She laughed weakly. "Sounds about right."
Valx stepped forward. "Gold—"
It's not Gold its Minami
"I'm doing it," Minami said.
The Codex did not stop her.
"Very well," it said. "Proceed."
The moment the authority activated—
Everything broke.
Life Essence surged violently into Minami's body, far beyond what she was meant to contain. Her veins burned. Her vision fractured.
Her knees slammed into the ground.
Power flooded her.
Too much.
Too fast.
The Divine Space shook as her control began to slip.
"Gold! I mean Minami!" Valx shouted, panic breaking through his composure. "Minami—you're losing it!"
She screamed as the pressure tore through her consciousness.
And then—
Silence.
Inside her mind, she stood in an empty space.
Two images appeared before her.
One was familiar.
Herself, in her previous life—shoulders slumped, eyes hollow, walking through an office late at night, exhausted beyond reason.
The other—
Herself now.
Bloodied. Burning. Alive.
Power radiated from her second form, raw and untamed.
The two stared at each other.
Minami clenched her fists.
"I won't waste this second chance," she said aloud.
"I won't live for anyone else's expectations. I won't be owned. I won't disappear."
The pressure eased.
Power obeyed.
She gasped as awareness snapped back into place.
The Codex hovered before her, pages glowing steadily.
"You have survived the halving process," it announced.
"You are now officially a D-Rank Goddess."
Minami laughed weakly. "…Hell yeah."
"Your existing spells have been strengthened," the Codex continued.
"You have also unlocked two new spells: Black Hole and Absolute Defense."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Nice."
"Additionally," it went on, "you have unlocked two new authorities."
The symbols burned themselves into her awareness.
Disciple Authority — Allows you to bind beings under your wing, sharing Life Essence and amplifying their growth and combat potential.
Nexus Authority — Grants absolute dominance within your Divine Space and allows you to manifest fragments of it into the outside world.
Minami slowly stood.
She could feel it.
The difference.
"And one more thing," the Codex added. "You are now eligible to accumulate Merits."
"Merits?"
"Merits replace Life Essence as your primary ascension resource at higher ranks. You gain them by influencing, protecting, and aiding your people."
Minami tilted her head. "How many do I need?"
"Two thousand to reach C-Rank Goddess."
"…Is that all?"
The Codex almost sounded offended.
"You may now freely manipulate your Divine Space," it continued.
"You have gained the Generation Authority, allowing you to create new structures, concepts, and environments within it."
Minami grinned. "Now that is what I'm talking about."
"And finally," the Codex concluded, "the reward for completing your first ascension quest has increased. Direct ascension to SS-Class Goddess remains possible—if you survive long enough."
Minami turned to Valx.
"Are you ready to become my disciple?"
He didn't kneel.
Didn't bow.
"I've never fought under anyone," he said slowly. "But I need power. I need to save my kingdom."
He met her gaze
"I accept."
The contract formed.
Light surged.
Valx gasped as his bloodline ignited—bones shifting, strength flooding back into him. The seal cracked, not broken, but weakened.
The Codex confirmed it calmly.
Valx — Evolution Complete
Lesser Vampire → Mid-Stage Vampire
Rank: F → C
Minami felt the bond stabilize.
500 Merits acquired.
She exhaled.
Then her perception expanded outward.
The Blight had spawned.
Webs spread across the kingdom.
People weakened.
The hunt was far from over.
Minami opened a portal, eyes steady.
"Let's go," she said.
The real fight was about to begin.
The city bell did not ring.
It choked.
Minami felt it before she saw it—Life Essence bleeding out of the square in slow, unnatural streams, like veins torn open beneath the stone. The air itself felt thinner, weaker.
Then she saw Bell.
Suspended midair.
Two bladed limbs pierced through her shoulders, pinning her to the bell tower wall. Blackened webs spread outward like veins, pulsing faintly with rot.
