HDXD: Omni Harem System-Chapter 273: Mordux La’Terra

"Go ahead deserters, speak your last words before the silver claims your neck."

The executioner made his words clear, and the first to break the silence was not the Executioner, nor the crowd that watched like statues of marble.

It was one of the condemned.

His voice cut through the hall like a rusted blade, fill of genuine disdain for the Vampire before him, and the system as a whole.

"Cowards!"

He roared, the chains rattling violently as he yanked against them, his eyes glowing like burning coals.

"All of you cowards! From those at the very bottom who act like pets, and to those above sitting on your thrones of gold and lies, controlling the dogs you train oh so well with lies and fear! Nothing but mangy, obedient dogs under a filthy, broken system!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd, sharp and controlled. He leaned forward, blood dripping from his wrists where the enchanted links bit into his flesh, but the pain only sharpened his fury.

"You think yourselves higher? You think yourselves just? When once, we ruled everything! When the night truly belonged to us, and we where not slaves kept on tight leeches!"

His lips peeled back, fangs glinting under the dim candlelight.

"Life was better when we roamed with pride, when the old elders and our king led the glorious charge, but what did we do, we flee and spread, kidnapped and force separating us from our heritage, we greater when our home was still the Monster World, we our kind bowed to none! You'll regret this day, all seven of your precious houses! Glory be to King He...

He didn't finish the name.

Because in the next instance, a flash of silver light streaked through the air, so fast it didn't make a sound...just a wet pop that followed after. His skull cracked open like a fruit, the top half sliding off cleanly before his body slumped forward, twitching as crimson sprayed the Executioner's robes.

The silence afterward was deafening.

The other three began to scream.

"No! No, please, wait!"

They pleaded one after another, however before the cutting board, no cries for help was acknowledge. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"We didn't mean to do what we did please! We where only hungry...Have mercy!"

The Executioner's staff rose again, his eyes devoid of emotion.

The wepaon in his hand seem capable of barrage of things, cutting, casting, bashing and piercings.

And the sound that followed was surgical.

CRACK!!

SLASH!!

SNAP!!

Each cry ended quicker than it began. The smell of iron thickened in the air, and the marble beneath the captives turned slick with the pooled blood of their kin.

But one moved.

The last vampire, trembling, his face painted with panic and fury, twisted violently in his bonds.

His Astrum flared wild, unstable, and desperate, as he use nature magic, channelling the last of his magic, as his magic circle began to form, undoing the metal binds be aging it to the point of corrosion.

The crimson chains glowed, then fractured with a thunderous CRANG!

As the chain snape, and shattered into red mist.

The spectators flinched.

"What...how!?"

One of the guards shouted, stepping back.

The vampire's breath came out ragged, feral.

"I won't die here!"

He hissed, his voice breaking into madness.

"Not for your false order!"

He turned sharply, lunging toward the edge of the platform, eyes wild with the fleeting promise of escape.

That is when Adam spoke, his voice low, calm, and almost bored.

"You want me to take care of that?"

Priscilla didn't even blink. Her expression remained placid, her gaze fixed ahead as she replied softly.

"Do as you please. But you don't really have to, it is not our job anyway."

Adam smiled faintly beneath his mask, a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Then everything stopped.

Or at least, that is how it looked to everyone else.

The flicker of the torches froze mid-wave. The falling droplets of blood hung suspended in the air like scattered rubies. Even the rippling dust caught in the faint wind seemed still.

But Adam moved.

He didn't bend time, he simply outran it.

His Monster energy surged outward, an unseen storm rippling through his veins. It amplified his body in ways few could even comprehend, every muscle, every joint, every nerve lit up, burning with unnatural power as strength and speed increases unendingly. His perception stretched until each heartbeat of the world felt like an eternity.

The marble cracked under his first step.

In less than a breath, he was there, behind the fleeing vampire. His hand shot out, fingers digging into the man's face. Bone gave way beneath the pressure, skin tearing under the strength of a being who had long transcended mortal limits.

The vampire would screamed if it realize it's own demise in this slow down world, but no one could hear it if that was even possible.

This far only Priscilla followed his movements with eyes.

Adam with sadistic grin, Adam pulled, and he pulled hard.

Right after, there was a sound, a wet sound followed by meaty pop, alongside the whistling of air rushing into the empty space where a head used to be.

Blood spattered across the polished floor in an arc, catching the red light like a rain of rubies.

Yet Adam so fast not single drop of blood stein his clothes during this process.

He exhaled quietly, the motion deliberate, almost gentle. Then he turned and walked back to where he had stood beside Priscilla, the severed head still in his hand.

And with that, time resumed.

The vampire who had just broken free took one step, then froze.

For an instant, confusion crossed his face before his body stumbled forward, lifeless. The head was simply gone. His corpse hit the marble with a heavy thud, blood pooling beneath his collar.

SPLURRRTTTT!!!

Blood from where his head once was on his shoulder sprayed upwards like a volcano bathing everyone within proximity of it.

The shocked face of the crowd became apparent very quickly, as they could not comprehend what had just happen to them it was instant act death.

