Ascension Pain Witch
As he spoke, he "seemed to recall something sad and began to cry."
It's as if she's constantly thinking of someone.
But all of this has little to do with Altair himself.
Um... maybe, maybe a little.
Because the act of playing Demoness will inevitably bring disaster to people.
But even if she racked her brains, she would never have imagined that she would indirectly "trap" him once.
"My poor fellow villager."
When the scene returns to Bexland, Empress Borough, Sheffield Manor side gate, entrance.
At this moment, the circus members, who had just left the manor, were discussing how to use the money—whether to divide it immediately or save it for emergencies.
"Bei--n"]
A quick-witted member of the circus, after some thought, suggested to the rest of the circus, "Rider, everyone, I feel we shouldn't divide this money immediately. We should use it all together as a 'GG bonus.' We can publish an ad in Bexland's largest newspaper, reporting that we amused a sophisticated noblewoman who loved our performance and rewarded us with 200 Gold Pound. Then, other nobles will surely become curious, and their curiosity will lead them to invite us to their estates to perform. Wouldn't that allow us to compound our profits—"
As he spoke, the group member seemed to have thought of some good day, and then started giggling incessantly.
After listening to the member's suggestion, the circus ringmaster nodded slightly, looked at the crowd, and asked, "Do you agree with her proposal?"
Once everyone agreed, they all headed to the Backlund Tasok report "work point" and spent 50 gold pounds to buy a month's worth of GG slots.
After stepping out the gate, the commander couldn't help but sigh, "Bexland is truly not a place for Commoner to live."
The people around nodded in agreement.
Those who had made a fortune naturally wanted to splurge. They flagged down a carriage on the street and headed to a restaurant they had never dared to go to before, where they feasted and drank to their hearts' content.
In the evening, they slowly returned to Bexland, East District, and rested in a relatively secluded guesthouse.
After dinner, Altair took Vivian to the underground laboratory and said to her, "Darling, this afternoon while watching the circus performance, I successfully performed the Potion's effects Demoness of Pleasure."
"I'm about to advance to Sequence Five, the Demoness of Affliction, in a bit. Help me light the fire."
No sooner had Altair finished speaking than Vivian, standing opposite her, was already contemplating how burning Altair would allow her to complete her role.
However, this thought had barely formed in her mind when Vivian's body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if she were afraid or terrified of something. Her body instinctively wanted to refuse, while her mind reminded her that she should do it; it was her master's order.
As these two completely opposite concepts clashed, Vivian was now like an epileptic seizure, trembling, convulsing, and gradually experiencing hallucinations.
Upon seeing this scene, Altair quickly stepped forward and inquired...
"Vivian, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Before she finished speaking, Vivian had returned to normal.
"It's nothing." Vivian forced herself to steady herself after suppressing her fear, and then accepted the influence of "It must be your Blood Servant" conversion ability, which made her instinctively resist and refuse this request.
Altair nodded in confusion, and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "But I remember that Blood Servant are not allowed to disobey their master's orders, right? Could it be that I've sewn on some strange ability?"
After shaking his head and regaining his composure, Altair said to Vivian, "Can you do it? I mean, help me ignite my flame and advance."
Vivian took a deep breath and casually replied, "Okay, I'm ready."
Altair chuckled softly, "Then let's get ready to begin."
"Perhaps this is karma. Last time you advanced, I burned you. Now that I'm advancing, you're burning me."
Without responding to Vivian, Altair quickly turned around, walked to the experimental table, took out the various materials he had prepared beforehand, and methodically prepared the "Sequence Five Demoness of Affliction" Potion.
The main ingredient is a beautiful eye.
It is so fresh and beautiful, full of allure, that people can't help but want to possess and eat it the moment they see it. As for the side ingredients, they are quite ordinary: 30 ml of blood from Flower-Faced Bat, 50 ml of blood from a seriously ill human, the tip of the tail of Double-Tailed Black Snake, and 10 drops of Blue Espresso Eucalyptus essential oil.
The "Demoness of Affliction" Potion was prepared.
Altair looked at it curiously. It was the second time she had seen this kind of Potion. It was a cup of dark red, almost black blood that quickly turned pitch black, with disgusting green foam rising from it from time to time. It was a blackish-greenish Potion, like a collection of pathogens.
Altair glanced at Vivian, then picked up the Potion, walked to his Execution Frame, and locked himself in.
Once Altair had regained his composure, he no longer hesitated and drank the black Potion in the glass in one gulp. The liquid felt like swallowing a red-hot iron needle as it went down his throat, burning into his internal organs. Every inch of his blood vessels felt as if they had been slashed by a sharp blade and then forcibly stitched back together by a cold, evil force.
Vivian, who was standing not far away, rushed forward upon seeing this scene and lit the Execution Frame.
At this moment, Altair did not use a substitute, nor did he conceal himself. He used his own flesh and blood to endure the burning flames, relying on his own will to withstand the dual erosion of Affliction and his special characteristics.
This is because it is a necessary ritual for the Demoness of Affliction to ascend to godhood, an inviolable ironclad rule. Failure to do so would mean her best fate would be to go mad.
After the orange-red flames roared and engulfed the Execution Frame.
The scorching heatwave, carrying the smell of sulfur, suddenly exploded, scorching her hair until it curled up, turned black, carbonized, and fell out.
The skin quickly blistered, then broke open from the high temperature, and the constantly seeping blood dripped into the flames, making a sizzling sound. But strangely, instead of the fire lessening, it continued to swell and intensify.
The Potion's power erupted completely in the flames. The madness of the Flower-Faced Bat, the venom of the Double-Tailed Black Snake, and countless Affliction obsessions surged into her mental world through its Beyonder Characteristic, and layers upon layers of illusions began to appear before her eyes:
At times, she seemed to be listening to and enjoying the constant screams of agony from a village engulfed by plague; at other times, she was like Witch being pushed out and forced to take the place of the burning flames, watching the joy of the crowd below while she could only feel anger, Affliction, and a desire for revenge.
These extreme pains intertwined, forming countless, indescribable whispers in my ears.
At this moment, Altair was fully aware that it was a curse from the Demoness Pathway, tearing at her own self-awareness and tempting her to wallow in Affliction.
She kept reminding herself, examining her will, that she was simply herself.
But upon returning to reality, she had to endure the Affliction of being burned by flames, listening to the faint cracking of her bones in the fire, and watching her skin gradually turn black and peel off.
The Potion continuously reshaped her body, only to be scorched by the flames, in an endless cycle. Altair didn't know how much time had passed, but she persevered, holding on tightly, gritting her teeth.
As soon as the burning sensation subsided, Vivian rushed forward and rescued Altair.
Once her condition stabilized, Vivian took out the medical medicine and poured it into Altair's clenched jaw.
As the potion entered his mouth, Altair's charred eyelids abruptly opened, revealing a pair of eyes shrouded in a faint black mist.
His eyes, with an eerie red tinge at the corners, were visibly shedding their charcoal-black color, revealing New Life, fair, jade-like skin.
When everything returned to normal, Vivian glanced around and noticed that Altair, whom she was holding, had long hair hanging down, her former gentleness gone, replaced by a cold and eerie beauty, and a faint, almost imperceptible gray mist swirling around her.
But this scene did not frighten her, because she knew that it was the Demoness of Affliction's ability, the Disease Aura. If Altair wanted to, she could cause disease and pain within a radius of 100 meters at any time.
This also signifies that Altair, the Sequence Five Demoness of Affliction, has successfully advanced.