As the noon bell chimed, Modi’s hand swept down heavily.
“The ritual begins!”
The cultists held their breath for the ritual duel that would decide the future Bishop of the New Moon Sect.
On both sides of the stage, the two silver hexagram magic circles engraved with ancient runes activated. Intense ripples of mana surged through the air, causing the flames in the lanterns to flicker with an eerie pale purple hue.
Elizabeth instantly shed all her arrogance.
Her hands moved rapidly in front of her chest, channeling mana as she chanted. A string of obscure and difficult ancient incantations spilled from her lips.
Even as a Twelfth Generation Vampire, she had to devote her full attention to an ancient ritual passed down from the era of the gods.
Her gold-embroidered skirt fluttered violently under the surging mana. Energy swelled around her, forming a small mana cyclone.
On the other side...
Sophie stood motionless in the center of her own hexagram circle.
She was frozen in awkwardness.
The world of Red Moon naturally had its own common tongue. When playing the game, it was automatically translated, and after transmigrating, Sophie found she could speak it fluently and automatically.
Ritual incantations were set by their creators.
Different rhythms achieved different effects, and using languages known by few could prevent one's results from being easily stolen.
The incantation for the Moon Rite had naturally been set by its creator, Hiso.
And Hiso...
“Because you are just too beautiful, oh oh, oh oh...”
Why on earth did she set such a cringey incantation back then?
It was one thing to troll in a game, but it was incredibly embarrassing after transmigrating.
She really didn't want to sing this...
Furthermore, Elizabeth was actually reading this lyric aloud in a stumbling, monotone accent.
Sophie felt like she could curl her toes hard enough to dig out a whole new apartment complex.
She thought silently to herself.
Wait, how did they even set up this ritual?
She remembered the energy source for this thing was...
Sophie lowered her head, her gaze falling on the material used as the ritual’s drive core at the very base of the magic circle.
It was a pitch-black, cracked metal fragment emitting a stale, earthy smell.
Curious, she bent over and used two fingers to pick up the debris from the center of the circle, bringing it close to her eyes to examine it.
【Item: Dilapidated Dark Gold Greave Fragment | A leg armor once used by the legendary vampire ‘Hiso’ when he was weak. Corroded by time, only a small fragment remains.】
Sophie’s hand trembled.
Dammit, it really was her own holy relic.
And it was the junk she’d bought from the shop when she was a low-level player, which she had simply discarded after its durability hit zero.
The warranty had completely expired; even the permanent enchantments had vanished.
“What are you doing?!”
In a gap between her chanting, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Sophie’s movements—it looked like she was picking through rotten vegetables at a market.
Her eyes widened, burning with rage. “That is a sacred relic of the sect possessing ancient magic! Don't you dare break it!”
Without a doubt, Elizabeth assumed Sophie simply didn't know the incantation for the ritual.
That was why she was picking at the ritual circle.
Sophie: If anything, I'm wondering why you think this thing isn't broken.
Sophie thought silently as she placed the energy source back on the ground.
Because she never intended for anyone else to use this ritual, Hiso had set the energy source requirement to [Hiso himself or an object possessing Hiso’s aura].
She never expected someone would actually manage to drive it.
Sophie casually crossed her arms over her chest and began to chant in a low voice.
“One more look, one more glance, and it'll explode~ One step closer, just a bit nearer, and I'm about to melt~”
The magic circle beneath her feet erupted with a brilliant, dazzling silver light. The radiance instantly overshadowed the energy Elizabeth was still struggling to accumulate.
How is that possible?
Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
Why does she know this language?
And... she’s singing it?
Excellent!
Modi couldn't help but thump his cane against the floor.
The cultists below the stage also began to whisper among themselves.
“The incantations of these ritualists are surprisingly pleasant to hear.”
“When Lady Elizabeth was reciting it, I thought the incantation was some obscure ancient tongue. Who would have thought it was a ballad?”
“Shh, do you want to offend that petty woman?”
“The Saintess’s singing is so beautiful... I feel like her face doesn't do her voice justice.”
“She’ll be the Bishop soon.”
One of the cultists from Modi’s faction spoke with absolute certainty.
Sophie: I’ll use an Iron Mountain Lean to elbow you haters to death.
The first phase of mana resonance was completed in just a few breaths.
