Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Despite the impulsive nature brought on by his status condition, Ian’s charge turned out to be the best possible action.

Swoosh—

Had he retreated, he would have struggled to avoid the blood spikes erupting around the Empress and the simultaneous attacks from her blade-like claws. Only when she was almost upon him did Ian realize he was unarmed. But it didn’t matter.

Crack!

He had his fists.

Ian’s right fist smashed into one side of the Empress’s face. His metal gauntlet dented and squeezed his fingers painfully, but he didn’t care. He just focused on the large head his fist had sunk into. The thin skin beneath gave way, with one cheekbone crushed and the eye above bulging out.

Slash—

Almost simultaneously, the Empress’s dual arm swings missed him and raked the wall behind him, leaving ten deep gashes next to the embedded blood spikes. As Ian retracted his right hand, he swung his left fist. Though a thought briefly crossed his mind about his previously injured left arm, he dismissed it.

Crunch—

His left fist crushed the opposite side of the Empress’s face, despite the horrendous sound from his arm. Almost instinctively, Ian activated Vacuum Explosion.

Boom—

With a silent blast, the Empress, her face deeply indented on both sides, was flung away. Ian, too, was thrown sideways. He got up quickly, his eyes falling on his left arm. The bone had pierced through the skin and twisted grotesquely, a result of removing his arm guard to feed blood to Thesaya earlier.

“Hah...” Ian let out a short, bitter laugh and used his right hand to push the bone back in place roughly.

He had to rely on his body’s regeneration now. The greater the injury, the stronger the Primordial Vitality’s healing effect. At the same time, he felt the anger and hatred boiling inside him begin to subside. His instincts and reason quickly returned to their proper places.

There was a slight regret. The status effect wasn’t entirely bad given the situation. Thanks to his high Mental Fortitude and Resistance, he hadn’t completely lost his reason. With clarity returning, Ian noticed the Legion Commander’s Greatsword embedded nearby. He ran toward it without a second thought.

Crunch, crunch—

Meanwhile, the Empress, who had been rolling on the ground, began to rise again. Her partially obliterated head was puffing back to its original form. Ian reached the greatsword and grabbed its hilt. The rubble, unable to bear the weight, crumbled, freeing the blade.

“Ahh...aaah—”

The Empress’s eyes flared as she turned toward him, raising numerous blood blades around her. She seemed to instinctively decide on a long-range attack strategy. Perhaps if her body were fully formed, things would be different, but her defense was currently critically low.

Which means I need to stick to close combat.

Ian’s eyes turned ashen, and the Empress fired her blades and spread her wings.

Whoosh—

A violent whirlwind erupted around Ian. The gust was so strong that it momentarily threw off the Empress’s balance. The Whirling Barrier, filled with chaotic power, couldn’t be controlled delicately at the moment, so Ian poured the maximum amount of magic into it.

The whirlwind not only scattered the trajectory of the blade rain but also carried Ian upward in the direction the Empress was rising.

Spinning with the greatsword as a counterweight, Ian began preparing his next spell.

Woosh.

Flames flickered around him, dozens of Dancing Flames manifesting. Ian launched the fireballs while balancing himself with the greatsword, following closely behind the fiery projectiles. The Empress spread her wings wide and extended her palms forward.

Swoosh—

The blood mist around her quickly formed a blood barrier.

Boom, boom, boom—

The fireballs exploded against the barrier. Ian followed through, smashing the barrier with his greatsword. The Empress reached out toward Ian, who was charging with the greatsword. A blue force field erupted around Ian.

Crack—

The Empress’s hand crushed the force field. The bright flashes of the force field crumbling gave Ian just enough time to use the Whirling Barrier again.

Wham!

The burst of wind caused the Empress to lose her balance, and Ian was flung upward once more. Even while spinning, Ian cast Wind Blade.

Finally, Ian stabilized himself in mid-air, scattering the Wind Blade from his sword as he descended toward the Empress. She barely regained her balance and hastily raised her arms.

Crack!

The greatsword was embedded deeply in the Empress’s forearm. Utilizing the Wind Blade as propulsion and striking with one hand, he didn’t sever the limb entirely, but it was enough.

Boom!

The ensuing Vacuum Explosion around the sword shattered the Empress’s forearm.

“Kiaaaargh!”

The Empress screamed as she plummeted, her single wing failing to stabilize her. Ian, falling with her, watched her spiral downward.

