Chapter 3 The Forbidden Debt

The woman in the dark cloak walked toward me slowly. The purple crystal in her hand pulsed with a strange, eerie light. She spun her curved daggers with expert speed. She was completely relaxed. She thought I was already a dead man.

And honestly, looking at my bleeding stomach, she was almost right.

The red System screen hovered right in front of my face. It was waiting for my answer.

[Would the host like to unlock the Forbidden Debt feature?]

"What does that even mean?" I whispered through clenched teeth. I coughed up another drop of thick black blood. The Royal Shadow Poison was burning my insides.

The blue text quickly changed to explain the terrible rules.

[Forbidden Debt: The host can borrow a massive amount of power to survive. However, the host must repay double the borrowed lifespan within twenty-four hours. Failure to repay will result in instant soul destruction.]

I stared at the glowing words. The System was acting like a demonic loan shark. If I borrowed power now, I would owe it twice as much life tomorrow. But if I said no, this assassin was going to cut my head off in the next five seconds.

"Well, well," the assassin purred. She stopped a few feet away from me. "The great Dragon King talking to himself. Has the poison finally rotted your brain? My employer pays extra if I bring your head back in one piece."

She lunged at me. She was incredibly fast. Her dagger swung directly toward my neck.

"Accept the debt!" I roared. "Give me the power!"

[Forbidden Debt accepted. Loaning thirty days of power. Repayment of sixty days is due in 24:00:00.]

The world around me seemed to freeze. A terrifying, dark red energy exploded out of my chest. It was not the bright green fire from before. This felt ancient, angry, and deeply evil. The pain in my stomach vanished entirely. My muscles bulged with an unnatural, heavy strength.

I reached out and caught the assassin's wrist right before her dagger sliced my throat.

Her eyes widened in pure shock beneath her dark hood. She tried to pull her arm back, but my grip was like an iron cage. I squeezed hard. The sound of breaking bones echoed in the quiet courtyard.

She screamed and dropped the dagger. She swung her other hand, aiming the second blade at my ribs. I did not even try to dodge. The sharp steel hit my ribs and shattered into useless pieces. My skin had become as hard as solid rock.

"What are you?" she gasped. Fear finally replaced the cold confidence in her voice.

"I am the man who wants the cure," I growled. My voice sounded deeper, layered with a monstrous echo.

I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her hard against the broken stone wall. The purple crystal fell from her hand and rolled across the ground. She kicked and struggled, but she could not break free from my monstrous grip.

"The Royal Shadow Poison," I said, squeezing her neck just enough to let her know I was serious. "Tell me how to cure it right now, or I will crush your throat."

She coughed and clawed helplessly at my arm. "You... you are a fool," she choked out. She was terrified, but she still managed to laugh a bloody, bitter laugh. "There is no magic potion. There is no hidden herb in the forest."

"Then how do I stop it?" I demanded. My dark red energy flared angrily.

"The poison is tied to the bloodline of the person who cast it," she whispered, her face turning pale. "The only way to stop the poison from eating your life... is to kill the caster and drink their fresh blood."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "Who cast it? Give me a name!"

She smiled a wicked, broken smile. "It was your own brother. The new King. And he is sitting on a throne surrounded by ten thousand elite guards."

I froze. The person I needed to kill to save my life was an untouchable king inside a heavily guarded palace. And I only had a few months—no, a few days—left to live.

Before I could process this impossible task, the purple crystal on the ground suddenly began to flash with a blinding white light. A loud, magical siren wailed into the dark sky.

"What did you do?" I yelled.

"It is a dead-man switch," she gasped, her eyes completely wild. "It just sent our exact coordinates to the Royal Guard. You are completely out of time."

The System screen suddenly popped up, blocking my view. But this time, it was not red or blue. It was pitch black with glowing white letters.

[Emergency Warning. An army of one thousand men is approaching your location.]

[The Forbidden Debt collection has been moved up.]

[To repay your debt and survive the next hour, you must unlock a dark skill: Soul Devour.]

[Command: Consume the assassin's life force now, or die in sixty seconds.]

I stared at her terrified face. I was supposed to be the hero of this story. But to survive the next minute, the System was forcing me to become a complete monster.