Holy Blood 11

Hey Guys! I will get DR up tomorrow. For now here is Holy to tide you over. 

Holy Blood Chapter 11

As soon as I touched the body and the notifications flashed before my eyes, my body was engulfed in a cloud of red smoke. All around me the world seemed to slow to a stop. I blinked and found myself in a completely new place. Looking around, I was in a temple. 

Pillars extended into the distance ahead of me. Each with a person holding various weapons and looking ready to go to war at any moment. They wore armor from what looked like different eras of the history of Earth. Just from what I saw, there were Spartans, Roman, Indian, and all sorts of others. I looked around but couldn’t find any idea what I was supposed to do. 

I started walking down the hall. Braziers lit as I walked. The flames looked strange though, a deep red. After walking what felt like for hours, I made it to a set of doors that reached into the sky. I stared at them while I debated. 

“It would be a rush if I could push those open,” I said to myself then snickered. 

I placed my hands against the surface. The material felt… strange. Almost like there was a heartbeat inside them. I pushed and strained without the door even so much as hinting at budging. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head. I yelled as I pushed the sensation growing stronger. Blood leaked from my nose and ears but something inside me told me to keep pushing. 

Finally, after I don’t know how much time passed, the door started to budge. Relief didn’t come though as the strain only increased. I didn’t let up though, a single mindedness keeping me going. My vision was starting to go black but I refused to give up. 

Finally, after what felt like days, the door was opened enough for me to get through. I slid through the gap and collapsed on the other side of the door, breathing heavily. I looked around and saw a massive globe floating in the middle of the room. Metal rings surrounded it slowly moving in a calm rhythm. Smaller globes made their way around the giant one lazily. 

The right wall of the temple appeared to be a massive clockwork clock. Gears that looked bigger than buildings moved along with gears that were almost smaller than my nails. Behind the globe a stairwell made its way up to another floor. As I looked around, I had recovered so I started making y way towards the stairs, since I didn’t have any other idea what to do. 

“Hello! My Priest!” I heard from the stairwell. Looking, I saw a giant version of Otris. She was easily thirty meters tall. Her form shrank as I watched until she was as tall as me. She smiled blindingly towards me. 

“Otris. Where am I?” I asked looking around. 

“My domain in the realm of Gods. So as you might say, my humble abode,” Otris said making a sweeping gesture around her. 

“Humble,” I said with a chuckle.

“You really are a bundle of mystery. I didn’t think you would be the first to get an Epic class. Not that I mind in the least,” Otris said as she ran a hand across my cheek. The sensation was even more distracting here than the last times I had felt it. 

“What exactly is a Herald? Aren’t they the people that trumpet the arrival of people?” I asked trying to keep my head straight. 

“Yes. It might easier to just show you,” Otris said before she jumped into the air. She said a few words that sounded like a spell. Four swirling portals opened around the temple room. A snow white clawed hand burst from the nearest portal. I stared as the rest of the creature emerged from the portal. I wasn’t sure how to describe it. 

It had pure white skin with red veins that pulsed disturbingly across and under the white skin. It had a smooth plate for a face with spikes extending from its back. It held a two-pronged spear formed from red metal. While it looked scary, it didn’t quite feel powerful. 

“What is this thing?” I asked as I check it out. 

“A soldier formed from the soul of someone that died at battle. They all find their way to me,” Otris said cupping the creature’s face in a lovely manner. It made a low growl that I could tell is affection. 

“Cool. I think,” I said rubbing the back of my head. 

“As my Herald you will be able to call them to battle. When you gain enough power, you will be able to command an army,” Otris explained. 

“That sounds pretty cool considering I can’t trust anyone,” I said remembering how Henry just stabbed me in the back. 

“They will be loyal, but that doesn’t mean you can force them to do absolutely anything. I won’t allow it,” Otris said a stormy wrath hidden behind her eyes. 

“I would be a fool to tempt fate like that,” I said chuckling at the ridiculous notion.

“I knew you would say that but for some people it has to be said.”

“So… as a herald what exactly am I supposed to do?” I asked looking over the soldier.

Otris flew next to me and wrapped her arms around my neck then looked up at me. “Spread my word. Nothing more nothing less,” Otris said.

“You make it sound simple, but I have a feeling it’s more… dangerous than that,” I said touching her nose with my own.

“Since when were you such a worrywart?” Otris asked with a chuckle.

