with the emblem of the Licht clan. Unfortunately, due to how antisocial the entire clan was, Desmond had only had access to its members today when his mansion was attacked. He simply didn’t get a chance to refine a blood gem with his clan lineage.

From Nicolai’s memories, Desmond knew how to activate the last key, but he was pretty helpless as to how to do it. Originally, Desmond planned to trick or somehow force Emerard to activate the mechanism upon figuring out how to open the door. Yet, that option disappeared when the latter completely lost his mind and turned into a berserk zombie.

As for how the heck to blow spectral fire onto the Licht Clan Key to activate it? Well, Desmond had his gaze on what was now the head of the new unholy beast on super steroids. That thing was covered in a green fire as if it were some creepy ghostly knight.

After forming what could only be considered a stupid and suicidal plan, Desmond couldn’t help but marvel at his audacity and recklessness. “I’m definitely a case study in why a man needs a woman to keep him alive. Give me a couple weeks, and I’ll start pulling off suicidal stunts.”

Although he had exhausted the blood gems he had refined, and his mana was not in the best condition, Desmond still had one last resort to play with: his own blood.

Pulling out fist after fist of injection devices filled with healing potions, Desmond injected them one after the other into his own body. At the same time, he simultaneously burned his own blood for fuel.

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Quickly, Desmond’s body metabolized the potions refined by Sasha and turned them into an endless stream of healing essence, which quickly turned into a rush of blood. Using his own vitality as fuel, Desmond pushed his lineage and physical power to the absolute limit through a modified version of his ability, <Full-drive >.

Actually feeling his life flicker like candlelight in the face of a blizzard, Desmond had to gamble it all on one go; otherwise, there wouldn’t even be a body left to mourn.