Chapter 15

  Unrequited Love

  Pfft-pfft-pfft.

  Just when I am wondering if the monsters have managed to respawn, I am given a preemptive warning that at least one pine spitting spirit has managed to reform. The fact that they are targeting me from so far away speaks of either desperation, or worse, the idea that they remember me.

  Of course, the idea that this annoying pine spitter could remember me goes against all knowledge of this world. The facts are that once a DiVoratore, or at least a person with the DiVoratore bloodline fully awakened within their bodies, deals with a spirit they remain dead.

  Yet, that does not appear to be the case today.

  I am not certain why I am surprised by this as I knew this to be the case, that spirits can overtime reform and congregate in an area if enough time and most importantly if enough spiritual energy is present. The DiVoratore used to use this as a pretense for milking more money out of unsuspecting families. That or maybe the families did suspect something, but they were unable to do anything about it. For a moment I wonder if this is what Madame Bloom had in mind when she worked out fostering rites for me? If so, then she is far more cunning than most will give her credit for.

  However, the machinations of Madame Bloom hold little sway over the here and now. For there is the spirit, a lot smaller than the portly jumping spine spitter it was last night, but I can see something in its eyes, that look all but reeks of malice.

  Just like yesterday, I decide to use the spine spitter to my advantage, letting its indiscriminate fire help take out its friends, while I find a weapon I can imbue my Soul Devour energy into.

  For a moment, I panic and wonder if the bent rebar is by the portal, but it is not. I honestly don’t know what happened to it, but not seeing it or another equally long piece of metal, I improvise again. This time running out of sight range of the creatures, as I find a cluster of slowly corrupting trees.

  “Eww,” I say, seeing that the once fully healthy trees now all look like they are rotting twice over. First, they are rotting due to the trash at the ground, which likely wouldn’t be enough to cause this much damage on its own, which shows just how much residual damage these spirit rifts have on the surrounding environment.

  Still, rotting trees are great for one thing, shedding decently sized branches as the trees try to do everything within their power to survive. Seeing the rotting but not surrendered trees, I find myself nodding in approval at them. They are survivors at the very least. That’s when I decide to use my Trash Skill to at least remove the bulk of the trash over their exposed roots. Not enough to do much, possibly grant them a day at most, but that gives me another day to come back and continue working with them.

  From there it is a matter of me going through the forest, looking for a decently strong branch that is of the right thickness.

  Snap.

  I find one and gently place my foot on it and lift up, only to hear the unmistakable sound of rotted wood breaking loose. Shaking my head, I drop the first one and continue onward. My hopes aren’t high as everything has that wet rotted look.

  The longer I look the closer to full my Mana pool becomes, which is when I continue to shed a few points here and there to continue to remove trash. It would be a waste to just keep the Mana, is what I tell myself, that’s why I continue to work on my Trash Skill, while trying to find the perfect branch.

  Pop.

  The next branch is particularly rotted and almost breaks to mush at my touch.

  “Yuck,” I let out, as I am about to wipe my hand my clothes, when I just use a focused burst of Trash to remove the dirt from my hand. This Skill is seriously a cheat. Not the most powerful of cheat Skills, but definitely one that I appreciate. I’m certain that as I get older, and develop the Skill enough, I can find more ways to utilize this Skill, but for now removing sweat, and odor as a form of Trash is more than enough for me.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Gah!” I let out, finally frustrated enough to turn back. At that sound, I stand up, and give one last look around. I must have broken over a dozen branches at this point, all of them rotted to the core. Then again, given the shape of the trees in this park, this should be no real surprise. It just means that I will need to come back more often and make this place livable again.

  Thunderclap!

  A booming sound echoes in the forest.

  “Ca-caw,” a gaggle of Corvidae birds take off in flight, their darker colors already blending into the dark of night. Unfortunately, they are too far way for me to tell their exact species for certain, something between a rook to a raven. However their departure is not important, for what is important is the loud booming sound that caused them to be startled in the first place.

  Crack, crackle.

  There are a last few sounds as a giant branch tears away from the core trunk of a particularly tall tree. Then the indescribable sound of how that branch begins to build up speed as it falls, knocking away everything within its patch.

  Thud.

  Then the unmistakable sound of impact as the branch lands on the ground.

