Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 39: Hunting in the Ashen Desert

Chapter 39: Hunting in the Ashen Desert

Since he had gone through a lot in the past few hours, Azrael went to sleep. It was better to rest his brain before coming up with a plan.

The instant he felt the morning breeze over his face, his eyes sprang open. Standing up, he was able to get a better look at his surroundings.

"Just as I feared."

Now that he had a full view of the vast land, he realized just how large the Silver Desert truly was. It spanned far longer than even his improved eyes could see. The only things aside from the sand stretching for who knew how many countless miles—and the lava ocean pulsing to the east—were towers exactly like the one he stood in now.

’The best course of action will be to go as far away from the lava ocean. It’s possible that I’m overreacting and there won’t be a lava tsunami in the future, but it’s better to assume the worst,’ he concluded.

He descended the tower much faster than he had ascended. With most of the day still ahead of him, he sprinted west. His naked form was concealed by the silky robe as he left faint traces of footprints in the sand.

He didn’t dare use too much power all at once, fearing it might rob him of his vitality before he could find food and water. But despite that, the hot desert—with the lava ocean behind—raised the temperature severalfold.

Eventually, cracks began to appear on his lips. His throat began to dry up, making it harder to swallow.

’The Teapot can create water... but for that to work, I need some kind of liquid. Since its description stated it can turn any liquid into drinkable water, I presume it also includes lava and blood.’

His eyes darkened. ’There aren’t any monsters around... Using my own blood will be an absolute last resort.’

A subtle smile tugged at his lips. ’Now that I think about it, since my Purity has evolved to the next Rank, raising my Corruption shouldn’t endanger my sanity too much.’

His gaze briefly went to his skill, [Blood Manipulation]. The skill was tied to his Corruption, so raising it would make him undeniably stronger.

"If only there was something killable in sight," he exhaled, trying to think about something other than water.

He jogged as the moisture in his body slowly depleted. When the sun reached the middle of the sky, he was forced to stop and put the Maiden Skin over his whole body, shielding himself from the deadly sun.

He coughed, feeling like he was inside a furnace.

’If only I had something to burn! Then Frostflare Flint would be useful. Too bad a flint works only when you have something to ignite.’

Once the sun stopped being so threatening, he continued. Soon the sun dipped behind the horizon once more, darkness enveloping the whole Ashen Desert.

Azrael was still too far from the nearest tower; he was forced to camp outside.

*****

"No rest for the wicked,"

Naturally, since this was his first night without shelter, he didn’t manage to get a wink of sleep—too alert for any potential dangers.

Once he could see where he was going, he picked up the pace again, his lips starting to become even harsher.

’I can’t go on like this,’ he thought, stopping in place.

He had journeyed a considerable distance, yet no monster had appeared. While this could have been good under normal circumstances, it was going to spell his doom—since he had to rely on them for resources.

With no better plan, he called forth his scythe and made a small cut on his finger, drawing blood.

By letting drops fall at certain distances, he made a circle around himself and sat in a meditative position—waiting.

The bait had been set.

Seconds turned into minutes, which then blurred into hours. He was beginning to doubt his plan. He had assumed that if there were monsters living in the area, they would be proficient at sensing blood and come to him sooner or later.

Just as the doubt of a mistake entered his mind, he saw something far in the sky.

’A bird.’ A genuine smile appeared on his face. He didn’t doubt for a second that this was a monster.

His bait had worked.

As usual, he used [Inspect].

Name: [Unnamed]

Race: [Ashfeather]

Danger Level: [Feral]

Corruption Rank: [Twisted]

"Killing it would advance my Corruption by 10," he mused, gripping Gravebloom tightly.

The airborne abomination sensed that its prey had caught wind of it and lowered its altitude, going even faster than before.

"Let’s see what you’ve got."

Faster than an arrow, the bird shot forward like a missile, its deadly sharp beak locked onto Azrael.

Due to its speed, it appeared like a blur, hiding most of its features.

With a graceful motion, Azrael dodged at the last second.

The monster, seeing that its attack had failed, flailed its wings and turned around, shooting forward once more.

’It doesn’t have any harmful skills—it works like an arrow. It launches itself as fast as possible, and once it hits its intended target, the beak inflicts a deadly wound.’

The Heir of Death analyzed the creature with ease, he had a mountain of knowledge about abominations and their anatomy, thanks to his background as a monster corpse gatherer.

The abomination grew enraged. Each time it tried to strike, Azrael would dodge at the last second.

Until the monster made a mistake—it didn’t manage to pick up enough speed.

When fighting others, that wouldn’t have been so fatal.

But when going against Azrael—known for his swiftness—it was.

His scythe tore through the air, carving a deep wound into the being’s body.

It screeched, blood shooting in all directions.

Unwilling to let his prey escape, Azrael stepped on the creature with one foot. At the same time, he called forth the Mother Needle and carved the weapon deep into its head.

[Corrupt soul has been devoured. The taint in your soul grows darker.]

Corruption Progression: [20/100]

"Easier than expected," he nodded. The benefits of being Blessed were showing themselves more and more.

He studied the corpse for a second—silver feathers, crimson eyes, effortlessly blending with the surrounding desert. Its wingspan was three times the length of his body, not that it surprised him; it needed that size to build up speed.

Eager to test the Teapot, he drew blood from the corpse and poured it in. After closing the lid, he tilted it to the side. Clear, cold water spilled onto the ashen sand. _{free\we\bnov(e)(l).com}

Without hesitation, he brought it to his mouth and drank the entire contents. His vitality returned to near-optimal levels.

Testing everything he could think of, he tried storing liquid in the pot, but sadly, after being dismissed and called forth once more, it was empty. Storing water wasn’t possible—at least for now.

"Well, we can’t have everything going my way, can we?"

Gazing at the corpse, he summoned the Frostflare Flint. Once the flint materialized, he struck it, sending small sparks towards the abomination’s body.

It didn’t take long for it to ignite—blue flames engulfed its entire figure.

Finally, for the first time after the terrorist attack at the military school, Azrael was able to let out a sigh of relief. The blue flames decreased the temperature around him, giving him peace of mind.

With the sun once again at its peak, he wasn’t in a hurry to continue his journey. Sitting in the middle of the makeshift campfire he’d created using the monster’s body as fuel, he waited for more to show up.

Just as he thought—sensing the coldness and guts of the fallen Ashfeather—more of the same type of birds appeared far in the sky.

Today, Azrael was going to advance his Corruption Rank.