While Jarek was immersed in the memories of the past, Thrain's voice brought him back to his senses.
"If that Nell kid hadn't told me in person, I wouldn't have believed that a child that young could be so cunning. We can only blame ourselves for having disregarded all of you back then."
Indeed, the only reason Jarek and the others were able to escape from Belmora was that they took advantage of the utter disregard the vampires had for them.
To them, they were nothing but ants.
Jarek was able to take advantage of this lax behaviour and gather information that was crucial for their escape.
But who would have thought that the ant would grow to be a formidable opponent years later?
It was something no one could have predicted.
"But that won't happen anymore. This time you won't be getting another chance." As Thrain said, he pulled out a spear from his storage.
This spear wasn't ordinary. 'A rank 3 medium-grade weapon?'
Jarek was slightly surprised seeing such a weapon in the hands of a Grandmaster.
However, the surprise didn't end there, as Luneth also took out a spear of his own.
'Two rank 3 medium-grade weapons?' All of a sudden, he felt that Thrain wasn't as simple as he had thought.
Luneth was the first to make a move as he rushed at Jarek and thrust his spear at him.
Jarek responded calmly by summoning a sword, an action that caused Thrain to stop dead in his tracks.
'Where did that come from?' He hadn't seen Jarek retrieve his sword from any storage item.
It was like the sword had appeared out of thin air.
Then, at a speed that shocked the vampire duo, Jarek's sword moved fast enough to parry Luneth's thrust, directing it to the side.
'How?' Luneth was stunned.
His attack had almost connected, and it seemed like Jarek didn't have any time to respond to it.
But his surprise didn't last long.
Jarek clenched his hand into a fist and punched towards the stunned Luneth, who was instantly overwhelmed by a sense of dread as he saw the incoming attack.
He could only look in horror as the fist mercilessly landed on his chest.
The force was so immense that he was sent flying into the distance as he crashed into multiple trees, leaving a path of destruction wherever his body passed.
Thrain, who witnessed this, was stunned.
'What strength is this?' He couldn't fathom how Jarek was able to defeat Luneth with such ease.
The gap between him and Luneth wasn't that big.
In fact, it was quite close, as Thrain was only one level higher than Luneth.
So, to see Luneth being dealt with so easily, he also couldn't help but tremble as he considered the implications.
'Does he have the strength of an Empyrean? How is that possible!?' Thrain's mind was in chaos, unable to comprehend how Jarek's strength had risen from a Grandmaster to now an Empyrean.
It was then that realization dawned on him. "You... you deceived everyone into believing you were an average Grandmaster! How can you cultivate the power of an Empyrean in just three months!? Who are you!?"
He was filled with dread as he realized Jarek was an anomaly beyond his understanding, and everyone else's.
His talent was utterly frightening.
At Thrain's question, Jarek only smiled at him, his eyes cold, but his smile, which no one in the world had ever witnessed, made Thrain feel as if he was struck by lightning.
'That smile...' For some reason, when he saw Jarek's smile, he found himself comparing it to those he had witnessed from that place he used to call home.
A home where those who were his own blood found pleasure in his misfortune and smiled as they watched him suffer.
Looking at Jarek's smile, which resembled those past smiles, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart as he realized that Jarek had sinister intentions planned for him.
If he were captured, his ending would be utterly miserable.
And he wasn't wrong.
He had waited years for this moment, and Jarek wasn't planning on letting off anyone who was involved in his mother's death.
That was why he hadn't killed Luneth with his attack, but held back, careful not to end his life.
'Should I use it?' Thrain considered his next course of action, but he was caught in a dilemma.
'I only managed to recover recently, and now I am forced to use it again? Damn it!' Thrain inwardly cursed.
But did he have a choice?
If he doesn't use it, he will surely die.
|Blood Essence Burst|
As he activated his trump card, Thrain's aura rose dramatically.
It became much stronger, and his body was filled with immense power.
"Hmm?" Jarek was surprised by the power he felt from Thrain.
'A two-level increase, almost at three?' This was the highest he had seen someone raise their strength ever since he started his cultivation.
Mir could only increase his strength by one level, but now Thrain could raise his power by almost three levels.
By Jarek's estimate, he had gotten twenty times stronger with this power-up.
'So that's why he was known as the Blood Tyrant. Truly impressive.'
But...
"Do you think that this is enough to defeat me?" Jarek asked, not at all intimidated by Thrain's newfound power.
"It has been quite a while since I had to use this ability. The last time I used it was against an Empyrean whom I managed to defeat. Now that I have been left with no other choice, let's see how I fare against you." Thrain said as he looked into the distance for a moment, before charging at Jarek.
His speed had also improved significantly.
With all his strength, he thrust his spear at Jarek, who was seemingly not able to quickly react to his attack.
His attack was almost about to pierce Jarek's chest, when Thrain felt his spear's motion stop dead in its tracks.
It was a strange sight to behold.
"What the!?" He was alarmed by what he saw, or to be more exact, what he couldn't see.
He could see nothing but air, but no matter how much force he exerted, it was as if something had held the spear firmly in its place.
The spear was unable to move forward, completely stopped by an invisible force.
Looking at the still smiling Jarek, Thrain tries to pull his spear backward, only to face the same problem.
Thrain broke out in a cold sweat when he was faced with this situation.
He abandoned his spear and retreated rapidly, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
'Just how strong is he!?' Thrain screamed inwardly, frightened by Jarek's unknown depths.
'Has he reached that stage?' Thrain wondered, finding his strength even greater than that of an Empyrean.
'In that case, it's impossible for me to do this alone. It's time they appear on the stage.'