Briggs zoned out as his limitless speed crashed through the boundary of what a human body was capable of. He cleared the distance of several dozen football fields faster than a car running at one hundred miles per hour
Sali knew that Briggs was quite drunk on adrenaline and endorphins as his body broke down and healed at a ridiculously high rate. In other words, the escape went perfectly as Briggs moved without end and as a shadow in the night. Everything would have been fine until Sali noticed the blood that oozed out of Briggs' sweat glands. The liquid wouldn't have stuck a cord with her if not for the fact that the droplets clung to the soldiers skin and flattened into a runic symbols that she inherently understood despite them being made up scribbles.
"Shit. I managed to activate it now," A particular perk of the Immortal blessing came to mind as she watched Briggs cough and snarl like an animal possessed or rabid. He ran out in the open after they reached the nearby city proper rather than stick to the shadows, which attracted the gazes of people that happened to be in the streets on this late evening.
"If I am remembering what I was given properly, this particular sub aspect of my blessing acts like a blood contract. If I were to equate it to something it would be that I am a vampire that can turn others that directly drink my blood into thralls. Damnit.
Salimoon de Monte
Affiliation: Life
Blessings:
-IMMORTALITY lvl.1
*PASSIVE: Healing (8x Multiplier [10x Multiplier Max]) regenerates wounds of any kind at an accelerated rate.
*ACTIVE: Healing Amplifier (8x Healing Amplifier [10x Charges Spent] per activation/ per second)
*RESOURCE: Charges (90x charges stored [100x max charges])
*ACTIVE/PASSIVE: Blood Pact (1 Signed [1 Total signers])- Permanently harm your own body to increase the overall power of someone else. When the receiver breaks through their limits, the pact maker receives a proportional overall boost to their own potential.
"Fuuuucckkkk. Actually. I think I can make this work. This guy should have a lot of potential considering his status," Sali adjusted her head to observe the rest of her status, complete with the items that she bought from the shop the first chance that she had.
Salimoon went over the achievements and points that she received while her alternate self was in control and salivated a little bit when she saw the relatively huge point total for how early it was in her life. 1234 was the point total that she managed to acquire just by passively allowing her family to take her blood and use it in their medicines. She received multiple achievements related to indirectly healing people. She knew that in the future, points symbolized strength, which meant safety, and that boiled down to the amount of fun that she could have over the course of the tutorial period that the Gods guaranteed.
Sali poked her head out of Brigg's arms and looked around after scanning her status. They weaved in and out of the streets of multiple buildings like apparitions. Many people saw them as Briggs ran from the warring part of the city, the rich and open area, to the socially abandoned part, dense slums. Briggs did not stop moving and would not stop until the power of his blood pact ended and that could be a couple of more seconds to a few more days depending on how much Briggs could endure his physical changes.
With nothing to do until Briggs finished running, Salimoon focused on the root of her character and personality. She came to a single conclusion after an hour and a half of thinking....
'First, I will do what I have to so that I can remain as Life's champion but I will not do any dumb training regimens that border torture like what Jack was forced to go through with the De Montes in the original story. And second, I will ask whoever bought that Regulation Inheritance to help me change my body into something that I'm more comfortable in,' she frowned as she bought the next best inheritance for her based on the little tutorial videos that showcased what the inheritance was capable of.
'I also need to figure out how I'm going to pass the first tutorial of the gods. It should happen in less than five years if the world is going to follow the same trajectory as the author's novel,' before she could make a sincere plan, Sali realized that they were in a large warehouse. There were construction materials and half stripped vehicles were all over the place.
"Why are we here? I thought we were trying to escape. Did you get tired," Sali signed toward Briggs then leaned in close to his chest when he shifted her weight.
"Kid. I got us surrounded. I don't know if you want to see this so I am going to warn you now. Things are going to get messy," Briggs whispered his words so the moving shadows would not hear. Salimoon noticed that the veins all over his carrier's face and body bulged like snakes on his lean frame. Beads of blood and filth hugged his skin, and like a cup about to overfill, the drops rippled with tension. Steam coiled out of his nose as a viscous heat was transferred through Brigg's clothes.
'The blood pact process must be worse than the author described. I hope he won't hurt me for putting him through this. Nah. I'll be fine, what am I saying? I saved his life so he wouldn't come after me,' Sali didn't worry about the outcome of what was going to happen to the Ghost but she did worry about what was meant when he said that things would get messy. Her wonder was quickly placed away when she started to notice the vague shapes in the shadows all over the warehouse.
