Chapter 54 Intruders In The Realm (2)

“The Bloodborne House.”

I’d immediately revealed their identity to their faces, and they visibly flinched. However, that surprise didn’t last long as a thick bloodlust that was dense enough to be visible to my eye exploded from their bodies.

“… Don’t leave him alive!”

The leader spat a hateful order, his voice oozing with intense wrath. The other three intruders leapt high in the air while splitting in three directions, most likely to ambush me from all sides. And once they reached their positions, the one with the two guns attacked first.

BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!!

Blood bullets raced towards me faster than the speed of sound, giving me just a fraction of a second to react. Using my control over space, I warped the flying pellets of death and rerouted them to the ground. However, as if they’d expected that, the other moved instantly.

The scythe-wielder rushed to the man creating the bloody mists and drew blood from his supple flesh. At first, I was confused as to why he attacked his own comrade, especially amid battle. But my confusion didn’t take long to turn into unrelenting caution.

With a swift move, the man swung his massive scythe in a vast arc and aimed for my neck. It was at a speed that I could barely register, and it took a combination of my reaction speed, control over space and overall athletic ability to narrowly dodge the attack by a hair’s width. But the attack wasn’t done.

The blood that dripped from the scythe sprayed forward in an arc, and just when the red fluid almost landed on my body…

BOOM!!!

The blood exploded in a crimson flame. I wasn’t burnt by the fire but near enough to feel its heat. It felt hotter than the surface of the Sun, and the magic power that was being generated gave me a sense of uneasy dread.

Instinctively, I could tell that my Vampire regenerative factor wouldn’t be able to heal me if I took a strike from the bloodfire that was created.

I leapt dozens of metres away, resting only when I could see all four of my opponents in front of me. And even then, the caution that I held instantly doubled.

I could probably die…

This was the first time I’d felt that since turning into a Vampire.

Death was something that I’d faced before. It was a foe that I refused to submit to, but at the same time, it was something that I was acutely aware of. And so, I knew how close I was to meeting the reaper once again.

‘Bloodfire… The unique ability of the Bloodborne House.’

I’ve read about it during my study periods in the Everwinter Estate. The Vampiric Society consisted of ten Guardian Houses, and each one of them had a specific role. Some of them were warrior houses that fought Outer Demons, like the Everwinter House. While others played a more economical position in society, such as the Moonreaver House.

They kept the balance of the Vampiric World in check, and each House was just as vital as the next one.

However, every mafia house had its Fredo.

The Bloodborne House carried the bloodline of the original Vampire, the progenitor, if you will, of all Vampires. Unlike the other Houses, which used their natural gifts of magic and developed them religiously until they stood at the apex of the magical world, the Bloodborne House solely relied on their innate bloodline to fight.

And to be fair to them, the bloodline of the original Vampire was a true fighting force. It had the inherent ability to suppress all other Vampires, and it was highly flexible in its usage. Some Bloodborne members could turn their blood into scorching flames rumoured to burn into one’s soul. Others were capable of using blood to generate earthquakes and natural disasters.

However, after their ancestor had passed away and their blood began to dilute over generations, the Bloodborne House had weakened considerably. Before they were a monolith, no, they were THE monolith of the Vampiric World.

No one could challenge their authority, and no one dared to speak up against the only Royal House of the Vampires.

But now, they were barely hanging on to their position as one of the Guardian Houses.

Nevertheless, that didn’t mean that the Bloodborne House was weak in any measure. There were still a few powerhouses within the House, and their innate ability to suppress other Vampires didn’t just vanish. A wounded dragon was still a dragon.

And that was clear as day as I felt the Bloodfire warm up my pale, Vampiric face.

‘I guess I can’t hide my abilities anymore!’

The power of Creation rose within my soul, and I created a dozen tornadoes to disorient my opponents. The four Bloodborne intruders, clearly taken aback that I could use wind magic, regrouped once more and spat violently:

“Wind magic?! Since when did Moonreaver brats use wind?!”

“Maybe he has the genes of the Skywing House?”

Speculate all you want; I’m not going to tell you! Once more, I summoned dozens of vicious lightning bolts to strike the invaders, hopefully, stopping their sporadic movements. Alas, they were far too experienced for that. Using the bloody mist as cover, the gun wielder took my flank and shot over a dozen shots in less than a second.

Not holding back any longer, I created a shield in the shape of a turtle shell. At the same time, I heated it to over a thousand degrees. Almost all of the blood bullets either bounced off the shell or melted instantly, completely negating the poor bastard’s attack.

“…”

The man didn’t breathe a single word, but I could tell that he was stunned just by watching his reaction. Clenching my fist, I ‘threw’ the turtle shell at him and sent him crashing to the floor. I’d thought it would at least take him out of commission for a few seconds, giving me an opportunity to deal with his comrades, but that was a little too much to ask.

The Bloodborne gun wielder leapt out, fresh as can be, and returned back to his leader.

“… Let’s retreat. We’ve made too much of a commotion. Even the deaf would have guessed that something is going on.”

A wise move.

I could already sense Lilith rushing toward me from a distance, and judging from her pace, she should reach within a minute. At the same time, I could sense various presences gathered around her, meaning that she’d brought a sizable force with her.

No matter how powerful the Bloodborne invaders were, there was no way that they could fight Moonreaver elites in Moonreaver territory. At best, they could only hope for a pyrrhic victory, where they would retreat with either lost souls or serious injuries.

“Secure the escape route. I’ll deal with this guy.”

Drawing his katana, the leader swung his sword in my direction. Perhaps it was his way of asking for a one-on-one duel, or maybe he wished to divert my attention away from his subordinates. Either way, it got my attention.

