When Riya arrived at the outskirts of a war-ravaged city in the central region of the Empire, escorting the eight Blood Pillars, it was already close to dusk.
“No.1 was last seen in this city.”
No.3 reported cautiously, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
Anticipation of seeing the always lofty No.1 get thoroughly defeated.
Riya’s silver eyes swept over the dead city before her. The smell of blood in the air was thicker than any battlefield she had encountered so far.
Her perception extended outward, capturing several powerful auras deep within the city, one of which was particularly sharp.
“Wait here.”
She commanded briefly, and her figure vanished into the city like a silver bolt of lightning.
The eight Blood Pillars exchanged glances, but none dared to disobey.
These past days, they had learned far too well the consequences of defying this silver-haired calamity.
However, just as Riya stepped less than a hundred meters into the city ruins, an unprecedented pressure suddenly descended from the sky.
Not from ahead, but from above.
Space twisted, and a dark red light spread like blood dripping into clear water.
A figure coalesced within the bloody light, slowly descending to land on the remains of a bell tower thirty meters in front of Riya.
It was a man who appeared to be around thirty years old, with long dark red hair draped over his shoulders. His features were handsome yet carried an inhuman pallor.
He wore a dark red noble’s robe trimmed with gold, his hands casually clasped behind his back. His blood-red pupils calmly fixed on Riya.
“Lord Kasmir!”
“It’s Lord Kasmir!”
Outside the city, the seven Blood Pillars almost simultaneously sensed that familiar yet majestic bloodline aura, and they stood up excitedly.
Bart even couldn’t help but take a few steps forward, a glimmer of hope rekindling in his eyes—their king had finally arrived!
Riya’s footsteps halted.
No introduction was needed; the throb deep within her bloodline had already told her the identity of the newcomer.
The vampire before her was far more powerful than all the Blood Pillars she had crushed on this journey combined.
“Where is Yize?”
Riya spoke, her voice as cold as ice, but her clenched fists showed white knuckles.
Kasmir tilted his head slightly, as if unfamiliar with the name.
A flicker of confusion passed through his blood-red eyes, and then it seemed he received some information—outside the city, Bart was frantically transmitting all his memory fragments about Yize through the bloodline link.
Those images flashed through Kasmir’s mind: a black-haired youth crushing Bart with pure physical strength; using a strange potion to control No.2 and make him self-destruct; being taken away by Jellal’s space magic…
For the first time, true surprise appeared on Kasmir’s face.
“Interesting…” he murmured to himself. “That such an existence exists among humans.”
“So the ability to command a Blood Pillar to self-destruct did not come from you, an ancient vampire.”
He was very curious about where that black-haired human Yize had obtained such a bizarre magic potion.
Perhaps later, he could ask Jellal, who had already captured Yize.
But for now, the more important matter was still the ancient vampire before him.
He turned his gaze back to Riya, a corner of his mouth curling into a smile. “That man you asked about interests me greatly.”
“But he was not taken by me.”
Riya’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Then who?”
“Jellal,” Kasmir said lightly, observing Riya’s reaction.
“That Dragonslayer from a hundred years ago who was supposed to perish together with the evil dragon—though he has since become something far more… immense.”
“Jellal… is not dead?”
Riya was stunned. She had indeed seen that name in historical records, but all documents clearly stated that the First Dragonslayer had died in battle a hundred years ago.
She immediately thought of Iguneel’s missing remains…
Could it also be related to this Jellal?
Kasmir did not intend to elaborate. Instead, he turned his attention back to Riya.
His blood-red pupils contracted slightly, as if he could see through the blood flowing within Riya’s veins.
“I am more interested in you,” he said, his voice carrying undisguised curiosity and scrutiny. “In this era, how can there still be a vampire with such pure blood?”
“So pure… that even I feel a trace of wariness.”
“You should be someone from this era, right?”
Kasmir could sense that although Riya’s bloodline was ancient, her overall aura was still too young… not like an old monster who had lived for ages, but rather with a youthful vitality matching her apparent age.
“So, who was the ancient vampire that gave you the First Embrace?”
Riya remained silent, not answering.
She could not say, could not tell anyone that she was Vivian’s daughter, one of the last pure-blood descendants.
If this secret were exposed, not only would she fall into greater danger, but she also didn’t know the origins of these vampires before her, and whether revealing Vivian’s existence would affect Vivian.
Seeing that Riya did not answer, Kasmir did not press further.
He gracefully raised his hand and waved lightly.
Outside the city, the seven Blood Pillars simultaneously received the command.
Almost without any hesitation, eight blood-colored figures shot into the sky, rushing toward the human positions still resisting on the other side of the city.
There, the last remaining forces of the central region were gathered, including several noble private armies and garrison troops that had retreated from the surrounding areas.
“No!”
Riya wanted to stop them, but Kasmir’s figure had already blocked her path.
“Our conversation isn’t over yet, dear kindred,” Kasmir said with a smile, the expression elegant. “Let me see just how much substance you, chosen by the ancient bloodline, really have.”
The moment his voice fell, Kasmir’s figure vanished.
It was not magic, not teleportation.
It was the visual afterimage disappearing when pure speed reached its limit.
Riya’s pupils contracted sharply. Almost purely by combat instinct, she dodged to the left.
