"Crimson Veil."
Ysabella created blood in the air, quickly transforming it into a red mist that spread across the battlefield. When Malakar was struck by the technique, his senses began to distort; his perception of direction disappeared, and for a few moments, he could not even understand where Ysabella might attack him from.
"Scarlet Centuries."
To protect himself while recovering his senses, Malakar summoned a legion of soldiers formed from condensed blood. They showed no consciousness of their own and remained motionless, waiting only for their creator's orders.
"Kill her."
As soon as they received the order, the soldiers immediately charged into battle.
Ysabella watched their approach without showing any concern. She raised one hand and rotated her arm, causing a huge ring of blood to appear before her.
The structure began spinning violently, tearing apart the soldiers that attempted to pass through it. Without wasting any time, Ysabella advanced toward Malakar and created a blood blade in her hand, driving it directly into his eye and pushing it in with force, as if she wanted to make it reach as deep as possible.
"Aaaahhhh!"
The pain caused Malakar to panic and fall backward. He staggered away, his senses still completely disoriented, and ended up vomiting on the floor.
For the first time in his life, he felt fear mixed with anger and humiliation. First, his grandfather had trusted a stranger; then, his own plan had failed, and now he could not do anything at all against someone who should have been at the same level as him.
"You damned woman! You must have evolved your Circle, didn't you, you bitch?! How did you do that?"
"What a beautiful look you have. You look like a spoiled child crying because you didn't get what you wanted."
Ysabella approached with a dark smile and created another blade in her hand, raising it to deliver the next blow. However, the moment she sensed something coming from behind, she moved to the side. Ozymir appeared before his master, while Verlate appeared above them and launched a sphere of blood. Ozymir responded by creating a whirlpool of blood to block the attack, and the collision created intense pressure in the air that pushed the two of them apart.
"Young master, try to find a way out. I'll take care of the two of them."
"Impossible."
"Young master, you don't need to worry..."
Ozymir could not finish his sentence. He felt his back being pierced and looked behind him, only to find Malakar holding the special item they had obtained. He had driven the object into Ozymir's body and was now focusing all his attention on Ysabella, completely ignoring his own subordinate.
"It is impossible for you to be stronger than me. You must have received some kind of help... so I will have mine as well."
An intense pain took over Ozymir's body. His existence began to dissolve into the air, with most of his power dispersing throughout the surroundings while another part was absorbed into Malakar's body. Inside his mana heart, a fifth Circle began to emerge.
Malakar raised his face with an almost insane expression.
"Now we are at the same level. If you want, you can come at me together."
Verlate watched the transformation and immediately realized that Malakar had no idea about the true difference between them. He had just reached the Fifth Circle, while Verlate was already at the Sixth Circle. Even so, before he could intervene, he heard Ysabella's voice.
"That makes things easier..."
"Sylas told you to leave him to me."
Verlate looked at Ysabella and noticed the confidence in her eyes. She did not seem to need any help, so he decided to respect Sylas's order. He jumped to the top of the stairs and remained there, ready to intervene if anything went wrong. Ysabella turned her attention back to Malakar, maintaining that mocking look that made him increasingly furious.
"Don't look at me like that!"
Malakar raised his hand and summoned his soldiers again. This time, however, their bodies were covered in blood spikes, and their weapons also had sharp blades and points. He mentally transmitted an attack order, causing all of them to advance toward Ysabella at the same time.
"Piercing Blood."
Blood bubbles appeared in the air around Ysabella, and from inside them, several blood bullets were fired, piercing through the soldiers before they could get close. Malakar created an even larger sphere behind himself, preparing another attack, but Ysabella noticed a few drops of blood above one of the soldiers. Nearly invisible blood lines emerged from them and attached themselves to the creature's body.
"Attack! Why aren't you attacking?"
Malakar turned toward the soldier, irritated that it was not obeying him. The next instant, the creature moved and swung its sword at him.
The impact produced a shockwave that traveled throughout the room and made the surrounding objects tremble. Malakar barely managed to regain his balance before Ysabella appeared in front of him and struck his face with a kick infused with magic, sending several teeth flying.
He had evolved to the Fifth Circle, but he was far too uncontrolled. That could have been useful if the increase in power had been truly gigantic, but his evolution had not increased his strength enough to reduce the difference between him and Ysabella. She knew this and, for that reason, simply enjoyed every expression of despair that appeared on his face, having fun watching him truly believe that he could defeat her.
'This moment is exactly what I want.'
Ysabella allowed Malakar to stand up again. When he attacked, she deliberately allowed the blood spikes to pierce her body. The pain was there, but it was nothing compared to what she had endured, and the most important thing was that it continued giving Malakar hope that he could defeat her. At the same time, Ysabella realized that her evolution percentage was still increasing thanks to the blood she had received.
Thirty percent.
She knew that this growth would stop at some point. Therefore, she intended to make the most of this moment while she still could.
"Spiked Blood Ball!"
Several blood balls appeared around Ysabella and shot spikes that pierced her body. She grabbed some of them with her own hands and broke them, remaining standing despite her injuries. Then she raised her arm and began concentrating her magic.
"Blood Throne."
The blood scattered throughout the surroundings began to crystallize.
The transformation spread across the battlefield as a blade began to form, taking on a beautiful and threatening appearance at the same time. When the weapon was finally complete, all the blood around them had crystallized, including the blood that was on Malakar's body.
The crystals emerged from inside his body, piercing mainly through his face, while behind Ysabella, an incomplete throne began to take shape.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Malakar screamed in pain. The magic seemed to affect every one of his cells, causing them to burn continuously. The longer it continued, the more intense the pain became, as if the technique had been created specifically to torture him.
"I've waited for this for quite some time, you disgusting bloodsucker."
Ysabella stepped on his face and pressed down hard, trying to push it into the ground. The resistance of the house, protected by Angela's domain, prevented the structure from being destroyed, but she continued pressing down while raising one of her hands. Several blood blades began to appear in the air around Malakar.
Even while feeling that pain, he began to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Haha... You can kill me all you want. After all, I've already made you suffer enough... haha."
The smile on her face did not change in the slightest despite his words.
"You haven't changed. And that makes me happy. If you begged, I would feel disgusted while taking my revenge."
"What do you mean?"
One of the blades cut Malakar's leg. The burning sensation immediately returned, making him scream, and his regeneration seemed even weaker than before. When he raised his eyes again, he met Ysabella's gaze, and this time, he felt more than just fear.
He felt terror.
"I'll tear apart every part of your body and carbonize it so there won't be any chance for your soul to rest in peace."
Ysabella's eyes were dominated by absolute madness. She did not merely want to kill him; she wanted to make him suffer for everything that had happened. Malakar tried to say something, but before he could finish, a blade cut his tongue.
The scream that came from his throat was muffled by his own blood.
At the top of the stairs, Verlate watched everything without showing any concern. Realizing that the battle was practically over, he simply settled down there and decided to sleep while waiting for the end.
Meanwhile, Ysabella continued standing before Malakar, finally having the opportunity she had waited for so long.