Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 23 - Queen of Beasts (Patreon)

Did she want to transform into a predatory beast with much better natural fighting equipment than her human body?

Eying the Darkwalker Demon barreling down towards her, Elania knew the answer.

Yes, she did.

[You have gained the Demonic Transformation perk!]

The heat was suddenly all encompassing; hotter than any overload of [Power] had given her before. But it wasn’t quite as unpleasant. A whirlwind of power and essence pooled around her. Everything outside a small bubble misted away. Visibility faded away until she couldn’t see her own hands, but she could feel herself changing inside.

A small pinch of her consciousness lasted only a second, but then the transformation was complete. She landed lightly on four powerful limbs, her tail swishing of its own accord behind her. She worked her jaw, nicking herself with a set of teeth evolved to rend and tear.

Sound was different, causing her ears to flicker at the increased register. The taste of the air on her tongue was full of new flavors that mingled with a more acute sense of smell. Nothing prepared her for the disorientation of her new vision when the cloud dispersed. The colors were all wrong, but shadows had been banished. And then there was the fact that everything was crystal clear, even far away.

Her opponent aborted his leap and skid to a halt as he examined her. She let out a warning growl as she began to prowl to the side, gaining familiarity with her new form of movement. Neither of them broke eye contact with each other as he joined her in circling and sized her up.

Completing half a rotation, he stopped then turned to the side, looking away from her and showed off his size. He was bloody from the earlier combat. Small wounds oozed with coagulated blood, but he was not damaged in an inherently fatal way. His proudness stood out and Elania felt her new body respond.

He was a lone male, an alpha, and he would make an excellent mate.

He would make an excellent mate.

The intrusive, distinctly [Darkwalker] thought, reverberated through her and she felt a momentary panicked horror as she rejected it.

The only thing she could do was yowl and hiss and then pounce on him, her claws aiming for his neck. It was almost as if he had expected that reaction because he side-stepped the strike and raked her side with an efficient movement.

He was an enemy. The enemy. He had hurt her, offended her, and she wanted him dead.

She’d feast on his corpse.

Rather than retreat from the slash, she leaned into it, darting in to bite him on the leg. Blood filled her senses as her powerful jaw clamped down on meaty flesh and muscle and tore. They went spinning in a ball.

Before the roll ended, she was slammed by an invisible force, knocking her away. She regained her feet in a second, only to see a glowing orb floating over the Darkwalker Demon’s body.

A line of light from it centered on her forehead. She jumped away on instinct without understanding what it did just in time for a pulse of light to explode the rock where she’d been standing. A second beam aimed for her and she began to dash in a wide circle around him. Bolts of power slammed into the ground around her as she zigged and zagged out of the blasts.

When she saw a chance, she darted inward to close the gap. It was harder to dodge. A near miss rocketed shards of stone into her side with a thunk. It hurt, but it didn’t stop her. Just as she reached him, the glowing orb itself launched at her.

He wasn’t the only one with [Power] that could be used as a weapon. Copying his method, she formed a ball of her own, this one glowing a tinted red. They slammed into each other; lighting bolts sparked from both, slamming into the terrain all around them as the two spheres of energy warred with each other.

Suddenly they exploded upward, a massive pillar of spiraling yellow and red light piercing the stone and moss above like a deadly stiletto. Almost instantly, the glow moss there ignited into flame.

Oh no. She glanced at the ruins; the Mushroohum village was covered in the moss. The fire was going to spread rapidly and incinerate the entire cavern! She could see Mushroohums scattering in every direction in a panic as they spotted the fire.

He slammed into her side and sent her rolling while she was distracted. A turn and bite prevented another swipe. Her body was strong, and while his attacks hurt, she healed quickly. The amount of damage he did was much less than when she was in her smaller form.

She charged, and they went into another rolling sprawl of swiping claws and snapping teeth. Her senses filled with the feeling of flesh parting between her paws and warm, tasty blood filling her mouth. He managed to pin her, but she bit him. Once, then twice, forcing him to reposition.

That brought the flames back into her view. How to put out the fire and defeat him at once?

The lake was in view, giving her an idea.

Darting in again, she dodged his swipe to strike at his torso, but instead of clawing or biting, she created a new orb of energy. She swung it with her nose at point blank, blowing him back in a massive concussive boom.

He skipped across the water like a rag-doll, sending large splashes into the air with each impact, until he broke out of it into a roll and then skid to a stop on top of the water. His paws glowed blue, magic somehow allowing him to walk on the lake.

The impact wasn’t enough. He skidded to a stop as she summoned an even larger ball.

She didn’t hurl the energy toward him; instead, she slammed it into the water like a hammer. It reached the bottom and then exploded, vaporizing a huge amount of the water.

[You have gained a rank in Mana Manipulation!]

