Westminster Bank

"It seems you used your willpower to break free of my control, but that’s as far as you’ll get, Mr. Constantine... It’s a shame, but I’ve still decided to kill you."

With a flick of her wrist, dripping blood coalesced into a Longsword. She thrust it at Baron’s chest.

Just then, a cold, wheezing laugh escaped Baron’s lips. "You think there isn’t any of my blood in your body?"

Vivian froze. She couldn’t understand why she would have a Dragon Rider’s blood in her body, and even if she did, what difference would it make...? Then, she felt her heart skip a beat.

The Blood Sword instantly dissipated, as if its bonds had been broken.

Her expression changed in an instant, a wonderful, spectacular look of utter astonishment.

"How is this possible... How can this be... You used blood to influence my thoughts and judgment... This isn’t a Magic Card, nor is it an Alchemy Restriction... This is the power of blood."

"When did I drink his blood...? That glass of red wine I had to quench my thirst!" Her eyes suddenly flew wide open—though they were already quite large to begin with.

"You’re also..." she said, "one of the Blood Race!"

’Not the Blood Race, the Blood Faction...’ Baron didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he focused his will, controlling his own blood and tracing the same path Vivian had used to invade his body, but in reverse, to invade hers.

Baron’s strategy was simple: if he couldn’t kill her, he’d refine her!

Vivian’s expression filled with terror. But because she had the appearance of a little girl, her terror was diluted, making her look like a runaway child who had just been found by her parents.

"You’re trying to refine me into your Blood Servant!"

Having said this, she too closed her eyes and began to resist Baron’s will.

This time, Vivian was truly shocked. Baron’s Mental Power surpassed her wildest imagination, tearing through her body’s defenses as if they were nothing.

In Vivian’s estimation, not even some Bronze Tier Wizards possessed such formidable Mental Power!

"Just who are you?!" Vivian’s composure shattered. "Constantine, who in the world are you?"

’A pure-blooded human...’ Baron snarked internally, while simultaneously accelerating his refinement of Vivian.

’Honestly, this is tricky,’ Baron thought. ’If my Mental Power hadn’t been enhanced by that Big-Eyed Monster under the starry sky, I’d probably be dead already.’

Vivian’s Mental Power was clearly much stronger than his. If he hadn’t caught her by surprise, his progress would not have been nearly so smooth.

But thanks to her little ’practice run’ inside his body, he had managed to perfectly record the entire process with his Spiritual Vision. Now, it was his turn to put it into practice.

While resisting Baron’s will, Vivian spoke. "No, you’re not one of the Blood Race... Your blood is different from ours... So why can you control it?"

’She doesn’t know about Blood Faction Demon Hunters?’ Baron frowned. He didn’t recall ever hearing about the Blood Faction Demon Hunter school on the Inner Side either.

But back in Prole, Arilan had recognized his identity.

Vivian said, "But none of that matters now."

Her enormous wings suddenly unfurled from her back. A violent gust of wind erupted, blasting Baron—who had been concentrating on invading Vivian with his blood—and sending him flying.

This caught Baron completely off guard. His control over the blood faltered, and Vivian instantly seized the opening to counterattack. In moments, she had reclaimed all the ground he had taken. Then, she mobilized her own blood hidden within Baron’s body and began the refinement process herself!!!

They locked eyes. Without a moment’s hesitation, they both closed their eyes and began to meditate, simultaneously choosing to refine the other... Now it was a race to see who was faster!

BANG, BANG.

A sudden knock came from the door, bringing the duel of refinement to a brief standstill.

They exchanged another glance, hearts instantly tightening.

The ones investigating at a time like this were undoubtedly the elites of the Templar Order. Given their current state, if that door opened, the chances of them both being captured were extremely high.

The Knight Guards outside knocked a few more times. Hearing no response, they began ramming the door with great force. But they couldn’t break it down. The door to the VIP room, reinforced with an Alchemy Array, was evidently far sturdier than a normal one.

After a moment, they gave up. Baron could hear their footsteps retreating.

The two of them resumed their duel of refinement.

’This is bad. Her Mental Power is stronger than mine, and she’s far more familiar with how to use blood to refine someone into a Blood Servant. What’s more, I drank a larger dose of her blood than she did of mine. If this continues, I’ll become a Blood Servant first, and it’ll all have been for nothing.’

Baron could feel Vivian’s will growing steadily stronger within him. He knew he had to change his strategy.

He summoned his Little Flame Demon, planning to use it to distract her. But just then, a series of urgent knocks echoed from the door again. The investigating Knight Guards were back. They had apparently returned with a key, as a soft rustling sound could be heard coming from the lock.

Hearing the noise, Vivian opened her eyes. She saw the Little Flame Demon next to Baron, and a flicker of something passed through her eyes as she spread her wings.

Baron gritted his teeth. He directed the Little Flame Demon to fly toward the door—forged from special Alchemy Materials and fortified with an Alchemy Matrix Enchantment—and had it burrow into the lock.

Vivian didn’t understand what Baron was doing until a cry of alarm came from outside the door. "The lock core has melted! Something’s wrong in there!"

The Knights outside pulled out the key, only to find it snapped in half. The other piece was fused inside the lock!

Seeing this, the lead Knight ordered, "Quick! Go downstairs and tell the Knight Commander that there’s a problem in VIP room 506! Tell him to send more men up here, fast!"

A Knight immediately ran downstairs to report, and the two inside heard his footsteps fading away.

Vivian smiled. "Have you resigned yourself to your fate, Mr. Constantine?"

Her massive wings beat slowly, the draft making the candlelight in the room flicker. She could have used this wind to interfere with Baron’s attempts to refine her with his blood, but there was no need now. He was just moments away from becoming her Blood Servant.

Baron said, "Not yet."

Vivian said, "It’s too late. My blood has already reached your heart. I can kill you or I can enslave you. I will know your every move before you even make it."

She used her wings to cover her naked body. The battle had been so fierce that she hadn’t had a chance to conjure clothes for herself from blood.

"And I have also completely refined your blood... It has a very unusual taste. You are not of the Blood Race, yet you possess a power so similar to it. What’s the story behind that?"

She shook her head. "But it doesn’t matter if you tell me or not. Once my will has completely taken over your body, all of your secrets will be mine to know."

Baron said, "A pity, then, that there’s still a secret you don’t know."

"What?" Vivian faltered.

Then she heard more frantic footsteps from outside the door. The Knights had brought a High Tier Knight to break it down.

But that wasn’t what stunned her. What truly made her freeze was the sight of the young man’s eyes suddenly turning blood-red, completely beyond her control, as he cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.

Before Vivian’s disbelieving eyes, he bellowed:

"Blood God Aisley is a son of a bitch!"

——————————

「Past Life Diary / Year, Month, Day Unknown /

It’s the weekend. It’s raining outside. I had dinner plans, but I just got called in to work overtime on a manuscript. I hope the person I’m meeting doesn’t have a habit of showing up early.

Also, I hope the company goes bankrupt soon. I swear, in my next life, I’d rather be in prison than have a job.

Speaking of prison, I hear the benefits are best in Northern Europe. Some clickbait article said every inmate there gets their own private room and the latest PS4?

Ah, forget it. I’m such an idiot for believing clickbait articles. Besides, even if it were true, it wouldn’t be a PS4 anymore, it’d be a PS5.

I have to say, the cheap combo meals are getting more and more expensive these days. Maybe I should just change our dinner plans to grabbing some cheap takeout instead.」