Crimson Eternal - Book 6 - Chapter 23 (Patreon)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Don't mind this fluff. It's so that free readers can't click on the link.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For those of you who are reading this on a website that is not Patreon, please stop. You're reading a pirated version. Instead, if you would be so kind, please click on the table of contents link below and go to my Patreon instead. Or even read it off of Royal Road, which is free.Discord InviteTable of Contents and Weekly Schedule----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Click on the following link for the 1503 word chapter 23:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17q-Fop2zj6P37G-jSXZyfpAbRpKwR3filqLTmQCDsuQ/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aria

I can’t help but yawn as I continue reading my book, finally getting close to the end of this particular series as I do so. With Asher still lying down on my lap, taking a nap without a care in the universe.

However the battle is doing outside, I have no real way to tell from inside of the ruler. At most, I can tell that the ruler is shaking a lot. Since it’s leaving the little protection sphere I’m in shaking a lot.

That doesn’t affect me since it’s not shaking the inside of the sphere, but it is still a sign of the battle.

I continue to casually read in the ruler’s stomach for who knows how long before I finally finish the series. Then I turn my attention to one of the mana creatures stuck inside of the ruler’s stomach. Which number quite a few.

Hmm.

Since I’m stuck in here, maybe I should do some experimenting with my skills that I rarely ever use?

Like the undead one. The one that makes my blood turn things into undead.

With that thought, I put my ebook reader away and move Asher to the side before getting up and beginning to move over towards the mana creature. Then I grab said creature and begin force-feeding it some of my blood.

Of course, the mana creature isn’t particularly happy about it, but I don’t really care. And the mana creature is already weakened a lot by the stomach acid in the ruler’s stomach.

So it doesn’t take long before the thing finally succumbs to the poisoned blood and begins to turn into an undead. Showing some traits of the Death Spirits when it happens.

The undead version of the mana creature has glowing crimson eyes, and its scales grow paler and paler while its flesh thins down to where it’s just scale and bone.

What surprises me the most, though, is the fact that I actually get progress towards my purpose from this.

Is it because I technically am killing the thing while turning it?

That’s interesting.

I don’t think it used to give me progress, but I also haven’t really turned anything with my blood for a very long time.

It’s been a while since something weak enough to actually be turned has tasted enough of my blood.

At this point, I recover instantly from all types of damage. Just from how long I’ve been wandering around the universe.

Of course, there are exceptions. Like some of the Horsemen or Grands or just some strong enemies. They can hurt me and leave me hurt for like a few minutes before I recover.

Some even longer than that.

But most enemies can’t even hurt me long enough for my blood to end up going through their system. And most of them that can aren’t affected by my blood due to being too powerful.

Like this ruler. It is far too powerful to be affected by my blood.

Not to mention too big.

Way too big.

Even if my blood was potent enough to affect something the equivalent of tens of thousands of levels above me, it would take far more blood than I have in my body to affect it.

The only way I can actually shed blood nowadays is to do it myself, on purpose. Since my wounds don’t heal instantly if I don’t want them to, so long as they’re caused by me.

And they’ll heal the moment I want them to.

I just haven’t bothered with trying to turn things into undead using my blood until now.

It’s never been necessary, after all.

I can just summon Death Spirits to fight for me, and nothing can actually harm me.

The same goes with some of the other skills I used to use a lot when I was younger but barely use anymore. There’s just never been any real reason to use them when I don’t even bother fighting personally half the time.

I continue studying the mana creature for a little while before just yawning again and lying down on the chair. And Asher doesn’t waste any time as he hops up onto me, landing directly on my chest before meowing and patting me on the face.

Despite how cute he’s being, I don’t particularly care for the smell of the bottom of his paws while we’re in the middle of a stomach. So I move Asher back down to my stomach.

Only for him to climb back up my chest and pat me on the face again.

I narrow my eyes at the cat before moving him down to my stomach once more, and this time holding him there.

This cat just doesn’t take no for an answer…

Wait, I didn’t say no out loud.

Hmm.

Well, he’s smart enough to understand what I meat when I put him on my stomach. He just didn’t care.

What was he trying to do by patting my face anyway?

I shake my head at that before just staring up at the ceiling. Then someone suddenly rushes into the stomach with someone else following after them as they both send attacks and spells flying at each other. Completely ruining the peaceful atmosphere of the stomach in the process. However peaceful a stomach’s atmosphere can be.

When I blink in surprise and turn my attention to them, I find the two new arrivals to be Pestilence and Arthur. And Pestilence is flooding the stomach with a bunch of poisons and other pestilences while Arthur is chasing after him, occasionally teleporting up to him amidst shadows to stealth attack him.

I watch the two fight in silence as Asher sits up on my stomach and tries to walk back over my chest to pat me on the face again, but I stop him and put him back on my stomach without even looking at him. Still not understanding why he’s trying to do that in the first place.

Pestilence and Arthur continue to fight in the stomach before some sort of molten lava begins to fire out of the walls of the stomach at them. Acting kind of like cannons or turrets. But the lava doesn’t just pass by them. Instead it stops near them and tries to slowly coat them as they’re causing trouble.

Eventually the two continue past me out the other end of the stomach, still causing chaos inside of the ruler’s body.

But, after staring at where they departed for a few seconds and stopping Asher from moving towards my face again, I lie down once more to turn on my TV.

Well, whatever.

Time to watch some of the recorded TV shows I have with me.

Eventually, as I’m watching the tv show with Asher finally having settled down again to sleep, I find Arthur and Pestilence rushing back up into the stomach again. Then they rush back out of the stomach towards the mouth with lava coating their bodies. Almost like they’re being thrown out of the ruler’s body.

Quite literally at that.

But I just ignore them even as the ruler’s body gets covered in more wounds while it’s happening.

This battle doesn’t really have much to do with me anymore. As long as they finish up and get me out by the time I finish everything I have to watch and read in here, that is.

If they don’t finish by then, I’ll be rather bored. And that’s not good.

The ruler doesn’t seem to be particularly happy about those two fighting inside of him, either. Which makes sense considering how much damage they’ve done while inside.

There are quite a few holes in the walls that are bleeding in here. And I’m sure there are plenty more wounds throughout the path they traveled further into its body.

I yawn again before focusing on my tv show again. Only for Asher to try and walk up to pat my face again. So I grab the cat and lift him up to stare into his eyes as I ask, “Why are you trying to pat my face?”

Asher just meows, and I, of course, can’t understand what he means. Leading to a bit of a staring contest between the two of us.

Is it because I’m still stuck in child form? Or maybe he’s just bored?

It’s been a while since he was unable to go anywhere like this. Much less since he was stuck in a little bubble.

I can easily imagine him being bored.

Well, whatever the case, it’s getting slightly irritating. So I hope he stops soon.

Too bad that, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of living with this little guy, there’s no stopping a cat from doing what it wants.

I move him back to my stomach as I go back to watching TV.

Putting both the cat and the battle out of my mind as I focus on the current show playing on it.