[No!] Moss roared as he tackled the knight, knocking it out of the way.

 

Moss gathered the body of the loyal subordinate and shed emotions for it. His mind filled with sadness, then anger, then hatred. Moss looked at the elixir knights mowing down his agents and his subordinates. He had had enough.

 

Quickly, his mind stirred as he tried to think of a solution. What were these elixir knights? They were an elixir made from the divine blood of the God of Life as well as other herbal ingredients. And they were blessed by the God of War. Moss couldn’t find anything that was useful to him in this situation. The only thing that could slightly be helpful was the divine blood.

 

But, he couldn’t manipulate blood. He doesn’t have the necessary skills for it…or did he? Could he devour only blood? No, his <<Devour>> skill shouldn’t be strong enough. It could only allow him to devour DNA. His use of <<DNA Extraction>> proved that. It just didn’t work.

 

Then again, the blood was from the God of Life and he had some connections with the god. Not to mention, his evolution was from the divine blood searing deep into his soul. He should be able to consume the blood as they were somewhat compatible with each other.

 

But, doesn’t blood not contain DNA? When he tried to extract DNA from one of those knights, the Pathos System gave him an error. There was no DNA detected. Moss glared deep at the elixir knights and something clicked inside of him.

 

He remembered when he was still human, he had visited a western country. Their medical knowledge was vastly different from his country’s. But some points were the same and some points were easily understandable. There was one passage, in particular, about blood.

 

Blood, according to the western country, was made up of millions upon millions of ‘blood’ cells. No wonder he wasn’t able to extract DNA from those knights. They were made up of cells! They were too large for him to extract anything.

 

Then…<<Devour>> should work! But, the DNA would be mammal DNA…not plant DNA. Would it really work? No! It must work! Devour! Must devour only the DNA from the elixir knights! Devour! Moss concentrated with all of his power on his <<Devour>> skill.

 

With a mind-shattering roar, Moss forcefully consumed everything that was the elixir knights. Even when he felt nauseous, he did not spill any DNA. If the DNA was resisting, he would force his way through it all and absorb everything.

 

<<Devour>>!

 

Strands of shimmering DNA flowed out from everywhere towards Moss. The millions of DNA strands came from the corpses of elixir knights, the corpses of his agents and subordinate agents, even from his wounded subordinates. But most of all, they came from the elixir knights. Regardless of whether they were wounded or not, their DNA seemed to be forcefully ripped out from their bodies.

 

[Ah! Master, y-you’re hurting u-us!] Tully cried out as she collapsed, her body weak from the DNA extraction.

 

[No! Not us too, not us too!] Norm struggled to escape, but he collapsed as well.

 

Moss stared at these two subordinates blankly. [If you didn’t bother to help me when I needed it, then this is your chance to repent!]

 

Those who could survive this ordeal, barely did. Whereas, those who didn’t, they only left behind shells of past existences. So much DNA was devoured and absorbed by Moss. It was like a human forcefully and uncontrollably consuming thirty liters of water in one sitting. The wave of sickness hit him quickly.

 

Moss started feeling confused and hallucinating. His senses were off completely, and he lost his balance. As he collapsed, his mind felt like it was splitting into half. He could feel his strength and he was sensing double. He had an urge to hurl everything he had just consumed, but he kept it in. Moss was suffering from DNA intoxication.

 

Moss focused on calming down while his body digested the DNA. No matter what, he must live through this ordeal. He must think about his goals. He must avenge himself and his god. No, the goal had been changed. He must rescue the God of Life and he must destroy everyone who had caused him grief…everyone.

 

DING!

 

DNA OVERLOAD

 

SUFFICIENT DNA ABSORBED

 

ASSIMILATING DNA…ASSIMILATING COMPLETE

 

MUTATION ACTIVATED

 

MUTATING…MUTATION COMPLETED

 

DNA OVERLOAD

 

SUFFICIENT DNA ABSORBED

 

ASSIMILATING DNA…ASSIMILATING COMPLETE

 

BEGIN EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS…EVOLUTION COMPLETE

 

UNLOCKING DIVINITY…DIVINE STAT UNLOCKED

 

ASSIMILATING DIVINE STAT…ASSIMILATING COMPLETE

 

DIVINE SKILL <<CREATION OF LIFE>> ACQUIRED

 

SKILL <<BODY MODIFICATION>> ACQUIRED

Moss subconsciously activated his new skill <<Body Modification>> and shaped his rotund body into something more humanoid. Though still a virus shape with indistinctive features, Moss’s new shape now had limbs, a head, and a body. Moss examined himself and punched out. One of his limbs flew out with power. He could punch now!

 

[M-Master, help….] A voice called out to Moss, drawing his attention away from his new shape.

 

[Help us…we-we’re dying….] Another voice called out to him.

 

Moss looked over and saw Tully and Norm. Though weak, they seemed to be very much alive. Moss approached them as a memory resurfaced in his mind and an emotion raged in his soul. The two subordinate origin agents called out pleadingly, begging for mercy and assistance. But, Moss looked at them with a blank stare, a hint of disgust peeking out. Moss turned to Tully and raised his foot.

 

[M-Master! W-What are you doing? W-Wha–!] Tully panicked as she tried to squirm away.

 

STOMP!

 

Moss crushed Tully’s membrane, destroying her nucleus and ending her life once and for all. He turned towards Norm, who trembled with fear.

 

[M-Master, w-we–!] Norm tried to explain himself, but he met his fate soon after.

 

Moss looked at his DNA-stained foot and muttered. [Devour!]

 

The DNA on his foot absorbed into him while the rest of the DNA scattered about entered his body. After absorbing everything, he sighed with regret. From now on, he should never place his trust on subordinates who do not possess undying loyalty to him. While he contemplated this, he received another system message.

 

DING!

 

CONDITIONS MET

 

AN ANCIENT ONE HAS NOTICED YOU!

 

MALICE HAS SENT YOU A GIFT!

 

LOADING NEW SKILL…LOADING COMPLETE

 

SKILL <<POISONOUS AURA>> ACQUIRED