Laurent felt as if he had sunk into the deepest ocean.
Here, there was no gravity, no breath, no life.
He simply drifted, wavering helplessly as his consciousness slowly dimmed.
He wanted to reach out and grab the faint light above—but realized he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.
He glanced around, seeing only darkness.
No... Jeanne. Jeanne d'Arc.
As that name flashed through his mind, a single ring floated into his vision, and suddenly, strength burst forth from deep within him.
"I still haven't married the Holy Maiden yet, dammit!"
As if exhausting every last ounce of energy, sensation abruptly returned to his body. Facing the blood sea's relentless attempts to devour him, his eyes turned bloodshot, crimson veins covering them, even his ruined arm desperately reaching out for the ring.
"This kind of meaningless trial, purely of pain, is utterly worthless!"
His body convulsed violently, yet Laurent showed no sign of surrender.
Try harder, harder, harder!
Pain is just nerves sending signals, after all—it's merely a sensation! I won't die. As long as I remember this, I'll make it through!
These bloody trials, they're just a challenge! All I need to do is overcome it!
Jeanne—she's number one in the world!
"Aaaaaaah! I can't lose, I absolutely can't lose!!"
Drop.
As the last drop of blood from heaven and earth entered his body, all returned to silence. The sea of blood vanished without a trace.
Laurent slowly fell from the sky.
All his clothes had disappeared, yet at this final moment, he felt only an incredible lightness—the pain suddenly gone.
Did I succeed...?
He didn't know, but at least he could finally sleep.
He closed his eyes, not noticing the faint red veins now etched onto his skin. Even his lost right hand had instantly regrown, restored to perfection.
From several hundred meters high, Laurent fell straight toward the ground.
BOOM!
The earth trembled.
Though the fall should've turned him into bloody pulp, Laurent lay unharmed on the ground, motionless.
His impact created a huge crater, startling countless birds from the surrounding trees.
Some curious animals approached cautiously, but in the next instant, blood oozed from Laurent's body and devoured them whole, as if alive.
If Laurent had been awake, he'd probably have laughed at how similar this was to that movie he'd seen once—Venom.
Unfortunately, he hadn't slept long when a golden radiance suddenly lit the sky.
In that instant, heaven and earth turned gold.
Three archangels appeared above the forest, their gazes fixed firmly upon Laurent.
"Absolute Evil... A human actually released such a thing."
"We must eliminate him."
Their leader, Michael, looked coldly upon Laurent's fallen form and declared:
"Human Laurent. Because you have unleashed Absolute Evil—a being which should never be released—here we will bestow Heaven's punishment upon you. Prepare yourself for liberation."
As he spoke, Michael raised a golden spear and aimed it directly at Laurent.
Yet, when his gaze fell again upon the ground, there was no one there.
Michael froze, briefly confused. Then, a voice whispered suddenly into his ear.
"So, I finally get to see you bastards face-to-face."
By the time Michael turned around, Laurent had already awakened at some point, appearing instantly beside him.
His right hand clenched into a fist, aiming straight at Michael's face. Unfortunately, the two angels flanking Michael reacted instantly, knocking Laurent violently down.
BOOM!
Another tremendous crash, as Laurent plummeted from the sky, leaving a crater dozens of meters long on impact.
Slowly lifting his gaze to the three glowing, bird-winged figures in the sky, Laurent smiled mockingly, his expression carefree and wild.
"So, these are the angels Jeanne talked about? You really do make people long for the divine, huh?"
He walked forward casually, spreading his arms wide. Blood swiftly enveloped him, receding just as quickly, leaving him dressed once again.
"Absolute Evil? No wonder—even though I was exhausted and just wanted a nap, the moment you guys showed up, my entire body started itching to kill. Makes sense, since according to legends, Michael is the archangel representing absolute righteousness. Any existence of evil—regardless of actions—must be exterminated."
Laurent flexed his newly restored right hand, thoughtfully examining his own body.
"So you're saying that what's running through my veins now is Absolute Evil itself?"
He finally understood clearly why the system had called this route the Path of Evil.
But for some reason, no matter how he called out, the system no longer responded to him.
And these blood trials... hadn't been trials at all. Rather, Laurent had already fully merged with this blood.
Clenching his fists tightly, he felt an unprecedented surge of power course through him. Laurent now had no doubt that he could easily destroy a mountain with a single strike.
With this kind of strength, it was more than enough.
Moreover, this sensation of infinite, inexhaustible energy could only be described with one word—awesome!
He rotated his neck lazily, looking again at his fully regenerated right hand.
Does this mean I'm immortal now?
Even stranger, upon seeing these angels, Laurent felt an instinctive disgust, even a strong urge to slaughter them on the spot.
Perhaps his new existence simply made him a natural predator to their kind.
"Human, if you cease resisting now, we shall liberate you in the easiest manner possible."
The three angels still stared emotionlessly at him. Laurent paid them no heed, instead asking:
"I just have one question: Were those revelations Jeanne received your doing?"
Michael's expression changed subtly.
"Laurent, you still have a chance to turn back. Jeanne must fulfill her mission; that's her purpose, the sacred duty for which she was born. All of this was predestined long ago."
"Then I really must apologize. I'm an atheist—I don't believe in your predestined bullshit. If anything—"
At this moment, Laurent smiled fiercely, slamming his foot into the ground. The earth instantly cracked beneath him.
"I prefer moving forward one step at a time by my own strength. The present—that's what I truly want, not some fake future you've set up."
Michael delivered his final warning:
"We'll give you one last chance. Persisting in your stubbornness will only result in Heaven's punishment."
"Heaven's punishment? Ha! You seriously think you're worthy? You feathered bastards think you're qualified to punish me?"
He sneered savagely at the three angels above.
"From the moment you uttered that bullshit prophecy, I lost every shred of trust in you angels, gods—whatever the hell you are!"