Neither Lilian nor Roel had expected a bloodline resonance to occur, and the two of them were dumbstruck by this turn of events. They could feel a warm sensation flowing into their hearts, filling up their minds. The bloodline resonance was already starting to take effect even before they could process what was going on.

  Similar to how a person’s emotions were affected by hormones to some extent, bloodline resonance created an inexplicable and irrepressible feeling of intimacy between two individuals.

  This feeling of intimacy only lasted for a brief instant, but it was more than enough to change how Roel and Lilian perceived one another. It answered all of the doubts that Lilian had harbored over the past month.

  So this is it.

  Lilian’s amethyst eyes widened in realization as she finally understood what had come over her, be it her instinctive urge to help him with his problems or the worry she felt when he was exposed to danger.

  Their bond of bloodlines had been unknowingly influencing her.

  While there hadn’t been a bloodline resonance between them over the past month, something had been changing inside her every time they clashed mana with one another.

  Looking back on it now, she realized that all of the clues had been there all along, just that she hadn’t been able to piece them together. In the first place, what were the odds of two creation transcendents possessing identical mana channeling methods?

  The truth had only eluded her because she was blinded by the vast difference in their backgrounds.

  This revelation came as a huge surprise to her—and it was a pleasant one.

  The Ackermanns and the Ascarts had been estranged for at least a thousand years now, such that the two of them could practically be considered strangers to one another. It was a miracle how a bond of bloodlines could be formed between the two of them after such a long time.

  Lilian thought that this was a gift from Sia.

  A bond of bloodlines was a relationship that allowed no betrayal or hypocrisy, a link that could never be severed. Just thinking about it was enough to make Lilian’s mind heat up in excitement.

  On the other hand, Roel found himself utterly confused.

  Lilian is my bloodline kin? How is this possible? Putting all things aside, if this relationship were to come to the surface, she would be……

  “Roel, w-we are……”


  “Senior……”


  Roel looked at the agitated Lilian and was just about to say something when he suddenly felt his mana running amok. At the same time, the Blackrose Ring he carried in his pocket began shimmering, seemingly resonating with his mana.

  “Get away from me!”


  “Roel?”


  Having been through this situation twice before, Roel was able to immediately figure out what was going on. With a face warped in horror, he pushed Lilian away right before his mana gushed out with unstoppable momentum.

  Before he could explain anything, his consciousness had already faded……

  “!”


  By the time Roel opened his eyes once more, he found himself faced with a starless night sky. He could hear the crackle of flames coming from not too far away, and the surroundings were suffused with the nauseating stench of blood.

  The ground he was lying on felt icy-cold, and the freezing night gale only made the environment even more hostile.

  Where am I?

  Roel’s groggy mind slowly began churning into action. He tried to recall everything that had happened thus far in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

  A bloody envelope, a grayish space, a meat giant with countless tentacles……

  Many scenes flashed across Roel’s mind before finally stopping at a woman’s face. Her face was stained with tears, and yet, happiness was overflowing from her eyes.

  Roel’s mind cleared up right away. His body jolted up from the ground, and he exclaimed loudly.

  “Senior!”


  His anxious voice echoed in the dark night, only to be responded with silence. Everything clicked together right away.

  I’m in another Witness State…… but why did it have to happen at that very moment?!

  Roel searched his surroundings in a fluster, but his mind blanked out the moment he realized that Lilian wasn’t around.

  No one? What’s going on? Is it because I pushed her away before being transported here?

  No, that’s unlikely. I only pushed her aside because I wanted to stop the activation of the Kingmaker Bloodline, but that obviously failed. The chances of her not being transported into the Witness State with me are……

  Roel thought about how Charlotte was dragged into the previous Witness State despite sleeping in an adjacent room, and his heart immediately grew heavy. He clutched his forehead and forced himself to calm down.

  There were two possibilities right now.

  One, Lilian hadn’t been brought in here with him. That would be good news since there was no one who understood the great dangers lying in wait in the Witness States more than him. The threats that one faced in the Witness States could potentially be unreasonable, and Sire Darkness was a good example. He was fortunate to have Peytra’s help, or else even the strongest transcendent would have died if put in his place.

  It was just moments ago that he had reunited with his bloodline kin, and his heart was still palpitating from the indescribable feeling arising from their resonance. He couldn’t stand the thought of Lilian being put in a dangerous position. He would rather have years taken off his lifespan than to see any harm coming to her.

