Prologue Part 2 - Metamorphosis through fear

Kaoru did not imagine her entrance to the guildship would be as graceful as that of a drowning rat. She punctured through the guildship's curving walls and landed on the wooden floor with a screeching, ear-piercing cry. She felt that a good portion of her face would be bare, skinless flesh. Even though she wasn't as pretty as Mitsuki's women were famed to be, and despite her many flaws, deep down she still cared about the way she looked. A little bit. It was widely known among slavers that a woman, or even a man from Mitsuki, could rival the value of a beastman or an elf. Such a word would never be spoken in front of the residents or nobility, but the scum of the slum knew what should not be spoken of better than anyone else. Before she could ponder the many things she hated about herself, her body shivered with pain, and every breath she took ached. Her lips felt swollen, bloody, and twice their usual size. The once-elegant dress she wore was now in tatters, hanging by threads. But surprisingly enough, the herbalist's satchel barely had a thread loose. Kaoru looked at the bag longingly and hoped to commission the maker to make a fine dress for her.

Her heart was pounding, and her ears burned with hot fire. Kaoru had no idea how long she lay there, writhing in pain. After barely recollecting herself, she realized that she had her arms wrapped around the little princess. Her sleeping calmly in her thick, robust arms. Kaoru was surprised that any of them were even alive. For once in her life, she did not despise her physical self.

As a result of her body's natural poor mana circulation, her body unnaturally grew to consolidate the strain on her body. If she did not have her mother's face and a dulcet voice, she would be easily mistaken for a bloodthirsty barbarian. Deep down, Kaoru did despise it, but what hurt her more was the fact that it was her doing. She was warned that her mana usage with weak circuitry would not be without consequences. But she had tasted the power that she yearned for, and it was intoxicating. And so her elongated limbs, ashen complexion, and fortress-like build stood out even among the well-built occultist hunters. And thus Kaoru had manifested the most common indication of low-grade art practitioners: the mutation of the body and pale ashen skin.

Furthermore, it was a relief that her skill had not activated yet. It meant that she was not in a life-threatening situation enough. She still remembered the heart-breaking disappointment she felt when her skill was revealed. She always fantasized about one day destroying the Empress's grasp on her by getting a super powerful skill, like in the stories, and usurping the throne. But now reality struck her. She would forever have to live with the fact that she could never break through her harsh life with this skill. It was not a skill she could activate willfully, but rather a conditional skill that would only activate in the most dire of situations. It killed her, as it never activated during her time at the palace. Ever. She never got a chance to use it then.

But ironically, having a skill from the Archeon of "The Foolish" was befitting for her. A skillless person was only useful as a glass hammer. But even a minor archeon's skill was enough to keep a person relevant in society. But it was the equivalent of surviving on scraps. And Kaoru was grateful for it. Only the most elite were blessed with a skill bestowed by any of the major Archeons. And Kaoru was not one of them, but the Empress was. She laughed a rueful then.

Part of her wondered where the herbalist was and whether he would keep his end of the bargain. And part of her wondered where she would have been had the Empress's guard not come looking in the slums for a potential warden. Her parents happily gave Kaoru up, and she found out what she was worth in gold that day—a few measly coppers in reality. Maybe she would also be rotting in the slums. If the herbalist was famous for having scorn for slavers and lust for peculiar women, then perhaps they could have crossed paths in one of the many seedy houses with red doors Kaoru's mother owned.

She gently lifted her head and blinked slowly, her senses trying to recover. Her vision was watery, and it felt like seeing through tearful eyes. A feeling not unfamiliar to her. Yet it was a good sign. Had she been mana poisoned to a high degree, her senses would be the clearest ever in her life. Before meeting her end in a mana-fueled combustion, burning in blazing glory. She groggily tried to make sense of her surroundings, though her shaky vision and muffled hearing resulted in little. She frowned and focused her senses once again.

Kaoru took in her surroundings and found herself in the guildship's main hall. The faint light pouring slowly from the entrance Kaoru made dimly lit the hall. The many quest counters lay idle, littered by unfinished paperwork stained red. The massive quest board stood domineering as the witness grim at the center of the hall. The familiar stench of death blanketed the air—rotting flesh, grimy blood, and unfinished dreams. A glance at the floor made her throw up; it was carpeted with grime and blood instead of lavishly fashioned rugs. It reminded her of the prison palace she ran away from.

She could finally make out a few murky shapes swaying to and fro. The light was enough for a dancing silhouette to form. The shifting shadows were the way people would move after a Karkash session. She hoped naively for a single person to retain some common sense. But if her thundering entrance did not attract their attention, then there wasn't a single sober soul present, not in Karkash-filled ecstasy. She did not know what had occurred in the hall, but the splatters of blood decorating the floor and the smell of death would be enough to make her yearn for an elated escape.

