The blasts sent similar messages as his punch, dismissing them I focused on my opponent. Who has decided to move backwards rather than dance around my curse inflicting dagger. As I tried to live closer the Quetzal moved back further sending volleys of magical blasts as he tried to damage me but they lacked the power to punch through my armor and only really slowed me down. Then the Quetzal disappeared, as he moved opposite using the dais between us as cover. As I went to attack around it I saw he wasn't there. Almost immediately I twirled around and tried to intercept my opponent.
I decided to take a blow in order to infect the Quetzal with the curse energy. I felt the impact of his blow. He managed to break through my armor enough to allow a magical blast to break through and attack me. I winced from the pain, and lashed out and tried to attack the Quetzal who simply ducked under my blow and attacked again. This time I managed to get him to grapple as he tried to escape once again.
"You Slippery fuck" I tried as the Quetzal got out of the grapple but not before I broke his nose. Blood rushed out from his nose and smiled in satisfaction before I continued my attack against the fucker. Moving in close he weaved around it and I pivoted to kneeing him in the chest before nicking him with my curse dagger.
"[Purifying Aura]!" The Quetzal yelled, slamming his right fist into his chest and the cursed energy broke apart. Keeping up the pressure I restored my shield before punching the Quetzal in his chest to make it harder to dodge. I ended up hitting the golden armor with a lot of the adornments breaking off or cracking under the force of my blow. Following it up with a haymaker I began to lay into the smaller fighter. Using my shield to absorb blows and my fist to return them. My opponent returned by sending a shockwave of force to push me back before sending more blasts of energy.
The throne room or whatever it was called was a mess of craters and cracked stones. My opponent moved again using some ability to charge forward in a straight line quickly. Catching me by surprise I didn't have time to raise my shield before the Quetzal tore through my armor and into my solar plexus ripping into my flesh before retreating once more.
The frustration at being unable to hit my opponent burned like a black bile in my throat, or maybe that was just the blood seeping from my mouth? If only I had access to my magic, right I was playing with half a fiddle and I was doing as well as I would otherwise would be. Hell, if I had my geomancy right now I could have turned this whole pyramid against him! Shaking off the frustration I moved into the attack, with abandon as I tried to tear apart my enemy who ducked and weaved around my attacks. I felt my anger. I felt my dagger flare in agreement with me, as I lunged into a dagger thrust the Quetzal ducked and struck with an upper cut into my side. I felt the pain, I felt the anger, I felt my desire to end this creature.
As I managed to nick the Quetzal again I gripped the small vein of cursed energy and I poured my anger into, and I felt more foreign anger surround me, then I saw a glimpse of thousands of figures crowding around us. In various states of death, wounds, disease, and hunger. All of their eyes were burning into the Quetzal’s skull, Turtenai, Newtfolk, Geckonese, and Monternoeli were staring at the Feather Scalefolk. I channeled my anger and theirs and the even as the Quetzal retreated the figures hounded him as the cursed energy coalesced into an actual curse.
…
[Skill Gained!]
You have gained the non-class skill, [Bestow Curse]...
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
…
I dismissed it as the epiphany manifested before me. Cursed energy was purified anger and willpower, you had to force reality itself to bend to your anger. The reason why I hadn't been able to do so before was because my anger was simply not enough. I had to learn to harness all of the hatred connected to the person I wanted to curse and then I had to use my own anger to guide the ambient hatred.
“HOW DARE YOU!, I AM THE QUETZAL DIVINE-BLOODED, YOU CANNOT SULLY MY VESSAL WITH YOUR FOUL ENERGY” The Quetzal cried as my curse weakened him significantly as I had aimed at cursing his ability to move, by simply channeling my frustration at his ability to move about. Now as I closed in brandishing my sword I struck the Quetzal square in his chest, slicing through his armor and sending flying into the opposite wall.
“[Bones of Mictlan]” the Quetzal stated weakly and the aura divinity around him weakened further and then his wounds were sealed by what appeared to be bone at the same time despite me pushing all that I could he managed to dispel the curse.
Standing between us my opponent looked ragged although I wasn't much better. My opponent moved to get closer now that my curse was dispelled. Meanwhile I focused on creating a more powerful curse, channelling not just the rage but also the negative feelings that the Quetzal had accumulated from his actions. My right hand glowed a crimson light as the cursed energy intensified until right as my opponent was about to hit me I struck him with a blast of cursed energy.
He faltered for a moment as the cursed energy came into effect. Before he followed through tackling me with a unnatural amount of force sending me to ground. I was dazed for a moment at the force he had managed to hit me with before I realized he had climbed up and began trying to remove my helmet before quickly giving up and he decided to instead attempt to destroy my helmet. Attacking with abandon he tried to crush my head in completely. Twisting my waist I generated enough force to unseat my attacker and I scrambled up. Summoning my Sword I manged to strike the Quetzal as he got to his feet. Striking him in his side.
He continued to back up and I pushed the advantage slashing at him when I could. However I becoming aware of how much of my blood was painting the floor and that my system enhanced regeneration could only do so much. Meanwhile my much smaller opponent was worse for wear as he focused less on durability and more on being an agile fighter.
As he held his side where fresh blood seeped he stood and his features slid into an unnatural grin as I quickly moved in to stop whatever he was planning.
"[Blood of What Came Before]" the Quetzal decreed and his body swelled in magical and divine power as he grew. His arms and legs receeded into his torso and his tail grew. A powerful barrier was encasing the process preventing me from interrupting it. I watched as the Scalefolk grew into a large feather snake.
...
[Pseudocoatl]
...
The Quetzal snapped into attack and I ha throw myself into the opposite direction as the massive snake nearly crushed me and I whirled about wondering how in the hell I was going to fight this thing. I detected no trace of cursed energy, and at this point I was hoping that this ability had a timer that I could survive long enough for.
...
Noble's P.O.V
Huh, he figured out cursed energy, looking over the viewing pool into the mortal realms. I had received a message about the hunt. It was supposed to take place in a month, and we were going to be hunting a proto-divine that resembled a hydra with each head holding a different concept. Me and the other minor daemons who couldn't contribute to the main hunt would be hunting it subservient proto-divines.
All in all I was pretty excited as I was getting kinda bored. I had the cushiest life out the of three me's but it sorting prayers and forging all day was getting old. I had picked up gardening but I had found out rather quickly that the divine plants took forever to grow. However as I half-watched the fight before me I felt a vibration on our shared soul. Their was divine energy pouring in from Kien to me. Delving into my soul I felt the golden radiance of energy and the parts that led off to Kien and Lux. Kien's was flowing with energy and I felt that the pressure was about to build enough that his part of our soul would finally be healed enough so that way he could interact with us again.
