My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 242: Don't Go Into The Light!

Kace lay naked on his bed as Elderbeard's roots wrapped around his body. Five root tips were hovering over specific body parts for the procedure. One would penetrate each of his limbs while the fifth would go for his heart. Kace did not mind his arms and legs so much, but having his heart tampered with was quite frightening.

"Let's begin," Elderbeard said solemnly while Kace pushed the fear to the back of his mind and braced himself for the pain.

Surprisingly, Elderbeard was quite gentle. Kace hardly noticed when he pricked his limbs, and the only discomfort came from his vital organ in his chest. However, this was only the beginning. Kace felt the blood leaving his body from his right side, then after a few minutes, he felt warm liquid re-entering his body on his left. 

His body suddenly felt like it was on fire! He instinctively felt like something was missing from the new blood that was being injected to him. His body was reacting to that fact by burning up. It was like his new blood was not potent enough to sustain his life. 'Fuck! This is torture! How long is this going to take!'

The painful experience made Kace feel like hours had passed. However, Elderbeard had only started the procedure a mere ten minutes ago. Elderbeard was currently frowning as he monitored how Kace's body reacted. 'This is more dangerous than I thought. Initially, I believed his body would easily adapt to the new blood. Seems like I was mistaken. I'll have to send a message for them to prepare the Hydra meat.'

Kace was too busy focusing on his mind to see Elderbeard's expression becoming more concerned by the minute. It took a lot of willpower for Kace to prevent himself from writhing around. With each new cycle of blood infusion, he could feel his body becoming weaker. 'I won't die here!' He kept telling himself over and over again.

On the other hand, Elderbeard was afraid that this procedure might be too much for him to endure now. 'I think I get the picture now. His body has optimised itself to his current DNA chain. By removing one, it's throwing the balance held in his body off. He'll have to hold out until the procedure is over and hopefully he can absorb the Hydra DNA to rebalance himself.'

This line of thought brought Elderbeard to another horrifying conclusion. 'If he has to continually optimise his DNA as he grows stronger and evolves, well then. It's going to be far more dangerous. There might even come the point that he would die instantly just from removing a single chain.'

Hours passed slowly, Kace ended up on the verge of losing consciousness several times. Only his strong willpower kept him sane and aware of what was going on. Besides feeling like he was on fire, he also felt like someone had poked an uncountable number of ice needles into every part of his body. It was a strange sensation.

Half of his body felt too warm like it was due to start melting into a puddle. While the other half felt so cold that he half believed it was submerged in an iceberg. His vision had blurred, but that was a good thing. Otherwise, he may have panicked if he could see the expression on Elderbeard's face. 

The cold sensation started to spread. Kace was slowly losing feeling in his body parts where it drove the fiery sensation out. He briefly heard a sharp hiss from the ancient Treant followed by some indistinct shouting. 'Am I dying?' It was the only thing that Kace could think of. His mind was becoming hazy as he felt the need to fall asleep washing over him like a tidal wave.

The cold feeling brought a strange sense of comfort to his mind and body. Like nothing in life mattered. 'It's so peaceful.' In his mind, Kace opened his eyes. He was floating on his back in a strange green river. Being pulled along with its current. There was a light shining with warmth towards the current's destination.

Kace suddenly stopped going with the flow as an appetising smell entered his nostrils. His stomach growled with hunger. The smell was coming from the direction he had just come from. As he began to drool and smack his lips, a sudden change happened in the lazy atmosphere of the river.

"What is this!" An ancient voice called out from the white light at the end of the stream. The light suddenly changed to an angry red colour. "YOU! What are you! You feel like one of mine, but different at the same time!"

That statement quickly sobered Kace up. He felt a primal fear of the voice welling up in his body. Every instinct that he had screeched at him that this was his natural enemy. The combined effect of his fear and hunger gave him the strength to fight back against the current. His body was lethargic, but he persevered to put some distance between himself and the light.

A dark silhouette appeared in the light. It looked like an overweight man sitting on a throne. The distance was too far for Kace to make out any more details, but the presence given off by the silhouette reminded him of how he felt around Eve. 'That's a fucking GOD!' Kace went into overdrive at that moment. 

He pushed his body to swim faster as the silhouette crept closer. A pair of red glowing eyes could be seen where its head should be now. 'MOVE! MOVE, DAMN IT!' The closer the entity came, the more terrified he felt. Kace was becoming afraid that his body might completely seize up from the overwhelming pressure. 

Ten skeletal hands burst forth the silhouette. They aimed straight for Kace and his feeble attempts to escape. They moved so fast that distance did not seem matter. They may as well have been right beside him the entire time. 'FUCK!' The hands dipped into the water completely surrounding him. Slowly, they closed in. Intent on seizing him unharmed