"Why are you in such a rush?" Lucy huffed, folding her arms mid-air. "I wasn't done explaining before you interrupted me."
Johan paused, eyeing her with slight impatience.
Lucy continued, exasperated. "Overlord Maximus, as we refer to him, vanished after his reign of terror. Some say the Principles of Time and Space sealed him away. Others believe he chose isolation. And there are rumors—the darkest of them all—that the Principle of Darkness helped him. But no one knows the truth."
She lowered her voice.
"After his disappearance, people began being born with fragments of his essence—Overload Essence. It fused with their bloodlines. Most didn't survive the mutation, but the ones who did... became monsters in human skin."
Johan raised an eyebrow. "Claire… has that essence?"
"Yes," Lucy nodded. "Hers is abundant, but her body can't control it. That's why people die when she touches them. That's just her passive effect. If she ever learns to control it… she could be far more dangerous than you think. But because she can't, it also stunts her cultivation."
Johan frowned. "So now I can't touch her, I can't kill her. What do you want me to do? Let her go?"
Lucy's eyes gleamed with hesitation—then, a dangerous idea sparked.
"Actually… your Hell Flames can absorb Overload Essence. It's a theory I wasn't sure of, but it might just work. And," she added cautiously, "after your second evolution, your demonic essence gained a new trait—Demonization. You can convert others into demonic beings. If it works… she becomes your servant. Bound by blood and flame."
A slow, wicked smile crept across Johan's face.
He stepped forward, his hand engulfed in black and red flames. He crouched next to Claire's unconscious body and placed his hand on her chest.
"Let's test this."
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lucy screamed. "You're going to get yourself killed! That's too much Overload Essence for—"
"Just watch," Johan replied coldly.
The flames flickered unnaturally as Johan began absorbing her energy—one thread at a time. The overload essence slithered into his body like poison laced with lightning.
Then—
[System Notification]
[Overload Essence detected in host body.]
[Conditions met.]
[Do you wish to integrate Overload Essence into your bloodline?]
[Yes] | [No]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The pain came instantly.
Johan collapsed, teeth clenched, body convulsing. He thrashed, suppressing every scream with pure force of will. His skin cracked. His blood boiled. But still—he endured.
Then, just when the agony reached its peak—
[Integration Complete]
[New Bloodline Acquired: Overload Bloodline]
[Bloodline Ability: Soul Absorber]
[Ability Description: Upon the death of any being within a certain range, absorb their soul and extract one random ability.]
Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's… that's too overpowered! Are you serious? You just got that from Claire?!"
"Guess my gamble paid off," Johan replied with a smirk, wiping blood from his lips.
He turned and looked at Claire's unconscious body.
"No," Lucy said firmly, seeing the gleam in his eye. "Don't even think about testing it on her."
Johan shrugged. "I wasn't. Not yet."
He moved closer and raised his hand again, chaining her arms to a nearby iron post. A trickle of flame danced along his fingertips. Claire stirred, moaning weakly. Then her eyes shot open.
"Please… please don't hurt me!" she sobbed. "I can give you money—resources—anything. Just don't kill me. I'll… I'll even be your slave!"
Johan tilted his head.
"Oh?" he chuckled. "Did you just say 'slave'? That's rather generous of you."
She stared at him, terrified.
"But before I accept such a generous offer," he added darkly, "you'll need to survive a little experiment. I've been meaning to test something."
Claire trembled. "N-no, please… I don't need the essence. I'm fine. Really."
He ignored her.
"I absorbed your essence," he said. "Now I'm curious what will happen… if I give you mine."
"You're joking," Claire whispered in disbelief.
But Johan wasn't joking.
His hand lit up again—black fire swirling around it like a miniature inferno. Claire struggled, but the chains held firm.
"I'm really, really sorry," he said mockingly.
"But I'm a demon, not a human being." He thought
And with that, he reached forward once more.
He approached her and, through his hell flame-covered hands, transferred a portion of his demonic essence into her body.
The next second, Claire felt something far more deadly and agonizing than the hell flames she had endured earlier. Just like Johan, her body began to transform in excruciating ways—her skin tore from her flesh and reformed; her tendons and muscles were repeatedly destroyed and regenerated, leaving her limp and writhing.
She screamed, cried, and begged him to stop. She twisted and thrashed against the chains, to the point her wrists and ankles started to tear. Meanwhile, Johan sat calmly in a chair, listening to her screams as if they were a symphony of satisfaction.
After several painful seconds, she went completely silent—no movement, no sound, her face pale. Then, without warning, she let out a bone-chilling scream so loud that Johan had to cover his ears.
She went berserk, like a beast on a rampage. The transformation hadn't ended. Her hair fell out in clumps, as though she had a terminal illness. Her bones broke and reformed, becoming sturdier with each pass. New hair sprouted—crimson red and wild.
Finally, her body collapsed, unconscious. The transformation had made her ethereally beautiful—even Johan paused and stared at her in awe for a few seconds.
"I guess it's weird, but I was expecting a—"
He didn't finish his sentence. A screen appeared before his eyes.
[Transformation Complete]
[Claire has obtained the Demonic Bloodline.]
[Bloodline Ability:Abridged Telekinesis]
Allows user to move objects or entities with the mind. Strength depends on soul power.]
Another notification followed: