Field

Cold liquid dripped down Avia’s cheek, the sting of a wound on her skin sharp but overshadowed by the numbness gripping her heart.

She raised her head stiffly, gazing at the girl wielding twin daggers before her.

In the candlelight, Selina’s figure shone vibrant, a beacon in the dim hall.

Darkness couldn’t swallow her—she illuminated it. Her confidence, her poise, her very existence radiated a purity that sparked both envy and resentment in Avia.

Selina stood like a fairy-tale princess, effortlessly captivating, her humanity a stark contrast to Avia’s own shadowed struggle.

Avia’s vampiric instincts screamed, urging her to tear into flesh, to drink warm blood, to wield her scythe and reap lives.

Yet, this wasn’t her desire. Once, she couldn’t bear to harm even a blood livestock, choosing to sip less to spend more time with those gentle creatures.

She loathed the cruelty of claws rending flesh, despised the monstrous greed of sinking fangs into a neck.

But fate had betrayed her. When she was restrained before her mother, her terror and despair were unmatched, her mother’s helpless sobs echoing as royal blood was forced into her veins, stripping away her simple dreams.

Why? Avia had only wanted to live quietly with her mother, surrounded by animals, never harming them despite her vampiric nature.

Yet her kindness dragged her into an abyss, her ideals tainted by insatiable desire.

“Why? Why does everything defy my wishes?” she screamed, her voice raw.

Bloodlight surged from her feet, enveloping the space. Crimson crystals formed a grand, eerie palace, towering blood pillars rising as a red crescent moon hung in the sky—a manifestation of her inherent domain.

Selina scanned her surroundings, her sharp senses analyzing the flow of magic.

She touched the invisible mist in the air, her dark eyes narrowing. “An inherent domain?” she murmured, impressed.

Tianqi Academy had an age limit—Avia, likely around Felicia’s age of 25, had crafted a personal domain, a feat rare even among prodigies.

Felicia, an elven princess, hadn’t mastered hers until 23, after her second holy baptism.

A domain’s power was terrifying; had Felicia possessed one five years ago, Selina’s Wind Moon Shadow ninth stage wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“You recognize it?” Avia asked from the crystal palace’s center, her voice calm but laced with self-mockery. “What do you think of my domain?”

“Grand, magnificent, but eerie,” Selina replied honestly.

Avia’s laugh was bitter. “Beautiful, isn’t it? But it’s a facade. They say a domain reflects the caster’s heart.

Beneath this grandeur lies nothing but filthy desire.” Her voice dripped with disdain. “I thought my heart would conjure a vibrant meadow, a fairy-tale castle.

But I’m no different from Camilla and the others.”

“Camilla?” Selina’s eyes sharpened.

The name belonged to the Blood Empire’s eldest princess, second only to the Vampire Queen in renown.

“You’ve wondered why I’m after you,” Avia said, her voice chillingly composed, her red heels clicking as she closed the distance.

“It’s the Founder’s blood. You carry it—the origin of all vampires, our divine ancestor. Its power elevates anyone, genius or failure, to unparalleled heights. And you have it.”

“Nonsense,” Selina shot back. “If I had something that powerful, I’d know. I’ve barely dealt with vampires—how could I have the Founder’s blood?” As a former thief, she knew treasures; she’d recognize such a relic.

“That’s what baffles me,” Avia said. “Vampire blood is corrosive, assimilating other races into our kind.

The Founder’s blood amplifies this, transforming anyone into a vampire, regardless of their original race.

No vampire can resist high-quality blood, yet you ignored my royal blood.

Selina, I’m more curious about your true identity than ever.” In her domain, Avia’s presence grew regal, a queen overlooking Selina from her throne-like perch.

“I’m just a student,” Selina said, deflecting while scanning for the domain’s weak points.

Fighting in Avia’s domain was a disadvantage—she’d faced domains before, but those battles risked her life recklessly.

Now, her life wasn’t hers alone to gamble. If something happens to me, how will Karina in the Elven Kingdom or Felicia here react?

“Enough meaningless talk,” Avia snapped. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll find the answers in your blood.

No secret is hidden from a vampire’s blood analysis.” The mist solidified, and Avia vanished within it, danger permeating every inch of the air. The ground split, blood-red thorns erupting toward Selina.

[Blood Magic: Crimson Thorns]

Selina prepared to counter with her blade arts, but a searing pain tore through her, her blood defying logic, flowing backward, straining against her veins as if controlled.

Her body froze, the thorns closing in from three directions.

Without action, she’d be prey.

“Tch!” With a reluctant grunt, emerald green light enveloped her, vibrant vitality sprouting tough vines from the ground.

[Nature Magic: Razor Thorns]

The dark green vines coiled around the blood-crystal thorns, snapping them into pieces under Selina’s mental command.

The immediate threat neutralized, Selina spun, her twin daggers slashing behind her.

Clang!

Her blades met Avia’s blood scythe, their eyes locking—black against crimson.

“Oh? You wield nature magic too? I thought you were all about martial skills,” Avia teased, her voice laced with eerie charm.

Selina’s eyes narrowed, her blood still tugged by an unseen force, weakening her strength.

“You’re the surprising one, manipulating my blood without a medium.”

“Flattering, but you’re no slouch, Selina,” Avia purred, licking her lips, her eyes glinting.

“A human would’ve burst from that blood control. Yet you’re only affected. I’m dying to know who you really are.”

“Want to know? Come take it!” Selina broke their blade lock, magic surging.

[Wind Magic: Song of the Zephyr]

Her chant summoned spiraling winds, tearing at the domain’s mist.

Avia vanished again, her mocking laugh echoing. “Useless.

This domain reflects my heart—no wind can clear my inner shadows.”

As predicted, the mist resisted the gales. When the spell faded, silence returned, Avia’s next attack unpredictable.

The battle stalled—Selina couldn’t find the domain’s weak point, and Avia’s control chipped away at her strength.

Her blood manipulation limited Selina’s martial skills, and her few high-tier spells couldn’t break the stalemate. Do I have to use that move?

As she weighed her options, a familiar, gentle voice echoed in her mind: “Don’t panic, don’t falter. Listen to my song. With your heart, your eyes, your fire, pierce this false mist…”

Hestia!