The Spider Blight crouched above her, massive and still, its many eyes fixed on Minami.
"Oh," it rasped, amused. "You arrived early."
Minami moved.
A sharp twist of her wrist—
Wind pulsed.
The compressed blade carved through the air and severed both limbs in a single motion. The Blight shrieked as Bell dropped—
—but she never hit the ground.
A current of wind caught her, slowing her fall just enough for Minami to guide her down.
"Valx," Minami said, already turning away.
"Don't let her die."
Blood flooded the stones beneath Bell, spreading too fast, too much.
Valx knelt, teeth clenched.
"Mid-ranked blood manipulation," he said—and forced his will outward.
The blood stopped.
Then it reversed.
Streams of crimson tore themselves from the ground and surged back into Bell's wounds, sealing flesh, rebuilding ruptured veins. Bell convulsed, gasped—and came to.
The Blight laughed.
"You should have let her finish bleeding."
Minami faced it fully now.
"Who sent you?" she asked. "And where did you come from?"
The creature's exoskeleton creaked as it shifted its weight.
"I am hunger given form," it hissed. "I will drain this city. Then this world."
It vanished.
Space distorted—
Minami reinforced her legs and twisted aside just as poisoned webs detonated where she had stood. She felt the pull immediately.
It can drain Life Essence directly.
Careless power use meant death.
She raised her hand.
A black sphere formed—dense, unstable.
The Blight reacted instantly, shedding its outer shell mid-leap. The discarded exoskeleton burst apart, releasing a wave of rotting energy that tore across the square.
"Barrier!" Valx shouted.
"Bloody Membrane!"
A crimson wall snapped into place just in time. The rot energy slammed into it, hissing, melting, pushing—
—but it didn't break.
"Buy me time," Minami said, voice steady.
Valx inhaled once.
"Vampire Art—Blood Arts. Fifty percent output."
His veins flared black-red.
Blood surged from his arms, shaping itself into jagged gauntlets. He launched forward—fast enough that the ground cracked beneath his feet.
Punch.
A short-range bloody beam detonated point-blank.
Another punch. Another beam.
The Blight reeled—then retaliated violently.
Poison arrows tore through the air. Webs layered with venom lashed outward. Space warped again—
Chains erupted from the ground.
Blood-forged restraints wrapped around the Blight's limbs.
They began to melt.
Valx coughed blood—but didn't retreat.
Instead, he laughed softly.
"Then I'll drown you in it."
Blood poured from him freely now, rising, spinning, screaming under his control.
"Blood Arts: Overflow."
Weapons formed everywhere—swords, spears, axes, stakes—dozens at once, hovering like a crimson storm.
"Blood in. Blood out," Valx chanted.
"Crimson fury overlaps. Swirl. Burst. Arise."
They launched.
All of them.
"Full Bringer: Demainten Counter!"
The Blight screamed as its body was completely pinned—immobilized, locked in a cage of blood-forged death.
Valx collapsed where he stood.
"…Hope that's enough," he whispered. "Master."
The Blight tore itself free with brute force, limbs cracking, essence spilling.
"Your shield sleeps," it hissed. "Now—"
It pierced Minami's abdomen.
Pain flared—
—and the world broke.
The Blight found itself in darkness.
No ground. No sky.
It attacked wildly, warping again and again—only to strike nothing.
Minami's voice echoed from everywhere.
"Wind."
Pressure.
"Fire."
Heat.
"Earth."
Weight.
"Water."
Flow.
"Compress. Forge."
Reality strained.
"Become what should not exist."
The space screamed.
"ELEMENTAL CHAOS."
The blast erased the darkness.
When the light faded, the Blight lay shattered, barely clinging to form.
Minami stood over it.
"One last time," she said quietly. "Who made you?"
The creature twitched.
"I was created here," it rasped. "By something beyond—"
"A—"
Its body ruptured mid-word.
Silence reclaimed the square.
Only then—
The bell rang.