Harbingers of Change

Chapter 26

The taste of freedom was as sweet, if not sweeter than the blood of a baby straight from the womb. Toltecatl licked her lips, cleaning off the last smudges of blood and savoring them one final time. She glanced over to the remains of a measly "A-rank" adventurer. Humans didn't provide much growth in raw power compared to other species, but consuming them strengthened her soul to some degree, albeit only contributing a mere thread to the tapestry of her strength.

Toltecatl was born as a soul eater due to the dark influence of her divine father and thus would gain great power from the consumption of souls. As an offspring of a Blood God, she was considered immortal, impervious to the ravages of time, and capable of mending any wound. In the dawn of her existence, she was worshiped by her tribe, feasting on the offerings of human sacrifices that sustained her for countless moons. All she had to do to keep things that way was to destroy anyone threatening her growing empire, but the easy life wasn't meant to last.

That cursed monster, Twilight Valentine, had ripped her across time and space for his sick experimentation. For so many millennia, she had been reduced to a mere specimen, knowing nothing but hatred for her captor and desire for bloody revenge. Revenge that she had just found out was impossible, for he had fallen at the hands of one of his creations, denying her the delight of slaughtering him after torturing him into preparing a return pathway to her first world. Twilight was dead and only his legacy and his children remained. They would be the ones to pay for the transgressions against her, and pay they would for bearing the sins of their metaphorical father.

Since the first day of imprisonment, Toltecatl had sought countless ways to break free, quickly discovering this world's strange system of regulating the power and ability of its inhabitants. Her sheer desire to be free gave her the unique skill, All-Seeing Eye. This skill let her peer beyond her prison and find out pretty much everything she needed to know over the centuries, but it hadn't been enough to break free from her imprisonment. The cage she was put in was designed by someone who understood the danger Toltecatl posed and ensured no growth spurts would ever be enough, constantly draining any excess power that remained within her for too long, a characteristic of gaining "Skills."

From then on, Toltecatl had amassed a collection of abilities, stretching the fabric of her soul to its utmost limits. The hunger for more souls at the present moment was not just a craving - it was a necessity, for with each soul consumed, her capacity for power swelled, and with it, her repertoire of skills. Among these was the second unique skill she had acquired, Kinmaker, which allowed her to create vampires out of any living creature of her choosing. The final skill in her arsenal was The Chosen of the Gods, something that enabled her to commune with deities and, in those moments, temporarily amplify her power.

Yet, for all her formidable skills, the chains of her prison had held fast, being free only due to Luminous, another creation of that blasted, filthy summoner. Not wanting to experience similar imprisonment by those possibly of Twilight's caliber, Toltecatl knew she needed to be careful and gather power secretly and over time, not that time was an issue with her immortality. She could take all the time she needed to grow, assuming others didn't find her first.

Her strategy required her to avoid areas shielded from her unique skill. These blind spots were surely the work of entities whose power eclipsed her own, or at the very least they were similar in level. To confront and antagonize them prematurely would be fatal, particularly since only one of her skills was truly oriented for battle. Moreover, this world harbored beings whose might rivaled that of lesser deities - beings whose wrath needed to be avoided at all costs, despite her own divine heritage.

Her plan was deceptively straightforward: grow in power unnoticed by the big shots of the realm, exact vengeance upon Twilight's vile progeny, and then find a way to escape this world before its titans grew wary of her presence. She knew pathways across time and space existed, as that was how she had gotten pulled into this accursed realm in the first place. The magic was there, so it was only a matter of time in uncovering it, and time Toltecatl had plenty.

For now, she lurked in the human nations, preying upon any unfortunate person who dwelt in the neglected corners of the "Western Nations." Once all that could be safely taken was hers, she would venture southward, across the shadowy expanse of Tempest, and hunt in the lands of the Demon Lords. There, amidst the more powerful beings, lay the promise of greater strength.

Should fortune favor her with the soul of even a single minion of a Demon Lord, the surge in her power would be monumental, dwarfing the meager gains from weakling humans. With such a reward, the ability to flee from this world would be within reach.

Though her skill could not pierce the veil covering the monster nation, the whispers of consumed souls had painted a rough sketch of its inner workings. Crossing Tempest was safe so long as she didn't draw attention to herself and remained inconspicuous. Its leaders were avid proponents of the "tough but fair" ruling method. So long as she didn't hurt them, they wouldn't hurt her.

<X>

In the week that followed, Toltecatl's hunt was marked by a single event of significance: mastering the art of instant teleportation through the magic gleaned from a young mage's soul. This greatly improved her ability to move about from nation to nation, all with the subtlety of a ghost. Humans, what they lacked in quality, made up for in quantity, a fact she delighted in. She could consume an entire brothel's worth of humans, and nobody would be the wiser.

