Chapter 46 Humanoid Archer: Field Test (2)
"Dvema joieaj. Fox." The archer spoke. Lee Seng stopped when the archer mentioned 'fox.' Lee Seng's head rang. He shook his head, vision blurring. "Your one of them, aren't you?" The archer spoke. Lee Seng took a step back in surprise. It spoke the same language as him.
'Were monsters able to do something like this?' Lee Seng thought. The archer tilted its head and chuckled.
"You can understand me, little fox." It chuckled.
"What do you mean 'one of them'?" Lee Seng asked. The archer's eyes fluttered opened. His gray eyes stared at Lee Seng as he blinked continuously. It seemed like it was observing Lee Seng. The stare coming from the archer made him uncomfortable. His tail lowered, dangling between his legs. The archer opened its mouth to say something but shook their head and shut it. It pulled an arrow out of nowhere and notched it. 𝒇𝒓eewe𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃𝒆𝚕.co𝘮
The archer fired the arrow and started to back up. Lee Seng dodged the arrow and ran after it. It was heading towards a shaded area. Lee Seng closed the distance and kicked. The archer blocked the attack mid-air. The archer landed and swung at Lee Seng. The two began to trade hits with each other. Lee Seng left hooked the archer, sending him flying. The archer bounced off the ground a couple of times before sliding to a stop.
It stood up. The archer looked at Lee Seng and smiled. Three arrows materialized and it notched all of them in one swift motion. It turned the bow horizontally and fired. The arrows began to hum, two arrows spinning around the middle arrow. Arrows began to materialize and spin closer together.
Lee Seng rolled out of the way as a couple arrows drilled into his leg. The arrows tore at him, ripping his skin like nothing. He cried in pain. Blood splattered and dripped as he clutched the lower part of his leg. The arrows managed to tear a couple inches deep and wide.
'This is gonna be a problem.' Lee Seng winced as the wound started to close. It healed a couple inches before it stopped. The archer was readying three more arrows. It watched Lee Seng writhe in pain and smiled. The archer sent another drill shot towards Lee Seng. Lee Seng scrambled onto his feet, screaming as he put pressure onto his wounded leg.
"Dammit!" He screamed. He fumbled onto the ground as the arrows flew closer. Lee Seng clutched at his wound, eyes on the arrows. Lee Seng's white tail started to shake. It shot and extended itself towards the arrows. The white tail slammed itself into the arrows. White wisps sparked as the two collided.
'Get away!' Lee Seng screamed in his head. The tail rushed with a bright white and spun the arrows in circles. Lee Seng could feel the white energy gathering on his face. His arms and wounds began to heal at a rapid rate. Steam and white wisps began to rise from his wounds. The fox mask materialized itself and Lee Seng stood up.
The archer took a step back in horror. It stared at the mask, shaking. Lee Seng raised his arms, looking at them. They were healed just like his leg was. He applied his weight to his leg and noticed everything was fine. He glanced at the archer who was frozen in fear. It was muttering something.
"Soul eater." It repeated. Lee Seng took a step forward as the archer shook even more. "Soul eater, spare me!"
"Spare you?" Lee Seng's distorted voice repeated.
"T-the humans, they trapped me here! Please, Soul eater!" It fell and scrambled. It cowered in fear in front of Lee Seng who felt the urge to rip its heart to pieces.
"Why do you blame us for your game?" Lee Seng asked. The archer scrambled backwards, shaking its head.
"I didn't know! I didn't know! Soul eater is friends with the humans? I will, I will... I will not involve myself. Spare me, Soul eater!"
Lee Seng stopped halfway and tilted his head. The urge to rip the archer into pieces only grew. He could feel his mouth starting to salivate at the thought of it. he shook his head and clutched his head. He felt the mask.
"Why... Do you call me Soul eater?" Lee Seng asked. The archer's jagged teeth chattered together. It continued to scramble backwards and Lee Seng lashed out at it, slicing its left arm off. The archer screamed in pain and clutched its stump arm. "Answer the question!" The archer grunted.
