The Price of Recklessness

“Hmph!”

The longsword, forged from coalescing shadows, cleaved towards the vampire ahead.

The sheer wind pressure generated by its high-speed trajectory made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

Amidst the young woman’s fierce cry, the palace, which had been suspended in the sky, plummeted with a thunderous roar.

“What a reckless child.”

An affected, sickeningly sweet voice drifted from behind her, prompting Xiu Lan to instinctively swing her sword backward.

“Clang!”

‘Blocked?’

Her gaze caught a glimpse of a folded parasol.

As Xiu Lan’s most potent attack, the Shadow Sword’s power was evident to all present.

Just moments ago, a single strike had brought down the sky palace, yet now, it was effortlessly parried by this mere parasol.

‘This woman possesses considerable power, doesn’t she?’

Xiu Lan mused, ‘Could Old Wu’s boasts about high-ranking vampires actually be true? This woman is clearly in a league of her own compared to him.’

With this thought, Xiu Lan intensified her strength.

The black shadow sword, like a bolt of lightning beneath the crimson sky, tore through Irina’s defenses, plunging into a substantial embrace.

‘Hmm… what is this?’

‘I squeezed it… soft…’

“Boom!”

Accompanied by a colossal explosion, the young woman plummeted headfirst towards the ground below.

Even shielded by shadows, her impact left a deep crater.

“Are you alright?”

Robin, rushing over, asked with concern.

Though aware of Xiu Lan’s strength, seeing her fall in such an O-qi Xianxing fashion (TL Note: A dramatic, often exaggerated, crash-landing or pose, similar to how a superhero might fall in anime or manga.) still made her heart pound with anxiety, fearing the worst.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft! That fiend played dirty with me!”

Spitting out non-existent dust, Xiu Lan clambered out of the pit, her voice filled with indignation.

“Oh dear, oh dear, touching a lady’s sensitive parts without permission warrants punishment.”

Irina floated mid-air, her hand covering her face, a red gem hovering before her, occasionally rippling with energy.

‘The command given to the gem was [Annihilate], yet the result was merely [Knocked Down]?’

From her days of exploration and use, it was clear the gem’s essence was that of a colossal, perhaps even infinite, energy source.

Upon receiving a command, it would bypass all intermediate steps, directly manifesting the desired outcome.

However, its efficacy remained bound by the user’s imagination and their comprehension of the adversary.

For instance, battling an incomprehensible entity like a [Black-Blooded Species] would likely lead to her defeat due to an inability to devise a suitable countermeasure.

Moreover, using the gem required extreme mental concentration, meaning she could not perform two actions simultaneously using the gem.

Given this.

With a flash of the gem.

Blood-thorns erupted behind Irina, rapidly proliferating until they covered half the sky within moments.

“Let’s see how long you can endure.”

The golden-haired vampire declared.

The next moment.

Arrows rained down.

Blood-thorns plummeted.

“Come here.”

In the dire situation, Xiu Lan instinctively grabbed Robin, who was still staring blankly nearby.

As Robin struggled and flailed, black shadows enveloped Xiu Lan entirely.

Lacking a clear understanding of her own power, she naturally couldn’t accurately gauge the enemy’s attack strength.

Facing the vampire’s overwhelming, grand-scale offensive, Xiu Lan, feeling a shameful surge of cowardice, activated her ‘turtle shell’ tactic, clutching Robin close.

‘I hope it holds.’

The young woman, encased in shadows, closed her eyes and prayed.

How much time had passed?

The impacts on her body gradually ceased.

Xiu Lan opened her eyes, surveying her surroundings.

What greeted her was a ravaged landscape, pockmarked with vast craters and the lingering remnants of some vampires…

“The werewolf!”

Suddenly remembering a forgotten comrade, who might have been reduced to vampire paste by now, the young woman was consumed by grief and indignation.

‘This is the classic case of ‘I didn’t kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me.’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘Wo Bu Sha Bo Ren, Bo Ren Que Yin Wo Er Si,’ meaning one unintentionally causes harm or death to another through their actions, even if not directly.)’

Poke. Poke. Poke.

“What are you doing?”

Robin pointed at a white figure sprawled in the distance.

‘Oh, he’s not dead. Well, that’s fine then.’

She swiftly refocused, searching for the enemy’s presence.

‘This one…’ Robin looked at Xiu Lan with a complex expression.

The sensation of being embraced resurfaced, the softness of her chest completely overturned Robin’s assumptions about the person before her.

“Liu…”

“Clang.”

The clash of weapons interrupted her thoughts.

Xiu Lan, having survived the recent onslaught, had clearly gained greater confidence.

Now, relying on her ‘turtle shell’ defense, she was chasing Irina, darting and leaping about.

“I must admit, excluding those heroes, you rank among the foremost humans I have ever encountered.”

The protracted struggle had begun to annoy Irina.

The red gem hovered before her, as she decided to end the fight with the next strike.

Simulating a scene she once witnessed, she declared:

“Allow me to show you the power that can save the world!”

A crimson pillar of light formed in her hands.

Xiu Lan could distinctly sense the world’s unease.

Undoubtedly, this was the vampire’s ultimate hidden technique, a power capable of shattering everything.

‘A quick decisive battle.’

Xiu Lan naturally wouldn’t grant Irina ample time to charge.

She gathered the shadows enveloping her body into her hand, reforming them into a sword.

Crossing through space, she appeared before Irina and cleaved downward with her blade.

This was Xiu Lan’s most potent strike to date.

