Consciousness was forcibly dragged out of the darkness.
It wasn’t a natural awakening.
The dome of the Library was continuously fracturing. Stones fell, crashing onto the floor half a meter from his head. Debris splashed up, hitting his face and carving tiny bloody scratches.
The pain signals from the back of his head surged up along the blood vessel nodes on both sides of his cervical spine.
It felt like two red-hot iron nails were driven into his nerve plexus. Every heartbeat hammered them deeper.
Bell propped up his upper body.
Double vision still lingered in his sight. The afterimage of the palm Valentine had used to knock him unconscious flickered on his retina.
A hand pressed against his shoulder.
The grip wasn't strong, but it was steady.
Bell turned his head. Margaret was sitting on the floor nearby. Her cloak was folded into a cushion beneath her, and she leaned against a bookshelf.
A very thin vine was wrapped around her fingertips.
It wasn't a real plant. It was a sensory tentacle manifested from her innate ability, "All-Affinity."
The end of the vine disappeared into the cracks between the floor tiles, extending deep along the architectural roots of the palace.
A fine pulse throbbed on the surface of the vine. Green fluorescence flickered within its veins.
Eavesdropping.
The walls of the Night Rose Palace were covered in blood-red thorn reliefs. Embedded beneath these reliefs were living rose root systems, which served as organic conductors for the magic arrays.
With the scepter having changed hands, the defensive arrays had fallen into chaos. The impact of the withered husk tide had torn through the outer barrier layers.
Margaret had slipped into this window of opportunity.
A layer of fine sweat covered her forehead. Forcibly connecting to an ancestor-level array network placed an immense mental burden on her.
Margaret released the hand on his shoulder.
“There are three sides fighting in the inheritance chamber.”
“Valentine’s Desolate End is against Dracula’s Blood Source Sovereignty. Tia and Leon are intercepting Cecilia. Lilian has also entered.”
“Dracula is pouring Leila’s soul fragments into the inheritance stone pillar.”
“The withered husk tide is still falling outside the city. The density has dropped. Grant and the others have compressed the drop zone.”
No personal judgment. Only facts.
Bell’s brain was running at high speed.
Tia and Leon against Cecilia.
A Mithril body with complete magic immunity, combined with Leon’s ice domain. This was the optimal solution they could field at the moment.
Cecilia possessed the World Tree Heart, and her total mana was nearly infinite. However, Tia’s dual immunity to both physical and magical attacks perfectly countered her specialty—firepower coverage.
They could hold her back.
Lilian had entered.
A queen without a scepter had combat power inferior to even an ordinary high-level vampire.
But she had gone in.
This meant she had crossed that psychological threshold. She was no longer that former slave who only knew how to hide behind others.
The cognitive misalignment of the factions created a massive variable here.
Dracula and Cecilia thought Lilian was just a decoration. Valentine thought Lilian was a pawn that could be sacrificed.
But a decoration that wasn't even afraid of death could block a fatal blow at a critical moment.
Bell rubbed the back of his head and stood up from the floor.
His knees were still a bit weak. He reached out to grab the edge of the desk to steady his center of gravity.
He walked to the desk.
He found a copper pot and poured a cup of water.
The water was very cold.
He took a sip. The chill poured from his throat into his stomach, washing away most of the remaining dizziness.
The copper cup was placed on the table. The bottom collided with the wood, making a dull thud.
His fingertip traced a circle around the rim of the cup, wiping away a drop of water.
Reboot complete.
Bell leaned against the edge of the desk. His gaze fell on the open 《Blood Race Chronicles》.
“Leila cannot be resurrected.”
Margaret’s fingers stopped on the vine. The green fluorescence stalled for a moment.
“The limit for a soul to persist after leaving the body is three days.”
“This isn't a rule of some specific race; it's a fundamental law of this world. It’s the manifestation of the Law of Entropy in the dimension of the soul.”
“The Star Dragon King’s Dragon Fire burns the soul itself. The structure of soul fragments that have been burned has already been destroyed. The rate of decay will only be faster, not slower.”
“Dracula said he used his own body to preserve Leila’s remnant soul for three thousand years.”
Bell paused for a beat.
“Impossible.”
