Chapter 84 - The Flower Of Necronia
Alan bent down and scrutinized the dead vegetation.
When he saw the fine pink powder almost undetectable if you didn\'t know what to look for, he had no doubts as to what had killed all the vegetation.
Axel had already explained everything he knew about this dungeon to him and together they had deduced that the boss of that dungeon must be a Vampire.
They were Superior Demons and that would explain why Kevin had been hypnotized.
Indeed, Vampires were well known to be able to enter your mind and hypnotize you, and what they enjoyed the most to do was making the humans who had dared to disturb them in their nest fight against each other.
In addition, the Vampires between them reproduced very quickly, it took only 15 days for their female to give birth and only 60 days for them to become adults, that\'s why the number of demons to kill was so high in Kevin\'s quest.
Alan then said to them while getting up sure of what he had found : "It is indeed a nest of Vampires that we are dealing with, what killed the vegetation is a flower called Necronia, it is not toxic for the Vampires because these Superior Demons have a huge healing power to fight against its toxin.
But, for us, it\'s fatal if we breathe in its pollen, and we know for sure that they use this flower to protect their nest."
Kevin then asked : "What level is this poison considered ?"
It was Axel who answered him with a smile : "It\'s a poison level 3, the only problem is that many ignore the effects of this poison and when they realize that they have been poisoned it\'s already too late to be able to be treated.
But thanks to the Purify potion high grade that we got yesterday, there is no problem, we just have to get rid of all these flowers at once."
Alan nodded and said to them : "With Axel, we\'ll go first. Wait 2 min to join us."
He then looked at Axel and said : "I believe it\'s time for me to test the power of my sword."
Alan took out of the scabbard his sword and a red glow began to shine all around the blade.
Axel also took his artifact sword and both entered the dungeon without further delay.
Kevin looked at Erik and saw that he was clenching his fists and that he looked tensed, so he said to him : "Don\'t worry about them and relax or you won\'t be able to keep a clear mind to fight."
He added just in case to reassure him : "Erik, do you know what the combat intelligence skill is ?"
Erik took Kevin\'s advice, and tried to relax, there was no point in feeling guilty and feeling helpless, as Kevin had told him, he absolutely had to keep a clear mind to fight : "This skill allows me to adapt to any opponent and quickly find parries."
Kevin nodded satisfied : "Indeed, it\'s the first step of the combat intelligence skill."
Erik looked at him puzzled and repeated : "The first step ?"
Kevin was happy to have found a good distraction for him so he continued his explanation : "The second step is to be able to fight in any conditions and always push your limits to the maximum until you pass out."
Erik\'s face had become serious, he knew that what Kevin was telling him was personal experiences, he could feel it, there was no way someone could know something like that.
Kevin then said : "The third step is what you call here the Warrior Spirit, even unconscious your body will continue to fight until all the threat are gone or when you die."
Erik had never heard of the Warrior Spirit before, or of someone who can continue to fight even if he is unconscious, it seemed completely crazy to him, so he asked Kevin doubtful : "Are you sure is it possible, I mean, it seems a little crazy, no ?"
Kevin chuckled and said, patting him on the shoulder before throwing the bomb : "I\'m the perfect example that it\'s possible, I went through all these stages and I ended up awakening this Warrior Spirit, actually in this life it has become an innate skill for me."
He looked Erik in the eye and he said to him : "But I got that skill only because I wanted to survive in my home world, for you it\'s different, if you ever manage to awaken this force that lies dormant in you, it will be for Alan, and only for him.
So have more confidence in yourself because those who have this kind of potential are extremely rare."
Erik still had a hard time to imagine that he had this kind of potential but he chose to believe him and he smiled at him completely reassured that one day he could protect his man and his friends : "Thanks Kev, we should go now, they must be waiting for us."
Kevin nodded and they walked through the purple vortex together, what awaited them on the other side looked like a land that had been devastated by fire, everything was charred black and reduced to ashes.
A little further a thick fog prevented them from seeing further than a few meters, it was really very creepy.
When they saw that Axel and Alan were standing just a little further to their left they quickly joined them and halfway Kevin saw messages appear above them.
[ WARNING ]
You have been poisoned by the flower of Necronia, poison level 3 : you are losing 100 HP / min.
\'What the hell\' thought Kevin, he immediately took out 2 Purify potions high grade and threw them without delay at Axel and Alan, 100 HP / min was enormous, he quickly told them while joining them : "You have been poisoned by this flower and you are losing 100 HP / min, drink it quickly."
Erik looked worriedly at Alan and wasn\'t relieved until Alan had finished drinking the whole potion.
He immediately turned to Kevin waiting for a confirmation that the poison had been removed from their body and Kevin just nodded to let him know it was okay.
The messages were gone as soon as they both drank their potion, and Kevin came to nestle in Axel\'s arms who said to reassure him : "It\'s okay babe, it\'s over ! There will be no more Necronia flowers, the Vampires only use them to guard the entrance to their nest."
Kevin who hadn\'t asked the question yet was really curious : "How do you kill a Vampire ?"
Axel answered him immediately : "They are Superior Demons, they are smarter than the demons you used to fight so you have to be extremely careful.
To kill them you have only two choices, by beheading them or ripping their hearts out, just stabbing them won\'t be enough you really have to rip it out from them, Vampires can regenerate very quickly as Alan has already told you.
Alan then said : "There is another way to kill them, you can also burn them until they turn to ashes, but I don\'t think the fire element spell level 1 you showed me yesterday will be enough to kill them."
Kevin nodded and asked Axel again : "Can you spot them or not, like they are Superior demons ?"
Axel ruffled his hair tenderly and said : "In fact, since they are Superior Demons I can detect them even more easily than the other demons."
He explained to him : "I can spot the aura of power that\'s surrounded them, being a Superior demon isn\'t always an advantage.
Something else babe … have no mercy on them because they won\'t have any for you, remember that okay."
He turned to Alan and Erik and said : "It\'s the same for you too, don\'t forget what they are and that their favorite food is us !"
They both nodded and Axel finally put his arm around Kevin\'s shoulders to guide him through the fog, Alan and Erik followed them discreetly but very closely as the fog grew thicker and thicker as they moved forward.
When the fog disappeared they found themselves standing in front of a huge mansion that looked strangely like those found in the horror movies Kevin had had the opportunity to watch in his world.
Alan then said, surprising everyone as they were all lost in their own thoughts : "The flowers of Necronia were their first protection put in place to protect their nest.
This thick fog was undoubtedly their second protection, without Axel\'s keen senses we would probably never have found this mansion.
So, what should we expect now ?"
Kevin couldn\'t help but say in an attempt to lighten the mood of everybody : "A zombie attack maybe !"
This joke didn\'t seem to have had the effect he was expected as they were all looking at him puzzled, Kevin scratched the back of his head and asked : "What ? It was just a joke …"
Erik then asked him curiously : "What is a zombie ?"