Heavy silence descended between the red threads embroidering the void.
Feeling satisfied with the stillness he himself had created, Sanguine looked at the young man before him.
Had he said his name was Ashen?
Even with his entire body bound by red threads, he had not given up and was staring straight at him.
If he were freed from those threads, he would no doubt charge at him at once.
Though he knew that would be a foolish act, Sanguine liked that attitude of Ashen’s.
For that kind of will was precisely what a follower of the Blood Demon Temple needed most.
Wearing an easy expression, he slowly walked toward Ashen.
As he drew closer, he could clearly feel the power of the Saint’s relic.
‘It truly is different.’
Feeling that aura, Sanguine marveled inwardly.
In terms of the energy contained within it, he had expected the imitation they had made to be inferior in both quality and quantity.
But there was an even greater difference between the genuine article and the fake.
‘The potential it holds is different.’
The fake he possessed would, at best, end with changing its form.
‘But this, if necessary, adapts and evolves on its own.’
Wasn’t the thread he had bound him with now being absorbed, albeit slowly, as proof?
‘I shouldn’t drag this out.’
Having reached his judgment, Sanguine asked Ashen in a whisper.
“So, what will you do? Will you become a follower, or not? Answer quickly, if possible.”
“What if I don’t answer?”
“Then I will have no choice but to make you answer.”
Snap!
When Sanguine flicked his finger, countless red threads stretched out in every direction from his dagger.
Each thread was aimed at Ashen’s companions, who had collapsed and were incapable of fighting.
Rena and Brandon, who at least had not lost consciousness, were offering some resistance, but Cecilia and Theodora were swept up in the wave of threads without being able to do anything.
“Now then, from this moment on, every thirty seconds that pass without your answer, these threads will cut your companions. Of course, they won’t die in one strike, but I don’t know how many times your companions will endure.”
At Sanguine’s words, anger flashed through Ashen’s eyes for an instant, but soon he opened his mouth with a cold gaze.
“…Why go this far?”
“Do you mean harming your companions?”
“No. The reason you’re trying to make me a follower.”
“Hm? Did I not say it? Because you possess the Saint’s relic.”
“I already heard that. What I’m asking is why you’re trying to make me a follower instead of killing me. Weren’t you planning to kill me and retrieve the relic at first? I want to know why your attitude suddenly changed.”
“Hmm, well…”
What would be best to say?
Sanguine closed his eyes for a moment and sank into thought.
Indeed, bringing Ashen in as a follower was an inefficient act.
A follower was not made simply by having their name recorded in the Blood Demon Temple.
Only after remaking every part of his heart and mind to suit a believer could he truly be called a follower.
Turning someone as strong-willed as Ashen into that would be a distant prospect.
And yet, even knowing that it was foolish, Sanguine thought it was right.
“Possibility.”
“Possibility?”
“I sensed possibility in you.”
Slowly opening his eyes, Sanguine continued his answer.
“You are one who obtained the Saint’s relic that we could not obtain. On top of that, you even learned how to use the Saint’s relic on your own. I believe this is a revelation. A revelation bestowed upon us by the Saint.”
Opening his eyes wide, filled with a crimson radiance, Sanguine met Ashen’s gaze directly.
“That is why I wish to initiate you. Because I believe that is the path for the Blood Demon Temple, and the path to fulfilling the Saint’s will.”
“……”
“Now, Ashen. Answer me. Will you become a follower of the Blood Demon Temple?”
“You already know my answer, don’t you? I refuse.”
“You would make that choice even when it’s obvious you’ll lose your life?”
“Because dying would be better than being with people like you.”
“Hah.”
“And besides. Who said I was going to die?”
The moment Ashen said that, the sound of a single thread snapping rang out.
Ping!
All the threads were cut in an instant?
Impossible.
For the first time, Sanguine could not hide his bewilderment and hurriedly looked around.
He saw traces of the threads he had created having been intertwined with other threads at some point and cut apart.
And the place those threads were connected to was near Ashen’s heel.
‘While talking to me, he sent out his own threads at the same time and cut mine in a single strike?’
And this from someone who had only just realized how to make the relic into threads for the first time.
‘As expected, I cannot let this man go.’
No matter what happened, he had to make this man a member of the Blood Demon Temple.
The instant he thought that, Sanguine shot straight toward Ashen.
His target was the front.
It was an attack he had chosen after judging that Ashen, who cherished his companions, would never move from this spot.
But Ashen moved contrary to his expectations.
Bang!
With the sound of him kicking off the ground, Ashen’s form shot toward the path Sanguine had come from.
At yet another failed prediction, Sanguine’s expression hardened.
His movement was far too confident to be simply abandoning his companions and fleeing.
As if he knew Sanguine had no choice but to follow.
‘He’s trying to lure me away for the sake of his companions’ safety.’
Not a bad judgment.
After all, Sanguine had to prioritize Ashen, who possessed the Saint’s relic, over the defeated remnants here.
‘Even so, it is an excessively sloppy idea.’
Sanguine also had the option of not chasing Ashen directly and instead taking hostages here.
Unless he gave him a reason that forced him to chase even while giving up the hostages, what exactly did he intend to use as a hostage?
‘If he intends to take a follower hostage, that is a foolish choice.’
The other followers of the Blood Demon Temple were beings prepared to offer their lives at any time.
Even if they were martyred, nothing would change for Sanguine.
However, the moment he saw the direction Ashen was heading, his expression stiffened.
If he moved at that angle, what he would reach was—
‘The relic!’
Did he intend to take the relic, not a follower, hostage?
The instant Sanguine realized that, he reflexively stretched out numerous threads to seize Ashen.
The threads crossed the air and extended toward Ashen.