“The difference between three days and three thousand years is six orders of magnitude. No vessel can violate the fundamental laws to lock in the dissipation of a soul. Even if he is the King of the Blood Race.”
“The soul fragments would have completely dissipated by the fourth day.”
“That face on his stomach isn't Leila’s soul at all.”
“It’s something simulating soul characteristics. A highly realistic disguise.”
Bell’s fingers tapped on the desk.
“Extracting the deceased’s memories, mana fluctuations, and even personality habits. Kneading them into an information aggregate.”
“Then using some high-level magical material as a carrier and implanting it into Dracula’s body.”
“Dracula felt Leila’s memories and sensed Leila’s mana fluctuations. He thought that was Leila’s remnant soul.”
“But it’s just a recorded hologram. A piece of code with no self-awareness.”
“A scam.”
“A complete and utter scam.”
“The person who created this scam needs extremely high attainment in soul studies. They need deep research into blood magic.”
His fingernail scratched a fine line into the surface of the copper cup. The sound of metal scraping was exceptionally piercing in the quiet Library.
“The person who deceived him isn't Cecilia.”
“Cecilia doesn't need allies. She crushes directly. Using a three-thousand-year scam to manipulate an ancient being isn't her way of doing things. She doesn't have the patience.”
“She brought Dracula here today as a collaborator, not a subordinate.”
“The White Tower Society.”
“Dracula is the Fourth Councilor. The person who gave him that promise and helped him create the disguise must hold a position within the White Tower absolutely higher than his.”
The logical thread continued to extend.
“The Wood Elf race was completely erased.”
The gold-green inscription on Tia’s palm flashed before Bell’s eyes.
Aunt Philan’s face surfaced in his memory.
“It wasn't a simple massacre.”
“A massacre would leave bodies, ruins, and historical records.”
“But Margaret doesn't remember. Leon doesn't remember. Even Valentine, who has lived for four thousand years, doesn't remember.”
“This is erasure on a conceptual level.”
“Cecilia drained the essence of the World Tree. Using the World Tree’s authority, she modified the basic settings of this continent.”
“She deleted the 'Wood Elf' entry from the world database.”
“The withered husks falling from the sky are the corrupted code left behind after the deletion. No soul, no mana, only physical residue remains.”
“She collected these residues and threw them into Moon Phase City as consumables.”
“To stall the ancestors outside. To buy time for the operation in the chamber.”
Bell turned toward Margaret.
“Valentine said something before she knocked me out.”
“'The situation is settled. No matter how smart you are, you can't change it.'”
Bell recalled Valentine’s muscular reaction at the time.
There was no trembling. No fear.
It was a distortion caused by the natural relaxation of facial muscles after giving up on a certain conviction.
“Does she know what that disguise is?”
“No. If she knew it was fake, she wouldn't be trying so hard to stop Dracula. She would just tell him the truth.”
“She’s stopping him because she thinks it’s the real Leila. She thinks Dracula is going to trade the entire foundation of the Blood Race for Leila’s life.”
“Then what did she mean by 'the situation is settled'?”
The ancient language inscriptions on the surface of the inheritance stone pillar flashed through Bell’s mind.
“The opening of the inheritance stone pillar is irreversible.”
“Once Dracula’s authority is connected, the pillar’s defensive mechanism will automatically collapse.”
“Valentine can't change this process. And neither can I.”
Margaret stood up from the floor.
She brushed the dust off her cloak. Her movements were very slow.
The vine at her fingertip was slowly withdrawn from the floor tile crack. It coiled into a small spiral and retracted into her sleeve.
“The task Tia asked of me is complete.”
She adjusted her collar, smoothing out the wrinkles.
“As long as you are awake, she can fight with everything she has.”
She took a step toward the door.
After two steps, she stopped. She didn't look back.
“Bell, I shouldn't get involved in those matters in the chamber. But there is one thing.”
The silhouette of her profile traced a line in the remaining candlelight.
“Ed’s absence today isn’t a coincidence.”
“That Suppression Mark on his wrist... I’ve seen it once before.”
She paused for a beat.
“The name he calls in his sleep... it isn't mine.”
Her boot soles stepped over the debris. Her footsteps grew distant, vanishing at the end of the hallway.
Bell stood alone in the Library.
The name Ed called in his sleep wasn't Margaret’s.
