235. Stay out of the Way
Aisha Patani fell through mid-air, finally stabilizing her form.
The white mist surrounding her body had begun to surge outward, signaling the dispersal of her Infant of Love.
Her eyes were calm, yet held a trace of longing.
She struggled to stay upright, her vision fixed solely on the yellow-dressed figure hovering in the sky.
A cold light flashed between her palms as she prepared to charge forward again.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the collar.
"Stay out of the way."
The voice in her ear was familiar and calm. Before Aisha could look back, she was casually tossed downward.
Through her blurry vision, besides Lady Taurymne's silhouette, another tall figure appeared, dressed in black and also surrounded by thick crimson clouds.
The sky transformed in color.
The dark crimson demonic clouds were instantly engulfed by the approaching crimson.
The young man stood upon foul, bloodthirsty clouds, a gold-patterned black scabbard at his waist, his blood-stained black clothes flowing—he resembled a fierce vampire.
In an instant, the entire city seemed to freeze.
Countless martial artists watched helplessly as their last hope was casually tossed aside, unable to offer even the slightest resistance.
Theodore Montgomery's hand gripping his sword hilt suddenly went limp.
He stared blankly at the distant figure.
This young man should be intercepting the Blood Moon Vampire King now, yet he himself had arrived only moments ago...
Noticing the blood on John Kane's clothes, his pupils contracted as an unbelievable thought suddenly formed in his mind.
At the entrance of the Atzmon family mansion, everyone—including the patriarch—stood frozen in shock. One fierce vampire was terrifying enough, yet now another had appeared.
Just then, a foolish cry erupted from the entrance as his own eldest grandson shouted, "It's General Kane! This vampire is General Kane!"
Noa Atzmon stood frozen in confusion, uncertain whether these words conveyed excitement or fear.
"..."
Lady Taurymne looked toward the handsome young man.
For a moment, she couldn't determine whether he was friend or foe.
If an enemy, how to explain the demonic power filling the sky?
If a friend... the rosy glow on his skin was clearly a manifestation of a Ward of Nature, yet why did his detached gaze make her so uncomfortable—as if he could see through her entirely?
Of course, Lady Taurymne had another puzzling question.
Why would her son choose such a place as the New King's territory? This was merely a remote, insignificant State, yet it contained one Seeker of Redeemer and two Wards of Nature.
For the first time, sensing that formidable presence, Lady Taurymne hesitated.
Just then, under her gaze, the young man suddenly manifested a suspended bronze armor around himself—the majestic, imposing protection encircling his body.
Lady Taurymne's eyes suddenly filled with bloodshot lines.
While the red clouds weren't particularly distinctive, as many Vampire Kings possessed similar treasures, this armor was something she had personally traded from another Vampire King specifically for her son.
"..."
I glanced at the broken umbrella and sword hilt beside her.
I decided to reveal my arsenal to the others.
With this thought, I casually produced a bronze mirror, which expanded in the wind and soon hung in the sky like a great sun.
"Hmph..."
Lady Taurymne closed her eyes, her radiant, beautiful face showing dejection as a tear streaked down the corner of her eye.
This was her dressing mirror that had accompanied her through countless days and nights, now turned against her, casting down a faint light.
Without killing this villain, she knew the hatred burning in her heart could never be appeased. "I will—"
Before she could I grabbed her elegant hair bun and viciously drove my knee into her face!
Fighting with eyes closed? Did she think this was some kind of opera performance?
The lady's jaw instantly shattered. Beyond the full power of the Cosmic Devouring Infant, my attack was amplified by my tempered body—forged from the Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection—with nine immortal vampires roaring wildly within!
Because of the close-quarters combat, the bronze mirror emitted only a faint light to slow Lady Taurymne's movements, rather than unleashing its intense beams.
ShadowTouch!
My fists contained mountain-breaking force, my legs as powerful as the tail of a vicious Leviathan.
I instantly struck Lady Taurymne's major nadis.
Before the intense pain could subside, the numbness throughout her body—combined with the restriction from the bronze mirror artifact—meant that though she knew how to block, her movements were always a step too slow.
"Shadow Touch?"
Theodore Montgomery gripped his sword, intending to seize the opportunity to ambush the vampire, but a casual glance from the young man warned him against it.
He watched in astonishment, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
As the creator of this martial art, he never imagined it would work on a Vampire King. How could ordinary strikes possibly seal the nadis of such a powerful vampiric body?
This could only mean that Kane's seemingly casual punches contained power far beyond Theodore's comprehension.
At this moment, the young man was channeling all his devastating power into Lady Taurymne's body with merciless precision.
"Wait!"
Lady Taurymne bit down in anger, but the next moment her pristine white teeth shattered under a pulverizing punch.
My knee strikes to her abdomen came without pause, as if trying to crush her internal organs.
Our battle raged from the eastern edge of the city to its western border.
Lady Taurymne was pummeled like a broken sack all the way.
My body beneath the dark red-black keikogi seemed to contain limitless power, inexhaustible regardless of how much I exerted myself.
Whenever my Cosmic Devouring Infant showed signs of weakening, I would consume a year of vampire lifespan and digest a vampire blood bead.
"Gulp." The Atzmon family patriarch swallowed hard. Earlier, he couldn't intervene in the battle between the Admiral's master-disciple pair and the Vampire King. Now, the violent clash in the sky truly terrified him—approaching would mean being shattered by the young man's overwhelming power.
This vampire was truly resilient...
"Wait!" Lady Taurymne finally let out a roar. Her black cloak fell away and her yellow dress tore as her enormous vampire form instantly revealed itself.
It was a short-horned yellow bull with bright red patterns, crimson mist swirling around its four hooves.
It stretched about three hundred feet long—unmistakably a bull, yet with a mouth filled with fangs.
The young man's terrifying power—combining both the vast essence of a Ward of Nature and a physical body no weaker than a vampire's—forced her to take the enormous risk of revealing her distinctively recognizable vampire form.
"..."
I casually caught the cloak and stored it in my white pouch treasure. As the bull's hoof came down heavily, I blocked with my forearm, but the immense force sent my arm guard flying—the first time my body, enhanced by the Nine Transformations, had its defense broken.
The bull's hoof crushed the flesh of my arm, exposing the crimson Infant beneath.
I didn't even raise an eyebrow as peacock-red light swiftly covered the wound. Before the bull vampire could withdraw its hoof, my flesh had completely regenerated.
I detected a familiar essence emanating from the patterns on its body.
It was unmistakably the flavor of vampire blood.
Tempering vampire bones, forging vampire body... so that was the meaning.
I seized the slender part of the bull's leg, my entire body suddenly exerting tremendous force as I swung the huge bull vampire in a circle before launching it skyward.
This terrifying scene sent chills down everyone's spines, making their scalps tingle with fear.
In the next moment, they watched as the young man transformed into a streak of light rushing skyward.
Using Hidden Abyss as a blade, I pierced through the bull vampire's flesh with a squelching sound. I entered its body, then emerged from its back, dragging out a mass of internal organs.
The air of Seattle reverberated with nothing but the bull vampire's agonized howls.
"Ahhh!!"