Gulp
Victor stopped a few hundred meters ahead and looked back to see the aftermath of the attack. His pupils constricted to the size of pinpricks, and he swallowed hard as he looked at the devastation, thinking, "I will be done for if that attack hits me even once."
"Hey, brat, where do you think you are running?"
Suddenly, an enraged voice echoed throughout the empty city, and Victor’s expression immediately changed. The moment he heard the voice, he turned into lightning and started fleeing.
He looked back and saw the furious Undead Queen chasing him relentlessly.
Fanna shot forward like a rocket from the distance. She had a vicious look on her face, as though she wanted to drink Victor’s blood, chop him into pieces, and feed him to the dogs. A pair of orange flaming wings flapped continuously on her back.
"Damn, I thought only her bloodline power increased. Why the hell did her speed increase this much?... At this rate, she will catch up." Victor thought, and for the first time, panic set in. He had not expected her speed to increase so drastically, and he even suspected she had become faster than him, despite him practically traveling at the speed of lightning. What Victor did not know was that her Speed stat had not increased at all. Instead, she was using the flaming wings on her back along with miniature bursts of fire to match his speed.
"Damn, can you stop chasing me?!" Victor shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Hah, you should have thought about that when you tried to kill me," Fanna sneered as she continued chasing Victor all over the city. It looked like a game of cat and mouse. To others, it might have seemed as though Victor had the upper hand, but in reality, Fanna was rapidly closing the gap between them.
---
Rumble
Olivia, Andrew, and Rachel, who were flying away, looked back, and their expressions changed when they saw the scene unfolding behind them.
"Damn, why are they heading in our direction? Damn it, Faceless, can’t you head toward that guy Regal instead?!" Rachel shouted in panic, her face turning pale with fear as she saw Victor, transformed into black lightning, racing toward them while Fanna followed closely behind.
"Rachel, do something! Speed up your skeleton bird!" Olivia said in a panicked voice as she felt an overwhelming sense of imminent danger. She had the feeling that if they did not put some distance between themselves and the battle, they would be pulverized simply by being too close.
Olivia looked back and gritted her teeth when she saw that wherever Victor passed, black lightning destroyed everything nearby, while the flames surrounding the undead reduced everything beneath her flight path to ashes.
"Give me that," Olivia said as she grabbed the reins from Rachel’s hands and started steering the mount sharply to the left.
Rumble
"Hurry, Olivia!" Andrew said with a pale face when he saw they were only a dozen meters away from them.
"Turn, turn!" Olivia shouted, and just in the nick of time, she managed to steer the mount to the left, narrowly avoiding the pair as they shot past them.
"Hmm." As Fanna passed by the trio, she raised an eyebrow when she sensed that all three of them possessed bloodlines, especially Rachel, who seemed to possess powers somewhat similar to those of the undead.
"Interesting. After I finish killing that bastard, I will come for them... especially that girl." Fanna gave an eerie smile.
Olivia, Andrew, and Rachel, who noticed her look, felt a chill run down their spines, especially Rachel, who shuddered in discomfort.
"I have a really bad feeling. Did you get the feeling she wants to turn us into undead?" Andrew said as he stiffly turned his head toward the pair and gave a strained smile.
"Sa-same... and she looked at me with the most interest," Rachel said. A few tears were already streaming down her face, making her expression look completely comical, while even Olivia wore a grim expression.
"Let’s get out of here quickly," Olivia said in a cold voice.
---
With a spine-chilling expression, the Undead Queen closed the distance between them at a speed that simply could not be comprehended by ordinary people. In Victor’s eyes, it was as if Fanna had teleported several kilometers.
"Heh, let me first take away your ability to move," Fanna sneered.
"AHHHHH!"
Victor’s eyes bulged from the pain as all four of his limbs were severed.
Thud
He immediately fell from the sky to the ground.
He could still feel his healing skill, Yin Crown, slowly regenerating his limbs, but Victor gave a bitter smile. He did not think the undead would give him the chance to regenerate.
