Super Gene

Han Sen returned his gaze to the Devil-Blood King. He seemed to be faring better than black tiger, and he seemed to have a better handle on enduring the effects. But, before long, his face too began to reveal the purple pattern.

Roar! The black tiger’s call was deafening, and it flapped its wings and flew towards the griffin. Its speed had doubled.

The griffin cried out in response, and flew to engage the tiger with its talons raised. But its courage was for naught. In the same second they made contact with each other, a wide part of its flesh was torn right from the bone.

Previously, they were almost as strong as each other. But now, the tiger was dominating its foe. The griffin couldn’t resist the black tiger, which far exceeded it in every department; power and speed, in particular. It wasn’t long before the griffin’s entire body was riddled with a variety of wounds and lesions, many of which exposed the bones inside.

Seeing the vast boon of power that the black tiger had been granted, the other super creatures in the area suddenly became excited.

Roar! Many creatures roared to the sky in unison, then they all stampeded towards the vine. Desperately, they all wanted to grab the final two fruit that remained.

The mountain was quickly thrown into chaos once more. The only difference this time was that the griffin was badly injured and the lime-green elephant was struggling to compete with its two enemies.

In the meantime, the Devil-Blood King still lay on the ground, seemingly uninterested in trying to obtain the final two fruits the other creatures were vying for. The creatures were panicked, and pandemonium reigned as they tried to grab the fruit before the Devil-Blood King could stand back up again.

”This is not right. It really isn’t right.” Han Sen continued to stare at the Devil-Blood King and the black tiger, which had become far stronger since eating the Empty Fruit.

He believed that there was something wrong, though. And as he looked on the Devil-Blood King, he knew the spirit was struggling. Something wasn’t right. He believed the Devil-Blood King remained motionless so that he could better attempt to resist something.

But if the Empty Fruit was supposed to benefit those that consumed it, why would he resist?

The Devil-Blood King continued to lie where it was, with the occasional twitch. The pattern scrawled its way across more and more of the creature’s face. It seemed as if it would not be long before he forewent his current control and composure.

Boom!

The lime elephant could no longer withstand the combined attacks of the black-flame phoenix and the green kirin. The chain of their defensive circle broke, opening an opportunity for them all to race up towards the vine.

The black-flame phoenix screamed with excitement, and like a sentient flame, rushed over to the Empty Fruit and swallowed one.

The green kirin followed it from behind and attempted to eat the final fruit. Just as it attempted to grab it, another super creature prevented its retrieval.

The black skeleton was there, and it had taken its chance to race up the peak and grab the final fruit with its bony fingers.

All the other creatures stopped moving immediately. Now that the Empty Fruit was all gone, there was no longer any point in fighting over it.

The black-flame phoenix and the black skeleton immediately reacted like the black tiger had; they collapsed.

When the other super creatures sought to leave the area, they suddenly heard screaming. The Devil-Blood King stood upon two feet once more and yelled out to the high heavens. His face was scribbled all over by the strange purple pattern.

Many of the terrifying creatures believed the Devil-Blood King was going to become even stronger, but they were wrong. The Devil-Blood King reached out a hand, and his fingers morphed into the shape of claws. The entire hand turned blood-red, and it looked as if blood was going to ooze from it any second.

All the creatures seemed alert, and they paid great attention to the Devil-Blood King. They believed he was going to attack and mercilessly slaughter them. But what happened next put them in a state of frozen surprise.

The Devil-Blood King shouted as his blood-red hand tore off his own armor. When he was done, he punched his fist through his naked chest and ripped his own heart out.

Everyone and everything was shocked by the spectacle they had just witnessed, unable to comprehend why the mighty Devil-Blood King had suddenly chosen to tear his own heart out.

Pang!

The Devil-Blood King clenched the hand that held his heart into a fist, squashing it into jelly as his body vanished and returned to the spirit stone he belonged to.

When his body vanished, an Empty Fruit dropped to the ground.

But it was no longer an Empty Fruit. It was more like a seed that had vines growing out of it. The vines were purple and red, and they looked as if they had been drenched in blood.

Han Sen was shocked, and he thought to himself, ”There really was something wrong. It was fortunate that I chose not to go; had I been the one to grab that fruit, that would have been me!”

The super creatures all stared at the purple-red vine, and as they did, the vines moved. Instantly, the vines extended and shot out to grab the green kirin which was closest to it.

The green kirin was as terrified as it was angry. Its body flashed green as it cast water arrows to strike the vines that grabbed it. But the vines had thorns growing along them, and they pierced through the kirin’s green scales with apparent ease. They wormed their way through its flesh and continued to drill their way inside.

Han Sen felt a chill run down his spine as he watched. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and it was so odd it felt surreal.

Even though the other super creatures were frightened by what was happening, none of them were sure how they should react. They merely watched the vines drill their way into the kirin’s body.

As the vines drilled in, the green scales of the kirin began to develop a purple pattern, as well. The more that pattern overtook it, the weaker its resistance to the vine was.

Roar!

As the green kirin continued to twitch in agony, they heard a roar. The black tiger was going for the griffin once more.

On the other side of the peak, the black skeleton and the black-flame phoenix were starting to develop a purple pattern across their bodies, too. They stood up and made scary noises, and then attacked the creatures that were closest to them.

It was chaos again, as the blood of super creatures began to drench the mountainside. The black skeleton and the black-flame phoenix were far more powerful right now, and they savagely destroyed any super creature they fought. With a misty red haze, the peak was doused in the color red.

Roar!

The green kirin stood up again, looking angry. Its body was covered in the phantom pattern by now, and it leapt over to the lime-green elephant. In between the splashes of lime, the kirin was able to tear into its back. With its ravenous mouth, it ripped open the flesh to expose the spine inside. Blood began to cascade from the wound.

The other super creatures, which were currently free of attackers, all decided to escape the area. They all knew there was something wrong with the fruit they had previously been hungry for, and so they all thought it was best to book before something bad happened to them.

The creatures that had been trapped were having difficulty committing to flight. This was especially true for the griffin, which would soon be killed by the merciless black tiger.

Han Sen’s heart went cold. It was all too strange, and he knew that he himself should run off now while he could.

”You can run, but you must make him stay.” The woman’s voice sung in Han Sen’s ears once more, and it made him shiver.