A deep, unbearable soreness and itchiness consumed Novak's body.
Even with his inhuman Constitution, he was completely powerless against the excruciating pain tearing through him.
He had fused bloodlines before in his past life—
Back then, it was the High Elf King's bloodline, an SS-rank power.
But that fusion had been entirely different.
When merging with the elven bloodline, his body had felt as if it were soaking in the legendary Spring of Life. There was no agony, no struggle—only a steady, graceful ascent in power.
Now?
Demons were truly vile creatures.
Every fiber of his being felt like it was being devoured from the inside out.
His body, already refined to the extreme by the Blacklight Virus, should have been resilient enough to withstand anything.
But now?
Against the blood of the Demon King, he was helpless.
No—this pain could not even be measured in normal terms.
Even his soul trembled under the weight of it!
When one's spiritual power surpasses 500 points, their soul takes form within the body—the very foundation of their spirit.
But now, the SSS-rank Demon King's bloodline was warping it, twisting even the fabric of his consciousness.
However—
No matter how overwhelming the blood's violent and murderous instincts became, they could not shake Novak's will.
A deeper force within him resisted the chaos.
Something primal.
Something sovereign.
This was the authority of the Abyss Ruler.
An inconceivable power that fused his original soul, the Well of the Abyss, and the Abyss itself into one.
At last, after two grueling hours, the pain began to fade.
Novak exhaled slowly.
His mind cleared, his power settled.
And then—
He opened his eyes.
Novak had returned to the Abyss.
He had originally intended to undergo the fusion in White Emperor City, believing his previous awakenings—including the Blacklight Virus breakthrough—were no more intense than this.
He had been wrong.
He had underestimated this power.
And worse—the sheer, overwhelming pain that came with it.
If he had attempted this in the core area of his villa, the destruction would have been catastrophic.
Here, in the depths of the Well of the Abyss, where all things could be devoured and absorbed, the fusion was far more controlled.
And yet—
That did not make it any less agonizing.
Every time his body was damaged, the power of the Abyss surged forward, mending and reforging him.
But instead of relieving the pain, it intensified it.
Fainting?
That was a luxury he was not afforded.
He had no choice but to endure, to remain fully conscious, experiencing every shift, every transformation within him.
And through this torment—
He understood.
Something within him had changed.
At the center of his chest, where his heart once beat steadily—
Now, it pulsed with a black-red glow.
Each throb sent pure black devil's blood surging through his veins, reshaping his physique at its very core.
He could feel it—
The blood of the Demon King, coursing through him.
He had become something entirely new.
But then—
Just as he believed the transformation was complete—
The unexpected happened.
The power of the Abyss converged—and in the next instant, his heart shrank!
Unnaturally. Inexplicably.
It compressed, reducing in size until it became a bead no larger than a fingernail.
Yet, despite its miniature form, it still pumped—circulating blood and power throughout his body.
But now—
It was even purer.
Even stronger.
A new organ had formed within him—
A Demon's Core!
At this moment, Novak understood.
Pure-blooded demons have no weaknesses.
They were nothing like the inferior demons—those low-level fallen creatures whose diluted demon blood barely granted them strength.
No—
This was true power.
The power of a Pure-Blood Demon King.
Above his chest, the Abyss Bloodline stirred once more.
The Blood of the Abyss granted him an unparalleled ability—
He could possess nine different bloodlines at the same time without conflict.
Rather than clashing, each power fused seamlessly, woven together by the abyss itself.
Novak instinctively placed a hand over his chest.
Silence.
No rise and fall—no heartbeat.
Even his body's temperature had changed, now far colder than any human's.
Yet—
With every rotation of the Devil's Core within him, an unfathomable power surged outward, filling his entire being.
His blood itself pulsed with energy.
Novak slowly opened his eyes.
They glowed with a deep yellow hue, swirling with black and red mist—the mark of the abyss Seeker's Eyes.
For a moment, his gaze was no longer human.
But then—
Everything returned to normal.
His appearance was unchanged.
Even after absorbing the blood of the Demon King, he did not manifest the horns that were common among demons.
Novak remained the same as before.
Yet, as he stretched out his palm, he could feel the difference.
His hand appeared delicate—pale, slender, almost fragile.
But within it—
Lay infinite power.
Bloodline power was unlike any profession-based strength.
It was not a skill to be trained—
Nor was it borrowed from an external source.
It was an inherent, absolute transformation.
An undeniable, direct increase in strength.
Only those who had personally experienced such a metamorphosis could truly grasp its significance.
And now—
Novak understood it completely.
He let himself savor the moment, intoxicated by the overwhelming sensation of power.
Then, with a deep breath, he slowly opened his status panel—
His gaze landed on the Mark of the Cosmic Will.
And there, in clear, irrefutable proof—
Lay the terrifying improvements brought by his direct fusion with an SSS-rank bloodline.