The battlefield trembled under the weight of an overwhelming presence as Alex exhaled sharply, his form shifting into a celestial haze. His body turned astral—his features becoming indistinct, save for his eyes, which burned with an eerie, shining blue.

The moment his Eternal Devourer physique’s transformation completed, a shift in the air was felt by everyone present.

The vampires tensed.

Lucian narrowed his crimson eyes, a slow smirk forming. “So, this is your trump card?” His voice was laced with intrigue. “I see. You’re an anomaly even among anomalies.”

It was shocking to see Alex survive the last attack, but that was all. Lucian wanted to end this quickly. The only thing his instincts warned him against was extending the battle.

“Finish him,” Lucian ordered, and the vampires’, although somewhat shaken, quickly shot another storm of attacks at Alex.

Alex, on the other hand, ignored the taunt, flexing his fingers as waves of pure energy rippled through his form.

To everyone’s shock, the spells disappeared upon colliding with Alex, vanishing into the astral body that was now his form.

The flames curled inward and vanished. The ice melted before even touching him. The dark energy was swallowed as if it had never existed.

“Impossible!” One of the vampires gasped. “He just—”

Alex didn’t let them process it further. In an instant, he moved.

To the vampire, his form blurred as he vanished from sight. The next thing the vampires knew, Alex had reappeared behind one of them, his hand piercing through the vampire’s chest like a blade.

“Huh?” The vampire, a young girl, frowned, staring at the palm that was protruding out of her chest. ‘What’s he holding?’ She thought as she saw something red, dripping with blood in that very palm.

For a second, she didn’t even know that she was staring at her own heart beating, but not inside her body.

It took her a second, but the moment she realized what had happened…

“N-NO!!!!!!!!!!” Her face twisted in agony before her body fell to the ground with a light thud.

Another vampire died, and Lucian, who saw that, had his smirk disappear.

Alex, however, didn’t stop.

His movements were hard for the vampires to keep up with. All they saw were afterimages, and every time he flickered across the battlefield, another vampire fell, their bodies vanishing before they even realized they were dead.

The star formation realm vampires had no chance—each strike of Alex’s astral form sliced through them like a hot knife through butter.

Their attacks did nothing to Alex as his physique devoured any magical attack lower than 50% of his destructive power. Other than Lucian and the other star connection realm vampires, every other vampire fell in that category.

The destructive power of Alex, who was a thirteen-star, star formation realm expert, was, of course, more than double those with seven stars.

But it wasn’t just Lucian who was enraged.

The other star connection realm vampire, a towering figure with jagged horns and clawed fingers, moved. The moment Alex reappeared to strike another target, the vampire anticipated his movement, lunging at an impossible speed.

Clang!

The sound of claws raking against Alex’s sword echoed through the battlefield as he barely twisted out of the way.

For the first time since his transformation, he was forced onto the defensive.

Lucian, appearing right behind Alex, chuckled with a cold smile. “You’re fast, but you’re not the only one who can keep up.”

Alex’s instincts rang, and gritting his teeth, he pushed himself off the ground. Using Space Shift to narrowly avoid the strike, he rushed further away, panting slightly.

The realization hit him.

He was faster and stronger than before, but Lucian wasn’t someone he could deal with. Not in an all-out frontal attack.

Lucian was still faster than him. Stronger than him.

Even in this form, he couldn’t match Lucian’s raw power or speed. And now, another powerful vampire could keep up with him as well.

The remaining star connection realm vampire smirked, his red eyes gleaming. “Cornered already? I expected more.”

Alex’s mind raced.

If things continued like this, he would be overwhelmed. He needed a way to shift the battle in his favor—a way to make his overwhelming disadvantage less crushing.

Then, an idea formed.

He extended his hands and, using his physique’s property, unleashed a simultaneous explosion of fire, water, and thunder magic.

Alex only used 49% of his strength, as only then would he not get done with his own attacks.

The battlefield became a maelstrom of chaotic energy. The vampires, taken by surprise, recoiled as flames burned through the air, water surged violently, and lightning crackled, sending them staggering backward. Even Lucian paused for a fraction of a second, his eyes narrowing.

