Kleia knew that facing the unfathomable First Seat of the Vampire Clan before her, any probing or holding back was equivalent to suicide.
Her eyes flashed with determination, and in an instant, she mobilized the vast, ocean-like mana within her body without reservation!
“Guided by the stars, founded on the elements—Eighth-Rank Magic [Heavenly Dome · Meteor Judgment]!”
The clear, cold incantation rang through the night sky, each syllable causing the vast magical elements of heaven and earth to crazily converge!
In an instant, the night sky above Starlight Academy seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand!
An Eighth-Rank composite magic of Fire, Earth, and Wind—this was one of the most destructive single-target/small-area attack magics that Kleya could instantly cast!
Its power was enough to completely erase a small fortress and its garrison from the map in an instant—a strategic-level force!
“Fall!”
As Dean Kleya’s staff pointed downward, the suspended ‘meteor’ seemed to receive the command, tearing through the sky like a thunder spear thrown by an enraged god, hurtling straight toward No.1 on the ground.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The deafening explosions merged into one, as if the very heavens and earth were collapsing!
The blinding light illuminated half of Starlight Academy as if it were daytime, even outshining the moon in the sky!
Luke was struck speechless by the world-destroying might, instinctively raising his metal arm to shield himself from the blinding light and the onrushing wave of heat. His heart was filled with awe and excitement.
“As expected of Dean Kleya! This Eighth-Rank magic… is too powerful!”
Luke’s metallic synthesized voice carried an undisguised admiration.
“This commotion, this power… even that Bart guy’s Blood Awakening state would be half-dead from this, right?”
“This No.1, he’s got to be badly skinned at least!”
He stared intently at the area completely engulfed by the powerful magical fluctuations, expecting to see the enemy’s battered or even severely injured figure.
However, when the aftermath of the explosion subsided slightly, and the blinding light and rolling smoke slowly cleared, the expectation in Luke’s pupils instantly froze, turning into incredulous horror.
A figure, from the center of the deep crater blasted by magic, stepped out steadily, step by step. No.1
His clothes had naturally been blown to ashes under such a terrifying magical bombardment, but at this moment, a dark red Blood Qi formed armor, covering his body.
“As a human, to be able to cultivate magic to this extent…”
No.1 said with a kind of objective, indifferent evaluation.
“…is not bad, I suppose.”
‘A flash of understanding passed through his mind: As expected of a disciple personally taught by That Great Person, although limited by race and unable to reach higher levels, among mortals, this control and mana reserve are indeed top-notch.’
Witnessing her full-power Eighth-Rank magic being withstood so casually, not even shaking his defenses in the slightest, the color drained from Kleya’s face, her beautiful features filled with shock and bewilderment.
She had fought many strong opponents and witnessed the ferocity of magical beasts, but this despairing gap in defensive power before her completely surpassed her understanding.
Only at this moment did she truly realize the terrifying weight represented by the six words ‘First Seat of the Vampire Clan’s Ten Pillars.’
Despair quietly crept into her heart, and quickly spread to Yisha behind her, and to Luke who was barely managing to stand.
The gap in strength was too great, so great that even the thought of resistance felt powerless.
Luke stared fixedly at the terrifyingly solid Blood Qi armor on No.1, his voice dry and heavy:
“As I thought… you weren’t using your full power earlier. This right now is your true Blood Awakening form, isn’t it?”
He recalled the appearances of Bart and Chise when they used Blood Awakening, but the Blood Qi armor of No.1 before him had a density and pressure far exceeding any Blood Pillar he had seen.
No.1 turned to Luke, seemingly a little surprised:
“Blood Awakening? You actually know about this?”
“Looks like those two wastes, Bart and Chise, leaked quite a bit.”
He paused, then added in a flat tone, the words like a bucket of ice water over everyone’s hearts:
“However, you’re half right and half wrong.”
“This is indeed Blood Awakening, but… I still haven’t used my full power.”
So far, he had only displayed the inherent power of the ‘Blood Race.’
And the power of ‘Gift’ bestowed by Lord Jeral, he had not yet used a shred of it.
This was not holding back, but rather he felt that dealing with these humans before him did not warrant it.
As if to verify his words, the next moment—
No.1’s figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
Luke didn’t even have time to react. He only saw a flash of dark red light before his eyes, then an indescribable immense force struck his chest!
BOOM— CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE!
The silver-gray armor covering his chest, under the kick from the foot wrapped in Blood Qi armor, instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks!
Then, the entire armor constructed by the [Kamen Rider Transformation Device] let out a groan of unbearable strain, its light rapidly dimmed, and with a bang, it disintegrated, scattering into countless specks of light and metal fragments in the air!
Luke himself flew backward like a broken kite, heavily crashing into the outer wall of the dormitory building, then sliding to the ground, coughing up a large mouthful of blood with a gah, his presence instantly wilting to the extreme.
At almost the same time, No.1’s figure had already appeared before Kleya and Yisha.