She was confident it would utterly annihilate the vampire.

However…

Just as the shadow sword and the vampire were about to connect.

Irina suddenly vanished…

‘How is that possible?’

Xiu Lan stared blankly at the empty void before her.

[Life-Devouring Hounds] had locked onto the enemy right there, yet the person had disappeared without a trace.

“It’s time to end this.”

That was Irina’s voice.

‘Where?’

‘Where did she go?’

‘That damned bi—…’

Time ceased here.

It was as if a game’s pause button had been pressed; everything in the world became still, except for…

“Oh ho ho, such is the power of the gem.”

Irina caressed the rare treasure in her hand with a look of obsession.

“With this power, even the supreme arcanum of [Time Stop] can be easily achieved.

I daresay I have now surpassed all my predecessors.”

“What a pity that only I can witness this beautiful spectacle.

It’s truly regrettable, wouldn’t you agree, little troublemaker who came to cause mischief?”

The golden-haired vampire strolled gleefully towards Xiu Lan.

At this moment, the young woman, cloaked in shadows, remained utterly motionless, frozen in the act of swinging her sword.

To deal with a heavily defended ‘turtle,’ Irina’s chosen method was to wait for it to expose its limbs, then slice them off one by one.

Through several prior tests, she had understood the defense mechanism of the person before her.

The layer of shadow constructing her exterior resembled armor, with her true body nestled within.

When Xiu Lan employed a high-intensity attack, the defense in a specific part of her body would naturally weaken or even vanish.

Therefore, Irina had employed a secret technique she had observed from a certain hero, specifically to trick Xiu Lan into unleashing her ultimate attack and seize that fleeting moment of weakness.

So, the answer was simple.

The world slowed to a frame-by-frame crawl in the vampire’s eyes as she sought Xiu Lan’s vulnerable points.

Finally, her gaze settled on the black-clad young woman’s right arm, where an imperceptibly tiny spot existed.

She smiled, saying, “Bid farewell to this world, you reckless and foolish child.”

Power bypassed the shadow’s protection.

Irina clapped her hands together, a look of satisfaction gracing her features.

“Now, let time flow.”

The static world received its permission and began to operate once more.

“Liu Yu!”

“You wretched harlot, where did you go—ugh, ugh?”

So much pain, so much pain, so much pain, so much pain.

Her body felt as if something had ripped it to shreds, and her consciousness grew incredibly hazy.

Unable to comprehend what had happened, Xiu Lan fell powerlessly towards the earth.

“Thud.”

Even so, the shadows continued to protect her outer body, preventing any damage whatsoever.

“Are you alright? Wake up, quickly!”

Robin frantically embraced Xiu Lan, but the body encased in shadows made it impossible to discern her condition.

“I…”

She couldn’t speak.

Consciousness ended here.

[Worthy of Respect]

‘This… place… is…’

[To have vanquished me with such a frail body, even if it was merely a fraction of my manifested power, is an accomplishment you may justly take pride in.]

‘Who… is… speaking…’

Xiu Lan laboriously opened her eyes.

In her blurry vision, an anomalous entity clad in black armor stood before her.

Insect-like wings fluttered behind it, and a gaping hole in its chest did nothing to diminish its imposing presence.

The sheer, terrifying pressure of its existence made it hard to breathe.

[As a mark of respect, I shall impart a portion of my purpose and the truth to you.]

“Get… out… of… this world.”

Who was speaking?

Though it was her own voice, it sounded utterly alien.

Disregarding the voice’s reprimand, the armored figure continued speaking, unconcerned:

[We, who dwell above the Sea of Demonic Strings, were meant to endure eternally. Yet, the Pure Light cleanses the world, making us its foe, transforming our homeland into mere foam.]

‘Ugh… ugh…’

[To gain strength against the power of the Pure Light, we of the Abyssal Prison shall destroy countless worlds residing above the Sea of Demonic Strings, seeking a chance at victory.]

‘Un… able… to… under… stand…’

[There is no need for comprehension. You need only know that we are your enemies, destined to destroy the world upon which you depend for survival.]

[My battle with you has drawn a sliver of the Light. This world is on the cusp of upheaval. I shall engrave this defeat into my memory.]

The wound on the armored figure’s chest gradually expanded.

Its voice, booming and resolute, declared:

[Strive to live on. I hope to see you again next time. Until we meet again.]

‘Dis… appeared…’

Like a dream, everything would return to its original state upon waking.

The armored figure dissipated into the air like foam, leaving nothing but Xiu Lan’s ravaged body to prove its existence.

“First, inform the association of this information.”

Struggling to straighten herself, Xiu Lan intended to leave this place.

‘What… was… that…?’

[The Light] appeared.

The moment she saw it, an unprecedented terror surged through Xiu Lan’s heart.

An apex predator, that was it—the apex predator dwelling above the Sea of Demonic Strings, the nemesis of all life, all things.

From the young woman’s perception, it was merely an almost imperceptible wisp, yet it seemed to encompass everything.

Staring intently, she perceived endless worlds being born from within the light, only to be annihilated within it.

Human language utterly failed to describe its mode of existence.

If… if it were allowed to escape, then… what would become of this world?

Absolutely… it absolutely must not escape.

Trembling, Xiu Lan covered her right eye, as shadows flowed into her left.

‘I must keep it here. Absolutely!’

[As Far as the Eye Can See]

The range of her gaze was the range of her attack.

She swung her sword, and dense shadows coalesced into [Life-Devouring Hounds], swallowing it whole.