The wind blew. The petals and the strip of cloth turned to ash together.
The ashes were swept up by the air current, scattering over the scorched earth.
Bell’s soles stepped over that area. He did not linger.
The carriage was parked at the edge of the ruins.
Margaret stood beside the carriage. The hem of her instructor’s cloak was covered in mud. She looked at Bell.
The memories of vampires in her mind had been completely erased. The ten ancestors. The Blood Dance Tattoo. The inheritance stone pillars. These terms had become unresolvable garbled code in her cognitive database.
Leon leaned against the carriage shaft, his left arm hanging in a sling across his chest. The bandages were soaked through with blood.
“We're heading back,” Leon said, straightening up.
He didn't ask much.
Asking would be useless. The entire world's cognition had a fault line. Wood Elves did not exist. The vampire dynasty did not exist.
Bell nodded.
Leon turned and walked toward another carriage. Margaret followed. The wheels turned, and they gradually disappeared into the night.
Lilian sat in the driver's seat of the Lucas family carriage. She shook the reins, and the horses whinnied.
The wheels rolled over the gravel road, heading toward the Duke Lucas family estate.
Inside the carriage.
Tia shifted her body, sitting down right next to Bell.
The distance closed. Thigh pressed against thigh, without a single gap between them.
Tia reached out with both hands, wrapping them around Bell’s shoulders and pulling him in tight.
She buried her face in the crook of Bell’s neck, her nose resting against his artery.
The Mithril body conducted heat. It wasn't the icy coldness of metal, but a thirty-seven-degree body temperature belonging to a living person.
Her chest rose and fell. The frequency of her heartbeat was transmitted through the fabric of their clothes.
The runes carved by the dwarves were running frantically at a microscopic level. The liquid Mithril simulated the most perfect skin texture and physiological characteristics.
Cecilia sat opposite them.
Her blonde hair was disheveled. After losing her mana and the World Tree Heart, her face showed a sickly pallor.
She watched Tia’s movements.
“There is no need for such inferior physical contact.”
Cecilia leaned against the cushion, her legs crossed.
“To prove that you are Brother’s woman.”
Her words were clear, carrying unabashed mockery.
Her mana was gone, but the arrogance and sharp tongue etched into her bones hadn't changed a bit.
Tia did not look up. Her arms tightened further.
Bell’s left hand moved slightly.
He reached back and gripped the back of Tia’s hand.
The sensation of metal had completely vanished. It felt only like soft skin.
Tia was staking her claim.
She had seen everything that happened in the pit of the secret chamber.
That forced compromise. That plunder filled with the scent of blood.
Cecilia riding him. Tearing his clothes open.
These images were etched as indelible marks into Tia’s neural center.
This was a counterattack.
The carriage hit a bump.
A clearing in the woods.
Lilian pulled the reins. The carriage stopped.
“Master.” Lilian pulled back the curtain.
She looked at Bell.
“I want to try.”
She pointed to her left arm. The dark red rose tattoo was hidden under her sleeve.
Having integrated the inheritance brand of the Vampire King, she needed to know where her current limits lay.
Bell pushed open the door and jumped down from the carriage.
Tia followed him down.
Cecilia remained in the carriage, unmoving.
In the clearing.
Lilian stepped back ten paces.
She closed her eyes, mobilizing the blood source mana within her body.
The fabric on her left arm instantly shredded.
Dark red patterns lit up from her wrist, climbing rapidly.
The first rose bloomed on her forearm.
“Ugh—”
A muffled groan escaped Lilian’s throat.
Intense pain.
Her bones emitted a dense series of cracks. Muscle fibers tore and restructured under the surge of mana.
A dark red shockwave exploded outward with her as the center.
Fallen leaves on the ground were swept up by the wave and pulverized.
The mana density increased exponentially.
Tia took a step forward.
The etheric conduction lines in her right eye lit up with a blue light.
Her Mithril body entered a combat state.
“I’ll do it.” One of Tia’s arms transformed into a short sword.
Lilian opened her eyes. Her red irises were blindingly bright.
She wasted no words.
Her legs exerted force, leaving a half-meter-diameter crater where she stood.
She was already in front of Tia.
Her speed exceeded the limits of visual tracking.
