Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Both Ethan and the Crowling God froze, equally startled.

Aldric the First's golden Imperial Aura abruptly contracted, then erupted outward in a torrent of inky black energy.

"Holy hell..." Ethan breathed.

The instant that aura appeared, he recognized the sensation. It was the same power that emanated from his mother—the essence of the Lord of the Underworld herself.

"Caw, caw, caw... How can you..."

The Crowling God recoiled a thousand miles in a single motion, its enormous body trembling, its eyes flashing with panic.

"You alone wield the power of faith? Am I forbidden? Do you even know where the Underworld's faith resides?"

Aldric's long hair whipped wildly around his head. His body dissolved into a churning mist of black fog until no trace of flesh remained, only darkness.

"I know very well," the Crowling God screeched. "What I ask is how you dare control it?"

Aldric's laugh rang hollow. "I sat upon that Throne for over two thousand years. What do you think?"

Before the Crowling God could reply, Aldric shot across the sky like a black comet, his trail burning against the heavens. The god hesitated, its instinct to flee clashing with its pride. Ethan felt his heart tighten. If it escaped now, the entire battle might be for nothing.

But Aldric was far too fast. The Crowling God had no choice but to meet him head-on. Purple light erupted from its body, summoning raw energy from the surrounding void. Yet it had hesitated too long. BOOM! The convergence was incomplete when Aldric, cloaked in black radiance, struck with a single, devastating punch.

The impact shattered the very fabric of the world. The once-stable sky cracked like glass, fissures spreading in every direction. The Crowling God screamed as its colossal form was flung tens of thousands of miles away. Ethan could no longer see it clearly, only a mangled silhouette spinning through the air. For the first time, purple blood scattered in its wake.

That blood fell to the earth, spilling into rivers that merged into a violet sea, its surface igniting with ethereal flames. Ethan glanced down at the abyss at his feet, where the Throne of the Underworld slumbered. Was it truly this powerful? The faith power of the Underworld itself...

His pulse quickened. Did this mean his mother, despite her strength, had not yet claimed all the Underworld's power? Was she buying him time, waiting for him to grow? If so, then in the end, she would have to face him. With the Throne's blessing, her strength would surge beyond measure. Her enemies would vanish before her.

THUD! A dull crash sounded from afar, shaking Ethan from his thoughts. A purple blur hurtled back across the broken horizon, skidding uncontrollably toward him. Aldric had struck again, pounding the Crowling God back with another bone-crushing blow. The cracks in this dimension widened, threatening to collapse the entire realm.

"Cough... cough... You fool..." the Crowling God rasped, its enormous body crumpling to the ground. Its form was broken, its breath ragged. The strange faith energy that bled into it from the shattered void failed to mend its wounds. Black stains spread across its flesh—Aldric's Underworld power corroding it from within. Its once-blazing purple flames flickered weakly.

Ethan almost laughed aloud when he saw it. Without the flames, its raw body was exposed—pale, bumpy, like a plucked bird. If he were prone to trypophobia, he might have fainted from disgust.

Aldric hovered above the fallen deity, his voice low and sharp. "What do you mean, I shouldn't use this power? What's wrong with it?"

"Caw, caw, caw... I won't tell you," the Crowling God spat, defiance burning even in its ruin.

"Hmph. Spreading lies to save yourself." Aldric narrowed his eyes, raising his fist once more. A swirling vortex of darkness gathered in his palm, ready to end the god's existence.

But before the blow could land, the world changed.

The sky darkened in an instant. The Crowling God threw its head back and cried with desperate force. "Caw, caw, caw... Lord of the Underworld, save me!"

Aldric's strike faltered. Ethan's heart lurched. He looked upward, and his breath caught in his throat.

The heavens were black—not clouded, but filled with endless ranks of armored soldiers, each clad head to toe in shadowed steel. They stood upright as if hung across the sky. A streak of black light descended, and from it stepped a figure.

Ethan's eyes widened. That armor—dark and unmistakable. His lips parted, ready to call out.

But the woman raised her hand and shook her head. Ethan swallowed the word Mom. He understood. Her identity could not be spoken aloud. Still, the joy of seeing her again surged in his chest.

"Who are you?" Aldric demanded, his aura flaring even higher, stronger than before.

The woman did not answer directly. Her presence pressed down like the weight of eternity, commanding worship. She spoke only two words, soft and final. "Nether-form."

At once, the entire world dimmed. Darkness fell deeper than the blackest night, yet paradoxically, the void shimmered with its own strange radiance.

Then, without warning, the black faith power surrounding Aldric began to surge—only to collapse. His strength plummeted.

The Crowling God, broken yet gloating, cackled. "Caw, caw, caw... I told you! You should never have touched that power, and you should never have cracked this barrier. Your time is finished!"

"No!" Aldric cried out, his voice raw with despair. Ethan realized the truth: the faith power was not stabilizing within him. It was draining away, pouring from his body like a flood. All of it streamed into the woman before Ethan—his mother, the Lord of the Underworld.

"It has been too long," she said, her voice low and calm. "The faith power of the Underworld... at last, it returns. Now, where is the Nether-Throne?"

Ethan opened his mouth to tell her it was buried beneath them.

But before he could speak, a voice rose from the chasm at his feet, clear and resonant.

"Lord of the Underworld, I am here!"

Ethan froze in shock.