Kleya let out a sharp cry, instantly constructing several Eighth-Rank magical shields flowing with complex runes, while Yisha also exerted all her strength to apply various buff magics as support.
However, before No.1’s fist covered in Blood Qi armor, these powerful defenses were like fragile eggshells.
Pop, pop, pop…
The fists struck straight out without any tricks.
The magical shields shattered one after another like bubbles. Kleya and Yisha only felt a cold, violent force penetrate their bodies, instantly sealing their mana circulation.
With a muffled groan, both of them collapsed to the ground. Although conscious, they had completely lost their combat ability.
Overwhelming. A one-sided, complete, and utter overwhelming.
From Luke’s armor shattering to the two top magic instructors being subdued, the whole process took only two or three seconds.
The strength of both sides was simply not in the same dimension.
Luke coughed blood, struggled to lift his head, looked at the approaching No.1, then at the fallen Kleya and Yisha, and the instructors in the distance whose fates were unknown.
A fierce struggle flashed in his eyes.
He seemed to think of something, and squeezed out an ugly smile on his face that was almost fawning, filled with fear and compromise, and said hoarsely to No.1:
“W-wait!”
“You… you said earlier that as long as we hand over Junior Swan, you’ll leave and not hurt anyone else… Do those words count?”
No.1 stopped walking, looking down at the disheveled Luke, his tone still flat and emotionless:
“Yes.”
Luke, as if grasping at the last straw, quickly said:
“Then… let me take you there!”
“I know where Junior Swan’s dormitory is!”
“I’ll take you to find him! I only ask that after you get him, you keep your promise and leave immediately!”
Hearing this, Kleya’s eyes flew wide open. Although her body couldn’t move, she used all her strength to rebuke:
“Luke, do you even know what you’re saying?”
“You can’t do this! Swan is your classmate! He is a student of this academy!”
“How can you yield to a magical beast and betray your comrade?”
“Where is your backbone and dignity?!”
Luke, however, seemed not to hear Kleya’s rebuke. He struggled to get up, stumbled over to Kleya and Yisha, and helped them to their feet.
He also called over the other two instructors who had just regained some consciousness and could barely move, then showed No.1 a humble smile:
“Chief, this way please.”
“I’ll take you to Junior Swan’s dormitory right away. I only beg you… to be merciful.”
He deliberately used a volume that even No.1 could clearly hear, ‘explaining’ to the angry and confused Kleya, his voice full of helplessness and fear:
“Dean Kleya… I’m sorry… I have no choice either!”
“You saw it yourself—that Blood Race lord is too strong. We’re no match for him!”
“If I don’t hand over Junior Swan, we’ll all die here!”
“There are so many innocent students in the academy… I can’t just watch everyone walk to their deaths!”
“Junior Swan… he’ll understand me. He’s so kind… He definitely wouldn’t want to drag the entire academy down because of himself alone…”
As he spoke, his eyes seemed to redden, putting on a “tragic” act of sacrificing the individual for the greater good, willing to bear the blame for it.
Kleia trembled with rage and wanted to scold him, but Yisha gently tugged at her sleeve.
Yisha looked at Luke—his outwardly cowardly and humble demeanor, yet the subtle wink he gave her, and the fingers that secretly pressed harder when helping her up. A flash of understanding struck her.
Suppressing the shock in her heart, she put on a pained and helpless expression and sighed.
“Principal… don’t blame Luke.”
“He… he did it for us, for the thousands of students in this academy.”
“Let him be the villain. If anyone’s to blame, it’s us for being too weak to protect our own students…”
Kleia froze at these words. She caught the extremely faint hint in Yisha’s eyes, then looked at Luke’s profile—humble yet inexplicably determined.
She seemed to grasp something. All her fury and reprimands stuck in her throat, eventually turning into a heavy sigh.
She turned her face away, saying nothing more, letting Luke support her, as if acquiescing to this humiliating compromise.
No. 1 watched it all unfold, his heart undisturbed.
He had seen too much of human weakness, betrayal, and choices made in desperate situations.
This red-haired brat’s “knowing when to yield” was contemptible, but it also saved him a lot of trouble.
He said no more, merely signaling with his eyes for Luke to lead the way.
The group—a disheveled Luke, Kleia and Yisha being helped along in their state of “helpless resistance,” plus two other instructors, and No. 1 following behind like a silent reaper—walked toward the student dormitory area.
The atmosphere was heavy and eerie.
Inside the dormitory building, in Swain’s room.
Through the shared perception with Iguneel, Swain knew that Luke had brought the Blood Race over.
“Hmph! I told you long ago, that red-haired punk can’t be trusted!”
Iguneel snarled in her mind, his voice full of contempt and irritation.
“All that talk of righteousness, but when the moment came, he feared death and betrayed his companion!”
“If I’d known, I’d have bitten his head off back then, saved us from inviting a wolf into the house!”
Swain bit her lower lip, a struggle flashing in her eyes, then turned into firm resolve.
