Advancing to Black Knight

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The black liquid in the large pot was bubbling, thick and viscous. No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like it would be easy to drink. But Luther only glanced at it and continued mixing. He picked up the Lemon Balm Essential Oil bottle on the table and counted 10 drops with a dropper.

"Hiss."

The essential oil made a sound as it fell into the Black Fluid, but instead of releasing a fresh, herbaceous fragrance, it emitted a more stale and somber aroma.

At this point, only one piece of auxiliary material remains.

--A drop of blood from every one of those who Degeneration because of the Ritual.

Luther's Ritual targets souls; he himself has no physical body, let alone blood. However, after the Ritual, he has become one with those souls, so theoretically, his blood could be used as a substitute.

He put down the essential oil bottle, hovered his hand over the large pot, and then spread his fingertips.

"Whoosh"

With just one drop of blood, the Black Fluid underwent a dramatic change; the originally viscous liquid rapidly diluted and dissolved, now resembling thick ink.

Efficient

Luther was secretly delighted. Then, he carefully picked up the Main Ingredient of the Potion —the "Black Knight" Beyonder Characteristic extracted from Leomaster.

Thump.

The glistening black hand bone fell into the pot, and the bubbling liquid immediately stopped boiling.

The hand bones dissolved silently, dissolving into the liquid. With each dissolution, the liquid became even more viscous. In the end, the entire pot of Potion nearly solidified into one piece, even more exaggerated than its Oldest One state.

But unlike the Oldest One black asphalt, the Potion now resembled a shimmering black gemstone, lying quietly at the bottom of the pot.

"It should be a success."

Bernadette, who was observing from the side, said, "I don't see anything wrong."

"Um."

Luther looked at the "gem" and poured it into the prepared metal bottle. Although it looked like a solid, the Potion still flowed out of the pot.

He picked up the bottle.

The metal vial containing the Potion was many times heavier than it looked, and it felt extremely cold to the touch. Luther simply brought the vial to his lips and poured it down.

"Gulp."

The viscous Potion flowed down his throat and esophagus, Luther remained frozen in the posture of tilting his head back to drink it.

"Whoosh!"

The next second, his body suddenly collapsed.

Under Bernadette's gaze, Luther's body dissolved into pure Flesh, spilling onto the floor of the Dawn. Then, the once crimson Flesh gradually turned black, as if transforming from Flesh into shadow!

Luther, however, was unaware of his current state. He only felt his Consciousness rapidly plummeting, plummeting, as if passing through the ship's deck, through the seawater, sinking into endless shadows, sinking into eternal darkness.

Something seemed to be calling to him from the depths of that darkness.

Gradually, Luther felt a strong urge to sink into the deepest part of himself and approach the great being that called him. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't control himself and could only continue to sink into depravity.

Suddenly, something caught him.

It was something much more solid than the shadows, and its presence abruptly halted Luther's descent. He Consciousness looked over and discovered that what was supporting him were countless illusory hands. Those hands were pitch black, Degeneration, and exuded an extreme and intense aura.

It is the souls of the Degeneration!

They Degeneration before Luther, and thus appeared beneath him, supporting his body!

The downward trend was stopped. Before Luther could be surprised, he immediately took the opportunity to rise and pull his Consciousness out of the dark Shadow World.

Only then did he finally feel his own existence, and he could feel the Potion spreading throughout his body, like a dark swamp, seeping into every cell.

"Gulp."

In an instant, Luther felt his Spirit Body and Flesh being stained with a pitch-black color.

--That was the darkness of Degeneration and madness.

"Sizzle!"

As if a crisp tearing sound rang in his ears, Luther felt his Spirit Body and Flesh being forcibly separated under the influence of the Potion!

From Bernadette's perspective, she saw the shadow that Luther had transformed into gradually expand, like a boiling pool of ink. Countless pained faces surged on its surface, and judging from their appearance, they were all Luther himself.

It looked as if it was about to separate and turn into a series of pitch-black Monster.

"Puff!"

The shadowy surface suddenly cracked open, revealing bright red Flesh within the fissures. This Flesh was both bloody and vivid, sacred yet sinister. Thus, the shadows seemed to become projections of each piece of Flesh, matching them one by one.

The Flesh writhed and writhed, causing the shadow below to sway as if the two were becoming one.

Luther's Consciousness spread out.

He stopped sinking and instead floated in the dark world, as if he himself had become part of the shadows and Degeneration.

Above the shadows, something even more dazzling—countless stars. But the Star are merely the surface; behind them lie countless conceptualized, abstract representations. They are extremely far from Luther, yet in some way, they resonate with him.

At that moment, countless voices rang in Luther's ears.

That was the cry of the Degeneration, their intense emotions, the pain and sins they entrusted to Luther.

The effects of the Degeneration One were so vivid and heavy that they gripped Luther's scattered Consciousness, gradually leading him to rediscover himself.

A strange sense, not originating from the Spirit Body or Mental Body, gradually emerged from the pitch-black shadows. It gathered Luther's Consciousness, allowing him to view himself from a more Indifference and calm perspective.

Is this Divinity?

Having devoured Lanevus, Luther already possessed this substance within him and was familiar with it. Instead, he used its attraction to reassemble the torn Spirit Body.

Deep within his Spirituality, the pure Divinity from the Evil God's Offspring was also drawn out, dissipating and merging with the Divinity formed by the Potion. Thus, the Divinity that had tormented Luther for so long was finally completely dissolved and merged into his body.

Inside the Dawn's mess hall, the shadows had stopped spreading; instead, they had coalesced with the flesh and Flesh, piling up and forming a structure.

A tall and imposing figure gradually took shape.

It was a burly knight with Red Light eyes, clad in jet-black armor. He was so tall he almost touched the ceiling of the restaurant. In his right hand was a dark, deep-set Greatsword, its blade broad and straight, looking incredibly sharp, as if a single strike could obliterate both body and soul.

"Congratulations."

"The Queen Mystic Bernadette said softly."

"Click."

The black-clad knight lifted his mask, revealing Luther's calm face.

Promotion to Black Knight, successful.