The compact size of the bolt was a deception to fool the eyes of the ignorant.
In all honesty, it was an embodiment of concentrated devastation!
The bolt in the sky seemed to pulse with life, and his body throbbed.
This sensation helped him anticipate the imminent strike.
Without wasting a moment, he sprang aside, moving with the grace and agility of a seasoned panther.
BOOM!
A blink of an eye later, the lightning bolt dropped from the sky, descending straight towards where Val had been a fraction of a second ago. As Val had moved before it even dropped, the lightning bolt missed him by a hair’s breadth.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips, but it was short-lived. The lightning, seemingly endowed with a malevolent will of its own, took a sudden turn, an impossible turn, hurtling towards Val like the scythe of Death, eager to harvest his life.
“…Not today!” Val’s voice rang out defiantly against heaven’s wrath.
With a thought, his cursed sword materialized in his hand.
“Shatter!”
With a primal roar, he brandished his sword.
A crimson arc of energy burst forth from the body of the sword, meeting the incoming bolt head-on.
The impact shattered the heavenly lightning, splitting it into two halves!
Each half whizzed past him, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake as they incinerated the surrounding trees.
Val’s triumphant cry rang out through the eerie silence that followed the fourth bolt. “I have done it!”
However, his jubilation was violently cut short as another earth-shaking rumble echoed through the darkened sky.
The sky rumbled, and his heart sank in sync with the dreadful sound.
“What the fuck?”
A bolt of pure terror began to take shape.
This was the fifth lightning bolt! 𝞸𝔳𝓛xt.𝑪𝗈𝐌
Even the progenitor of the Whitemores was known to have only faced four bolts. Val facing a fifth one no longer had to do with the purity of his bloodline. This tribulation was aiming to annihilate his existence for reasons beyond his comprehension.
Was it because he was an anomaly, carrying two bloodlines in one body? Or perhaps, his half-devil lineage had provoked this divine retribution.
Regardless, a towering column of black lightning, laced with a deadly promise, shot down towards him.
Wounded and weary, he attempted to evade the terrifying bolt, but the speed gap was too vast, and his strength waned too quickly.
Fate was too ruthless!
It seemed inescapable!!
His demise seemed inevitable!!!
But just as the lethal bolt was a hair’s breadth away, a golden halo sprung forth from him.
[Ding! As your life is in danger, the Divine Blessing has activated.]
A wave of relief swept over him, leaving a wistful smile on his face. At this moment, the system’s melodious notification was akin to the sweetest symphony he’d ever heard.
The golden halo collided with the monstrous bolt, causing it to deviate from its intended course.
Like a divine intervention at the brink of doom, the murderous bolt was deflected, its might redirected towards a distant mountain!
The destructive force of the bolt annihilated the peak, turning the once majestic mountain into a mere stub of what it once was.
The aftermath was a testament to the destructive prowess of the tribulation Val had just narrowly escaped.
[Your life has been saved.]
The memory of Eliana’s sincere gaze as she promised to pray for him came back to him as if a vision amidst the chaos. The blessing he had received, a gift for aiding the pure-hearted maiden, had manifested in the most critical moment, shielding him from an assured death.
The divine intervention had been his salvation, a ray of light amidst the despair. His battered body ached, but the overwhelming relief that washed over him numbed the physical discomfort.
He had survived the heavenly tribulation, emerging from it stronger and more powerful than before. His body might be bruised and scarred, but his spirit was invincible, his triumph absolute.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully weathered the tribulation. Your Whitemore Bloodline has earned the recognition of the White Devil from Hell and has been upgraded to Level 2.]
[You have acquired the Bloodline skill ‘Hellish Fist.’
An exhilarating rush of power coursed through him as the new Bloodline skill integrated with his being.
Another notification popped up in his vision.
[Hellish Fist: Allow you to imbue your punches with Hellfire. Hellfire is impervious to regular extinguishing means, and it burns not only the flesh but also the soul of your adversaries.]
It was a powerful weapon against all enemies!
“With this skill, slaying an Eldritch like Ravengar should be possible!” he said.
Roar!
The tranquility following the tribulation was abruptly shattered by the guttural roars of beasts, their cries echoing through the forest, disturbing the eerie calm.
Soon a multitude of beasts emerged from From the dense, shadowy curtains of the trees that surrounded Val.
These beasts had smelled the scent of a bloodline user battered by the heavenly tribulation.
To them, he was a rare delicacy to be seized – a feast that promised to nourish them with unprecedented strength.
The beasts, eyes glinting with ruthlessness, advanced towards him.
It looked similar to vultures circling a wounded animal. However, they mistook that animal for a dog when it was actually a dragon that although injured could easily deal with them!
Although brutally injured, Val didn’t even flinch as the beasts encircled him. Instead, his eyes sparkled with a gleam of delight as he sized up his unexpected guests.
“Well, isn’t this a perfect chance to test my new skill?”
Val curled his lips into a wicked smile.
With a flex of his arm, an eerie grey flame sprang to life. The sudden manifestation of the hellish fire ratcheted up the surrounding temperature. A heatwave rippled through the air, causing the beasts to falter in their approach, their eyes widening in terror.
Sporting a devilish grin, Val pulled his arm back, the ghastly fire coiling around his tightly clenched fist like a viper poised to strike.