The Greatest Sinner

Zak carefully placed the blood-red pill in Evan's mouth. Unlike the green pills, this one was of much higher quality and price.

It was a rare medicine that Zak had only a few grand. The effect of this pill was unimaginable. Despite all his extensive wounds, Evan would be okay in a couple of hours.

All that time he will be in agony from the pain and the way his blood will be bubbling and flesh will be knitting. This was a powerful and dangerous drug, that should only be used in emergencies.

As soon as Evan swallowed the pill, his body gradually began to heat up.

When Zak and Margarita saw this, they quickly carried him back to his room. Evan needed time to heal his wounds, gain strength and recover.

"Mr. Zak, was it really necessary to go this far? I`m amazed that the boy is still alive. Although I'm not a doctor, I can confidently say that he has several broken bones and some organs have almost turned into a bloody mess."

Margaret didn't quite understand why a simple training should be brought to such an unfortunate outcome.

Sigh.

Zak took a deep breath and said slowly: "If I hadn't done that, he would have killed me at that very moment."

Margaret couldn't believe her ears. It was hard for her to imagine that some novice magician and physically untrained person could kill Zak.

"I didn`t understand myself what had happened then. Maybe that attack wouldn't have killed me, no, I`m sure it couldn't have killed me. But his look and aura made me believe it."

Zak was no less amazed than Margaret herself. Only when they carried Evan to his room did he realize that his actions had been unnecessary. At most, he would have gotten a couple of scratches, but Evan certainly wouldn't have been able to pierce his throat with his hand. But in that moment, Zak was doing everything machine-like.

"Okay, I'm going to go get some rest. Gotta get my thoughts in order." Zak waved his hand away, leaving Margaret alone.

The girl said nothing and went about her business. She had to check what her subordinates were doing.

...

Evan was breathing heavily, and steam was coming from his body. His skin was very red because of a very high fever. It was the result of a pill, that was literally pulling him out from the dead.

Zak did not take into account one very important point: Evan's physical strength was not due to his good health and a naturally strong body, but because of the "Lion Sigil". Thanks to the unknown power, Evan had gained while fighting Aron.

Simply put, with his frail slave`s body, Evan simply will not be able to survive the treatment from the bloody pill Zak gave him. His blood vessels will burst, his muscles and tendons will tear, and his heart will explode. It was a fatal mistake, that no one could have known about.

...

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

Evan was breathing heavily, and he was getting worse by every second. Suddenly an extraordinary change began to occur in his "Nirvana".

A red substance began to fill "Nirvana" negatively affecting even it. Since Evan was unconscious at the time, there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, however, an unbelievable scene occurred.

Whoosh.

A small black dot appeared in the vast white void. It gradually began to grow larger and larger. And after a while it transformed into the terrifying and creepy maw of a demogorgon.

All the red substance quickly began to flow into its maw until it was completely engulfed.

There was not a drop of red substance left in "Nirvana", everything was as before. The crimson "Warp" was floating peacefully in the middle of the void.

...

The next moment Evan opened his eyes, but he saw another room, not his.

"А? Where am I?" Evan didn't realize where he was. It wasn't "Nirvana." He saw something entirely new and terrifying.

There was a white space around Evan, which in the distance was turning to pitch darkness. But Evan's attention was attracted not by this, but by the huge creature he saw.

It was a huge, black as the abyss itself, a lion, with a thick mane, razor-sharp claws, and a long tail. Fortunately or unfortunately for Evan, at that moment, the lion was sleeping peacefully and wasn`t paying any attention to him at all.

The lion was in the center of a giant magical circle, with many symbols, runes, and writings unknown to Evan. He had never seen anything like it before, but that was not the end of his surprise.

Whoosh.

Suddenly the maw of the demogorgon slowly began to appear from above, and a crimson magic circle formed beneath it.

<Wow...>. It was the only word, that came to Evan's mind at that moment. He had never before seen such a horrifying picture in contrast to the magnificent magic.

Magical Circles were not new to Evan, they existed in his past world as well. But there they were only used to summon the power of demons and this he had already practiced in his new life.

The Magic Circle that gradually appeared under the maw of the demogorgon was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

By the time the Magic Circle was almost complete, Evan realized one thing: the demogorgon's maw was right above the black lion that was sleeping peacefully in the middle of the void.

Whoosh.

A tall pillar of black metal slowly began to emerge from the magic circle. The pillar was wrapped in many chains and exuded a terrifying aura that startled even Evan.

He had seldom felt such pressure on him. It was so huge that it seemed as if an ordinary person would be flattened in the blink of an eye.

Evan realized this and looked at his body. He did not understand how he could withstand such pressure, but when he looked down he was struck to the core.

Evan's body was as it had been in his past life when he was still alive. Evan did not understand what was happening, but as soon as he blinked he was back in his current body.

However, he did not have time to think it over. For suddenly he saw the Magic Circle close and the pillar begin to plummet downward rapidly.

Bam

The pillar fell down with a rumble right to the edge of the black Magic Circle, in the middle of which the lion was sleeping. Evan was surprised that the pillar fell into the spot in the Magic Circle that seemed to have been originally prepared for it.

The maw of the demogorgon disappeared, the pillar fell down, and Evan was left in the vast emptiness alone with the sleeping lion. He didn't know what he had to do, but he didn't have to do anything.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the lion opened its deep, ruby eyes. He looked at Evan, and then just continued sleeping. Evan didn't understand what had happened, but immediately afterward his mind went blank.

...

While Evan was unconscious, an amazing change had happened to his body.

All of his muscles swelled greatly, then, they began to rapidly contract and shrink. And because he still had a high temperature, a lot of steam started to come out of his body.

A few hours later, Evan opened his eyes and finally found himself in his own room. This time he woke up for real.

"А? What's going on here?" Evan didn't understand why there was hot steam around him. What bothered him most, however, were the words he saw in his mind.

[Received the first Pillar of Lion Sigil]