Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 37 Rhodes Gets Bitten

Boom boom boom—!

A surging, scorching current instantly swept through the entire house, shattering all the windows!

If it weren't for the protection of the barrier, half of the Duke's mansion would probably have been blown to smithereens!

Above that terrifying heatwave, a figure darted out of the window—

At that moment, Rhodes, who was holding Ivina tightly with one hand, was thrown out of the window by the terrifying heat.

"Tsk..."

Rhodes's expression remained calm and composed, but the skin on his back scorched by the terrifying energy wave and the internal organs ruptured by the powerful shockwave were causing him excruciating pain, as if cut by a knife.

However, he had no time to worry about his injuries right now. He simply used [Listening to the Dragon's Song of Life LV.1] to barely maintain his health, keeping him hovering on the edge of falling and recovering, so that he wouldn't fall into a coma.

After all, the enemy is not yet dead.

He rolled over, turning his back to the ground, and held Ivina to his chest like a doll, then let them fall naturally—

This posture is not to resist the slight damage from the impact with the ground, but to face the pursuing enemies!

Yes, even after taking that terrifying blow, Daphne still didn't die!

She was clearly a mature, three-stage ascendant powerhouse; even though she was directly detonated at face level, she still managed to retain her last breath.

But that was all he had left.

"Damn it—!" she shouted angrily, stomped on the window, and jumped down. The spear flashed with terrifying power again and pierced directly towards Rhodes!

Ultimately, her entire body was wrecked; her skin was completely ulcerated and burned, revealing exposed muscle, and some muscle fibers had melted away, leaving her covered in blood. As a result, her strength had been greatly reduced.

As Rhodes hit the ground, he let out a muffled cry of pain, but he also moved quickly, taking half a step back to dodge the attack.

boom--!

The spear pierced the ground, instantly tearing open a huge crater!

"Lord Rhodes!!! Why did you intervene now?!" Daphne shouted angrily. "You're just turning Miss Ivina into a monster!"

"Stop talking nonsense." Rhodes stared at the blood-soaked figure, and could only marvel at Daphne's terrifying vitality.

An ordinary being would not be able to move under these circumstances;

The Dragon Sword flashed out from Rhodes' right hand in an instant.

"die!"

Stumbling and unsteady, Daphne launched a frantic attack, her spear flashing like a dragon yet utterly chaotic!

Even so, Rhodes managed to cope even while holding Ivina.

Firstly, he was more tolerant of pain than Daphne; secondly, Daphne's injuries were too severe; and thirdly, Ivina was too light.

The key is--

Daphne is being burned and rotting, but he is constantly maintaining his health bar because of his skill!

boom! boom! boom!

In a flash, swords and blades gleamed wildly, their light as bright as starlight!

"Why? You were clearly injured too, even if it was just a minor injury, so why is your condition almost unaffected?!"

Rhodes did not respond, but kept trying to concentrate and focus his mind, putting all the stinging pain behind him, and kept drawing his sword!

Daphne's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and her usually gentle face was now completely distorted.

"Since that's the case, then don't blame me!" She gritted her teeth and instantly created some distance between them.

She understood that if she couldn't quickly eliminate Rhodes, not only would she die here, but she would also die in vain!

She absolutely refused to allow herself to be overpowered by such a lowly upgraded secondary existence due to carelessness.

Even if she were severely injured, she should still be able to kill him.

In an instant, she squeezed blood onto her back, and a vicious look appeared on her face.

Puff-!

With a thud, in an instant, eight terrifying tentacles, each seven meters long, sprouted wildly from her back, twisting like the tentacles of an octopus!

In an instant, she mobilized all her tentacles, and an incredibly foul and terrifying aura rushed towards Rhodes!

indeed.

This is a very good skill.

Just like Lilith's Starlink, if Daphne could treat each tentacle as a unique individual and use it as a means of attacking from all directions, then Rhodes would definitely not be able to withstand her attacks.

The problem is that her technique is still too immature, so immature that it's like eight wooden sticks simultaneously stabbing at Rhodes.

Furthermore, the disorder of her divine seed caused by the burning also manifested in her combat power.

Therefore, in an instant, Rhodes used his skill [Life Force LV.1].

boom--!

In an instant, all the vegetation in the flowerbed increased hundreds of times, transforming into an endless maze and spreading wildly.

Furthermore, countless thick tree roots tightly bound Rhodes, concealing his location.

As a result, all of Daphne's tentacle attacks missed their target, only blasting through the trees, but they couldn't find Rhode's figure anywhere!

"Wh-what..." Daphne stared in disbelief at the bizarre scene, completely stunned.

Rod Chivenance is a Soul God, right?

It's a divine seed of the soul, right?!

But what skill is he using now?!

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she panicked.

"Where, where—!"

