I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 213

Spirit, the Domani leader, and the Goldentooth mercenary leader were all facing each other. The Domani leader turned to the mercenary, his expression grave.

“One last time, I offer you the chance to give up and leave. You have no chance against me.”

The mercenary laughed, a harsh, grating sound that echoed off the walls of the cavern. “You flatter yourself, Domani. I’ve faced far worse and come out on top. Prepare yourself, for this will be the end of you.”

They lifted their weapons as they faced each other. The mercenary had a pair of axes that fit his ruthless and aggressive personality. Likewise, the Domani’s sword contained elegance and skill. The two men had dismissed Spirit entirely. This wasn’t like my old world, where even a farmer could get a lucky shot on a soldier. Every level of evolution created a clear gap that was nearly impossible to scale. To these men, I was two realms below them, not even capable of harming them. It’d be like fearing a child when his parent was right beside him.

This suited me fine. I was still trying to figure out this world, so seeing these two fight each other would only be advantageous for me. I was fine standing back and seeing how a fight at this level played out.

With me watching, the two men clashed, their weapons a blur of steel and lightning. The Domani leader’s sword sang through the air, leaving trails of shimmering light in its wake. The mercenary’s axe met it with a clash of sparks, the force of the impact sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. These weren’t just two men at the starting level of Prestiged; they were powerful enough to be considered leaders of their respective groups.

Their talent and skill couldn’t be defined purely by their evolutionary level. If they were to fight other similarly evolved Prestiged, they would still likely win every fight because they had the techniques, skills, and fighting experience that came from their positions, and perhaps most importantly, they had genes inherited from their bloodlines. Well, that was the case for the Domani leader. It appeared to Spirit that he had a slight edge over the mercenary.

Yet, the mercenary leader seemed particularly skilled at subversion. As he fought, he would often use fake attacks and even create false afterimages. It must have been a unique mutation he possessed, and it was enough that he was able to fight the Damini leader evenly. The Domani leader’s movements were fluid and graceful, his sword a dance of death as he weaved and dodged the mercenary’s relentless assault. The mercenary, on the other hand, fought with brutal efficiency, his axe a whirlwind of destruction as he hacked and slashed with wild abandon.

“Is that all you’ve got, Domani?” the mercenary taunted, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “I’ve faced better than you and lived to tell the tale.”

The Domani leader’s response was a silent scoff as he redoubled his efforts, his sword a blur as he pressed his attack. The mercenary grunted, his axe moving to block a series of rapid strikes, the force of the impacts sending him stumbling back.

“Impressive,” the Domani leader conceded, his voice steady despite the exertion. “But you’re still no match for me.”

The mercenary laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “We’ll see about that.”

With a roar, the mercenary charged, his axe a whirlwind of steel as he hacked and slashed with wild abandon. The Domani leader met the assault head-on, his sword a dance of death as he weaved and dodged, his movements fluid and graceful. The clash of steel against steel echoed through the cavern, the force of their blows sending shockwaves rippling through the ground.

The mercenary let out a roar, a surge of energy flowing as he charged once again. The Domani leader brought up his sword to intercept, but the man suddenly turned and chucked one of his axes directly at me. I was engrossed in their fight, so his attack was ready and did catch me off guard. If I were a third realm, the axe likely would have been embedded in my skull before I even knew how I died.

“Damn it!” The Damini leader cursed

I dodged, narrowly avoiding the axe. It struck a rock, which exploded from the force. I had to let the shrapnel pummel my body, sending me sprawling on the ground.

“You survived?” The mercenary seemed surprised.

“You should be focused on me!” the Damini leader charged forward.

Before I could get back up, I suddenly felt mana wrapping around me. I could have resisted it, but something told me that I needed to let the magic affect me. My consciousness began to slip away, and I found myself in a world of white. My instincts told me that this must have been some kind of illusion. A bright light approached me, and a voice spoke, calm and soothing.

“Spirit, do not worry. Time within this place is immaterial.”

“The wyvern?” Although the form it took wasn’t one I recognized, the voice was similar to the voice it had been transmitting all along.

“I have finished laying my eggs and will be dying shortly.” The wyvern told me.

“I see, in that case, I’m not sure if I should congratulate you or give you my condolences.”

“This is naturally a happy thing, but only if you can escape with my children. As soon as I pass away, the apex eagle overhead will make its move. The human Prestiged will be forced to move against it. During this period, you may have a small window to escape.”

It appeared that the wyvern was able to keep track of everything even while laying its eggs. This was pretty impressive.

“I will get your eggs out safely. I promise.” I told it.

“You also must harvest my heart before you go.”

I was surprised, my brow furrowing in confusion. “Your heart? Why?”

The wyvern’s voice was filled with a sense of finality. “Within any draconic species, the heart contains our heart flame. This heart flame is something you will need to awaken the dragon egg and hatch it. I am sending you everything I know on the subject now.”

A small light flew out of the bigger light and directly at my head. I allowed it to enter, feeling a flood of information, including how the heart flame needed to be used.

“Thank you,” I responded once I was done processing the information.

It might have taken a normal person a great deal of time, but for me, with parallel processing and transcription, I could absorb information incredibly fast.

“It should be me who is thanking you, Spirit.” It spoke kindly. “I wish I had met you under better circumstances.”

“Me as well.” I agreed.

The wyvern dwelled on something for a moment before speaking again. “How long do you plan to conceal your true ability, Spirit?”

I shrugged, a small, mysterious smile playing on my lips. “Until I no longer have to.”

“I see.” The wyvern seemed to ponder this for a moment before continuing. “Farewell, Spirit. May your path be one of strength and wisdom. ”

With that, my consciousness returned to my body, and I found myself standing in the cavern; the clash of steel and the static of energy filled the room. I looked up at the Domani leader and the mercenary, their forms a blur of motion as they fought with all their might. No time had passed since I had entered the illusion. I wanted to learn some of these tricks.

No sooner had a stand-up than both men stopped and looked my way. For a moment, I thought they had somehow detected the illusion the wyvern sent me, yet I realized they weren’t looking at me, but the wyvern’s body behind me. I didn’t need to glance back to feel a sudden wave of energy erupt. This was the final death throes of the drying sage beast. Its remaining energy was being released. This place would continue to hold an abnormal amount of energy for years to come, making it a perfect place for any sage beast strong enough to defend it.

“Don’t forget the heart flame!” Its voice resonated in my head.

With its last bit of life, it shoved its claw into its chest and ripped out its own heart. It then collapsed to the ground; its clawed hand still holding its beating heart. The heart beat a few more times before finally coming to a stop. The wyvern gave its last breath. In front of me, the two men were staring at the dead beast with greed. It was clear they no longer cared to battle, but obtain whatever they could from the wyvern.

“Screeeeeeeeee!” At that moment, another surging power came from overhead.

The apex eagle was finally going to make its move. Another bolt of energy came heading down, aimed at all three of us. The two men blocked it, but I didn’t even care if I got struck. I had things to do. I made my move.