Under the setting sun, a suffocating, dark veil of fog floated around the place in a spot somewhere in the snow-covered land.
Aida performed a cartwheel and somersaulted continuously in the air before she eventually landed on the ground.
“Hey, you saw the explosion just now too. The people from both sides were scattered by the explosion! There’s fog in the area as well!”
Watching the thick black fog that filled the whole sky, she raised her exquisite machete—which was engraved with beautiful patterns—in dissatisfaction and yelled loudly to the direction behind her.
“Can you all not be so annoying? Let’s return to our respective homes, can we?”
A figure appeared in a flash, bringing along the fog around him.
The supreme class Blood Clansman, Simon Corleone, emerged from the air. His face was filled with coldness.
He said in a deep voice, “Sure. But before that, someone among us must fall first.”
The seemingly young Blood Clansman disappeared in the blink of an eye!
Aida stomped her foot in irritation, swinging out her machete in one swift motion, like flowing water. The blade of the machete clashed against sharp claws.
*Cling! Clang! Cling! Clang! Bang!*
Within a second, five sparks shot up into the air.
Aida asked furiously, “Do you not understand human language?! All I did was somersault over your head!”
The secret protector elegantly performed a forward flip, as if she was performing a splendid dance, and dodged the Blood Clansman’s attack.
But the wind roared. Utilizing his absolute advantage when it came to speed, the Blood Clansman caught up with Aida’s dream-like movements.
“Somersaulted over my head? You just insulted a Blood Clansman’s honor. Please wash off this humiliation you have caused with your blood.” Simon’s face was filled with murderous desire as he appeared in front of Aida.
Aida sighed, “So you’re another extremist who is doing things for the sake of honor, dignity, and some other nonsense.” She massaged her neck, exercised the joints in her entire body and spoke in resignation, “Alright, with my experience, I will have to get rid of you first before I can leave.”
Fury burned in Simon’s eyes, “Ah, it seems that it is very hard for you to understand this kind of fixation, woman. Forget about the fixation of a powerful person. You have neither the dignity nor the pride of a powerful person. How exactly did you get to supreme class?”
“Cut the cr*p.” Aida exhaled beneath her cloak and threw her machete towards the sky, nonchalantly catching it with her other hand.
“Reveal your ‘True Form’, you blood-sucking little shit,” Aida laughed softly as she spoke.
Simon’s expression changed, overlooking the fact the Aida called him a ‘little shit’.
The seemingly young Blood Clan count said coldly, “Who would have thought that you would know about the Blood Clan’s ‘True Form’? It seems that you have encountered supreme class Blood Clansmen in the past.”
Aida raised her exquisite machete and her lips curled up into a confident smile. “Hmph, inaccurate. To be specific, I slaughtered supreme class Blood Clansmen before.”
Simon’s pupils contracted.
Aida whistled and kept smiling as she spoke, “They were even in their ‘True Forms’. Two of them.”
The moment she finished talking, Simon roared furiously. In the blink of an eye, his claws produced countless afterimages, sealing off all possible escape routes from all directions around Aida!
“Die!”
Within the fight—which could not be seen clearly with the naked eye—the clash between metal and sharp claws produced loud crashing sounds!
It then merged into one massive sound.
*Boom!*
It occurred together with a blinding light. Aida grunted. As for Simon, he roared in pain. The two figures separated from each other in the air and landed on the ground.
“Who would have thought that this blade was blessed by the Sunset Goddess.” Simon’s expression was cold.
He looked at his claws which sizzled with white smoke, as if they were being burned. He clenched his fists tightly, gathering the blood in his entire body to his hands. Worn skin fell off and new flesh grew. The injury was swiftly healed.
Simon then raised his head and looked in the direction across himself. There, the cloak that covered Aida’s head and face had been torn apart down the middle and fell on both sides of her head, revealing her appearance fully.
Upon seeing her appearance clearly, Simon’s entire body shuddered!
He was slightly stupefied at first, then he threw his head back and laughed loudly, “I was wondering how it was possible that such an elite would be among mortals. It turns out that you are not a human after all.”
The young Blood Clansman stared at Aida. He stared at her intricate face, smooth profile, silver irises, hair that was almost pure white, and the pair of sharp ears that swayed slightly. Aida stared back at him coldly.
Simon’s hands changed form once more into claws, with a degree of sharpness comparable to divine weapons.
“You are not a mortal, and neither are you an immortal.” He flashed a hideous smile. However, there was extreme wariness in his heart. “You are an eternal being —an elf.”
…..
In the forest, shrouded in fog, a voice called out to him. It was his teacher.
“Be careful, Wya… Be careful. Your Power of Eradication is not a Classical Power that has been tested by our predecessors over a long period of time. It is a modern product, and it has not even been a hundred years since its appearance. After an unfortunate rebellion, the Tower of Eradication gained new enemies. The scions were aware that to fight against this type of enemy, we need to reform our powers. We had to reform our Powers of Eradication which had originated from the Northland Military Sword Style. They were then developed from the legacy of knights who had incorporated the fighting techniques of various races like the Nedaneses, the Crimson Earthlings, and the Far Easterners. And finally, the powers became fully-formed during the Battle of Eradication.
“Hence, over the last hundred years, under the unremitting and intensive study of a few generations of scions, this new kind of Power of Eradication was born according to the needs of the times. The power you possess is a product of this reformation…
“Compared to the Powers of Eradication that had circulated for thousands of years and are extremely well-known—the Thawing of Glaciers, the Sword of Baptism’s Death, the Glory of the Stars, and the Pegasus’ Music—it is still far from perfect. What it would bring to those who possess it is still completely unknown.
“However, just like what the Far Easterner Yuniro, ‘Saint among Swords’, said four hundred years ago, ‘Even if there are ten thousand types of changes, it will not stray from the origin of the sword’… It is the same with your power.”
Wya Caso opened his eyes swiftly! He instinctively struggled up from the snowy ground. His forehead was bleeding. Looking at the fog that covered the sky and the forest, where directions could not be determined, he shook his dizzy head vigorously.
Not far from him, a figure got up from the snow and pounced quickly towards him!
Wya subconsciously grappled for the single-edged, straight sword beside his body. He turned around and swung his sword, forcefully deflecting the sharp claws!
*Clang!*
The sword and the claws clashed against each other and sparks flew everywhere. Under the massive impact, Wya staggered a few steps back with gritted teeth. He maintained his balance with all his might.
His opponent from the Blood Clan, whose clothing and armor were torn, cracked a smile. His left hand also began transforming into sharp claws. “As a mortal, you are very strong. However, we are not the cowardly Blood Clansmen from the Western Peninsula.”
The moment he finished talking, he disappeared from sight. Wya’s pupils contracted. Recalling Putray’s warning, he resisted the urge to run and dodge. Instead, he predicted his opponent’s next attack.
‘I must predict where my opponent can deliver the most fatal blow from a position that is hard to dodge based on the opponent’s position. And if he really attacks from this position, how am I going to react to it?’
The Blood Clansman’s determined laughter rang in the air. “Rare, indeed. To possess such skills, and a Power of Eradication at this age… You are one of the ‘seeds’ of the Tower of Eradication, are you not?”
Wya’s heart jolted. The Blood Clansman’s sharp claws appeared on the left side of his throat.
‘I can feel it!’ Wya, prepared for the attack, did not even think and swung his sword at a perfect angle.
It chopped off both of the Blood Clansman’s arms.
‘Success!’
But at the moment, when Wya’s mood became better, he felt a brutal surge of coldness in his left shoulder and the left side of his chest.
*Rip!*
Wya staggered three steps backwards in disbelief. He felt massive pain in the left side of his body!
‘Impossible.’
Gritting his teeth, Wya stared at the large amount of blood on his left shoulder and the left side of his ribs, as well as the scratches that ran so deep his bones could be seen.
‘There was no doubt that I cut his arms off!’
Wya felt a surge of dizziness. Swaying, he took a step back and placed his left hand on a birch tree to support himself. However, the wound on his left side was affected by his movements and he was in so much pain that he was drenched in cold sweat.
