Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

I was drenched in sweat, my feet were unsteady, and my breathing became erratic due to the heat.

Step by step, they were forced back by Rhodes' attacks.

Sparks flew from the swords, but Rhodes was already getting bored.

Rhodes could guess the purpose behind any of her actions perfectly.

Torture of the weak is not his habit, or rather—[he doesn't have the habit of wasting time with low-level NPCs].

Once he realized that Bellica was just a low-level NPC, his patience completely vanished.

One sword—

It was just an ordinary sword strike in the blink of an eye.

But after Bellica parried the sword, she could no longer hold onto the scythe, and it flew out of her hand—

Bellica's pupils went vacant; her mind went completely blank after losing her weapon.

"Do not……"

In a panic, she took one last step back and ended up pressed against the corner of the house.

"Do you have any last words? Or any information that would make you live? If you say it, I won't kill you."

Rhodes's questioning was just a formality, because he had no intention of letting the witch go, nor did he think she would give him any information.

"Do not……"

She slowly shook her head, but as madness and utter chaos filled her mind, the shaking became increasingly violent!

"No, no, no... Ahhh!!!"

Her pupils dilated in a ferocious manner, her fingers dug into her own skull, and then she began scratching frantically.

Blood splattered, and her own flesh and blood filled her fingernails.

Bloody, horrific, insane, that's all.

"Why, why did I lose to someone who didn't get promoted a second time? Why, why, why...!"

The ravings have already been uttered.

That's what a witch is like.

The moment they fall into the demonic seed, it signifies that their minds are no longer normal.

Whether it's lust, greed, murderous intent, jealousy, or arrogance, everyone has their own unique mental abnormalities.

If Cecilia's desire for him was lust, and her desire for others was greed, then the man before her was the most pathetic example of arrogance.

To put it bluntly, this terrifying power was something even the Fallen Demon himself couldn't bear, leading to his madness and eventual death at the hands of the gods. It was also the only power that could be obtained directly without divine approval.

Therefore, how could there be no cost?

Rod understood one fact.

"It seems there's no point in it." He calmly looked at Bellica, who refused to accept her defeat and impending death, and understood.

Rhodes' final sword strike fell—

Puff-!

Blood splattered onto the wall, and this time, it was the girl's head that fell to the ground.

Bellica's head rolled a few times on the ground, leaving a trail of crimson blood, before coming to rest at the edge of the corner.

At the same time, her body fell to the ground with a thud.

The battle ended, and the coldness in Rhodes' eyes returned to normal.

At the same time, reminders of his promotion began to echo in his mind.

[Hunting demonic creatures has boosted your energy and attributes. Your attribute values ​​have met the requirements, and your rank has been promoted to the second upgrade level.]

Rhodes focused intently, sensing the unusual movement in his body that indicated an impending breakthrough, and slightly lowered his gaze.

Great, after dragging things out for most of the day, we're finally about to break through.

At this moment, the power he had fused with after killing the demon seed was washing over his body, allowing him to truly achieve [Second Ascension].

Each "upgrade" is a process of surpassing physical limits, breaking through genetic capabilities, and reaching legendary status.

Therefore, when that feeling of breakthrough is in your body, it is like thousands of needles piercing through your muscles, causing them to tear and rebuild continuously.

Power flows continuously through the blood vessels of the body, penetrating the "smog" that permeates the body, and opening up the links of power.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have collapsed and gasped for breath from the burning sensation, but Rod only frowned and did not react much.

He even glanced at Lilith and gave her instructions:

"Miss Lilith, it seems I need to make a slight breakthrough. Could you please keep an eye on me for a while..."

Before the words were finished...

Swish-!

Rhodes' pupils contracted sharply, and before his body could react, he sensed something amiss beside him.

wrong.

There's a problem... Rhodes's demonic senses are issuing a terrifying warning!