The cultists below let out bursts of exclamation.
Meanwhile.
Elizabeth had only just finished memorizing half of the incantation, stumbling through it.
Seeing the other woman’s shocked and uncertain expression, Sophie realized she had sung too fast.
Sophie gave an awkward but polite smile.
It wouldn't be good if the rich lady thought she was cheating and stopped the match.
To add some suspense for the audience, Sophie deliberately slowed down the frequency of her mana input.
The piercing silver light dimmed slightly as she forced her progress to stay only a tiny bit ahead of Elizabeth.
“Ba... baby!”
Elizabeth, who had finally gritted her teeth and finished the last line of the incantation, didn't have a moment to catch her breath before she immediately drove the ritual circle into the next phase.
She would not lose.
The physical space in the center of the magic circle began to warp.
Magic was the existence that turned the impossible into the possible.
The purpose of the Moon Rite was the same.
In the second phase, the practitioner needed to use mana to materialize an “impossible object” in their mind, using the power of paradox to break through the laws of reality.
Elizabeth quickly organized her thoughts, filling the magic circle with the content she had prepared long ago.
For a vampire, what was absolutely impossible?
Soon, within the circle in front of Elizabeth, two spheres of light—one red and one gold—began to intertwine.
A scorching golden sun and a crimson full moon rose side by side under the same miniature sky. The sun’s heat did not ignite the vampire’s body, and the red moon’s chill was not dispelled by the sunlight.
The coexistence of sunlight and the red moon was a pure miracle for a vampire who feared the light and worshipped the moon.
The second phase was completed instantly.
The space at the center of Elizabeth’s ritual circle turned into scattered, broken stars and became distorted.
Everyone gasped.
The temperature in the entire theater dropped by several degrees.
Modi’s expression became extremely grim.
The Saintess had actually fallen behind despite having the advantage?
Though he didn't understand rituals, he could see that Elizabeth had clearly prepared for this.
Furthermore, he had to admit that Elizabeth’s ritual mastery had reached a staggering height.
Good luck, Saintess.
Modi couldn't help but turn his gaze toward the Saintess.
As for Sophie...
She was scratching her chin without any sense of decorum.
An impossible object?
There were way too many of those. For example, “I’ll stop after one more top-up,” or “this dip is just a technical adjustment,” or “my ten thousand dollars will turn into a hundred million after ninety-seven consecutive limit-up days”...
But if it had to be a physical object.
Hmm...
Sophie thought for a moment and injected mana into the magic circle.
Soon, a strange golden cup appeared in the circle before Sophie. It had a globe-shaped base and two small figures holding it up.
On the base of that cup, several characters were engraved—The Xia Country’s Football World Cup Trophy.
No one present recognized the trophy or the characters on it.
But the moment this object was materialized...
The air inside the entire theater froze.
That was an absolute impossibility on the level of causality.
The Great Dao was obliterated at this moment, only to be born anew.
This concept of impossibility was firmly bound within the magic circle, subsequently transforming into a literal storm.
The space emitted a crackling sound as all light was swallowed by the circle.
Pure black, pure darkness.
There seemed to be something in the circle, yet there seemed to be nothing at all.
This was the power of the impossible.
Before an impossibility of this magnitude, even the “coexistence of sun and moon” appeared dull and lightless.
Elizabeth was stunned.
What on earth... is that thing?
How is it possible... how is it possible...
“My Lady?” The low call of Maid A brought Elizabeth back to her senses.
She bit her lip with her fangs, bracing her spirit.
The third phase, the final step.
One needed to use a catalyst to summon a truly supreme being, using absolute power as the ritual’s final conclusion.
This was also the reason Elizabeth had chosen this ritual.
Although she didn't believe she would fail the ritual, if she did...
Elizabeth gritted her teeth.
A ritual was a miracle that turned the impossible into the possible.
She took a small vial from her pocket.
Inside the vial was a drop of crystal-clear blood.
Elizabeth pulled the stopper and poured the blood into the center of the magic circle.
Above her circle, a tall, majestic phantom gradually emerged. It was the figure of a vampire clad in ancient armor. Even as a mere phantom, it emitted a suffocating high-tier pressure.
An Eleventh Generation Vampire expert, once the strongest existence in her family.
And the most powerful being she could come into contact with.
The purpose of doing this was...
“Kill her.”
Elizabeth gave the order.
The coexistence of sun and moon, previously bound by the ritual circle, suddenly regained its freedom.
The moonlight and sunlight appeared simultaneously. The moon flew toward the powerful vampire phantom, while the sun was hurled toward the distant Sophie.
The creations of fantasy could still affect reality.
The sun could suppress a vampire’s regeneration, and the moon could enhance a vampire’s attributes.
In just an instant.
The irradiation of sunlight would turn a vampire into ash.
And even if she didn't turn into ash, the suppression of bloodline was absolute.
The sun exploded within the theater.
All the cultists instinctively covered their eyes.
Elizabeth also immediately hid behind her maid.
【Log: You have entered [Light Sensitivity (Reversed)] state】
【Log: You are under bloodline suppression from an [Eleventh Generation Vampire]. You will undergo a Perception check against the opponent. Failure will result in following the opponent’s orders.】
【Log: Your Perception check has failed. You are under the effect of [Bloodline Majesty]. You must follow the opponent’s orders.】
【Log: Special skill [Pure Lust] has been triggered. You are immune to the [Bloodline Majesty] effect.】
【Log: Due to the massive generation gap, your [Undying Essence] skill has been suppressed.】
In the next moment, the Eleventh Generation Vampire phantom summoned by Elizabeth—clad in tattered ancient armor—lit up with two spheres of crimson, murderous light on its blurred face.
Accompanied by the ear-grating sound of bones popping, the phantom slowly raised a giant scythe formed entirely of thick blood and mana.
“Oh my god, I only wanted your money. Why are you trying to take my life?”
Sophie’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting the other woman to have such a heavy murderous intent toward her.
Is it really worth it just because I took fifty gold coins from you?
“This is bad, Saintess!” Modi gripped his cane and fired a beam of magic at the blood shadow.
But without a doubt, the speed of this magic beam was far slower than the speed at which the vampire phantom attacked Sophie.
Sophie was grateful that Modi was always trying to save her.
But could Bishop Modi stop being like the police in American superhero movies, only arriving after the fight is over?
Where the scythe passed, there was the muffled boom of the sound barrier being broken. The wooden floorboards of the entire abandoned theater were flipped up like scraps of paper.
Clang.
An Oil-paper Umbrella snapped open. For a moment, the giant scythe and the umbrella clashed, neither gaining the upper hand.
What now?
Holding the umbrella, Sophie’s mind raced.
“To be honest, the thing I hate most in my life is people trying to out-legacy me.”
In the next instant, she kicked the core of the ritual circle.
The piece of junk known as the “Dilapidated Dark Gold Greave Fragment.”
Fortunately, she’d been hit by a sun and now had two points of Strength.
The dark gold greave fragment was immediately kicked into two pieces.
One piece continued to maintain the magic circle, while the other became the summoning medium for the third phase.
“I choose you, myself.”
The moment the dilapidated fragment fell into the magic circle.
There was no blinding light, nor was there any earth-shattering mana roar.
Simply put, space paused.
The confrontation between the scythe and the umbrella froze.
【Log: [Hiso (Historical Projection)] has responded to the summons.】
A black silhouette with an indistinguishable form appeared on the magic circle.
This low-tier ritual circle couldn't carry even a fraction of that power, nor could it simulate even a fraction of that body.
The black shadow only vaguely revealed a pair of eyes.
A pair of cold eyes.
The moment the Eleventh Generation Vampire phantom saw this, a human-like terror actually surfaced on its hollow face.
It was the instinctive shudder of an ant looking up at the stars.
“Impossible...” Elizabeth, hiding behind her maid, let out a scream.
She wanted to say something more.
But it was too late.
No one saw clearly what happened next.
Because that shadow gave the fleeing Eleventh Generation Vampire a cold glance.
A single glance.
Even sound itself was erased by that glance.
Starting from that invisible dividing line in the center of the stage, the theater’s dome, the thick load-bearing walls, the roof piled with black lead tiles, and the tiered audience seating in the back—which could accommodate three hundred people—all vanished.
What met their eyes was the piercing sunlight.
The sky had appeared.
Half the theater, the Eleventh Generation Vampire, Elizabeth, the maid, the ritual circle...
Everything had vanished without a trace.
Rate on N.U.
