Chapter 68: Valtherion's Blood
One would think that Kuzunoha would just crush Verina in an instant if she wasn't playing around. In actuality, she actually couldn't.
Because despite Kuzunoha's superior spellcasting mastery, she appeared to be adhering to one of the clauses of the contract without telling anyone.
'The contract maker, Kuzunoha, is strictly prohibited from engaging in any direct or indirect actions that result in the death or significant harm of any individual who possesses a defined connection or relationship to Narcissus, the contract signer.
These connections and relationships include but are not limited to family members, friends, close allies, and any individual with an established emotional or strategic bond to Narcissus. Such actions may only be taken with explicit, prior consent from Narcissus.'
Because of that, I had no trouble letting Kuzunoha and Verina go on a clash from now on. In fact, it served as a training session for Verina, and also a bundle of motivation for her to one-up her arch-nemesis in spellcasting battle.
Of course, I didn't tell Verina to create such an illusion.
"Now while they are in such festivity…"
I began examining the Xenogene Injector that was already given to me through the Inventory section of the detail screen.
[Xenogene Injector -Valtherion- (Theotech 100%) - 0.3 kg]: The Xenogene Injector is an ancient relic of Theotech design, a delicate yet otherworldly device forged from otherworldly gold alloys. Its sleek, syringe-like form hums faintly with arcane energy, a testament to the technology lost with the absence of its creators.
The device holds a small, swirling core of theonites—microscopic entities capable of rewriting the very fabric of organic matter. Once injected, these theonites spread through the bloodstream, meticulously altering the user's genetic structure to incorporate traits and abilities beyond human comprehension.
The specific injector in hand carries the dormant genetic material of an extinct Theotech race, revered for their near-miraculous healing capabilities. This ancient species could turn their bodily fluids into a universal panacea, capable of mending any wound, curing any illness, and even regenerating limbs.
This Xenogene Injector has been expertly modified to ensure that the gene cultures safely within any host's body, imbuing them with the ability to produce a potent healing liquid through their own biology, without transforming them into a replica of the long-lost species]
I assumed that Valtherion was the name of the ancient race of where this gene came from.
If the world didn't info dump me about the animaphage, I now expect that there were more things that weren't enveloped in this head of mine.
"It seemed like there weren't any ill-conceived modifications inside."
Without any hesitation, I injected the content of the Xenogene Injector into the veins in my left hand.
"Urgh…"
A cold, alien sensation surged through my body, as if every nerve were awakened to something foreign.
Microscopic, sentient fragments of an extinct race—began to spread, seeping through veins like liquid fire and ice all at once. A deep, pulsating hum resonated in my chest, sending shivers down the marrows.
Every cell trembled with an almost unbearable pressure, as though my body was on the verge of unraveling, yet holding itself together through sheer will.
Muscles twitch involuntarily, and for a moment, the senses blurred—time stretched, space warped, and the heartbeat became a distant echo.
Then came the flood of energy, an unfamiliar vitality gradually coursing through the bloodstream, expanding outward, reknitting torn tissue, mending unseen cracks in bones, and refreshing my mind with an eerie clarity—but also tearing and destroying everything that it deem unnecessary.
A sensation of becoming hollowed, as though something ancient and powerful now resides within me, fundamentally altering the body, but leaving the consciousness intact.
The world around feels sharper, more vibrant, yet also distant, and heavy—an unsettling reminder that the self has just brushed against something abnormal.
And it kept ongoing, never stopping until the 'culturalization' finished.
—
—Enhancements—
[Skin-Grafted Wraithgrip: The ancient will of the Theotech God bestows the resilient with limitless ambition and potential—the connecting deeper into the abyss]
[Valtherion's Blood (Unstable): The dormant gene of the Valtherion race fuses with the host, granting them the ability to produce an all-healing liquid through their bodily liquid. This substance can heal any wound, cure illness, and even regenerate lost limbs, making the host a living source of miraculous recovery.
