Nerion looked at Mia with a cold, indifferent gaze, tinged with a hint of disgust.
She noticed it—and like a spell breaking, her frenzied expression vanished, replaced by a scowl of anger. Without warning, she reached out and grabbed him by the neck, yelling in his face.
"You bastard! Why are you looking at me like that? Like I'm filthy?! Do you think I'm easy just because I got close to you?"
'Wait, aren't you exactly what you just said?' he thought.
She tightened her grip on him—but not enough to knock him unconscious or kill him. Nerion noticed this easily and concluded that even in her rage, she still couldn't let him go. She certainly wanted something from him, but he didn't know what it was. It clearly wasn't just his appearance. If it were, she would have lost control the moment she saw him—but she hadn't.
So Nerion concluded that there was something else—something he didn't know, but as usual, he would exploit it.
Despite being paralyzed, he was angry at the way she treated him, but she was stronger than him—or at least she was in full physical control, unlike him, who could barely move his head.
But since she wasn't going to kill him anyway, he decided to relieve some of the stress he'd been feeling since arriving in this hellhole.
"You're the one who got close first, fang girl," he snapped, his voice strained from the pressure on his throat. "You were the one who started flirting. You got excited—and maybe even killed your companion because of it!"
His fury kept rising.
"And what? You thought I'd just accept any beautiful woman who came at me like that? Do I look like some mindless beast to you?"
"Or did you think that, because I'm helpless right now, I'd settle for the first woman who knocked on my door—especially after you destroyed your companion on a whim?" he said as her cheeks flushed.
It wasn't the first time someone had called her beautiful, but what surprised her was that he described her as beautiful without any hint of deception or lust; rather, he said it matter-of-factly, as if stating a fact, as if he were saying the sun was shining today. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't finished yet.
"No, you damn bitch! I don't care if you're beautiful or not. And I won't tolerate the way you're treating me. You should kill me right now—because if I gain power and get out of this helpless state, I swear I'll return everything you've done to me."
He meant every word he said, but at the same time, he wanted to test her limits to see how he would deal with her in the future.
He knew he might die for saying this if she were particularly cautious—but he didn't care. His dream might be important, but his dignity was worth more than a thousand dreams.
If circumstances had been better, he might have endured the insults for a thousand years, but he had just arrived anyway and hadn't done anything yet, and yet, he found himself in situations more dangerous than anything he had faced in his entire life on Earth—without a family, with a paralyzed body he didn't even know if it could be cured, surrounded by a group of mad beasts who killed one another with the slightest flick of their wrists.
Then to hell with her—and to hell with his dream, if it came to that.
The main reason for this dream was simply that he didn't want his dignity—or that of his loved ones—to be compromised.
That is his ultimate goal.
Mia stared at him, her eyes locked on his. She wasn't stupid by any means, and she realized one thing instantly.
'He means every single word,' she thought.
Advancement was rare in this world, and it only grew harder with each Sequence. But there were exceptions—some people defied the odds. Nerion could be one of them.
'Should I kill him? …But...' Mia hesitated, her gaze lingering on his handsome face—his defiant eyes that didn't waver even before someone of her level. And not once, from the beginning of their conversation until now, had lust clouded them. And the scent coming off him—it was the first time she didn't feel repulsed by the idea of drinking someone's blood.
He was simply the perfect man in her eyes.
'I can tame him. He'll forget all about this situation over time, especially with the "benefits" I'll offer.' She thought, her lips curling into a slow, widening smile.
Nerion noticed the shift in her expression and knew exactly what it meant.
'She's already thinking of a way to bind me.'
Then, Mia finally broke the silence.
"Well," she said, "I admire your spirit. That performance convinced me. I won't kill you."
She glanced at Rios's mangled corpse, blood soaking into the ground.
"Maybe I overdid it," she added with a soft chuckle. The minotaur clearly meant little to her—but Nerion was in real trouble now.
'Damn it. That stupid bull is causing me problems even in death.' Nerion thought, cursing the minotaur who had invited a lion into his den, only to die moments later.
"Oh, right. You never told me your name," Mia said, turning her eyes back to him.
"Nerion. Nerion Valdegar," he replied, his expression unreadable—neither warm nor cold.
Mia noticed the detachment in his gaze and frowned slightly. She realized she really needed to start breaking down that barrier between them.
"Hey," she said softly, brushing a strand of his hair with gentle fingers, "you're mine now. There's no choice but to stay by my side."
Nerion's expression didn't change one iota.
"I've never been able to drink anyone's blood—not even my parents'—at least, not directly. But you…" Her slender, jade-like fingers caressed his cheek. "Your scent doesn't disgust me. In fact, it's the most pleasant scent I've ever known."
She smiled, almost tenderly.
