To avoid facing Elaine for the time being, Isaac first headed for the odd couple sleeping outside. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he looked at them. Despite several hours passing since Marie had come out to join James, the two hadn't budged an inch. It would be a miracle if they woke up without back pain.

Though, with Marie's healing, she could probably fix that in minutes. Not that it made the couple's position any less uncomfortable. Isaac's own bones ached just from thinking about it.

Guess they really do fit each other. And James had the nerve to tease me about Elaine. He snorted, smiling. At least something good is coming out of this entire mess… Not that it will stop me from waking you up.

Isaac cleared his throat and proceeded to lightly kick James in the leg. "Wake up!" he called. "Night is over. Time to move."

At first, the older man only groaned and lazily raised a hand to rub his face. Next to him, Marie also stirred, leaning away from James and letting out a long yawn. The pair then blinked blearily, almost in perfect sync, before their gaze finally fell on Isaac.

What happened next was not in the script for today.

"Holy shit!" James shouted, his eyes widening. He also tried to scramble back, but only hit his head against the rock behind him as a result. "Shit! What the fuck, man?! You trying to give us a heart attack?"

Marie's reaction wasn't all that different, just less vocal. She let out a sharp yelp, her gaze locked on Isaac's face like she was staring down a monster. That one of her hands went for the dagger sheathed at her waist was also quite telling.

Isaac frowned and took a step back. "Okay... Calm down, you two. Was just trying to wake you up. Why so jumpy all of a sudden? You've never reacted like this."

James scoffed. "You try waking up to a literal demon standing over you and see how you react. Where the hell did you get those contacts, man?"

Isaac's frown only deepened. "What? You sure you two didn't hit your heads while you slept?"

James opened his mouth to retort, but Marie's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Isaac," she said slowly. "Your eyes… They are different. A lot different."

"Creepy is the word you're looking for," James muttered, earning a sharp glare from the woman. He raised his hand in surrender. "Hey, just stating the facts."

Meanwhile, Isaac stiffened, his hands rising instinctively to his face. The Interface didn't mention any physical changes that should have arrived with the Reawakening of his Origin. Though he really should have known better. If Inheritances and Mutagens could alter appearance, then a process as important as this could, too.

A little warning would have been nice, he grumbled internally, looking around for anything that could help him check his face. He definitely didn't have a mirror in his Storage Brand. And demon? Really?

"Here. Use this," Marie spoke up, offering him her dagger.

Isaac nodded in thanks and raised the blade to his face. The reflection that greeted him was far from perfect, but it was more than enough for him to see exactly what they meant.

Oh…

Instead of his usual dark blue eyes, a completely different sight stared back at him. And now, he fully understood why James had mistaken him for a demon straight out of hell.

The sclera—the whites of his eyes—were no longer white at all. The Reawakening of his Origin completely flipped the color scheme, turning them a deep, inky black. His iris, on the other hand? Gone was the blue, replaced by the color of freshly spilled blood. Only the pupil remained the same.

Isaac groaned, cursing under his breath. First the veins, now this? What was next? His fingernails?

"Great…" he muttered. "I'm turning into some edgy teenager…"

"Aren't you one already?" James quipped with a grin, clearly delighted. "C'mon, man, you can't get much edgier than having blood as your Origin. That's just your life now."

Isaac narrowed his crimson eyes, making the older man flinch. "Says the guy with the Origin of Steel."

"Oi!" James yelped. "I resent that. My Origin is perfectly respectable. It's you wh—"

The man never had the chance to finish, as at that moment, the final member of their team crawled out of the tent, hair a mess, eyes bleary.

"Can you two shut up?" Elaine grumbled, rubbing her face. "What's going on? Why did no one wake me up?"

Without missing a beat, James jabbed a finger in Isaac's direction. "It's all his fault! Boss went full vampire on us."

"What are you on abo—Oh…" Elaine trailed off, her gaze finally falling on Isaac's new eyes. "What happened?"

"I think we would all like to know that," Marie said. "Only Inheritances and Mutagens have changed our appearances so far. Did you go out to fight something when we were asleep?"

"No!" Isaac denied instantly. "I'm not that stupid. The eyes are just apparently the side effect of my Reawakening."

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That admission earned him a few curious looks. He sighed and went on to explain what he did during the night. Considering what he had accomplished with Blood Manipulation, he planned to tell them all this anyway.

When he finished, Elaine spoke up, her voice a little hesitant. "But… you're okay, right?"

Isaac turned to her, but she had already averted her gaze, refusing to look at him. He smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm good. Don't worry."

"That's… that's good."

An awkward silence settled between them once she said that. Thankfully, after a couple of seconds, it was broken by a familiar chuckle.

"Well, as fun as it is to watch you two fidget, we gotta move, people!" James announced, jumping to his feet with Marie mirroring his action. "Maybe we can get out of this godforsaken territory today."

Isaac looked away from Elaine, chuckling. While he didn't share the older man's optimism, leaving the Burning Wasteland sounded quite nice. He really had enough of fighting and running away from fire-type monsters.