She frantically attacked with her tentacles, but every single attack missed its mark;

Rod, like a ghost, vanished completely as the trees grew.

Even for a fleeting moment, Daphne wondered if Rhodes had really escaped.

But the truth is, death has already come to claim her—

Like a ghost, the growth of trees concealed Rhodes's position, thus making his movements appear illusory.

In fact, when skill levels are similar, everything boils down to finding flaws.

Rhodes couldn't deny that Daphne's combat level was indeed quite high, at least worthy of her three upgrades.

The problem is, that's all there is to it.

"game over."

His figure appeared five meters to Daphne's right and suddenly launched a surprise attack!

brush--!

The longsword swung down, as if cleaving through space; in an instant, things coalesced—

can.

With a single slash, Daphne's spear flew off her arm—the blood vessels on her arm were instantly severed, spraying out countless drops of blood.

Daphne stared wide-eyed at her severed arm again, lost in a daze;

Her? Her hand is broken?

Do not……

How could this happen...?

It's okay, it's okay. Even if I lose my hand, it's okay. As long as I still have the weapon, I can kill him!

She reassured herself, but then suddenly realized—

correct.

Her severed hand was her right hand...

Having one's dominant hand cut off is tantamount to completely losing the ability to fight.

Huh? What's going on here?

She was defeated by someone who hadn't even been promoted three times yet?

She's going to be killed?

At that moment, her consciousness felt utterly absurd, yet she stared intently at Rhodes—

Then, Rhodes struck again with his sword.

The human head was separated from the human head.

With a thud, her head rolled to the ground.

Her eyes were filled with confusion, yet her pupils remained wide open. Even though her body had been dismembered, she gritted her teeth and murmured one last sentence:

"You...will kill everyone...Ivina, you will..."

Before she could finish speaking, she breathed her last, her eyes still wide open in death.

moment.

The barrier in the sky has officially dissipated.

Everything was restored to its original state.

The wind began to blow, the fountain began to spray water into the flowerbeds, and the sound of nightingales pierced through the air.

All returned to peace.

At that moment, Rhodes exhaled slightly, instantly dissipating the [Dragon Sword] in his hand—

But it was precisely in that moment of mental relaxation that the horrifying pain in his back shattered his entire will, causing him to collapse to the ground in despair.

However, even when he fell to the ground, he still held Ivina to his chest, and she was not harmed in any way.

Yes, from the moment the explosion started, he had completely protected Ivina inside his body, and up until just now, he had avoided any possibility of her getting hurt.

He was breathing heavily, his whole body aching as if it were broken.

And what about Ivina?

She was protected by Rhodes from beginning to end, and stayed there from beginning to end as well.

She seemed completely unaware of what had happened even after the battle ended.

She slightly lifted herself up, straddling Rhodes, and lowered her face to look at him.

Her cheeks were still wet with tears from her earlier crying, but she looked completely bewildered.

"you……"

"Stop talking about death all the time, it's pointless."

"No, no..."

Rhodes's half-dead voice instantly brought her to her senses, and she frantically slapped his cheeks:

"Wait, stay conscious, I'll go get someone to rescue you...!"

"Is that the point? The point is... I saved you, you should thank me, right?" Rhodes sighed slightly.

"I, I..." Ivina's mind was in complete disarray from all this chaos, but she understood one thing—

She was rescued.

I was saved by the story I had always longed for.

Tears welled up again uncontrollably for no apparent reason, and she bit her lip tightly.

"You idiot...! I won't die, I won't die..."

She bent down, hugged Rod's body tightly, rested her face against his shoulder, and cried loudly.

"You're still going to scold me for this? You're unbelievable..."

"You can't die, don't die...!"

"Hey, I'm just injured, I'm definitely not going to die, okay?" Rod felt that Ivina was saying something ominous, so he quickly patted her shoulder and said that.

"Okay, if you don't want to say thank you, at least get up already, okay?"

"Um?"

"Hey, hey, hey, give me some response."

Strange things happened.

Rhodes was a little lost in thought, wondering why Ivina was suddenly not responding to him.

He even reached out and patted her twice.

Even so, she still did not respond.

What's wrong? Why are you suddenly pretending to be mute?

Rod turned and glanced at her.

The moment he saw it, he was stunned...

Ivina's eyes were now stained crimson, and veins were bulging on her fair face, as if she was frantically resisting her body's instincts.

Even so, the power within her grew increasingly violent, her eyes became more ferocious, and her small fangs gradually sharpened—

"Damn it...!" she gasped, cursing.

No.

I can't hurt him... He came to save me, he did everything he could...!

Her soul struggled frantically, in agony, and lost, yet even so—

click-

Ultimately, he could not resist his body's bloodlust.

In an instant, her sharp teeth pierced Rhodes' neck, and Rhodes felt a strange crimson flash through his brain.

Rod's vision suddenly went black, and he lost consciousness.