Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 496 - 458: Nobility Like Me

The shadowy figure advanced through the flickering light and shade, as if it were not the light that flickered, but the figure itself.

The frigid stone walls, damp with moisture, still bore the traces of the souls who perished in agony. Blood servants crouched in the corners, snarling like rabid dogs at every living thing that passed by. In this mad castle, darkness had devoured reason.

But no ghostly presence was as eerie as that mysterious figure.

The bloodstains darkened in his shadow, and blood servants whimpered at his side. Walking upon the red carpet, he was like a king of the insane.

"I am Lyle?" a gentle voice asked.

"Are you Lyle?" a dark voice inquired.

The figure talked to itself, the two different tones making it seem profoundly sick.

"Foolish Blood Clan, they have no understanding of what power is." The dark voice whispered like a demon, filled with contempt, "Power is not just the Art of Magic, but also knowledge."

"Knowledge is power, such a familiar phrase. You know? It makes you seem quite endearing."

"Shut up, you fool, if anyone is endearing, it’s you. The fact that you took this long to notice my existence, you really are a lovable fool!"

"Omens are Lyle, we are not mystic, we are mental suggestions, we are a personality split."

"Is this the humiliation of being sealed, sharing a meager body with a weaker other half? I finally understand the sorrow of the Old God Triton."

"How wonderful that you are dissatisfied with my body; I’m quite uncomfortable sharing it with you too."

"Lyle, you fool, have you turned into Ralph?"

"Your choice, smarty-pants. By the way, you’re more like Ralph."

"..." Both voices fell silent in the same pair of lips, as if sharing the same misfortune.

"Let’s get down to business..." "Fine..."

"The magical flow in this seal is different from any usage recorded by the various races in the City of Wandering. It is a power of an unknown race, more powerful, more ancient."

"Holy Light Seal?"

"Indeed, Holy Light can crush evil, but do you think the clerics capable of setting up a seal this massive wouldn’t just kill these vampires? This is an order of power different from ours, yet it contains chaos. What does that mean..."

"It means an ancient existence that ruled the world before mankind, and ancient beings are usually fierce."

"It is powerful yet immature, with strong repressive abilities, but the spell construction is quite simple, like, a castle drawn whimsically by a child, which then becomes habitable."

"So, we have an opportunity to exploit?"

"But that’s the whimsy of this dead child; it doesn’t allow any other powers within the seal. Everything has to follow its rules. And as a ’child,’ it is still growing, becoming more powerful every moment."

"Great news, in ten days, when the Antichrist is born, this place will become a paradise for vampires."

"It might be worse, if the seal can expand, then the vampire’s happy house will just get bigger, and they might even set up at the church’s doorstep."

"Can this barrier suppress Mr. Raymond?"

"Not currently, but we don’t know its limit for growth."

"The Loshutar Blood Clan has played a good game." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Letting us in was their worst move, and now they’re as good as dead."

"Towering buildings, toppled by me." Lyle’s figure stirred for a moment, then sank into despondency, "But we haven’t even unlocked our strength yet."

"That cup, that is the key to the Blood Clan’s freedom within the Seal, that aura, that taste, gave me a familiar feeling. Very familiar, exceedingly familiar."

"Is Delaries deceiving us? Drinking the blood of a god won’t turn us into blood bags?"

"He can only comprehend the truths he knows, whereas we’re at the origin of all that is unknown. Drink it, Lyle, if that blood can affect us, I must say, I’m quite looking forward to it, maybe it can improve your body."

"Our ideas of ’improvement’ may be different concepts. You don’t need to tell me, I’ll drink it anyway, for Beatrice."

"Hehehehe, that woman must be touched, about you taking away her sister."

Lyle suddenly shuddered.

"Alianna... shouldn’t... be angry, right? This is... forced by the circumstances."

"... Idiot."

Within the hall, no vampires were present, after the dinner had ended, they had returned to their rooms, or had gone out to hunt, now it was midnight, the time when vampires are most active. Perhaps somewhere in the castle, they are indulging in an all-night revelry.

It’s their loss, they had no chance to witness the birth of their ominous future.

The cup was placed upon Delaries’ throne, the brimming black blood had already spilled into a dark pool on the seat, the overflowing blood seemed uncontrollable, it also put an end to why the castle was strewn with blood stains, presumably the Blood Clan’s concept of cleanliness had been tormented into oblivion by this perpetually overflowing cup.

The original golden material had completely vanished, what was left was a rough stone cup composed of black and red stones, its form obscure.

"It looks quite rough."

"And very ancient."

"High EQ." Lyle smiled and lifted the cup in his hands, hovering it in the air for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

"I’m waiting for special effects, logically, someone of my stature picking up the cup should elicit unprecedented special effects, like a baptism ceremony for Mr. Lyle."

"It’s simple, this lovely Seal doesn’t indulge scoundrels, are you going to drink or not?"

Lyle’s hands twitched, eagerly drinking the blood inside, lest his own hands couldn’t resist strangling himself.

The taste of rust assaulted his taste buds, Lyle could feel the black blood flowing down his digestive tract, mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, stinging, the damned blood felt alive, piercing his intestinal walls, penetrating his entire body more actively than absorption.

This stinging should have burned Lyle’s brain, but instead, Lyle was experiencing something different.

Relief, freedom, and rebirth.

Shadows flowed, the entire hall swallowed by a vast shadow, writhing tendrils climbed Lyle’s shoulders, monstrous distortions emerged anew from his spine, Nia’s screams and the ghastly laughter of portents filled the entire hall.

Lyle watched his own body, the power he had completely broken free of, growing.

A feeling both familiar and alien, Lyle stared blankly at the black blood.

"The blood within the Blood-red Holy Grail, the blood that turns the Blood Clan into the antichrist..."

"The blood of a god, is my blood."

"A more perfect, my blood..."