As the centipede lookalike was tormenting Nova, a figure lurking in the shadows secretly spectated them, staring directly at Nova to see what his next move would be. As the fight progressed, the figure decided to assist Nova.

Nova gritted his teeth, waking himself back up from his limp posture. He thought of ways to escape or do anything that could ensure his survival, but his mind was clogged with nothing. He wasn't able to think or talk internally, as if his software had been corrupted.

Then, Nova saw the figure approaching the centipede, very nonchalant in encountering an evolved A-rank threat. The figure casually walked towards them, the centipede shifting its focus from Nova to the figure, accelerating towards the figure, who easily sidestepped, not even slightly impressed by the centipede lookalike.

The monster was baffled, as the figure knelt right in front of Nova, some items rattling in his pocket, but eventually, after a couple of seconds, he pulled out a green mana crystal. Nova was confused, but willingly took it.

"Are... you...sure...?" Nova's voice broke, as he lethargically stared at the figure's eyes.

"Yes, it's yours," the figure responded.

Nova instantly absorbed the mana crystal as the centipede hurled itself towards the figure. The figure stopped the centipede with just a single hand, Nova astonished by the power gap between them.

The centipede snarled, its skin vibrating as it lunged, more angered now. Its shiny body armor strengthened with rage. But the figure stood unwavered by the cold malice displayed through the monster's aura, his one hand still loosely extended as if batting away a nuisance.

The creature's legs carved themselves into the ground as it tried to cleave him in two. Yet just before contact, the figure's body shifted, his veins igniting with a dull crimson, bloody glow. He dragged a finger across his palm, slicing the creature's skin without flinching.

Blood spilled. But instead of dripping harmlessly to the ground, it floated midair, twisting into a sharp whip that lashed forward with Mach hundred and fifty.

Crack!

The centipede wasn't even able to react. The blood whip collided with the centipede's armored skin, forcing the creature's head violently to the side. Its snarl turned into confusion. It hadn't even seen the strike coming.

"Pathetic," the figure said, his tone filled with annoyance.

Nova, still on the ground, clutching the mana crystal's energy seeping into his body, blinked in disbelief. The crystal's energy surged into his veins as fast as light, jump-starting his internal systems, but he could barely focus, his eyes completely and utterly locked on the figure, who wielded his blood like a conductor of death.

The centipede reeled back and lunged once more. This time, the figure didn't dodge. His blood poured outward in strands, spiraling into rough pikes that hovered like crimson lances. With a flick of his wrist, they shot forward, piercing into the creature's joints where its armored plates connected.

One after another, the spikes lodged deep into its exoskeleton. Dark blood, darker than midnight black, seeped from the wounds of the centipede, sizzling as the figure's blood drank all of it, greedily, siphoning the vitality back to him. His posture straightened, his movements sharpening as though every drop of stolen life refined his power.

The centipede thrashed, slamming its body against the labyrinth's walls, desperate to shake off the blood restraints. Chunks of stone broke free, but the blood spikes only tightened, hardening into restraints that held it in place like a chained bitch.

The figure crouched slightly, his hand pressing against the floor. He exhaled, calm as a monk, and the spilled blood pooled beneath him like a spreading stain. The puddle rippled unnaturally, then surged upward, forming another whip that coiled around his arm like a serpent.

"You rely on your size. Your brute strength," the figure said, his voice carrying the coldness and the hint of bloodlust that made even Nova shiver. "But blood is what governs this life. And that life bends for me."

The whip snapped again, this time wrapping around one of the centipede's limbs. With a sharp tug, the figure wrenched it aside, dislocating the creature's natural rhythm. Before the beast could counter, the figure's other hand shot out, and blood spears erupted from the ground beneath the centipede, piercing multiple legs at once.

The monster cried, convulsing in extreme agony.

Nova's jaw tightened. It wasn't just power; it was artistry. Every strike the figure delivered was precise, surgical. He wasn't simply overpowering the monster; he was dismantling it piece by piece.

The centipede, enraged and wounded, hurled itself forward recklessly. For a moment, Nova thought the figure would finally dodge. Instead, the figure stepped into its attack.

As the creature closed around him, the figure extended his hand and pressed his palm against its armored head. Blood poured from his body and seeped directly into the creature's wounds, bypassing its defenses.

Suddenly, the centipede froze. Its movements slowed, its body trembling inches from crushing the figure.

The centipede shrieked, not in rage, but in terror. Its body began to convulse violently as its own blood rebelled, pulled through its armored plates by the figure's will. Rivers of dark blood leaked from its joints, coiling through the air like streams of living blood, all converging into the figure's form.

The ground trembled beneath the force of it.

Nova gasped, feeling the very air shift as the figure absorbed the monster's vitality, his wounds closing, his presence growing with unnatural vigor. The centipede's thrashing grew weaker, its armor dulling as life drained from within.

"Witness it," the figure said without looking back. His voice was cold and absolute. "This is the price of defiance. All the blood in this world and the next answers to me. Always and forever."

With a final gesture, the figure clenched his fist. The streams of blood constricted around the centipede's body, and with a sickening crack, the massive beast's frame collapsed inward, as though crushed by invisible chains.

He released his hold, and the blood constructs disintegrated back into nothing. The carcass of the centipede slumped lifelessly, a husk drained of essence.

The figure stood in the aftermath, his bloody crimson aura radiating strongly around him, his expression unchanged, calm, detached, as though what he had done was no more than swatting an insect.

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