20. Blood and eggs (3)
#20
Ronan’s eyes widened as he witnessed the strange phenomenon. She was moving somewhere the blood still on the ground oozing out.
“What is this again?”
It looked like a blood vessel had torn through the skin. Looking closely she saw numerous streams of blood crawling across the ground. Although she was bizarre she was a sight that aroused curiosity.
Ronan walked along the bloody procession as if possessed. Thousands of blood streams were all moving in one direction. Before long what he was looking for caught his eye.
Ronan stopped in place and cursed.
“It’s going to spin really.”
All the blood was gathering into a dark red puddle. The bloodline that Ronan followed was the same.
Marfez’s egg was floating in the center of the pool.
The water level in the pool was getting lower. Ronan understanding the situation frowned. That monstrous egg was absorbing blood.
Asher who followed Ronan shouted.
“What is that?!”
“I don’t know man. ”
Ronan walked over and picked up his egg. The blood that had accumulated in the puddle began to bulge and gush upward. It looked as if he was protesting for his egg back.
“You didn’t do it right?”
“It’s all natural.”
Ronan looked at Al with a shocked expression. I don’t have enough mana so now I need blood?
What kind of creature was influenced by it to give birth to something like that?
-Tuk.
At that moment the egg moved slightly. Ronan shouted almost jumping up from his place.
“Ooh it moved!”
“really?!”
“That’s right man! “It’s time to wake up!”
Asher came rushing over. As Ronan said the egg was shaking slightly. The two excited boys clenched their fists.
-Talk. Knock knock.
“I’m not the only one who can hear this right?”
“Yes I can hear it too…!”
A sound like a knocking was heard from inside the egg. It seemed clear that something was about to come out as the intervals got shorter and shorter. Ronan knocked as if knocking on an eggshell.
“Stop tantalizing me come out and see what a monster you are.”
Knock knock! The knock came back as if in reply. However even after waiting for a few minutes there was no further progress. Asher who was thinking about something opened her mouth.
“Maybe I’m lacking nutrition?”
“hmm?”
“I’m still absorbing a lot of mana.”
It was visible in Asher’s eyes. The egg was still voraciously sucking up the mana around it. It seemed like if he let his guard down even a little his mana would be taken away.
“People also need to eat to gain energy. This egg may also need more blood or mana to break the shell.”
Ronan nodded her head. It was certainly a plausible statement. Ronan gently dipped her egg into the pool again. The puddle dried up in an instant.
“I guess it’s because I’m a wizard you’re so smart. “Then I guess I’ll have to give you more blood.”
“right. I think earlier…”
Asher was about to say something. A slight vibration was felt at Ronan’s feet.
– Coo coo coo coo….
Asher didn’t notice. Ronan sensing an unusual energy raised his head.
“what?”
“What’s wrong Ronan?”
“No…what is that noise?”
“okay? I didn’t hear it… Anyway there were dead animals in the vacant lot earlier. “Go there once…!”
“Wait a minute Asher. “I guess it’s strange.”
Ronan covered Asher’s mouth. Her vibrations were getting closer and closer. He opened his eyes and looked around. A sound that was muddy like water and sticky like wind was constantly being heard.
“That one?”
At that moment something red came into Ronan’s sight in the distance. It didn’t take long to realize the identity of the thing swaying above the tall bushes.
“…Aser.”
“huh?”
“What does it feel like to take a blood bath?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Asher blinked his big eyes. Ronan wordlessly stretched out his finger and pointed in the direction of the clearing. Now it was close enough for Asher to see it.
-Kwakwakwakwa!
A torrent of blood was approaching at high speed crushing the bushes.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
Asher screamed like a girl startled by thunder. The dark red water was writhing as if it had an ego. The blood of all the animals that had died in the vacant lot earlier was pouring in.
“This invisible hand!!”
Asher’s staff urgently hit the ground. The two bodies rose into the air.
“Woof…!”
Asher was disgusted. Because the egg was draining mana in real time the magic continued to become unstable. He concentrated desperately to maintain altitude.
-Kwakwakwa!
The swirling bloodstream eventually formed the shape of a spiral cone and began to surge towards the egg. Asher saw that the mana flowing out of the egg was strongly attracting blood.
-Tuk-tuk-tuk.
“This kid is not in his right mind either.”
The egg was shaking more violently than ever. Ronan laughed as if he was amazed. It was too loud for someone who wasn’t even born yet.
“Okay give it a try.”
He stared at the egg in his hand and dropped it into the middle of the bloodstream. The egg disappeared into the blood with a popping sound. The shape of the spiral cone collapsed and absorption began.
“Nimi are you really going to drink all that?”
Ronan and Asher enjoyed the wondrous moment while floating in the air. The bloodstream which had been slowly transforming was now forming a huge sphere and rotating beneath the boys’ feet.
It took less than five minutes for the sphere which was getting smaller to disappear. After confirming that all the blood had disappeared the two people landed on the floor.
“Are you finished?”
“I think so.”
Even after drinking so much blood there was no change in the egg’s appearance. Ronan picked up the egg lying on the floor. A curse came out of his mouth.
“What is the plague?”
What Ronan picked up was an empty shell. There was a large hole on the surface of the egg as if something had gone through it. The shells which even Schlieffen could not even make a scratch on were scattered like fragments.
“Where did the kernels go?”
It was the moment when Ronan narrowed his eyebrows and turned his head.
Perfect! An object flew from somewhere and hit Ronan in the back of the head.
