Chapter 376 — They Are Same
6 min read ·
The mental construct bled out from Damian’s consciousness with the reality twisting around him, five hundred meters in all directions.
Every beast within range suddenly found themselves caught in the Domain’s influence.
The black fog wrapped around them like physical hands, reaching into their minds, amplifying every negative emotion their beast consciousness could experience.
Fear.
Hunger turned to starvation panic.
Territorial anxiety magnified until it became overwhelming.
The B rank beasts lost all cohesion immediately.
A wolf pack that had been stalking from the north scattered in all directions, their pack hierarchy collapsing as each individual fled from imagined threats.
Two bears that had been approaching to investigate the commotion turned on each other, their minds convinced the other was the source of their suddenly overwhelming dread.
Even the stronger ones, that had some capacity for rational thought, became visibly agitated.
Their movements grew erratic, their focus splitting between the real threat and the psychological assault battering their consciousness.
They backed away, slowly at first, then faster, their survival instincts screaming that staying in this place meant death.
And the seven panthers suddenly blurred.
Their forms merged back into one, as the Domain’s assault disrupted whatever skill had created them.
The real panther stood exposed, ears pinned flat against its skull, lips pulled back in a snarl.
It stumbled backward with its yellow eyes wide and the psychological attack battering its consciousness.
"Gotcha."
Damian pushed off the tree, his working hand grabbing his axe from the ring, pulling it to his grip.
His legs screamed in protest but he forced them to move as Sonic Blink carried him forward, closing the distance.
The panther was backing away, shaking its head like it could physically dislodge the despair flooding its awareness.
’Almost there. Just need–’
The panther’s muscles tensed, fighting through the Domain’s influence through sheer A rank willpower.
’Not fast enough. Come on!’
Suddenly, its eyes focused with clarity cutting through the fog and it bolted.
"No– fuck!"
The panther crossed out of the Domain’s five-hundred-meter radius, escaping the mental assault.
The moment it cleared the boundary, its movements became fluid again.
It turned to look back at him from the safety of distance, with its eyes reflecting cold calculation.
Damian released the Domain and the construct collapsed.
The effort had drained him, Aura reserves dropping noticeably, his consciousness straining under the weight of maintaining such a large-scale attack targeting so many beasts.
’Can’t maintain it for long... this is about surviving...’
His Self-Healing worked desperately as he stumbled toward the hollow he’d spotted earlier, his broken arm slowly regaining function.
The fractures mended enough to move but were far from healed.
He ran, his stamina carrying him through the forest, Macro Vision guiding him past obstacles, Sonic Blink eating through what remained of his reserves.
Behind him, maintaining careful distance, the panther followed like a shadow between trees.
Its yellow eyes reflecting in darkness.
’Bastard can track me perfectly but I can’t sense it until it attacks.’
The thought burned with frustration.
He finally saw it, a hollow carved into massive tree roots, entrance concealed by undergrowth, small enough to defend and deep enough for protection.
Damian crashed through with his body hitting the back wall and legs giving out.
Gasp...gasp...
He slid down until he sat with his back against solid wood, breath coming in ragged gasps.
His hands moved automatically, pulling healing potions from his spatial ring.
He drank one, then another, the liquid burning down his throat as his Aura responded, wounds began closing faster.
The worst damage slowly became manageable for his skill to work without needing much Aura.
He was alive.
But through the narrow entrance, movement flickered in the distance.
"...Patient son of a bitch."
The panther had marked him as prey worth pursuing, convinced that devouring a B- rank human would push its evolution.
The Aura surge had just started and every beast in this forest was following the same routine.
Devour, Survive, Grow stronger...
****
Days bled together in a nightmare of blood and survival.
The sky remained that deep arterial red, unchanging, the color becoming so constant that Damian’s mind started filtering it out as background information.
The Aura density continued climbing with each passing hour.
His core absorbed it automatically, the constant influx slowly filling his reserves, preparing his body for the breakthrough he could feel approaching.
But survival took priority over advancement.
"Sigh... all of this is happening at the wrong time."
The forest had transformed into a war zone.
Everywhere Damian went, he found evidence of the slaughter happening.
Corpses of C rank beasts ripped apart by B ranks looking to advance.
B ranks killed by A ranks claiming new territory.
Even signs of A rank battles, massive trees torn down, craters in the ground large enough to swallow houses, bloodstains that covered entire clearings.
The beasts were devouring each other with desperate intensity, their survival instincts recognizing that the surge in ambient Aura created a limited window for rapid advancement.
Those who could consume enough power quickly enough would jump ranks, would secure better hunting grounds and would survive what came next.
Those who couldn’t would become food for those who did.
’They’re the same as me.’
The thought surfaced as Damian crouched over the corpse of a B+ rank bear he’d just killed, his hands already working to butcher the most Aura-rich organs.
’Get stronger by preying on other beasts... I have a Devouring Art. The only difference is I’m choosing this path instead of being born to it.’
He consumed the bear’s heart, his Devourer Body Art activating automatically.
His physical stats climbed incrementally.
Strength +2.
Stamina +1.
There weren’t any dramatic increases or the massive jumps he’d experienced when consuming the Giants or the Controller creature.
But steady progress, accumulation that would matter over time.
"The weaker beasts barely contribute anymore..."
Another realization that had been growing clearer with each kill.
When he’d first activated the Devourer Art in the Giant portal, consuming D and C rank flesh had provided massive benefits because his own rank had been lower.
Now at B- rank, eating anything below A rank gave minimal returns, his body requiring higher-quality material to continue advancing.
And something else he’d noticed...
There was no mental degradation.
His Will stat remained stable at 400, his Perception holding steady at 300 and his Aura Control maintaining its A- rating.
None of the terrifying slide toward madness happened, that had characterized his previous uses of the art.
"Is it because my Will is stronger now? Over three times what it was in the Giant portal?"
That seemed likely.
Mental fortitude protecting his consciousness from the art’s corrupting influence.
"Or maybe... because I’m not eating things stronger than myself?"
The Giants had been D+ and C rank opponents when Damian was C-, a constant battle against superior enemies where consuming their flesh pushed him past safe limits.
The creatures in the second portal had been mostly B rank when he was C+, that same pattern of reaching beyond his current capability and paying the mental cost.
But now, carefully targeting B rank beasts while sitting at B- rank, staying within reasonable parameters...
The art remained stable.
It was still dangerous, but controllable.
His spatial ring filled with corpses and valuable organs and materials that could be used for advancement or sold for resources once he escaped this nightmare.
If he escaped.
The days continued.