Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Attack
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For an Awakened One, rank and Trait are everything.
That is why talent and treatment differ for each rank.
1-Star (☆).
Classes like 【Spearman】 or 【Undertaker】. Half-Awakened who may be geniuses but possess no supernatural abilities.
2-Star (☆☆).
Classes like 【Lancer】 or 【Spirit Medium】. Fully-fledged Awakened who have gained supernatural abilities like weapon enhancement or spirit channeling.
3-Star (☆☆☆).
Classes like 【Cavalier】 or 【Necromancer】. High-rank Awakened who can manipulate the very source of their powers, such as Aura, Mana, or Spirit Power.
Among these, 1-Star.
And 2-Star.
Are ultimately low-rank Awakened.
Though they may seem like incredible geniuses to ordinary people, to the nobility, they are nothing more than useful tools.
One had to be at least 3-Star to be considered a true Awakened One.
That was how vast the gap was between low-rank and high-rank Awakened.
So vast that dozens of low-rank Awakened would struggle to handle a single 3-Star.
Only a high-rank Awakened could face another high-rank Awakened, which was why one had to inherit a 3-Star Class to be recognized as nobility.
But surprisingly.
No, perhaps it was only natural.
That rule also applied further up the ladder.
Just as the nobility saw low-rank Awakened as merely useful tools…
No, the gap was even greater, for high-ranking nobles were on a completely different level than their lower-ranking counterparts.
Was it because they had a grand territory?
Because of their thousands of subjects?
Because they commanded numerous vassals and retainers?
Of course, those were all reasons.
But between the high and low nobility, there was a far more important, absolute gap.
They were beings who had surpassed the wall of despair that every high-rank Awakened eventually faced—a wall that could not be overcome even with centuries of effort.
【Behemoth Knight】.
【Phantom Lancer】.
【Immortal Mage】, and so on.
Awakened Ones who, beyond simply wielding supernatural powers, could fundamentally modify and specialize them to suit themselves.
They had transcended even the hierarchy of high-rank Awakened.
Those who had reached 4-Star (☆☆☆☆).
Living tactical weapons capable of destroying an entire territory on their own, and the symbol of the high nobility.
—The gap that was the Transcendent Awakened One.
KABOOOM!
“Ugh!”
And that was why.
After Elise had joined the battle.
All she had done was wave her jade fan a few times.
Yet that alone had not only half-destroyed the once-splendid jeweler's workshop.
But had also turned half of the intruders into bloody pulps, a sight Dion, watching from behind, accepted with calm composure.
‘They really don’t know their place.’
Of course, ten high-rank Awakened was a formidable force.
Even the Kahul family, not to mention the Hara clan who were lords of the 괴목장, had only seven high-rank Awakened.
It was understandable that they were confident.
Frankly, if Dion had to fight them with his current abilities, he would have fled without a second thought.
But even considering that, it was clear they had been far too reckless.
Elise was a Transcendent Awakened One.
A being who could crush even high-rank Awakened like insects.
The hierarchy among the high nobility, and even among the Hundred Great Families, was determined by how many Transcendent Awakened they possessed.
‘Then again, my little fool has been severely underrated because of me.’
She, who was once renowned as the genius of the Vlad family.
Simply because she was his fiancée, her reputation had been steadily chipped away, to the point where she was now looked down upon by nobodies like these.
He thought it was only natural that she had ground her teeth and pushed for an annulment in the first and second timelines.
Even as Dion smirked.
The four blood orbs created by Elise continued to move like lightning.
Thanks to them, Raul was quickly cornered, grinding his teeth before shouting furiously.
“Shit, to hell with the consequences! Everyone, beastify!”
“Hmm?”
Hearing that unexpected cry.
As Dion tilted his head.
The masked figures acted immediately on Raul’s command.
*Crack, crunch!*
Their bodies swelled.
Long snouts tore through their masks.
And thick fur sprouted all over their bodies.
After a brief moment, the five masked figures were no longer there.
In their place stood werewolves, their menacing eyes gleaming.
Seeing this, Elise narrowed her eyes.
“I see… I thought I smelled something vaguely unpleasant. So you’re the dogs of the Hunting City.”
“Grrr, this dog is going to chew through your leash!”
“By all means, try if you can.”
Werewolves.
A high-ranking species infamous for being relentless hunters, even in the Hunting City where Lycanthropes were the dominant race.
Living up to their reputation, the beastified werewolves’ movements became much faster.
