Everything would have been fine if not for another twist of fate.
My eyes caught the faint glow of embers scattered across the ruins—dark flas, stubborn and unyielding, still burning everywhere. The realization hit like a tidal wave: if my guess was right, only a re mont had passed in this world. Ti must have flowed differently in the trial area.
Nine days dead? What a joke.
He played again. Just like before. That damn Creator.
The thought burned brighter than the flas around . In the eyes of those who had survived the chaos, no ti had passed at all. To them, I had gone from being consud in a white cocoon to erging in this form, as if I had transford into sothing monstrous before their very eyes.
And their faces told everything.
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The few who had managed to escape the explosion now stared at from the shadows of the wreckage, their eyes wide, their mouths agape. So clutched weapons in trembling hands, though they clearly knew those would do them no good. Others simply stood frozen, their faces pale as the dawning horror set in.
What are they thinking? Am I even human to them anymore?
The weight of their stares was suffocating, but not unfamiliar. Shock, fear, and disbelief—all of it was etched into their gazes. I almost wanted to laugh. I couldn't tell if I felt like a god or a demon. Maybe both.
And in this mont, I didn't care.
"She's a demon! A real demon! Run for your lives! RUN!"
The terrified shout echoed across the ruins, breaking the silence like a cracking whip.
The crowd erupted into chaos. People fled in every direction, stumbling over debris in their panic, so barely able to stay upright. But even as they ran, their horrified gazes lingered on , their whispers and cries carrying to my ears.
"The Destroyer!"
"Demon Goddess!"
And then there was one that stuck out more than the others— "Blood Snow..."
I froze for a mont. Blood Snow? A fitting na, I suppose, for my new appearance. My snow-white hair and red eyes must have inspired it. It was oddly poetic, though I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be insulted.
Still, I let them run. I had killed enough.
And yet…
A strange, foreign sensation crept through my chest—a pulsing, gnawing urge I couldn't quite place. Why did I feel an impulse to devour them?
It clawed at the edges of my mind, growing stronger as I watched the terrified people disappear into the distance. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to remain still.
No. Not this. Not now.
Sothing was changing in , sothing darker, more insidious. My newfound power wasn't just strength—it was hunger. And I had no idea how long I could suppress it.
I summoned my wings, and as they spread wide, I couldn't help but stare in awe. They were just as the system had described—demonic in appearance, like a bat's wings, but cloaked in thick black flas that flickered and danced ominously.
Curiosity sparked an idea. I decided to test sothing. What if I combined my speed with the power of my new lightning elent?
Red lightning crackled along the edges of my wings, wrapping around them like a second skin. I let my power surge, my aura exploding outward, and in the next mont—holy shit...
I vanished from the ground, the world blurring around as I tore through the sky at a speed I'd never thought possible.
I stopped mid-air, grinning. What is my current ranking?!
Quickly, I opened my profile and checked:
[Current rank in the world: 134]
"Eh? Even at level 51, I'm still ranked so low?" My competitive spirit flared instantly, the thought both confusing and infuriating .
How is that even possible? I pondered, my brows furrowing. Are that many people traveling solo, rushing to reach the top before everyone else? How strong must the others be?
I couldn't help but wonder about the elusive number one. Who are they? What kind of power do they have?
Frustratingly, the system only showed my own rank, keeping everyone else's identity a mystery. Annoying. But the thought of chasing after the top excited in ways I couldn't describe.
I smirked, my wings flaring with both fire and lightning. If they're ahead of , it just ans they'll make a great challenge when I catch up.
With a single powerful flap of my demonic wings, I shot into the sky like a missile, reaching a height of over 400 ters in an instant. The sheer force left the air crackling with residual energy, and I couldn't suppress the grin spreading across my face.
"This is so freaking badass!" I muttered, my excitent bubbling over. The red lightning coursing through amplified my speed and power far beyond anything I'd experienced before. Was this... fate? Was everything that had happened to leading to this mont? To prepare for my rematch with Nam Ji-Ho?
I chuckled darkly to myself. "I'd love to see him now. Let's find out who holds the upper hand this ti."
My gaze drifted downward, surveying the desolation beneath . The once-vibrant ground was now scorched black, a testant to the destruction I had unleashed. The power I wielded now was frightening, even to myself. If I cast the sa skill again, I might leave an even larger crater, obliterating everything in sight.
Suddenly, an unwelco thought pierced my mind, and a storm of rage surged through , causing my aura to fluctuate uncontrollably. The flas around spiraled, flickering with intensity.
"North..." The word slipped from my lips like a curse. My ntor, Jeong Suhan, was to the north. The mory of him burned in my chest, igniting an uncontrollable fury.
He had been my guide, my shield—always hiding away from the world under the guise of "protection," telling it was for my own good. But why? Why had he betrayed ?
He was the world champion—soone who could have stood up for , spoken out when I was frad. Instead, he denied ever knowing , abandoning to the wolves.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as my aura pulsed wildly. The flas and lightning around burned hotter, brighter, as my rage built. He had to pay. He would pay.
Turning to face the north, I flapped my wings once more, letting their imnse power propel forward. The air howled in my ears as I shot through the sky, a blazing cot heading straight for my next target.
"Jeong Suhan... I'm coming for you."
The speed was intoxicating. The ground blurred beneath , shifting so quickly that I could barely register the changing landscape. Each flap of my wings carried around 500 ters, making my previous speed feel laughable in comparison. The thrill of such power coursed through , but the strain it placed on my body was undeniable.
Within hours, I had left the desolate ruins of the city far behind, and what greeted next was a sight to behold—a vast, endless ocean stretched out before . The crystalline trees, which had lined the horizon for as far as the eye could see, abruptly ended here. There was no discernible path forward, no islands or landmasses to skirt around.
He must have gone straight across, I thought, deciding to follow the sa path.
I shot forward with blinding speed, the salty wind stinging my face as I soared over the shimring waves. The ocean below glittered like a sea of stars, its depths a srizing black-blue that almost made forget how vast and dangerous it was. Yet, as I traveled, fatigue began to set in. Flying at such a breakneck pace was exhilarating but exhausting.
Hours passed, and the endless expanse of water began to weigh on . No land was in sight, only the monotonous rhythm of crashing waves and the occasional flash of lightning from the brewing storm above. The once-calm skies turned ominous, the winds growing harsher with each passing mont. The turbulence was fierce, pushing against with enough force to make even my powerful wings struggle.
Then, through the dense veil of rain and darkness, I saw it.
A shadow moved beneath the surface, massive and deliberate. At first, I thought it was so kind of sea serpent, a creature swimming just below the waves. But no...
It wasn't swimming—it was walking.
The realization sent a chill down my spine. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't bound by the ocean's depths. Each step it took rippled through the water as if it were wading across solid ground.
I squinted through the sheets of rain, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The creature's head briefly erged from the water, towering high above the surface before sinking back down again.
Wait... walking?
The sheer scale of it was incomprehensible. Its silhouette stretched far into the sky, an almost mythical being shrouded in mist and storm clouds. My breath hitched as I tried to gauge its size. This wasn't just a sea monster—this was sothing ancient, sothing powerful.
The thought sent a shiver through my entire body.
How tall is that creature?
The question clawed at my mind as I replayed the scene over and over. The storm had obscured its full form, but even through the chaos, I could make out the terrifying scale of it. Each ti it stepped, the waves parted as if the ocean itself bowed to its presence.
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