A Swift Victory

“How does it feel to be bombed by elemental magic?”

The girl curled her lips and asked, looking at the black figure in the center of the giant pit.

“Cough, cough…”

Noct, whose original appearance was unrecognizable, hunched over and let out a hoarse cough.

Thick black smoke billowed from his mouth, and residual electric arcs flickered faintly in the dry air.

“It seems, Mr. Noct, you’re very satisfied with both roasting and electrocuting.”

Seeing the once European-style handsome man reduced to his current disheveled state, Selina crouched down, cupped her face in her hands, and smiled sweetly, her emerald eyes filled with satisfied glee.

“You… you didn’t play fair!”

Noct struggled to tear open his fingers, which were scorched and stuck together by the flames. His trembling black index finger wobbled as it pointed at the girl’s figure.

Clearly, even though his voice was hoarse and unpleasant, a distinct and intense anger could still be heard within it.

“How can you blame me? You can only blame yourself for being too arrogant, thinking everyone’s thoughts aligned with yours, resulting in a complete defeat.”

The girl’s voice, like a sharp Mithril dagger, pierced Noct’s heart.

Even though this body had broken free from the vampire’s natural lifespan limitations, and even though his bloodline was now much stronger than before, certain inherent flaws were etched into his bones and difficult to change even with a new body.

Vampires’ fear of fire far surpassed that of other races. Exorcists or priests in the common folk often used burning as an efficient method to deal with low-level vampires or mindless ghouls.

However, at Noct’s high bloodline level as a Vampire Prince, ordinary flames should have been of little use to him, but the flames the girl summoned were different…

Unlike the crimson or bright red of other flames, these flames were closer to a pale golden hue.

This was the manifestation of fire elements refined to their extreme threshold.

Pure flames were also called ‘Fire Essences.’ A wisp of Fire Essence could easily incinerate a forest, and he had just endured an entire one.

“The result of tanking the damage is extensive burns all over the body from the Fire Essences. Due to the girl’s flames being too pure, some fire toxins seeping through the wounds into the body are also difficult to clear, and the vampire’s abnormal healing ability is maximally restricted.”

Cough! Cough!

Perhaps it was anger overwhelming his heart.

Defeated by Selina twice in a row, and now being mocked, fury burned in his chest.

But his weakened body, not yet recovered, could not withstand such great emotional fluctuations.

Violent coughing mixed with black blood dripped onto the ground, and Noct’s life force weakened…

“You! Don’t rejoice too soon!”

With a shout, an extreme malevolence flashed in his dark red eyes. Noct seemed to have made a certain decision.

His previously hunched body suddenly straightened.

His partially restored claws sharpened and extended.

Then, he unhesitatingly plunged his own hand into his chest.

The churning of flesh was horrifying. Pain and grotesque expressions intertwined on his face.

An eerie heartbeat made breathing difficult. Then, blood splattered as he pulled out his still-beating heart from his body.

“This heart was originally meant to be implanted in your body, to be used as material for your corruption, but now there’s no need!”

Noct abruptly tilted his head back, clutching the beating heart and holding it above his mouth.

His fingers clenched tightly, and the vibrant heart exploded into pulped flesh with a bang.

Immediately after, the blood from the heart, brimming with potent vitality, flowed into his mouth.

The moment the heart’s blood entered his mouth, all the severe burns that had covered his body and resisted healing instantly mended.

His entire skin seemed to have recovered its former flawless appearance, but a large hole remained where his heart had been in his chest.

“Without a heart, even a vampire will die.”

Selina casually dispersed the magical runes in her hand and said coldly.

The heart was an extremely vital organ for vampires.

In the common lore of the Seraphis Continent, there was a widespread crude method of killing vampires by piercing their heart with a wooden stake.

Yet, this fellow had actually gouged out his own heart and consumed it as blood.

“It doesn’t matter. With my noble bloodline, even without a heart, I can still live for five minutes. These five minutes are enough to kill you! Then I will tear out the heart from your body and place it in my chest…”

“Originally, the plan instructed by the Demon God was to swap our hearts and corrupt you into a demon. Now, it seems unnecessary, because if you don’t die, my hatred will not be quelled!”

Looking at Noct, whose aura was rapidly intensifying, Selina’s face showed no sign of surprise.

“To be honest, I truly pity people like you. Throughout your life, you’ve chased after an illusory wish and had your eyes blinded by hatred. Revenge isn’t wrong, but your mistake was entering a stubborn blind spot.”