Lilian’s right fist smashed toward Tia’s chest.
Tia raised her short sword.
She deployed a blue energy shield in front of her.
The fist slammed into the shield.
There was no mana explosion.
Just pure physical impact.
The shield flickered. Tia’s feet skidded back three meters along the ground.
The dirt was plowed into two deep furrows.
Lilian did not pause.
A second punch. A third punch.
Every strike carried a sonic boom that tore through the air.
Tia’s Mithril shell underwent slight deformation under the physical impacts, only to restore itself instantly.
The two blurred across the clearing, red and blue lights constantly colliding.
Lilian’s speed and power were actually forcing Tia’s Element-Breaker state to a draw.
“Stop.”
Bell spoke.
The two of them stopped at the same time.
Lilian stood where she was, panting heavily. The rose tattoo on her left arm slowly dimmed.
Tia retracted her short sword, her chest heaving.
Bell walked over to Tia.
“Tia relies too much on the properties of Mithril.”
Bell pointed to where Tia had just been standing.
“Mana immunity. Infinite regeneration.”
“These things have made you give up on dodging.”
Bell looked at Tia.
“When you encounter pure physical suppression, you become a target.”
Tia lowered her head.
Liquid Mithril writhed at her fingertips.
“No killing instinct. No combat skills.”
Bell turned and walked toward the carriage.
“We'll practice more when we get back.”
The carriage started up again.
Passing through the woods.
The gates of the Duke Lucas family estate appeared at the end of their vision.
The iron gates stood open.
The carriage stopped before the steps.
The main doors pushed open.
Eleanor ran out, holding up her skirts.
She showed none of the poise of a noble lady.
She rushed down the steps.
Just as Bell jumped down from the carriage.
Eleanor grabbed him in a tight hug.
Tears splashed onto Bell’s shoulder.
“You're back.”
Cecilia stepped out of the carriage.
Eleanor released Bell and pulled Cecilia into her arms as well.
“You're all back.”
Elisk Lucas walked down the stairs from the second floor.
His steps were steady.
He reached the door and looked at the group outside.
Bell broke free from Eleanor’s embrace.
“Father.”
Bell stepped to the side.
“This is Tia. You’ve met her.”
Elisk nodded.
“And this is Lilian. My guard.”
Lilian bowed. Her movements were textbook perfect.
Dinner was served at the long table.
Knives and forks clattered against plates.
No one mentioned the events in Moon Phase City.
After the meal.
The butler stood in the hallway, keys in hand.
“Young Master. The rooms have been arranged.”
Tia stepped forward.
She grabbed Bell’s wrist.
“We’re going to our room.”
She didn't lower her voice.
The butler was momentarily stunned.
Tia ignored him, dragging Bell toward the master bedroom.
The door pushed open.
The two of them went inside.
Cecilia stood at the door of the guest room.
She watched that closed door of the master bedroom.
The hallway wall lamp cast light upon her face.
She raised her right hand and pressed it against the doorframe.
Her five fingers curled.
Her nails dug into the wood.
No mana. No elements.
The wood only bore a few shallow scratches.
Hundreds of loops.
She was used to control. Used to dominance.
Now, she could do nothing.
She couldn't even push that door open.
Her nails pierced her skin, and blood seeped out.
Inside the master bedroom.
The door had just closed.
Tia turned around.
She pressed both hands against Bell’s chest and gave a hard shove.
Bell’s back hit the door panel.
It made a dull thud.
Tia pressed in close.
The temperature of her Mithril body was rising rapidly.
Her hot breath puffed against Bell’s chin.
“In the secret chamber.”
Tia looked up.
“What you did with her.”
Her hand moved down from Bell’s chest, pressing against his belt.
“I saw it all very clearly.”
Bell’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
The muscles in his back tensed.
“At that time, I had no way to resist,” Bell began, his speech faster than usual.
Tia wasn't listening.
She stood on her tiptoes.
Her lips pressed directly against his.
She blocked the words Bell was trying to use to explain further.
The softness of the Mithril reached its peak at this moment.
Carrying a startling heat.
Robbing him of breath.
Her fingers unbuckled his belt.
“I don't care.”
Tia pulled back a fraction of an inch.
“Don't even think about sleeping tonight.”
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