Afternoon in the mountain besides the city.
A group of 5 people
They walked down a narrow trail, the wind gently swaying the trees around them.
"Jezil, are you tired?" asked a fine-looking man in his twenties, his tone soft and full of concern.
"Mmm… let's rest for now," Jezil replied with a graceful smile, her voice composed like a noble lady's.
"Alright, you three heard her. Go gather materials for a shade," the man instructed casually.
"Okay~ we'll leave you two alone for now," one of the others replied, flashing a knowing grin as the group walked off.
Jezil chuckled. "Your friends are so considerate, dear."
"Of course," he replied with a proud smile. "We're a group of true gentlemen."
She leaned in slightly, her voice teasing. "...Then after this, be gentle with me, okay~?"
His expression shifted to a lewd grin. "Of course. I'll gently fill you up."
That earned a light laugh from Jezil.
—Meanwhile, a little ways off—
"Tsk, tsk… look at those two, all lovey-dovey. I'm starting to feel jealous."
"Right? I swear, I'm gonna get myself a girl after this."
"Heh… too bad there won't be an 'after this' for you."
A third, unfamiliar voice cut through the moment — sinister, smooth, and cold.
The group froze.
The laughter died instantly.
A chill swept through the pine trees like a passing ghost.
Haaah—
One of the three men exhaled sharply. In a flash, light surged across his palm, electricity crackling at his fingertips as he pointed behind him.
"Die, you freak!" he shouted with a grin, snapping his hand around.
SIZZLE!!
The bolt of lightning shot like a spear, hitting a tree dead-on — splitting it apart with a smoking hole.
But the target wasn't there.
In the next instant, a blur of movement appeared from the shadows. A hulking figure twisted mid-air, its skin warping into tight, blood-drenched muscle. A punch came flying.
Whoosh!!
The fist tore through the air — but just before it landed, a slab of stone rose up, summoned in defense.
BOOM!!
Rocks exploded outward. Dust clouded the clearing.
A figure backflipped away with practiced ease.
"Whew! Thought I was done for there..." one of the men chuckled, brushing dust from his shoulder. "But turns out it's just you, huh?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Carl. The bastard abandoned son."
"It seems like our warning from before wasn't enough"
"Hah! How dare you act tough without backing it up?" one of them taunted.
In the smoke the bloody figure breath out showing Carl's face.
"Still chasing after Jezil? Give it up. She's already engaged to our friend. So piss off."
The three looked at each other, grinning darkly.
"Well, since you're here, I guess we'll do Brother Paul a favor and wipe you out."
In the upper part slope of the mountain James,Aryana and elaris was watching the fight below. as for the second rank Knight Kael he was hiding somewhere saying that he will ambush Carl companion.
"Honestly, if you didn't know the backstory," James said, squinting down at the chaos, "you'd think they're the ones ambushing him."
"It's like watching a fight between villains," Elaris muttered, unimpressed.
Aryana sighed. "Carl hasn't even used his Veins of Origin yet. Boring."
Below, spells clashed — vines erupted, fire exploded, and stones shattered under pressure. Carl dashed through the chaos, summoning bloody tendrils that shot forward like spears.
But the three fought well. Dodging, shielding, even using Veins of Origin natural shield to tank direct hits.
"Why aren't Paul and Jezil reacting to this?! This much noise should have already alerted them!" the shortest of the three thought, eyes scanning the area.
Then it hit him.
"Wait... Unless—"
"There's a barrier."
His pupils shrank.
He turned to shout—
Too late.
Carl roared.
Blood surged from his mouth as he swallowed a glowing red crystal.
His body twisted.
He grew taller, leaner, muscles more defined and unnatural. His skin darkened to a crimson hue, glowing with veins like molten wires.
"Playtime's over."
His voice had changed—lower, inhuman, like something echoing from a dark pit.
In a flash, Carl's figure blurred, closing the distance between him and the trio.
A sword condensed in his hand—formed entirely from blood—and with a single motion, he slashed forward. The blade collided with the Veins of Origin barrier, shattering it. Then it plunged through the chest of the shortest guy, draining his blood in an instant—
Or so it seemed.
