Reborn: Demon's Legacy (6 page)

“Others…Like what?” Ash asked after having his curiosity piqued. What other poisons would be as dangerous as the one they currently faced.

As soon as he asked, Seia’s faced turned bright red and she shifted back and forth as her tail started to kick up dust from the ground. “Well, there are some poisons that effect the human body’s hormones. If we absorb them, then it tends to make us go a little crazy.”

“Huh,” Ash said, not understanding Seia’s meaning but when he noticed her red face and Celina’s impish smile it donned on him. “Ohh…” Ash said his eyes going wide. “Your mother must have absorbed some over the years then,” Ash said half-jokingly.

Seia nodded her head with a thin smile. “I never thought of it before, but she just might have,” she said with a serious expression. “It would explain a lot of her actions.”

The seriousness of Seia’s words left Ash slightly white faced, but he quickly recovered. “Now that we know the monsters troubling abilities, we are forewarned. Why don’t we go pick some flowers?”

The calius flower looked nothing like Ash had expected. It had a rotund body with a thick dark brown stem that looked almost human with a pale pink flower sprouting from the top. Thankfully the monsters was over four feet tall so it was easily to identify among the other plants in the area.

Ash led the group with Celina near his left side while Seia held the rear. They had used this formation during all the battles and it had thus far worked out well. Seia was skilled with her bow, but it was weak against plant style monsters. Fire would be the best choice and with both Ash and Celina able to use it, Ash didn’t overtly worry about the battle.

When they got close, the flower shifted its body slightly and three globs of white liquid shot from its center at the three of them. Ash twisted to the side allowing the poison to fly past while Celina used her magic to create a shield but as soon as the poison touched it, her shield dissolved. Thankfully she was already moving and the white liquid barely missed her. Seia on the other hand dropped forward, letting it pass over her. With the lower half of a snake, Seia had a range of movements that the other two couldn’t match and Ash had to admit that she had proven to be more than useful thus far.

After launching the poison, the flower started to move its body and a number of thin thorny vines erupted from its body lashing out at Ash and Celina who were nearing. Almost at the same time Ash and Celina used their abilities. Ash cast fire lance while Celina threw two daggers that looked to be made of white flames. The daggers hit first, each one of them doing 20% damage to the flowers HP. Ash’s flame lance hit last doing a paltry 25% damage in comparison. The damage honestly wasn’t bad considering it was still a level 1 ability. If not for his high levels in intelligence and wisdom, Ash figured that it wouldn’t have even made a mark on the creature. Feeling slightly defeated, Ash cast fire lance again while Celina finished it off with a final fire attack.

“Do you think I can learn the poison skill?” Ash asked as he looked down at the now dead enemy.

“I don’t know,” Seia admitted. “After learning the drawbacks to the Liam, none of the previous Maoh have ever attempted to learn it. The risk of losing everything wasn’t worth it.”

It was true there was a risk but the ability was also very tempting. “The poisons you absorb stay in your body?” Ash asked as he tried to work though the problem.

“Yes,” Seia said hesitantly. “Like snakes we have a gland that secrets poison so we can make a limited amount without using SP or MP. That is even true after being effected by the null poison that the flower has.”

“I think that it is because that it stays in your body that it affects you that way. All the poisons I make have to be made purely with MP so I don’t think it will have the same affect,” Ash said after thinking it through. “Either way, I want to give it a try. An ability like that would come in useful in any number of situations.”

Hearing his words, Celina nodded her head but Seia still seemed worried though she didn’t voice her concerns.

Within an hour of fighting, Ash heard the welcomed sound that he had been waiting for.

“Tring.”

[You have reached the absorption level for the calius flower. Abilities available; sealing poison (active), and thorn strike (active).]

“Tring.”

[You have randomly received the ability sealing poison.]

[Sealing poison-cost 60MP 10SP: seals all MP and SP based abilities and skills for 120 seconds. Level 1-0%.]

“Got it,” Ash said happily.

“Can you still use your other abilities?” Seia asked her brow pinched in worry.

With a sense of dread Ash invoked “stab,” since it had the lowest activation cost. Ash’s right arm jumped forward as the ability was successfully used and Ash let out the breath he had been unknowingly holding in. “Everything still works fine,” Ash said as he clinched his fist.

After gaining the ability, he wanted Ash pushed forward and was able to make it to the twenty fifth floor before having to leave the labyrinth. Ash thought about how easy it was to move from floor to floor and couldn’t help but remember his first visits to a labyrinth. He had fought hard and desperately to reach the same level. It almost seemed as if the universe was having one big laugh at him.

The last day of fighting in the labyrinth was much harder as the monsters got stronger and stronger. Ash knew that if he had more people he could easily make it to the fortieth floor, but for now there were only three of them. Of course there were also three high level guards but they refused to fight unless Ash or one of the girls were in serious trouble and so far that had not come about. The truth was that they remained silent and stayed so far back most the time Ash forgot that they were even present.

