Born in Blood-Chapter 565: Asset

With each bite, Liam felt his Heart nourished with newfound lifeforce. A strange iridescent glow surfaced on his silky smooth skin, giving him a surreal, resplendent appearance.

He was inching closer and closer to the fifth Rank.

The feeling of excitement was immeasurable.

Fifty bites in, and Liam’s Ravenous Heart was at about 95% volume. The crimson work of art worked wondrously in purifying every morsel of the lifeforce within it.

With each hour that passed, the Heart seemed a tiny bit smaller than it did before, shrinking in size to accommodate for the higher form of blood.

The remaining 5% didn’t take long to get filled.

Heaving a tense sigh, Liam took one more bite and, with a wave of his hand, immediately deployed a protective dome of crystalized blood around himself.

KRSH!

Stripping off his clothing, he laid his back flat on the ground, then waited...

DA-DUMP! DA-DMP! D-DUMP!

"Oh boy," Liam grunted.

Liam’s Ravenous Heart suddenly went from 0 to 100, ramping up to a ridiculous rate of beats. It sounded as though the engine of a hypercar had suddenly throttled awake, before roaring into action.

It just kept getting faster and faster... until it reached an abrupt halt.

Then, it pulsed. Just once, sending a huge wave of force across his body.

DOK!

BOOM!

Like several other of Liam’s body tempering methods, a familiar scene took place.

...His bones had exploded to bits, reduced to atoms, leaving him limp.

Liam had become utterly limp. His skull was nonexistent, and his eyes were about to roll out of his cranium.

This pulse was not normal. It had the strength of a Rank 5 attack behind it... but it wasn’t meant to damage.

Then, another pulse came.

DOK!

The Ravenous Heart sent out a dose of sweet, purified blood to flow throughout Liam’s body, taking the place of his crumbled skeleton.

Then, it gradually hardened into a solid.

Despite being thin and flexible, the bones were incredibly sturdy, as though uncuttable against the sharpest of swords and unbreakable against the strongest of forces.

They were also colored with a cherry-red hue, covered with dark lines and shadowy patterns — an effect the Dark Stars still had on him.

Then came the second pulse, and this one was much louder compared to before.

The dome shook.

DOOK!

Liam’s muscles were next. They were disintegrated in a mere second, turning into a gooey mess of pulpy flesh... all of which had to be excreted via his pores.

It was a disgusting sight.

Before long, Liam resembled a deflated balloon, covered with blood and guts.

Then, the pulse came. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Gloriously-knit muscles weaved into form, spreading from the heart, wrapping around Liam’s new skeleton and extending throughout his powerful, empty frame, inflating him back.

The muscular system seemed as though it was tuned with all forms of combat in mind. Even at its base, unchanged from, it seemed like each ligament, tendon and limb came with protections against various kinds of attacks. Paired with the enhanced bones, the two created an unreal combo of force and flexibility.

It was beautiful.

Then, with the third and second last pulse, his skin exploded, spraying blood everywhere and skinning him instantly.

DOK!

Slowly, Liam’s skin was regenerating, surfacing through the blood like oil over water.

Liam’s new skin shimmered with a strange iridescence, smoother than silk and vigorously radiant. Even at a glance, one could realize this skin was tougher than most Zenith ranked inscribed armors.

CRK, CRUK!

Pressure mounted within the dome, causing cracks to form across its crystalized surface. That was a strange sight, considering how there was no physical stress on it.

A moment later, it let out a loud cracking noise, then shattered like glass.

KRSH!

Liam felt like he’d been reborn.

Rising, he examined his exposed form.

The strength flowing through his fingertips were superlative. All throughout his body, coursing, raging and itching to fight a worthwhile opponent.

A Rank 5 body.

He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes and reveling in the euphoria. Even opening and closing his fists made him realize the vast gap between his new and old strength.

He laughed to himself.

He almost considered waking Gorock up just to fight him again... but reconsidered. Eventually, he’d explore every nook and cranny of what this body offered him. Why rush?

Liam wore back his clothes and woke Gorock up from his comatose slumber.

The vampire’s eyes slowly came into focus... then flinched upon seeing the change in Liam’s aura.

Before, their powers were uneven.

In fact, Gorock was stronger, albeit not by a large margin.

...Now, Liam’s aura was almost suffocatingly overwhelming. Domanitive and unmoving.

Immediately, a grim realization hit the vampire.

’If I fight him again, I’ll lose.’

Judging by the subtle smirk on his face, Liam knew it, too.

But Gorock remained silent.

Liam looked around. His business here was finished. He had already made copies of the Prince of Cruelties research, and his Blood Arts were also staying with him.

He looked at the paralyzed vampire.

"I’ll be leaving now. I’ll take your scythe with me. Temporarily. I’ll be exploring a place with it, but don’t worry. When I’m done, I’ll bring it to you."

Liam turned to leave.

"Wait, wait!" the vampire said with panic in his voice. "Don’t leave me like this. At least give me some hand control so I can write. You already know every ability in my arsenal."

...To his shock, Liam actually did it for him. Gorock regained a bit of movement in his fingers, just to the base.

There was a chance this place could be attacked by something other than Liam, especially now that the piranhas were dead.

And Gorock was no longer a threat.

...But an asset.

’If I want to have any chance against Alucard in the future, I need someone like this guy on my side. If I give him the resources of the Temple, his research would be far more extensive.’

Just a thought.

Liam headed for the exit.

"Be seeing you," he said, then made a beeline for Bill’s HQ.