That was Carl's perspective.
To the others, Carl had simply transformed—and then violently slashed at a lifelike ice clone shaped like the guy he thought he'd pierced.
"Someone's helping us!"
"Hit him while he's distracted!!"
The shortest guy, fully conscious, retaliated first, unleashing a barrage of spells toward Carl.
Just a few meters away, James Lee watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. A chill crept up his spine.
Now he understood.
The unease he'd felt earlier when Aryana looked at him—that creeping sense of something off—this was it.
To manipulate someone's senses to this extent… to blur the line between illusion and reality using a doll of ice so lifelike it could fool even Carl…
It was terrifying.
He glanced beside him.
Aryana was smiling sweetly, as if nothing had happened.
Am I really unaffected?
Wait… we've only known each other for a day or two, right? So why the hell do I already feel this close to her…?
Damn. I want to go home. The outside world is full of monsters.
"What's wrong, James~?" Aryana cooed softly.
"…Nothing. I just… didn't think this would be so boring. I thought we'd be in a real fight."
"Of course it's boring—with someone as amazing as me here. Now you know who the real MVP is, edgy boy" elaris didn't forget to show off.
…
This girl seriously leaves me speechless…
Still, James lee kept his eyes on Carl.
Why isn't he using the Veins of Origin yet…?
.....
…Meanwhile, for Carl—
What's wrong...?
Why is this guy's still alive!?
His breath came out ragged. Not from exhaustion—but confusion. His body was responding. His blood surged. His Veins of Origin roared, burning through his arms like molten chains, demanding more blood, more destruction.
But something was off.
He stared at the figure in front of him—the one he thought he'd skewered. The blood slicked across his weapon felt real. The warmth, the resistance—all of it.
Yet now the enemy stood, alive and unscathed, blasting spells at him.
His mind flickered.
No. That was real. I hit him. I—
The crimson javelin in his hand wavered.
Something invisible pressed against the edge of his perception. Not pain. Not magic.
A presence.
It was like someone had slipped inside his skull when he wasn't looking—turning thoughts just enough that truth looked like illusion, and illusion felt like truth.
"Someone sneak attack me!??"
Something else is in here…
His eyes narrowed.
He's pretty sure he hit someone and the figure he'd struck lay in pieces, crumbling into ice dust.
Wait...ice dust?
How can a person be made of ice dust!!?
"...Tch."
Carl took a step back, boots crunching the cold floor. He scanned the battlefield. The others were too far to have interfered. The trio was regrouping for protection, the shortest one still mid-cast, fury blazing in his eyes.
And he is familiar with this trio they can't be said to be mediocre but they definitely don't have this kind of ability.
Then who…?
"SHOW YOURSELF!!"
His roar echoed across the mountain slope—but nothing responded. Only wind and spellfire and the mocking grin of the three enemies circling him.
"You're cracking, freak," one of them shouted.
"Maybe Brother Paul was right. Jezil needs protection from someone like you." Another one taunted while casting fire Magic.
Sizzle!
Boom!
Carl didn't even try to dodge. He tanked the spells with his body, leaving large, open wounds where even the bone was visible.
But the wounds closed up in seconds.
The shortest of the three noticed something.
"The red glow around his body… it's getting weaker every time he heals!"
"Haha! He can't heal forever! We've got this!"
Motivated, the trio increased their firepower. Flames scorched the ground. Blood hissed as it evaporated in the heat.
Carl ignored them completely.
His focus was locked on the one messing with him from the shadows.
If he couldn't break the illusion, he'd lose this fight.
He pressed two fingers to his temple, blood trailing down his wrist
"Force Sync: Break Layer."
A sudden pulse erupted from within him—a short, sharp snap of soundless pressure. It didn't affect the surroundings—but inside Carl's mind, the haze recoiled.
And something shivered.
Like an eye flinching at being seen.
There you are.
He didn't know what it was. A spell? A parasite? A hidden observer?
But now he had a direction.
