The Blood of the Demon God

The system message appeared the moment we cleared the fifty-third floor.

A low whistle escaped me.

The first-clear reward for the fifty-third floor was indeed an elixir, but I had expected something on the level of Shaolin’s Small Reversion Pill at best. Even that was an incredible treasure, yet it couldn’t compare to Empty Blue Stone Oil or a Dragon Heart.

A Dragon Heart dramatically increases maximum mana reserves while improving both reaction speed and efficiency of magical power. And Empty Blue Stone Oil? It is the ultimate elixir that ignores the elemental attributes of any internal energy cultivation method. Shaolin’s reversion pills work best for orthodox practitioners, and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng that Hong Yunsu once gifted me carried yin energy—if your method didn’t match, you’d suffer massive loss during absorption.

“Well...”

I was different from ordinary players. Thanks to the true power of the Yeouiju, I could convert mana into internal energy. Increasing my total dantian capacity was appealing, so Empty Blue Stone Oil wasn’t a bad choice. On the other hand, since I had synchronized the Primordial Dragon Heart with my body, a Dragon Heart would likely have excellent compatibility as well.

“Why are you laughing?”

“......”

My silence was all the confirmation she needed. Logically, choosing the Dragon Heart fragment made the most sense. Yet my intuition refused to leave the third option.

“No, it’s a little different.”

I rubbed my chin. “Do you know which constellation first planted the concept of evil into this world?”

“Angra Mainyu.”

The Zoroastrian principle of evil that stands in opposition to good. A powerful demon god whose name means ‘the opposing spirit.’

“Well, just because he established the concept of evil doesn’t mean he’s stronger than Baal.”

Angra Mainyu was a constellation close to the god-king rank, but strictly speaking he was classified as S-rank. He was the son of Ahura Mazda, the protagonist of Zoroastrian creation mythology, and the twin born when the creator separated the concepts of good and evil.

“I thought a goddess would have known.”

“Fair enough.”

“I think it might awaken the power of the Primordial Dragon.”

The Fury of the Demon Dragon. It was an ability I had obtained by devouring the holy relic of Balak, the Dragon of All, after winning my bet with Baal. A dragon that walks the path of evil. If the blood belonged to Angra Mainyu—the very constellation that created the concept of ‘evil’—it might stimulate Balak’s essence.

“It’s only a possibility.”

The Demon God’s Blood was considered the ultimate elixir in the evil category. My race was ancient dragonkin. Although the demon dragon’s essence served as a component for completing the Primordial Dragon, its proportion wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant.

“The odds of it being a waste are higher.”

A gamble where the chance of success wasn’t worth the stakes. I wavered over the choice.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s because I had calculations backing me up...”

She wasn’t wrong. I had no rebuttal.

“No.”

“It’s a path I’ve never walked before.”

Nyx’s calm yet weighty voice lingered in my ears. I was speechless.

She was right. I had grown complacent, thinking that becoming stronger faster than in my previous life was enough. My true enemies were the Old Gods—the former constellations who had once carved their names across countless stars. Once the Tower of Babel fully synchronized with this world, the chains binding them would shatter.

“Even if the future of destruction never arrives, I can’t simply let them pass.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, Goddess, I remembered my original resolve.”

I shook off all hesitation and selected the Demon God’s Blood.

Four Dragon Heart fragments. Five hundred milliliters of Empty Blue Stone Oil. And the Demon God’s Blood. These were the rewards we obtained after clearing the fifty-third floor.

“Eat whatever you want.”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Master, to perfectly absorb the energy of the Empty Blue Stone Oil, this disciple requires the guidance of a high-level expert.”

“Ask Senior about that part.”

The Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method was a demonic cultivation technique whose efficiency alone rivaled supreme peak-level martial arts. Its only minor flaw was that the internal energy it gathered was as violent as a waterfall.

“If your energy so much as wavers even slightly, it will tear every meridian in your body to shreds.”

“Hah, hahaha. That much is not enough to scare me.”

Yeah, right. The kid was clearly terrified. Despite his brave words, Ping Lei was slowly backing away from me.

“You can just eat the Dragon Heart fragments as they are.”

“Understood, Master!”

“By the way, what did you get, old man?”

“The Demon God’s Blood.”

“Whoa, sounds like you’ve caught a serious case of chuunibyou.”

