It was like weightlessness, as if he’d slipped into a brief sleep. That fleeting moment felt utterly blurred to Lyn. Only when he regained control of his consciousness and his vision cleared did he realize his surroundings had transformed completely.
Dazzling starlight poured from above. Gray currents drifted mid-air, thick with chaotic energy. After that grand will had yanked him here, Lyn opened his eyes inside a mystical yet desolate hall.
Why call it desolate? This grand hall held nothing but towering stone pillars supporting its weight, a stone table scattered with hazy light orbs, and a massive stone door right before Lyn.
Between the starry sky and the gray mist hung vast emptiness, loneliness, and desolation.
These were the emotions Lyn often felt standing in this silent hall.
Even though it wasn’t his first visit, whenever he saw those chaotic currents drifting between heaven and earth, that profound, impenetrable starry void, his heart would still surge. It was the mystery, the ancient majesty of this place.
This ancient hall, seemingly sealed beneath eternal stars, was the core of Lyn’s "Devil King System."
The first time Lyn activated his cheat ability, he’d appeared here. He’d gained the Devil King Authority here. Even the interface panels and notifications had emerged after a ball of light from this hall merged into his body.
The system he called never showed intelligence. To Lyn, it was just a command-executing template—a game program. He was the admin; the world only gave feedback based on his orders.
He called it a "system" because the term was clear and direct.
It also carried a transmigrator’s dark humor.
"As expected," Lyn murmured. "A simple breakthrough won’t change this hall."
After standing still for a moment, he shifted his gaze to the stone door nearby.
That ancient, heavy door was the only barrier keeping him trapped.
He’d tried everything to open it—prying, blasting, every trick a person could imagine. But he’d given up, forced to take the proper trial path.
Without shortcuts, the door only opened by lighting the three cubes above it. Each cube represented a trial stage.
He’d cleared the first two. Only the third cube remained dormant and gray. After his bloodline weakened, Lyn had lost the strength to pass it.
But now, after consuming the Ancient Blood and fully restoring his power—he had a chance again. Confidence flared.
Shaking off a brief daze, Lyn pressed his hand against the stone door. The third mark began to glow.
"Initiate the third-stage Devil King Trial?"
A strange, grand voice echoed, then materialized in Lyn’s vision as fiery text.
"Yes."
Lyn replied calmly. Space twisted around him instantly, as if an invisible hand from the void seized him and hurled him deeper.
This teleportation was faster. Lyn steadied himself after only a moment of dizziness.
He stood in a massive circular arena. Blood soaked the ground, thick in the air—a scent of endless slaughter, flesh clashing without mercy.
The air roared coldly, like a desolate horn. Lyn took deep breaths, adjusting to the stench. He hadn’t entered this battlefield in months.
Half a year ago, he’d activated this space. He’d barely scraped through the first two trials. Then he’d hit a wall at the third stage. The challenge there was an impassable chasm.
Nearby stood a petite figure. Soft golden hair. A simple white dress. Cold blood-red pupils. Skin pale as fresh snow. A delicate, elfin face.
Lyn hated admitting it, but the barefoot golden-haired loli was undeniably his sister.
—Beryl Belmond.
That name was forever etched in his heart.
Of course, this was just a projection shaped by the space’s power—not her true form. What darkened Lyn’s mood most was that this Beryl was her twelve-year-old self, before entering the Divine Grace Tower.
She appeared here because the system deemed this version the peak of third-stage power.
Lyn’s trial was to defeat the strongest third-stage being from the past.
Naturally, his strength was suppressed to the third stage the moment he arrived—the level he’d been stuck at for so long.
But unlike before, his vampire bloodline no longer felt weak. It roared within him, surging wildly. Sensing her pure, powerful kin-blood, fanatical battle lust slammed into his chest. His heart pounded like a war drum.
Even his pitch-black pupils began to glow crimson.
The shame of being beaten by Beryl would end today. He’d pin this girl down and spank her hard. Even if it was just a projection—he’d enjoy it first.
"Boom!"
Battle erupted. Lyn’s fighting spirit surged. Crimson patterns flared across his face. A blood-red aura blazed around him like flames. Overwhelming power radiated from his body.
Dust kicked up as he shot forward like a cannonball toward the girl. The moment he attacked, the fight began. The golden-haired girl, who’d seemed asleep, watched his approach with calm eyes.
Beneath her fair, bare feet on the blood-red sand, the ground suddenly blazed like fire.