Without even looking at them, Ashen unleashed tentacles from his back.
Clang!
Watching all the threads being cut away by the blade-like tentacles, Sanguine clicked his tongue.
‘Does that mean an attack he has seen once will no longer work?’
If so, there was a high probability that all techniques using threads to restrain him would be ineffective.
‘It cannot be helped.’
Leaving Ashen’s companions collapsed on the floor, Sanguine immediately followed after Ashen.
Feeling that his choice had not been wrong.
**
‘It worked.’
Feeling Sanguine’s presence following behind me, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Undoing the restraints while distracting Sanguine with conversation had honestly been close to a gamble.
If I failed to draw Sanguine’s attention even for a moment, I would have been found out, and to begin with, it was my first time making tentacles into something like threads.
But it was also true that there was no other method left.
‘The first gamble succeeded.’
Now it was time for the second.
I kicked off the ground with all my strength and looked at the red seal and the cultists ahead.
Perhaps they had never imagined I would break through Sanguine and come here, because all of them looked flustered.
No, beyond simply flustered.
‘They don’t seem like combat personnel.’
They were trying to protect themselves with ceremonial daggers without even holding proper weapons.
‘Was Sanguine alone in charge of their armed force?’
Considering his overwhelming strength, it wasn’t a bad choice, but in a situation like this, it was truly the worst choice.
I plunged between the flustered cultists and immediately approached the seal.
I didn’t know what was inside that seal, but judging by how all of them had been trying to undo it somehow, it had to be important.
Of course, if it had been sealed in some other way, there would have been nothing I could do either.
But the Red Blood within my body trembled and told me.
That it was something it could devour.
And so I reached my hand toward the seal.
Crack—
With the sound of bone and flesh being forcibly crumpled, the seal was sucked into my right hand, and soon the object inside revealed itself.
‘This is…’
A gauntlet?
Judging by the material and style, it seemed to be part of a set with the armor of the Scarlet Blood Scripture.
‘Was the gauntlet of the Scarlet Blood Scripture their goal?’
Thinking that, I was about to grab the gauntlet in my hand.
“I’ve finally caught you.”
Sanguine, who had approached at some point, came at me as if pouncing.
At the same time, a crimson blade swung toward me.
I rolled my body to avoid it and hurriedly seized the gauntlet with my right hand.
I didn’t know what kind of power this object possessed, but if I could somehow get my hands on it, I would be able to negotiate with Sanguine.
However, the moment the gauntlet touched my hand, I felt that something had gone wrong.
Thump.
Along with the sound of my heart pounding, the gauntlet melted into the Red Blood and was absorbed into my body.
At the same time, what I felt was pain twisting the bones throughout my entire body.
Crunch. Crunch.
In the process of my whole skeleton being reassembled anew, I had no choice but to stop in place, even forgetting that Sanguine was pursuing me.
“What is this?!”
Sanguine, too, seemed shocked by the sudden situation, and his movements slowed for an instant.
That brief opening completed the evolution.
Thud.
Feeling both of my hands, which seemed to resemble those of a dragon, I swung my fist at Sanguine.
He saw it and tried to dodge, but at that moment, my vision changed.
The world gradually slowed, and within it, Sanguine and I moved.
‘Is this an acceleration ability?’
No, it wasn’t simply an ability like that.
Even if I had gained the same ability, it should have been impossible to use it on equal footing with Sanguine.
And yet, right now, I was moving at the same speed as him.
As if I had grown accustomed to his movements.
‘Is this adaptive evolution?’
I had obtained an absurd power.
While I smiled at that, my fist was already closing in on Sanguine.
Though Sanguine was flustered, he immediately swung his dagger to defend against it.
No, he tried to defend.
If only his dagger had not been absorbed the moment it touched my fist.
A moment later, time returned to its original speed.
And my fist was striking Sanguine’s torso.
Boom!
A tremendous roar shook the dungeon.
Even after being hit by the massive fist, Sanguine did not seem to have suffered a serious wound, but he could not help being blown away by the impact.
“What in the world did you do?”
Sanguine shouted at me as he raised his body after being sent flying and crashing into the wall.
“Evolution.”
I answered in a calm voice.
“I see…”
After hearing my answer, Sanguine remained silent for a moment and quietly looked down at his own hand.
Through the torn hood, I could faintly see that he had a smile on his lips.
What was he so happy about after losing his weapon?
Keeping that question in mind, I still kept my eyes on him and shouted loudly to my companions.
“Is everyone all right?”
“We’re all right!”
Thankfully, Senior Rena’s answer came right away.
When I briefly shifted my gaze, I saw Senior Rena supporting an exhausted Theodora.
Brandon and Cecilia were also fine, and looking closely, most of their injuries had disappeared.
“As soon as you disappeared with Sanguine, Theodora healed everyone. We’re not completely recovered, but everyone’s fine to this extent. Though fighting would be difficult.”
“I see. That’s a relief.”
Now all that remained was to somehow escape from Sanguine and the cultists?
I immediately turned my gaze back to Sanguine.
“Splendid.”
Sanguine suddenly raised his head and spoke to me.
“As expected, there was a reason the Saint chose you. You are perfectly drawing out the power held by the relic.”
“I can’t say I feel particularly pleased being praised by you.”
“No, this is not praise. It is confirmation.”
Through the torn hood, I could see the corners of his mouth split open almost to his ears.
“You are the hope of our Blood Demon Temple. Therefore, no matter what happens, I will make you our follower.”
The moment he finished speaking, an intense aura erupted from Sanguine’s entire body.
A force incomparable to what I had felt from him until just now.
‘Is he planning to go all out?’
How long could I endure?
Just as I thought that and took my stance again—
Red blood began to surge up from within the seal where the gauntlet had been.