-----

  Everything has happeoo quickly, but Paul felt rather stressed and, at the same time, relieved. His battle against Asthartez was intense, but he ultimately mao defeat him. The moment Asthartez’s calated body dropped on the floor, the power of the staff started to decrease, and the draic beast being trolled swiftly lost its energies, falling unscious over the floor as well.

  Notig that the rest of the orcs had been sin, he ran to see Vd’s mother after he saw a chat from Chris telling him to go see her immediately. Although he believed that nothing could really impact him ihis game, as he tinued pying as Vd, a character within the world and not just his own ade avatar, the memories aions of Vd started ing.

  The memories of him being bullied by Asthartez, of his loneliness, and of how much he despaired when he was a crippled child that couldn’t roperly. Perhaps because of such emotions, he wao take down Asthartez by himself, and maybe because of that too, when he saw what was left of Teressa, he broke into tears without realizing it.

  Were these his tears? Or were these the tears of his character, Vd, ing automatically through a game pseudo-cutse? He didn’t know, but it was something that deeply moved him. To lose her, Vd’s mother, after so long sihe young vampire had the time to talk with her, it greatly impacted him more than he imagined.

  Her death would impad ge everything surrounding Vd, and things might only bee worse as well. But he didn’t feel sad, nor did he ever sider the losses gamepywise. He was simply sad that a person was dying—someone who showed him the love of a mother.

  Someone who also reminded him of his own mother...

  “My mother wasn’t the best mom out there either. Many times she left me alo home, and many times she ignored me too. Maybe it was because she wao work and support me, but that loneliness... I uand why Vd would feel this way when he finally has the opportunity to spend time with his mom, only for her to be taken away from his life so abruptly.”

  “Ugh, fine! I’ll heal her; just stand there!”

  FLASH!

  However, Chris didn’t let that happen. Using his Trait’s powers to quickly transform, he unleashed all his healing power into Teressa. The deadly curse that inhibited her regeion started shaking, releasing purple and bck sparks of electricity. It was trying to fight back.

  “What the hell is this damn curse?!”

  Using his power teiques through his transformation as a Heavenly Emperor, which allowed Chris to wield the incredibly powerful Heavenly Ki Essence, capable of healing any wound no matter what, Chris quickly decided that the curse itself could not be easily destroyed.

  But it could be moved!

  Wielding the divine, glistening powers of blinding golden and white light from his hands in his angeli, Chris quickly pulled back all the bd purple lightning out of Teressa’s dying body.

  Until something happeo the dismay and surprise of Vd and Camil, this curse started walking and taking upon a monstrous form, resembling a small, bd purple-colored octopus with many red eyes that stantly released bd purple lightning!

  “GRYOOOHHH!”

  “Dammit! Help me out! Please destroy those things!”

  “You’re kidding me! Just how powerful is this curse to be an actual monster?!”

  “Uwaaah!”

  Camil panicked a bit, stepping back behind her brother, as Vd rapidly swung his two swords—his magic bde and another made from a Bzing Doppelganger—sshing and burning through the small octopus’ creatures.

  “This is ridiculous!”

  SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

  His attacks sshed against the octopus’ creatures as he bined his fmes with the light spells his equipment was engraved into, using both his trol over Ara and his Alchemy to bihem.

  SLASH!

  “Gryyeegh!”

  SLASH!

  “Gryaaerugh!”

  SLASH!

  “Shyaagh…!”

  As the monstrosities tinued dying, Camil who was behind her brother, noticed a few of them rapidly sneaking around Teressa and then moving towards Alitheus, who was too trated on healing.

  “Y-You ugly things! Stop annoying us! Leave mom alone!”

  With all her anger trated within her powers, her Ara surged, fusing with Camil’s psychic powers, as invisible waves of Telekiiergies impacted the octopus-like cursed creatures, crushing them and spttering them into smithereens.

  BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

  “Nnngghh…! A-Almost… almost there!”

  Alitheus was gritting his teeth as he tinued pulling out the deadly Curse within Teressa; once all the small fry was dealt with as Vd and Camil sshed and crushed it, something rger emerged.

  “There it is! This is the st one... Agh, it’s enormous!”

  RUMBLE!

  Vd, Camil, and Alitheus eyes widened as they saw a monstrous tentacled abomination emerge from the dying, charred body of Teressa, a creature that was almost teers tall, made of bck tentacles, red eyes, and purple appendages oozing with miasmic slime.

  “GRUUUEEEEEGGGHHH!”

  “W-What is this thing?! It’s so hideous!” Camil cried, suddenly feeling dizzy aering into a panic state. “My head hurts! Uuaahhhh!”

