My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 147: Blood Cocoon

Kace stepped forward as he emanated an aura of a man who wanted to crush the world. The goblins began to shake in excitement, this was the moment that they had been waiting for. The second that he sat upon that throne would be the moment that he would officially be recognised as their Lord.

With a calm demeanour, he casually took a seat upon his throne. At that very moment, his surroundings became boisterous with celebrations. A wave of dark-skinned goblins came rushing from the shadows to kneel before him. Kace allowed himself a moment to enjoy it.

'That's right. I'm a monster now. I should act like one.' He thought as he watched over his new subjects. 'It will take more than this to wipe the world clean.'

He raised a hand for silence, to which the tribe immediately hushed their celebrations. Clearing his throat, he asked a simple question, "Shadow, is everyone here capable of using the same abilities as you?"

"Yes, My Lord. Though, amongst everyone present, there is nobody that comes close to my own mastery." Shadow gulped after saying these words. He had no idea what Kace was thinking, but he liked how his new Lord was acting now. It was almost like conversing with an entirely new person.

"Excellent, their mastery has no bearing on this." Kace waved his hand in the air, dismissing Shadow's statement as irrelevant. He scanned the members of the crowd that were the closest to him, before pointing at him.

"Kill him." Kace's cold voice sounded, much to the disbelief of those around him. Within moments, the chosen goblin bowed down and accepted what would happen. In fact, in his mind. He felt proud to have been chosen by their Lord. Even if it meant his death, he felt as if it would somehow be of benefit to Kace and his tribe.

A mad glint passed through the eyes of those closest to him, it took less than a minute for the deed to be done. He was no longer amongst the living, and not a single one of them displayed any remorse. The one who was responsible for the final blow brought the deceased member of the tribe to Kace's feet. He released his hold on the body before retreating back into the crowd.

Kace looked at the body and realised that he felt nothing at all. Just like those that had carried out his command. At this moment, he felt as if he had lost the last embers of his humanity. He bent over to pick up the small figure, easily lifting it from the ground with a single hand.

The tribe watched him in confusion and anticipation. They had no idea what use a dead body could be to him, but they felt like this was a momentous moment for their tribe. However, their eyes went wide in fear and reverence at what he did next.

A loud tearing noise echoed within their ears, as they watched Kace bite down on the throat of their dead comrade. Twisting his head, he tore a large chunk of flesh free, blood gushed forth and painted his face in a crimson red. He tossed the body aside, having no more use for it.

He chewed on the flesh as he stared at the tribe, making them feel as if he were daring them to challenge him. Blood dripped from his chin, splashing onto his already bloody armour. Whenever his eyes met theirs, they immediately lowered their heads. 'This! Is how a leader should be!' This thought crossed the minds of every member of the tribe. Shadow felt especially proud in this moment.

Kace felt the now tender meat slide down his throat easily. His mind and body fully accepted the offering, compared to the other times when he would feel slightly disgusted with himself. 'I really have changed.' Kace mused. That thought was like a herald for what would happen next.

Searing pain erupted throughout his entire body. Shadow stared at him, because to his eyes, it was as if Kace had suddenly frozen in place. However, he was actually in excruciating pain. He wanted to scream! To thrash out! Anything to help him to overcome this feeling. For the first time in a long time, a system notification popped into view.

[Warning! Rank Evolution Initiated!]

Kace was in too much pain to properly understand what this meant. All he knew was that his body was undergoing some kind of change. As his body silently sat, unmoving, upon his throne. Blood began to leak from around his eyes. Shadow became concerned that something might be wrong, but he did not want to earn Kace's wrath if this was actually normal. 

He soon changed his mind when blood started to come from his ears and nose as well. Shadow rushed forward, a panicked expression on his face. 'Shit! We can't lose him! We just succeeded for fuck's sake!'

"My Lord!" Shadow screamed as he barrelled onwards. His yell drew the attention of the tribe who were busy staring at the floor. They instantly knew there was something wrong from the fear in Shadow's tone. Almost simultaneously, they all raised their eyes to see what was going on. Gasps of shock escaped when they witnessed the state their new lord was in. 

Several of the faster one's reacted immediately, following Shadow's lead in rushing to the aid of Kace. Shadow was so focused on reaching Kace's side that he failed to notice the blood that was leaking from him moving unnaturally. Just as he was about to reach the throne, the blood rose into the air and created a barrier between them. 

Shadow bounced off the wall of blood, a torrent of curses escaped from his mouth. The wall began to take on the shape of a cocoon, surrounding both Kace and his throne. At this point, the others who had reacted reached the crimson cocoon. They frantically pounded on it. Desperate to save the life that now ruled over them