Chapter 84 Nephilim Of Faulch
Ikaris' face tightened as he heard the Vampire's shameless confession. It explained his readiness to play dead in Anaphiel's presence.
"And were you ever going to tell me?" He reproached chillingly. "I thought you'd casually plucked some Faulch angel sometime in your long life, but not that he was related to them."
"Oh, I didn't lie. Erm... I did pluck an angel I met by chance... But Faulch's only descendants are from House Morgunis... At the time I didn't know who I had plucked, but I found out years later..."
"Please tell me you didn't kill that person?" The boy suddenly feared the worst.
He only received a complacent snort from the old man in return.
"I am not a good guy. When someone enters my territory without permission and refuses to identify himself I kill first and then I ask the questions. That feather he was carrying was just a bonus."
"Honestly... I'm surprised you and your empire weren't destroyed sooner." Ikaris hissed, "Your flair for diplomacy would have led us straight into a third world war where I come from. Still, there's one thing I don't understand. Why only take one feather?"
"Ah, I see what you mean." Magnus chuckled sadistically. "I said it was an Angel of Faulch, but its bloodline was extremely diluted. That's normal after thousands of years. To be honest, he was just a mediocre Master Sorcerer and his feathers are of no interest except to collectors. As I told you before, I am only interested in the most exceptional Bloodsparks. That angel I whacked was obviously a runaway and a thief. He stole something valuable from House Morgunis, but bad luck for him it ended up in my hands."
"If I were to absorb this Bloodspark, you spoke of gaining or losing favor with Faulch and Zar..." Ikaris then mentioned. "Is there any risk that Anaphiel or any other expert from House Morgunis could recognize my new Bloodline?"
"No." Magnus answered flatly. "For one thing, you won't absorb this Bloodspark in one night, and two, you won't be an Angel of Faulch, but a hybrid. You are already a human Crawling-Thrall, don't forget that. But please don't cast any of the hereditary spells contained in the Bloodspark. It will make you immediately suspicious."
Aware that the Vampire would not tell him much more, Ikaris focused again on the feather as dark as a black hole in his hands and asked solemnly,
"How do I absorb the power of this Bloodspark? Do I create a new spell?"
"That's right." Magnus confirmed seriously in turn. "You can draw on its magic directly, but there is no guarantee that the Bloodspark is a Bloodline Transfer Spell. However, it necessarily contains a Bloodline, or such a sacrifice would have been meaningless."
"What if I absorb this Bloodspark and it doesn't contain any Bloodline, but just some other spells?" Ikaris pressed for more details.
"You shouldn't lose out anyway, unless this Bloodspark was created by an Angel of Faulch evil enough to sabotage the life of his successor. Anyhow, you'll get a hybrid Spark containing one or more spells. I can assure you that their power should not disappoint you. I can't tell you with certainty what this Angel's status was, but its Sorcerer realm was not inferior to mine or such a Bloodspark could not have been born.
"That's why you have to design a Bloodspark AND Bloodline Assimilation Spell anyway. Not only will it allow you to harness the power of this and future Bloodsparks more quickly, but it will also allow you to easily steal the Bloodline of races you are interested in later on. Many have tried, but those who succeeded were generally too old to use such spells. They were unable to withstand the combination of all these Curses anyway. But you are different, Ikaris. Your Soul Strength is equivalent to that of a peak Grandmaster Sorcerer or a weak Magus while you are not yet a Novice. Do not underestimate yourself.
"Like all spells, it will be inefficient at first, especially a spell like this that no one truly understands, but it will allow you to acquire the Bloodline contained in the feather itself along with the Bloodspark. I don't have any advice for this spell, I'll let you decide, but I trust your judgment. Your System Spell has already proven that you think differently than the masses."
"Very well. I am starting..." Ikaris replied with determination. Any further discussion was a waste of time.