“Enough with the nonsense! This time, I’ll also use magic. Against a novice mage like you, who’s only got rudimentary skills, and having abandoned your skilled domain, you have no chance of winning!”

Noct roared, chanting a magical incantation unique to vampires.

[Blood Magic: Sea of Blood Devour]

The earth cracked open.

Endless blood surged from the fissures.

Broken corpses and rolled-back eyeballs, carried by towering waves of blood, roared towards the girl.

The bloody corrosion seemed to want to devour the girl’s existence, but the girl’s eyes remained clear.

“Sigh, from beginning to end, you never understood what I meant…”

The girl sighed, reached behind her, and once again drew the twin blades from their sheaths.

The crystal sword, shimmering with magical light, flew back onto her necklace.

As the magic dissipated, what covered her entire body again was the surging battle aura.

[Blade Technique: Hidden Dragon Breaks the Sea]

The howling blade energy condensed into the nascent form of an Eastern dragon in mid-air.

The divine dragon roared, surging against the roiling waves of blood.

The battle aura, condensed into a blood mist, tore through the putrid blood, forcefully cleaving a solitary path before the girl.

“Not so easy!”

Seeing the girl effortlessly break through his magic, Noct forcibly calmed himself. He clapped his hands together, concentrating the maximum magic he could generate in a short time, and unleashed his proud Dark Magic.

[Dark Magic: Pseudo-Transcendent: Divine Edict of Night]

Noct’s shadow behind him and the shadows on the ground completely merged.

From the depths of the darkness, a dark, twisted, mysterious entity gradually revealed an unbearable corner.

The shadow’s cloak fluttered in the wind. Its withered hands raised the scythe of life, vowing to cut down.

The powerful aura of the pseudo-Transcendent level magic pressured the ground, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear.

But the moment before she was affected by the aura, Selina had already anticipated this situation and unhesitatingly bit her tongue.

[Thief God Skill: Transcendence]

A rich, bloody taste filled her mouth.

The cells in her body operated wildly like ignited kindling.

Her metabolism was accelerated to an abnormal degree.

At the same time, Selina’s activation of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow miraculously broke through to the seventh stage.

The speed of the seven-stage Wind Spirit Moon Shadow was just enough to ignore the oppressive effects of pseudo-Transcendent magic. With this brief moment, Selina, soaring into the air, had already arrived before the great God of Night.

The twin blades in the girl’s hands shone with a sacred light amidst the thick, man-devouring shadows.

[Light-Element Fusion Blade Technique: Radiant Slash]

The light-element magic and blade technique skill created by Conde miraculously worked at this moment.

The elemental counter-affinity allowed the plan to be realized.

The blade of retribution, shimmering with sacred light, easily split the God of Night statue, which possessed a pseudo-divine aura, into two.

The ultimate light-element magic temporarily nullified the pseudo-Transcendent dark magic.

The blade of retribution pierced the God of Night’s neck, and the light intensity of the blade was visibly diminishing.

It wouldn’t be long before this pseudo-deity moved again.

The outcome of the battle rested on these crucial few seconds.

Selina leaped over the God of Night’s body, unhesitatingly pointing her blade at Noct, who was now completely unprotected.

[Basic Blade Technique: Slash]

[Basic Blade Technique: Spin]

[Basic Blade Technique: Intercept]

[Basic Blade Technique: Pierce]

This time, there were no more flashy blade techniques.

The girl’s body was as fast as lightning.

Each move and form of the twin blades unleashed from her hands contained the most basic, pure killing intent!

The spiderweb-like net of blades and the dazzling silver light directly embedded themselves into Noct’s flesh, which was utterly impossible to dodge.

He simply watched as his body was incrementally disintegrated, sliced to pieces.

His internal organs, blood, and eyeballs turned into countless tiny fragments.

His standing body finally collapsed into the deep pit, silent amidst the minced meat and blood.

The girl stood silently at the edge of the deep pit.

She calmly gazed at Noct’s remains, skillfully spun her blades, and sheathed them. Her indifferent voice echoed in the air.

“Failure is for you to find the reason, not to foolishly tread into unfamiliar territory. When you believed your failure was due to physical weakness and brought out martial arts to contend with me, your defeat was already sealed…”

“You thought I specialized in martial arts? No, actually, I have no principles. My principle is to use whatever is effective. Whether it’s a black cat or a white cat, the one that catches mice is a good cat.”

“Goodbye, Prince of Vampires, Noct…”

The silver-haired girl cast one last glance at the blood pouring into the great pit.

Her frail body vanished into the ruins, surrounded by an endless expanse of shadowy elements.