  A thick silence then descends over the park. I scan the grounds, and only the bright purple top of the nearby rift can be seen, a last sign of how close corruption is for these trees.

  Realizing I literally have nothing else to do, other than go check out the recently discarded branch, I do just that. Expecting this branch to be hollowed out and nearly dissolving upon my touch, I am surprised to see the moment when the branch does not break, but instead feels solid within my hands.

  “What?” I say, looking down at the branch.

  Crackle.

  As I’m looking at the branch, I can’t help but hear the sound of dried branches breaking behind me. I turn, only to see empty air. My eyes tell me that nothing is there, but my instincts tell me that something is there.

  Feeling slightly unnerved at the fact that I am just staring at thin air, I pause, wondering if I am just going crazy. That’s when I see it, a slight flicker of distortion. What might be mistaken as smoke from where I just passed, but this is not smoke, but something different.

  The more I watch, the more I see faint clues that something large and corporeal is there. First, there are indents in the ground. The longer I stare at the same area, the more weight seems to settle flatly to the ground. Second, the flat markings almost perfectly outline a pair of shoes.

  Then just as I think I am about to go crazy, I get a message letting me know that I might not be paranoid enough.

  I dismiss the message, but realize that my thoughts are correct, there is clearly something there. The fact that they are standing still means that they are either watching me, or waiting for me to put my guard down.

  Shaking my head, I begin to play it up.

  “Must be seeing things,” I mutter to myself, not too loud, but loud enough to be heard over the crisp evening air.

  Taking a step to turn around, I hear the sound of my own footstep landing.

  Crunch-crunch.

  There it is, a slight delay in sound, faint but you can hear it. For my next step, I raise my left leg and move closer to the tree branch.

  Cr-crunch.

  This time the sounds are nearly identical, but still different just enough that I can hear the two. That’s when I do a third and final test. Using all my coordination, I plant my left leg, and then raise my right and am about to step down, but I hold. Like I’m conducting a one-woman field sobriety test in the woods, seeing if I can keep my foot hovering six inches off the ground.

  Crunch.

  And there it is, the last confirmation I needed to tell me I was not alone out here.

  Of course, I was not alone in this realization as my pursuer immediately broke their stealth, revealing a dark purple blazer, the only sight my mind caught hold of, at which point I dove to the ground.

  FWOOSH!

  And not a moment too soon as a burst of purple necrotized flame burst overhead, splashing off into the distance, being caught by an already suffering tree.

  Darting low, I grabbed the large and bulky tree branch, that I pick up and try to take with me.

  FWABOOSH!

  A good thing as the next burst of necrotized flame strikes the minor limbs and still attached but golden leaves of the branch.

  Boom!

  The impact strikes me, and I feel my wrist getting snapped back at an impossible angle, from the blast, but it is bright and violent enough that I use it to slide behind the trunk of the great tree. A tree that despite its proximity to both trash and open spirit portals seems to be more than healthy.

  Crunch-slide.

  Darting behind the tree, I can hear the footsteps of my pursuer coming towards me. I don’t know why this monster is here, no doubt related to how this park got to this state. But first, I need to focus as a bit of the burning necrotic flame managed to splash onto my clothes and is already eating away at my skin, like white phosphorus.

  Without even thinking about it, I roll around on the ground, trying to put out the unquenching flames.

  Crunch-slosh.

  At least, the necrotizing flame should be deadly. I can already feel my body working desperately to convert the necrotic energy that is touching my skin and trying to convert it to energy thanks to my new Mana Extraction Skill, but it isn’t enough.

  Mocking laughter.

  There is a moment when I realize that I have spent too much time trying to put out the burning flames on my back, when the monster that had only managed to land a glancing blow a moment ago appears before me and laughs.

  A dry low mocking laugh that I instantly register. It is the same cold mocking laugh that has plagued this body since I was reincarnated as kid.

  Looking up, my eyes lock onto the monster with burning purple eyes, just in time for me to see her gathering energy into her right hand. Energy that quickly condenses into a bright ball of purple energy.

  “Wait, mother no!”

  I cry out but it is too late as a giant nova of purple necrotic flames hurtles forward preparing to engulf me.

  FWABOOM!

  Lorraine V for her Honest Review. Two more early release chapters still available.

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