Guess that's what I get for living in Cali…

To Isaac's genuine surprise, the first few hours of their fourth day passed in relative peace. Sure, here and there, they had to take detours to avoid larger packs of monsters, but overall, this part of the Burning Wasteland was less populated than what they had grown used to yesterday.

The obvious reason?

The sea of monsters to the east. He held no doubt in his mind that plenty of beasts from this territory traveled there, eager to take advantage of an Unregulated Quarantine Site. And so, as much as that place troubled him, he wasn't about to complain about it making his journey easier.

Another thing he and his teammates began to notice the further they traveled was that, at last, the monsters had stopped growing stronger. For him, most of them showed up as Moderate-high or only Moderate, but at least spotting a High-threat beast now had become a rarity.

Of course, that might have just been the effect of his Reawakening bumping up his power rating. However, if that were the case, his friends wouldn't be getting similar results. Sure, they still saw more High threats than him, but they had yet to find a Very High one. That had to count for something. Or so he hoped.

Of course, the somewhat peaceful journey couldn't last forever.

Just as the horizon started to shift, the endless dunes giving way to large hills dotted with massive half-dead trees and brittle scrub, trouble found them again. Three Glassstalkers burst out of the sand in an ambush. Worse still, two massive fire salamanders leapt out of a nearby river and headed straight for his teammates.

Now, if that was all, maybe they could have even faced the beasts and won, especially now that Isaac had reawakened. However, the ever louder howls of nearby jackal packs quickly put that idea into the dirt.

Four against five of Moderate and Moderate-high threats was doable, especially with how brittle Glassstalkers were. But add to that around a dozen almost bear-sized jackals, and there was no way for them to win. At least not without most of them dying.

Which obviously was out of the question.

His team knew that, too, and after blinding the Glassstalkers with Elaine's grenade, they continued running faster than ever before. This time, though, the beasts had no plans of giving up on the chase.

Within a matter of seconds, Isaac, in his Legacy form, took the lead, guiding his team down the most optimal route he could find. If they ran into more monsters? So be it. Only running and finding someplace to use to their advantage mattered now. That, or reaching the next territory.

Don't slow down now, he thought, cawing to signal another pack of jackals approaching. His gaze swept the land ahead, scanning the dunes, cliffs, and narrow canyons for anything that they could use to escape.

Wait… Maybe there!

Still quite far away, wedged between two sheer cliffs, was a passage, a narrow chasm more like it. It was still wide enough to allow the monsters chasing them to pass, but they could still use it.

We just have to play it ri—

Before Isaac could even finish that thought, a loud screech reached his ears. Unlike all the other noises, this one didn't come from behind. Finding its source also wasn't an issue.

This again…

High above, already diving toward him, was an almost familiar vulture. It had most of the characteristics of the beasts he had fought back in the Peaceful Plains, only this one was already on fire, and had to be almost twice as large.

Potential Threat: Moderate

Could have been worse…

Evidently, the reawakening must have done a lot, as for some reason, Isaac doubted that this vulture was much weaker than the Wyvern. Still, the beast could become a problem if left unattended.

Not that he planned on letting it live long.

Lean more into your regeneration, huh? Very well. Let's play.

With a sharp beat of his wings, Isaac shot higher into the sky. At the same time, he reached into himself, into his core, and into the spark holding his Legacy. With naught but a thought, Freedom mode activated, followed by the full force of Burnout.

Crimson Flock. Sacrificial Cursed Draw.

Blood ignited around him, covering his feathers and beak in a glowing black-red aura. Around him, crimson ravens formed out of the dozens of clouds of blood, their cawing soon drowning out the other noises.

Isaac locked eyes with the incoming vulture and gave the order to his flock.

Half of you, guide my team to the chasm. The rest, go annoy the hell out of the monsters chasing them. Try to stay alive.

This had to be enough for now. He had already seen Elaine throwing some of her bombs into the beasts on their tail. Over twenty blood ravens should make her tactic even more effective. At least until they reached the chasm.

My turn…

At this point, not much distance remained between him and the large vulture. The fire across its body grew brighter as it spewed fireball after fireball in his direction. For now, he simply weaved out of their way and continued onward.

Unfortunately, that tactic couldn't work forever. Time to face the music.

And so, with the Symphony roaring in his veins and Burnout accelerating his every bodily function, he dove straight into the next fireball. Harden and the aura of Cursed Draw lessened the blow to some degree, but he could still feel his feathers and flesh melting.

Yet, none of that mattered.

As he shot out of the flames, only a couple of feet separated him from the vulture. Its eyes widened even as more fire quickly gathered around its beak. The ball was almost ready when Isaac slammed into its body with the force of a falling star.

Die!

Flesh parted before him, as with the power of Cursed Draw, he punched a clean hole through the vulture. The flames scorched him again, but the pain really was just an old friend at this point.

The damage it caused to his body?

Not so much, but he could already feel his regeneration rebuilding the obliterated feathers.

[Greater Flamebone Vulture (LVL. 18) slain.]

But Isaac barely paid any attention to that message. He deactivated Freedom mode and Burnout, and dove back toward his team. They had a grand escape to pull off, and he could use some additional firepower.

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