“No… I can’t blame Senior Luke.”
“That Blood Race is too strong. Even Principal Kleia and the teachers… If handing me over can keep everyone safe, then I…”
She moved toward the door.
“Stop! Swain!”
Iguneel shouted urgently.
“Don’t be stupid! Do you really think that handing yourself over will make that monster keep his promise and spare the others?”
“What if you go out and that Blood Race doesn’t keep his word?”
He paused, his tone softening slightly but still stern.
“Listen, this room is surrounded by a concealment and defense barrier I set up using my Dragon Soul power combined with your mana.”
“As long as you don’t go out on your own and don’t make too much noise, that Blood Race can’t break through this barrier.”
Even as he said this, Iguneel himself wasn’t fully confident.
The aura of that Blood Race outside was ridiculously strong, especially the nature of his blood energy—it seemed mixed with something that made Iguneel feel both disgust and familiarity…
How long his barrier could hold was really uncertain.
Outside the dormitory building, Luke had already brought the group to the entrance.
He took a deep breath, as if making up his mind.
“Swain is inside.”
“I’ll bring her out now.”
As he shouted, he helped Kleia and the others quickly retreat through the dormitory entrance.
No. 1 stood with his hands behind his back outside the door, not responding to Luke’s words, his pupils calmly staring at this seemingly ordinary student dormitory building.
Kleia was helped into the building by Luke, her face still full of grief and confusion as she whispered angrily,
“Luke! What exactly are you trying to do?”
Luke explained, “The dormitory area has a defensive magic array.”
Kleia was taken aback. Of course she knew that.
“Even if there’s a public defensive magic array set up by the academy in the dormitory area, at most it can only withstand a short attack from a Lord-level (A-rank) magical beast!”
“That Blood Pillar outside is definitely above Lord-level!”
“That array won’t hold him for long! All you’re doing is forcing Swain out to die and trapping us here too.”
Luke didn’t explain.
Because besides the academy’s built-in defensive magic array, the entire dormitory building also had the magic arrays set up by Yize.
Although he didn’t know whether Yize’s arrays could stop No. 1, he had no other choice now.
He could only trust, one last time, that his almighty senior would come through.
“So it’s magic arrays?”
“You think that can stop me?”
“I thought you knew your place, but instead you put up such foolish resistance.”
No. 1 waved lightly, and blood energy shattered the outermost magic array that blocked his path.
Kleia was filled with despair. “I told you, that array can’t stop this guy.”
No. 1 said coldly, “Red-haired brat, toying with me has consequences.”
“Just wait—I’ll skin you alive.”
With that, No. 1 stepped toward the dormitory area.
Another powerful energy barrier repelled him and sent him flying.
Kleia was shocked. “When did I set up a double magic array on the dormitory area?”
Before she could finish being astonished,
the barrier formed by the new defensive magic array was shattered by No. 1 again.
But after he broke it, another new magic array barrier lit up.
And each time a new defensive magic array barrier appeared, its energy was more concentrated than the previous one.
When No. 1, somewhat impatient, shattered the barrier formed by the tenth defensive magic array,
that meant he had successfully breached the outer protection Yize had set up in his early days, when he first put some Talent Points into [Magic Array] after getting the System and began studying magic arrays.
Then came the second layer of protection, which Yize had set up a few years later when his [Magic Array] had reached a certain level.
Instantly, countless shining energy barriers layered one after another, surrounding the dormitory building.
The number was so exaggerated that for a moment, no one could count how many there were.
At this stage, Yize could already perform [multi-composite] operations on magic arrays.
In other words, the qualitative change achieved through quantity—Yize’s specialty.
Swain was now utterly incredulous. “Iguneel, did you set up all these magic arrays too?”
Iguneel was equally baffled. “Not me. I only set up a protective magic array barrier around your room.”
“And even I couldn’t lay down this many arrays in such a short time!”
At that moment, Kleia finally realized something was wrong.
She looked at Luke, her eyes full of shock.
“Luke, where did all these magic arrays come from?”
Luke scratched his head, unsure how to explain.
He knew Senior Yize had set up many defensive arrays in the dormitory area, but he hadn’t expected this many.
What Luke didn’t know was that compared to magic potions and magic tools, Yize had actually studied magic arrays the most.
Because he was afraid of death, he basically updated and added to the defensive array system in the dormitory every day.
It could be said that there was no safer place in the entire Empire than the dormitories of Starlight Academy.
And the safest spot of all was Yize’s own room.
Throughout the dormitory area, Yize had set up four stages of defensive magic arrays.
The early two-stage defensive barriers from the beginner [Magic Array] period were used on the perimeter of the dormitory—the whole building.
The later two-stage defensive barriers, after he had deepened his knowledge of [Magic Array], were used inside his own room.
“Principal Kleia, I can’t explain this right now.”
“But don’t worry about it. Anyway, our dormitory building is absolutely safe.”
“If you’re still not reassured, I suggest we go sit in Senior Yize’s room…”