He took a deep breath to build up his courage, the feather in his hands suddenly feeling unbearably intimidating. He was not afraid of failing, but rather of the unpredictable changes it would bring about within him. Magnus himself was unsure of the harmful side effects, except for the inherent loyalty of all angels to the higher being they served.
The boy then closed his eyes and tried to force out his desire, his strong intent to assimilate the Bloodline and the magic contained in this Bloodspark. He visualized how his DNA, his body, and his mind would be improved without losing what mattered to him. He wanted to become a better version of himself, not a monster.
As with the I Am Me Spell, Ikaris could not rely on his scientific knowledge and powerful visualization and comprehension skills to cast this spell. He had only his will, his heart, his emotions, and what he thought he understood to perform this miracle. He knew in advance that the magical output of this spell would be by far the poorest of any spell he had cast to date.
As with the Enhanced Strength Spell, Ikaris refrained from thinking in absolutes to prevent himself from dying of exhaustion halfway through the spell from trying to assimilate the entire Bloodspark at once.
The process would be gradual and he wanted to be able to stop whenever he was about to lose consciousness. This was a clause he planned to integrate into all his future spells.
When he felt ready about half an hour later, Ikaris projected his consciousness to his Divine Spark and mentally whispered,
"Assimilation."
As the teenager spoke the word, a filament of dark energy leaked from the feather and seeped into his hand, coursing through his veins. He started convulsing at once, then passed out. The spell was instantly aborted.
"I am witnessing the birth of a monster." Magnus commented heavily as he watched the boy's condition, carefully monitoring his every change.
His tone was encouraging and confident, but he had never expected the boy to succeed on his first try. What the Vampire hadn't told him was that these intentionally created Bloodsparks often carried out the will of their creators. Without the Bloodspark's approval, it was extremely difficult to assimilate.
Difficult, but not impossible. He thought that Ikaris would experience a few failures before seeking his advice again, but he had underestimated the talent of this freak.
A few moments later, the boy's black veins returned to normal and he opened his eyes. Except for his raven black hair with bluish highlights that looked even darker than before nothing had changed.
Ikaris silently felt the changes in him, but it wasn't striking. The only noticeable difference was that the darkness surrounding the tent did not seem as frightening. Now it gave him the same feeling as a comforter when you're snuggled up in your bed in the middle of winter.
Then he noticed the sharp, unpleasant tingling in the hollow of his shoulder blades. Suddenly thinking of a certain possibility, his face became alarmed and he contorted himself to feel his back directly with his hands.
"Phew..." The skin on his back was still smooth, but the tingling was persistent.
If he had a mirror to check his back's condition, he could have seen that his shoulder blades were slightly reddened and inflamed, but nothing to worry about. Wanting to know for sure, he used his System to self-diagnose.
[Bloodlines:]
[Human Crawling Thrall:]
[Crawling Physique (defective): Night Vision, Perfect Digestion, Attributes+3, Vitality+30, Can sense the presence and communicate telepathically with other Crawlings.]
[Human Nephilim of Faulch :]
[Nephilim(Angel) of Faulch Physique(0.1%): Night Vision, Dark Element Affinity 0.01%, Dark Element Resistance 0.01%, Death Element Affinity 0.01%, Death Element Resistance 0.01%. Servant of Faulch, Hate of the Living.]
"A Nephilim? What's that?" Ikaris muttered out loud.
"A Nephilim is the term we use to refer to the offspring resulting from the copulation between an angel and a creature of another race." Magnus explained with a tinge of emotion in his voice. " In short, you are now a Half-Angel. Now, hurry up! Tell me what kind of ability you've obtained!"
The teenager shared with him the contents of his new bloodline's short description and the Vampire fell into a short silence.
"It's not what I expected, but you aren't nearly done assimilating this Bloodspark." Magnus finally said with less enthusiasm than before. "The energy in it has hardly dropped at all. Now check to see if you've gotten any new Secondary Sparks."
Ikaris complied but as he got to the last lines of his status, his mouth went slack from shock.