Mattimeo: Blood And Desire

6

Mattimeo's expression darkened.

A level-one spirit Beast.

At least it wasn't a Spirit Beast same level as the scorpions earlier.

Not that it made much difference. As a mere Level Six Spirit Gathering cultivator, he stood no chance against either of them.

He slowly retreated.

The gray wolf's cold eyes locked onto him before its powerful legs exploded with force as it lunged.

Mattimeo instinctively dodged.

The wolf flashed past him, missing completely.

His eyes widened.

The beast was fast. Extremely fast. Yet somehow, he had evaded it with ease. Before the wolf could even recover from its missed attack, Mattimeo was already several steps away.

"How...?"

He stared at himself in disbelief.

He knew exactly how fast he used to be. This was completely different.

Had fear distorted his perception? Was he imagining things?

A furious growl interrupted his thoughts.

The wolf spun around and launched itself at him again, its claws tearing through the air with savage force.

Mattimeo sidestepped.

The attack missed again.

This time, there was no doubt.

He wasn't hallucinating. He was genuinely faster than the wolf.

A dangerous idea surfaced in his mind. It lingered for only a moment before determination replaced hesitation.

If he was faster, then perhaps he could attempt this.

His hand moved to his side and pulled out the sharp hunting knife he carried.

Without waiting another second, he rushed forward.

The wolf sensed the challenge and became even more aggressive. Its muscles tensed before it leaped straight at him, fangs bared and claws extended.

Mattimeo twisted sideways with no intent of facing it head on. Unlike before, he didn't completely avoid the attack. He wanted to get close enough to strike

The knife flashed.

A deep wound opened across the wolf's side.

At almost the same moment, a claw tore across Mattimeo's chest.

Blood sprayed from both man and beast.

The wolf crashed onto the ground with a pained howl while Mattimeo staggered backward. His gaze slowly lowered to the blood pouring from the long gashes across his chest.

Something stirred inside him.

Anger

Pure, overwhelming anger surged through his body like molten lava. The longer he stared at the blood, the stronger it became. His breathing grew heavier. His heartbeat thundered. An intense bloodlust began rising from the depths of his soul.

The wolf growled and struggled to stand.

Mattimeo's head snapped toward it.

Their eyes met.

The wolf froze.

Its instincts screamed in warning.

The human standing before it no longer felt like prey. Those crimson-tinted eyes were staring at it the way a predator stared at trapped food.

For the first since the battle began, fear appeared in the beast's eyes.

Its body trembled uncontrollably.

Mattimeo's gaze shifted to the blood flowing from the wound he had inflicted. A strange red glow flickered within his eyes.

Then a whisper echoed inside his mind.

Rampage.

He didn't know what it meant, nor did he care.

His body exploded forward.

The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot toward the wolf like a bolt of lightning.

The wolf's pupils shrank.

Fear overwhelmed it, but with nowhere left to run, its survival instincts erupted.

Instead of retreating, it launched itself at Mattimeo in a desperate frenzy.

Its claws tore through the air. Its fangs snapped viciously toward his throat.

Mattimeo didn't dodge or retreat. He didn't even flinch either.

A claw raked across his arm.

The wolf's teeth sank into his shoulder.

Yet he felt nothing.

His hand seized the knife buried in the wolf's body and began stabbing repeatedly.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then faster.

The blade rose and fell in a frenzy, each strike driving deeper than the last. Blood sprayed across his face and clothes.

The wolf howled in agony.

Still, it struggled desperately.

Its claws lashed out.

Its jaws snapped wildly.

But Mattimeo continued stabbing without pause.

Its struggles gradually weakened.

Its claws lost strength.

Its growls became whimpers.

Soon, even those disappeared.

The massive beast collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Only then did Mattimeo stop.

His chest rose and fell violently as blood dripped from the knife clenched in his hand.

After several seconds, he shoved the wolf's corpse away.

The moment it left his hands, the bloodlust vanished.

The rage disappeared.

The madness faded.

Everything returned to normal.

Mattimeo stumbled backward, his face filled with shock.

"What just happened?"

None of it made sense.

Why had he suddenly become so furious? Why had he become so bloodthirsty?

Then he remembered.

It had started the moment the wolf wounded him. It had intensified after he saw the wolf's blood.

But why?

And how had he suddenly become powerful enough to fight the beast head-on?

He hadn't used any strategy. Near the end, he had simply overwhelmed it with raw brutality.

His thoughts were interrupted when a strange gray aura began rising from the wolf's corpse.

Mattimeo frowned.

"What's that?"

The aura floated upward before suddenly shooting toward him.

Before he could react, it entered his body.

Countless emotions exploded inside his mind.

Anger.

Fear.

Hatred.

Resentment.

None of them belonged to him, yet they flooded his consciousness like a tidal wave.

At the same time, a vast amount of energy surged into his body.

The energy was violent and overbearing, carrying an ancient savage aura.

His meridians burned.

His muscles trembled.

An unbearable heat spread throughout his body. It felt as though boiling water had replaced the blood flowing through his veins.

His vision blurred.

The world spun.

Unable to endure any longer, his consciousness slipped away into darkness.

Mattimeo found himself standing in a strange space.

Dark, gloomy mountains stretched endlessly into the distance. Volcanoes dotted the landscape, spewing fire and smoke into the crimson sky. At the center of it all sat a man, cross-legged and motionless as he cultivated.

The man's back faced him, yet Mattimeo felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

He was certain he had seen this person before.

Suddenly, the man's body became transparent.

Mattimeo's eyes widened in shock.

He could clearly see the flow of energy within the man's body.

The energy moved through a complex circulation route before being absorbed and stored.

"What?"

Mattimeo stared in disbelief.

The man wasn't cultivating with a Spirit Root.

Instead, he was directly absorbing energy into his body.

That was impossible!