Deprived of hope and full of dread, Rudy stared at the monolith in daze.
The church shook as the demon followed his blood trail and climbed the staircase.
Its growls reached him, but Rudy remained kneeling before the monolith, with a lost expression, and mumbled, "Is this how I die...?"
Rudy did not fear death in pursuit of strength. What he feared was dying weak… dying hopeless.
He slammed his head onto the floor, and pain shot up his arm, pulling him out of his stupor.
His dark eyes returned to their usual calm.
Gritting his teeth, he placed his hand on the monolith and forced himself to stand.
Turning around, he looked at the demon and spat furiously, "Come, you bastard! Even if I die, I will make sure to take your last eye!"
The latent demon that couldn't see him because of the dim light and its blinded left eye, roared and leapt at the voice.
A tremor ran through the ground, and seeing it coming towards him, Rudy rolled to the left.
The demon completely missed him and crashed into the monolith.
The wooden floor shook and creaked, cracks spreading across it, but surprisingly, the monolith stood unmoving, even under the impact of the demon's brutish body.
Staggering backwards, the demon let out a sharp cry, and Rudy instantly dashed to grab the dagger impaled into its left bestial thigh.
He grabbed its handle with both of his hands and pulled on it with all of his strength.
The demon swung to its left, and Rudy easily pulled the dagger out of its thigh.
He rolled back a few steps before he stood up and fixed his grip around the dagger, staring at the demon with hate seething through his eyes
At the same time, the demon turned its head towards him, and Rudy softly stepped to the side, making sure that he made no sound.
'Calm down. Calm down.' Rudy steadied his breathing as much as he could and slowly circled the demon.
The demon looked around, but the area was too dim for it to see anything.
Holding his breath, Rudy got ready to stick it, and just as the demon turned right, he planted his feet onto the floor to leap towards its remaining eye.
His right foot touched the wooden floor, the cracks within it spread, and it gave way instantly.
Rudy's leg went through the floor, his body slammed onto the floor, and the dagger fell out of his hand.
Blood dripped out from the corners of his eyes, and he gazed at the demon, which was already looking at him.
"Ha...hahahaha!" He burst into broken laughter, and the demon pushed itself to leap at him. But just as it did so, the cracks widened even further, and the floor beneath both of them gave way.
Rudy's eyes widened as he hung mid-air for a few moments.
The next moment, his vision blurred as one of the large golden spears impaled him from the top to the bottom, and the ones beside it impaled both of his hands.
"Uhlk!" His lips parted, and blood poured out of his mouth, eyes, hands — his everywhere as the spears pierced his whole body.
The red light seeping through the window fell onto Rudy's figure, which was impaled on the spears in a cross, and his blood fell onto the raised platform, pooling around the coffin.
All of a sudden, a chill spread throughout the church, and the unlit torches and lanterns came to life.
Rudy's blood rippled, and two tentacles shot out towards the demon, killing it instantly.
[You have slain a Latent Demon: Clawing Brute!]
Rudy's blood seeped into the coffin, and his body, which was stuck on the spears, dissolved into a mash of blood.
A red glow escaped from the coffin as it drank all of his blood, and serene white runes flickered before him.
[You have obtained the legacy of the fallen Blood God!]
[Your body is being reforged!]
A loud, wet heartbeat echoed throughout the church, and the coffin's door creaked open.
Within the coffin lay a body carved in the likeness of a tall — no, towering — human, standing at least seven feet.
Its frame was chiseled with unnatural precision, and its crimson hair spilled around its head like fresh blood.
Yet it wasn't a human body.
Its skin was so pale that it appeared as if it were a corpse, and above all, that body now belonged to none other than Rudric Ironwell.
Rudy snapped open his crimson eyes and stepped out of the coffin.
At the same time, the familiar voice of Final Will echoed in his head.
[Warrior Rudric, your trial has come to an end.]
"Finally..." the words came in a voice much deeper and charismatic than before, and he clenched his fists.
[Your trial is being evaluated!]
[A passionate devotee of the Blood God traversed the perilous forest on his pilgrimage to the first church.
The other devotees gave their lives for the one graced by the divine.
Once more, the night shielded the children of blood.
To honor them, the devotee shed his own sacred blood and ascended the treacherous hill.
Drenching the church in his blood, he sought purification and, in the end, offered his body, soul, and self in devotion.
The Blood God, though dead, bestowed a blessing upon you from beyond the veil.]
Tilting his head, Rudy mumbled, "What is it talking about...?"
[Your trial has been evaluated!]
[Evaluation — Marvellous!]
Rudy's lips stretched into a wide grin, and he mumbled, "Marvellous! Marvellous indeed!"
[Your devotion has no bounds!]
Confusion returned, and he muttered in irritation, "What is wrong with this—"
[You have been graced with a Moniker.]
[Crimson Saint.]
"Huh?"
Rudy blinked a few times and mumbled in disbelief, "A moniker..."
[You are being sent to the Soulstar Lake!]
The world around him darkened for a moment, and Rudy once again found himself standing at the mirror-like white lake.
[You are being bound to the Path of Blood!]