In the end the three were only able to make it to the thirty-third flood of the labyrinth but that was still far better than Ash had ever done before. Both the girls were higher level than Ash and as the sage had said they had a better understanding of their own abilities so they fought at a much higher level with them. When it came to only swords, Ash was sure that he could beat them but when abilities were involved all bets were off especially when it came to Seia. Some of her poisons were so dreadful, Ash even felt bad for the monsters that they were used on.

9-7

Once again Ash was flying through the sky, now with an extra person following him. So far he had enjoyed his time in the demon lands, but not enough that he had forgotten Emelia, Shina, Yuki and the others and every so often a feeling of longing would well up inside him.

To help pass the time and to alleviate some of the guilt and fear that pressed in on him, Ash started to think of what the next demon race might look like. From what he had seen at first they all looked human so he just expected to see slight differences like among the beast tribe but after meeting the Liam clan, that thought had been erased.

The sage had said that the each clan was modeled after a certain group of monsters that had been cultivated within labyrinths. He had fought a large number of such creatures and read about even more when he was researching abilities. He knew that there were forty-two main clans and another two-hundred and ten sub-clans. Each clan was large but even with all its members wouldn’t be a fifth the size of the capital city. The real difference was that every one of them had been born and trained to fight.

Out of all the demons that Ash wanted to see, it was ones who could fly he wanted to see the most. The sage had said that there were not many clans that could fly and only one main clan had such power. The rest were of sub-clans and could only fly for a short amount of time having been mixed with the imp race of monsters.

Ash couldn’t help but think about many of the things he had learned while he had been in demon lands. It was all so different from what he had read when he was back at Emelia’s but then again, history often changed depending on who wrote them.

This time it was much easier to see when they approached the next clan as there were a number of houses that glittered in the morning sun. As they drew closer, Ash noticed that it was not snow or frost that made the houses shine but the fact they looked to be made purely out of ice. Flying behind Seia, Ash could see that her shoulders were already shivering. He wanted to move closer to her but unlike horses, the large birds needed room to fly and even if he could get close, the sound of the wind rushing passed drowned everything else out. It was so bad at times that Celina used an invisible shield to wrap their heads while they flew.

Once again when they landed, they were greeted by a large group of people. Ash had to blink his eyes a number of times before he was sure what was standing before him was real. He had seen a number of beautiful women before, but even the men seemed to radiate unfathomable beauty.

A large man at least eight feet tall with pale blue skin, bright blue eyes, and white hair stepped forward while a woman who was nearly as tall with the same crystalline features stood close behind him. “Welcome, my lord, to our humble home,” the man said in a deep booming voice. “I am the head of the Icsorth clan, Belgan. This is my niece Tolarea who has been chosen as your bride.”

Even though it was his third time being greeted in such a manner, Ash was still lost for words as he looked up at the large man. “M-my ple-sure,” Ash sputtered.

Belgan began to laugh loudly. “I see even the Maoh is left in awe at the sight of Tolarea.” Belgan grabbed Ash around the shoulders and pulled him close. Each one of his arms were the size of one of Ash’s legs and even with his abundant strength, Ash felt as if he was going to be crushed. “You are a lucky man, if she wasn’t my own blood, I would have taken her for myself,” Belgan bellowed with a hearty voice.

Suddenly Belgan let out a deep shout and moved away from Ash as he held his back. Turning his head, Ash saw that Tolarea was looking at Belgan with narrowed eyes. Seeing the look on her face, Belgan’s face seemed to blanch a little, though with his pale completion it was hard to tell.

“Sorry for my uncle’s actions,” Tolarea said as she massaged her slightly red knuckles.

“It is fine,” Ash said as his eyes drifted over the tall beauty in front of him.

“Good,” Tolarea said curtly. “Now let us go inside and see if this fool of a clan head can do his job of explaining what you will doing during your short time here.”

Without waiting, Tolarea turned and walked toward the largest of the ice buildings that looked more like a castle than a regular mansion. Before Ash had taken two steps, Belgan leaned down and placed his arm over Ash’s shoulder. “She has a bit of a temper, but that can be a good thing in the bedroom. I bet she will…ahhhhhh,” the clan head hit the ground holding his side.

“Keep it up and your son will be the next clan head before the sun goes down,” Tolarea said menacingly. Turning her eyes to Ash, she had a neutral look on her face as he took a step back. “If you would come with me my lord,” She said holding out her hand.

When Ash took her offered hand, he was surprised to find that it wasn’t cold. Instead he found his own hand covered in warmth though he felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that his hand looked like that of a child’s when held by her. Looking up, he noticed that the edges of her lips were curled up in an almost imperceptible smile and the cheeks were tinted just the slightest bit red.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he noticed that Seia was shivering from the cold air that blew through the large ice castle. “Is there a place for Seia to warm herself?” Ash asked looking up at the large woman.