Whose was it?
The Suppression Mark was carved by Valentine. The source of Ed’s periodic loss of control was the infiltration of Dracula’s remnant soul within the inheritance stone pillar.
Dracula was in the pillar. Valentine was outside guarding it. Ed served as the vessel bearing the infiltration.
Margaret had seen that mark. The bitterness in her words was directed at the relationship behind that mark.
Ed and Valentine.
Ed would lose control, and Valentine would carve a mark for him that cost her two hundred years of her lifespan. The name Ed called in his sleep was Valentine’s.
Valentine had disguised herself as Leila for three thousand years. Ed had always thought the one he loved was the First Ancestor, Leila, or rather, the Valentine who was disguised as Leila.
But Ed wasn't here today.
On this most critical day of the inheritance ritual, he had left Moon Phase City.
Someone had sent him away in advance.
Valentine.
She knew Dracula would come. She knew Dracula wanted to open the inheritance stone pillar.
If Ed had stayed in the city, Dracula would have directly drained this "vessel's" blood source mana to accelerate the opening of the pillar.
Valentine had sent Ed away.
A new logical thread took shape in his mind.
Bell’s fingers reached for his waist.
The portable core cylinder of the Soul Vibration Cannon. It was still there. The metal shell was ice-cold.
His left thumb brushed the surface of his storage ring. It was still there.
He turned and walked out of the Library.
After three steps, he stopped.
He looked back at the half-finished cup of water on the desk.
The purple moonlight from outside the dome’s cracks was reflected on the surface of the water.
“The person who deceived Dracula.”
Who had the ability to make a King of the Blood Race believe the impossible?
Who had enough knowledge to construct a disguise that simulated soul characteristics?
The White Tower Society.
The Fourth Councilor was Dracula.
Then who was the First Councilor?
The gears in his mind clicked into place. The gaps closed.
That name jumped out.
The only person in hundreds of loops whose knowledge reserve could rival Cecilia’s, someone who had even guided Cecilia.
The person who researched the nature of the soul and manufactured countless forbidden artifacts.
Bell stepped out of the Library.
The wind in the hallway carried a heavy scent of blood and the stench of rotting plants.
The remains of withered wooden figures were scattered everywhere.
He stepped over a severed bark arm.
The sole of his boot crushed the dry fibers, making a harsh grinding sound.
“Dracula isn't the only one who was deceived.”
Bell’s pace quickened.
Valentine had also been deceived.
She thought Dracula wanted to resurrect Leila and would empty the inheritance stone pillar.
But if that soul was a fake...
What Dracula was injecting wasn't Leila at all.
It was a virus.
A Trojan horse disguised as Leila’s soul.
Once this program entered the deepest layer of the inheritance stone pillar and touched the blood source essence of the past Kings of the Blood Race...
The entire inheritance core of the Blood Race would be instantly tampered with.
Control would transfer to the person who created the virus.
The First Councilor of the White Tower Society.
Bell stopped at the corner of the hallway.
Ahead was the staircase leading to the underground secret chamber.
At the end of the stairs, dark red light and gray desolate aura were frantically strangling each other.
He pulled out the core cylinder of the Soul Vibration Cannon from his waist.
His thumb pressed the activation switch.
The runes on the Mithril shell lit up one by one, emitting a high-frequency hum.
He stared at that patch of dark red light.
“I have to shatter that face.”
Bell quickened his pace.
The stone doors at the end of the hallway had completely shattered.
The scene inside the chamber was exposed to his view.
The gray desolate folds were compressed to the extreme. Valentine’s chest was scorched black, still seeping blood.
Dracula’s fingers were fully embedded in the cracks of the stone pillar.
The face of Leila on his abdomen was pulling out a piercingly bright golden thread.
The front end had already vanished into the surface of the pillar.
Cecilia stood at the rear, green light frantically converging at her fingertips.
Tia’s Mithril blade shattered three wind blades, and Leon’s ice wall was covered in cracks.
Lilian held her dagger, standing less than two meters away from Dracula.
Bell stepped onto the final stair.
The Soul Vibration Cannon in his hand let out a sharp charging sound.
Dracula turned his head, his cloudy single eye looking toward the entrance.
The golden thread was only one last inch away from the core of the pillar.
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