Chapter 257: Kamel Is Dead?
It was my first time seeing her in person.
Blood and snakes.
A being that evoked those two words.
Her beauty rivaled that of a golden-haired elf, and her figure was equally alluring. But the moment one became captivated by that allure, they were reduced to a handful of bloodstains, becoming nothing more than her nourishment.
“Excuse me. It would be troublesome if such a valuable research specimen were to be damaged.”
“And you call it ‘excuse me’ when you try to crush someone's head?”
“How unfortunate. You’re quicker than I thought?”
Crazy bitch.
Just from her aura alone, I had already figured out who she was.
The Blood-Drinking Chalice, Gram Seraphim.
Realizing that Gram would clash with Kamel, I had hidden myself and waited until one of them fell. Then, like lightning, I struck from the shadows.
I timed it perfectly, targeting the moment a crack appeared in the fight due to Lyon's arrival.
The ambush was a success, and I hunted Kamel.
But what I hadn't expected was her suddenly inserting herself at the end of the hunt.
She appeared before me with her mask off?
Gram, who always hid her identity thoroughly while operating outside.
Even the stars of Demtor didn’t know her true face. Yet she had revealed both her face and abilities in front of me.
Looking around, the black butterflies were gone.
I recalled what she had said just moments ago.
She had moved before things could be ruined.
She clearly understood Kamel’s situation and acted swiftly.
“How did she know??”
She even knew exactly which direction Kamel had fled.
But that question was short-lived.
Swsssh—
She drew out Kamel’s true blood, exhaled lightly, then pulled her hand out from his chest.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
“Kuhk!”
Kamel coughed up blood and collapsed weakly into her arms. She gently caressed his face and spoke.
“Kamel, you can't die yet. We have to work on you before death sets in or the decay will be irreversible. Ah, I guess it's hard now that your true blood is all drained?”
She murmured as if whispering to a lover. It was truly chilling.
She showed no emotion at the death of another.
A textbook psychopath.
“Ah, this doesn’t quite balance the books......”
She muttered something meaningless, fiddling with her ring, then looked at me.
Her relaxed expression and the way she blinked—it gave off a vibe that wouldn’t make most people feel threatened at all.
“Well then, excuse me.”
She turned her back as if to leave, but I moved urgently.
She's coming!
Vrrrip!
A cluster of crimson thorns stabbed toward me from behind.
They had sprouted from the blood-soaked ground where Kamel had fallen.
From the beginning, she had no intention of letting me live.
I had seen her face and her powers—of course she wouldn’t.
Ppppppbbffft!
The thorns burst simultaneously, scattering a storm of blood.
If it made contact, it’d be dangerous.
I activated Spectral Form and shielded every inch of my skin.
Where it touched, red smoke hissed up, and the surface began to melt.
A snake with a wicked nature.
Unlike Kamel, she was not someone I could afford to lower my guard against.
Seeing my response, her brow furrowed.
An expression of surprise.
“You’re a trickier one than I expected. I suppose it makes sense, considering what you did to Kamel.”
From within her robe, she pulled out a vial and drank it.
Then, a spear formed in her hand, made of black flames.
Pointing its blazing tip at me, she began to chant. I hurriedly raised my bow.
Vwooong!!!
A blinding light erupted as the bow formed.
I summoned an arrow of Divine Power and quickly scanned the surroundings.
Kamel, who had been by her side, had vanished.
Where did he go?
[Above.]
“Ab—??”
Reto detected the anomaly and warned me.
I saw Kamel slowly rising into the sky.
And then,
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAK—
A grotesque screech ripped through the sky.
A gale roared in, and a massive shadow darkened the surroundings.
It was enormous.
A giant blue monstrous bird swept over the forest canopy. As its luminous blue feathers scattered through the air, my eyes widened in disbelief as I recalled the creature’s name.
The monstrous bird—Fortea??
It was unmistakable. Fortea was a summoned creature, a monstrous bird that served only one master.
“Arcane?!”
Arcane, the Prophet of Fate.
He was here.
I spotted a man atop the bird’s head as it calmly flew off with Kamel in its grasp.
White hair fluttering in the wind.
The puzzle pieces finally clicked together.
Gram’s precise movements now made sense.
Arcane was her ally.
“To recognize Arcane so quickly... now I’m really curious about your identity.”
“You got Kamel’s information from Arcane?”
“You even guessed that?”
She licked her lips and smiled.
“What a shame. If we’d met somewhere else, we might’ve become lovers.”
“I’m not interested in the Ivory Tower’s archives.”
“...Did I waste this spell then?”
Having shown her face, she had no choice but to kill me. She’d used a rare card. And honestly, I was beginning to wonder about this person’s identity.
Only for a moment though—then she smiled brightly and released the spear from her hand.
“I’ll just ask Arcane later.”
“My intel fee is expensive.”
The black flame spear floated midair.
That spell was unavoidable.
I pointed my bow and rapidly scanned her divine list.
I needed time to think.
Should I seize the chance to kill her? Or should I preserve my life?
Offense or defense, I had to choose.
“Adding corpse delivery fees too, this trip’s a total loss.”
“That magic spear must’ve cost you something too. You wouldn’t use it unless you were absolutely going to kill me.”
“You... who are you? You know Spear of the Scorching Flame?”