Fast enough to overwhelm most high-rank Awakened of the same level.
CRASH!
There was just one problem.
Their opponent wasn't a mere high-rank Awakened, but Elise.
Four flashes of light moved according to Elise's casually flicking fan as she scoffed in derision.
The orbs of blood, containing enough force to shatter mountains.
Danced through the air.
Their onslaught pressed the werewolves even more fiercely.
Dion watched with a bored expression as another werewolf was smashed to bits before they could even get close.
‘Not a bad last resort, but they should have done it from the start.’
Of course, if they had beastified from the beginning, the masks would have been meaningless.
So it was understandable that they only revealed their werewolf forms now that they were past the point of worrying about repercussions.
But…
‘Something’s strange. There’s no reason they would send such morons against my little fool.’
Even if these werewolves had revealed their forms and fought with all their might from the start.
Ultimately, they would have been no match for Elise, a Transcendent Awakened One.
With luck, they might have been able to inflict a few minor scratches…
But to sacrifice ten high-rank Awakened for that?
Even if they were disposable mercenaries.
It was a terrible cost-benefit analysis.
Especially since it was obvious who the ‘mastermind’ that sent them was.
Tilting his head slightly, Dion’s eyes suddenly glinted as he looked at the largest werewolf in the lead.
***
As she sent her blood orbs flying toward the red-eyed werewolves charging at her.
Elise thought languidly.
‘Truly, how pathetic.’
To be honest.
Elise felt not a shred of danger from the werewolves.
What tormented her more severely was her foggy mind and throbbing headache.
*Finishing the whole bottle of wine was a mistake.*
As Elise entertained a regret common to all those suffering from a hangover, she suddenly wondered.
Why would someone send such trash after her?
An assassination?
Absurd.
Whether they were high-rank Awakened or not.
She couldn't possibly be unaware that beasts like these were no different from insects to her.
There was only one thing they could possibly accomplish.
‘It seems she wants to torment me, even if it’s like this.’
It was less of a guess.
And more of a firm conviction.
Elise scoffed coldly.
‘—My sister.’
A person who, just as much as her fiancé Dion…
No, who had in reality dragged her honor through the mud and tormented her relentlessly even more than he had.
A sister who was closer to an enemy than to family.
Elise sneered.
Tossing away disposable pawns like these for a bit of coin, as if throwing trash to torment and toy with an opponent, was exactly the kind of thing her sister would do.
Even so, this batch of trash was in particularly bad shape…
Elise didn't pay it much mind.
Her head already hurt from the hangover, and besides, there was someone else who warranted her attention more.
‘Honestly, I suspect this one is more likely my sister’s doing than this garbage.’
Behind her.
Standing one step back.
Elise narrowed her eyes as she felt the presence of the masked fiend who was merely watching the battle.
He had approached her, claiming to warn her of suspicious individuals, and thanks to him, she had woken up before her royal guard was killed…
But to sneak into her room for just that?
It was suspicious to the extreme.
It was more plausible that this trash was a diversion, and this fiend was her sister’s subordinate.
That was why she had been wary of the fiend throughout the fight.
In some ways, even more so than the werewolves.
“Tun, HId TUd AId kaIL.”
And that was why.
Of the five remaining werewolves.
The one masked figure who hadn't beastified and had been focused solely on chanting a spell from the back.
Elise failed to react immediately to the 【Sealer】’s incantation.
*Crackle!*
The moment the magic circle of light spread out.
Two of the dazzlingly flying blood orbs stopped dead in their tracks, and the remaining two slowed ever so slightly.
It was a feat accomplished by a caster with the power to turn the tides, wringing out every last drop of his mana.
Of course, the effect was only momentary.
The magic circle, shaking as if it would shatter at any moment.
And the blood trickling from the Sealer’s lips indicated that the seal would break in a matter of seconds.
But that was enough.
Enough for the remaining werewolves to close the distance to Elise.
Though another werewolf, who had been providing cover with a bow, was turned into a bloody pulp in the process.
Having finally broken through the blood orbs’ defense at the cost of their comrade’s sacrifice, they slashed at Elise with their serrated swords.
…Or rather, they tried to.
CLANG!!!
“……!”
“Did you really think something would change just by getting close to me?”
If only their serrated swords hadn't been blocked by Elise’s jade fan.
With an expression of utter contempt.
Elise, who had blocked the three serrated swords with her fan, now stained crimson, smirked coldly.