  But reality would never change to anyone’s convenience.

  After careful contemplation, Roel felt that the first possibility was slim.

  If Lilian was his bloodline kin, it would mean that she had inherited the Kingmaker Bloodline too. Even Nora and Charlotte had been mercilessly swept into the Witness State with him; it was hard to imagine that Lilian who shared the same bloodline as him would be spared.

  Roel gritted his teeth tightly as he thought about the second possibility—Lilian had entered the Witness State as well, but she wasn’t transported to the same location as him……

  “Are you bloody kidding with me?!” bellowed Roel furiously.

  He punched his fist into the ground, feeling like he was going to lose his mind.

  Such a situation meant that he had left Lilian all alone in this treacherous Witness State!

  She would be at a loss without a veteran like him to bring her along, and she was clearly not in the right mental state to face such a trial either!

  Of course, there was one last possibility that Roel dared not even entertain—the possibility that both of their bloodlines had been invoked simultaneously and separately. It was completely possible for the two of them to have teleported into separate Witness States, which meant that they couldn’t help each other even if they wanted to.

  The thought of a bloodline kin he had just reunited with vanishing from the face of the world made Roel’s body tremble uncontrollably.

  His mind plummeted into utter chaos, but his numerous experiences with the Witness States told him that he had to make a move as soon as possible.

  “I need to calm down. Lilian is a powerful transcendent, so it’s unlikely that anything bad will happen to her. I have to get a grasp on the situation first before I can even think about helping her……”


  Roel squeezed his face and forced himself to think positively. After his mind finally cleared up a little, he turned his attention toward the System.

  【Warning!】


  【Warning!】


  【Warning!】


  【The System has detected the symptoms of bloodline awakening.】


  【Bloodline Awakening Support System activating……】


  【Activating the Witness State.】


  【The library collapses amidst flickering embers. Sweet dreams are devoured by desires, and the fallen shards drum the war gong.】


  【Countdown to the end of the Witness State: 239 hours 22 minutes】


  【Evaluation: Low (2)】


  As always, what a useless introduction.

  Roel’s face twitched upon seeing the nonsense scribbled on the System. He was intending to quickly browse through it before checking out his surroundings, but his face swiftly turned grim when he saw the last few notifications.

  His low evaluation was understandable since he hadn’t done anything yet, but he couldn’t help but notice that the duration of the Witness State was twice as long as the previous one.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if the countdown had doubled due to the effect of the resonance between Lilian and him.

  He cleared away his worry and gathered his motivation. For now, the highest priority for him was to use all of the means he had at his disposal to find Lilian and ensure her safety.

  As usual, he slowly stood up and scanned his dark surroundings to gather some intelligence. He had to first figure out which historical event he had been transported into in order to determine his next course of action.

  On his left was a flat plain and on his right was a lush forest. In front of him was a well-paved road constructed for the passage of carriages.

  It’s likely that I’m along the main road near the outskirts of a city.

  He looked toward the direction where the blazing orange incandescence and stench of blood were coming from.

  Not too far away from him, there was a carriage that was almost completely burned down by now. The scattered wooden smithereens and the fallen tyre suggested that the carriage was already severely damaged before it was set alight. As for those traveling on the carriage……

  Roel first double confirmed that there was no one in the vicinity before flitting toward the carriage. There were twelve corpses lying around the carriage. The lingering mana around their bodies indicated that they were all transcendents, fairly powerful ones at that.

  Nearly all of them were wearing guard armor, which allowed Roel to identify the only one dressed in fine robes as the owner of the carriage. It was a black-haired young man with a gaping hole in his chest, as if someone had gobbled a part of him up.

  The other corpses had disconcerting injuries on them as well, be it melted flesh, charred body parts, or missing limbs. They were killed in a myriad of ways.

  It’s the deed of evil cultists, Roel deduced.

  But a new doubt surfaced in his mind soon after.

  When did the evil cultists get so arrogant as to kill someone along the main road and leave their bodies lying around? Aren’t they afraid of the backlash from the church?

  This made Roel curious about the identities of the victim.

  So, he began checking their bodies, but there was nothing on them. He searched through the toppled carriage, and surprisingly, he managed to find an intact envelope.

  He brushed off the ashes on the letter and pried it open. The first line of words was more than enough to induce his shock.

  “Respected Holy Envoy, the Saints Convocation Leinster Branch is currently facing a great threat……”