I woke up to the taste of blood in my mouth. My entire body felt like I had been run over by a stampede, then trampled again just for good measure.
Every breath sent a dull ache through my ribs, but the pain was already fading slowly, steadily. My passive ability was working. I could feel it.
My bones shifted ever so slightly, realigning themselves with quiet pops. Torn muscles stitched back together, tighter and denser than before.
The spots where the demon's attacks had hit burned the most, my body focusing on them first. My ribs? Strengthening. My spine? Hardening. Every wound was a blueprint for my body's next upgrade.
I flexed my fingers, then curled them into a fist. The ground beneath me was still warm, cracked from the impact of that damn boulder. I must've been out for a while.
I stared up.
I had no choice, the boulder was still sitting on my chest, and on top of it sat the demoness, grinning down at me like she was enjoying a front-row seat to my suffering.
