*Pierceeeee*
*Awuuuuuuu*
The Chupacabra shrieked in pain as the sharp metal rod penetrated his skull and continued to head deeper due to the weight of Panmich's fall.
Panmich rolled on the ground after using the beast's big body to soften his fall.
Though the beast's big body absorbed the majority of the impact of Panmich's fall, that didn't mean that Panmich came out unscathed.
Both his legs were busted now, with blood gushing out rapidly; he couldn't get up anymore, so he lay there on the ground, his hot breath striking his face after being reflected from the cold concrete below.
'Damn… I guess this is it then,' Panmich could hear the wobbly steps of the big dog getting louder and louder, the chupacabra was whimpering from time to time signifying that it hadn't died just yet.
A few seconds passed, and a shadow fell on Panmich's face.
Panmich looked at the beast from the corner of his eye; the left eye of the monster was bitten off by him, and the other got skewered with a pole just a moment ago. The rod was the length of Panmich's leg, and only a hand-sized portion of it could be seen outside the beast's body; the rest was inside.
On the same day, the poor dog lost both of his eyes and went blind.
It would most likely die if Panmich could move and prevent the dog from sucking his blood.
The Chupacabra slowly opened its jaws and brought its canines near Panmich's neck.
Panmich felt the wet saliva dripping on his burning skin.
He waited for death to come and stared at the Chupacabra without blinking, but it didn't go as he had thought, and the monstrous dog collapsed to his side, lifeless.
It died at the very last moment.
*Sigghhh*
'Slow death, it is then…'
The beast wasn't able to finish Panmich off, but that didn't mean that he was out of the woods yet; instead, it only meant that his suffering had been prolonged and that he would suffer a little longer before dying of blood loss.
'Emotions...they are hard to analyze with logic. They're as good as they are bad.'
'If it had been the previous me, he would have definitely escaped when the fight wasn't in his favor, but I, instead, chose to stay and fight, but for what?'
'Just to get revenge on the beast because he inflicted so much pain on me and took that little boy's life…'
'So, do I regret my decision?'
"Maybe, maybe not…"
"But one thing is for sure—this is the most exhilaration I've ever felt in my entire life," Panmich monologued and gazed at the setting sun.
"Huuuu… It's so beautiful... has the sunset always been this pretty?"
The warm, beautiful reddish-orange sunset contrasted with the dark, cold alley, where Panmich lay in a puddle of his blood.
Until the very last moment, Panmich didn't blink even once; he wanted to imprint this breathtaking view in his eyes before they went black.
"Huh…?"
"What is this?"
The serene atmosphere was disrupted by the gray words that had appeared on Panmich's retina.
[A New Chosen One has Descended.
Initiating memory seal.
Memories sealed—partially.
Merging the previous body's memories]
At first, a numbing sensation hit Panmich's brain before being replaced by excruciating pain.
He felt like thousands—no, tens of thousands of needles were pricking his raw brain.
"What...the hell?!" Panmich muttered in agony.
"For Fuck's sake... let me die peacefully..."Panmich groaned.
After the pain passed away, new words appeared in front of his eyes.
[Merging successful.
Enabling Quests…
#Emergency Quest: Survive the sudden death from the stage 1-C beast—Chupacabra
Rewards: High-density Magic Stone {Grade E}
Failure Consequences: Death]
.
.
.
After that, the words once again phased out and were replaced by new ones.
[#Emergency Quest: Survive the sudden death from the stage 1-C beast—Chupacabra : Status {Completed}
Rewards: Generating…]
Red, blue, green, and brown—a mixture of vibrant colors began to light around Panmich's body, with red dominating the others.
Seeing the scene in front of his eyes, Panmich could only watch dumbfoundedly.
Soon, all the colors congregated around the carcass of the Chupacabra and began to merge into an orb.
A few seconds later, in the place where the body of the chupacabra was supposed to be, there lay a ruby-red crystal.
Panmich finally woke from his stupor when the words on his retina changed once again.
[Rewards: Successfully generated.
#New Quest: Step into Rank 1 Purgation Phase
Time Limit: One hour and forty-five minutes.
Rewards: Awakening of the dormant bloodline.
Failure Consequences: Death]
'Is what I'm seeing for real? What the heck are these Quests and, no, forget it, that's not what's important anymore. I know what I need to do now.'
Panmich extended his hand, trying to get the ruby crystal, and finally, with some difficulty and great pain, he was able to successfully reach it.
Panmich gripped the captivating red crystal tightly in his hand, the sunlight shining through it making it appear even more magical.
After appreciating its beauty for a few seconds, he moved on to the next step.
'People don't succeed in reaching Rank 1 even at their peak, and here I am trying to break through in this near-death condition…' Panmich mocked himself and swallowed the crystal in one gulp.
Soon after swallowing the crystal, his body began to heat up, his skin glowing crimson from the inside, revealing his nerves and veins.
Sweat began to pour out of him like water being squeezed from a sponge.
"Ugh…arghhhh….mugghh" Panmich bit his lower lip, but just after a few seconds, he tore it apart, and the blood flowed like a dam breaking.
"Aaaaah—" Before the pain could take over his body, he quickly brought his left arm near his mouth and—
*Bite!*
His teeth dug inside his arm, and his eyes began to shed tears of blood.
'Control, Control, Control, Control, Control…'
'Persevere, Persevere, Persevere, Persevere…' he repeated the same two words over and over again and forced himself not to go unconscious.