“Boom!”
Where she had been standing, a five-meter-wide crater exploded in the ground.
Kasmir’s figure slowly emerged through the rising dust, still holding the stance of his punching fist.
“Good reaction,” he commented, a flicker of approval in his blood-red eyes. “But not enough.”
The second attack came even faster.
This time, it was three consecutive punches, each tearing through the air with a low sonic boom.
Riya gritted her teeth, her silver figure weaving through the ruins at high speed, purely relying on physical strength and speed to contend with Kasmir.
She dared not use her vampire power.
Dared not unfold the blood wings that only appeared under the moonlight, dared not use any ability that would expose her inhuman nature.
Because right at the edge of the battlefield, among the humans still resisting, some nobles had recognized her.
“It’s Lady Rhea Alside!”
“The heir of the Arseid family has come to save us!”
“Lady Rhea, please save us!”
The cries came from the human positions, carrying the last shred of hope in despair.
Those voices stabbed into Riya’s ears like needles, making every dodge, every block heavier.
She recognized those people—the middle-aged noble who shouted the loudest had toasted her at an imperial banquet just last year; the knights in battered armor bore the crests of several major families from the central region…
She was Rhea Alside, heir to one of the oldest noble houses in the Olay Empire, a genius at Liyue Academy, and one of the future protectors of humanity.
In this situation, she could not be a monster.
“Why don’t you use your true power?”
Kasmir’s voice slipped softly into her ears.
After a brief clash of fists and feet, the two separated, facing each other ten meters apart. Kasmir flexed his wrist.
“I can feel a powerful force slumbering within you,” he said, his blood-red eyes narrowing slightly, as if he had discovered something interesting. “But you keep suppressing it… why?”
Riya did not answer. Her silver figure surged forward again, a whip kick aimed at Kasmir’s neck.
The kick was extremely fast, the wind pressure even carving a shallow trench into the ground.
Kasmir raised his arm to block. His arm and Riya’s shin collided with a dull impact. The ground beneath his feet cracked, but his stance remained steady.
“Let me guess,” Kasmir said, also hearing the pleas from the nearby nobles and civilians, the hope burning in their eyes. His voice carried a teasing tone. “You don’t dare to, do you?”
Riya’s breathing faltered slightly.
“Dare not show your true form in front of these humans who trust you, who are begging you for salvation.” Kasmir’s smile grew, clearly amused. “Because you are like me—no, you are even purer than us ‘new vampires,’ closer to the source.”
“The moment you unleash your true power, that surging blood qi, those inhuman traits—there’s no way to conceal them.”
“Shut up!”
Riya finally spoke, her voice filled with barely suppressed fury.
Her attacks became fiercer, but also more hurried, and openings began to appear.
Kasmir blocked easily, continuing his verbal assault: “Look over there.”
He gestured with his eyes toward the other side of the battlefield.
There, the eight Blood Pillars had already charged into the human positions, like tigers among sheep.
Screams rose and fell in waves. Blood stained the earth.
The vampires greedily drank the blood, turning the fallen humans into low-rank Blood Servants.
The entire process was swift and efficient, like a bloody harvest.
“Every second you delay, more people die in droves.” Kasmir’s voice was like a demon’s whisper. “And those who die, their blood—”
He took a deep breath, as if savoring the scent of blood permeating the air.
“—Such sweet fragrance. Do you smell it?”
“The finest essence of life, the aroma released at the moment of death.”
Riya’s throat moved involuntarily.
Kasmir was right.
It had been too long since she last fed.
Ever since leaving the Yarsed Territory, she had been suppressing the deep craving for blood within her bloodline.
And she had fought eight Blood Pillars in a row, using bloodline power to suppress them for extended periods—the consumption was obviously enormous.
Normally, she could restrain herself, but now, immersed in such a thick smell of blood, facing such a powerful opponent, the accumulated exhaustion from continuous battles…
Her body was craving.
That craving was not hunger, not thirst, but an emptiness originating from the very source of life.
As if every cell in her body was screaming for replenishment.
For the purest life essence, for warm, sweet blood.
“Your eyes are starting to turn red.”
Kasmir keenly noticed the spreading blood-red ring at the edge of Riya’s pupils.
“See, your instincts are awakening. Why resist them?”
“We are beings at the top of the food chain. Humans—”
With one punch, he sent Riya flying back over ten meters, his voice suddenly rising.
“—Are our prey!”
“No…”
Riya panted, lifting her head.
Her silver short hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat. Her usually cool eyes were now struggling painfully between normal and blood-red.
“Save us! Lady Rhea!”
“Ahhh—don’t bite me! Let go!”
“Mom… Mom…”
Human screams, pleas, and cries surged from all directions, assaulting Riya’s eardrums.
Every scream made her heart twitch.
Every plea weighed heavier on her guilt.
She should go save them.
She came to rescue people, to protect these innocents.
But Kasmir was too strong.
Without using her vampire power, she couldn’t even break through his defense, let alone rescue others. And once she used that power…
She would lose everything.
The honor of the Arseid family, the trust of humans, her identity as “Rhea Alside.”
Everything she cherished, everything she fought for, would vanish into thin air the moment that pair of blood-colored wings unfurled.