I Shall Devour Everything

"Ari, you are right on time for…" Mei trailed off as she realized that she was about to sleep with him. It was something that she usually does every day, but now he no longer looked like a kid that needed her constant care.

Now he looked like a grown-up man with big assets at the right places that could take away her sleep, or what if an 'accident' like before happens?

She still couldn't forget the sensation she was feeling on her bottom when his huge 'sword' tried to trespass into her forbidden region. And just thinking about it made her cheeks warm.

Arion also realized the awkwardness in the air, but he didn't want to change their usual routine since the last thing he wanted was to distance her.

So he laid down the mat as if he didn't notice anything and decided to ask his question to clear out the awkwardness as well, "I had forgotten to ask you before. But do you know what the Devour Aspect is?"

Mei frowned as she slowly crouched, "Who told you about it?" 

Arion felt that something was wrong and said casually, "I am not sure. I just heard someone talking about it."

"Then I guess it's time you knew how these vile Dreadlings are so powerful," Mei said with a stiff expression.

Arion didn't know if he imagined it or not, but he felt that for a moment, he saw her eyes flash with intense hatred and killing intent mixed together that totally contrasted with her usual sacred and graceful aura.

But on second look, he didn't notice anything strange, but her words made him feel that something was definitely wrong about the Devour Aspect.

Mei continued in a serious tone, "Do you know why the Dreadlings eat people? It's not only because they are bloodthirsty to taste our flesh but also because that's how they gain power. They are cursed entities that were born to oppose the Heavenly Mother's creations!"

Arion felt as if a million bombs exploded inside his heart, making his heart thump loudly against his chest, wondering if he heard things right. On the outside, he somehow managed to maintain a blank expression.

But inwardly, he couldn't help but panic, checking his status screen again and again….

————————————————

Prana Aspect: [Darkness] / [Devour] 

————————————————

But no matter how many times he checked, the same piece of information was still present on his screen. A piece of information that would continue to haunt him for a very long time.

'Don't tell me this is the same as what she is talking about,' Arion desperately hoped that what he was seeing was just false, but again it was just his desperate hope.

He then remembered that his bloodline was 'Doom Lizard' and felt as if some puzzle pieces were coming together.

'Don't tell me that my bloodline is a Dreadling type??' Seeing the words 'Doom' and' Lizard', Arion wondered if he was supposed to shapeshift into a monster...or a Dreadling!

'No, that can't be! I am a human, first and foremost! I don't even feel the urge to eat human flesh,' Arion felt that he might be overthinking things, but his tumultuous heartbeat said otherwise.

But he then remembered how his appetite increased to the point he wasn't even feeling satisfied after eating a lot of pranic food. Even Yaro was surprised how he finished all the food she had prepared for him, especially when she made extra and even had to offer him the food she had kept aside for others.

He still asked in a clear voice, "Do you mean to say that Dreadlings possess the Devour Aspect?"

Mei nodded, "Yes. That is why the Devour Aspect is considered as the vilest, taboo, and forbidden out of all other Aspects. Those who possess the Devour Aspect do not have any respect for prana, nor do they bother forming a connection with it but instead devour it all to make that power their own. Pranic hearts are the richest source of prana among living beings than anything else, which is also one of the main reasons why Dreadlings love to feast on them."

Arion felt like curling in on himself while playing with the ends of his hair to hide his anxiousness about the whole thing.

He then asked in a tone as calm as possible, "Then have there been any Dreadlings that do not eat flesh? Like any harmless ones?"

Mei shook her head confidently, "No. There are no such Dreadlings. Otherwise, why would they be named as such? They solely exist to torment all living beings and to devour them ceaselessly to fill their bottomless stomachs."

Arion felt like gulping, but he suppressed that feeling since right now, the last thing he wanted was to give away any hints of him being a possible Dreadling though he refused to believe that he was one for obvious reasons,

One, he was a human; two, he did not have any intense urge to eat humans or meat of any sort; three, he did not even know how to transform to his bloodline form, so how could he even become one.

But again, there was more than one reason that pointed to him not being just a human-like the abilities he saw on his status screen, Ingestion Empowerment, Enhanced senses, and healing. 

He felt like these abilities might have mainly stemmed from his bloodline and not something of human origin.

'Was that old man a Dreadling? No, he mentioned he was a dragon, not a Dreadling. And he didn't look like a man-eater either. There is something I am definitely missing here…' Arion felt that he still didn't have a full idea of his bloodline and the Devour Aspect.

In fact, he was not even sure about this whole bloodline thing and could only make random guesses which were of no use.

But he was in no position to ask too much about it since he was afraid he might make Mei suspicious and couldn't help but think how she would react if she knew that he possessed the Aspect that everyone loathed, including her.

Even if he didn't know how she would take it, he didn't want to take this risk at all since this could compromise his life and everything, including his relationship with Mei.

In fact, he couldn't ask anyone at all, let alone Mei.

'And here I thought it was a blessing...'

Suddenly he wished that he never had this cursed Aspect since if people got to know about it, he might as well be no better than a dead man.

He knew how an unimaginable number of people die to Dreadlings every day, and even his Fok Grove Ward, which was undoubtedly the most peaceful place in the whole village, got attacked as well, with many people dying as a result.

How will the relatives or friends of the ones who died react when they find out he has the same Aspect as the terrifying Dreadlings that killed their people?

Wouldn't they all take their pitchforks and hunt him down till he is dead no matter how long they had known him for? Wouldn't he become the enemy of the whole world then? Wouldn't he have to keep on running just like he did in his previous life, not knowing when someone was going to strike him down from the back?

'Never. I can never let anybody know about this, not even Mei,' Arion resolutely thought since he felt that he had no choice but at the same time feeling guilty again for hiding things from Mei.

But this was something he wouldn't compromise just because he was feeling guilty.

He would rather lie than see Mei looking at him with an unfamiliar gaze...a gaze that could distance him from her forever.

"I guess you are really enthusiastic about becoming a Dreadslayer, hm? Asking about the Dreadlings in detail and everything. I guess what happened to you must have really shaken you," Mei said in a concerned tone as she grasped his wrist.

But then she asked with knitted brows, "Are you feeling alright? Your prana seems to be in a bit of a disorder."

'Damn! She is even able to pick up the change in my emotions through my prana??' Arion inwardly sweated as he laughed it off with a chuckle, "Really? I think I am just too excited to kill Dreadlings after hearing about all this stuff, heh."

He wondered if all Healifiers was this perceptive. If then, he would have to reevaluate how powerful Healifiers could be.

Mei asked with a subtle smile, "So since we are talking about Dreadlings and all and especially since your training is about to begin soon, how about we go register you for the Ironheart Test and also take the Pranic Root test tomorrow? Once we take the Pranic Root test, we would get to know your Aspect for sure and also your potential. So, you are okay with it, right?"