The genetic enhancement also fortifies the host's vitality, making them resistant to physical and psionic corruption (10 days until stabilized. Until then, the effect of the Valtherion's Blood will be at its minimum)]
—
"... It looks like I will experience this overwhelming sensation for a whole 10 days, ahaha."
That should be the equivalent of 20 days in real time.
"My consciousness is fading…"
It seemed like both Kuzunoha and Verina noticed me slumping down and clasping my hands on my head.
Too bad that I won't know what would happen afterward, since my consciousness went blank, as if the 'culturalization' process forced me in the state of sleep to efficiently do their job.
It seemed like I was too excited to try out the new things that caught my attention.
Next time, I will be much more prepared and cautious.
Before I knew it, I woke up to gaze at the ceiling of my own bedroom.
But instead of being greeted by Verina as usual, I shifted my gaze to see Kuzunoha sitting on the side of the bed.
And for some reason, I was no longer wearing my Soulthread Aegis garb anymore.
"How is your rest~?" Kuzunoha cooed.
Ignoring the question, I estimated how much time had passed through the annoying notification. "Two hours had passed. Where is Verina?"
Kuzunoha curled up a smirk. "She reacted very badly after seeing you fall, so I put that kilnalan to sleep."
"I see-"
Suddenly, I felt a great tug from both of my hands, pushing me back to stay laid on the bed.
My head still felt dizzy from the ongoing process of the gene culturalization that was happening, and I couldn't react or think fast enough to process what was happening.
I felt Kuzunoha's weight on top of me as she straddled my hips, her crimson eyes gleaming with mischief. "My, my... it seems our little experiment has left you quite vulnerable," she purred, running a gloved finger along my jawline. A shiver ran through me at her touch. "Now, to our next experiment~"
She leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. "Let's see how well you resist my charms now, darling," she whispered.
Suddenly, I felt a wave of psychic energy wash over me.
A daunting, dangerous wave that might enthrall me as a whole.
This was her Lovehexing power! How dare she use it now of all time??
But I already ensured that she won't be able to control me per the intention of the love-hex. The contract stated that only a part of temporal lengthened experiment could be done to my body, and anything that is permanently altering must be done through my consent.
Unless she received my consent without me knowing, she shouldn't be able to make this lovehexing permanent.
Then this whole thing should be an experiment, just as she stated.
"Kuh…!"
But instead of falling under her charm spell, rage surged through my veins like wildfire.
My vision turned red as fury consumed me. Filled with haunting anger, I grabbed Kuzunoha's wrists and flipped our positions, pinning her beneath me.
"You dare try to manipulate me?" I unconsciously growled, my voice low and dangerous. My suddenly body trembled with barely contained heat. "I will kill you if you plan to break the contract, and make this a permanent state of me!"
Anger was clouding my mind, but I also realized that this emotion shouldn't be the successful result of the lovehexing.
Kuzunoha let out a panicked, breathless laugh. "Oh my, such fire! I didn't expect the gene to give you enough psionic prowess to resist my lovehex!"
"Shut up, and remove this whole thing from me immediately!" Even without my consent, my enraged body tightened the grip that was clutching Kuzunoha's wrists. "Or I will kill you, again and again, until there is nothing but bones and flesh of an animaphage in this room."
"Ahaha! Why don't we put that anger to better use?" Kuzunoha nervously replied. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly I felt a strange sensation between my legs. I gasped as I felt something grow, my body transforming. "There. A little gift to help you...
express yourself."
I looked down in shock to see I now had a fully formed rod, hard and throbbing with need.
That one organ that was formerly absent when I woke up in this world as Narcissus, was now replaced with something that I was familiar about back then when I was a man called Lothair.
"... Is this the only thing you can think about?" I asked with a face filled with wrath and disappointment.
"Ahahah…" With a nervous, wry smile, Kuzunoha tried her best to avoid meeting her gaze with mine.
Even the perpetrator was unsure about this!