Steam exploded in a shockwave, blasting everything in a pulse of heavy wind. Water erupted in a geyser, straight up into the ceiling, extinguishing the flames. Around the eruption, a tsunami leapt out of the banks and rushed out in every direction, scouring the ground with a two-meter-tall wave of water.

It slapped at structure and terrain alike until it struck the edge of the cavern walls. The Mushroohum’s palisade resisted the impact of the water, but a wave of tools, equipment, trampled crops and corpses floated on the water as it began to reverse course as gravity took hold once more.

A heavy, hot mist filled the air, obstructing her vision. There weren’t any more flames above. She hoped her plan had worked because she didn’t have enough [Power] left to repeat it.

An echoing yowl hinted her enemy was still there. She hadn’t expected the blast to harm him, anyway. The mist obstructed her view enough that she couldn’t track where he was, though. She settled down on her haunches and crouched, a cat preparing to strike from hiding.

He roared again, giving her a better idea of his location. The rage in his voice hinted at his injuries.

When the Demon Darkwalker came into view, she pounced, coming at him from the side. Landing on his back allowed her to rake him with all four sets of her claws and she clamped down on the back of his neck, tearing at his spine.

He rolled onto his back defensively, and their claws met in a mutual chaotic raking while they sought each other’s throats. Her jaws found his throat just as claws found her belly.

He disemboweled her; she ripped his windpipe and important artery out of his throat.

Elania rolled away to disengage. Almost immediately, a sensation of weakness flowed through her; she was losing a massive amount of blood, fast. He’d torn out her abdominal artery.

Coming to a rest on her haunches, blood pooled all around her as she looked up at him.

He stood resolutely above her a few meters away. Blood poured out of his torn throat in large geysers, each pulse a deluge of precious life force. Taking one step forward, the Darkwalker Demon collapsed.

[You have slain Great Beast – Lesser Demon – Level 87]

[For slaying a being over 50 levels higher than you, extra experience is rewarded.]

[You have gained multiple levels!]

[You have met the requirements for Darkwalker Demon evolution.]

[Do you wish to evolve your race to Darkwalker Demon? Y/N]

The question scared her at how enticing the offer seemed. She had only been transformed for a short time and yet being a [Darkwalker] felt so natural. A bestial instinct pressed for her to accept, but she snatched that hand away.

No. No. No. She did not want to evolve into a [Darkwalker].

The message disappeared to be replaced with another.

[Due to your low power, Regeneration is degraded. Seek more Power.]

Elania breathed heavily. She could feel the blood flow out of her slowing, but her healing was weak. She’d overplayed her hand, creating the tsunami waterspout.

She needed to check her [Status].

[Status: Elania Reyes]

[Level 36 Lesser Demon (Summoned Potency 9999+)]

[Karma: 12345]

[Power: 11/233]

[Perks: (Summoned from Another World!) (Regeneration) (Demonic Transformation)]

[Class: Huntress]

[Skill Slots: 3]

[Slotted Skills: Improvised Combat (Rank S+), Stealth (Rank S+), Mana Manipulation (Rank A)]

[Affinities: (Demonic), (Mana)]

[Magical: Demonic Aura (Rank B) (Activated)]

[Physical: Darkvision (Rank B) (Activated), Throwing (Rank S+), Tracking (Rank D), Survival Crafting (Rank C)]

[Mundane: Identify (Rank C), Universal Speech (Rank S), Reading (Rank A), Writing (Rank B), Crisis Management (Rank S+)]

Wow, she’d gained a lot of levels.

It was no wonder she felt so exhausted; she was almost out of power. Less than when she’d started hunting.

[Your Power is low, all active abilities have been disabled, and your transformation will be forcibly reversed.]

A pulse of pain struck her, and she yowled. Her body crushed in on itself. There was no heat this time, instead it felt like something was smashing her with a cold hammer without mercy. Her face stretched and pulled. Every nerve fiber in her body came alive as she was molded and stretched back into her human form.

When the invisible hand released her, she thumped onto the cold, damp stone. It leached the heat from her skin; her clothes and equipment had completely disappeared, she had come full circle.

Naked, alone, defenseless, and low on power.

[Maximum Darkwalker Affinity has been achieved while evolution has been rejected. Creating permanent affinity: Darkwalker.]

The words hovered over her as she lay on her back, staring up at the charred area of burnt moss. Dust and debris still floated down from the massive puncture that had been dug into the ceiling. It was a hole in the otherwise vibrant glow of green. Everything was contrasted heavily by deep black shadows.

What the hell did ‘permanent affinity’ mean?

She felt cold and exhausted and didn’t want to think. Fuzzy fog filled her head. When a low pitched “Glaa” sounded nearby, she tried to stir. The smell was sweet.

It was skinner. He came to stand over her, but her eyes were drawn to the glowing mana shard in his hand as he set it down.

She grabbed it, curling up into a fetal position before passing out.