  Vd and Alitheus, who had natural resistance against status effects, immediately realized that this Cursed Creature geed a powerful Aura of Fear!

  “It’s causing Fear and Panic status effects! Camil don’t look at it! Close your eyes and stay behind me!” Vd roared, gring at the creature. “Just how did Asthartez and his mom gain such power? Is this normal around here?!”

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King} gres at you.]

  [The sacrifices of the damned shall bring forth the deepest of curses!]

  “Ugh?!”

  Suddenly, Vd felt an intense headache as the tless crimson eyes of the monstrosity set their sight upon the young vampire king. His already paralyzed and crippled body felt weakened out of nowhere.

  He was being cursed!

  “Paul?! Hey!”

  Alitheus panicked as the monstrosity swung its giaacles towards him, imbued with bd purple lightning. They were more than capable of killing him with one blow.

  “GRUOOHHH!”

  BAAAM!

  “Ah!”

  CLASH!

  However, what the Cursed Monstrosity ended up hitting instead y of Vd, created from his own Armor, made of darkness and phantasmal energies.

  The [Cursed Ghost e] that Vd had summoned a couple of minutes ago had not died, but was rec its body and energies.

  Due to the long cooldown of the ability, Vd instead decided to “save” the e while it was damaged, a absorb his Ara to fully regee.

  “SHAAAH!”

  The furious Cursed Monstrosity quickly attacked several times at oer that, yet the [Cursed Ghost e], which was actually strohan Vd without including his armor, unleashed a barrage of powerful physical blows.

  CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

  Using its bare fists, it destroyed the electric pulses sent at it, and because it was already a cursed ghost being, any curse was pletely iive against it, making it a terrible match for the Cursed Monstrosity.

  Not only that, but it also used all of his other Skills seamlessly, juring Blood and shaping it into spiraling, cursed spears, pierg through the monster’s body several times. Meanwhile, it summoned a group of Bzing Doppelgangers, adding up to the group Vd summoned as well.

  “GRAAAGH?!”

  The Cursed Monstrosity found itself surrounded by ten summoned beings from Vd alos many eyes were widening as the fmes of the Bzing Doppelgangers easily burned and charred through its soft and slimy flesh.

  “Don’t think that… Ugh, that I am defenseless, bastard!”

  Vd smiled, suddenly notig a message.

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King} is surprised to find traces of {The Unending Crimson} within your abilities.]

  “Are you acquaintances? Well, I couldn’t give more of a fuyway! Chris, summon ys too!”

  “Y-Yeah!”

  Chris was rapidly beginning to finally heal Teressa’s body, stabilizing her slightly as his gloves shone brightly. Two wolves emerged from within them, made out of Heavenly Ki, which was the element of his choice this time.

  “AWOOO!”

  The two Heavenly Ki wolves jumped towards the Cursed Monstrosity, biting through its flesh and burning its fleshy body. The creature gave a loud cry of pain, growing more tentacles while trying to electrocute the wolves.

  However, their heavenly ki body made them very resistant against the cursed attacks; their biting attacks rapidly dealt more and more damage as they fired small beams of light.

  The giant, teer-tall creature started struggling, stantly trying to attack Vd or Alitheus to stop them, only for the Bzing Doppelgao quickly blow away its attacks and stantly burn its fleshy body.

  It was obvious the beast was growing desperate and anxious, and at the same time, it was filled with disbelief that it was being overwhelmed out of nowhere!

  “Keep attag; don’t let it take a break!” Vd roared, quickly eating a restorative pill and then running right behind his Cursed Ghost e and the Bzing Doppelgangers.

  “GRUOOOHHH!”

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King} says that your struggle is futile.]

  As the beast roared furiously and started firing more and more cursed bolts, the Bzing Doppelgangers used themselves as shields, defending Vd from the attacks, their bodies instantly exploding oer another.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  As they exploded, fmes enpassed the monstrosity, burning through its flesh more and more. Its regeion was rapidly being halted as the fmes that Vd wielded were being more and more deadly.

  “Now!”

  He jumped into the skies, growing wings made of blood and pushing himself down with their force, as if swimming down across the empty air. With his sword in hand, he imbued it with thousands of Ara worth of light spells, making the bde grow twice as big, pletely made of blinding light and fmes.

  “{Dual Bzing Bde Arts}: {Single Bde Style: Holy Bzing Execution}!”

  CLAAASH!

  His sword pierced the monstrosity while it was being distracted from all his summoned familiars. Ohe sword submerged deep into the Cursed Monstrosity, a loud scream of agony reverberated.

  “GRYYYEEEGGGHHH!”

