Born in Blood

Chapter 377 Battle Body

Liam's Chaos Pearl raged in his solar plexus.

A wave of heat spread across his body.

Liam's skin tightened.

Before, Liam's skin would grow shiny and more pronounced.

But with the Triumvirate Body, it was different.

Now, it would just tighten as much as possible to produce the same hardening effect.

Four, muscular arms grew out of his sides, armored with aureate gauntlets that looked even better last Liam saw them.

Making a sword out of something like this?

How sharp would it be?

Though, Liam didn't limit it to a sword.

It could be anything.

A dagger, a rapier, a saber.

The important part was making it work.

First, Liam tried using Transfiguration to transform his gauntlet into a sword.

Since Liam's blood was in the upper-tier, the transformation abilities had also spread to his Ashura Form.

One of Liam's gauntlets liquified slightly, slowly flowing across his arm to reach his hand.

…However, Liam realized it couldn't condense or extend past his arm.

Liam clicked his tongue.

'Plan B it is.'

Plan B was a little more brutal.

Liam gripped his top left gauntlet with all five hands.

Then, he pulled with all his strength!

A deep, low growl echoed from Liam's throat.

Pain assaulted his arm.

The gauntlet was a part of his body. An extension of it. Like skin was to flesh.

Liam exerted more and more force until what came out was a deafening roar.

RIIIP!

Liam's arm was crudely ripped off along with the gauntlet!

Milk-white blood sprayed everywhere, flowing into a puddle beneath Liam's feet.

But the ripped off arm with the gauntlet was in his grip.

Liam heaved a long sigh, closing the wound with his Transfiguration.

The pain was gonna linger for a bit, but that was fine.

At least he got the gauntlet… plus the arm.

With that done, Liam undid his transformation.

The extra arms regressed into Liam's sides.

It felt as though a part of him was missing.

Liam's face turned incredibly pale.

Slowly, the puddle of pearly-white blood changed color.

It was reverting back to a crimson red.

"...Huh?"

A bad feeling grew in Liam's chest.

The ripped off arm in Liam's hand started to transform!

The gauntlet was slowly 'melting' into the arm, as though it was butter on a hot skillet.

Silence.

Minutes passed as Liam just stared blankly at the arm.

A loud curse escaped Liam's mouth.

He ripped off an arm for nothing!

Absolutely nothing!

Liam threw the arm away.

It was pointless eating it.

After all, it was the same as eating one's hand and expecting to grow because of it.

Liam heaved a long sigh.

Truth be told, he didn't expect this.

The plan to make a 'gauntlet sword' was scrapped instantly.

At least, for now.

'Maybe it's because I'm still half human.'

Liam sighed again.

'At least I can study the cloak now.'

Liam took out the Redirection Cloak and examined it.

Subtle red energies coursed through its fabric like veins of blood.

Till now, Liam hadn't identified what it was.

And an hour of tinkering, examining and testing later, he still hadn't figured it out.

'Either Alucard made it, or the Minister of Magic did.'

'It's beyond my understanding either way.'

Then, Liam moved to his last and final idea.

But it was quite difficult.

What Liam wanted to do was permanently alter his physical form.

Not a human form, not an Ashura form, something else.

How would Liam accomplish this feat?

Simple.

By using Expel over and over, then directing where his body reformed!

Through that method, however Liam regenerated, it would stay that way permanently.

The arm deformity gave him the idea.

But… wouldn't that take long?

Exploding, regenerating, exploding again.

It would.

Not to mention, it would be incredibly painful.

However, Liam had a cheat code.

The Rank 5 corpses!

By devouring them as he regenerated, Liam could recover the lost blood, then use it to speed up the healing process!

Using Admit wasn't viable.

Liam tried.

The flesh of a Rank 5 cultivator basically refused to enter his body.

However, the current plan worked just fine.

'Something that makes my fighting style easier to access,' Liam thought, imagining a 'battle body' suited just for him.

'But also something that I could flick on like a switch.'

'I can't walk around looking like an alien.'

Liam drummed his fingers across his forehead, thinking deeply about what the best physical form could be.

'Something that allows me to use Void, Chaos and Corruption…'

'But doesn't restrict my swords either.'

'Something with both power and speed.'

Silence.

'That sounds… familiar…'

Silence again.

Realization hit him.

'Isn't that just my Ashura Form?'

Liam fell into laughter.

But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

The Ashura was built for war and combat.

They were warriors, in a sense.

Liam went pensive for a few minutes.

'I think I got it,' Liam thought suddenly, a smile broadening on his lips.

'I don't need six arms.'

'I just need four.'

'Two for my blades, two for Chaos and Corruption.'

'I could also make Void with the Black Hole and Chaos, and I can do it without being defenseless.'

'With Transfiguration, I could also hide those four arms at will.'

'Plus, I could add little modifications myself.'

Transforming his body was vastly different than manipulating it.

Even now, Liam could pull his limbs into his torso, like a turtle retracting into its shell.

And although precisely manipulating his body to grow arms was incredibly difficult, through this method, it was perfectly possible.

It was like molding soft clay and letting it harden.

It was perfect.

Liam wasted no time.

He took out the two Rank 5 bodies.

Then, he—

BOOM!

…Got to work.

Flesh exploded on his hips, causing a rumbling shockwave to spread across his quarters.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Liam was ragdolled to the wall.

With a scowl on his face, Liam ran to the bodies and took a large bite from it.

Then, he—

BOOM!

…

This was going to be a long week.