When Rhodes caught a glimpse of the "witch" who should have been dead out of the corner of his eye, he realized something was wrong!

The corpse was writhing wildly, bursting open violently like a sac-like monster.

A gigantic monster crawled out from among the corpses.

The monster's body possessed a strange scythe and four ferocious, enormous, pitch-black pupils. Its physique was as robust as Xing Tian, ​​and at the same time, it suddenly roared!

"Roar—!" The roar was deafening, and the four eyes stared at Rhodes with an eerie ferocity like those of the Grim Reaper.

At this moment, the monster was only two meters away from Rhodes, meaning that Rhodes, who was feeling the burning sensation in his body, was unable to resist.

【Abyssal Troll】.

The most common type of monster on the battlefield.

The problem is that even the weakest Abyssal Troll has at least the ability to level up twice to the limit.

In terms of data, its attribute values ​​are three times that of Rhodes.

unwise.

Rhodes truly hadn't expected Bellica to resort to such a tactic...

The condition for [Abyssal Parasite] is that the host cannot survive for more than two days after being parasitized by the [Demon Seed].

In other words, Bellica actually came to kill him with the determination to die?

But if that's the case, how could her fear of death expose her weakness?

Rhodes sensed that something was definitely amiss, but none of that mattered anymore—

Because what he is facing now is an enemy that he cannot defeat before he has completed his ascension and breakthrough!

But Rhodes didn't stop. On the contrary, his expression turned fierce, and he drew the Dragon Sword!

It's natural that he won't stop, because he simply doesn't have a chance to hesitate.

Once the Abyss Troll was formed, it shattered the surrounding ground and shot out like a cannonball, its twisted scythe aimed straight for Rhodes' neck!

A terrifying figure suddenly loomed over Rhodes, its scythe slashing down!

Filled with a surge of fighting spirit, Rhode didn't care whether he could withstand the attack.

His brain was simply frantically analyzing the troll's weaknesses and how to block attacks.

His thoughts were confused, but as a seasoned veteran, he had plenty of ways to protect himself.

But at that moment, the girl standing in the distance made her move.

Chapter 13 The Calamity Spirit and Lilith, Who Wants Praise

Lilith would never allow such a despicable monster to attack her lover while he was undergoing a breakthrough.

At least, she kept an eye on Rhodes the whole time, because maybe she could take the opportunity to help Rhodes and make their relationship a little more harmonious.

Moreover, this was a habit she and Rhodes had developed after countless battles.

Finishing blows, eliminating threats, and remaining vigilant—her mission was to rid Rhodes of trouble caused by carelessness.

Therefore, she raised her hand the instant the abyss troll made its move—

The God of Starlight possesses three divine artifacts.

One of them is named "Starlink".

Composed of twelve Celestial Meteorites, they can form an array that surrounds the master as a barrier, or be controlled to become individual blades to attack enemies.

When this weapon is used by the [God of Starlight], these twelve [Meteorites] will tear through the sky like real meteorites. Each one that falls is enough to destroy a giant city and easily level hundreds of kilometers of land.

However, the controller must simultaneously divide their consciousness into twelve parts to use this weapon, making it impossible for ordinary people to use.

Clearly, the Star God is not an ordinary person.

At this moment, Lilith's hair was emitting a faint light, and the light blue of her pupils was also shimmering like flowing light;

Several star-like rings suddenly appeared behind her, their pale blue ripples spreading like water, and a faint glow appeared between her brows—

All power was mobilized, as noble and arrogant as a god, with eyes filled with judgment and divine disdain.

She blinked slightly, her eyes cold:

“Ignorance.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Starlink next to Lilith suddenly burst out, unleashing terrifying energy like twelve laser beams, heading straight for the monster!

Boom boom boom—!

In an instant, the Abyss Troll was completely enveloped by energy—

Like paper.

Under Lilith's absolute power and absolute attack, this so-called "terrifying" existence was nothing more than a piece of paper.