ScarletOne month later

I float several meters above the ground with my arms crossed and my brows furrowed while staring at the demons below me, many of whom I have floating as well through my Blood Manipulation skill. A skill that has gained the ability to manipulate the blood of others so long as they’re sufficiently weaker than me after it reached level 30. And each of the demons can be seen with glowing crimson cracks stretching across their body and their clothes, for the ones wearing clothes. But unlike how it was when I first got the skill, I manage to vary the speed of the infection amongst each of the demons.

When I first became the Warden of the Red Plague, I could only give a form of guidance to the Red Plague that it had to follow. But at this point I’m able to do much more than that.

I’ve learned to keep a much stricter control over it.

And now, after over a month of having the skill, I can’t help but grin.

“You finally did it,” Tar comments, making me nod my head as I look at each demon. All of whom are being infected and eventually turned to ash at different rates, following which the ash is used as food for the Red Plague.

That I did.

The number of demons that’ve died from my experiments is rather large though. Even if I’ve kept the crueler experiments to the nonsapient ones, avoiding doing any sort of experimentation on the sapient demons. Because that’s just not something I want to be doing.

“There are some things you just shouldn’t do, even in wartime,” Tar replies to my thoughts.

Agreed. Especially when they’re technically my people as well.

At this point I have nearly absolute control over all of the Red Plague within a few dozen meters around me. Beyond that though and I lose control of the Red Plague.

I frown as I begin floating a little bit away from the Red Plague before suddenly stopping and moving back again.

Ugh.

“That radius shrinks when the Red Plague itself grows stronger from those it kills,” Tar comments on what I just saw. “Guess you can’t fix that problem after all.”

Unfortunately.

At the very least I can put the Red Plague to use without having to worry about destroying the entire world.

Because that was a close one a few weeks ago.

“When the Red Plague that you compressed got free and began eating straight through the ground until Amelia stepped in and stopped it?” Tar says, pointing out something that absolutely didn’t happen. “Uh huh.”

I frown even harder at that.

How was I supposed to know that it’d act like a damned cannonball and sink like a rock in water?

It even grew faster and faster the deeper it went instead of slowing down as you’d normally expect.

“Well, it grows when it-” he begins before I mutter, “Yeah, yeah, it grows when it devours reality. I know. But that doesn’t change that I didn’t expect that.”

Tar and I continue watching the demons until the very last one is gone and I raise my hand, calling the Red Plague back to me in a flash of crimson light shining straight towards me. Then I put both of my hands in my pockets and transform into blood to fly through the air towards the frontlines. But when I’m only halfway there, I pause and turn back into my lycan form again.

“What is it?” Tar asks, but I just float down to the ground and raise my arm closer to my face before shapeshifting a single finger into a claw on my other hand and drawing it across my arm. And I just let the drops of glowing red blood that flow out hit the ground where they then begin infecting everything they touch.

After a few seconds I pull the blood back into me again and shake my head.

“Yeah, that could be a problem,” Tar eventually says, understanding me.

If I get hurt too much in a battle, and I start to let out a lot of blood… I may not be able to control the Red Plague that is released as a result.

Especially if I fall unconscious again.

But I can’t keep avoiding the frontlines. The war has stalled thanks to my absence, and the people are starting to wonder what’s going on.

I grimace as I begin to clench my fist.

Eventually I look up at where I know Amelia is watching me.

I really didn’t want to rely on her, but…

“Amelia,” I state, raising my voice slightly. And just seconds later, she appears in front of me. “Would you help me?”

She nods her head without even asking what it is I need help with. Which still surprises me to this day.

“Can you handle any of the blood that I lose while fighting on the frontlines?” I ask her, but once again, she just nods her head and smiles. So I smile back and answer, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” she replies right away before vanishing again without another word.

Then I turn back towards the frontlines again and take a deep breath.

Alright. I won’t destroy the world.

With that thought deeply entrenched in my mind, I shift back into blood and immediately make my way towards the frontlines. And the moment I arrive, I look around at the millions of demons and humans fighting each other.

But the fighting doesn’t last long as people quickly begin to notice me, following which cheers ring out from amongst the humans and murmurs of ‘The Warden’ and ‘Her Highness’ from the demons.

Despite all of that, I simply ignore them all and rush deep into the demon side of the battlefield where very few humans are before lowering myself closer to the ground and spreading out my arms.

“Release,” I mutter quietly as glowing red blood shoots out of my body and begins infecting everything directly beneath me.

Let the pandemonium begin.