Chapter 61: Growing Pain
The cavern was blackened ruin, the glowing flora burned to ash, the system light long gone. Only one source cut the dark now—Pain.
He was hunched tight, arms locked across his chest, holding himself together as if his body would spill apart. Steam hissed from the cracks in his skin. Ember veins pulsed under scorched hide. Then he moved.
Heat bled off him in waves as he straightened, steam bursting in a circle around his feet. He stood taller, four and a half feet now. Thick shoulders, chest plated in new muscle. Horns had doubled, bases glowing hot, tips dark as coal, twisting upward in hooked arcs. His claws smoldered red, tail thicker though shortened, dragging behind him.
He didn't look at himself. He only lowered his coal-black eyes, dropped to one knee, and spoke. His voice was deeper now, ground in smoke and ash.
"Praise Broodfather."
Azakh-Tur studied him like a butcher eyeing a perfect cut. Every line of his firstborn's body screamed change—raw potential. His mind ticked, already turning analytical.
'Hide thicker? Not flammable. Does he keep mutating, or was this a one-off? Should I have waited before giving it to him?'
[Brood analysis already complete. Brood will continue to grow alongside User. Early bloodline integration raises potential ceiling.]
'Then I'll need more. More corpses. More bloodlines to experiment with.'
A sharp gasp broke his thoughts. Panic screeched, skittering closer to circle Pain, barking in his ear, eyes wide with agitation. Grimm flickered brighter overhead, skeletal jaw opening, intestines dangling like chains as his blue glow swept the cavern in eerie light.
Azakh-Tur stepped forward, letting his aura bleed into the Brood Link.
"Rise."
Pain obeyed, standing tall, steam still rolling off his body. Grimm floated around him, sockets glowing bright with hungry curiosity. Panic latched on to his brother's skull, mouth stretched wide in a manic grin before gnawing at him like a pup.
"Silence."
Panic froze, teeth still on bone. His eyes twitched, wide and trembling. He could feel it—the pressure rolling off Pain. The balance between them had shifted.
Azakh-Tur narrowed his gaze.
"Pain's growth isn't a threat. It strengthens the Brood. When one of you grows stronger, the Brood grows stronger. And when the Brood grows stronger—so do I. Rival, not enemy."
Pride burned in Pain's chest, rising too high. Azakh-Tur cut it short.
"But don't slack, Pain. Panic has the potential to surpass you if you falter. You are both my firstborn. You both hold the right to walk beside me. But only if you never disappoint me."
[Observation: User's control methods improving. Brood-link manipulation highly effective.]
'It's like melted fat… They'd die for me without hesitation. I barely have to push.'
Grimm drifted closer, blue glow brushing Azakh-Tur's shoulders. The ghost's faint whisper threaded through the cavern, not words, just a low, eager rattle—like he too approved of the Broodfather's growing brood.
"Both of you need more of a push."
The words rumbled low, a verdict. He hadn't missed a single notification this time. And one of them begged to be used.
He didn't hesitate.
Deciding to take a different approach to see if it affected the results, two claws slid into his own eye. Wet pop. Bloodlight hissed from his hand.
Pain stiffened, fists clenching. Panic let out a bark of awe, tail twitching like he wanted to laugh. Grimm's glow spiked bright blue, rattling louder, intestines swinging frantic.
"It's time to expand the brood."
He tore the eye free and crushed the nerve stalk in his claws. Heat boiled across his palm, his body recognizing the sacrifice. Then he threw it to the stone, where it pulsed wet in the dark.
[Spawn Broodling // Activated]
[Broodling Creation // In Progress]
The flesh writhed. Bone shards erupted through membrane. A spine twisted out of the pulp, dragging sinew into shape. The cavern filled with wet snapping and the hiss of skin knitting together.
Panic fell to his knees, giggling. Pain only stared, jaw clenched, chest heaving. Grimm circled the growing heap, blue light strobing across the gore, his rattling laugh like chains dragged over stone.
Something new clawed itself from the mess, born screaming.
Crimson system light split the dark, searing flesh and stone.
[System // Notification]
[Broodling x1 // Spawned]
[Would User like to assign a name?]
[Yes/No]
He pressed Yes without hesitation. The name was already chosen, born from today's hunt. His first trap.
"Pain. Panic. Meet Snare."
The newborn convulsed in the glow, system light burning away the birthing gore. His form took shape—similar in build to Panic, leaner than Pain, larger than any standard imp. Nothing about him stood out, no swollen arms, no bulging frame. Balanced. Sleek. Even his horns lay close to the skull, curving backward like hooks tucked against bone.
Blinking for the first time, his eyes caught red in the bloodlight. Two faces filled his vision, inches from his own. He recoiled, nearly falling.
Azakh-Tur's frown deepened.
The new spawn's panic only grew until he finally caught sight of his maker. Recognition slammed into him. He hit the ground hard, pressing his head into the stone.
"Fathe—"
"Broodfather!"
"Broodfather, dumbass!"
Pain and Panic barked in unison, their voices sharp. Snare stiffened under the weight of their correction.
"Broodfather!"
His voice cracked.
"I will serve with all I am. I will not fail you."
Azakh-Tur's scowl lingered.
'Coward… or cautious?'
