BOOM!

The clash between sword and claw erupted once more, the sound shattering the stained-glass windows as Ben and Damien collided at the center of the room.

Their auras swirled like dueling storms, light and shadow dancing across the cracked marble floor.

Ben’s blade slashed in a brilliant arc—FWSSHH!—but Damien met it with a graceful sidestep, claws raking across Ben’s side—SKRRRCH!—tearing fabric and drawing blood.

“Tch—” Ben grimaced, stumbling back.

Damien chuckled, rolling his neck as if he were merely warming up.

“Still predictable.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed, but his breathing remained steady. He couldn’t afford to lose—not here. Not now.

The stars in his chest pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, a steady thrum of power waiting to be unleashed.

“Alright then…” he muttered under his breath, adjusting his grip on the hilt. “Let’s try this.”

A glow erupted around his body—not explosive but focused. A faint silver shimmer, like moonlight, coalesced around the blade.

His sword saint power surged forth, but this time he contained it, suppressing the full burst and instead allowing it to flow like a river just beneath his skin.

He had never been able to do it, but today, he wanted to.

Ben didn’t want to end up in the medical ward again, just because he couldn’t control his own powers.

“Controlled release…” He whispered, and the sword in his hand began to hum in resonance. “Let’s see if I can balance this.”

He moved.

CRACK!

The floor shattered beneath his foot as he launched forward. This time, his blade was faster and more precise, like a phantom’s whisper.

CLANG! SWIP! SHING!

Each clash now sent shockwaves through the mansion, displacing air in sharp bursts of pressure.

Damien’s claws moved like flowing ink—slick, dark, and deadly—meeting Ben’s blade with unwavering rhythm.

But for the first time, Damien had to step back.

“Interesting,” he said, lips curling in amusement as a thin line of blood slid down his arm. “You’re beginning to feel like an actual swordsman.”

Ben didn’t respond.

He was focused now—blades slashing, footwork sharp, and movements honed.

And for a few glorious seconds, they were evenly matched.

Until—

“Shhk!”

A red line slithered up Ben’s arm. Then another. Then his ankle.

He froze for a fraction of a second.

Damien grinned.

The blood from Ben’s earlier wounds had begun to twist unnaturally—slithering like threads.

“You forgot,” Damien murmured, voice low and amused. “You bleed. And I—”

He raised his hand, twisting his fingers.

“—command blood.”

Suddenly, Ben was yanked off balance as his own blood coiled like chains, tightening around his limbs.

“Ghk—!”

THUD!

Damien’s foot slammed into Ben’s chest, sending him crashing into the far wall. A crater exploded behind him.

Ben tried to rise, only to feel his own blood pulling him down like ropes of iron.

Damien walked forward leisurely, claws gleaming, red lines of runes forming in the air around his fingers.

The temperature dropped, and the air thickened.

“It’s over, Ben.”

Ben’s head dipped. His breath was ragged. The light in his blade flickered.

‘Do I have no other choice? Do I have to give up control of my body… again?’

He stared at Damien as he raised his clawed hand for the finishing blow.

But then—

FWOOOOOM!

A bright flare of red light exploded outside the mansion.

Damien’s eyes twitched.

“…What—?”

CRASH!

The walls near the east wing burst open in a flash of light and wind.

“GET DOWN!” A voice roared.

From the smoke and shattered stone, a silhouette emerged—her crimson hair dancing like fire, her eyes burning like twin suns.

Zahara.

At her back were a half-dozen elite academy enforcers, all wearing the patrol insignia, mana-infused weapons drawn and ready.

Damien took a single step back, blinking.

Ben, still panting, laughed weakly.

“…Took you long enough.”

…………………………

[Flashback – Minutes Earlier]

Alex stood beneath the shadows of the outer wall, eyes glowing faintly blue.

He was sure that the fight between Ben and Damien should’ve already broken out, but he didn’t do anything for a while.

[Are you planning to let him grow stronger?] Sophie’s voice echoed in Alex’s head, making him think deeply about it.

He glanced at Lilia, then at Margaret, who was being carried by her.

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘I need him to grow stronger so I won’t have to step up to take care of small things like this.’

Then, with a snap of his fingers, a flare shot into the sky—FWOOSH!—a blinding streak of red light.

Zahara, standing amidst the scattered patrol squad hiding among the hedges and alleyways, saw it immediately.