"Soul eaters..." The archer spoke between its teeth. "Are like you.... Beings who-who... Who eat souls. They hide... Hide among the humans and the wild.... They wait... They eat... They take wh-what they w-want... P-please, Soul eater.... I-I didn't know you held this territory... Spare me, please!"
Lee Seng started to laugh. The archer, whatever it was, was pleading for his life. A monster with enough intelligence to kill and hunt in these lands could plead for its life. Lee Seng shook his head and took a step forward. The archer began to scream and ramble for Lee Seng to spare it. Lee Seng sighed and stopped right at its feet. The archer shook in fear, still clutching to its gushing wound.
"Fine, i'll spare you." Lee Seng said. He turned around, trying to ignore the screaming desire to kill the archer. He began to move when the archer jumped at Lee Seng. Lee Seng turned and slapped it across the face. The archer went flying, landing into a half cut tree. "You plead for your life. You beg for it, but you're the same. Just like them. A <strong>liar</strong>."
Lee Seng grabbed the bow and ripped the clutching hand away from it. He could feel the Dark Matter emanating from the bow.
"Arrow." He spoke. An arrow materialized in his right hand. He notched it and pulled the bowstring back. "So the bow's enchanted. I wonder if that's all." Lee Seng pointed at the archer embedded into the tree. Lee Seng fired the arrow and watched as it whistled passed the archer. The archer shook in fear. "Takes more effort to aim properly. Arrow." Another arrow materialized and Lee Seng notched it. He pulled the string back and watched carefully. He hovered where the archer's head was.
"I wonder if my power works with the arrow." He began to imagine the arrow being infused with gravity. He felt his Dark Matter seep into the bow and into the arrow. He readied himself again and fired. The arrow flew straight for the archer's head. It began to pick up pace and harden. It flew straight through the archer's head and began to pierce straight through the line of trees.
The archer's mouth opened wide in shock. Its eyes widened and in an instant, its eyes darkened. The life in the archer had left it. Lee Seng glanced at his watch for his points.
[TOTAL POINTS: 18]
"Did I not kill it?" Lee Seng whispered. He looked back at the body. The archer was lifeless. He began to slowly move towards the body when it began to shake. Blue blood began to rip out of its body and flow quickly around the tree and body. "What the hell?"
[NOTICE: B-RANK MONSTER IDENTIFIED]
[BLOOD PUPPET--B-RANK--MAGICAL/PHYSICAL]
"What?" Lee Seng glanced at his watch, quickly looking up. The blue blood began slam three feet in front of it. The blood began to form a humanoid body. A woman's voice began to echo all around Lee Seng. Lee Seng watched as the blood began to form. Pale skin wrapped around the blood and muscles. A red dress poofed into existence and a scarlet-eyed woman smiled at Lee Seng. Her dark blonde hair was curly and she held raised her right hand up into the sky like she was holding a wine glass.
"It seems my puppet has failed." The scarlet-eyed woman chuckled. She pointed a sharp, bony finger at Lee Seng. "Oh how exhausting it is to be blind! I can't believe a human beat me in that form."
"A blood puppet? Does that mean--"
"You speak what I am?" She interjected. She seemed genuinely surprised that Lee Seng spoke her species name. "To think I got caught by humans who caged me in that form and kept me in this forest. I've almost managed to get many humans but every time I kill them, they turn to light. Now that I'm me, again, I should kill you, Soul eater. Then I can truly be free."
Lee Seng narrowed his eyes. The fox mask covered his face well. He chuckled. He didn't imagine that a B-rank monster would be that easy to kill. The blood puppet was cunning. She masked herself well and almost managed to kill him. Lee Seng felt the same burning desire.
Kill it and take its soul.
"You aren't scared of me? Weren't you pleading for your life earlier?" Lee Seng asked. The blood puppet laughed.
"Me? Scared? You really don't know anything about us, do you?" The blood puppet laughed. "That was just some poor sap that met my requirements. I took it over and it pleaded for their life. I simply watched and used it to feed myself."
'We can assume that the archer was probably a high C-ranking monster. That high of intelligence must be worth something, right? If she was hiding within him, controlling him and using him to feed herself then she must be a threat. I can't make mistakes or else I'm really gonna die.'