A westerly wind carried the suffocating stench of blood and soot over a desolate road. There, James sat on the hard wooden seat of the small carriage he had commandeered.
The carriage moved slowly and unsteadily along the dirt path, littered with stones and rubble. His small hands gripped the reins tightly, trying his best to guide the two still-panicked horses forward.
Instinct, and Lime's residual memories of helping his father haul lumber, strangely guided him, allowing him to control the carriage, albeit clumsily.
For a moment, James's eyes looked back at the city of Alvia being consumed by flames behind him. His gaze held no sorrow or anger for the fate of a city he had only just come to know, but rather, a quiet emptiness.
The entire city was burning. Orange-red flames licked at the dim sky amidst a veil of smoke and gray shadows that covered everything. In James's mind, no images were superimposed; there was no past he was attached to, no familiar faces. There was only the harsh reality before him.
Crumbling buildings, mangled bodies, and the howling screams of demons that still echoed periodically from within the city.
He didn't know the names of the streets he had just driven through, nor whether the ruined buildings had once been elegant temples or bustling guild halls. And he had no desire to find out.
What struck him was not the city's destruction, but a concept that was forming silently in his mind. The idea that everything… could collapse so easily.
Human life is far too fragile…
It wasn't a complaint, nor a lament. It was a cold, simple conclusion, like a shard of glass reflecting reality without embellishment.
He tightened his grip on the reins. His hands were still cold from the recent terror, but they no longer trembled.
Within him, there was only a sense of urgency pushing him forward. It wasn't just the fear of dying, but a thirst for 'power' that was slowly beginning to form.
The realization that this world had no place for the weak. If he wanted to live, he had to become stronger. Strong enough to never have to flee for his life so pathetically again.
The carriage wheels crunched over cracked stones on the road, the sound piercing the silence. Ahead, a long road snaked its way into a dense forest, the horizon a blend of gray smoke and the dusky blue of twilight.
James didn't know what awaited him, but he knew for certain there was nothing left for him to turn back to. The city of Alvia had become a part of the past, along with Lime's body.
He headed west as intended, hoping this path would finally lead him out of the danger zone. After the carriage had traveled some distance from the city's ruins, the landscape began to change into a sparse forest, shrouded in an uncomfortable silence. James started to relax slightly. Perhaps luck was still on his side…
But then the first sound came!
It wasn't the roar of a demon or the scream of a victim, but the sound of heavy footsteps, rhythmic and steady… too heavy to be any normal creature of the forest.
Thump… Thump…
Without needing to look back, James knew instantly that the vibrations rising from beneath the carriage were not from his own horses, nor from the wheels on the dirt. They were emanating directly from the earth itself, as if the entire world was trembling to warn him to run!
"This is not good!" his instincts screamed violently.
James made a split-second decision. He snapped the reins hard, urging the horses into a full gallop, but it seemed he was too late!
A thunderous "BOOM!" erupted. The carriage was violently struck from the side, throwing it off balance. The force of the impact was so immense that the wooden frame of the carriage shattered into splinters. Debris from the cart and whatever goods it might have carried were sent flying through the air.
James's body was thrown from the driver's seat, tumbling uncontrollably across the hard ground.
The impact sent his forehead smashing against a rock, and thick, red blood began to seep from a cut near his eyebrow. Pain shot through his body. He coughed violently, tasting the metallic tang of blood in his throat. But before he could even try to push himself up, the terrifying, heavy footsteps drew closer.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
The dreadful footsteps grew nearer with each passing moment. James struggled to push himself up from the cold ground, the taste of blood in his throat making him nauseous.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to the fear that was now gnawing at his heart.
A towering, dark silhouette slowly strode through the cloud of dust still lingering from the carriage's destruction. This was no mere beast; it was the very definition of "malevolence given flesh."
Its body was nearly three meters tall, its skin coarse and dark like scorched rock. Every muscle on its body was twisted and bulging with hatred and fury. On its massive head were two sharp, curved horns, as if forged from the pain of everything it had ever destroyed.
Its large, crimson eyes stared intently at James. They were eyes that held no thought, no reason, only a clear "desire to crush" everything in their path.
The moment James met the demon's gaze, the Void-Born Apex Bloodline within him responded again. Information about its bloodline appeared clearly in his vision.
[Bloodline Detected]
Name: Minotaur Demon Bloodline
Sequence: Noble Bloodline – Corrupted Demon Blood
Awakening Level: 3 – Blood Coalescence
Strengths: Superhuman strength, Excellent resistance to physical damage
Weaknesses: Slow close-range reaction, Responsive to close-range blood-wave interference
Evolution Potential: Moderate
::
The information sent James's heart plummeting into a chasm of despair. "Noble Bloodline… Awakening Level 3!" It was incomparably stronger than the Shadow-Meld Demon from before!
