While Gin battled Rock, on the other side, Cornelia was locked in combat with another Teigu user dispatched from Revolutionary Army headquarters.
His name was Loki. If Rock was tall and lanky, Loki was the complete opposite—short and obese. He was also the one who had been chatting with Haruki earlier.
Loki was a power-type Teigu user, and his Teigu was called the Wrist Guards of Strength. As the name suggested, it was a pair of wrist guards that, when worn, greatly enhanced the user's strength—boosting it to hundreds, even thousands of times beyond normal.
Without a doubt, the massive boulder hurled at Haruki and the others earlier had been thrown by Loki.
Within the Revolutionary Army, Loki ranked lower than Rock. It wasn't just because his overall strength was inferior—Rock was powerful even without relying on his Teigu—whereas Loki depended entirely on his. Still, because of the sheer brute force of his Teigu and the fact that his strength could be decisive in key moments, Loki was still considered among the upper ranks.
As for Cornelia, back in her days with the Assassination Unit, she had wielded the Shingu Crushing King—a weapon similar in nature to the Wrist Guards of Strength, boosting physical power, though as a Shingu, it was weaker than a Teigu.
The fact that Cornelia could master the Crushing King, which had extremely high usage requirements, spoke volumes about her own natural strength.
After becoming Haruki's bloodkin, her physical abilities—as a Vampire Progenitor—had grown exponentially, especially in strength. At this point, even barehanded, she could easily take on Loki with his Teigu.
Not long after she returned to the Imperial Capital with Haruki, he had given her a storage ring like the others. As for her weapon, Haruki specially upgraded the Crushing King for her.
Now, the Crushing King wasn't just stronger than most Teigu—it also looked completely different. Originally a bulky gauntlet-style weapon with little aesthetic appeal, Haruki had redesigned it into a sleek, silver-gray bat-shaped earring. Beautiful and discreet, Cornelia wore it constantly. At a glance, it looked more like a piece of art than a deadly Teigu. Most people would never suspect its terrifying power.
Maybe it was the vampire bloodline, but for some reason, Haruki had always had a thing for bats—and so did the girls who had received his blood, whether directly or indirectly.
Haruki's clothes bore a gold bat motif. Tsukushi, Pony, Chelsea, Cornelia, and the other first-generation bloodkin had silver bats embroidered on their outfits, and they all wore silver bat-shaped accessories. Second-generation bloodkin like Meiki, Meina, and Taeko had blood-red bat patterns and matching accessories.
Now, Cornelia stood facing Loki from a distance.
From another angle, her tall figure made her look almost twice Loki's height. The scene was downright comical.
"Hey, gorgeous. That guy's finished today—you don't need to stick with him anymore. Why not come with me, Loki? I'll give you the good life—fine food, fine drink, everything you could want. And don't judge me by my looks; I'm not lacking in other areas. I'll satisfy you, guaranteed. So, what do you say?"
Loki leered at Cornelia, his eyes raking up and down her curvaceous figure as he spoke.
Compared to Rock, this guy was not only weaker and uglier, but his character was even worse. Right now, he looked like nothing more than a sleazy thug—completely at odds with the noble image the Revolutionary Army tried to project.
But he had no idea his words had just poured gasoline on a fire. Cornelia's fury ignited instantly, like a match tossed into a barrel of fuel.
The thing Cornelia was most grateful for in life was confessing her feelings to Haruki when she was on the brink of death. The years she'd spent by his side since then had been the happiest of her life.
To her, Haruki was the perfect man. He didn't have a shred of the male chauvinism so common in their era. He treated the women around him with unmatched care, fulfilling their every request without question.
As for Loki's smug claims, Cornelia didn't believe anyone in the world could match Haruki—not in strength, not in any other way. It often took several of them working together just to satisfy Haruki… (no need to get specific, you know what that means.)
The fact that Loki dared to insult Haruki—and even make advances toward her—was something she couldn't forgive.
With the Rokushiki technique "Soru" and the lightning speed granted by her bloodline, Cornelia appeared beside Loki in an instant. If you looked back, you'd see several lingering afterimages in her wake, a testament to her speed.
Loki, being a pure power-type, was pitifully slow. In his hands, he held a massive axe the size of a millstone—enough to terrify most opponents just by looking at it.
But when Cornelia appeared at his side, he didn't even register how she'd gotten there. By the time he thought to lift his axe to block, it was already too late.
"Boom!"
Like a bullet blasting through a watermelon, Cornelia's kick landed squarely on his head. Loki's fat skull exploded, red and white matter splattering everywhere. It was the kind of scene that could scare the faint of heart to death.
"All who dare insult my brother must die."
As Loki's giant axe crashed to the ground and his bulky body collapsed, Cornelia spoke coldly.
Amid the gore, she didn't look the slightest bit out of place. On the contrary, her blood-stained form carried a deadly, majestic beauty.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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