Chapter 291: Enough
The Heart’s pulse thundered in Kaiden’s ears, shaking the floor. Each beat was heavier, wetter, sounding as if something was trying to force its way out. Veins of crimson light spread from the core, crawling up the altar and into the Countess’s body.
She gasped and then moaned as the first tendril touched her, shuddering, savoring a long-awaited meal. Her fingers curled inwardly while her spider-limbs twitched in manic anticipation.
The chamber darkened, with the only light being the vile glow that spilled from the Heart into her. Her silhouette swelled, spine arching unnaturally as bone plates erupted from beneath her skin. Her limbs lengthened again, and her ribcage seemed to open and stretch, each breath becoming a rasping hiss. The veil of a noblewoman’s grace was completely gone now; what remained was a hulking, sinew-laced monstrosity draped in tatters of its former elegance.
Her voice came in a doubled snarl, sharp and wet. "Yes... Yes, feed me more...!"
It wasn’t a warrior’s roar. It was the sound of a starving animal being force-fed.
Magic began to churn in the air, chaotic, oppressive. Shards of blood-crystal formed around her, all tethered by threads of black sinew. A cyclone of venom-laced webs spun outward from her position, lashing the stone and burning the air. The Heart’s power was no longer just in her muscles; it poured into the space itself, twisting gravity, distorting sound, making the air throb.
Nyx spoke up first. "This isn’t the same fight anymore."
"Doesn’t matter. She still didn’t earn it. That’s her weakness." Luna was quick to respond.
Bastet’s voice was ice. "She’s just a parasite."
Kaiden could no longer agree with the girls completely. "Whether it’s gained or borrowed strength, there will come a point where it’ll be too overwhelming for us to face either way. We have to end this as soon as possible."