That moment was all Alex needed.

He activated the gravity multiplier.

In an instant, the force in the room increased tenfold.

The star-formation vampires barely had time to react before their bodies splattered against the ground.

“GAAAHHHH!”

“ARGHHHH!!!”

“NO—!!”

Bones shattered, limbs cracked, and pained screams filled the air. They were still alive, but barely. Their bodies were unable to move under the sheer weight pressing down on them.

Lucian and his star connection realm subordinate, however, remained standing. Their speed was slightly hindered, but otherwise, they were unfazed.

Alex exhaled, satisfied. That was all he needed.

He vanished again, continuing his relentless assault, weaving through the battlefield like a ghost, cutting down the vampires one by one. But for every step forward, he took a blow in return.

Even with his healing abilities, wounds tore through his body.

Lucian was relentless. He was using his innate attribute now. Lucian was using blood magic.

“You won’t survive this battle, intruder,” growled Lucian as he used every drop of blood in the surroundings to make a spear.

The spear slowly condensed, getting stronger with every drop of blood added. Alex could feel the sharpness of the spear and the intent—intent to pierce him—pricking his skin, but he just gritted his teeth, rushing to kill another vampire.

It was then that the spear moved.

Woosh!

“Die!” Lucian roared as he shot the spear. The attack moved toward Alex at a breakneck speed, breaking sound barriers multiple times in less than a hundred-meter distance.

From Alex’s perspective, it seemed like the spear appeared right before him. He couldn’t even react.

‘Shit! Shift!’ Alex quickly used as much mana as he could, using space shift to the limits, trying to get as far as he could, but unfortunately for him, the area he could run to was no more than 100 meters, and the diameter of the attack…

BOOOMMM!!!

The whole area, along with the walls of the prison, shattered. More than 100 meters, the whole surroundings shattered, the air itself trembling as the weight of the attack was disastrous.

Alex saw in slow motion as the ground rippled. Yes, the ground rippled as if it were water before it broke into pieces.

Explosions rang, and the pressure of the sound barrier breaking finally arrived.

The area was filled with debris flying here and there. It was hard to see what was going on until Lucian growled. “You rat-like bastard…”

His sharp eyes caught sight of Alex, with his broken body and protruding bones slowly getting mended and his bloodied skin slowly stitching back, hurtling through the air like a broken kite.

As he rushed toward Alex, so did his star connection realm subordinate, both growling with their claws extended.

Alex couldn’t even react before Lucian’s claw raked across his astral shoulder, sending a flare of pain through his body. He twisted, avoiding another strike, only for Lucian himself to appear in front of him, fist glowing with dark energy.

Boom!

The punch landed square in Alex’s gut, sending him hurtling backward. He slammed into the palace wall. His ribs cracked under the impact, black spots danced in his vision, and for a split second, he tasted iron in his mouth.

“You’re becoming an annoyance,” Lucian said coolly, rolling his shoulders. “Let’s end this.”

With a flick of his wrist, he activated the palace’s power.

“Shrink,” he commanded, and in a tandem, the battlefield shrank.

The prison walls groaned as they contracted, closing in like a crushing cage. The prison still wasn’t healed, but it still followed the orders given by its owner.

The vast open space that Alex had been using to maneuver was rapidly disappearing. He could no longer run.

‘Fuck!’ His eyes widened in alarm.

And in that moment of hesitation—Lucian and the other star connection realm vampire struck.

Claws gleamed in the dim light, aimed straight at Alex’s heart and head.

There was no hesitation in their strike, only ruthless precision and bloodthirst. They would end this in one strike since they could both feel a strange sense of unease about cornering Alex even more.

It was as if Alex was some protagonist who grows stronger the longer the battle goes on.

For the first time in the battle, a sliver of doubt crossed his mind.

‘Do I have no other choice?’

Then—pierce.

The sick sound of flesh and bones being pierced echoed through the still air as the vampires’ claws pierced through him, blood spraying into the air like crimson mist.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep