Chapter 72: My Lord, Save Me!
"Were you not going to send me on my way?"
Joren raised his head, blade shaped pupils fixed on Orson.
"So why did you stop?"
Whatever remained of Orson’s composure broke.
He twisted toward the darkest stretch of ruins deep inside the House Hurst estate and screamed until his voice tore.
"Lord Bloodfiend!"
"Save me!"
"If you still refuse to act, the entire plan is finished!"
Joren stopped.
[Spider Sense] erupted with warning.
It felt as though countless frozen needles had driven into the back of his skull.
A cold wind swept through the estate without warning.
The grounds were already smothered in blood corruption, but the temperature dropped again. Blood scattered across the rubble began to boil, then crawled toward the deeper ruins as though called by something alive.
"Useless."
A thin, almost feminine voice drifted through the air, sharp enough to raise gooseflesh.
"I gave you so much sacred blood, yet you still failed to deal with a Rank Three."
"You have disgraced our entire bloodline."
The shadows among the ruins began to writhe.
Then hundreds of crimson bats burst from the darkness and gathered in midair, their bodies folding together into the shape of a slender man.
He wore a dark red tailcoat.
His face was white as paper, while his lips shone with the wet red of fresh blood. No pupils sat within his eyes. Only two pale ghost flames burned there.
He floated above Orson, one hand holding a glass of dark red liquid. Even now, he swirled it with practiced elegance.
Middle stage Rank Five.
Another one.
Yet his aura felt nothing like Orson’s unstable power.
Purer.
Colder.
Far more poisonous.
Joren narrowed his eyes.
So he had finally come out.
"My lord..."
Orson scrambled through the air and nearly collapsed beneath the Bloodfiend’s feet.
"There is something wrong with this brat. His blade..."
The Bloodfiend glanced down at him.
"A blade?"
He drained the glass, crushed it between his fingers, then finally gave Joren his full attention.
"That body of yours looks rather fine."
His tongue passed over his lips, exposing a pair of sharp fangs.
"Much better than those students who did nothing but bury their heads in books."
"You should last a long time as a blood thrall."
Joren laughed and rolled his neck until the joints cracked.
"Do all gutter rats like you share the same problem?"
"You never stop talking, and your breath reeks."
The Bloodfiend’s elegant expression froze.
Boom!
Joren did not waste another word.
The ground burst beneath him as [Windborne Frame] hurled him into the sky.
First strike.
No hesitation.
[Heaven’s Sin] came down toward that pale face with enough force to split a mountain.
"Fool."
The Bloodfiend snorted.
Shrill squeals filled the air.
His dark red cloak burst apart and transformed into thousands of vicious bats. They formed a crimson storm and crashed directly into Joren’s blade.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
The edge released by [Primordial Bladebody] shredded them by the hundreds.
But the dead bats did not disappear.
Each one dissolved into a cloud of corrosive blood mist, wrapping itself around [Heaven’s Sin].
Sizzle.
The blade suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
Its unstoppable edge sank into the mist as though buried in cotton, leaving Joren with nowhere to put his strength.
"And that is not all."
The Bloodfiend smiled.
Blood mist raced along the hilt and climbed over Joren’s arms.
Warnings flashed across the S Class [Black Dragon] armor. Tiny pits appeared across the black nanometal as the mist ate into its surface.
"Together."
The Bloodfiend’s command snapped through the air.
Orson was wounded, but the moment he saw Joren trapped, hatred flooded back into his face.
Kicking someone when they were down had always suited him.
He forced down the pain and unleashed every trace of his Rank Five protective force. His remaining claw turned into a streak of black light and drove toward Joren’s back.
Two against one.
Two middle stage Rank Five fighters hunting a Rank Three.
No path out.
"Die!"
Orson’s face twisted with excitement.
His claw was a breath from Joren’s spine when a shriek ripped through the air, like a thousand birds crying at once.