"Is no one going to say hello," Briggs spoke hoarsely. The lively and deadly power that spread throughout his bones brought his well hidden animal instincts to the surface. It showed in his bizarrely shining eyes and bloody smile as he repositioned himself behind giant haul trucks that had been parked in the warehouse. He clenched his teeth so hard his gums split. Luckily, they healed seconds later and reminded him of the muscles and bones that creaked and cracked and then healed a dozen times every few moments.
The pain was, Briggs thought, "...bittersweet". It hurt and then shifted into an absolutely sublime domain, heavenly is another word he would use to describe the pain that wracked his body. It felt like every fiber of his being was alive in a way he knew he would never be able to experience on his own again.
"Give us the kid and we will give you a swift death Third," one skulking shadow willed the courage to speak. More than two dozen red dots lit up and marked the area around Briggs like feral beasts hunting prey.
"Come. I'll give you the kid when I am dead," Briggs reached a point where he could no longer stand being still as he placed Sali inside of the truck's cab after he silently and imperceptibly climbed the ladder.
Salimoon, who had mental protection in the form of selective idiocy, understood why Briggs was called an untouchable demon in the author's story in the brief moment he was introduced. The man actually dodged bullets as he darted across the warehouse and dove behind a steel beam. He tossed a screwdriver that he had picked up toward the origin of one of the red beams resulting in a body that spilled over the edge. Briggs, despite his intoxication, was prudent enough to attack the shadow closest to his location. He dashed through the shadows, avoiding bullets and retrieved the gun that had been dropped by the man that had a screwdriver hilt deep in his throat.
Sali could not see the bloody scene from the seat that she was placed on and judged what was happening based on what she heard. Which was nothing over the hailstorm of gunfire that pelted the ground the Briggs acquired a weapon from. She instead thought about the likelihood of Brigg's survival.
'He should be able to take care of a few assassins even if they were sent by his organization,' she crossed her legs and weighed her opinion against details that she had based on the original story.
'He was injured in the original story when he fought my family's people. He killed one and severely injured two of the 10 guards without receiving a scratch. He managed to essentially fight against legitimate superhuman warriors with one hand because he had to use the other to hold onto the original Solomon…', Sali heard someone shout over the gunfire and realized that it was laughter. Briggs tilted his head faster than a cat's jerk reaction and avoided a sniper round that cut at his cheek as he sprinted across a rather open section of warehouse. In seconds the wound closed as runes stitched it close. He guffawed as he aimed his gun and released hellfire. The enemy numbered in the dozens and gradually increased as reinforcements filtered in from the windows and doors. Sali could hear choppers overhead in a momentary lull of gunfire as the enemy repositioned around the rampaging Briggs who seemed less aware of himself as he allowed more gunfire to hit his body.
'Even then, he wasn't killed in combat. He was buried underneath the rubble that fell after an explosion. It had to be the same one we used to escape,' Salimoon refocused on her surroundings. Bullets flew all over the warehouse as the same parties that concentrated at her family's compound entered this space.
'This might take a while. Hopefully Briggs will come out victorious and come grab me. In the meantime,' Sali yawned and closed her eyes as she curled up on the chair. She lowered the settings on the inhuman senses that she could not control and smiled when darkness enveloped her. The only thing that floated in her vision was a rather barebones UI that contained a variety of tabs all along the borders. Minutes, hours, possibly even a day or two passed by as the different forces entered or retreated from the warehouse to regroup. She didn't know how long had passed but she woke up feeling refreshed and energized. The only issue was her rumbling stomach.
'I'm starving,' she adjusted her settings and steadied herself on the chair to peer into the warehouse. She clenched her jaw and exhaled hard in response to what she saw. A man in impressive gear was startled by a charging Briggs who used a staff of rebar to forcibly pierce into his chest. The man was surprised because the man that came at him withstood a dozen bullets pelting his stomach in the seconds that he had revealed himself. The uncaring and regenerating Briggs lifted the rebar and twisted his waist in an unnatural manner to put the body between himself and a firing squad rushed in from one of the lifted gates. The bullets that went askew ripped apart the flesh as they passed clean through or banged against Brigg's bones in his legs and shoulders. In the blink of an eye, runes wrapped around the wounds and regenerated. His potential was being pushed and enhanced by the pact. The faster Briggs reached his limits the more bestial he became.
