Father was in front of the large man, blood running down his mouth. One of his arms had been severed and was lying several feet away from him. Blood pooled around him and his breaths were ragged and wet. He coughed, his eyes dull.

Lin was a few feet away from him, her wide eyes staring up at the ceiling. She was covered entirely in blood, a sword stuck in her throat. Beside her was Fuhua, who was lying on his stomach, blood covering him as well.

Xue Li’s heart thundered in her chest and she found it hard to breathe. They were all colored in red. Her siblings were already dead, and Father was close to it. How had she not been able to protect them? She was strong, wasn’t she? She should’ve been able to protect—

“Xue Li, run!” Father choked out. “They’re sending reinforce—”

“Father!” Xue Li said, right when Duan He Ping ran a sword across his neck. Her eyes widened and she watched in muted horror as Father writhed on the ground before going still. Her heart trembled and something inside her seemed to snap. She fell down to her knees, just as the men ran towards her. She vaguely recalled someone ordering to kill her. Time slowed for her. The only thing she could focus on were the dead bodies of her family.

Lin, her sweet sister, who had hopes of becoming a mother someday, was dead at ten. Fuhua, her five-year-old brother who always clung to whoever was near him, was dead as well. And Father, the same man she had ungratefully undermined time and time again, was now dead. This wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to be alone in this world.

“No,” she whispered, just as the energy inside her burst. She released it with no qualms; Father had banned her from ever using the true nature of the Jin family magic. “No!” she screamed. The energy blasted off her body and thrummed in the room, sending all the men reeling back.She staggered to her feet, her gaze narrowed on Duan He Ping, who towered over Father’s corpse. His lips twisted into a grin at the sight of her.

Tears filled her eyes as she glanced back at Father. He would have objected to seeing her in such a mode, but there was no way she could simply keep silent and die. She needed to kill all these men.

The true nature of her magic wasn’t to keep everything contained in a shield, but to pour it all out. When released, the wielder entered a berserker mode where they could rampage and destroy to their heart’s content. In that mode, their strength was extremely and abnormally high at this point. However, it could only be sustained for a small period of time, and it severely damaged the body.

“You triggered it,” she found herself saying, her magic pulsating in the air so thickly that the ground trembled and a few of the men started to choke. “You bastard,” she said, her tears drying up as she glared at him. Hatred dripped from her very being, and she wanted nothing more than to rip him to shreds with her bare hands.

“Hah, so the Jin family has a psycho on their hands, huh?” He tightened his grip on his sword and leered at her. “Come at me, little girl. Your death is in my hands.”

A cry tore from Xue Li’s throat and her feet slapped the wooden floors as she closed the distance between them. He blinked, and she was in front of him. Her fist rammed right into his chest. It felt like ramming into a wall, but she hardly felt the pain. She rolled back on her feet and ran to him again. He raised his sword and swung at her, but she ducked and swooped in front of him, sending a kick to his midsection. Once again, it was like hitting a pile of bricks.

She lurched backwards on her feet and watched his every move. He gritted his teeth together and swung his sword once more, but she sidestepped with each and grabbed his wrist instead. Her movements were too quick to follow; she popped her fist beneath his wrist and felt the satisfying crunch. He howled in pain and kicked her, but she was too fast. She moved away instantaneously. She was so fast she felt drunk on the energy of it.

“Sh-She’s a monster,” someone muttered.

A monster. That was right; the very thing Father feared would happen, was happening to her, and she had allowed it. What was the point of trying to restrain herself if he wasn’t even there? Her humanity had been her family. She didn’t care if she became a monster to avenge them. Father would disapprove and would want her to walk a different path, but it was too late for that. Father couldn’t control that she was a monster, and now that he was gone, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She would become the monster she was; she would fight, tear, and kill anything that stood in her way.

The more she exchanged blows with Duan He Ping, the more she tasted iron in her mouth. Soon, it slipped down her mouth and nearly choked her. She leapt backwards just in time, narrowly missing the sharp edge of his blade. She stumbled a few feet back, her legs leaden and her body feeling like jelly. Her vision blurred and she brought a hand to her mouth. She coughed, blood splattering the ground.

“Looks like you’re reaching your limit,” he said in huffs.

She coughed and her stomach heaved, more blood coloring her hands. She bit her bottom lip, her mind a whir of thoughts. Using the Black Blood arts was a double-edged sword. It took a great toll on her body, and if she didn’t stop soon, she would be dead. Xue Li coughed again, her body wracking with it. What could she do now? Should she continue to fight and kill him along with herself?

Xue Li clenched her fists together. There was no way she would give up. She would fight until the last of her breath.

Her vision distorted again and Duan He Ping ran towards her, but his body was a splash of colors, shifted into odd angles. She blinked back and before he could even come close to her, she felt like someone had grabbed her chest and squeezed. Her eyes widened and she keeled over. Blood slopped on the ground and her entire body convulsed. She fell to the ground, heaving and gasping. Her eyes fluttered shut and she tightly clutched her chest. She had never exerted herself so much; would she die before even exacting her revenge?

“How boring,” she heard Duan He Ping say. He kicked her across the chest, sending her flying across the room. She crashed into the wall, her body exploding with pain. She wanted to cry out, but found she couldn’t even do that. Her body went limp, even though her consciousness was still intact. “She’s dead already.”

“Who would’ve thought a daughter of the Jin family would possess the Black Blood arts?”

“My thoughts exactly. Look how low their family has fallen; and to think they used to be feared across the nation.”

“Well, what should we do about the bodies?”

“The leader wanted Jin Chao’s head, along with his heir’s. Bring the boy’s corpse and Chao’s head; that’ll be enough proof.”

“What about the girls?”

“Leave them. Who cares about a couple of corpses?”

“But aren’t they heirs too?”

“They’re girls.” Duan He Ping laughed. “Even if we told them that one of them might be the heir, I highly doubt anyone will believe us. Just take the other two corpses. No need to bring extra baggage.”

Xue Li’s body burned with vengeance. She had to survive, no matter what. She would survive and she would kill them all; kill Duan He Ping, who destroyed her family. She wouldn’t allow a single person to live. The bloodthirst within her was truly awakened at that moment, and she could feel it pulsate with every cell in her body. She would kill anyone that got in her way; she would become exactly what Father feared: a bloodthirsty monster.

She tasted vengeance on her lips, even as she started losing consciousness. She wouldn’t allow herself to die in such a state. With that thought in mind, she lost herself within the darkness.