“Fuck!”
Ronan sat down clutching the back of his head. The shock felt like he had been punched directly in the brain. A startled Asher ran towards her holding her staff.
“Ro Ronan…are you okay?”
“no!!”
“What did you hit?”
Asher was looking around and looking around her. Perfect! Something flew back and hit Asher on the head.
“Ahh!”
Asher let out her single scream. He rolled his eyes and fainted. Ronan raised his body and drew his sword.
“Holy shit! What kind of guy…!”
Ronan stopped talking and instinctively turned his head. Wedge! Something so fast as to be invisible passed by his cheek. It was impossible to compare it to the arrows used by Caribolo’s poachers.
“shit.”
Blood flowed from the spot where it was grazed. The composure disappeared from Ronan’s face. He really felt like he could die if he got hit any further.
-Shh!
Looking at its inexplicable presence it seemed like a living thing rather than a projectile. I couldn’t catch it just by looking at it.
“It really sucks…ha….”
Ronan sighed and concentrated his mind. My field of vision narrowed and time stretched out. An unknown creature was flying making noise. Ronan swung his arm.
widely! Something soft was caught in his hand.
“You bastard! Gotcha!”
Ronan reversed his sword and aimed it at the object in his hand. It was the moment when he was about to plunge his sword down.
“Payat!”
“Huh?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. An apple-sized creature was tilting its head in his grasp. He looked very different from what I thought.
“Are you really the one who came out here?”
“Pyeol?”
Ronan looked back and forth between the eggshell in his hand and the unidentified animal. He instinctively realized that this beast had emerged from an egg.
This was because it looked so strange that it was impossible to believe that it was an animal that originally existed.
“…What did you eat like this?”
The feathers had grown but the skeleton was not that of a bird. I think I’ve seen something similar somewhere but I can’t remember. Then Asher woke up rubbing his head.
“Uh…uh…what just happened…?”
There was a convex lump on Asher’s head. Ronan wordlessly thrust at the strange creature in his hand. Asher was scared and stepped back.
“D..Dragon?!”
“Bye!”
“A dragon?”
Ronan then had an image of a phantom species come to his mind. Hatchling the body of a dragon. Although he had never seen it in person it looked very similar to what he had seen in the encyclopedia.
“After listening to it I think it looks similar. “The only thing that resembles their parents is their feathers.”
Even though it was just born its four strong legs stood erect. The two pairs of flaccid wings were abnormally long compared to the body.
The only difference between it and the hatchling was that it had feathers where scales should have been. Except for the face. The only thing that resembled Marfez was its fluffy feathers which were as dark as night.
“But for now… I guess I should just dream about it right?”
When I scratched its neck it made a purring sound. Ronan who was touching the dream bird muttered quietly.
“…Your face looks smooth.”
It was wiggling its vine-like tail and staring into Ronan’s eyes. Ronan’s face was shaking in his big cat-like eyes.
“But not like this you bastard you almost fell.”
“Pyeol?”
Ronan turned his head to show the scar on his cheek. The dream bird which had been calm all along suddenly began to struggle. As Ronan slightly relaxed his grip a dream came up on Ronan’s shoulder.
“what? “What should I do?”
Dreambird was looking at Ronan’s wounds. Asher’s eyes widened as he watched this. A small magic circle appeared in front of the dream bird’s eyes and Ronan’s bleeding wound began to heal.
“Ro Ronan! “The wound is healed!”
“what?”
Ronan wiped his cheek and laughed. I couldn’t feel anything on my smooth cheeks. Dreambird seeing that his wounds were gone nuzzled Ronan’s cheek.
“This is killing me.”
“Cute ears… I think Ronan likes you.”
There were no living potions. At that time the dream bird’s wings slowly spread. As the four wings reminiscent of a crow fully unfolded nearby mana began to gather.
“uh…?”
It wasn’t just Mana. The blood that was still around rose into the air and soaked into the fluffy feathers. The blood stains on Asher and Ronan’s clothes gathered in one place and fell out in the form of drops.
“What kind of magic is this Asher?”
“I don’t know either….”
Asher shook her head from side to side. A magic that uses not only mana but also her blood as a medium. It was something I had never heard or seen.
It was bizarre and in a way ominous. But that didn’t really matter. Ronan quite liked this strange creature.
Ronan held out her arm. The dream bird folded its wings and climbed onto his palm.
Ronan said while facing the dream bird.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“Pyeol-ah!”
The dream bird cried briefly. It seemed like he was giving me an answer. Ronan swung his arm experimentally but the dream bird whose claws gripped his finger made no move.
“Okay then let’s assume you agree.”
Ronan reached out his hand and picked up the dreambird. The sight of him blinking his eyes without any resistance was quite cute.
“I guess I should give it a name. What would be better….”
Ronan struggled with his chin. Still I had a hard time hatching it and I didn’t want to build it haphazardly. Ronan who suddenly recalled a memory from the past nodded his head and said.
“Okay let’s do a sitar.”
“Ttaaa!”
Sita cried in response. It seemed like I understood what was being said. It was the moment I reached out to stroke his head. Suddenly Sita flew into the air.
“Ugh!”
A traumatized Asher screamed and clutched her head. But Sita did not aim for the boys’ heads.
-Wet!
Suddenly Sita shot out like a spring and disappeared between the trees in the distance. Within a few seconds a crash sound followed by a suffocating scream rang out.
“Kwaaaaaak!”
Ronan and Asher looked at each other and ran towards the direction of the sound.
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