Blood Poison

"An Awakener and a Lich… what a curious combination."

Ssssss.

Thud.

Lord Verneac, who had been hovering in the sky, slowly descended to the ground.

He had wondered what manner of enemy had invaded, only to find a truly peculiar pair.

"So many of my children have died…"

Verneac gazed at the heaps of dust scattered across the ground. Even though the area surrounding the building was a vast open lot, hundreds of ash piles lay piled high. Even his direct descendants—the True Bloods—had all been slain.

"Have you come searching for the humans I captured?"

"That's right."

"Then you could have simply taken the humans and left quietly. Why slaughter so many vampires? They never harmed a single human."

"Hey, if anyone overheard that, they'd think I was the villain."

Do-ha sneered at Verneac's words. The bastard had kidnapped people in the first place, and now he was complaining about dead vampires? What kind of nonsense was that?

"I intended to return the humans once I had gathered sufficient power."

"Return them? One Association employee was found as a corpse."

"I regret that as well. In fact, I personally disposed of the child who killed the human."

"What, am I supposed to thank you for that?"

"Look around you. The remains of the vampires you massacred are everywhere. Yet there is not a single human corpse."

"Wow, you're twisting words in a weird way. Massacre… that's not a word that suits mere monsters."

"We are not monsters. We possess intelligence—"

Thwack!

Unwilling to listen to any more garbage, Do-ha threw a punch from where he stood. Fist energy shot straight toward Verneac.

Bang!

"My Lord!"

"Silence."

Verneac swept his arm aside, deflecting the fist energy, and quieted his children. He wanted nothing more than to leap at the human, yet these were the ones who had slaughtered even the True Bloods. He could not casually charge in.

"Where the hell does that bullshit logic come from—that having intelligence means you're not a monster?"

"You do not know the truth of this world. Being of a different nature from humans does not make one a monster."

"Is that so…"

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

Tired of the verbal sparring, Do-ha drew up his energy. The ground around them began to shake violently.

"I think I'm closer to the truth than you are."

Flash!

KRA-KOOM!

The moment Do-ha took a single step forward, dozens of lightning bolts crashed down from the heavens onto the heads of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surrounding vampires. The most powerful bolt among them struck Verneac directly.

"Foolish human. If you wish to die so badly, then so be it."

Swoosh.

Shaking his head, Verneac raised a hand and blocked the lightning.

BOOM!

Crackle-crackle.

"?!"

The expression on Verneac's face as he blocked the bolt changed in an instant. He had clearly intercepted it properly with his energy—yet the opponent's power was still flowing up through his arm.

"How is it? Electrifying, right? That's not magic, you know."

Seeing the Lord's expression, Do-ha smiled. He had seen that same look on the True Bloods earlier.

"There's more where that came from."

Step. Step.

Flash!

Flash!

KRA-KOOM!

As his feet moved twice more, even greater numbers of lightning bolts rained down upon the vampires. This time even Verneac abandoned any attempt to block and simply dodged.

"You bastard!"

Whoosh!

Verneac swept his hand, and crimson thorns of blood surged toward Do-ha from every direction.

Shing!

Do-ha drew his sword in a flash and unfolded a Wudang Sect sword form, smoothly deflecting the thorns that came flying from every side.

He's definitely on another level as a Lord.

It wasn't just the power of the attacks—the moment the thorns were deflected, they immediately changed trajectory. Completely different from the True Bloods who had fought like idiots with no real combat experience.

"So your power is not magic."

Whoosh.

Watching the Lord dissolve into mist, Do-ha reacted at once.

"Not so fast!"

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

The instant he unleashed Thorn Flower Full Bloom, the surroundings froze solid in the blink of an eye.

Then—

Zzzang.

Ice Bomb.

Crunch.

BOOOOM!

The extreme cold created by Thorn Flower ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Full Bloom collided with the Ice Bomb and expanded outward at terrifying speed.

