Chapter 607: Jealousy is My Power (107)
Chapter 607: Jealousy is My Power (107)
Ian gasped for breath, staggering backward.
It was finally over.
The vampire’s physical form had vanished without a trace. Yet, the reason Ian couldn't bring himself to smile was the lingering aftereffects of the Berserk state, which felt as if his brain were being squeezed tight.
Memories flooded his mind.
Scenes of the man from the future fighting while his own consciousness had been dormant played back endlessly, as if demanding he carve this battle into his heart.
Just a moment ago, he had done something.
He felt as though he had used a technique that wasn't in his memory…
However, Ian’s contemplation didn't last long.
He spotted a girl pitter-pattering toward him from a distance.
“Master!”
It was a title he had missed.
Ian gave a bittersweet smile at the voice he hadn't heard in so long and pulled his fiancée, who was hopping with excitement, into his arms.
A soft weight and a warm temperature.
As if she were born for this very purpose, Elsie’s petite frame fit perfectly in Ian’s embrace.
“…Senior Elsie.”
“I—I was helpful, right?!”
Intoxicated by the heat of victory, Elsie was half out of her mind. As if seeking compensation for the inferiority complex she’d felt from being useless for so long, she rubbed her head vigorously against Ian’s chest.
“Right? Right?!”
“Yes, yes… you were helpful, of course. Now, let’s think of a way to get out of this barrier.”
Ian’s hand gently stroked Elsie’s hair.
Perhaps the praise felt good, as Elsie bared her teeth in a silly, beaming grin.
“……We’re getting engaged once we get out, right?”
The actual subject matter wasn't quite as innocent, though.
Since he had already braced himself for this, Ian replied without much sign of flusteredness.
“Yes, of course… but we have to get out of here first.”
“No need to worry about that.”
As if she had already anticipated as much, Elsie wore a triumphant expression.
“A core is needed to maintain a barrier. This one is a bit special, so it seems like there are separate internal and external cores… but basically, the caster takes charge of the internal core. Now that the caster is dead, the barrier will naturally collapse, right?”
“When?”
“Well, the moment the caster dies—”
The seamless back-and-forth came to a halt.
Elsie’s voice trailed off as she furrowed her brows and scanned their surroundings. No matter how long they waited, there was no sign of the barrier collapsing.
This could only mean one thing.
Thud!
Ian’s foot kicked Elsie away.
While Elsie flew through the air before she could even scream, a fountain of blood erupted from Ian’s leg.
“Ugh…!”
With the pain of blood flowing in reverse, a murderous gaze turned toward his back.
But even that was brief.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed out once more. This time, fountains of blood were erupting from Ian’s entire body.
The man collapsed, coughing up a mouthful of blood. On his prone neck and face, veins dilated to their limit writhed like living things.
It happened in an instant.
There was no room to resist. No, resistance itself was impossible.
The blood throughout his body was running wild. It was a miracle he had even managed to protect his heart and brain.
Yet, the truly terrifying part was something else.
The fact that this wasn't even a phenomenon the opponent had intended.
His heart and blood pulsed with a rhythm like a drum. It was the fervent cheering of a crowd rejoicing at the appearance of a new leader.
Boom!
An intangible pressure slammed Ian’s head into the ground.
His lungs let out a groan. He had finally failed to overcome the pain of his entire body being crushed.
“Agh, ughhhhh…!”
His bloodshot eyes turned toward the source of the pressure. This level of presence—the aura of a powerhouse who could seize the power over life and death in the vicinity just by taking a single step.
He had felt it once before.
In the courtroom located on the high mountain of Siendel, the Holy City of the Holy Kingdom.
Pop, pop.
The sound of capillaries bursting, unable to withstand the excessive blood flow, tickled his ears.
Using that sound as her string instrument, a woman without a single thread of clothing drifted gracefully down from the sky.
“……It has been a truly long time.”
Her voice was flat.
It wasn't admiration, nor was it mockery. It was as if something that was meant to happen was simply proceeding according to the natural order.
The fiend of legend cast an infinitely deep, blue gaze upon the man.
“Do you know the feeling of being released from a long imprisonment, Ian Percus?”
“If you… let go of this… I think I’d know…!”
“A pity, child. I haven't even properly begun yet.”
This level of presence, this overwhelming difference in power.
Ian realized in an instant what had happened.
