How To Survive A Calamity

The confrontation between i and Nicodemus and the Demon was short but fierce.

And to others outside, it quite frankly may not have seemed as much.

—It may not have seemed as anything at all even.

"You talk too much for a Demon."

"[Heh. And you don't talk enough!]"

That was because the exchanges traded between Nicodemus and i went beyond what could merely be seen with the naked eye.

I could feel it, something sinister and discomforting trying to worm its way into me. It was different from the cold, inhumane influence of Murmur's Mask, and the aloof arrogance from activating Immersion.

'Sly.'

I could feel Nicodemus try to do something to me.

Was this what the others were talking about? Trying to take control of my emotions and mind almost naturally by speaking.

It was one of the reasons why i refused to exchange long, and drawn out words with him.

It was hard to notice, but also quite obvious to miss.

I was already under siege from the Flaw of Murmur's Mask, so what would one other mental attack thrown into the fray feel like?

Well...it wasn't good.

But.

[Immersion is strongly activated!]

The mental barriers raised by the skill, i could feel them tremble.

An extended and drawn out confrontation was against my already slim and nonexistent chance, so i wanted to be done with quickly.

Aside from that, i also didn't enjoy the luxury to exchange witty one liners with Nicodemus while wearing a Mask that corroded my humanity and corrupted my existence with each second.

The incessant murmus and whispers were assailing and made it hard to think properly.

I had to get by all of that all at the same time while stepping around Nicodemus, somehow.

My goal was Alexander, i couldn't let him realise that too quickly so i lunged all of my focus straight at the Demon right of the bat, while the damned Hero still remained in a daze of too the sidelines.

A controlled portion of my thoughts raced under Immersion influence, devising scenarios and concluding equations.

But Nicodemus wasn't the only one who was setting traps with his words.

The shock was apparent in Nicodemus's widened eyes as soon as he realized the figure he tore through was just a mirage and an illusion as i seemed to descend from above instead.

To me he had just merely been standing in place for a while as i approached. To Nicodemus's perception, however, it was slightly different.

Murmur's Mask had an Enchantment that allowed a slight level of suggestion and allure in my voice that could cause targets fall victims to illusions and my charm.

Basically, it made distinguishing between reality and illusion difficult for the target by building a web of lies through listening to my voice.

It was a difficult Enchantment to control or use, really, and just like almost all the other Enchantment of the Murmur's Mask, it also allowed certain risks to me the user.

So i had to be carefull, or even i could fall for my deceit, and i could only use a small percent of the Enchantment subtly, right from the start.

It wasn't entirely without interest that my first word against Nicodemus at the beginning was 'Guess'...

To survive against Nicodemus, a Demon, i had to be clever. I had to make every step and action i took count — every word i uttered, right from the very first instance i opened my mouth to speak.

[Destroy the book first.]

Meta's words rang in my head decisively, and my first series of actions and words all lead up to the point my sword flashed through the air and whistled, tearing apart the ominous Black Grimoire that billowed with black smoke.

Aside from Meta's words, all of my instincts screamed at the Grimoire as something 'bad'.

Lesser Midnight Blessing boosted by the unnatural Darkness not only heightened my overalls stats, but even also empowered my skills like Danger Sense for example.

It became stronger, and even more of an instinctual intuition and perception than just a vague sense.

That Intuition warned me that the Grimoire could be sensitive to Nicodemus — perhaps...a possible weakness.

All odds were against me on this confrontation, i needed all and every possible chances. I had to exploit all possible weakness.

"[AAARGHH!!]"

The moment i destroyed the book as intended by my instincts, Nicodemus's screamed in agony and raged.

Something seemed to happen, and since this was all done by intuition and instincts, i wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

Black smoke like living darkness billowed out of the destroyed Grimoire suddenly as Nicodemus began to writh and convulse.

Whatever it was, the black cloud of darkness surged into the his body, and something else began to happen as Nicodemus began to mutate. His form and body began to grow more and more unbalanced and grotesque.

It seemed like whatever it was that was contained in the Grimoire, with nowhere else to go, invaded Nicodemus and anchored itself in gis body as a new vessel, causing him to mutate even further.

It was at that point i began to doubt my actions.

Should i really have gone for the book instead?

Ah, but there wasn't time to waver in self doubt and regret.

A stabbing pain tore through my head as the Flaw of Murmur's Mask became more pronounced.

Immersion never fully blocked out or negated the Flaw, it only made me slightly less susceptible to it by delaying the effects slightly.

This meant, all of the pressure only continued to mount against the wall Immersion raised around my mind, causing it to tremble.

Yet my soul was left completely unguarded as well.

The Flaw of Murmur's Mask stretched its corruptible talons into the fabric of my humanity and soul to rip it apart as if it was a piece of cloth.

The pain was excruciating and numbing as more of my consciousness was deeply replaced by something deeper and darker.

[A/N: hey guys, i just released a new book and I'd really like to get your options on it. The name id A Vampire's Perspective, and no, I am not dropping How to Survive A Calamity. That is my priority.]