Born in Blood



When Liam absorbed the lizard's flesh to his own, he felt a myriad of sensations entering his body. 

It felt like he'd experienced everything that piece of flesh had gone through. All of its contractions and relaxations. 

The piece of flesh didn't melt inside him, but it was still a part of him somehow. 

'It's like my body naturally studies what it absorbs.'

'Does that mean Admit allows me to take control of another creatures' abilities?'

'It feels like it.'

After absorbing more of the lizard's flesh, Liam felt his body converting it to muscle mass!

He could still track and identify the foreign pieces of lizard flesh in his body, which was strange.

It didn't combine with his Ashura flesh, but when Liam used Transfiguration, he could freely manipulate it.

Liam made the lizard flesh wrap around his two organs like a protective egg.

Then, he brought it out and spread it across his arm.

As he did so, Liam's eyes widened.

Black scales had hardened on his arm!

And they were the real thing!

They weren't an 'imitation' that Liam did, but an actual piece of the Rank 4 Lizard's scaly armor.

'This confirms it. Admit acts like a Shifter's power copying ability.'

But it wasn't as strong as the real thing. 

'That'll change once my body gets stronger.'

'I wonder how much of this I can absorb…'

Liam absorbed more and more of the lizard's flesh.

Until he suddenly hit an invisible threshold.

Admit just stopped working.

But by then, Liam had absorbed more than 3 kilos of the Dark Lizard's body.

Liam pursed his lips. 

'Now, to Expel it.'

Having more muscle mass was an amazing thing, no doubt.

But Expel was incredible in its own right.

It combined Liam's core, physical and Blood ranks to produce a disgustingly powerful explosion.

Liam heaved a sigh, then gathered all the dark lizard flesh on his hand, creating a sphere the size of a basketball.

Currently, Liam was in the basement of his inscribed home, waiting for Usan to meet with the Moyong family.

His entire basement was riddled with protective layering.

…Should be fine, right?

Liam used Expel and disconnected the ball of flesh from his hand, hurling it away.

Using Expel was like pressing a cartoonish, attractive red button that activated a nuke.

As soon as you pressed it, that was it.

You couldn't stop what followed.

The ball of flesh gained a red glow as it neared the distant wall.

Liam felt his skin jolt as he sensed the danger, and it continued to scream as the ball prepared to make contact with the wall.

Liam quickly realized that he'd overdone it, but he figured that it was a good time to test his body's defensive capabilities.

The ball of flesh exploded with a bright red boom, sending a deafening shockwave in all directions. 

It was strong.

But apparently not as strong as Liam's arm explosion.

Liam lost his footing and slammed into the wall behind him. 

There was no pain as he did, since the outermost layer of his body was still a shifter skinsuit and absorbed the recoil with ease.

Then the explosion of blood and flesh hit him, making him bounce like a pinball in an arcade machine.

But that was because Liam employed no defensive measure.

This was his natural defense!

Even as Liam bounced around a couple of times, a smile stubbornly remained on his face.

As the recoil and force disappeared, a massive crater in Liam's basement as a result of the ball of flesh.

Liam picked himself up and dusted off his shoulders from the rubble.

Nobody came to check up on him.

They'd been used to his ridiculous shenanigans, after all.

Liam nodded to himself in satisfaction.

He tried to absorb more Spirit Beast flesh a moment later, but couldn't do so.

Admit was on a 'cooldown' of sorts.

'So the strength of Expel depends on what material I use for the explosion.'

'If I used my Ashura body instead, it would have been much more devastating.'

A moment later, the chaos in Liam's body churned, fully transforming him into a six armed Ashura.

Gauntlets covered his arms, ornate armor graced his shoulders, and his size grew considerably. 

'I definitely feel like my mind is clearer.'

'There's no more impeding rage that I can feel so far.'

'But it all comes down to this…'

Silence.

Liam activated the Umbral Needle spell.

…

Nothing happened.

Liam activated the Surging Burst spell.

…

Nothing happened.

Liam activated the Shadow Clone spell, holding his breath.

And…

…nothing happened.

Liam sighed.

Unfortunately, using spells with his Ashura Form was still difficult.

He felt his core sputter when he activated a technique, but it wasn't enough.

However, Transfiguration and Blood Manipulation were much easier to do now in his Ashura Form.

'Wait, if that's the case…'

Liam triggered the Blood Demon Arts.

Iridescent white blood splayed from Liam's body and wrapped around him like a liquid blanket, fitting nicely around his form!

It armored the gauntlets.

It covered his feet.

It fitted his face with a demonic mask.

Then, it crystalized.

If the Blood Demon before was a glorious knight, the Ashura version of it turned him into an Emperor's mighty Praetorian. 

In all six of his arms, were swords!

Liam started to laugh. 

This was ridiculous!

But it came at a cost.

Using his Blood Arts in his Ashura Form used basically all the Blood in his body.

Meaning he couldn't use his ichor anymore or heal himself with it.

Liam reverted to normal, and the blood melted back into his pores.

'Well then.'

'That's enough experimentation.'

Liam was more than satisfied.

But…

There was still something Liam needed to do.

He made sure no one was spying on him before he did it, though. 

No one did.

Confirming it, Liam looked towards his groin.

With intent eyes and a serious expression, he used Transfiguration.

'No… that's not quite right.'

'Still not right.'

'Nope, definitely not right.'

'Yuck…'

'Okay… better.'

'Getting warmer.'

'Close now.'

'Good enough.'

'Better than ever, actually.'

Liam smiled in satisfaction.

He'd have to start wearing pants for real, now.

When all was said and done, Liam's Jade started to ring.

Liam heaved a sigh and got dressed.

It was time to enter an inheritance.