Sure enough, Fanna sneered and raised her hand. Similar flaming spears appeared above her, each seemingly containing the destructive power of a nuclear bomb. The worst part was that she had created not one, but hundreds of them, all aimed directly at him.
---
"VICTOR!"
Amber screamed in panic when she saw her mother sever all of his limbs and prepare to deliver the finishing blow.
She was about to rush forward and try to save him, but the moment she attempted to move, she felt an overwhelming weight press down on her shoulders, forcing her to her knees. She gritted her teeth and looked up, only to see Fanna glaring at her coldly.
"Be patient. After I deal with your toy, we will reunite as a family again," Fanna said, and hearing those words, Amber’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach.
She could do nothing but watch the man she loved about to die. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
---
"Damn... is this the end? Am I about to die? Fuck... Tier 5—even if it’s only through a bloodline—is too terrifying," Victor muttered in despair as his life flashed before his eyes. He stared blankly at the flaming spears charging toward him when suddenly a notification appeared on his retina, but he paid it no attention as he remained in a daze.
[Host has reached a point of extreme despair.]
[Hidden conditions have been met.]
The moment these notifications appeared, in Victor’s perception, the world seemed to have lost all its color and turned black and white. The winds stopped moving, and it felt as though time itself had come to a standstill. The spears charging toward him halted mid-flight, but Victor did not seem to notice this anomaly at all.
Victor slowly tilted his head, his eyes drifting toward the sky. The clouds above moved lazily, indifferent to the chaos unfolding below. His breath was ragged, his body battered, yet his mind was razor-sharp, cutting through the pain like a blade as he fell into a strange daze.
"Even in my past life... I did not have a strong Warlock bloodline and was always running away from direct confrontations. I could only resort to sneak attacks and theft."
His fists clenched as the memories surfaced.
He had never been physically strong, never had the endurance to keep up with others or a powerful bloodline. His stats had been pitifully low compared to most NPCs and even some players.
But that had never stopped him from fighting.
He had always taken the most dangerous missions and quests just to obtain slightly better rewards, no matter the risk, so that he would not die on the streets.
And he had always been only one step away from death.
Yet, despite the constant defeats, nothing had ever stopped him from moving forward. His ruthlessness alone had earned him that much.
Even when he was on the ground, even when he was bruised and broken, he had never backed down.
But here... in this life...
He had so many cheats at his disposal—the 100% Drop Rate Chest, which allowed him to obtain every possible drop and gave him the greatest advantage to build an unbeatable empire and army. He had a beautiful lover, Amber, and another, Rina, whom he would also marry. He possessed an absurdly overpowered bloodline like the Origin Bloodline, one that could eventually make him the strongest being in existence.
Compared to his previous life, in this one he had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth. So why the fuck was he despairing and about to give up?
It disgusted him.
Not anyone else.
Himself.
Why was he on the losing side again?
Why was he struggling to breathe while that disgusting undead was still standing tall?
Why the hell was he still weak?
"Why is this all I can do...?!"
These emotions, this shame, this rage...
They turned into hysteria.
[Host is experiencing overwhelming self-hatred.]
[Origin Bloodline is reacting violently.]
[Origin Bloodline is searching among the existing bloodlines for the one most suitable to evolve in this situation.]
[Purgatory Lightning Bloodline has been rejected.]
[Magic Mechanic Bloodline has been rejected.]
[Void Manipulator Bloodline has been rejected.]
[Yin-Yang Flames Bloodline has been rejected.]
[King of Darkness and Souls Bloodline has been rejected.]
[Origin Bloodline has selected the Blood Berserk Bloodline.]
[Blood Berserk Bloodline is reacting violently.]
His severed limbs, which had been regenerating slowly, instantly reformed.
"Heh."
A bloody smile appeared on Victor’s face.
[Blood Berserk Bloodline has evolved into the Origin Berserker Bloodline.]