[Thunder Dominion]!
Boom!
Blinding lightning filled everything within twenty meters of Joren.
The blood mist wrapped around [Heaven’s Sin] vanished before the violent purity of the thunder.
"Fuck off!"
Lightning poured from Joren’s body and smashed into Orson.
Boom!
Orson flew backward, blackened from head to toe and screaming as he tumbled through the air.
The thunder did more than burn.
It locked his muscles in place.
Before the Bloodfiend could react, Joren’s shadow warped.
[Phantom Thorn]!
His body disappeared, leaving only a flickering afterimage wrapped in stray arcs of electricity.
Then he appeared beside the Bloodfiend.
No warning.
The first strike from concealment was certain to land as a critical blow.
Combined with the defense piercing edge of [Primordial Bladebody], it became a killing strike.
"What?"
For the first time, alarm entered those pupil less eyes.
Too fast.
And the lightning crawling through the air made his entire body recoil.
Still, a monster that had lived for centuries had more than one way to escape death.
Bang!
Just before [Heaven’s Sin] reached his neck, the Bloodfiend exploded.
His body became a sheet of blood.
The blade passed through and split the liquid apart.
No system notification came.
Blood gathered again on the ground some distance away and rebuilt his body.
This time, his face looked even paler.
A wound ran across his chest deep enough to expose bone.
Even after using a blood escape technique, the remaining force of the strike had reached his true body.
"Good."
"Very good."
The Bloodfiend touched the wound and stared at the blood coating his fingertips.
Every trace of elegance disappeared from his face.
"A mere Rank Three pushed me this far."
"Orson, stop pretending to be dead!"
"Burn your blood essence unless you want to die here!"
Orson had only just climbed back to his feet.
A vicious light passed through his eyes.
There would be no surviving tonight without risking everything.
He threw back his head and roared.
Blood burst from every pore across his body.
At the same time, the Bloodfiend formed seals with both hands and began chanting under his breath.
Rumble.
The entire House Hurst estate began to shake.
Countless pillars of red light erupted from the ground and wove themselves into an enormous net above the mansion.
The moment the field formed, Joren’s body sank.
Gravity increased more than tenfold.
Every trace of blood in the air began tearing at his stamina.
[Warning! High concentration corrosive field detected!]
[Warning! Armor integrity is falling!]
Red alerts flashed wildly across Black Dragon.
Joren had no time to adjust.
The Bloodfiend and Orson closed from opposite sides.
This time, neither intended to give him a moment to breathe.
The Bloodfiend swept one hand outward.
Blood pooled across the ground rose into countless tendrils and wrapped around Joren’s legs.
Orson burned through his remaining strength, condensing protective force over both palms before hammering at Joren’s chest.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Joren could only defend.
[Heaven’s Sin] moved in relentless arcs as [Primordial Bladebody] supplied the edge and [Spider Sense] warned him of each attack.
Dozens of cuts every second.
Every one colliding with Rank Five force.
Blood finally burst from Joren’s mouth.
The gap in realm was too large.
And there were two of them.
Inside their field, his advantages had been pressed almost to nothing.
"Cannot hold on anymore?"
Orson surged with delight.
"Kneel!"
His foot slammed into the flat of Joren’s blade.
Boom!
Joren flew backward and crashed through a broken wall, reducing what remained of it to rubble.
Dust filled the ruins.
Joren knelt on one knee, using [Heaven’s Sin] to support himself.
Black Dragon hung in torn strips across his body, exposing blood slick skin beneath.
His chest rose and fell sharply.
A thin line of red marked the corner of his mouth.
"Cough..."
He wiped it away and stood.
The hand around the hilt remained steady.
The light in his eyes had not faded.
It burned brighter.
Joren grinned, blood bright against his teeth.
Ready for more.
"Still pretending at the edge of death."
The Bloodfiend watched him coldly as the river of blood behind him began to boil again.
"Finish him."