“My apologies,” Tolarea said as she looked toward the other women. “I am used to the cold temperature so I tend to forget that it can hinder others.”

Ash noticed the words elemental shield flash over Tolarea’s head and the suddenly he couldn’t feel the heat from her hand nor the cold from the blowing wind. Looking over to Seia, he noticed that she was still shivering slightly, but the pain on her face had disappeared. “Thank you,” Ash said grinning up at the taller woman.

Once again Ash saw the hint of a blush on Tolarea’s face, but it quickly disappeared. Though she had a stern, cold beauty to her, Ash thought she would look even more beautiful with a smile.

They were taken to a large room and Ash was happy to see that he wasn’t going to be forced to sit on the ground again. The only problem was that the chairs were so tall Ash’s feet dangled as off the ground. Seia sat at Ash’s left while Celina was on his right and Tolarea was situated across from him so that he couldn’t help but look at her emotionless face.

“My lord, since you have limited amount of time with us, I am sure you know what will be coming. First thing tomorrow you will enter the labyrinth along with my personal guards to gain eight new abilities. I know it will be tiring, but it was the shortest that I could narrow down the training. Unlike the other clans you have visited thus far, we have no long ranged skills, instead we focus on the sword and fight as vanguards. I have heard that you already have some training with the sword so I hope you will understand the abilities usefulness.”

“You already know the sword?” Tolarea asked her eyes shining slightly.

“Tolarea, can you wait until we are finished before you start assaulting your future husband?” Belgan said, looking Ash with a wry smile.

Tolarea reached over her shoulder but her hand only grasped empty air. Muttering under her breath, she narrowed her eyes while looking at Belgan. Turning back to Ash, Belgan let out a soft cough. “As I said, we focus on the sword. Since we are…Hummm what would be the right word for it; descended, born, created from. Ah hell the ice giants were used to make us along with other large monsters. We have great strength. Out blood ability is overwhelm and it grants us ten points extra in strength per level. Out of all the demon clans, none are as strong as we are.”

“What abilities will I be gaining?” Ash asked as the clan head started going off subject about the heroes of the past.

“You will learn that tomorrow,” Belgan said with a short laugh. “No fun is spoiling the surprise.”

Sighing, Ash didn’t learn anything else and quickly grew bored with the clan heads boasting and begged off feigning tiredness. As soon as he stepped out of the room, something grabbed his arm forcing him to turn around.

“My lord, would you be so kind as to honor me with a duel?” Tolarea asked with sparkling eyes.

“Ok,” Ash said, fearing to turn down the giantess.

There was a large training field in the back of the castle where Tolarea took Ash. He was given a wooden sword close to the size he was used to, while Tolarea wielded a two handed sword that was almost as large as Ash’s entire body.

Tolarea didn’t say anything as she advanced on Ash with her large sword resting lightly on her shoulder. When she closed in on Ash, she swung the massive sword at him so fast that he was momentarily surprised, but he was still able to react in time to dodge the strike. As the wind from the wooden blade caused his hair to flutter, Ash’s eyes widened. Even if it wasn’t sharp, getting struck by Tolarea’s sword would be immensely painful.

Though the fight had just started, Ash could see the weakness of the large sword. Though it was better than a spear, when one got close it the sword would have limited maneuverability. Kicking off the ground, Ash moved to shorten the distance between the two, but before he could take five steps another strike came in from above.

Ash was moving too fast to make a complete change in direction, so he leaned back and slid under the strike digging his sword into the ground to help propel him back to his feet. As soon as he stood, Ash struck out with his sword and struck Tolarea on the left shin. The strike did little damage and Ash was already preparing himself for a counterattack, but it never came.

Tolarea dropped her sword and bent down and lifted Ash slightly off the ground. “Well done my lord,” She said, her face turning a bright red as she hugged him close to her body.

Ash tried to struggle, but even with his advanced strength, he couldn’t break free from her grasp. When he looked up, Ash noticed that Tolarea had a warm smile on her face. “Beautiful,” Ash said without thinking.

Before he could say another word, Ash’s lips were covered by Tolarea’s. Her lips were slightly cool, but his body still warmed up. The longer they kissed, the more strength Tolarea put into it and soon Ash was having trouble breathing.

“Stop,” Ash gasped, pulling away from Tolarea’s lips. “I can’t breathe.”

Tolarea blushed and sat Ash down on the ground. “Sorry,” she said bashfully.

“It’s ok,” Ash said, holding his side as he drew in deep gulps of breath. “I think I need to lie down.”

“I will take my lord to his lodgings,” Tolarea said, her face returning to its emotionless state.

Ash was slightly afraid that Tolarea would insist on staying with him in his room, so when she left, he let out a deep breath. Dropping onto the large bed, Ash didn’t even notice that Celina and Seia were watching him from the doorway.