Chaos Heir

Chapter 1573: Primal

Major General Arngan was far from convincing in that state. His flesh truly looked on the verge of falling off due to the many cuts that littered it. It almost seemed that the King had carved a gory puzzle into his skin, and quite deeply, too.

However, Lord Enforcer knew better than to disrespect his companion’s wish. His species put too much value on strength to interfere with the General’s battle.

Besides, Lord Enforcer could clearly see that appearances were deceiving.

Lord Enforcer wasn’t privy to the details of his fellow Royal Guard’s training. Still, he knew that Major General Arngan had eventually met Lord Blind Sword’s standards.

That was already enough to vouch for the General’s strength, but the Thilku also saw much more. The demon-like human’s size spoke for his existence’s might, which was brimming with power so much that it was reaching the boiling point.

Meanwhile, from Major General Arngan’s perspective, his thoughts hardly lingered on his terrible appearance. Most of his spars with Lord Blind Sword had been about forsaking that superficial detail to achieve his element’s true potential, and his brain was filled with the awareness of his success.

Fate truly was a whimsical thing. After spending decades fighting and experimenting with all the help the Global Army had to offer, even going as far as earning the title of Demon of a Thousand Wars, the answer the General had sought had come from the brat’s Missus.

It wasn’t bloodlust. It wasn’t even a contrived feature akin to the most monstrous irregular mutations. Major General Arngan’s element had turned out to be something utterly natural and fundamental, but immensely profound at the same time.

Major General Arngan wasn’t violence. He embodied the primal inclination toward that drive at the core of every living being. He was an avatar for that need of passionate fierceness in the form of flesh, bones, and sharp protuberances.

Even now, that basic but spiritually profound urge was vivid in the General’s brain, clearer than it had ever been. Thoughts about crushing his opponent, dismembering him, ripping him to pieces, and more filled Major General Arngan’s mind in an oddly disorderly but calm fashion.

And that conflicting fashion didn’t stop at the General’s brain. He saw similar urges in his alien opponent. That world was also composed of a lifelike energy, harboring traces of those violent drives, painting everything in Major General Arngan’s vision with their undeniable shades.

That widespread glowing darkness was actually red in the General’s eyes, depicting an entire world with different shades of that color that spoke directly to his very soul.

And Major General Arngan listened to that symphony only he could hear, that primal desire that begged to be fulfilled. Dreams of untold violence continuously whispered in his ears, and he let them lull him, fulfilling the role his element had chosen for him.

As that symphony resounded in Major General Arngan’s ears, his violent thoughts intensified, but he grew calmer, experiencing a strange bliss at the ethereal energy entering his body.

The many cuts quickly stopped bleeding. Major General Arngan’s muscles bulged even further, stretching his tattered skin, inflating it until it reached the breaking point.

The bleeding resumed at that point, but was short-lived. As more of the General’s skin broke, pieces of it fell off, only to reveal new, healthy, and intact tissues underneath.

The process looked eerily similar to Khan’s healing skills but belonged to a different field entirely. The General’s new tissues were indeed healthy, but also of darker shades of red, seemingly signifying their difference from the previous ones.

The General’s horns and fangs highlighted that difference even further. Those protuberances grew, and more poked out of Major General Arngan’s shoulders and back, growing to make his monstrous appearance even more demonic.

That wasn’t a recovery. It was an additional transformation. The more urge for violence the General harnessed, the more deeply his appearance changed, making it more suitable for his role as avatar of that strange element.

And the more the General transformed, the more at peace he felt. Now more than ever, he knew why he had never found his place in the political environment. He belonged to the battlefield, both in mind and soul.

Unknowingly to the long-haired alien, he wasn’t a stranger to Major General Arngan’s influence. He had always been quite the bloodthirsty warrior, but staring at that big and growing demon somehow enhanced those traits.

Normally, the long-haired King wouldn’t have waited for the transformation to end. After all, he had a job to do, a duty to fulfill, and his opponents had doubled now that his companion had died.

However, something eerie made the King restrain his short, fuming knife. An urge warriors at his level could easily suppress or keep under control had taken over his mind and grew stronger as he inspected his opponent.

The King felt utter ecstasy. He had never thought battles could be so fun or fulfilling. Each clash with the General resonated with something deeper than his duty or superior species, and his mind couldn’t help but become addicted to the experience.

And the King wanted more of that. He desired to drown in that ecstasy, which, looking at the transforming General, was already providing. He felt drawn to that demon in ways he couldn’t explain, but the need for that had long since abandoned his mind.

That ecstasy culminated when the General grew a whole meter taller than Lord Enforcer, his muscles bulging far beyond what the Scalqa could achieve. His back was full of spikes, his claws were long and deadly, and his fangs had grown so big his mouth couldn’t close anymore.

Major General Arngan released a low, calm growl, scarlet mist escaping his mouth to fuse with the pitch-black environment, before his figure shot forward, blowing dense winds in Lord Enforcer’s face.

Somehow, the long-haired King understood the unspoken rhythm of that battle, shooting forward at the same time, his fuming knife clashing with the curved horns that had appeared on its path.