Chapter 255: Multifaceted (1/2)
Hod's hands twitched as I stared him down. The birdman's scrawny frame trembled after a few seconds, and Hod let out a groan,
”Before Hod explain, Hod ask Harbinger to stop staring at Hod.”
I scoffed, ”What? You know I'm not going to hurt you or anything like that...right?”
”Hod know...Other Hod don't.”
I crossed my arms, ”Well, consider this conversation a hostage situation. You're hostage until you talk about the whole other Hod thing. I need to know what's going on for my soldier's safety. I don't think you could kill me or anything, but everybody else? I have no idea.”
”Other Hod...says you not need worry about other Hod.”
”Let me talk to this 'other Hod.' I'll decide that on my own.'”
Hod's eyes widened with fear, a bit of sweat pouring from above his beak. Hod wrestled with himself for a moment before his frame once more saturated with mana. With the umbral energies permeating his surroundings, his eyes turned red and bloody. He spoke clearly,
”I...I am other Hod.”
I walked up to him, waving my hand across the dark energy leaking off his frame,
”Ah, that's eldritch energy.”
Other Hod's eyes narrowed like a cat getting sprayed with water,
”How can you identify the energy type?”
I glanced at my hand, ”I can taste it. The energy is eldritch for sure.”
Other Hod's breathing sped up, close to hyperventilating. I peered back and forth,
”Are...Are you ok?”
”Yes...Other Hod just fine.”
A liquid like oil dripped from his frame. We stayed there for a few moments before other Hod whimpered, ”Can I leave?”
”I'm not angry at you, you know that, right? I just need to know who you are and what you're doing.”
Other Hod took a step back, his legs trembling. His mental defenses falling apart under some unseen pressure, he fell onto his knees. He grunted,
”Please...don't kill me.”
”Never intended to.”
Its breathing slowed, the eldritch energy signature dampening a bit. It rekindled, a blaze unbridled as its eyes widened,
”You're not?”
I spread out my arms, ”What do I look like to you? A monster?”
”...Yes.”
”What, really?”
”You are far more a monster than I.”
I crossed my arms, ”You're an eldritch, huh?”
Its eyes narrowed, ”I...yes.”
I raised an eyebrow, ”You've been hiding this entire time, inside of Hod...Why? Most eldritch are far too hungry for that. They're more mindless and virulent. This seems a bit too calculating for an eldritch.”
I remembered Baldag-Ruhl.
”Well, most of them.”
The eldritch stared down, fear oozing off it,
”I was hiding.”
I pointed at my chest, ”From me?”
”Yes. You are a true monster.”
I dwelled on that for a bit. Huh, me, a monster? Yeah, maybe. I was tough to kill and could out drain a Hybrid, let alone an eldritch. At the same time, I always thought monsters were made in the mind more so than the body. It's like serial killer compared to a wolf. The wolf might kill you for food, but that wasn't evil. It was just trying to survive. A serial killer? They were evil down to their core, whether in a human body or not.
I was more like the wolf in that regard. I mean, I didn't kill eldritch unless they were mindless murderers. True, that was more often than not, but I made exceptions like with Amara. To think of it, that shapeshifting eldritch showed me as her biggest fear. The eldritch in the tunnel too, they all looked at me like a monster. I tilted my head,
”So why do eldritch seem scared of me?”
Other Hod waved a hand across his face as if the answer was obvious, ”You cannot be killed, and your hunger is unending.”
”Yeah, that's kind of true. I'm not really hungry. Ever, actually.”
”You starve so utterly that you feast on your own unending flesh.”
My eyes widened, ”Ok, that's a new one.”
Other Hod pointed at the markings on my arm, ”What is that then?”
I peered at my cipher inscriptions on my arms, ”What, these? I'm just putting mana in these for extra stats. Nothing special.”
Hod pulled his shoulders up as if disgusted, ”You use your blood, flesh, and bone to sate yourself. Even we, our hunger unending, refuse to dine on our own bodies.”
”Huh...I do have blood magic, and this is technically using my flesh and blood for mana...I mean, I guess that's true. It seems like a stretch to me, though.”
”I can see it as nothing else. You are Ouroboros devouring his own tail, and that is terrifying.”
”So, I know that's strange, but I wouldn't think of that as enough to be outright terrified of me, which you seem to be. There has to be more to this.”
”It is simple. You cannot be killed.”
”I'm pretty sure I can be.”
Other Hod winced,
”It is not possible. When was the last time you lost awareness or your judgment?”
I pointed at the ground, ”The last time I splattered myself against this planet. Everything went white for a while.”
”But think of it. Did you ever truly lose consciousness?”
I followed his advice, guiding myself through my memories. The more I thought about it, no, I never did actually go unconscious. Even when totally vaporized, I could still think. That didn't make much sense. I should need a brain to think. Otherwise, I was thinking without even using it.
Wait a minute, was I as brainless as I thought?
I shook off that ridiculous series of thoughts. I glanced at my hands, ”Huh. Yeah, it's been a while.”