And with a twirl.
The moment she flipped her fan and moved her wrist with elegance.
『Vlad Family Blood Ancestor Style Folding Fan Arts
Riot of Falling Blossoms』
SWIIISH!!!
“Keok!”
“Ugh…!”
Severed flesh.
Spurting blood.
Somehow.
The arc of the gently wielded fan was impossibly graceful and beautiful.
But in the instant their eyes were captivated by its afterimage, the werewolves whose sword-wielding arms had been sliced off gritted their teeth.
They tried to attack Elise with their remaining claws and teeth, but…
*Slice.*
It was over in a flash.
The two werewolves’ heads went flying.
Their heads fell, their eyes still filled with venom, as if they hadn't realized they were dead.
As the Sealer who had held back the blood orbs finally collapsed, spewing blood from all his orifices.
Elise elegantly opened her fan, which had not a single drop of blood on it despite having decapitated them.
She blocked the sword of Raul, the last one to charge in, taking advantage of the moment his subordinates were cut down.
And with a *thrust*.
She pierced his chest.
Elise spoke in a languid voice.
“To believe you could face me with just this much. Such foolish thoughts, befitting of beasts.”
“Kh, khkhkhk. Yes, I suppose I was foolish.”
Whether it was out of rage from the annihilation of his subordinates.
Raul glared at Elise with bloodshot eyes and suddenly, *grabbed*.
He clutched her arm, the one that had pierced his chest with the fan, and twisted his lips into a smirk.
“But the same goes for you, Blood Princess!”
“…?!”
In that moment.
Elise instinctively recalled her four blood orbs to form a shield.
Raul’s meaningful smile.
Her talent as a Transcendent Awakened One.
And above all, the chilling goosebumps that broke out on her skin.
They snapped her out of her languid, hungover state, compelling her to move on pure instinct.
And…
“Burn, you leftover bone shard from the Pit!”
FWOOOSH!
“Kyaaah!?”
Elise screamed.
A brilliant light erupted from Raul’s bone necklace, and she felt an excruciating pain as if her entire body was being set ablaze.
‘An item imbued with Radiant Magic?’
‘No, this is…!’
“A holy relic from the Pit that Swallowed the Sun?!?!”
—Sunlight.
A light that had become rare since the Labyrinth swallowed the world, save for in a few special Labyrinths.
A light that could only be manifested as a miracle by a Transcendent Awakened who served ‘the Pit that Swallowed the Sun.’
But in the past, it was a cursed light, the natural enemy of all vampire species.
And it was now erupting from a relic-class item, the remains of a saint, a rarity even in Odo-baekryeong.
*Sizzle!*
“Huuuk!!!”
Fortunately, the shield of blood orbs had protected her from a direct hit.
Unfortunately, her right arm, caught by Raul, had been struck head-on.
The agony of her arm being incinerated forced her to writhe in pain.
The sunlight sapped her strength, making it impossible to shake Raul off.
What was more terrifying was that it wasn't just her body that was affected by the sunlight.
*Tsssss!*
“L-Let go of me now!”
Sizzling and burning.
The blood orbs began to melt.
And the shield grew thinner with them.
Seeing this, Elise’s face was painted with terror.
The power of a mere holy relic, unlike the real sun, wouldn't be able to kill her, a high-ranking vampire.
That was likely why Raul had drawn her in before using it.
But the instinctive terror of being bathed in sunlight, coupled with the extreme pain, plunged her into an uncontrollable fear.
Losing all of her earlier haughtiness, she trembled like a frightened girl.
And just as the blood orbs were about to melt away completely.
*Slice!*
“Kuk?!”
—A single flash of a sword.
And the werewolf’s two wrists were severed.
Like the accomplished high-rank Awakened he was, he managed to dodge the blade aimed for his neck.
But in exchange, he had lost his grip on Elise. Raul tried to at least bite her arm with his teeth.
But before he could even move, a figure slipped between them, denying him any approach.
Stepping in front of Elise.
He swung his sword, forcing Raul back.
And completed the spell he had hastily prepared.
“Ai LaU.”
*Hiss.*
Darkness enveloped Elise.
A barrier of black magic. It began to crack under the power of the holy relic.
But it was enough to offset the sunlight. Protecting Elise with the barrier of darkness.
The masked young man spoke, his voice cool.
“—Who gave you the right to bare your fangs at her, you damned mutt.”