Yize’s suspicion regarding the reincarnator grew even more certain.
Although he hadn’t played the game called *Era*, Dio’s behavior was simply too abnormal—he knew the Blood Race inside and out, harbored an irrational, bone-deep hatred for Horn, and his strength grew at a startling pace.
If such a powerful teammate really existed, it would have been impossible for game review bloggers to overlook him. Hardcore players, in particular, would have definitely pointed out strategies for using Dio to lead the protagonist’s party through leveling.
‘But could there really be a reincarnator in this game world?’
Yize couldn’t help but ask the System internally.
**[Insufficient permissions. Unable to answer the Host’s question.]**
The cold notification did not come as a surprise.
Yize thought about it again; since he could travel to this world himself, it didn’t seem impossible for Dio to be a reincarnator.
He redirected his attention to the battlefield, where the slaughter had reached a fever pitch.
Dio’s eyes were bloodshot. Images of his family’s destruction and his sister’s death in his previous life flashed repeatedly in his mind. Every swing of his sword poured out the resentment and fury of two lifetimes!
The Aura around his body surged like a tidal wave. The longsword in his hand turned into streaks of light that tore through the night sky. His offensive was like a violent storm, never ceasing for a moment!
What he had inherited was a fragmented Sword Saint inheritance he had luckily obtained just as the Human Defense Line was on the verge of collapsing in his previous life.
A Sword Saint was a peerless powerhouse on par with an 8th-tier Archmage! In his previous life, he had been pressed for time and died with regret before he could fully digest the inheritance.
In this life, relying on his memories, he had found the clues to the inheritance early. He had paid a price far beyond that of ordinary people, undergoing six years of near-masochistic hard cultivation to finally absorb and master the legacy completely!
Although he had not yet reached the true realm of a Sword Saint, his actual combat power had steadily entered the ranks of a 7th-tier Warrior!
The 7th-tier was a massive watershed, meaning he possessed the terrifying strength to independently deal with A-class Lord-tier Magical Beasts! This was exactly why he had been able to slay the Lords under Horn’s command with relative ease.
Horn originally had a playful attitude, thinking he could easily take down this “interesting” human.
However, the more he fought, the more alarmed he became!
Dio’s swordsmanship was not only fierce and sharp, but it also carried a tragic, desperate momentum—as if he were gambling his life on every strike. It felt as though he harbored an irreconcilable blood feud.
The highly condensed Aura shook Horn’s blood energy with every collision, causing fine cracks to appear continuously on his protective blood barrier.
“Tsk!”
Horn swung a claw to parry a sharp sword light aimed at his neck and retreated abruptly. For the first time, a look of solemnity and a hint of disbelief appeared on his face.
“Truly surprising… For a mere human to cultivate Martial Arts to such a degree!”
His crimson pupils sized Dio up, and his tone actually carried a hint of regret. “What a pity… I’m not interested in men. Otherwise, I might have considered turning you into one of us. With your talent and strength, if you received ‘that Chief’s’ blessing, you might actually be qualified to join the ranks of Level 4 ‘Ten Pillars’ in time.”
“Shut up!”
Dio’s fury intensified at those words, as if he had been greatly insulted.
“You blood-sucking, life-twisting scum! Even if I blow myself up, I would never stoop to touching a single bit of your filthy power!”
Hearing this, Horn was not angry. Instead, he curled his lips into a malicious sneer.
He glanced over at Rose, who was currently fighting Sara and the others. “Filthy? Heh… Unfortunately, your dear sister seems to enjoy that power very much!”
Dio’s eyes nearly split from rage. Rose’s betrayal was already a knife in his heart, and Horn’s words now twisted that blade ruthlessly. He wanted nothing more than to tear his enemy into ten thousand pieces immediately!
Meanwhile, Sara, Emma, and Swan were in a fierce exchange with the fully vampire-transformed Rose.
Emma stood at the rear, waving her staff. Soft green and white light continuously enveloped Sara and Swan. Auxiliary magic such as [Healing Spell], [Mana Recovery], and [Speed Enhancement] were cast one after another as she struggled to maintain the frontline’s combat strength.
As the primary attacker, Sara alternated between 5th-tier Wind and Earth magic. [Wind-Rock Barrier] attempted to restrict Rose’s movement, while sharp [Wind Blade] and heavy [Rock Spear] attacks flew at her from all directions.
However, blood energy surged around Rose. Her speed was incredibly fast, and her vampire claws easily tore through the wind barriers and knocked aside the rock spears.
Sara quickly judged that Rose’s strength was a level above the previous Heart, but she was nowhere near as terrifying as Bart—the man who had crushed Sara’s multiple defenses with just a few kicks.
Swan moved along the edges of the battlefield, using various basic spells for harassment and containment. *Fireball* interfered with Rose’s vision, *Earth Spike* restricted her movement, and *Water Bind* attempted to slow her down.
Her combat experience was far less than Sara’s; she was relying more on instinct and a burning hatred for the revenge of her family to keep going.
