Poor Man

As Hestia’s voice echoed, Selina’s tense heart eased completely.

The fight’s over. I came to this banquet with enough cards to play.

Two divine artifacts, blessed by two gods, hung around her neck. Losing with such backing would be unthinkable.

Unlike some unlucky soul from Blue Star who called himself a “dirt clod,” Selina’s fortune held.

Hestia’s aid manifested, calming the cursed, raging blood in her veins. A gentle warmth soothed her eyes, and when she opened them, silver flames danced in her radiant gaze.

The blood-tinted domain cleared, the crimson mist no longer hiding Avia’s form.

Selina’s fighting spirit surged.

[Wind Spirit Moon Shadow: Fifth Stage, 32x Speed]

Avia lunged from behind, her sharp claws inches from Selina’s unprotected back.

But in a flash, Selina vanished, her speed triggering a sonic boom.

Spinning mid-air, she drove her twin silver daggers toward Avia’s back.

Instinct kicked in—Avia’s bloodline awakened, sprouting glossy black ghost wings that wrapped her in a cocoon.

Selina’s daggers sank halfway into the wings, blood dripping from the membranes.

Some of it morphed into crystal shards, firing like bullets at Selina’s face.

[Blade Art: Fleeting Cross]

Her daggers wove a net of light, intercepting the shards.

Kicking off Avia’s back, Selina propelled herself backward, creating distance.

Avia staggered, pain contorting her face.

Her wings, too damaged to retract, hung limply.

Her vampiric healing surged, but the wounds burned fiercely, resisting closure.

The silver flames on Selina’s blades weren’t mere mithril—ordinary mithril only affected lesser vampires and ghouls, not royals.

Only divine-infused attacks or rare alchemical poisons could suppress royal healing.

Avia’s bloodshot eyes fixed on the silver fire.

Divine flames, not Aemiya’s divine sheen.

Her mind spiraled. All evidence points to her not having the Founder’s blood, yet her identity is no simple student.

Who comes to Tianqi without secrets? If Selina wasn’t her target, what were all her plans, her resolve, for? Am I just fooling myself? The absurdity gnawed at her.

Seeing Avia’s fighting spirit wane, Selina exhaled.

Good. She’s realized I don’t have this Founder’s blood. This pointless fight should end.

Logic suggested as much, but reality often defied it. A slight sting on her cheek drew her attention—blood from a graze caused by a stray crystal shard.

To an elf like Selina, it was trivial, healing in moments. But that tiny detail reignited the battle.

Avia’s sharp senses caught the scent of Selina’s blood.

Her vacant, confused eyes flared with life, her body trembling as if a primal trigger had been pulled.

The faint divine trace of the Founder’s blood in Selina’s scent was unmistakable.

It’s not just carried—every drop of her blood pulses with the Founder’s divinity.

To Avia, Selina was no longer a potential asset but a walking treasury she’d sacrifice everything to seize.

With her blood, Avia could purify her own, gaining limitless power, rendering all schemes obsolete.

Desire and old grudges flooded Avia’s heart.

Crimson mist swirled, severed vines glowing red.

Selina sensed Avia’s rising body temperature—a terrifying sign.

Vampires ran cold, their bodies akin to cooled corpses.

For them, normal body heat was scorching; their blood had a boiling point, and they could control it.

But if it reached that point, they entered a dangerous state, their rationality plummeting as their physical stats skyrocketed.

Fighting a boiling vampire wasn’t facing a sentient being—it was battling a monstrous, all-enhanced beast.

“Are you insane?!” Selina groaned.

Didn’t we just prove I’m not the Founder’s blood carrier? Why’s she going berserk again? Women were hard to read—and as a woman herself, Selina felt doubly exasperated. She just wanted to eat, drink, and talk, not brawl endlessly with a mad vampire.

“You’re what I seek—my only hope!” Avia’s voice, laced with obsessive fervor, roared as her rationality burned away.

Her bloodline’s madness took over. Selina felt the terrifying aura explode from her.

This was no longer a skirmish—Avia was fighting to kill.

Dodging a chain-claw strike that cratered the ground behind her, Selina’s gaze hardened.

“You brought this on yourself. Don’t blame me.” She could tolerate Avia’s status as a princess once or twice, but not thrice.

I’m a princess too—not her punching bag. Someone out there cared if she got hurt.

Blood surged like a mire at Avia’s feet, shrinking Selina’s footing.

A bad premonition hit.

Boom!

Crystal explosions rang out as the blood pool stirred like a monster’s lake.

Blood waves rose, revealing dozens of skeletal blood pythons, their titan-like forms looming, cold serpentine eyes locking onto Selina.

Their gaping maws, reeking of blood and rot, lunged to devour her.

The blood-covered ground offered no escape, and scaled walls closed in.

Above, a giant mouth loomed.

Selina’s shadow flickered in the blood sea.

The pythons coiled, crushing her space.

Then—a silver energy beam tore through scales and flesh, scattering the beasts into chunks.

Blood rain fell, rippling the sea. Selina stood at the center, her gem-encrusted sword wreathed in silver flames, a clean patch of ground beneath her.

Avia charged, endless blood forming weapons—claws, spikes, chains—sealing Selina’s retreat.

Her crazed eyes seemed ready to burst with desire. Above, crimson magic arrays spun, eerie scythes slicing through clouds as if reaping dead souls.

Skeletal hands clawed from the blood sea, grasping at Selina’s ankles, dragging her toward a deeper abyss.

Facing attacks from all sides, Selina gazed calmly at Avia’s maddened face, pitying her frenzied eyes and bared fangs.

“Poor thing,” she sighed, gripping her gem sword.

Immense power and radiant light gathered, flames blazing fiercely, their core a blinding spark.

She drew her sword, her aura surging, skirt swaying. All light seemed to drain into her blade.

With one swing, a massive energy beam swept away everything, its purity overwhelming.

In the white light, Selina glimpsed a familiar figure. A foreign memory unfolded—Avia’s past—triggered by the clash of divine energies and Hestia’s authority, briefly merging their minds.