Never remaining in one place for long, she had drawn closer to the final prize she had spied on from within her cage. There existed a human, or more precisely a majin, with a similar ability to hers, and if there was one thing she hated more than Twilight, it was competition. This majin had to perish or prostrate himself before her, as many had in the bygone era of her previous world

Once she had gained sufficient strength by consuming the essence of numerous B-rank adventurers, since the A-rank ones drew inconvenient scrutiny, she had located her target to be present in an isolated tavern. He was a hulking figure, with a truly dull and vacant expression finding its way to his face, as he downed mug after mug of ale. The brute was also actively being shunned by the other patrons. Toltecatl observed the man from a distance while enjoying a glass of wine, purchased with coins pilfered from her adventurer prey. It was but a pittance to the wealth she fondly remembered, a meager sum compared to the opulence she was familiar with. Indeed, patience was key for her inevitable return to her rightful place.

To her surprise, the man detected her gaze rather quickly and lumbered over to her, tankard in hand.

"Do I know you?" he questioned, leering at her.

"I don't think so. But something is interesting about you," Toltecatl replied, her voice a velvety purr.

"Is that so?" The man bared a grin full of jagged teeth.

"Oh yes. We are… different from the rabble here. Superior," she declared, displaying rows of her own razor-sharp teeth.

"You seek something from me?" Vega asked, feigning nonchalance. His next meal had practically jumped onto his lap. A meal, his instincts told him, that would provide a sizable jump in power instead of the weaklings he was surrounded by.

All his life he had been a survivor. Born as a result of rape, he was half-monster, his father being a magical inquisitor and having succumbed to the madness of absorbed monster energy. That same monstrous essence had transferred to him during conception, resulting in what he was today, a legacy of insanity and raw strength.

His mother, in fear of what she had birthed, had sought his death, but Vega escaped from her clutches. For an excruciatingly long time, he had survived on refuse, vermin, weeds, and whatever scraps he could scavenge, until desperation drove him to consume his first human.

It was then that he discovered his unique skill Scavenger, which allowed him to absorb the skills and powers of the creatures he consumed, and it seemed to hold no ceiling to how far he could strengthen himself. Although he had faced setbacks, such as defeat at the hands of Yuuki, who chose to spare him and coerce him into a life of crime while educating him, Vega continued to grow in power. His future was boundless.

"Perhaps," Toltecatl mused, leaning in. "Perhaps, you would like something from me? I'm sure we can think of ways to benefit one another," she suggested, offering her hand to Vega, which he took and shook in a rather rough manner.

'Barbarian. The gift of consumption is wasted on one who lurks for the weak. If I knew I could dominate your will, I would parade you around on a tight leash like the animal you are. Unfortunately, it is better to devour you than to take unnecessary risks, given the power you hold.'

Vega grinned savagely, his eyes tracing her form as if she were a choice cut of exquisite, marbled majin flesh. If she was so eager to take him aside then it was practically a crime not to play along. Always on the hunt for new victims to consume, he now would lead this naive monster to her grim fate. He suspected the dark-skinned woman to be a Tempest spy trying to find Yuuki through him and using her allure to tempt him to reveal everything he knew about the man.

The deal had been sealed. Whose ambitions came out on top in the end would depend on what happened next, and both parties thought themselves indomitable. Consumption versus consumption, may the greatest devourer win.

Vega's anticipation only grew as both reached a secluded alley, dimly lit and quiet besides the distant chatter of rats or the mournful whistle of the wind. The moment there was nobody around, he slammed the slender woman against the wall and tightly enveloped her delicate neck in his massive palm.

"My, you are strong," she gasped out.

"Nothing personal. You just picked the wrong guy. I would take a few rounds with you first, but you might have a backup," Vega smirked. Somehow it didn't register to him that the woman wasn't showing any signs of fear.

"Oh, I chose perfectly. Unfortunately for you, I don't need to breathe," Toltecatl retorted with a cackle, her clawed hand plunging into Vega's throat, crushing his windpipe.

Vega immediately let go of her, stumbling back in surprise, choking for air as his regeneration kicked in. This woman didn't need backup, she was the danger.

Before he could compose himself for combat, Toltecatl struck again, sinking her sharp fangs into his neck and draining both his lifeblood and soul as she forcefully held him down.

"W-what the hell!?" Vega screamed in surprise, scrambling to push this woman off of him. He had never imagined encountering someone with abilities akin to his own, let alone falling victim to them. His vision rapidly dimmed as the last of his strength left him, his muscles slumping as his heart stuttered to a stop. Even fighting with all his might, he couldn't resist the woman's deadly advances; her attack had been fast and precise as if she knew exactly what she was dealing with.

The last thing he heard was, "Nothing personal, you were in my way."

The jolt of power Toltecatl received a moment later was intoxicating, absolutely dizzying her from the sheer euphoria she felt. The benefits from slaying this one majin dwarfed all the previous victims combined. The skill she absorbed gave her an additional boost, as her soul absorbed it as pure energy. Given her already superior ability to naturally consume, it served little purpose besides making it even stronger for future uses.

The newly acquired knowledge from the man's memories gave a clear warning that Vega's disappearance would be quickly investigated by people she wasn't ready to face, so after she consumed everything she could, Toltecatl burned the remains of his belongings and teleported as far away from the scene as her magic could take her.

It was time, she knew, to leave the human nations and venture into the lands of monsters. She couldn't wait to get her hands on more majins to feast upon.

Editing by aidan_lo and Zprotu.

Proofreading by Sluethen, Malguis, aidan_lo, Thea, Cakeeight, Cay, NuggetLover, and Zprotu.

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