Looking at her former fiancée—someone who was once familiar but was now unrecognizable—the last trace of confusion and complex emotion in Swan’s heart was gradually replaced by icy killing intent.
“Hehe, why bother putting up such a struggle?”
Her crimson eyes swept over Sara and Emma. While nimbly dodging attacks, Rose dangled the temptation once more. “My Lord Horn is also very interested in you two. I’ll give you one last chance. Isn’t it better to embrace eternal life and become a noble existence like me?”
“Wishful thinking!”
Sara’s voice was cold, containing an unquestionable sense of justice. “The power obtained by consorting with evil is ultimately nothing but a fleeting illusion!”
Emma also nodded vigorously. Although she was a bit scared, her gaze remained firm. “We won’t turn into monsters like you!”
Swan answered even more directly. A long-charged [Thunder Flash] struck accurately toward Rose. Although it was blocked by blood energy, it clearly stated her stance.
However, the battle situation was not optimistic for them.
Sara found that her 5th-tier magic was having difficulty dealing a decisive blow to Rose. Emma’s Mana was being consumed heavily by the continuous support, and Swan’s…
Rose’s leisurely mockery made it clear that she hadn’t even used her true strength yet!
‘I can’t drag this out any longer…’ Swan bit her lip, falling into a violent internal struggle.
‘Do I… really have to use the power of Dragonification here?’
Once she used it, the secret of her feminized body would inevitably be exposed to everyone. That shame and the confusion regarding her identity made her hesitate.
But then she remembered what Senior Yize had said to her before—’You have to avenge so many lives of the Meng family. You’ll have to use this power sooner or later; you can’t keep it hidden forever.’—coupled with the critical situation before her eyes, her gaze gradually became resolute.
‘Senior Yize is right. This power will be exposed sooner or later! For revenge, and to protect my companions…’
Just as Swan took a deep breath, prepared to disregard everything and trigger the power of Iguneel within her—even if it meant transforming into a dragon girl in public to turn the tide—
A sudden change occurred!
Sara, in front of her, seemed to have made a decision. She suddenly leapt back a distance and raised her staff high.
The wind and earth elements that had been swirling around her instantly calmed down. In their place, an incredibly pure, holy, and heart-palpitating power of light began to converge frantically!
“In the name of Light, dispel all darkness and filth!”
Sara’s clear voice echoed across the battlefield, carrying an unquestionable majesty.
Majestic light elements condensed at the tip of her staff, as if a miniature sun were being born. The dazzling brilliance even temporarily dispelled the surrounding night, suppressing the dense blood-colored energy on Rose and making it turn dim!
Light Magic! It was the magic she had recently mastered that even Dio would be surprised by—6th-tier Light Magic!
Swan’s erupting Dragon Power was forced to a halt.
She looked in astonishment at Senior Sara, who was bathed in holy light. A complex emotion surged in her heart—it was a sense of relief. It seemed she didn’t have to expose her secret immediately.
She hadn’t expected Senior Sara to be hiding such a powerful trump card.
When that pure and blazing holy light descended, the composure on Rose’s face instantly shattered, replaced by obvious terror.
She could clearly feel that the previously active blood energy around her body had become sluggish and weak, as if it had met its natural enemy. The natural buff given to the Blood Race by the night was being forcibly stripped away.
On the other side, Horn also frowned. Although the discomfort brought by the holy light was nowhere near as intense as Rose’s, it felt like an invisible lock, restricting some of his movements.
“Tsk.”
A flash of surprise crossed Horn’s crimson eyes as he looked at the golden figure at the center of the holy light. “That blonde woman’s magic talent is actually quite good to be able to master such a large-scale 6th-tier Light spell… What unpleasant energy.”
How could Dio miss such a perfect opportunity?
Sara’s hurried warning came through. “Dio, I’m not proficient with this spell yet. The consumption is massive, and I can’t sustain it for long!”
“It’s enough, Senior Sara!” Dio replied in a deep voice.
The Aura around his body suddenly pulled inward. It was no longer violently discharging, but instead began compressing and condensing frantically toward the edge of his blade.
The expression on his face, previously twisted by anger, calmed down. It was replaced by an extreme focus and coldness—at this moment, only this single incoming strike existed in his world.
Horn immediately sensed a fatal threat!
The power condensed on that seemingly ordinary longsword made his heart skip a beat for the first time in a long while.
He wanted to dodge, but he found that Sara’s Light Magic was like a quagmire, greatly restricting his speed and locking him firmly in place!
Time seemed to stretch. The majesty of Dio’s sword grew more and more terrifying, and the air emitted an overburdened hum.
Finally—
“Die!”
Dio let out a furious roar and swung his strongest strike, which condensed everything he had learned, the hatred of two lifetimes, and six years of hard cultivation!
The sword light wasn’t particularly flashy. Instead, it carried a condensed simplicity, like the first ray of light breaking through the eternal night. Carrying an unstoppable will that could cut through anything, it instantly swallowed Horn’s figure!