Being the group’s leader, the man had to be an elite amongst elites, especially within the Bloodborne House. I could feel shivers run down my spine just by watching his red-tinted blade. It felt like the weight of an entire soul was hidden within that clean crimson katana, and death came with every swing.

And sure enough…

Schlick!!!

I heard the whistle of a blade brush past the top of my head, and once more, a surging heat permeated my face. The Bloodfire that came out from the blade seemed far more powerful than the one the scythe-user threw at me, and that means it was much more deadly. Using my control over Space, I’d barely managed to evade that deadly attack as I’d sent my own body flying downwards.

That was dangerous…

I wasn’t even able to see him move. The only reason why I’d managed to dodge was due to my heightened instincts. The scythe user had to utilise the blood of his companion to create the Bloodfire, but the leader himself was capable of doing it all by himself. What a cheat…

The leader shot me a bemused look as if admiring the fact that I could evade his killer move. However, that didn’t last long, as the next time I blinked, a red blade was mere inches away from my face.

‘What an insane speed!’

Or should I say to be expected of a master from the Bloodborne House? His movements far exceeded anything that I was familiar with, and all I could do was react before he beheaded me. By using my control over space, I managed to instinctively move my body away, but unfortunately…

FUCKKK!!!

The red katana sliced down my shoulder blades and immediately cut off my lower right arm. A searing hot pain overwhelmed my senses, bringing suffering with every movement I took. Fortunately, my brain was still high-functioning enough to push the intruder away with my Space magic as I retreated a hundred metres away.

Bloodfire took over the place where my right arm was supposed to be, and it relentlessly attempted to spread into my upper shoulder. Fortunately, just because my arm, which held my Soul Armament was severed, it doesn’t mean that I couldn’t continue using magic.

I called out the Soul Armament onto my left hand and created a sharp water blade. With a decisive move, I cut off the flesh that was burning with the Bloodfire and left it there to heal.

If I were resting in the hospital, I could focus all of my attention on my severed limb, but I didn’t quite have that luxury. My eyes burned with fury as I saw the man with the red katana walk menacingly in my direction.

“Water as well? You’re no Moonreaver…”

The Bloodborne elite seemed to have seen through my bluff and was now contemplating his options. Still, a mission was a mission, and leaving me alive would jeopardise it. And so, he rushed forward once more at a speed that I couldn’t follow, hoping to reap my life away once and for all.

‘Tsk! I have no choice!’

I didn’t want to use this move as it utilised far too much magic power. However, now that I had my back against the wall, it was time to debut it to the world.

I focused everything that I had on my middle finger, and all of my magic power was unleashed. Space bent all around me, creating an illusory effect as if one were in a mirage. The power unleashed was far beyond my depth, and I could only use it for a few seconds, but that was more than enough to buy time for reinforcements to arrive.

Noticing that I was making a move, the leader rushed towards my body, hoping to end it before I could cast the spell.

Alas, you are far too late…

“Cataclysm!”

Space contorted, and my immediate surroundings turned into an apocalyptic night. Dozens of meteorites that I’d created rushed down as if guided by the Fabric of Space and slammed aggressively down on my opponent, giving him no avenue to escape.

However, the man was unfazed by my desperate attempt. Slashing the burning meteors with his blood-tainted sword, he sliced them down into plain rocks and burnt them at a temperature higher than the flames that surrounded them.

Woah… Even that attack wasn’t enough to take him down? What a monster.

My control over Space started to wane as my magic power was weakened by the second. However, I did make sure that the man wasn’t able to rush toward me by contracting Space tight enough. If he wished to move, he’d risk getting captured by the reinforcements that were about to arrive.

And he knew that all too well.

“…”

The Bloodborne reconnaissance team leader gripped his sword handle tightly, so hard that I could see blood dripping down from his palm. He wished to silence me so badly that it literally made him bleed.

However, he evidently had a rational head. He saw Lilith and her compatriots rushing over, and she would arrive within ten seconds. And given the choices, leaving me alive would be far better than him getting captured.

And before I could do anything, he sheathed his sword and disappeared with his companions as if everything that occurred was a passing dream.

“Jin! Are you alright?!”

Almost the next second after the intruders disappeared, I could smell Lilith’s fragrance enveloping my body as her soft touch took over my back. My face, which had been pumped with adrenaline and power, instantly softened as I grabbed onto her hand and reassuringly said:

“I’m fine… Just a little tired.”

“But your arm!”

“Ah, this thing?”

My right arm was still severed from my body, drawing much concern from my beloved Lilith. However, being a Vampire, that detached limb would eventually regrow.

“It’s fine; I’ll recover in a few minutes.”

“Jin… How dare they! How dare they injure you like this?!” I could swear that her body blew up in steam as her words became more and more poisonous.

“Fuck them! I shall skin their bodies clean and feed them to the dogs! No, dogs are too good for them! I will let them rot in a pile of maggots and make sure they are eaten alive! They will die wishing they were never alive! I will…”

The girl went on and on with her rant, burning with a fury I’d never seen from Lilith before.

Wasn’t she becoming more and more like Irina?

No, it must be my imagination.

“Calm down, darling… I’m fine…”

“Jin…”

It took me fifteen good minutes to calm the girl down. In the end, after spewing some words that I dare not repeat, Lilith finally asked the crucial questions.

“… Who were they? Were they sent by my brother?”

“No, of course not.”

Perhaps I’d made her too agnostic against her family now. Even though she was in front of dozens of Moonreavers, she was still openly targeting the leader of her House.

“Come, let’s return. I’ll tell you all about it later.”