“You’re the last person who should be saying that.”

“Ubbbbb!”

I stretched Enrique’s cheeks until he shrieked. After returning to my room, I took out the Demon God’s Blood I had stored in the Pocket of Desire.

The crimson liquid sloshed inside the flask. It was a powerful spiritual medium created by liquefying Angra Mainyu’s power.

“I could. That would probably grant me Angra Mainyu’s blessing as well.”

“I can’t handle it.”

Through repeated devouring, I had remodeled—no, practically reassembled—my body, breaking past the limits of the human race. In murim terms, I had undergone forced bone-and-marrow cleansing more than twice. Even so, the amount of ‘divinity’ I could contain was limited. That was also why I had only devoured Gaia’s essence right after regressing in Athens.

“There is some room if I modify my body again, but...”

“That’s right.”

The blade that would reach the Old Gods. I had taken the first step with Mistilteinn, but it wasn’t enough. Constellations existed on a plane even higher than the realm of transcendence.

“If Baal is generously handing them out, that’s one thing. But I have to be careful when taking blessings through devouring.”

The myth-grade essences I had devoured were three: Gaia, Zeus, and Nyx. Constellations that had reached the god-king rank or the domain of conceptual deities. Angra Mainyu was a notch below the three I just mentioned.

“Greed will only bring ruin.”

“I nearly exploded my body while eating constellation essences before.”

The memory of recklessly absorbing the essences of time-related constellations at the Twilight Altar flashed through my mind. At the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, with humanity’s final resistance force annihilated, there had been no other choice. If Hyperion had been a little more cautious, or had used a little less power, I would never have succeeded in regressing.

With a bitter smile, I downed the Demon God’s Blood.

I already knew that. I separated a portion of the ancient dragonkin power I had unified with my body. The holy relic of Balak, the Dragon of All. It was the demon dragon factor extracted from that sinister serpent statue. Normally, reversing an origin that had already merged was impossible. Could you separate orange juice back into oranges and water?

I couldn’t revert the factors of each dragon race that had been integrated into the origin known as the Primordial Dragon. However, as long as Devour existed under the Tower system, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

The power of the system that defies even logic. The Tower of Babel’s system could overwrite the very rules of the world. The reason I sought the realm of transcendence was to escape the system’s restraints, but—

“I’ll use it when I need to.”

My unique ability, Devour. Even essences fused through Synergy could be separated and used again according to my will. The same applied to abilities I had deactivated upon reaching transcendence.

The essence of Angra Mainyu—the constellation who first defined the concept of ‘sin’ in this world—seeped into the demon dragon factor. A wildly swelling power. The essence of Balak, which had been bound by the Primordial Dragon factor, began to rampage in an attempt to break free.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

I couldn’t allow it to run wild just because it drank a little demon god blood. No matter how powerful it had become, it was still an essence I had devoured. I used my willpower and the other dragon factors to suppress the demon dragon factor, then absorbed it with the Primordial Dragon origin at the same time.

A new power I had never obtained in my previous life was added. I thought I had completed the Primordial Dragon factor before my regression. No—that had merely been my mistake.

“To think a skill I didn’t know about would appear.”

“You’re right. If you have any more thoughts like that in the future, tell me anytime.”

Kkklk. I swallowed my laughter. An unexpected windfall I never obtained in my previous life. Dragon’s Wings. To test the true value of the skill, a spar was the best option, right?

When I went down to the first floor, several guild members were already training.

“Looks like Junior came to warm up as well.”

The man wearing loose training robes was Shin Junseok. He greeted me with a bright smile.

“Yes. I obtained a new skill and wanted to test it.”

“Perfect timing. I just finished a spar myself. How about a round with me?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Facing you is always welcome, Junior.”

Shin Junseok stepped forward confidently. I had been hoping for someone sturdy to test the new skill on. Aside from Jiyoung, it was a relief to have another solid opponent volunteer.

“Senior, this is my first time using it, so I might have trouble controlling the output. Please be careful.”

“Hah! Training should always be done as if it were real combat, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn’t it!”

White haze rose from both of Shin Junseok’s hands. Fist Gang. If he was coming at me seriously from the start, I didn’t need to hold back either.

The new possibility that appeared after absorbing the Demon God’s Blood. Crimson wings surged from my back.