Could I do it?

Whether he could or not didn’t matter. Ian gripped the greatsword with both hands, despite his trembling left hand.

Boom! Crash—

The Empress landed on her back in the midst of the ruins. Debris crumbled around her as she flailed, raising her severed arm. The significantly fewer petals converged into blood droplets, forming blood blades.

But Ian was faster, descending directly onto her abdomen.

Crack!

Ian pressed down with his tattered left hand on the weight of the sword. The broken blade pierced the Empress’s ribcage and sank deeper.

Crash.

The magic field burst and the Sword of Judgment plunged in simultaneously.

He felt something burst inside the Empress’s chest. Her body, which had been thrashing like a seizure, suddenly stiffened.

Splat—

The blood blades crumbled into blood clots, covering Ian’s entire body.

Ian didn’t move an inch, focusing on the sensation in his grip. The strength was draining from the Empress’s body.

“Ah...” A sigh mixed with a breath escaped from her lips. It was her true voice, completely different from the one that had been dominated by instincts until now. Blood oozed from her severed arms, mouth, and from beneath her body. Her body went limp.

The Empress of True Blood was dead.

...But why is it still?

The true blood spreading around suddenly surged fiercely as Ian narrowed his brow.

Poof!

The magic contained in the true blood erupted violently. Ian tried to pull out his sword.

Crack.

But before he could, the Empress’s ribcage burst through her skin. Like a Venus flytrap, crimson magic whirled around Ian through the gaps in her ribcage.

"...!"

Ian’s eyes widened as he was engulfed by the magic. Karha’s holy power flickered faintly but wasn’t strong enough to burn away all the magic spewing from the true blood. It felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing in reverse.

What the fuck?

Bloodshot veins appeared in Ian’s eyes. Blood started to flow out from every wound on his body. He still couldn’t move.

Ian focused all his mind on drawing back the magic and chaos power mixed with his blood. But the power of the true blood, which was sucking out his blood, was a bit stronger. Blood continued to flow out of his body, little by little, but continuously.

Is self-destruction their passive skill or something?

Gritting his teeth, Ian didn’t stop trying to reverse the flow of his blood. Without a vessel to contain it, the true blood couldn’t last long.

Even now, the true blood that had surged around him was evaporating like smoke and disappearing. The problem was that he couldn’t hold out until then. He wouldn’t last; he’d die from excessive blood loss before that.

No matter how hard he tried, all he could do was slow down the blood loss a bit. Thin tendrils of his blood spreading from his entire body were now visible to the naked eye.

Fuck....

Ian swallowed a sigh and opened his status window. There was no other way.

His consciousness drifted toward the skill window, and just as it was about to stop at the universal skill, Primeval Resistance, there was a deep throb from within.

Thump—

A reverberation echoed from deep within. Ian, who had just raised Primeval Resistance by one level and was about to raise it again, hesitated.

It was the shard of chaos.

The shard, pulsing like an additional heart, began to absorb the chaos power, seemingly aiding Ian. It was a change significant enough to alter the situation.

Ian closed the status window and focused his mind. The streams of blood that had been draining out began to flow back into his body.

So, was this an event that would resolve itself as long as I just held on without dying?

Ian breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. It was fortunate that he discovered this by using only one skill point.

He had planned to max out Primeval Resistance, then also the Vision skill, Flow of Spell. If that wasn’t enough, he intended to invest all remaining ability points into Mental Fortitude.

If he had discovered the current situation after doing so, he would have literally shed tears of blood.

"...?"

All idle thoughts vanished in an instant right after that. Though the blood had already returned to his body, the pulsation of the shard did not cease.

Now, the shard was absorbing the true blood in reverse. He tried to stop it, but the shard did not follow his will. A strand of crimson true blood, drawn in like a tentacle from the ribs, finally touched Ian’s torn left arm.

Swoosh—

As if it was a signal, the true blood began to pour into Ian’s body.

His mind became noisy in an instant. All kinds of emotions echoed chaotically, and his vision turned red. In the midst of it, a selection quest window popped up.

[Owner of the True Blood.]

Is this a quest exclusive to the corrupted one?

If he had no choice, it might have been different, but it wasn’t a matter to ponder over for long. Ian refused the quest.

Simultaneously, the shard of chaos began to absorb the true blood as if it had been waiting for this moment. His vision flipped completely, and all his senses disappeared immediately after.

No, but I refused it...?