Under Daniel's relentless barrage of lethal strikes, Deacon Frost was in sheer agony.
He struggled desperately to resist, but Daniel's strength was overwhelming—so overwhelming that even with the Blood God's power, he was completely suppressed.
Was this man really human?
Frost roared inwardly, but the pain and the absolute difference in brute force left him helpless.
Although the Blood God's power granted him an absurd level of regeneration, the boost to his physical durability was minimal—at best slightly stronger than Blade.
Against a pure "stat monster" like Daniel, Frost had no advantage at all.
Worse, he could clearly feel that as his body repeatedly healed the massive injuries, the Blood God's power inside him was rapidly being consumed.
At this rate, it would be exhausted.
"I have to escape!"
Panic surged in Frost's heart.
"As long as I get out and drain enough fresh blood, my Blood God power will recover and become even stronger! Then I'll come back and crush this damned human!"
One property of the Blood God's power:
the more blood consumed, the stronger the user becomes.
That was why Frost drained his vampire underlings at the start.
It wasn't that he liked drinking that dirty stuff.
A ruthless glint flashed in Frost's eyes.
Crack!
Enduring the tearing pain in his groin, he suddenly exerted force and twisted his own neck, snapping it cleanly.
The momentary gap created by the self-inflicted injury let him break free of Daniel's grip. Without even waiting for his neck to realign, he turned, head dangling at an unnatural angle, and sprinted for the exit with every ounce of speed he had!
The sight was twisted and grotesque.
"Don't even think about running!"
Blade had been waiting for an opening. He charged from the flank, his silver longsword slashing down at Frost.
But Frost saw only the exit.
He didn't dodge. He let the silver blade carve deep, bone-revealing wounds across his body. His speed didn't so much as falter. Pushing off the ground with explosive force, he shot upward like a cannonball, aiming straight for the high platform that led to the exit.
Seeing freedom so close, Frost's lopsided head twisted into a savage grin.
"You think you can kill me? Dream on!!"
Swoosh—!
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
A rocket, trailing bright orange flames, struck Frost squarely in midair—where he had no room to maneuver.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion blossomed midair.
Frost's charred body crashed heavily to the ground.
Before his wounds could regenerate, Daniel approached, holding a strange scroll.
The scroll was covered in dense, twisted characters, encircling a large "Seal" glyph at the center.
"Release seal."
As Daniel spoke, the "Seal" glyph ignited.
A mass of black flames erupted from the scroll, surging over Frost and engulfing him instantly.
"Aaaahhhhhh—!!"
The black flames consumed him, scorching him into charcoal at a terrifying speed. His flesh melted and sloughed off, revealing scorched bone and smoking organs—an unbearable sight.
Frost writhed on the ground, shrieking, rolling, trying anything to extinguish the flames.
But the black fire clung to him like maggots to bone, refusing to weaken no matter what he did.
He didn't know this flame was Amaterasu, whose defining trait was simple:
it would not extinguish until the target was completely reduced to ash.
Though Frost's Blood God power tried desperately to regenerate his body, Amaterasu consumed him just as quickly. His body was trapped in a cycle of destruction and regeneration.
From Daniel's perspective, Frost's long red HP bar was shrinking at a visible rate.
It was almost empty.
"No! No!!"
As the last of the Blood God's power drained from him, Frost let out one final, despairing scream—
And in the next instant, Amaterasu finished its work.
He crumbled to ashes, scattered by the wind.
"Peh! Peh!"
Blade spat repeatedly—he had been standing downwind, and a bit of ash had blown into his mouth.
At the same time—
A system prompt sounded in Daniel's mind.
[Mission: 'Stop Deacon Frost's Conspiracy' Completed!]
[Rewards: 5000 Experience, S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation +100, Skill: Parry, Equipment: Hidden Blade, Equipment: Sword of Physics, Item: One-Yuan Coin, Item: Auto-Fishing Rod, Item: Blood God's Power]
[Skill: Parry (requires a sword-type weapon and a charged stance; if the block connects at the exact timing of an enemy attack, the enemy enters a brief stagger state)]
[Equipment: Hidden Blade (symbolic weapon of the Assassin Brotherhood; page one instructs self-severing of the ring finger for installation, page two indicates this version has been modified to not require self-mutilation)]
[Equipment: Sword of Physics (a crowbar capable of attacking, breaking obstacles, picking locks, and more; simple and practical)]
[Item: One-Yuan Coin (a miraculous coin—drop it on the ground and even a billionaire will instinctively bend down to pick it up)]
[Item: Auto-Fishing Rod (automatically fishes; anglers will never worry about going home empty-handed again)]
[Item: Blood God's Power (special mission item; using it will unlock a special high-difficulty quest; not recommended below level 30)]
"Blood God's power?"
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't that Frost's ability?
But after reading the warning, he decided not to touch it for now—he was still far from level 30.
Just then, another system prompt appeared.
[Congratulations, Player. You have leveled up!]
Level up!
Daniel immediately opened his character panel.
[Player: Daniel]
[Level: 20 (0/52,000)]
[Stats: Strength 60, Agility 30, Constitution 40, Spirit 20]
[Unassigned Stat Points: 10]
[Skills: Reaper's Eye, Muay Thai Warning, Leap of Faith, Recovery Breathing, Parry]
[Equipment: Golden Desert Eagle, Nichirin Blade, Frying Pan, Gravity Boots]
Each level granted 5 stat points. Combined with the 5 he had saved earlier, he now had 10.
Without hesitation, he distributed them:
+5 Strength, +2 Agility, +3 Constitution.
This game imposed no stat restrictions.
Even if someone dumped all points into Strength and reached 100 while leaving other stats at 10, they wouldn't explode their own arm by throwing a punch.
Daniel had gained various stat points from earlier missions as well, nearly all invested into Strength, Agility, and Constitution.
Strength was his focus.
Agility he could supplement with Reaper's Eye.
Constitution improved his survival chances.
After all, in the Land of the Free, he could run into a shootout—or a nuclear blast—at any moment. High Constitution was necessary for peace of mind.
As for Spirit, Daniel still had no idea what it did. After hitting 20, he had stopped adding to it entirely.
Once he finished allocating points—
The system chimed yet again.
[S.H.I.E.L.D. reputation has reached the maximum threshold. You may now visit NPC Nick Fury to receive an Identity Advancement Mission.]