“Talking to you has made me realize there is more to this world then the eyes would believe,” I retorted.

“Oh, very well. Souls. I need more souls! In fact all the gods need more. A… competition is starting with the arrival of the travelers. I want to win it,” Otris said putting her face right in mine.

“That sounds more like you,” I said grinning.

“Meanie!” Otris said reverting to her more girlish voice.

“Alright. So now what?” I asked gently pushing her away. 

“You chose your first soldier,” she said flying into the air. 

The other three portals rippled, and three more soldiers stepped out of them. They all appeared to be the same as the first only with small differences. The most obvious difference were the weapons. One used a shield and sword, then there was a great sword, and finally a two-handed mace. I wasn’t completely sure, but it looked like one might be a female, but with the white plates and red skin it was almost impossible to tell for sure. 

I couldn’t access any kind of information panel to see how they differed, so it would have to be a gut feeling. I walked around looking closely at each of the creatures. I felt the main difference which was made evident by their different weapons was their fighting style. One was mainly defensive, two were mid range offensive and the last was technique. Though I couldn’t be sure.

“Any hints?” I said to. The goddess who was just floating above everything watching me but all I got was a head shake. 

After doing one more lap around the room checking out the soldiers, I came back to the first soldier that Otris summoned. Without any hard data, whichever one I choose will be a shot in the dark. With my angel race, I would need to take damage to be able to attack them so the defensive sword and shield soldier would be hard to use. 

After the event with Henry, I don’t think I would be able to party as easily as I did. If I was doing all the fighting myself, I would be using more technical fighting. I was more of dodging at the last minute. It would be interesting adapting that to a priest class, err, herald class.

“I’ll choose this one,” I said standing next to the lance wielder. 

Otris landed next to me and stroked its… face, I guess. Suddenly, a language I couldn’t make heads or tails of flowed out of her mouth. Red runes lanced on to the white plate then sank into its body. I thought it was a but cruel until she turned to me with her eyes glowing. I knew I was in for some pain when my body froze, and I couldn’t move. 

Matching runes floated in the air around me, then like a knife it sliced into my skin. My chest felt like it was on fire from the pain. Otris traced her finger over my chest and I noticed blood flowing into the tip of her finger. I couldn’t see the symbol she was drawing but it was one of the most intricate designs I had ever felt. 

She was finally done and the invisible bindings holding me released. I fell forward breathing heavily on my hands and knees. “A warning next time?” 

“Where is the fun in that?” Otris asked with a chuckle. 

I struggled a bit but managed to stand up. Otris grabbed my hand to help me up. After I got my bearings, I vaguely felt something connected with the soldier. 

“Well, that hurt. Should I expect that every time?” I asked cracking my neck. 

She rubbed her hand down my chest as she cuddled next to me, floating in the air. “Of course not.” 

“That’s good,” I said with a sigh. 

“It gets worse,” Otris said laughing. 

“Lovely,” I said groaning. 

“This ends our meeting for now,” Otris said. She shot up and locked her lips with mine. Her scent nearly overpowered me. She was much more… physical here. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I put my arms around her almost unconsciously. I wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted before she finally broke the connection then I flew back as she released me. Blackness formed around me as I fell down a tunnel. 

A few minutes later, I slammed back in my body that was still kneeling to loot the boss. Dizziness overtook me for a few moments. I shook my head to clear it. I wanted to check my status but there were several zombies that were getting a bit too close to where I was. A loot menu was hovering in front of me. There were a few items listed. I quickly moved them into my inventory. 

Once I was finished, I quickly made my way back to Lulu. I had to be careful to avoid a few zombies that were wondering into the area but made it safely to the edge. I looked around to make sure there weren’t anymore players around that might try to jump us. I didn’t see anyone nearby. It was starting to get dark and people would be making their way back to the city or setting up camp if they wanted to risk that. 

“Are you alright?” Lulu asked when I met up with her. 

“Yeah. Just went on a bit of an adventure,” I said rubbing my temples. 

“Huh?” Lulu asked confused.

“Never mind. Let’s try to get back to the city. Without dying.” 

“I have camping gear if you want to set up. There is a decent amount of protection against monsters,” Lulu said patting her bag. 

I looked up at the sky. It was getting dark and those shadow beasts would most likely get stronger in the dark. I nodded to her and we got to work putting up the camp.