"Flesh-Dissolving Array… Soul-Collapse Array…"
Hel ran her fingers lightly over the alchemical formations carved onto the coffin's surface.
She couldn't understand it — why would the witches of the Desire faction, who were supposed to be on the same side as other witches, harbor such deep malice toward them?
"If they can't have it, they destroy it? … Seems whoever's inside must hold a rather extraordinary divine rank."
Thinking that, Hel took out her rune chisel and began modifying the alchemical sigils, dismantling the self-destruction array hidden within the coffin.
When the lid was finally pushed open, a thick wave of metallic blood scent poured out.
The coffin's interior was nothing but a mess of shredded flesh.
"...Tch. They really turned her into minced meat in the most literal sense."
Hel couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
With a wave of her hand, a damaged True Spirit drifted out from the remains and landed in her palm.
"...The Witch of Wisdom, huh? Heh, seems we're fated to cross paths."
She casually took an empty Philosopher's Stone from her spatial ring and sealed the spirit inside, then collected every single Word Fragment left on the mangled corpse.
"I remember the Witch of Wisdom was one of the True Divinities of the Civilization Path, belonging to the Lineage of Time."
Hel frowned as she examined the Word Fragment she'd just gained.
"I'm walking the path of Reincarnation and Fusion, so this fragment doesn't really suit me…"
Her gaze shifted toward Niv, who was still methodically processing the remains. A new idea bloomed in her mind.
"Niv, come here for a moment."
"Yes, Master?"
Niv set down her extractor and walked over, confusion in her golden eyes. "Does Master wish to make further use of this corpse?"
"No. Whoever killed her was clearly a master of death magic themselves. They knew exactly how to destroy a body so it could never be used again."
Hel paused, then said meaningfully, "I called you over for something else."
Her eyes flicked from the Witch Fragment in her archive to the girl before her.
Then, solemnly, she asked: "Niv — do you want to become a witch?"
"...A witch?"
"Yes — the Witch of Wisdom, a True Divinity of the Civilization Path."
"If Master wills it," Niv replied without hesitation, "then Niv is willing."
She spoke with complete trust, without a trace of doubt.
Hel, however, frowned as her gaze drifted toward the bloodline tag on Niv's panel.
Niv's bloodline was already pink-grade, clearly superior in quality to a typical witch's.
Giving her a witch bloodline could risk it being devoured by her existing bloodline instead —which would not only prevent her from bearing a divine fragment but could even alter her original essence in unpredictable ways.
For safety's sake, Hel decided not to have Niv's main body take that risk.
"To be safe, maybe send one of your clones to test it first."
"That won't be necessary."
Niv thought for a moment, then shook her head gently.
"Niv's bloodline was formed by fusing the essences of the Four Great Destiny Races. It's… different from normal bloodlines. I'm fairly confident it won't conflict with a witch bloodline. In fact—if Master provides me with more bloodlines from other Destiny Races, it will actually strengthen my own."
"Are you sure?"
Hel raised a brow.
When Niv nodded firmly, Hel opened her status interface to double-check.
"Last time you awakened your bloodline, we consumed most of the usable ones we had. Right now, what's left are— the Dragon bloodline, the Beastman bloodline, and the Legendary Human bloodline we obtained from the Saints' Inquisition."
"Legendary bloodline?"
"It's a unique human lineage," Hel explained.
"Only King-ranked humans and their descendants can awaken it. Ordinary humans don't have bloodlines, and even this one isn't that impressive — it just helps them cultivate faster."
"So, Master currently has three bloodline fragments strong enough to reach red-grade, correct?"
"Not just those."
Hel shook her head.
"We also have the Devil bloodline we obtained from the Demon Ranch — that one's red-grade too. And the Beastman bloodline has already reached pink-grade."
She glanced at Niv thoughtfully.
"So, should I implant them one at a time, or merge all four into your body at once?"
"You can give them all to Niv," the girl replied softly but firmly.
"Niv has a feeling… that once I've gathered thirteen Destiny Bloodlines and raised them all to demigod level, my blood itself will undergo a qualitative evolution."
"...I see."
Hel wasn't entirely convinced, but she decided to trust her instinct.
She transferred all four bloodline fragments into Niv's body.
Moments later, all four began to flicker violently. Niv's main bloodline tag pulsed in response.
Hel frowned and prepared to forcibly extract the fragments if a conflict broke out—
—but before she could act, the lights suddenly faded.
The new bloodline fragments had vanished, while the number of Destiny Bloodlines listed under Niv's own tag had increased from four to eight.
"...Looks like it worked."
"Yes," Niv said calmly.
"Because most of them were low-tier.The only one with any real weight was the Beastman bloodline. If Niv wants to continue fusing, she'll have to wait until that one fully assimilates."
"I see… so you're deliberately timing it—waiting for the fusion cooldown, right?"
Hel asked, half-guessing her reasoning.
"That's right."
Niv nodded.
"I have a theory — the witch bloodline might be connected to the two primordial races of the First Epoch. If I fuse too soon, it might alter or overwrite that connection. So I want to wait until the cooldown ends before integrating it."
"The two races of the First Epoch…?"
Even Hel had scarce records of that distant era.
In fact, dragons and devils from the Second Epoch were far better documented.
The only known fact about the First Epoch was its name — Ragnarök, an age when the world was ruled by a single Destiny Race — the Gods.
And the witch bloodline… seemed to be related to them.
"Alright then. Let's give it a try."
Hel took Niv's delicate hand.
A stream of light flowed from her palm as she transferred the [Witch of Wisdom] Word Fragment into Niv's body.
The moment it entered, Niv's eyes closed as she focused inward.
A long silence passed before she finally opened her mouth, her expression strange.
"Niv can feel it clearly… The witch's bloodline truly belongs to one of the Destiny Races. But— its grade is far inferior to that of a true god's bloodline."