  Its tentacles started hitting Vd stantly, rapidly beginning to lower his armor’s durability at the same time as cursed Miasma tried to seep into his body.

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King} sighs.]

  [The curse of the damned shall follow you until the end of times.]

  CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

  Vd and Paul’s minds and memories synized. As Paul tinued seeing visions of Vd’s memories, he suddenly started to share his emotions, the wrath he felt for what happeo his mother, and his endless desire to fight against the injustices of this unfair world.

  “I won’t let you take my mother, YOU BASTARD!”

  With a furious and vampiric roar, Vd’s Soul Aura erupted, resembling golden fmes enpassing his entire body. His swrew several times rger, stantly burning the Cursed Monstrosity’s insides.

  “I won’t let you take her away…!”

  “Not after she finally woke up, not after everything!”

  “My mother… is the only family I have aside from Camil!”

  “These are… Vd’s thoughts?”

  Paul heard Vd’s ihoughts; it was as if he was rapidly being him, and maybe even vice versa.

  And this was…

  Full Synization!

  A phenomenon where a Pyer and their Avatar’s emotions, thoughts, and senses are synized at 100%.

  Paul felt as if his very being merged with Vd; he became him, and Vd became him too.

  His trol ic was enhanced, and so was his ability over all skills and teiques.

  And even more, over the movement of his body.

  “It’s now or never, Paul!”

  And then he heard him.

  “That’s…! Yeah!”

  Paul didn’t dare hesitate anymore; Vd’s will passed towards his; his powers biogether as his sword tio grer and rger.

  As Vd’s eyes grew redder, they suddenly turned gold for a moment.

  And a strange, golden essence coursed through him in this very decisive moment!

  It was… strange!

  As if for a couple of seds, all of his inhibitions were gone, and his body became stronger.

  [“You’ve done well, my pathetic reination. Do you feel it now? That energy?”]

  The Heavenly Demon himself was amused, stepping ie Vd not even activating his Trait.

  [“That’s the power of Ki!”]

  “Ki?!”

  Paul was shocked; he thought he couldn’t trol suergy with his crippled body.

  Yet once he reached Full Synization, it was as if such things ged.

  Even if for a couple of seds, things became different!

  “GRYYYEEGGH!”

  The monstrosity kept struggling, attag back, but its body tinued burning into ashes; however, cursed bolts tinued hitting Vd stantly.

  “Unnggh…! Just… die… ALREADY!”

  The voices of Vd, Paul, and the Heavenly Demon biogether, their wills, souls, and dreams embodying this ultimate power.

  “{Heavenly Dragon’s Bzing Dance}!”

  By bining all their teiques together, Vd, for a split sed, reached a new height.

  His entire body felt as light as a feather, and his movements were perfed precise.

  The thing is, Full Synization also affected the Heavenly Demon, giving Vd his own advanced senses and abilities in the process.

  SLAAASH!

  With a spinning ssh, his Soul Aura emerged like a ferocious golden dragon, r and dev the Cursed Monstrosity.

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King} finds this unbelievable!]

  [The curse of shadows shall not rest until everything is engulfed by their eternal darkness!]

  BOOOM!

  Until nothing but ashes remained!

  “Hahh… Hahhh… Hahhh…”

  Vd fell to his knees, gasping for air, looking at his mother with a calm smile.

  The monster was finally gone, and its ashes slowly fell from the sky.

  At the same time, Alitheus finished healing her, dropping her almost dead on the floor.

  And Teressa slowly woke up, opening her eyes again.

  “Mom!”

  “Mother!”

  Vd and Camil immediately ran to hug her, happy she was finally back.

  “I-I… didn’t die?”

  Teressa looked in front of her, notig Alitheus in angeli, exhausted and gasping for air.

  “Hahhh… Hahhh… I did it… Agh, I did it…”

  And then she looked at the skies, at the three moons.

  There was now something within her, somethied to her visions.

  “Did I really see the Goddesses?”

  She touched her chest, feeling three sparkles of silver, red, and green light.

  And then she recalled their words before she woke up.

  “We shall give you the power to protect your children and make up for the curses that those malefic evil gods have left on them.”

  What she had within her was…

  Their Divine Prote.

  “This is… I ’t... believe it…”

  It has been thousands of years sihe Moon Goddess ever granted divine prote to someone.

  And this only meant ohing...

  Teressa was chosen as their Saint.

  She smiled, g as she hugged her children and kissed them.

  No longer did she shy away from showing affe to them.

  Rules of vampires or whatever, none of that mattered anymore.

  And as she did, she looked at the skies again.

  The three moons, for a split sed, shone brightly at the same time.

  [The {Desecrated Shadow King}’s presence has disappeared.]

  -----

  Pach