“Ask the demons when you get to hell. Who knows? If you sleep with them, they might tell you.”
“You’ve got jokes too, huh.”
Her expression hardened. She flicked her fingers. The flaming spear in the air came hurtling at me like a lightning bolt.
[Preserve your life.]
“Can’t I withstand it?”
[If the spell you’re thinking of is that one, then it’s dangerous.]
As soon as Reto’s calculation was complete, I clicked my tongue and released the taut bowstring.
“Damn it, if only I could’ve fired two arrows...”
Thung!
The divine arrow tore through the air.
At the same time, the spear moved like a living serpent and lunged toward me.
One of Grand Duke Bersen Clarke’s ultimate techniques—Spear of the Scorching Flame.
Once struck, the cursed flames would burn until the target died.
Worse yet, once it chose a target, it would chase them until death.
I triggered Burst Strike and instantly retreated to gain distance.
[Incoming!]
The spear curved midair and came streaking toward me like a lightning bolt cutting through space.
The gap closed rapidly.
I stared at Gram with intense focus.
Divine Arrows, once summoned by a Divine Spirit, could never be avoided.
“...!?”
But the divine arrow pierced through her gesture and broke into a radiant halo.
Gram flinched briefly, then widened her eyes at the phenomenon unfolding in front of her.
“What is this?!”
Fshhhhh—
The Spear of the Scorching Flame scattered in the air and vanished.
The ability I had sealed from her divine list was the core of the Blood-Drinking Chalice.
[Blood Master] (Sealed)
An ability to copy another's powers through blood-based elixirs.
She glanced at the other vials and noticed the change, her face growing confused.
That was how I survived.
And now—
“Reto!!!”
I triggered Burst Strike and shot toward Gram like a bullet.
Reto’s spirit energy gathered in my fists.
With piercing force, I unleashed Quanru.
The momentum of Burst Strike and the spinning force of Quanru created overwhelming destructive power that rained down on Gram.
“Die!!!!”
It was time to throw everything I had into killing her.
As I closed in with tremendous speed, for the first time, I saw an expression of panic on her face.
At the same time, her pupils turned a blood-red hue.
Just as Quanru’s fist was about to smash her head, a red shield appeared before me.
A sticky, steaming barrier.
Glump—!
It stretched long as it absorbed my fist.
Like rubber, it didn’t pierce. My attack was blocked just before her face.
[Barrier of True Blood]
An absolute defense, one of her unique abilities.
It was an entry on her list that had made me hesitate to seal it with the Divine Arrow.
I went mad, pummeling the Barrier of True Blood with my fists.
There was only one way to break it—impact.
As my fists bounced off the gooey surface, her face began to distort.
Her lips turned blue, and moments later, she staggered, coughing up blood.
Just a bit more!
She was enduring all of my blows, containing Spectral Power, Quanru, and Enchantments. The shock must have been tremendous.
Her precious true blood was being depleted with every hit.
It was a perfect shield, but with a fatal flaw.
And now that Blood Master was sealed, all she could do was defend.
If I eliminated her here,
I could seize half the story of Demtor.
I’d gain an upper hand in the battles against the witches.
I had to finish it here.
Just as I hardened my resolve—
!?
My strength left me, and my balance wavered.
It wasn’t my will.
The overwhelming energy vanished like a mirage. The golden light dimmed.
The Divine Hunter’s effect had suddenly ended.
Kamel...
He’s dead?
That bastard—useless even in death.
I steadied my stance and punched the barrier again, but the impact was clearly weaker than before.
Burst Strike...
Two shots remained.
If I infused one more—
“Danger!!!”
Then I heard Fenry’s urgent shout.
She rose from my shadow, grabbed me, and teleported away again.
Where my shadow had been,
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—!!!
A terrifying magical bombardment rained down.
Black-robed figures emerged through the trembling forest.
Black butterflies.
They vanished back into the forest amidst clouds of dust.
So did Gram.
She was gone.
“We have to pursue!”
As I came to my senses and shouted, Fenry grabbed my shoulder.
“You trying to get us all killed?”
Her voice made me finally notice our group’s condition.
Pale as death.
The others were sprawled out, their wounds frozen over.
Fortunately, they were all still alive.
“What happened?”
But neither Rengua nor Lyon were in sight.
The ones on the ground were the Royal Guards and Shamans who held the line to the end.
“A giant bird snatched them up.”
“...A giant bird.”
That meant Arcane had used the monstrous bird Fortea to extract Rengua and Lyon.
But why those two, especially with Kamel dead?
“Kamel is dead.”
“You sure?”
I nodded, and Karl came up from behind and said,
“Then the only one left alive is Rengua.”
Lyon, who held out until the very end, was half-dead. From the amount of blood he’d vomited, it was a miracle he was still breathing.
“His neck and back were pierced by Lochter’s sword, and my daggers went through him in three places. Not even Lyon’s grandpa would survive that.”
If Karl’s instincts confirmed Lyon’s death, it was as good as certain.
Rengua alone couldn’t do anything.
I had achieved the goal of eliminating Kamel.
So why did this unease remain?
But I quickly shook off the thought and looked forward.
Gram Seraphim.
With Blood Nature, she had likely just begun to expand her influence in Demtor.
Right now, there was still a way to strike her a massive blow.
I’d already half-succeeded.