Crack.

"What in the world…"

The mist froze solid, forcing Verneac to reappear with wide, startled eyes. What had he just witnessed? Two completely different forces had mixed, and the slowly spreading cold had exploded outward in a single instant.

"If you're going to fight me, you'd better bring out your wings. The True Bloods did the same earlier."

"…"

Verneac ignored Do-ha's words and immediately cast a spell.

Gurgle.

Blood Shower.

Whoosh!

From behind the Lord's back, dark crimson blood shot high into the sky.

"Canteas, reverse-summon every last skeleton."

"Yeah."

The moment he saw the attack, Do-ha warned Canteas. Blood Shower was a wide-area assault—any skeletons nearby would be wiped out in one go.

Rumble.

Whoooooosh!

The blood that had soared into the heavens began pouring down like rain.

"This is basically a full-on Mancheon Hwau."

Canteas protected himself with a shield and shook his head at the falling blood. Unlike ordinary liquid, Blood Shower rained down needles as hard as steel. It blackened the sky every bit as thoroughly as the Mancheon Hwau unleashed by the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Ssssss.

Dodging the Blood Shower falling from above, Do-ha's sword began to glow with a violet light.

Thwack.

Whooooo.

"What a ridiculous little trick."

As Purple Haze Ascension lifted Do-ha's body into the air, Verneac deliberately descended back to the ground. The human clearly intended to force him into the sky—but Verneac had no intention of playing along.

Blood Gravity.

Thud.

Grin.

"I was waiting for that."

The moment he saw Verneac's action, Do-ha smiled. What he had been aiming for was precisely this—the Lord pinning his own body to the earth.

Whoosh!

BOOM!

Do-ha blinked directly in front of Verneac and drove a fist into the Lord's gut at blinding speed.

"Gahk!"

Spatter.

Taking the full force of the Hundred-Step Divine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fist, Verneac coughed up blood and staggered backward.

"See? That's why you shouldn't come down to the ground."

From the moment he first descended, the Lord had been keeping his body ever so slightly elevated. At a glance it looked as though he were standing on the earth, but in truth he had been floating just enough to move at high speed. That was why Do-ha had deliberately used Purple Haze Ascension to lift the Lord even higher—to trick him into planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"You… little… shit…"

Crack-crack-crack!

At last, enraged, wings erupted from Verneac's back.

"Do-ha, that bastard's overdoing it! He shouldn't have any energy left after making True Bloods!"

"Overdoing it, you say?"

Hearing Canteas's words, Verneac wore a cold smile. It was true—he had expended a great deal of power creating True Bloods. But that power could be restored.

"Come back to me, my children."

Shaaaaaaaa.

Verneac spread his arms wide. Every vampire in the vicinity dissolved into droplets of blood and began seeping into the Lord's body. From the very beginning, every last vampire had been born of the Lord's authority.

Whooooo.

"I am whole once more."

Having absorbed every vampire, Verneac wore a grotesque smile. Moments earlier his face had been gaunt and his body withered; now he was completely transformed.

"I shall soothe the sacrifice of my children… with your death."

Because all the True Bloods had already been slain, absorbing the rest had not fully restored his original power—but this much was more than enough to deal with a single human and one Lich.

"You sure it's okay to eat that fast? Looks like you're gonna choke."

"What a pathetic joke. I—"

In that instant—

"Keh-hack!"

Gush.

Drip-drip-drip.

Blood and a greenish fluid began pouring from Verneac's eyes, nose, and mouth.

"See? Told you you'd choke."

Watching the trembling Verneac, Do-ha burst out laughing.

"You… you bastard… what did you do…"

"Let's just say I put a little poison ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the food you ate."

"Ah!"

At Do-ha's words, Canteas clapped his hands. Right before the True Blood vampires had appeared, Do-ha had cast some kind of magic with the Shadowless Spear. When asked, he had only said "there's something like that"—so this was it!

