The Price of a Challenge

Clang! Thud!

With two sharp strikes, Shest’s blade thrust towards Iqiyah’s neck.

However, contrary to Shest’s expectations, there was no gruesome spray of blood. She felt none of the peculiar sensation of piercing flesh and scraping bone.

Instead, her hand met only an unyielding, iron-like hardness, resisting the sharp edge of her sword.

Without a hint of evasion, Iqiyah stood her ground, receiving Shest’s full-force attack directly with her neck.

“What—what is happening!?”

“Hmph, did you not see all those buffs flashing just now!?”

The next moment, the sword’s edge shattered, and the sudden loss of balance sent Shest tumbling to the ground.

“You—you cheated!” Shest ground out, her eyes filled with despair. “How can you use buffs in a vampire duel!”

“Weren’t you the one who cheated first, though?”

Iqiyah placed a foot barely a centimeter from Shest’s crotch, then bent down, tilting her head to expose the tender skin of her neck to Shest.

“Come on, hit me here, come on!”

“This… this isn’t right!” Observing Iqiyah at such close range, Shest could no longer suppress her terror, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face. “Divine-tier amplification!? This is impossible! Even at your peak, you couldn’t unleash an amplification of this magnitude!”

“Oh?” Iqiyah maintained her smile. “For that, you’ll have to ask a certain seemingly easy-to-bully familiar.”

“Could it—could it be!?”

Shest’s gaze drifted across the stands, finally landing on Seraphina, who stood among the spectators.

“Is it her!?”

‘But that person, at a glance, radiated nothing but absolute weakness. It was utterly impossible for them to wield such a divine-tier skill!’

“Find it unbelievable?” Seeing through Shest’s bewilderment, Iqiyah nudged her with her foot. “I find it quite unbelievable myself…”

“I’m curious, just what kind of death-defying resolve did you have to challenge me?”

“Are you… ready to face death?”

As she spoke, a crimson glow erupted from Iqiyah’s body.

Like the sprawling branches of a colossal tree, blood-red tentacles wove into a vast net behind her, blotting out the sky.

Beneath the oppressive gloom, all Shest could perceive was the brilliant red light blazing from Iqiyah’s crimson eyes!

‘This is bad…’

Shest knew that by striking Iqiyah’s neck, she had sealed her own fate; death was now inevitable.

But even in death…

She shifted her gaze towards Seraphina.

‘That person! I can confirm, they are definitely weak!’

‘They can’t possibly block my attack!’

‘Hmph, hmph, Iqiyah, you must truly cherish this familiar, right?’

‘Then! Even if I die, I’ll make you suffer excruciatingly!’

‘Bid farewell to your familiar, Iqiyah!’

Hastily scrambling to her feet, Shest aimed towards Seraphina, pushing off with the balls of her feet—

Yet, just as she was about to launch herself forward, an immense pressure suddenly pinned her feet, rendering her immobile.

‘Iqiyah?’

Shest looked down at her feet.

‘No, this isn’t Iqiyah.’

‘Then who…?’

“Shest!”

Within Shest’s mind, a voice abruptly resonated.

“Don’t do anything foolish! You won’t die; let me intercede for you!”

No sooner had the words faded than a dark figure suddenly appeared before Shest.

“Miss Scarlett.”

The shadowy figure positioned themselves between Iqiyah and Shest, shielding Shest securely behind them.

“Please, show mercy.”

Even confronting Iqiyah’s tsunami-like wave of crimson power, the shadow’s voice remained utterly devoid of panic.

“Hm?” The red glow within the darkness dimmed slightly. “You are…?”

“I am Celia Redster, head of the Redster family. I extend my sincerest greetings to you, Miss Scarlett.”

“I implore you, for my sake, to spare Shest’s life.”

“Your sake? What is your sake worth!?” Iqiyah’s voice trembled, clearly incandescent with rage.

“The Redster family, much like the Scarlett family, is among the oldest and most powerful clans of the vampires. I hope you will grant me this courtesy,” Celia stated, her voice neither humble nor arrogant, betraying no change in tone.

“Much like!? Are you insulting me!?”

Evidently, Iqiyah had caught the hidden meaning in Celia’s words. “Do you truly believe I am unaware of the conflicts of yesteryear!?”

“No, no, you have not forgotten, nor have we, but…” Celia’s tone shifted. “So many years have passed since those conflicts, and in all that time, no vampire has died…”

“Surely you would not wish to tarnish the Scarlett family’s reputation by reversing this course of history?”

“You have the nerve to lecture me!?” Iqiyah roared. “If not for Seraphina, it would likely be your family reversing this course!”

“Now, immediately, get out of my sight! Otherwise, I will kill you both!”

As the crimson storm raged with increasing ferocity, Shest’s heart plunged into despair.

“Mother,” she pleaded with Celia, “please, you must leave quickly. I don’t want to implicate you.”

“Silence,” Celia retorted. “I still have a trump card.”

Far from retreating, Celia merely cleared her throat.

“Miss Scarlett.”

“I repeat: the Redster family, like the Scarlett family, is among the most powerful and influential clans of the vampires.”

“Should you offend us, even if the Scarlett family were to rise again, you would face the opposition of half the vampire world.”

“However, if you show leniency, the Redster family will embrace the nascent Scarlett family. Together, we can forge a path towards the future.”

“Will you reconsider?”

Hearing this, Iqiyah froze.

After several minutes of silence, the blood-red tentacles behind Iqiyah slowly receded, and light once again filled Shest’s eyes. She had survived.

“I hope the Redster family will not forget today’s promise.”

‘Forge a path towards the future together?’

‘It was nothing short of a blatant threat!’

Knowing the historical plight of the Scarlett family, Iqiyah chose to yield.

‘Damn it all, this is truly infuriating.’

Without another word, Iqiyah cast a look of utter disgust at the two before her, then turned and departed.

****

“Damn! This is truly infuriating!”

Godia slammed his fists onto his thighs, then plopped onto a chair, nearly sending Seraphina, who was beside him, flying.

Yet, he couldn’t be blamed; the outcome of this duel had genuinely left him seething.

“Indeed… that poor child was truly wronged.”

With the duel concluded, the vampires began to exit the arena.

Judging by their grim expressions, it was clear that none of the vampires were particularly pleased with the duel’s conclusion.

“Ah, cheer up. It seems the Redster family lost everything this time, so we’ve profited~”

Seraphina patted Godia’s back, though his towering height made it quite a stretch.

“However… Seraphina.”

Godia turned to Seraphina. “I was just wondering, you’re merely a familiar, and only at level one… how exactly did you manage to cast a divine-tier spell?”

‘Ah, it’s that question again, the one I don’t know the answer to.’

Seraphina waved her hand, about to answer Godia, but to her surprise, Godia spoke first—

“However, I’ve already figured it out.”

“Do you remember? I told you that you carried the aura of another deity.”

“The power that coalesced around you just now was precisely that of the unknown deity!”