"Don't worry—I'll give you everything you need to advance through the Sequences. I'll support you fully. Once your Will awakens, the paralysis will fade. And with time, any hatred between us will disappear. You'll grow to accept me. That's not so bad… right?"
Her hands stayed on his cheeks. Her eyes didn't leave his. To her, he looked like the very flame of her hope. She was determined not to mess this up—and though she had removed the possibility of letting him go, she framed it as a suggestion, not a command.
Nerion saw through her approach.
How?
Just look into her eyes—the passion and hope in them were impossible to miss. She didn't want to push things further into conflict, so she offered this compromise.
But Nerion also understood one other thing:
He had no choice.
Paralyzed, unable to move a single limb—what right did he have to protest?
It was dangerous, and he hated being so weak, but… it was a chance. A chance to begin his journey in this new world.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
"…Fine. I'll go with you," he said, his tone still neutral.
Mia beamed inside, hiding her excitement carefully. She didn't want to trigger any revulsion from him. She could tell now—so long as she acted with nobility and reason, not cold arrogance, he wouldn't resist her. And she planned to stay that way until he fully opened up to her.
Then, she glanced at the lifeless form of Angelina.
"She was your sister, wasn't she?"
"Yes," Nerion said, faking a sad expression. "I'd like her buried somewhere peaceful, please."
Though he felt some sympathy for her life's tragedy, he had no deep emotional connection. He realized now that his mind was separating completely from the soul that once occupied this body—and that gave him peace. It meant no more interference in his emotions going forward.
Mia lifted the body from his lap and vanished, leaving Nerion alone—much to his surprise.
'She disappeared just like this? Why didn't she take me with her?' He thought, puzzled—but ultimately didn't care. He waited patiently for her return.
…
Mia reappeared in a quiet clearing with no trees nearby. Then she punched the ground—hard.
The earth caved in, creating a pit two meters deep. The precision in her strike was terrifying.
She gently laid Angelina's corpse inside. As she did, she caught the faint scent of Nerion on her clothes.
Her eyes briefly lost focus—but she recovered quickly.
'It's fine. She *was* his sister.' She reassured herself.
She thought about burning the body, but decided against it—it was Nerion's sister, after all.
After covering the grave, she turned and whispered before vanishing again:
"Don't worry, little human. I'll take better care of your brother than you ever did," she said with a smug little smirk curling at her lips.
She appeared before Nerion once more, wearing a wide smile.
"Shall we go, dear?" she asked, staring into his eyes.
His neutral gaze remained unmoved.
"Yes. Let's go," Nerion replied, nodding.
"Oh! I almost forgot," Mia said, teleporting to Rios's corpse.
She drew a dagger with a red blade from her waist and knelt, then stabbed him in the chest; the blade sliced through his chest with perfect ease, and she thrust it deeper until it reached the depths. Then she whispered something under her breath, and Rios's chest began to glow.
Nerion's eyes widened. It was the first time he had seen someone dissect a humanoid-like creature up close. The blood and gore were shocking—but he forced himself to watch. He had to get used to this kind of brutality. It would surely happen again.
Finally, Mia pulled something from Rios's chest—an ever-shifting object that changed its shape every second: cube, then sphere, then triangle. It kept morphing in her palm as she walked back toward Nerion.
She noticed his faint look of disgust and quickly cleaned herself.
"Salus Ayagora," she whispered. Suddenly, a reddish, almost liquid energy burst forth from the center of her chest and cleansed her body.
In an instant, her clothes, body, and even the strange object in her hand were spotless—no trace of blood or gore.
Before either of them could speak—
A sudden clarity flooded Nerion's mind. The emotions he had buried since arriving in this world settled into silence. His sadness vanished. Even the pain in his stomach faded—and then—
Ding!
[The heir's soul has successfully merged with the vessel.]
Ding!
[All remnants of the previous soul have been purged.]
Ding!
[The lingering poison in the heir's stomach has been neutralized.]
Ding!
[The Original Bloodline System has successfully linked with the heir's soul.]
Ding!
[A drop of Origin Lineage Essence has been successfully transferred.]
[The essence has fused with the vessel.]
[The vessel has been fully reshaped to match the heir's lineage and soul.]
Ding!
[Insufficient energy to activate the Original Lineage System.]
Ding!
[The heir has two choices:
1 – Sacrifice 10 years of lifespan to activate the system using soul force.
2 – Gather willpower essence from living beings to activate the system naturally.
(Note: The system remains identical regardless of method.
Note: Lifespan can be regained through progression in Willpower and Bloodline Paths, but your bloodline has not yet fully awakened.
Using the first method will cause clear signs of aging.)
Ding!
[Option One – Option Two]
(Note: The heir may choose a hybrid method, sacrificing some lifespan and supplementing the rest with willpower sources.)]
The flood of system messages made Nerion's eyes widen and spin with shock.
Then—
"Nerion!!" Mia screamed, panicked.
He blacked out from the shock.