"...w-w-What… what the hell just happened!?"

someone shouted, panic cracking their composure.

Then...a scream.

The Executioner staggered backward, his composure shattered, as the severed head dropped right in front of him, rolling until it stopped inches from his boots.

The eyes were still open, faintly twitching, as if trying to understand how death had come so suddenly.

The Executioner tripped over himself and fell back hard, shouting in pure fright.

"By the Blood of the Arbiters."

But the scene only deepened, Adam who was previously beside Priscilla was now infront of the executioner.

Adam then knelt slowly, one knee pressing into the marble. He held the head by its hair, after picking it up again, his golden eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light, studying it, not with cruelty, but with a detached sort of curiosity.

The vampire's body behind him was already turning to ash, the chains that once bound him now nothing but crimson dust drifting on the air.

The scent of iron mixed with that of burning flesh, filling the hall like incense at a shrine for the damned.

Adam tilted his head slightly, his voice low, almost respectful.

"Hold on to this Mr. Executioner."

He set the head gently onto the cold wooden stage. Its mouth twitched once before the flesh began to crumble, disintegrating like burnt paper.

The Executioner stared in silence, his hands trembling. Around them, no one dared breathe too loudly.

Even the air seemed afraid of him.

But the confusion died out as soon, a voice echoed into the hall.

"Enough of being shocked and confused already."

Priscilla's voice rang out clear, slicing through the tension like falling steel through tied paper.

"You all are vampires, for crying out loud."

Her tone wasn't loud, yet it carried, echoing through the entire hall.

Some had already noticed her presence, the blond drilled-haired Arbiter standing there among them, but hadn't dared to react, uncertain if what they saw was real.

They didn't stay uncertain for long.

Because as Priscilla took a single step forward, her aura unfurled. The air shifted, heavy, oppressive, divine in its authority.

Every vampire in the room felt it deep within their marrow, a compulsion older than blood, older than the Tower itself.

No introduction was needed.

No one needed to ask who she was.

One by one, like puppets pulled by invisible strings, they fell to their knees. The sound of bodies dropping in perfect sync filled the chamber, a single unified thud that reverberated through the room.

As knee hit floor.

And then, in one voice, perfectly aligned as if bound by the same soul, they spoke.

"We greet Lady Arbiter."

Even the Executioner, who still sat frozen on the floor, jolted back to life. He scrambled upright, then bowed so low his forehead almost touched the blood-slick wood, his voice trembling with devotion and terror alike.

"My Lady Arbiter!"

Priscilla exhaled softly, her gaze sweeping over them all with quiet authority.

"You can get up now."

They obeyed instantly.

As the crowd rose in silence, she fixed her attention on the Executioner, her eyes narrowing faintly.

"Diablem."

The man stiffened, lifting his head only enough to meet her gaze.

"Y-Yes, my Lady?"

"Where is your leader?"

She asked.

"Where is Mordux La'Terra!?"

He swallowed hard before answering.

"Lord Mordux went out on an important hunt, upon the orders of the 2nd Arbiter my Lady. He should return by midnight."

At that, Priscilla's hand came up to her face, a soft sigh escaping between her lips.

"So I came here for nothing."

She muttered, dragging her palm down over her features.

"How bothersome."

Before Diablem could respond, a voice, deep and composed, drifted from the back of the hall.

"Come now, Diablem."

The voice said with a faint note of amusement.

"You know if I say I'll be back by midnight, that means at the latest. Tonight's Blood Hunt was rather easy, surprisingly."

Every head turned.

From the shadowed archway at the far end of the hall, a tall figure emerged. His steps were unhurried, yet confident — each one clicking softly against the wood and stone echoing like a metronome of power.

He wore a full black and white mask that hide his entire face, even his eyes. His skin was pale, extremely pale, put doing the natrual alabaster of most vampires.

In his right hand, he carried a large and bloodied sack, which he tossed effortlessly onto the stage before the tribunal.

The sound it made when it hit was wet.

The sack rolled once, spilling its contents.

Heads — severed vampire heads — tumbled across the floor, their eyes still faintly glowing, mouths gagged with enchanted seals, and strange silver plates wedged beneath their necks to prevent regeneration.

All of them was still alive.

The air filled with the scent of blood.

Instantly, Priscilla's crimson eyes snapped toward the masked man, her lips parting to speak, perhaps to chastise him for making her wait.

But before she could get a word out, the man strode past her as though she wasn't even there.

Priscilla froze, mid-motion, her irritation dying on her tongue.

He stopped right before Adam. His gloved hand reached out, gripping Adam's chin firmly, turning his face side to side with the cold precision of someone trying to confirm something extremely important.

Then his voice trembled just slightly after confirming what he was looking for.

"Oh… dearest sister Ange…

He murmured, his tone breaking into something softer, something painful.

"He looks just like you."

His hand lowered, trembling faintly.

"By the gracious Mother Gaia…

He whispered, his voice heavy with disbelief and awe.

"So it is true. The last of the Horned Ones… my dearest nephew… you are alive."