“Not a bad reaction. But has the mortal who was with you not taught you?” The Blood Clansman’s figure reappeared before him, licking the dripping blood off his right claw. He chuckled softly. “All Blood Clansmen who are above supra class have their own special ability.”
“Why… as a ‘seed’ from the Tower of Eradication, are you not prepared to face the Blood Clan’s abilities?”
‘Special ability?’
Seeing his opponent’s arms still intact, Wya sighed. ‘This damned vampire. So, he is able to disregard my strike?’
“Do you want to know my ability?” Watching the panting Wya, the Blood Clansman’s lips curled up into a confident smile.
Wya furrowed his brows. ‘What sort of power… is it?’
“Then, I will tell you… hahahaha…” He had only spoken halfway before the Blood Clansman suddenly began laughing joyfully. “… How would I possibly tell you? Do you think that I am an antagonist from those novels about knights? Those who say a whole load of nonsense and even explain to you how I fig—”
Before the Blood Clansman finished uttering the word ‘fight’, his sharp claws appeared before Wya’s eyes again!
‘Damn! He talked so much just to draw my attention?!’
*Riiiiiiip!*
Roaring furiously, Wya swung his sword. But because he was too slow, the Blood Clansman tore a massive wound on his back again!
Wya panted heavily. His sword had swung towards the Blood Clansman’s head, but the only thing he managed to cut was the air.
‘What on earth is his ability? Why is he able to disregard my sword attack?’
The Blood Clansman appeared again and said coldly, “The final blow… The next one will be the final blow.”
Feeling the massive pain in his body, Wya shut his eyes with effort.
…..
“Aren’t you going back there to take a look?”
Chris tore down a piece of ruined clothing from his body and revealed sturdy muscles that did not go with his face—which was as gaunt as a dead person’s. Seeing the fog that covered the sky, he coldly said to Hestad who was in front of him, “No need. This is the Alchemy Ball which is made primarily based on fog, sound, and light.”
Hestad took off his left shoulder armor which had been destroyed in the battle just now. With his full concentration on Chris, he replied, “It is obvious that your mistress is playing some dirty trick again. However, I am very confident in Her Majesty. Comparatively, I am more worried for you, old friend.” Hestad took a step forward and looked at Chris.
“I am greatly honored.” Without giving any impression of weakness, Chris also took a step forward.
Both of them stood facing each other.
A few seconds later…
“Do you still remember the first time we fought against each other?” Hestad asked in a sentimental tone.
“Of course, how can I possibly forget,” Chris answered coldly.
“True, at that time, you were the lieutenant-general of a brigade in the Last Empire, Chris Tammul Linka.” Hestad inhaled deeply. “And I was a small chief of the Sele Tribe, Hestad Chura.
“You stood on that side, and I stood on this side. Due to some incomprehensible reason, we desperately charged at each other, unheedful to our own fates. It is worth remembering indeed,” Hestad said sentimentally.
“Worth remembering?” Chris shook his head and snorted coldly. “I beg to differ. Those nightmarish years… they changed everyone. Including you and me; including our ruler.”
Hestad knew that the ‘ruler’ Chris spoke of was not Serena, neither was it Katerina.
He was referring to that massive and terrifying black shadow under the pair of wings that appeared at night.
He raised his head, and their gazes met.
“But in the end, those years were meaningful.” Hestad sighed. “Those years… during the Battle of Eradication.”
The next moment, both of them simultaneously opened their ferocious mouths filled with fangs and roared furiously!
While expanding, their blood and flesh changed colour, shape and… metamorphosed!
Huge bat-like wings broke through their skin and emerged from their backs, there were sharp bony spurs on them. The wings spread out abruptly!
The skin on their bodies fell off piece by piece. The layer of solid skin-like substance that appeared on the muscles below their skin turned dark.
They rapidly changed shape… No, they started ‘growing’.
Their tragus stood tall, their mouths and noses attained a ferocious appearance, their eyes turned blood red, their fangs became fearsome, their joints became thorns, and the claws on their fingers turned sharp.
The two supreme class Blood Clansmen, who had lived for countless years, transformed into terrifying monsters spoken of in legends. They spread their wings and charged at each other while howling.
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