Chapter 176 Fuola And Maia

N0 v el Next. CoM

Running through the dark cave, Fuola tracked the source of the sound with his vampiric sense. He could tell that the voice was Maia's, if there was one thing that he couldn't forget, it was the sound of her voice. His cape swayed behind him as he darted around corners. There was nothing else on his mind.

"—someone..."

Hearing it once again, he ran the fastest he had ever run.

Finally, turning the final corner, he saw Maia, frantically defending herself from the onslaught of vampires who were swinging their swords.

Without a moment of hesitation, Fuola drew his crimson blade.

"Sword... drink my blood."

N0 v el Next. CoM

With a dark look in his eyes, he dashed through the crowd, cutting down every single vampire in his way. Blood splattered all across the ground; limbs, flesh and bone exploded from every direction. The other vampires all looked at him in confusion and anger.

A Marquess who was still standing decided to confront him.

"Fuola! What's gotten into you?!"

"Shut up, I order you to leave."

"Heh? I know you're a Duke but that doesn't give you the power to order me around. Only the Progenitor is allowed to do th—"

Fuola charged at the Marquess. Their swords clashed before the Marquess was sent crashing into the side wall. Rocks fell from the ceiling as the impact echoed through the cave.

"What... are you doing you spoilt brat..." the Marquess muttered.

"I told you to leave."

"...you're a traitor... I hate traitors."

Both of them fed more blood to their blades.

"Sword..."

"Sword..."

"Drink my blood!" they shouted in unison.

Again, the two of them dashed at each other. The Marquess struggled to keep up with the speed of Fuola's attacks. Being a Duke, he was much stronger than the Marquess. However, several other vampires got up from the ground and joined in the fight.

Fuola was now surrounded by several Earls and a Marquess.

"Invoke, Magic Armour—Type Two"

A rich red aura surrounded his body as he activated his Magic Armour. Together, the various vampires charged straight at Fuola.

However, in one big swing, Fuola knocked all of them down aside from the Marquess. A shockwave exploded through the area as dust and debris filled the air.

Slowly, he began walking toward the Marquess.

The Marquess raised his sword in preparation. However, Fuola was completely relaxed, leaving his sword down by his side.

The Marquess swung his sword, smashing into Fuola's body. However, as the smoke dissipated, he realised that the attack didn't even phase him.

"What on earth is that ability... are you even a vampire...?"

"I'm a vampire, but I'm not like you."

In one swift movement, Fuola broke through the Marquess' defence and sent his sword crashing into the ground. It bounced around a little before lying down on the ground.

"N-no... stop..."

Finally, Fuola cut off the vampire's head. Then, he sliced the rest of his body into tiny pieces.

***

Celeste looked around. Fuola was much faster than her so she could only follow his scent as she navigated the complex tunnels in the cave. As she made her way over, she looked around at the blood which covered some sections of the wall.

Her loud footsteps echoed through the tunnel as she frantically searched for Fuola. She eventually got more and more anxious as the sound of fighting in the distance got louder. Hugging her back against the wall, she peeked around the corner.

To her horror, she saw the scene of Fuola, surrounded by a sea of vampire corpses. They were all slowly evaporating into the air.

"Fuola... what are you doing...?"

He didn't respond to her. She quickly ducked back around the corner.

He... looks so scary...

She began running back through the cave, in search of Lest.

I need... to tell him about Fuola.

She hurried through, trying to decipher where his scent was coming from. Her nose wasn't as good as his so she struggled to locate his exact position. After making several wrong turns and running through long hallways, she turned and made her way to where he was.

Her heart dropped.

She was met by the sight of a heavily bleeding and injured Lest. His arm was on the ground beside him, dismembered from his body. Standing around him were several humans all with various weapons in their hands.

No... no... no...

"Ah, sorry for you to have to see me like this, Celeste~"

But... Lest can't lose... can he?

***

Fuola slowly began making his way toward Maia. Chloe raised her sword and watched as the vampire approached. Seeing her presence, Fuola raised her sword.

"No! Josh... don't hurt her!" Maia shouted.

Suddenly, his expression completely changed.

He lowered his weapon.

"It's you right? Josh?"

"Y-yes... it's me, Maia."

Chloe also lowered her sword, seeing that it was Josh.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Maia said, happily.

Fuola kneeled on the ground.

"Maia... I missed you..."

"I missed you too, Josh."

For the first time in a long time, a smile appeared on Josh's face.

???

There was a powerful presence.

???

It was enough to make Fuola freeze in fear.

The loud confident footsteps gradually got closer and closer.

"I'm disappointed in you, Fuola."

He turned around to face the tall, intimidating monster. He emanated an aura that was completely unlike any other vampire, even Lest. It was a presence that would make you fall to your knees, a presence that would force you to run away, to never look back.

Fuola raised his sword, however, his arms were shaking.

"Don't tell me you want to fight me as well?" the Second Progenitor asked.

"G-g-get away... I won't let you hurt Maia!" Fuola's voice was cracking.

"I think you've forgotten the hierarchy here. However, I'm forgiving. If you kill those humans beside you, I'll forgive you for killing my offspring."

"...Never."

The Progenitor's expression changed.

Suddenly, Fuola raised his weapon and charged at him. Trying to catch him off-guard, he swung his sword at his neck. However, with a sharp clang, his attack was easily deflected.

"I don't need rebellious children."