"You know it too. Blood Poison."

Ssssss.

Still smiling, Do-ha formed a droplet of poisoned blood in his palm.

"…You… how do you know Blood Magic…"

"I figured you'd try to devour your own vampires."

The Vampire Lord of Belhart had done the same. Cornered in battle, he had instantly absorbed every vampire across every continent. That was why, just before this Lord appeared, Do-ha had already spread Blood Poison everywhere.

"This… is what experience looks like."

"I'll tear you apart!!"

Crack-crack-crack!

As Verneac roared, his form began to twist into something increasingly grotesque. Originally he had looked like a black-haired, red-eyed humanoid—now his face was becoming bat-like while his body and legs warped into something resembling a minotaur.

Swoosh.

"Blood Field!"

"Blood Field."

Whoooooosh!

Lord and Do-ha unleashed Blood Fields at the same time. Dark crimson energy and clear, pure red energy slammed into each other.

Crunch.

Rumble-rumble.

"How can you… use Blood Field…"

Watching another Blood Field collide with his own, the Lord's pupils began to tremble. Blood Field was a magic only a Lord could cast.

Crack.

Crack-crack.

"This is impossible."

As his Blood Field was gradually overtaken, a cry of pure shock tore from the Lord's mouth. His own magic had been cast a fraction earlier—so why was it being consumed by the opponent's power?

Flap!

Whoosh!

The Lord shot into the sky at once. With his Blood Field being invaded, remaining on the ground meant certain death.

Whoooooooo.

The surrounding air rushed into Do-ha's nose and mouth, and his chest swelled massively.

Rumble-rumble.

"Come down."

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Do-ha opened his mouth wide, and a tremendous shockwave punched straight through the Lord's body. This Gate full of vampires was quite spacious—if that bastard started flying around, it would become a real nuisance.

"Urgh!"

Whoosh.

Clutching his ears, Verneac staggered and plummeted back to the ground.

"You bastard! I'll rip that mouth of yours apart!"

Rip-rip.

Verneac's body began splitting in half. First into two. Then into four. In the end it divided nine times, creating clones.

"Oh? Ten Lords, huh?"

"Keh-heh-heh. Don't think this is some cheap illusion magic. Every single one of these clones is the real thing."

Flash!

Still laughing, Verneac charged at Do-ha with terrifying speed. With ten genuine clones rather than mere illusions, even if Do-ha dodged one, the others could pursue instantly.

Whoosh.

Grab.

"Have you given up already?"

Seizing the motionless Do-ha, Verneac furrowed his brow. He had expected the human to flee the moment they charged—so why was he just standing there?

"Well, I was curious why you'd all rush me at once."

"…That tongue of yours is quite irritating. Fine. Since you're so curious, I'll show you."

Zzzang!

Crimson light erupted from the hands of the Lord gripping Do-ha's body.

Vampiric Touch.

A magic only a Lord could use—one that absorbed the power and life force of whatever it held—unfolded.

"You idiot. You should never have let yourself be caught by me."

No matter what, he should have avoided any attack that could grab him. Vampiric Touch simultaneously drained the target's strength and life force while inflicting unimaginable pain. All he had needed to do was not get caught—yet his arrogance had delivered him straight into the Lord's hands.

"Is that all…"

Swoosh.

Grab!

"?!"

Do-ha reached out and seized the wrist of one of the nine clones. Verneac's eyes went wide. How had he found the main body so instantly?

"Hey. Hold on tight."

"???"

Squeeze.

Do-ha yanked the captured wrist even harder, pulling it flush against his own body. The Lord tilted his head in confusion. Instead of trying to break free, the human was deliberately pulling him closer?

"You're not the only one who can do this kind of thing."

Whooooooooosh!

The moment Do-ha unleashed the Soul-Seizing Star Absorption Great Art, a massive torrent of energy began flowing in reverse—up through the Lord's hand that was pressed against his body.