Duck

Jason ducked under a swing, before bursting forward and slicing his claws towards a humanoid devil in front of him. He recognized it, it was one of the intelligent devils he noted earlier.

Feint, and strike

He feinted a hit to the left, and the devil raised two of its four arms to block, and Jason immediately switched to the right. His eyes glowed red, the rage and heat of the battle had already taken his mind.

His dug his claws into its ribcage, but it grabbed his wrist and broke it. Jason screamed at it, pure, bitter, burning hatred welling up from deep inside him, from the darkest recesses of his mind, twisting his face to a hideous mask.

He punched its face with his left hand, his claws scratching grooves in its skull once, twice, thrice, as his snarls accentuated each punch.

The devil stumbled, and backhanded him with a clawed fist, drawing lines of spilling mist in his face, as it glared at him.

‘Those fucking eyes again! Like those damned people, always LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! YOU WANT TO LOOK AT ME WITH THOSE RESENTFUL EYES? I’LL RIP THEM OUT!!!’

At this point, all rationality had left him, and he leapt at it, screeching hatefully as he clawed at its face, scrabbling all over it, spitting in its face, doing everything he could to kill it in the most painful way he could imagine.

The blood, knee-high by now, had stripped away all semblance of humanity in Jason, tearing away the façade of a cool, calm gentleman Jason had cultivated for years, showing who he truly was. A spiteful, immature child; a psychopath, driven by hate and resentment from a society who could not understand him.

Of course, he wasn’t truly an immature child, but the blood he was wading in had awakened these hidden, primal emotions in him. Thankfully, it was not for nothing.

[ a being. +5 Essence of Sin.

a being. +5 Essence of Sin.

. . .

a being. +5 Essence of Sin.]

[Soul Power +1

Soul Power +1

Soul Power +2

. . .

Soul Power +3]

At this point, Jason had truly been driven to the edge. He stood in the waist-high blood, panting as mist like liquid darkness poured from a dozen cuts and gashes into the blood, mixing with it. One arm was missing, and two of his eyes could no longer see.

He barely managed to stand, shifting his weight on the one remaining leg he could use. That intelligent devil was far stronger than the others, taking his right arm as he killed it.

He had already bought and used the rewards from the system multiple times, increasing his soul power to 199, but it stopped there, no longer increasing it and only healing him. It was a great waste and his heart ached, but he could not afford to not do it, as he would have died long ago without it.

[Name: Jason Mendalez

Bloodline: Drenam Shapeshifter Devil

Rank: Esquire

Abilities:

Form Claws: Grade 5 Shapeshift: Grade 5 Induce Fear: Grade 4 Form Blades: Grade 4 Heavy Strike: Grade 4

Skills:

Focus: Grade 4 Dissection: Grade 3

Soul Power: 199

Essence of Sin: 565]

He stood there as he healed his wounds, the way he discovered how as he fought in a trance. He used , his flesh slowly growing and closing the deep gashes all over his body.

Looking over his status, he saw that his skills and abilities had grown, and he had learned how to utilize them efficiently over the threat of death. Strangely enough, his soul power would not go over 199.

Suddenly, the voice of the winged devil presiding over them rang out.

“Congratulations, weaklings. You have survived, and proven yourselves to be slightly less pathetic than cannon fodder.

In the name of Duke Barbatos, Head of the Dark Hunt, I hereby declare that the Trial of Blood is over, and you shall all be Knights.”

The moment he mentioned the name of Duke Barbatos, Jason felt a strange, ancient power resonate throughout the cavern in the pillar, settling in the blood as it surged. His eyes widened. If Jason and the other devils were like tiny motes of light, and the winged devil was a beacon, a pyre of light, then when that name was mentioned, Jason briefly felt a massive power, like a shining pillar of light. Even then, he felt it was only a fraction of this Duke Barbatos’ power.

The blood churned and swirled, gathering around him and wrapping him up in it. It then started to seep into his body and poured into his mouth, and Jason panicked for a moment, but then relaxed and let it go in.

Instantly, he felt the blood dissolve into pure power, hammering against some sort of invisible unseen barrier in his body. The power slowly condensed, becoming more tangible, before finally breaking through in a burst of momentum.

[Evolution detected. Evolution interface granted by Mark of Sin.]

[ identified. Soul Records compiled. Bloodlines detected:

Drenam Shapeshifter Devil Pale Horror Devil Berserker Centaur Devil Arachnid Horror Devil Darkmyst Shapeshifter Devil Corrosive Slime Devil

. . .

Abyssal Shapeshifter Devil

Options: or ]

He instinctively knew that upgrading his current bloodline would result in it ranking up by one, and he could choose either one or two other bloodlines to merge. But even with all the bloodlines available to him from slaughtering all kinds of devils, the first step was clear. To merge with the Abyssal Shapeshifter Bloodline.

But the next step was harder. Should he just merge with that one bloodline, or merge with yet another? ‘Damn, if only I saved a thousand points for that bloodline analyzer,’ Jason grumbled, but he still would have spent those points to save his life, had he a choice to do it again.

‘Well, since I have the chance to integrate another bloodline, might as well. Now, I should probably choose the one where the devil with that bloodline was the most dangerous. . .’

Jason thought back to his past fights for a moment, then resolutely made his choice.

[Option selected. Merging , and bloodlines.

bloodline formed. ]

[As a devil Knight, the Devil True Name is granted. True Name: Saevus … … …

The True Name Saevus grants the ability ]

[Stat feature implemented

[Name: Jason Mendalez

Bloodline: Abyssal Horror Devil

Rank: Knight

Abilities:

Killing Spree: Grade Special NEW! Shapeshift: Grade 6 NEW! Induce Fear: Grade 6 NEW! Form Claws: Grade 5 Form Blades: Grade 4 Heavy Strike: Grade 4

Skills:

Terrify: Grade 5 NEW! Focus: Grade 4 Dissection: Grade 3

Stats:

Strength: 22

Resilience: 20

Agility: 37

Intellect: 43

Willpower: 38

Perception: 38

Soul Power: 200

Essence of Sin: 565]