Sali watched him completely forgo the need for tools as he threw the rebar and body after it was riddled with holes. The firing squad scattered as the rebar sunk into the ground with a thunderous crack. Instead of ensuring that they couldn't regroup, Briggs dashed toward the closest enemy that he could sense. His eyes were bloodshot and seemed incapable of transmitting visuals as runes filled his pupils with archaic nonsense. The woman was surprised to see Briggs appear as soon as she lifted her head to aim and shoot at him. She had no time to respond to the flying kick that came over the box. Briggs snapped her neck but it wasn't until half a second later that Sali looked away. The resistance that was normally there when dealing damage to the human body was nowhere to be seen as Brigg's kick ripped apart the woman's jaw.
Sali mentally blocked out what she just saw and went back into her world of thought as she laid down to avoid catching a stray.
'I couldn't have been asleep for more than a few minutes. I must've woken up because of how hungry I am,' she frowned and attempted to pass her time being productive.
'I wonder how far I can take this new power,
'Hah, I guess I can't practice an inheritance when I am tired. Well, out of energy. I need to eat something soon. I wonder when Briggs will be done,' Sali stared at the top of the cab and frowned. She could only wait since she couldn't sleep.
The intense regenerative power of the De Monte's and Saal's blessing repaired and upgraded Brigg's at an unprecedented rate. It filled the Ghost with strength and senses he never thought possible as he slowly regained his mental faculties after ripping the arms off of a soldier that tried to engage him in melee combat.
In other words, Brigg's body naturally rebuilt itself to withstand the excess power and heat that turned his bones to dust and organs to mush. The heat from such a forceful evolution came in the form of a steamy cloud of smoke that rose from his skin in increasingly larger rushing tides. This cloud of smoke came from his own sweat and blood. The smoke also increased when his body came in contact with the blood, guts, and piss of the mutilated corpses that were strewn apart every inch of the large warehouse. In a little under an hour, Briggs killed hundreds of assassins and soldier that were sent after Salimoon.
Once Briggs was cornered in the warehouse every party involved in trying to kidnap or kill the child knew where they were and swarmed like ants trying to take down larger prey.
'How many did he kill exactly,' Sali realized that she only had herself to talk to as she babbled.
'There must be a secret to this achievement. The deaths at the family compound must have been counted in addition to the people that have died in this warehouse,' Salimoon came to a logical conclusion based on the word indirectly.
'Actually. Everyone associated with this operation, including people that weren't killed in the compound might count as being indirectly involved with me if they know of me and are trying to acquire my body,' Sali frowned deeply then shook her head as the weight of her existence rolled off the skin like water on a duck's feathers.
A bullet popped out of Brigg's shoulder while he used the same arm to rip the larynx out of another man's throat with two fingers. Blood sprayed all over his eyes as he collected himself.
"What have I done? How many have I…', Briggs shuddered at his red hands and stained clothing that had holes all over them. He briefly glanced over at the bodies that had been piled up all over the warehouse.
"How is this possible," Briggs scanned the runes that knitted his body together to the point where there were only patches of skin that had not had them.
"The child," he exclaimed. At some point, he had forgotten about the baby that had been the ignition for his otherworldly change.
"We have to escape while there is a chance," he didn't know how many more people would be sent after them so he decided to escape after the silence of death fell over the room. He rushed to the haul truck only to see the busted windows.
"Oh no," he assumed the worst and pushed his speed to the limits. In a flash, he passed by the truck and crashed into a wall.
"How fast did I just move," Briggs, who had just regained his senses, could not control his speed. His animal instincts were gone and what replaced them was a frayed exhaustion. Cautiously, he approached the ladder and opened the door to see a glass covered Salimoon who was dusting herself off.
"Nice to see you back to yourself you freak," Salimoon signed the moment that Briggs opened the door.
"Thats not very nice," Briggs felt his heart lighten seeing what Sali had to say.
"Did you get everyone," Sali asked.
"For the moment," Briggs was exasperated as he checked Sali for wounds. There were cuts but they healed as quickly as they formed.
"Can we go now then," Sali signed.
"I think we can leave, yes," Briggs picked her up and rushed out through one of the side entrances that had been made through the use of explosives.