*BOOM!*
A deafening explosion was accompanied by soaring dust and rubble. The single streak of Sword Qi plowed a deep trench into the ground.
Horn revealed a terrified expression. “How is this possible… He’s just a human, why is he so strong…”
“No, I don’t want to die here!”
Everyone held their breath, staring nervously at the cloud of dust. Even Yize, hiding in the shadows, thought the battle was about to end and that there was likely no need for him to intervene.
However, in the next moment, a mocking and teasing laugh rang out clearly from the center of the dust:
“Hehe… Hahahaha! Did you think you could kill me like this? How naive!”
The dust slowly dissipated, revealing the scene within.
Horn was still standing, but his form had changed drastically!
His human disguise had completely vanished. His skin took on a weird dark-red hue, his features became sharper and more demonic, and most strikingly, a pair of bat wings were fully unfurled behind his back!
Those giant wings, composed of pure blood energy, caused the scent of blood and the feeling of pressure radiating from him to become several times stronger than before!
“How… why aren’t you dead…”
The composure on Dio’s face shattered instantly, replaced by unbelievable shock and daze.
In his previous life, he had personally witnessed the battle and death of a Level 4 Ten Pillar, but that vampire had never shown such a form even unto death.
Horn stretched his wings, enjoying the refreshing sensation of being filled with power. He looked with great interest at Dio’s crestfallen state and laughed maliciously.
“Oh? Didn’t you act like you knew me very well earlier? Why are you so surprised to see my true form? It seems… your so-called ‘understanding’ is quite limited.”
Before he finished speaking, Horn’s figure suddenly blurred!
*Thud!*
Dio didn’t even see the movement. He only felt an irresistible force slam ruthlessly into his chest. His protective Aura shattered easily, and he was sent flying backward. The blood he coughed up drew a striking red line through the air.
“Too slow! Too weak!”
Horn’s figure followed like a ghost, swinging another claw. Dio barely managed to block with his sword, but he was sent flying again, man and blade alike. His arm bones made an ear-grating creak, as if they were about to snap at any moment.
A crushing defeat!
A complete, utter slaughter!
In the face of Horn, who had fully unleashed his power, Dio couldn’t even manage an effective defense.
Every attack was as heavy as a mountain, and every collision brought piercing pain and a deeper sense of powerlessness. Blood continuously seeped from his nose, mouth, and wounds.
He was like a toy, being hit and tossed around by Horn at will.
‘Why… why is it like this…’
‘What is this transformation… I clearly never saw it on the Pillar who died before…’
Dio collapsed among the rubble, his eyes vacant, filled with unwillingness and despair.
He had returned after reincarnation, discarded all pleasures, and cultivated frantically for six years. He thought he possessed the power to change his fate, so why was he still so powerless?
Could it be that no matter how hard he tried, he could not shake this predetermined tragedy?
He looked toward his sister, Dini, who was watching him with a face full of tears.
This despair was far more suffocating than the pain in his body.
Horn seemed to enjoy his appearance. He wasn’t in a hurry to deliver the final blow. Instead, he approached slowly, step by step, saying in a tone full of perverse humor:
“Looking at your confused face, you really are pathetic.”
“From what you said just now, it seems you’ve slain a Pillar before?”
“Are you thinking right now about why I’m different from the ‘Pillar’ you saw before?”
Dio looked up abruptly.
Horn licked the blood off the tip of his claw and continued to mock him. “Since you’re already a dead man, there’s no harm in telling you. There is a clear ranking among us ‘Ten Pillars.’ Naturally, the higher the rank, the stronger the strength.”
“As for me, I just so happen to be ranked fifth. I was lucky enough to master the secret of ‘Blood Awakening.’ As for those few trash ranked lower… if they had been hit by that sword strike just now, they might have actually died. Hehehe…”
This news was like a bolt from the blue.
Fifth… only fifth?!
Horn, who was ranked fifth, was already powerful enough to drive him to despair. Then how terrifying would the higher-ranked ones be, or even the legendary ‘High-Tier’ Kasmir?
His efforts since reincarnation seemed so ridiculous and insignificant in the face of this absolute gap in strength.
An icy despair that reached into his very marrow completely submerged him.
At the same time, the 6th-tier Light Magic Sara was sustaining finally reached its limit.
The holy light receded like a tide.
Sara herself turned pale from Mana exhaustion, kneeling weakly on the ground.
Without the suppression of the holy light, Rose immediately recovered her mobility, and blood light rose around her once more.
And for Horn, who had unleashed his “Blood Awakening,” his aura was as terrifying as an abyss.
A dead end!
A total, absolute dead end!
Swan bit her lip. She knew she couldn’t hesitate any longer! She had to use her Dragonification power now, or everyone would die.
Just as Horn, with a cruel smile, raised his sharp claw to deliver the final blow to the fallen Dio—
A figure suddenly appeared between the two of them, reaching out and firmly blocking Horn’s claw.