234. Fight to the End
Dark red demonic clouds filled the sky, a black cloak floating above Seattle.
The woman held a long sword at an angle, its hilt adorned with a cyan-white porcelain flower.
Several gashes marked her shoulders, frost gradually melting on the wounds.
Her graceful figure, clad in yellow, hovered in mid-air.
Below her feet, the sprawling H.A.R.M. headquarters lay half-collapsed. Numerous agents in black uniforms gathered like a dense, dark cloud.
Yet these typically imposing and fearsome figures now appeared remarkably small beneath the blood-red sky.
In the ruins, a maiden with cold light flowing around her body lay buried beneath broken wood and shattered bricks.
BOOM—
Aisha Patani gently pushed away a huge beam, trying her best to maintain a calm expression as she struggled to stand. Her slightly trembling hands and the gradually dissipating white mist in her black eyes, however, betrayed her true condition.
As she staggered to her feet, she captured everyone's attention.
Ordinary citizens cowered in their homes, those flimsy wooden doors now the strongest protection they could imagine.
Members of prominent families and academies crowded the streets, gazing helplessly at the figure they had once feared above all others.
She had once perpetrated a devastating massacre in Sacramento, leaving people trembling with fear in their sleepless nights.
But now, with vampires attacking, only she could stand in their way... though it seemed she could no longer hold them back.
… …
"Grandpa! Do something!" Ethan Atzmon strode into the magnificent mansion, wearing a fierce wolf cloak and clutching a gleaming silver blade.
His face covered in blood, he still shouted at the top of his lungs.
The emaciated elder stepped forward, followed by several frightened family members, and scolded, "What are you shouting about?"
"Help us!"
When the nest falls, how can the eggs remain intact? Ethan Atzmon gripped his blade tightly, his emotions spiraling out of control.
In Cascadia's thousand years of stability, when had vampires ever invaded this place?
This place boasted four prestigious family names, the largest concentration of H.A.R.M. agents, and the only Seeker of Redeemer in the entire state.
"Help..." The emaciated elder showed rare discomposure, glancing resentfully at this ignorant younger generation. "Before such a powerful being, I am no different from you."
Upon hearing this, Ethan Atzmon froze in place, his long blade slipping limply from his grasp.
His grandpa was the strongest person he knew, the backbone of the entire Atzmon family, yet in this situation, he could only watch helplessly—just like himself?
He turned and rushed out again.
The Atzmon family patriarch frowned but didn't stop him.
The Vampire King had enveloped the entire city with overwhelming demonic power; it was merely a question of where one would die—escape was absolutely impossible.
Thinking of this, he sighed and looked up at the sky.
Lady Taurymne wasn't showing mercy by giving Aisha Patani a chance to breathe; rather, a sword had suddenly appeared before her.
That sword was wrapped in the power of faith, yet it held no sense of peace—instead, it was filled with slaughter and madness.
She remarked coolly, "I've never seen a Seeker of Redeemer like you."
With the physical body destroyed, the only chance of survival was to find a vessel—such as a cherished sword—becoming a sword spirit to slow the extinction process. Or, with good fortune, one might enter another body and continue cultivation.
Before that, any consumption would hasten his demise.
Especially when actively seeking out a Vampire King far superior to himself.
"..."
The sword gave no response. In a posture unseen by others, Theodore Montgomery stood holding the sword, its light flowing like a rushing river, surging toward Lady Taurymne without leaving any possibility of retreat.
In the ruins, Aisha's breathing grew increasingly steady.
Her flesh was marked with deep gashes, revealing the cold white ice destructive power within, as her entire being transformed into a stream of light rushing toward the sky.
She was known as Cascadia's sharpest sword, yet her hands were always empty.
At this moment, that white cold flow transformed into a sword that could split valleys and cleave seas, suddenly slashing toward Lady Taurymne!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!—
Lady Taurymne swung her blade horizontally, colliding with that cold flow.
At the same time, she unhurriedly raised a cyan-white porcelain umbrella, its seemingly fragile surface slowly rotating, completely blocking the sword light imbued with faith power.
"If I were you, I wouldn't have rushed to breakthrough."
She glanced sideways to see the edge of her Saber of Cyanbloom firmly gripped by a bloody, mangled hand. Half of Aisha's face had been stripped away by vampiric power, revealing her Infant of Love—formed from the Frozen Resolve—which emanated a bone-chilling cold. The Infant's eye resembled white porcelain, its depths as calm as still water.
"You knew trouble was coming. Why didn't you leave? Perhaps then you might still have had a chance for revenge."
Lady Taurymne attempted to withdraw her sword. Despite forcing a breakthrough, her opponent still possessed Innate strength far beyond that of a newly advanced Ward of Nature; the Crystallization method she practiced must be among the most difficult variants.
Had she broken through at a more measured pace, perhaps even Lady Taurymne would not have defeated her so easily.
With such talent, she would undoubtedly achieve greatness in the future.
"..."
Aisha Patani quietly gazed at the sword edge in her hand, her fingers gradually tightening until it shattered between them. "Revenge is a meaningless thing," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Once the dust settles, nothing can be changed.
We chase after time, hoping never to cross paths with our former regrets.
She was utterly exhausted.
No longer did she have the will to continue the chase.
She used her palm as a blade, suddenly slashing across Lady Taurymne's neck. A deep gash appeared on that delicate neck, with blood gushing out, only to be instantly frozen by the cold.
BANG!
Lady Taurymne's palm struck her chest almost simultaneously, creating visible cracks on Aisha's exposed Infant of Love.
"I am a vampire, after all."
The lady watched her fall, covering the wound on her neck—a fatal injury for ordinary people, but for the powerful Vampire King, it wasn't even significant enough to make her flinch.
In that instant, the sword light from the other side finally tore through the porcelain umbrella. As the umbrella ribs exploded, the sword stabbed directly toward the hand covering her neck.
SQUELCH!
The long sword pierced through her palm and impaled her neck.
Theodore Montgomery's face contorted with effort as he gripped the sword and slashed horizontally, attempting to sever the opponent's head.
"I told you, I am a vampire."
Lady Taurymne briskly pulled out her hand, half of it cut open, then gripped the long sword, preventing it from moving even an inch.
She gracefully held a sword in one hand and an umbrella in the other, resembling an otherworldly maiden.
But this elegant appearance belied her true nature—she was far from human.
Her formidable vampire physique—not the sword or umbrella—constituted her greatest advantage.
Meanwhile, Theodore Montgomery's Redeemed Spirit showed serious signs of instability, the vast faith power gradually thinning.
The Female Bull Vampire King from Vampires Valley and the local Blood Moon Vampire King shared the same title, yet they existed on entirely different power levels.
With a casual flick of her wrist, she extinguished the last flicker of hope for everyone in Seattle.
Moreover, the red clouds in the sky had grown even denser.
At the edge of the dark red sky, an even more ferocious crimson surged forward like ocean waves.
Blotting out the sky and covering the earth, it plunged all of Seattle into silent terror.