Hannah pushed her speed to its absolute limit.
The wind roared in her ears as the scenery blurred past.
She did not dare to look back.
She did not dare to think about Hugh's current situation.
She had only one thought in her mind.
Head north, to the Voiceless Rift.
Find Lord Gusion, or... die trying.
The towering walls of Mirror-Shadow City were already in sight.
Once she cleared this wall, she would reach the wilderness.
And she would temporarily escape the encirclement within the city.
With a snap of her wings, she soared upward with all her might.
The wall rushed up to meet her.
However...
Just as she was about to clear the top of the wall...
...a figure silently...
...appeared atop the battlements.
It was Bill of the Vampires.
Draped in an elegant black suit, a faint smile played on his lips.
He held a glass of crimson liquid, swirling it gently.
“Good evening, Miss Hannah.”
He bowed slightly, his tone light and cheerful.
“Leaving in such a hurry...”
“...where might you be headed?”
Hannah's pupils contracted.
She ground to a halt mid-air.
Her crimson eyes locked onto him.
Bill smiled and took a sip of the liquid.
“Don't be nervous.”
“I only... wish to invite you to stay.”
“To have a cup of tea, and chat.”
He paused, his gaze turning meaningful.
“After all, the love story between you and Mr. Roger...”
“...has deeply moved me.”
Hannah's pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks.
A freezing, almost tangible murderous intent flared in her crimson eyes.
No nonsense, no testing the waters.
Her figure blurred instantly, turning into a purple afterimage.
She lunged straight at Bill on the wall!
Her sharp claws tore through the air with a piercing screech.
Dark, near-black purple demon energy swirled around her claw tips.
Bill chuckled softly, taking an elegant half-step back.
He casually tossed the contents of his glass.
The crimson liquid expanded in mid-air.
It transformed into a squirming shield of blood.
Screech—!
Her claws slammed violently into the blood shield.
The blood shield fluctuated wildly, yet it did not break.
Instead, several tentacles whipped out from it, wrapping toward Hannah's wrists.
Hannah snorted coldly, the purple glow on her claws exploding.
She twisted her hands violently!
The blood shield and tentacles shattered together.
Exploding into a rain of blood.
Her speed never faltered as she closed the distance.
Her claws danced into a storm of blades.
Every single strike targeted Bill's throat, heart, and head.
Fast, precise, and ruthless.
There was not a single wasted movement.
The smile on Bill's face faded slightly.
His figure drifted and dodged through the flurry of claws.
His hands waved repeatedly, conjuring arrows, whips, and blades of fresh blood...
...which shot at Hannah from all directions.
Yet she either shattered them with her claws or dodged them.
She even used the recoil of her strikes to accelerate her advance.
Ten exchanges.
Twenty exchanges.
Hannah's offensive grew increasingly fierce.
Purple claw marks almost completely enveloped Bill.
Bill's suit now bore several torn gashes.
Shallow bloody welts appeared on his pale skin.
His slender body was pierced again and again, drenched in blood, his limbs torn apart.
Yet he was laughing.
Laughing louder and louder.
“As expected of a famous genius of the Demon Race!”
He dodged a claw aimed at his heart and lashed back with a blood whip.
Hannah sliced it apart with a single swipe.
“This claw technique, this purity of demon energy...”
“These ruthless angles.”
“You truly deserve to be the next Eleventh Pillar Demon King appointed by Gusion!”
“No wonder a peak human genius like Roger...”
“...was willing to defect from the Royal Capital for you and spend over a decade together.”
Hannah's gaze grew colder, and her claw style suddenly shifted.
From violent to unpredictable.
Three purple beams shot out like striking vipers, lunging from an awkward angle.
Aiming straight for Bill's eyes and forehead.
Bill's pupils contracted slightly.
The blood shield he hastily conjured was a split second too slow.
Pfft!
The purple light pierced his skull.
Hannah clenched her claws, crushing Bill's head to pieces.
Bill's headless body stiffened and slowly fell backward.
Hannah caught her breath, preparing to pull away.
But the falling “corpse” suddenly dissolved into a pool of blood.
Seeping into the cracks of the wall.
A few meters away, another pool of blood slowly rose.
Re-forming into Bill's likeness.
His suit was pristine, and not a single wound remained.