Carl turned toward the far rocks, beyond the visible battlefield, where a slight distortion in the air twisted unnaturally—too consistent to be wind.
He smiled.
A slow, cruel smile.
"...Found you."
Carl stomped the ground with such force that it sank beneath him, cracks shooting out like spiderwebs. In a burst of speed faster than a cheetah, he dashed forward like a cannonball, weaving between falling ice and jagged rocks erupting from the earth.
As he neared, he threw his javelin—straight at the figure hiding behind a rock.
"Ahh!"
The scream echoed out, but Carl's expression darkened. He'd hit something, but the feeling in his chest hadn't changed. Something was still off. His gut told him the real enemy was still out there.
He stepped closer—and saw it.
The body he'd pierced was made entirely of ice.
"Damn it! Don't tell me I have to use that already?!"
This day was really not going his way. He thought the trio would be easy to wipe out. Who would've guessed they'd be this stubborn ? And now, some unknown meddler was interfering from the shadows—forcing Carl's Trump card.
He wanted to save his trump card. He wanted to use it to save Jezil from the filthy hands of that bastard she was engaged to.
But now…
He had no choice.
Carl's eyes narrowed. His fingers curled into fists.
"Mutated Veins of Origin… activate—Blood Carni—!?"
Suddenly, everything slowed.
His thoughts dragged like they were swimming through a mud. His blood... stopped. He tried to move—but couldn't. A strange warmth washed over him, soothing… like he was drifting off to sleep.
"Sleep...? No. I haven't saved her yet… I can't… Jezil—!"
With sheer will, Carl forced his eyes open. Blood leaked down his face, and then—his chest pulsed with a crimson glow.
"Open!"
From his skin, thin clouds of bloody mist poured out, swirling around his body.
His eyes sharpened.
In a flash, he sprinted—toward one direction, dead set on whoever was behind this.
"He found us" James Lee stood up and said "let me meet him"
"Let's go together" elaris said.
"Then I'll just stay here as a support"
"Good let's ambush him to that side"
....
Meanwhile,The trio witness all of this and realize the one who help them was in that direction.
"That guy helped us..."
"He's heading right for them!"
"We can't let him fight alone!"
They took off running, boots pounding the rocky ground.
Back with Carl—
Branches snapped beneath his feet as he tore through the forest, the red mist swirling behind him like a trail of blood. Steam rose from his skin — his body burning from within, a living furnace fueled by the cursed energy surging through him.
His Veins of Origin and mana had been forcibly assimilated by the incomplete blood-draining technique gifted — or cursed — upon him by the Blood Life Organization.
He could no longer use his original abilities.
In return, he had gained access to blood-based powers… like this.
But then—his thoughts began to slow again. That familiar fog crawled back into his mind.
This time, he was ready.
Carl forced the bloody gas to concentrate near his head. It dulled his sanity, made him more violent and reckless—but it worked. His reaction time snapped back to normal.
And just in time—
When he opened his eyes, what greeted him was a fist — shimmering with a translucent shockwave.
Boom!
The force shattered his breastplate, slamming into his chest and hurling him through the air like a ragdoll.
"Pff!" Carl coughed up blood mid-flight, the blow hammering his internal organs.
What kind of fist was that?
It bypassed my outer defenses… and struck straight through to my insides…
Whoosh!
A sharpened sword of ice materialized from behind—its edge piercing clean through his heart, impaling him mid-air.
"Gh—!!" Carl grunted, blood spilling from his mouth.
And yet—despite the gaping hole in his chest, despite the burning pain in his lungs and ribs—
Carl smiled.
A mocking, almost taunting curve of his lips, even with blood dripping down his chin.
"Is the corrupted mist good, dwarf?" he asked the masked short figure standing in front of him, voice raspy but steady.
The figure, James Lee, looked at his hand — faint red mist still clinging to his skin, its edges showing signs of corrosion.
"So… the red mist really has this effect," he muttered. "I thought it was just for show."
"Edgy boy, your hand okay?" Elaris's voice rang out from somewhere nearby. "Didn't I tell you? Don't go punching things barehanded. It's dumb and unsightly."