She recalled, from her childhood, the many scenes of raving people bumbling from door to door. In search of spare mercy to put them out of their misery or for charity to elongate their happiness. The Karkash had inevitably dried up their vigor and fortune. One didn't have to be poor or rich to be addicted to it; even the best of the best had fallen for its euphoric freedom. And Karkash's high adventurers would be as helpful as tits on a bull. After all, she had seen the Empress sway in ecstasy like this many times when she was trying to get pregnant with the little princess. She was too haughty to admit that she would find a man lovable in romance. It would be a good cover, and she made sure that her maids would say good words about the savagery of the late king she was horrifically subjected to every night. That was the tamest and happiest she had ever seen her, spreading her lies and legs every night. And at present, Kaoru herself isn't far from a drugged state.

The relaxing silence in the room was broken by the sound of a distant, thundering whip. The harshness of the whip echoed throughout the hall, snapping Kaoru back to reality.

"AFTER HER, MY CHILDREN! It was a grating, booming voice. The kind of voice you would expect from an angry, hungry beast. Its anger and dominance enveloped the hall. The fear solidified in Kaoru down to her bones as she crumbled in fright.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the inky beings slowly shuffling towards her, all screeching in unison after finally noticing her. Their bodies groaned like creaking furniture with every movement. For a moment, Kaoru wanted to call out to them; just maybe they might be reasoned with. However, even in her broken state, she was sure humans do not have screeches for speech or walk on all fours.

Broken, bruised, under the cold fear of mana poisoning, and outnumbered by beings with malicious intent, Kaoru's panic began to dictate her next thoughts. Only the gaping hole in the guildship provided an escape, but to the hell outside. Their slow, inching pace was the only relief.

Her body jerked with a jolt of electricity, and her mind felt cool and clear. Her skill had activated, and in an instant, all the fear and pressure dissolved.

SKILL ACTIVATION: UNYIELDING, a voice echoed in her mind.

Her skill had activated for the first time, and Kaoru was swimming in elation !

And then, in a flash of genius, Kaoru smiled. She smiled, and a small stream of blood and saliva trickled down Kaoru's lips.  She thought of ingesting the remaining nightshade. She could not run in her state, but she could hide. More blood spilled and hit the ground with a faint plap, and some of it went down her throat as she painfully drank the nightshade. It was a bitter, lumpy, and creaseless liquid. She silently asked the princess for forgiveness, as she couldn't imagine what the child had to go through. It smoothly snaked its way down her throat, and the metallic tang from her blood gave it a much-needed taste.

She fastened the child to her front using a torn sleeve, and from the other sleeve, she gagged herself to muffle the pain she anticipated. And so, with electrifying pain shooting up her body, she slowly started to crawl towards the nearest pillar to hide better. She was barely outpacing her pursuers, but it was fast enough. 

After what felt like an eternity, she inelegantly fell upon the pillar like a lonely husband to his wife on the wedding night. The coolness from it eased some of Kaoru's pain, and she unconsciously let out a relieving breath and slowly held her sister closer.

For a long time, Kaoru remained in complete silence. Her fear almost got to her when she let out a small shriek when one of them passed by her pillar. Thankfully, it had gone unnoticed. 

However, the peace was disturbed. Chaos ensued. The angry voice bellowed again from the other end of the hall. Crying out in anger from the shadows, being everywhere as its origin could not be found out.

"YOU ALMOST HAD HER, MY CHILDREEEEN! Did I not give you eyes to see?

Can I not rely on you enough to even hunt down one person?

I MADE YOU BETTER THAN THAAAAT!"

It stopped to take a massive gulp of air.

"FOLLOW THE BLOOOOOD!"

Kaoru's heart dropped as she realized what the last words meant. A painful lump formed in her throat, and the harsh dryness further added to her misery. Her heart beat harder with every audible footstep the abominations took, and she could feel an increasing, painful ballooning sensation in her stomach. But the warmth and the naive rhythm of the child's heartbeat soothed Kaoru. She derived strength from the little one and steeled her resolve to face the beings if they came closer. Her skill activated once again, doing its hardest to keep her mind pieced together.

Elsewhere, in the comfort of his own airship, a man watched the poor girl await her inevitable end. He watched the abomination slowly approach its prey. And with a satisfying smile, he said:

"Hold on just a bit more, princess. Your hero will come to save you out of death's jaws, just when you're almost dead". He wanted to make sure that she felt damn sure that death was inevitable, and then he would come and save her. That way, he could not only win her over but also add another story to his legend.

FU AHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAH, he cackled.