His thoughts burned as the system panel opened.
[Broodling // Snare]
[Classification // Demon Spawn]
[Subclass // Broodling (Imp)]
[Rank // F]
[Level // 1]
[Core Stats]
[STR // 5]
[VIT // 8]
[AGI // 6]
[INT // 9]
[AP // 0]
[HP // 80/80]
[EXP // 0/6]
[NATURAL WEAPONS]
[Claw // F // Slashing Damage 5–6]
[Bite // E // Piercing/Crushing Damage 7–8]
[Tail // F // Blunt Damage 5–6]
[DETAILS]
[Appearance]
[Horns sleek and tight to the skull // Lean frame // Skin marked with faint scarring along the limbs // Eyes bright red, jaw narrow and sharp]
[Behavior]
[Cautious stance; favors striking then retreating // Prefers recon over direct combat // Yields ground if it ensures survival // Obeys mental and spoken commands through Brood Link]
[Traits]
[Heat Resistance // A]
[Dark Vision // S+]
[Wall Crawler // C]
[Stealth // B]
[Abilities]
[Feed (Passive)]
[Can consume any organic flesh to restore 2 HP // Works on spoiled or inert flesh // 30s cooldown]
[Brood Link (Passive)]
[Shared emotions, location awareness within 50 meters // Simple mental commands allowed // Link breaks if broodling dies or leaves range]
[Weaknesses]
[Fragile skeleton; +25% damage from blunt strikes]
[No magical resistance]
[Note]
[Cannot evolve; limited to mutation or class development]
Azakh-Tur's grin pulled sharp.
'High intelligence… interesting. Let's test it.'
"You two—finish eating."
Panic slumped, dagger dragging behind him as he whined.
"But I haven't tasted him—"
Then the bug corpse caught his eye. He forgot instantly, skipping toward the remains.
Pain moved without a word, quickly heading to his kill, burying his claws into the male Scorchclaw's corpse. The Brood Link pulsed as their feeding sent trickles of health back into him.
Azakh-Tur turned to Snare, voice edged with command.
"Tell me what you think of your brothers. Now."
Startled, Snare straightened, voice spilling quick.
"They're stronger than me. The one called Panic… his head doesn't work right. The big one looks simple, but he thinks more than he lets on. Panic scares me the most."
"..."
[Assessment: Accurate.]
'Not even five minutes old...These little bastards really make me look bad. Imagine if i was born like them.'
A sting of jealousy crept up his throat—
[Then User would belong to another.]
Immediately, he crushed the feeling back down and continued his test.
"What do you think of me?"
The question hit harder than claws. Snare's skin paled, sweat running cold. His lips trembled before he forced them into speech.
"Broodfather is death. Broodfather is life. That is all this one needs to know."
His words reeked of worship, too polished to be natural—but through the Brood Link there was no lie, no gilding. The spawn believed it. Saw him as something beyond flesh.
Azakh-Tur narrowed his eyes, weighing it, then spoke low.
"Your mind is your weapon. Let your brothers waste their bodies. You'll sharpen thought, not muscle. That's how you'll walk beside me. Do you understand?"
Color bled back into Snare's skin. His fangs bared in a thin smile, and he bowed, steady this time.
"Yes, Broodfather. I will not fail you."
"No. You won't. Now join them."
"Yes, Broodfather…"
Snare turned, but lingered, tail curling tight. He looked back, hesitation twitching across his face.
"Speak."
Snare's eyes slid sideways, motioning to empty space beside him.
"Do you want me to tell you what I think of him?"
A jolt ripped through Azakh-Tur. There was no one there—no one but Grimm.
"You can see him?"
Snare blinked, realizing at once what that meant. His gaze snapped to the floating skull, blue glow dancing across bone and dangling gut.
"Was I not supposed to?"
Azakh-Tur's pulse spiked. He ripped open the profile again, scanning every line with fresh eyes, because now, one thing was certain.
Snare was seeing beyond flesh.
And there, buried in his profile.
[Dark Vision // S+]
Not S-rank like his own or Pain and Panic's. Higher. A cut above. He tapped the skill. The details poured out.
[Skill // Dark Vision]
[Rank // S+]
[Description]
[Process the full field of visual stimuli: infrared, ultraviolet, spectral energy, essence radiation, and soul resonance.]
[Effect]
[Absolute sight in complete darkness, voids, and obscured realms // Perceive beyond the visible spectrum: thermal signatures, energy wavelengths, and spectral distortions // Detect concealed entities, magical veils, and illusionary constructs by visual distortion // Track movement through residual energy trails invisible to normal perception.]
[Limitations]
[Overlapping stimuli may cause sensory overload // Prolonged use drains Soulmass to stabilize perception.]
[Flavor Text]
[You see not with eyes, but with everything they could never hold.]
He reveled in his success as the words burned through him. Using his eye instead of his claws had yielded results. And for the first time, someone other than him could see Grimm. Strangely, it didn't feel wrong, he didnt feel jealous or resentful. It felt…comforting.
But the warmth died quick.
Sniff.
Sniff.
The scent rolled in thick. Acrid. Familiar.
They weren't alone.
His moment broken, his patience wearing thin, he turned to face the incoming source of his agitation...Humans.