"In the end, he's truly stepped onto the path of god-slaying…"
"What, you tempted to send your true form down and kill him yourself to vent your anger?"
"Unnecessary. I'm not childish to that extent."
"Then what was with your tone just now?"
"Fate was decided long ago. The moment he touched Absolute Evil, he became someone we must eliminate. If it weren't for you—this so-called 'system'—constantly interfering…"
"He's one of ours. Whatever this fate is, we'll take responsibility for him."
"Still, I'm surprised. According to the prophecy, if he chose this path he should've died here today. And yet the Divine Sword failed to kill him outright. Very well—consider the sword his gift, and today merely a trial. I hope he doesn't regret his choice later."
"Heh. Sounds like you're embarrassed and making excuses."
He shook his head slightly.
"Since the Luobishi acknowledged him even a little, I won't cling stubbornly to my old thoughts. Nevertheless, Laurent's existence is still evil in my eyes."
"Why else do you think he ended up on the Path of Evil?"
"Perhaps even he doesn't realize that the path we guided Jeanne onto was the correct one."
"Not necessarily. Who knows—maybe he'll forge his own path."
"Change fate, you say? Then I'll wait and see. Let's hope he doesn't end up blocking the Holy Maiden's way."
After all… if he'd listened to Jeanne from the start and walked the path of saving the nation with her, they would have succeeded. The two of them would've lived happily together in the end. Instead, for some reason, he clearly rejected that path.
He glanced at the vague entity beside him. Only it knew the reason.
If anyone else tried to save the nation in her place, it would surely fail. He knew that clearly. Even if he explained it to Laurent, the man probably wouldn't understand.
"Heh. I'd advise you to prepare. With Absolute Evil fully unleashed, he might even end up killing all of you."
The speaker frowned, displeased.
As the embodiment of justice, he held authority to judge all evil. But perhaps even these righteous beings hadn't noticed that their momentary fear let evil into their hearts.
The system smiled with malicious amusement.
You'd better be careful. One day he might find your sacred halls—and slaughter you all.
...
After cleaning the scene and reforming his clothes, Laurent finally had a moment to breathe.
That fight had pushed him to the brink of death.
Oddly, now that it was over, he felt strangely refreshed.
Speaking of the divine sword… is there a way to make it vanish? Carrying it in his left hand all the time felt inconvenient.
He glanced at his left hand and flicked the sword; it responded to his thoughts and dissolved into golden specks.
"Hmm?"
A little confused, Laurent imagined the sword reappearing, and golden radiance gathered as it reformed in his hand.
"Now that's convenient."
He had time to inspect his body properly.
He tested his right hand, commanding blood to shift and flow beneath his skin. There was no trace of discomfort where the left arm and leg joined his body.
In short, he had become a being that could consume anything. Whatever he devoured—regardless of nature—converted into energy, especially after eating those three angels. His body was a walking contradiction.
A being like him should fear and despise the power of light; instead, he found himself adapted to it. And why did it feel like his blood obeyed him as its absolute master?
Laurent muttered in confusion.
The blood in his body could now alter density, hardness, even physical state. It took any shape he imagined.
He unfolded demonic wings again, then mischievously turned them pure white.
No, no—this made him look too much like those damned birdmen.
He reverted them to their original demonic form.
There was no one around anyway; maybe he should just fly out. He didn't want to continue this tiresome adventure—especially with hunger gnawing at him.
Just then, sounds came from the bushes nearby.
"Did that bright light come from here?"
"Yeah, it should be close."
Rustle rustle.
A fully armed troop emerged before Laurent.
For a moment both sides locked eyes. Some soldiers gaped as if witnessing the impossible.
Laurent acted quickly, hastily retracting his wings—but it was too late.
Some soldiers hadn't processed it yet; others recoiled in terror.
He couldn't let them escape. If they spread word of him as a monster, trouble would follow.
Blood seeped from the ground and wove itself into countless crimson webs that encircled the soldiers.
They panicked and tried to flee, but escape wasn't that simple.
The blood-red spiderwebs solidified into an unbreakable cage, trapping them tight. Laurent approached at leisure.
Having just experimented briefly, he now understood how terrifyingly versatile his blood abilities were.
Not only could he devour targets, but he could control them without killing—dominate their bodies. Controlling minds wasn't certain yet, but with enough testing it seemed possible.
Blood separated from his body could operate independently. Lacking true intelligence, it nonetheless obeyed his orders.
Each drop of his blood contained extraordinary power. Except for the divine sword in his left hand, nothing in this world could kill him now—unless they eliminated every single drop of his blood at once.
Pain still existed. Laurent wasn't sure if he'd simply grown used to it or if his body had dulled sensation, but losing limbs no longer hurt nearly as much.
Probably just got used to it, he thought wryly.
It all defied his medical knowledge.
His internal organs no longer existed—or rather, if not for his medical know-how to form bones and organs from blood, his body would be pure, uncontaminated blood.
Now, looking at the soldiers, his vision briefly resembled infrared snake sight.
After a moment's thought about the makeup of human eyes, his sight returned to normal.
Honestly… he felt like an insatiable glutton—filled with the urge to devour everything he saw.