The vampire had summoned her main body.
The body of sin that had once stained the entire world in blood.
As the vampire took a light step forward, Ian’s head was slammed into the ground once more.
Crunch!
“It didn't go… according to plan. Originally, I wanted to take my revenge a bit more leisurely and surely…”
The vampire clicked her tongue, her expression darkening.
Yet, she did not stop walking. As the woman drew closer, the pressure applied to Ian’s body intensified.
As did the intensity of the blood raging inside him.
It was a wonder he hadn't screamed yet.
“The plan went too far awry. I lost my precious younger sister, and I was planning to mock that thief-bitch for much longer…”
“Thief… bitch…?”
“Yes, the one you all call the ‘Great Witch’… Hmph.”
The vampire, who had reflexively started to bring up an old story, simply snorted.
What did it matter now?
Revenge was achieved. Though it was more hollow than expected, what mattered more was the fact that the vampire had won.
The Great Witch was dead. The vampire was alive.
A more distinct hierarchy could not exist.
Having reached Ian’s side, the vampire slowly lowered herself.
To meet Ian at eye level.
“You all are being deceived. Just as everyone in the world was a long time ago… most of what that woman achieved was nothing more than the result of stealing what was mine.”
“……Heh.”
A faint scoff.
The vampire didn't particularly argue with that sound. She merely flicked her index finger as if annoyed.
Splurt!
It was the sound of a fountain of blood erupting from his neck.
“Hngh, ughhhhh…!”
“It hurts, doesn't it? How does it feel to have the control over blood completely stripped away? This is the Authority I possess… I rule over all blood and life in the vicinity. And, of course, even the mana contained within them.”
No answer came back. It seemed the vampire hadn't expected one, either.
“I had to sacrifice much to obtain this power. My cherished family and servants, all of them… What do you think, child? Don't you want to contract with me and possess this power as well?”
The man showed no interest in the subtle temptation. He merely spat out another question.
“……Why go to such lengths for power?”
“Because I wanted to reclaim it.”
It was a grim, lingering confession.
For a moment, it felt as if an unfathomable swampland were visible.
It was hard to even imagine the density of the emotion contained within. Yet, the man let out a chuckle.
“Reclaim what?”
“Everything!”
“So, what exactly?”
The vampire’s brow slowly furrowed. As if she found it difficult to understand the meaning of the repeated questions.
With boiling blood trickling from his mouth, the man asked again.
“What have you reclaimed now?”
Silence.
The woman looked as if she wanted to say something, but her lips wouldn't move. Instead, a chilling proposal followed.
“……Shut up and just answer. So, will you join us?”
Now it was the man’s turn to remain silent.
The vampire twisted her lips into a smirk at his stubborn attitude.
“Do you still not get it? There is no one here to protect you. Only the people you must protect remain… that little lady, someone precious to you…!”
“What do you mean, no one?”
The vampire let out a hollow laugh at that counter-question.
He was a truly stubborn man.
Had she not witnessed it with her own eyes? The sight of the body being pierced by blood spears, and then the finishing blow being delivered by a wave of blood.
Only a Master can face a Master.
Now that the ‘Great Witch’ was dead, the match was over. There was no reason for the vampire not to summon her true body here.
Because there was no longer anyone powerful enough to keep her in check!
To make him recognize that cruel reality once more, the vampire let out a mock laugh and pointed her finger.
Toward the place where the Great Witch’s corpse should be.
“Fufu, fine. You’re going to be like that until the end? Then look closely at the end of that miserable loser…!”
As she turned her gaze, the vampire—wait.
She froze in place.
What pierced through her blank mind was the man’s mocking voice.
“Look closely at what? Where?”
“I mean, right there… surely…!”
The vampire stammered, stumbling as she stood up.
It was gone.
The enemy who should have been rolling on the ground, her body a total wreck, was nowhere to be found.
The startled woman’s eyes wandered aimlessly. She searched front, back, left, and right—everywhere—but the scene the vampire desired was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, her gaze turned toward the sky.
There, a clear night sky had appeared.
It was no fake created by a barrier. The masterpiece of the Creator, which no mere creature could ever imitate, with dimly glowing stars moving in highly calculated orbits, looked down upon the earth.
How on earth?
The woman’s question didn't last long.
“Flow and cycle.”
Upon the land steeped in silence, a low voice descended.