My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 943 - 944: Blood Mary

Sob. Sob.

Soft whimpers filled the deck as a knight huddled with his sword in his arms, his knuckles pale from gripping the hilt so tightly, a towel hanging over his back like a cape of surrender. The group encircled him, their boots stamping out an uneven circle on the creaking wooden boards.

The ocean breeze whistled gently outside their ring.

Damon perched on a barrel in front of the knight, bending ahead with elbows resting on his knees. The glow from illumination runes etched into the mast and railings bathed the deck in a eerie blue light, turning every face into a spectral mask.

He rested his hand solidly on the fellow’s shoulder.

"It’s okay. You’re in a secure spot now. Share what occurred."

The knight raised his head gradually and gazed at the grim, pitch-black sky devoid of stars overhead. It extended infinitely, vast and vacant. It mirrored the emptiness in his soul.

"The goddess has forsaken me..." sniff sniff, tears streamed from his eyes, wretched and unending sobs.

"I recall it as if it happened just thirty minutes back."

Seras folded her arms snugly across her chest.

"It did happen thirty minutes ago."

Damon shot her a fierce look and grumbled quietly.

"Can’t you tell he’s in agony?"

She exhaled, sweeping strands of hair away from her face. Why were they blowing this out of proportion? It wasn’t such a catastrophe.

Damon drew out a handkerchief and softly handed it to the knight’s trembling fingers.

The knight murmured a sorrowful, "Thank you."

"I was by myself, wiping down and tending to my equipment. Then I caught the noise. A sound at the entrance. I figured it was my bunkmate returning from the upper level."

He halted, gulping deeply while the surrounding men bent closer.

"It drifted in... resembling a peach sprouting tentacles. It spoke with a feminine tone, and before I could move, it burst apart and drenched me in... blood."

"Ahh!" someone exclaimed in shock.

"By the goddess..." another fellow lamented.

"That’s dreadful," someone murmured.

"How awful. The torment he suffered," another added solemnly.

"That’s not a big deal... it’s not like it was acid," Lana stated bluntly, her arms dangling casually by her sides, obviously puzzled by their panic.

"Hold on. How did you determine it was... you know... menstrual blood?" Renata inquired cautiously, bending down a bit to look him in the eyes.

The knight shuddered fiercely.

"It declared it... it informed me," he breathed.

Several men quivered.

Seras let out a quiet sigh.

'I get it. That verifies one detail.'

"That we’ve got a terrifying beast on board," Damon broke in theatrically, standing up abruptly.

"No. That you’re all fools," Seras retorted sharply. She unfolded her arms and advanced. "I can’t fathom why you’re all losing it over such a minor thing. A bit of blood won’t end you. You won’t get pregnant from period blood, so why don’t you rein in your fragile male pride and hunt down that creature."

Damon coughed uncomfortably, rubbing his cheek.

"You... don’t understand the ordeal of facing a period from the receiving end. The torment of dealing with a temperamental partner. You turn into the bad guy just for being there. I could list more."

A fellow with a lengthy beard and rugged features tentatively lifted his hand. He was among the elder sailors, wide-shouldered and marked by scars.

"My... my wife thrashes me each time it’s her monthly cycle... I once attempted to resist... but I never prevailed..." Tears flowed down his cheeks, soaking into his beard.

Damon quickly moved in and gripped both his shoulders.

"Stay tough, brother. She can’t reach you out here."

"I’m sorry," the man sobbed. "She’d claim nothing’s amiss, but I sense otherwise. I just hope she’d speak up. When she denies it, I assume all’s well and then I take the blows..."

He bawled freely, collapsing onto his knees.

"I strive to shield the children. To be a proper dad... it’s always a struggle."

The men started sharing their experiences sequentially.

Damon inclined his head seriously. Even Lilith Astranova turned frightening during her period.

"She demands space.

You provide space.

'Why are you avoiding me?'"

He waved his arms expressively.

"She craves focus.

You offer focus.

'Why are you smothering me?'"

The ring of men bobbed their heads in mutual suffering.

"The phrase 'It’s fine.'

It is anything but fine."

One fellow gaped into nothingness as though peering into an endless chasm.

"You’ll get a tale from a decade past.

You’ll shoulder the blame for it."

A wave of pained whispers rippled through.

"She might declare, 'I hate everyone.'

You agree.

You count as everyone too."

The bearded sailor hid his face.

"You’ll face the question, 'If I became a worm, would you still love me?'

No escaping it."