"It's fine don't Worry." James Lee shook his arm, flicking off the mist. With a subtle surge of mana, glowing particles shimmered from his skin, repelling the corrosive mist and slowly healing the damage.
"Worry?!" Elaris's voice rose sharply. "Do I look like I care!? You're completely insane!"
Carl listened to their exchange from where he hung in the air, skewered and bleeding, and couldn't help but feel humiliated.
What the hell is this…? This was supposed to be a serious fight. Gloomy. Desperate. But they're just chatting like I'm a warm-up…
He clenched his jaw.
Crack!
With a sharp burst of power, Carl's muscles tensed—so violently that the ice spike through his chest shattered into fragments.
He dropped mid-air, flipped, and landed hard on one knee.
Blood streamed down his chest.
His fingers curled—and with a snap, a blood spike formed in his hand. Without a word, he launched it at the figure in front of him.
Whizz!
The blood spike met a shield of origin energy midair—both canceling out in a violent flash of red.
But behind that distraction—Carl's real attack came.
A massive, crimson fist formed overhead, slamming down with the weight of rage and desperation, aiming to crush everything beneath it.
Boom!!
The ground cracked from the impact—but something was off.
Carl blinked.
His punch missed.
It was just a few inches off. Slower than it should have been.
His movements… were slipping.
A biting cold had crept into his bones.
(This is just a illusion his fist actually haven't gone down)
"James Lee!! What are you doing?!" Aryana's voice yelled out.
"Dodge, idiot!!" Elaris shouted.
But James Lee didn't move. Instead, he stepped forward—toward the descending fist. Calm. Focused.
He raised his small fist and punched upward.
Bang!!
A violent shockwave exploded outward.
James Lee gritted his teeth, his arm cracking, shoulder twisting unnaturally.
Goddamn… this guy hits like a boulder!
His body flew backward—but a giant leaf caught him before he crashed into the ground.
A soft voice greeted him.
"My friend, are you alright?"
James blinked, groaning as he looked up. One of the trio had caught him, while the other two were already rushing at Carl from both sides.
But Carl—
Carl wasn't in much better shape.
That last punch… it had cost him.
His insides felt shredded.
Veins burst.
His heart—
Broken.
"Pff!! Cough!"
He vomited a mouthful of blood. Enough to soak the ground. Enough to fill a tub.
Still, his body—monstrous and unnatural—refused to fall.
He pressed a palm to his chest. Locked his jaw.
Held himself upright through sheer force of will.
But inside, everything hurt.
Everything burned.
His vision dimmed, but he didn't stop.
He wouldn't.
Not yet.
"…Ha…" A weak, bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Hahaha… Jezil… I'm sorry."
He staggered to his feet, the blood still dripping from his mouth.
"I don't think… I can save you after all."
He smiled, but his eyes were hollow.
And I haven't even… seen you in person…
"…Fuck this pathetic life."
He lowered his head. Blood and tears mixed on his chin.
Then I'll burn it all down. If I'm going out… I'll take everything with me.
He took a breath.
His mana flared. Blood vessels lit up in his body like glowing roots. His veins of origin screamed.
He was ready to give up everything.
To destroy everything.
To become something worse.
Something unstoppable.
But just as he was about to unleash it—
Suddenly…
The entire world shifted.
The surrounding air turned blood-red.
Not stained.
Not tinged.
Transformed.
The flickering fire nearby was snuffed out in an instant — swallowed by an unseen force, as if the flames were simply erased from existence.
A crushing pressure exploded outward.
Every spell below third-tier shattered.
Runes dimmed and crumbled into dust mid-air, vanishing like dying embers in a storm.
Then—
A gaping, monstrous mouth opened in the sky above Carl.
It dripped with dark red mist. Its jagged edges twisted unnaturally, pulsing like a living wound in the sky.
Carl looked up.
Before he could even raise a hand—before his Veins of Origin could react—
The jaws slammed shut.
Swallowed him whole.
Gone.
Not even a scream.