James tried to stand again, but his body felt strangely heavy and trembled uncontrollably. He didn't know if it was from the immense pressure radiating from the Minotaur Demon or from his own injuries.
He knew there was no way to fight, no way to run, and no miracle that could save him now.
"Don't panic… just do what you can…" a voice in his head whispered, reminding him.
Right… even if I die, I'll die with dignity. Better than being torn apart by this demon without a fight!
Though he knew it was almost hopeless, his one goal now—"to survive"—pushed James to squeeze out every last bit of potential his body had.
He tried to roll towards the wreckage of the carriage, using what large pieces remained as temporary cover.
The Minotaur Demon let out a deafening roar. It strode forward, slow but deliberate, before stomping its massive foot down on the carriage wreckage with immense force!
CRUNCH!
Splintered wood flew everywhere. James managed to scramble away just in time, feeling the vibration through the ground. He grabbed a nearby rock of a suitable size and threw it with all his might at the demon's crimson eyes, but it had no effect whatsoever.
The demon merely shook its head in slight annoyance. Any physical effort on his part seemed utterly meaningless before a demon of this level.
The feeling of being at the "edge of death's abyss" grew closer with every second. His breath hitched, his heart pounded as if it would burst from his chest.
Cornered, with the Minotaur Demon about to close in, James made a last-second decision. He thought back to his encounter with the Shadow-Meld Demon, to the strange power that had weakened it for a moment.
He closed his eyes, held his breath, and focused all his concentration on the form of the Minotaur before him, the desire to stop it surging violently in his chest.
Unleash the resonance of the blood!
An invisible wave passed through his flesh and bone. A faint resonance, imbued with some unknown energy, radiated from James's body.
It wasn't a brilliant wave of energy, nor a mighty roar of power. It was a "whisper in the blood," something he felt deep within, like a single drop of ink falling onto a pure white cloth… silent, yet capable of slowly destroying its structure.
He felt a faint vibration in his own veins, like his heart was beating to an impossible rhythm. And then… something resonated back.
The Minotaur Demon, about to take a step, froze for a moment. It shook its head slowly, as if hearing a sound that wasn't there, or feeling something amiss within its own body.
The muscles in one of its thighs twitched slightly. The foot that was about to stomp down faltered for half a beat.
"It worked… even a little is better than nothing…" James thought, a sliver of hope igniting.
He kept his eyes shut tight, not daring to open them, knowing that if he met that ferocious gaze, all the courage he had mustered might evaporate in an instant.
He continued to send out the resonance, the "whisper," trying to maintain a distance of no more than ten meters—a limit he intuitively understood through his newly awakened senses.
The Minotaur Demon roared again, a low, long rumble like a collapsing mountain. It missed another step, its weight shifting incorrectly. Its massive body tilted slightly, its heavy shoulder slamming into a large tree by the roadside, snapping it in two!
But… it was only for a fleeting moment.
His power was still too weak, or perhaps it was due to the immense difference in their bloodline levels and power. The resonance he sent out could only disturb it for a brief time.
Now, the Minotaur Demon had stopped completely. It stared at James, who still had his eyes closed, with the same crimson gaze. But this time… its eyes no longer held just madness, but also an ultimate "annoyance"!
It lunged!
This time, its charge was faster, fiercer, and heavier than before, incomparably so!
James's eyes flew open in that instant, his instincts screaming of mortal danger. The sheer terror jolted every part of his body into full alert. He tried to get up, to dodge, to run, but his body was too slow… far too slow compared to the terrifying speed of the charging demon.
His heart pounded as if it would explode. The whole world seemed to narrow down to the image of him and the dark, hulking shadow of the Minotaur. Its sharp fangs and claws glinted in the light of the burning city far away. Its foul stench and hot breath were right at his nose.
Too late…! was the last thought that flashed through James's mind before everything blurred for a moment.
CRACK!!
Something slammed into the Minotaur Demon's body with tremendous force, creating a loud, sharp noise, followed by the demon's pained roar. Dust and smoke billowed everywhere. The impact was so heavy that the ground where James lay shook violently.
James, who had thought he would be crushed into paste, slowly regained his senses. He didn't feel the pain of being torn apart as he had expected.
As the dust began to settle, he saw that he was still lying in the same spot, not far from where the Minotaur had been. But shockingly, the demon's massive body had been thrown back several paces. From its chest… protruded a long, slender silver object!
It wasn't him who had been attacked, but someone… or something… had intervened at the last possible second!