"There’s no right reply to that," Damon stated ominously. "I simply surrender and perish."

Seras and Lana observed the scene with furrowed brows.

"Hmmm. So we’re facing a seductive type of monster. The ocean teems with such horrors," Seras mumbled, eyeing the shadowy waves.

Lana quietly rattled off potential suspects. Seras dismissed them with a shake of her head.

"Well, whatever it is has got Damon hooked as well..."

"It’s not mental assaults," Renata interjected, gesturing to the crown atop Damon’s head.

"He’s protected against those," she affirmed assuredly.

"What we’re up against is a beast that captivates without touching mind or spirit. That limits our suspects. From the blood I... oooh."

Lana stopped abruptly, startled by the faint noise from Seras.

That wasn’t promising.

"What? What’s wrong, commander?"

"It’s a being that manipulates pheromones. It ejects blood from its form. I’ve caught only grim tales, and judging by his account... it matches what I suspect."

Renata’s eyes tightened a fraction.

"Well, Damon lacks defense against pheromone shifts. I’m certain he’d develop tolerance over time based on exposure levels. Could be lengthy though."

"So what? They’ll all behave like fools?" Wendy drawled indifferently, slouching against the railing while eyeing Damon with faint worry.

"Something along those lines. But I wouldn’t deem that the gravest issue."

Wendy perked up a touch.

"What could surpass this nonsense?"

Seras nibbled her lip, pausing briefly.

"The blood fuels its power. Contact triggers odd bodily responses. Some claim it instills true reverence for your mother. Inhaling the blood lets pheromones invade, sparking this behavior."

Lana’s eyes widened.

"Wow. I never imagined women were that intense. Hmm. Seems I’ve got much to discover."

"What creature is it?" Wendy urged.

Seras dropped her tone.

"It’s the Bloody Mary."

Renata’s jaw dropped.

"Wait. Isn’t that the beast that can..."

"Yes. Precisely," Seras interrupted swiftly.

"They won’t take that well," Renata murmured.

Then she looked at Seras.

"Should we... inform them?"

Seras denied it with a firm shake.

"No point piling on their worries. Bliss lies in ignorance. What they ignore won’t harm them."

*************

They scoured the entire vessel throughout the night. Lantern flames and illumination runes danced along every passage, every storage area, every bundle of rope. Footsteps thumped over the decks. Doors slammed wide. Goods were rearranged.

No beast turned up.

No additional strikes occurred.

Seras remained silent. She and the women just watched closely, keen gazes following each motion, each uneasy flinch. They anticipated further clues, reinforcements, support.

They had Damon call forth Matia from his shadow, where she’d lingered all along.

Darkness gathered near Damon’s boots, icy patterns spreading delicately before Matia emerged without a sound. Her light blue locks gleamed subtly in the rune glow, her face as impassive as ever.

They briefed her on the situation, beyond what she’d witnessed from the shadows.

Renata seldom saw the ice sprite’s demeanor shift.

This marked such an occasion.

The prior one was during her clash with her father.

Matia’s eyes gradually turned to Damon.

She’d demanded to remain near him since then.

It served his safety.

All gathered on the deck to discuss the matters. The salty gusts buffeted the sails, enchanted runes on the masts sparkling to hold the ship firm amid the inky seas.

"We’ve uncovered nothing yet. Has it departed?" the captain queried, his tone strained.

The knight from the previous night hawked and spat aside.

This made the tenth instance in mere minutes.

Damon eyed him shortly before lifting his shoulders.

"I doubt it. Likely lurking in the depths. We might attempt a dive to seek it, but I’d strongly discourage that."

Seras’s gaze flicked to the blood-soaked man from yesterday.

He spat once more.

His complexion was ashen.

Perspiration beaded on his forehead.

Damon shook his head, on the verge of remarking, when the man abruptly dashed to the ship’s side.

He knelt and started vomiting his morning meal over the edge.

The heaving was intense.

His digits clenched the timber until his knuckles blanched.

Damon grimaced.

"Poor soul. He’s clearly still repulsed from last night’s ordeal."

Seras breathed out, shaking her head deliberately.

"No. That’s not the reason."

Damon arched an eyebrow.

"It’s because he’s pregnant."

Damon looked her way and grinned faintly.

"Ahh. Good one. Didn’t realize you had jokes in you."

Her face stayed unchanged.

Not a flicker.

The breeze whispered through the quiet.

Damon’s grin gradually vanished.

His features drained of color.

"...What?"