She had been waiting patiently for this, so the moment she saw it, her hand shot up, signaling a go.

“Now!” She barked.

The team moved without hesitation, scattering toward the entrances they had planned in advance.

…………………………

[Now – Inside the Mansion]

Damien looked at Zahara, then at the enforcers surrounding him.

Then he looked back at the staircase.

‘He isn’t coming, is he?’ He wondered as he saw no signs of Karn, who should’ve arrived by now.

He was sure now—his mansion was compromised.

With how Zahara and the other enforcers had barged into his mansion, Damien was sure he had fallen into a well-laid trap.

From what it seemed, he had no escape.

He chuckled. The sound was dark but filled with bemused admiration.

“So this is it?” He said, spreading his arms. “This is how I’m outplayed?”

Zahara stepped forward, her weapon raised—an elegant spear crackling with lightning.

“On your knees, Damien.”

But he only grinned wider, licking the blood from his lips.

“You think you’ve won because you brought a few soldiers?” He asked with a low chuckle. “You think I’m cornered?”

He glanced around at the circle of enemies, his power still pulsing.

But what was chilling—truly chilling—was that there was no fear in his eyes.

Only glee.

“Let me ask you something,” he said calmly, his voice dropping an octave. “If you knew you couldn’t kill me… what would you do instead?”

Zahara didn’t answer.

Ben, however, forced himself to his feet, blood still trailing down his face.

“We never wanted to kill you,” he said hoarsely, anger clear in his eyes. “You don’t deserve that pity.”

“What does that—?” Damien’s words were cut short.

BOOM.

The main entrance exploded open.

Alex stood there with a mask, his cloak billowing and Verathian glowing faintly at his back.

Behind him, Lilia, disguised like Alex, held Margaret, surrounded by more backup.

Alex looked at Damien without saying a word.

Damien exhaled slowly. Then he laughed again.

“So that’s how it is.”

He didn’t resist as the formation began to close in.

He didn’t struggle.

Instead, he lowered his arms and whispered something under his breath.

A language none of them recognized.

But Alex’s expression immediately turned grim.

“Contain him—NOW!”

Too late.

Damien’s form flared with a red light.

A blood sigil beneath his feet ignited, melting into the stone.

“Until next time,” he said, eyes glowing.

WHOOSH!

The air twisted.

And with a burst of red mist—

Damien vanished.

Gone.

Leaving behind silence, destruction, and the faint scent of copper and roses.

Ben fell to his knees, gasping.

One of Zahara’s subordinates walked over, helping him up with one arm.

Behind them, Alex knelt beside the fading sigil, jaw clenched.

“Teleportation through blood sacrifice,” he muttered. “He’s more resourceful than I had thought.”

He had never seen something like this nor known about it. But through Keryu’s memories, he knew what this was.

However, this was something only the vampire emperor could do, and since Damien could use it…

‘It means he won’t be hiding that he’s the vampire emperor’s son anymore,’ Alex concluded.

Sophie, however, thought differently.

[What if he just didn’t expect you all to know what he did?] She asked, making Alex squint his eyes. [What if he thought that you wouldn’t be able to guess this magic’s origin? After all, he doesn’t know that you are aware of the plot.]

Alex closed his eyes, his expression unreadable. No one in the surroundings could tell what he was thinking.

Before long, a smirk appeared on his lips. ‘This is better.’

If Damien wasn’t expecting them to know this, then it was better.

He would just have to meet someone and leak some news. The rest would play out automatically.

Finally, he turned toward Lilia, who gently placed Margaret down, brushing her hair aside.

“She’s breathing… barely,” she whispered, and Ben, exhausted a second ago, sprang to his feet, his eyes wide.

“Margaret!”

For the first time, he called her by her name instead of the silly nickname he had given her, his expression filled with worry.

“Ugh!” Margaret, feeling his warm touch, opened her eyes just enough to see his face.

“Thank… you,” she whispered before her eyes closed again, her expression relaxing.

Ben didn’t need a medic to tell him that she had fallen unconscious but was out of danger.

He sighed in relief, his body slumping on the floor.

‘I wasn’t late,’ he muttered inwardly, truly happy that he wasn’t.

For him, it was all good as long as Margaret was safe, but for Alex, things were just starting.

He wasn’t going to let Damien off like this.

After all, that guy was the key to his plans for the vampire realm.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep