Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, Rhash directly swallowed the Vulcan's Heart
It instantly spreads a terrifying heatwave inside his body. In fact, his body even emits hot fumes of air
"T-this!" Khaknur was surprised at what happened to his master and he immediately created a mana barrier to block the intense heat
Despite not having any fire, the wind alone that Rhash releases already felt like an inferno
If that is what is happening from the outside, what more from the inside?
Rhash felt like he was submerged in a sea of fire. Every cell in his body feel as if they are being burned alive
The pain he was currently experiencing is not just intense, it affected the entirety of his being
After all, every cell in his body was being purified by the great treasure that he had just swallowed
It's like he was turned into a humanoid ball of heat energy. If normal people were to touch him, no doubt that they would be burned to death
Despite the immense pain, Rhash was forced to just grit his teeth. Despite knowing that Reif has his own pain to take care of to the point that even if his consciousness is awake, only his sense of pain might be working
Rhash doesn't want Reif to be worried about him. Hence, despite the pain that no normal person would be able to take, he didn't scream at all
Rhash keep it all to himself as his body trembled violently. He was already writhing from pain but only muffled screams were coming out from his mouth
"A-amazing... master... h-he's ingesting the Vulcan's Heart energies. If I were to do the same, no doubt that I would die" Agui exclaimed
He might be a lava monster and even the strongest from his kind but even he, could not handle such intense energy
In fact, Rhash also wouldn't be able to handle the treasure if not for how special his body was
If Agui used the Vulcan's Heart, his core would surely get damaged in the process. If the damage was so severe, it might even be broken down into smaller pieces, leading to his death
Rhash is different though. He made sure that he was brimming with vitality before he swallowed the Vulcan's Heart
It helps him stand the cycle of destruction and regeneration. The intense heat energies from the treasure he had swallowed flooded his cells, destroying them in the process
If he was not regenerating thanks to the abundant amount of life force that his body contains, he might not be able to withstand this
Even then, Rhash soon bled from all seven orifices of his body. His mouth even coughed out pieces of his internal organs
If his body was really that of a normal human, he would have died countless times already
"Master is really terrifying" Khaknur commented. He was already having a hard time blocking the intense heat that comes from Rhash, he couldn't imagine what his master is currently going through
——
1 year later
"M-master, how are your wounds?" Khaknur asked worriedly
The group was currently traveling or more like fleeing through the air. Khaknur was standing on a sheet of darkness along with the miniature version of Agui and Reif's still unconscious body
Not far from them was a small human-like being that has wings made from blood behind him
"Don't worry about me, go and I'll stall time for us!" Rhash answered while wiping the blood in the corner of his mouth
"B-but we only have a little supply of Master Reif's blood. If you were to get additional injuries, master would have to use more of our limited supply of blood!"
It has been a year already since Reif got inflicted with the curse. This whole year was mostly spent trying to flee from the church
As Rhash is focused on surviving, he made sure to avoid human settlements. Hence, he doesn't know the current state of the world anymore except for two things. The first one was that the church has been growing its influence more and more, they are already a great force in the world
As for the second one, Rhash and his group is already labeled as evil beings that must be eradicated as soon as possible
It first started at their alleged killing of innocent people in the Mesha City before growing bigger because of a news
The town that has thousands of people that was destroyed because of Nath's scheme blame fell into innocent people's shoulder
Despite the people inside dying all because of Nath and the church, the blame was given to Rhash and Reif but that was just the start
In the year course of running away from the church, more and more deaths that Rhash didn't cause fell into his shoulders
In other words, their group is already a group that people viewed as something that should be destroy
Tons of people were aiming for their lives and they are one of the biggest terrorists already
This was all thanks to Nath. If Reif is conscious, Rhash could definitely try to minimize the church's influence
Unfortunately, because of the curse, the church has been growing bigger and bigger
Even if Reif were to wake up now, he would only be seen as an evil being
What happened at the original timeline has been repeated and the only thing that Rhash could do was try to do everything to survive
"Don't worry about that! I could simply use other people's blood, now go!" Rhash shouted
The blood of people except for Reif is still a tonic for him that can even heal his wounds
However, they are not as efficient as Reif's blood. Not to mention, Reif's blood is his only food
Rhash could use anyone's blood for healing but other's blood are incompatible to sustain his life
If he run out of Reif's blood, he would starve and ultimately die
Khaknur knows that his master's decision is not something that he could change and he has no choice but to obey
The spider controlled his sheet of darkness to flee as far as possible, leaving Rhash behind and it didn't take that long before enemies have arrived
"Bloody Demon, today is the day of your death!" A Paladin with golden wings of light declared
Around him were the other Paladins and Priests of the church numbering in around a few tens
If Rhash were still at his peak, he could easily deal with such a group. Unfortunately, the year-long running away has put a great toll on his body
They didn't even give him enough time to rest and heal his injuries. If he didn't use the Vulcan's Heart, no doubt that he would be dead by now already
"Bloody Demon eh, how disgusting that I gained that nickname because of a real demon. Damn that Nath" Rhash ridiculed
Back in the Mesha City, he has the nickname of Blood Angel because of his blood magic and angelic appearance
But now that his infamy has risen to the extreme, he became a demon in everyone's eyes
"How dare you speak ill of the Lord!" The Paladin raged as he wield his sword with the intent to kill
"Lord my ass!" Rhash rebuked angrily before waving his hand, spreading a wave of blood-colored fire
This was the fire ability that he gained after he ingested the Vulcan's Heart. His blood fire is a fire that is feared by all that knows about its capabilities
A fire that people would try to avoid making any physical contact as much as possible
As expected, the paladin's face turned more serious after seeing that wave of fire. His whole body glowed with holy light as he spun his body in the air while holding his sword
The blood fire diffused as the Paladin turned himself into a human tornado but this fire has some interesting features
The fire moved on their own, they don't even need Rhash's control. Instead of completely diffusing, the fire instead gathered around the paladin, trying to put his whole body on fire
Fortunately, this Paladin has strength stronger compared to his peers and his divine power was preventing him from being harmed
"Attack!" The others also made their move as the priest uses their divine magic
A divine formation appeared above Reif and the Hammer of Judgment fell down
Rhash flapped his wings as he dodged that divine magic created by the priest but another divine formation appeared above him
Just like the first one, this divine formation also releases the Hammer of Judgment, intending to kill him
Rhash maneuvered in the air with the help of his wings as he dodged one hammer after possible when his senses picked up something
The blood fire appeared in Rhash's hand as he blocked a sword strike from the paladin that already got rid of the blood fire attacking him earlier
The impact from the sword was sent to Rhash's body, further riling up his internal injuries