Three days and three nights Briggs ran. The mysterious and unending power inside of him faded until he felt weaker than ever before. He placed Salimoon across from him as he slumped against a wall across from her.
"How many people did you kill," Salimoon asked with his hands.
"I stopped counting after 113...The faces and bodies just blended together and then after that...", Briggs looked at his hands in disbelief. That power that he possessed was completely inhuman.
"Can you...", he was about to ask a very dangerous question.
"Stop. Not everyone who drinks my blood becomes like that. Even if one does, it's only a one time thing. Better yet, think of it as me showing you what you will be capable of in the future. All I did was open up your foundation. It's up to you to get there," Salimoon told Briggs off before he fell into a rabbit hole.
"I understand," Briggs clenched his fists in thought.
"This guy…", Sali could see the repressed anger, confusion, and defeat on Brigg's face. She clapped her hands to get the older man's attention.
"Let me tell you why you and all of the other ghosts were destined to be betrayed at some point or another," she prepared a bit of excerpt from the story that Big G had given the champions.
"The Ghosts of the current generation are like this…", she started.
"First Ghost. Named Asura. Real name as far as anyone knows, Zero- Vanished without a trace one day and is presumed to be undercover. He is actually living a very happy retired life as a park ranger at Yellowstone in the U.S. of A. Second Ghost. Named Spectre. Real name as far as I know is Bloody Mary- She settled down to have a normal life in Japan after unofficially leaving her position several years ago. She is also stated as being deep undercover. Third Ghost. Named Apparition. Real name Charlie Briggs- You didn't have any dreams other than serving your organization well so you were actually given a death sentence. Fourth...", she listed off each and every Ghost and then said how they would meet their end. Some would be killed during a mission while others were given a chance at a new life, never to enter the world of assassination again. She said that it was their destiny to be removed by the last Ghost.
The author wrote their existence into the story to directly provide the heroes with some external challenge. They were the best killers in the world, point blank. They were like John Wick if there were multiple versions of him all trying to be the deadliest one. Salimoon knew that there were only a handful of official spots in the organization that were genuinely referred to as Ghosts while there was a single hand-me-down position that worked in opposition to the groups. Whoever had the title was forced to remove the other ghosts from their position after they had served their purpose. The final Ghost served as the herald of the next generation of super human assassins. As such, the last killer in the group had the skill, connections, and experience to "kill" all of the numbered Ghosts directly or indirectly without any of them ever realizing how or why they died or lost their position.
That is to say, no one knew who the last Ghost was until the 4 heros confronted and worked together to kill the bastard at the end of the third arc in the original text.
Briggs didn't say anything as he watched in horror as a baby knew about all of the members of the current and batch of Ghosts.
"Do you get it? You were simply a tool who didn't wish for a second chance at life so you were exorcised by a Ghostbuster," Salimoon said matter-of-factly.
"So you gave me an option. Become your guardian and essentially kill my identity as a Ghost on my own or die. Betrayed and alone in the middle of a mission as the Apparition," The defeated expression on Brigg's face melted into oblivion. What replaced it was a blind hope and feral expectancy.
"I guess I did. So keep me safe," Sali signed.
"I will accept the role of your guardian. One thing though," Briggs caught his breath.
"Yes," Salimoon knew it was a question from the tone Briggs used.
"Am I and you the only ones that can reach that level of inhuman power," Briggs set his jaw and waited for a few seconds as Sali reeled from the innocent look in his eye.
"Nah. There are three guys. Or maybe two guys and one girl who are as strong or many times stronger than me," she factored in the days that Jack had been in control and thought about the Steady, Faded, and strobing souls. One guy seemed too smart but too nice for his own good. Another had the aura of a privileged and hardworking guy with the qualifications to lead nations. He didn't know about that guy but he would most likely be a power ally or deadly enemy. And the last one was the person who literally wrote the book that the four of them were the main characters of. It didn't matter how much of an influence that Jack had on her personality, she understood the odds perfectly well. She just hoped that none of them were psychopaths who enjoyed hurting other people for fun.
"I will make sure that we are both prepared for those people then," Briggs forced himself to stand.
"That's good...Wait?...No...That not what I want...I…," Salimoon noticed the demonic glow in the older mans eyes and knew, deep down inside, that she f*cked up.