“My, my, that really hurt.”
Bill rubbed his perfectly intact head, his smile unchanged.
“Miss Hannah, how did you and Mr. Roger meet?”
“I heard he bought you from a slave market back then?”
“To buy you, he even bowed his head to the prince he loathed the most.”
Hannah gritted her teeth and snarled at Bill.
“Just what does it take to kill you?!”
Hearing this, Bill burst into laughter, covering his face with his hands as he replied.
“That is a question I would also love to know the answer to.”
“Neither Gusion nor the Blood Ancestor of the Vampires can kill me.”
“Legendary experts, Epic titles, none of them can kill me.”
“Sometimes, I really want to tell them to put some back into it. Don't be so boring.”
Bill smiled, then looked down at Hannah and said.
“After all, I grew tired of immortality long ago. I can't even feel the thrill of battle fighting you or them anymore.”
“So, can you give me a real challenge?”
Bill's contempt reignited Hannah's fury.
She lunged once more.
This time, her claws were even more violent.
Every single strike carried an absolute resolve to kill.
Bill still dodged calmly, countering with blood spells.
Yet his words were like poisoned needles, repeatedly stabbing at Hannah.
“Giving up the honor of a knight, giving up all wealth and power, all for a half-demon slave...”
“Turning against the entire kingdom.”
“How romantic.”
Hannah tore open his chest with a single swipe.
Bill dissolved with a laugh, only to reconstruct himself elsewhere.
“I heard you two lived very well in Avalon?”
“Mr. Roger must love you very much, doesn't he?”
Hannah clenched her teeth, keeping up her relentless assault.
But the unease in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
Her opponent... wasn't fighting at all.
He was playing with her.
Wearing her down.
With every rebirth after “death”...
Bill's aura didn't weaken in the slightest.
It was as if that body was merely an illusion made of blood.
Meanwhile, her own demon energy was steadily draining.
The purple glow on her claws was no longer as dense as it was at the start.
“What a pity.”
Bill sighed softly just before being torn apart once more.
“Such love is destined to be short-lived.”
Hannah froze.
Bill's figure materialized behind her.
His voice was close to her ear, soft as a lover's whisper.
“After all, Mr. Roger...”
“...might already be dead.”
Hannah's breath hitched.
In the instant her focus wavered.
Countless threads of blood surged from the cracks of the wall beneath her feet.
Wrapping around her ankles and calves like living things.
Hannah yelled, slashing her claws downward.
The blood threads were severed, but even more surged forth.
Bill's laughter echoed all around.
“Angry? Worried?”
“Unfortunately, I am only speaking the truth.”
“No one can walk out of there alive. Especially when ‘she’ is inside.”
Hannah frantically tore at the blood threads.
Her bat wings flapped, trying to force herself into the air.
But the blood threads grew more numerous and tighter.
They even began to burrow into her skin, heading inside her body.
Bringing waves of icy numbness.
“You of the Demon God's faction are always so easily swayed by emotions.”
Bill's figure slowly materialized not far away.
He casually straightened his cuffs.
“Gusion is like this, and so are you.”
“Clearly possessing such great power...”
“...yet you choose to remain cornered in a single place for the sake of a human and some boring kindness.”
Hannah's struggles grew weaker and weaker.
The blood threads had already wrapped around her waist and arms.
Her demon energy was utterly suppressed, making it difficult to channel.
Her crimson eyes glared death at Bill.
Her eyes filled with deep, bone-deep hatred.
Bill walked up to her, reaching out to gently caress her cheek.
His movement was tender, but his eyes were ice-cold.
“Rest assured, I won't kill you.”
“You are still useful.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“After all, you are one of the most suitable successors...”
“...for the Eleventh Pillar Demon King.”
“I will extract the Demon King's blood from your body and graft it onto myself.”
“Once Gusion is completely dead in there, I... will be the Eleventh Pillar Demon King.”
Hannah's pupils shook.
But Bill had already straightened up, clapping his hands elegantly.
“Take her away.”
Several corpse knights stepped out from the surrounding shadows.
They silently seized Hannah.
And walked down the wall.
Bill gazed toward the north, in the direction of the Voiceless Rift.
A wild, arrogant smile played on the corner of his lips.
“Avalon... is nothing more than this.”
Rate on N.U.
