Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Chapter 136: Soul Exchange

"So, Lili..."

"Arsene, I do not wish to die. Please leave if you wish to discuss the Abyss or that spawn. Be aware that you will die if you continue speaking." Bael indifferently warned. "While I may be powerful to you, I assure you it would take but a thought for anyone of their protectors to kill me."

Crossing my arms, I turned towards the heavens, giving a sharp nod. "Fine, how does this work then?"

"It\'s quite simple, really. In exchange for any of my knowledge, you must pay the price. It can either be with souls, your soul, or I will request you complete a task for me, and a more rare occurrence I will exchange knowledge with knowledge."

"What is going on with my body?" I asked as Bael\'s eyes grew lustful.

"Fifty souls," He demanded as I nodded with an irritated expression.

Suddenly fifty small flames sprung from my body, flying into bael as he grinned in satisfaction, "You are currently experiencing an evolution. You had a mortal body before you turned into a variant. Adding in the odd body cultivation your using, you are in a state of rebirth. It\'s been a total of three days, and within five hundred years, your body will finally get rid of its mortal roots."

"500 Year!!" I screamed, watching as beal nodded." So my human bloodline will..."

"No, human blood doesn\'t mean mortal, but it is evolving. Your current strength will not increase much, but you will finally break through in both body and qi cultivation. While also getting a massive boost to your comprehension. " Bael patiently explained as he bit down on a soul.

The sounds of screaming could be heard as I gasped at what bael os doing. Hearing the wails of anguish, I frowned as they slowly began to turn darker the more Bael bit down.

"Such foolish little things," Bael whispered before he turned to me with a menacing expression," Arsene, do you know what happens to a soul once you absorb them? Five hundred souls, what do you say?"

Narrowing my gaze, I shrugged, "I\'ll pass, but I have a faint idea, but how much is it worth to know about the current Bael?"

"Him? Give me your soul, and I will tell you everything." Bael Hungary said as he laughed.

"How do I increase the pace of my evolution?" I suddenly asked, ignoring the ridiculous price of my early inquiry. "Just take the damn souls; I don\'t wanna know the price as long as it\'s not my soul."

"Kill and gather more souls. Ideally, it would be best if you aimed for those that are higher rank than the ones you recently killed, but you can also kill those that are pure in nature, like a virgin, newborns, Elves, or anything along those lines. And my personal favorite soul benders and soul cultivators. Our myth doesn\'t have an upper limit; we are immoral at birth, so con your way Arsene. Act like a demon and rid yourself of the little humanity you have. Our time is up, but we shall see one another once again."

Confused, my vision suddenly twisted as I felt a rush of water gushing down my lungs. My body was still pouring out impurities as I struggled to move. While I didn\'t need to breathe, having water rushing down my lungs was quite painful.

Gritting my teeth, a deranged look flashed through my eyes as I roared inwardly. Soulforce began to fill my form as ancient marking covered my body. Soulforce could increase the rate of anything. With one final thought, I bellowed in rage.

"ADAPT!!!"

As if my words were law, I suddenly regain my mobility. Pushing qi through my body, I forced the excess water out from my body before shooting up. Fusing with Spear intent, my body pierced through the water to arrive at the surface within minutes. A feeling of exhaustion filled my mind as I floated on the surface without much strength.

With my fingers still shivering from exhaustion, I stabbed my fingers into the rocky well before slowly crawling up. Ours began to pass before I made it to the surface. With a bright smile, my vision once again cut to black.

...

...

...

"Shit, why it the Nine Hell\'s do I keep fainting like some little bitch!" I weakly voided in irritation while I pushed my body up. Looking around, I frowned as I appeared to be in a building. A heavy presence of essence surrounded me, flowing through my pours while various herbs were hung along the walls all around the room.

Stepping in, I saw an attractive young woman wrapped in tribal robes. Her face was marked with complicated tattoos with a small raven carved into her forehead. A look of elegance could be seen in her stance as she sent me a curious glance.

"Praise the AllFather, your awake. You have been unconscious for about three days. Lisa has been quite worried." She said with piercing eyes. " mind telling me what happened?"

Taking a minute to study my body, I gazed up at the woman with a cunning flash, "Nothing much, I was busy killing when darkness flashed. Before I could comprehend what was happening, my vision when black. I later awoke in a well. I\'m sure you can figure the rest out..." I said with a pause, implying I wanted to know her name.

"It\'s Shana; I am the Jarls personal doctor. Lisa asked for a favor, so I came." She said, yet, I felt there was something more to it. Why did she stay? She was some big-time doctor, so she must be busy?"

"Do I know you?" I asked as I felt something was off. I wanted to leave, but the aura this woman had had me quivering inwardly.

"Nope, but you met my son," she coldly said, lifting up Dragonsbane, "Once he saw the spear, he laughed. Telling me I needed to save you so he can finish his battle."

Remembering the young man I attacked, a cold sweat filled my brow as she sneered, "So tell me, Arsene Snow, why did you attack, my son?"

"..."

"What? cat got your tongue?" Shana asked as she drew closer, snickering as a dagger was placed against my neck, drawing a tinge of blood. "I asked you a question, boy."

Fuck you, Odin, and your fucking cult of bitches. Smiling at the menacing mother, I pushed her dagger away with my finger shaking my head, "Matters of the younger generation, my dear. YOu will have to ask your son."

\'AHAHAHA, Well said, boy," a powerful voice called as I saw a middle-aged man appear. His eyes pulsing with azure light as he sent me a grin, "But everything comes at a price. You killed an entire squad my son raised for his battle against Dulan, so you must pay."

I may have gone a little overboard, but then again, what are the chances this would happen. My luck is truly shit. Sensing their hidden power beneath their body, I sighed, knowing this was not going to be a request but rather a demand.

"What do you propose? Also, be aware I work with the Veserack, so I cannot always be there for your son." I begrudgingly uttered.

"Worry not, child," Shana said, " Roald will also be joining you. Your job will be to protect him. It seems within this short time; your power has rapidly increased. We believe you will make a good guard and assassin for him."

Scrunching my brow, I became a little confused, "can\'t you all hire someone? There are millions that are stronger than I."

"True," the middle-aged man said with a smile, "but Roland wants to do this alone, and we belive..."

"then you two are fools," I coldly said at the blatant stupidity, " no offense. Roald, from what I saw, will never defeat Drulan. Honestly, the only reason I can think as to why he is alive is due to you two. Adding me into the mix is stupid. I can rattle Drulan, but that\'s it. That man sent five mid-Life gate assassins after me. So tell me the truth, what is it your after.