Chapter 131: Lilith’s Battle [3]
In the arena, the students watched as the three Liliths were upon Andros. The three Liliths were called Blood Clones, one of the bloodline skills a vampire has. But only those with high-rank bloodline could use it.
The students watched, barely breathing. Some leaned forward, eyes wide. Others whispered to each other, trying to understand what they were seeing.
Three blood clones, all moving in perfect sync, all with the same deadly claws, all with the same ancient crimson eyes. They surrounded Andros, closing in from every angle.
Andros raised his lightsword.
The first clone lunged. He didn’t dodge. He stepped into it, blade already moving.
Sword intent burst from the lightsword. It wasn’t just a slash. It was a wave of sharp, cutting energy that tore through the air itself. The intent was so heavy, so dense, that the students in the front row felt their skin prickle and their hair stand on end.
The blade caught the first clone clean across the torso.
The clone didn’t just get cut. It came apart. The sword intent tore through its body from the inside, shredding through flesh and blood like they were paper. The clone burst into chunks of frozen crimson that scattered across the stone floor.
One down.
The other two didn’t slow down. They came at him together, one high, one low. Andros spun, his blade trailing a faint white glow. The sword intent lashed out in an arc, catching the second clone mid-leap.
The clone froze. Its body cracked. Then it shattered into pieces, blood and ice raining down on the arena floor.
Two down.
The last clone tried to back off. It was smarter than the others. It had seen what happened. It knew it couldn’t win in a straight fight.
But Andros didn’t give it a chance.
He closed the distance in a blink, his lightsword already swinging. The blade caught the clone across the chest, and the sword intent exploded outward. The clone didn’t even have time to react. It was torn apart, its pieces dissolving into a puddle of dark red that spread across the stone.
Three down.
All the blood clones were gone.
"Impressive," she murmured. "You actually destroyed them all."
Even though this was surprising, she seemed unimpressed. Her voice was flat, almost bored.
"Then let’s end this battle," Lilith said as she bared her fangs.
Her fangs gleamed under the arena lights, sharp and white. The air around her grew colder, heavier. Something dark and ancient pressed down on the arena, making the students shift uneasily in their seats.
Andros felt overwhelming danger. It hit him like a wave, cold and suffocating. His body reacted before his mind could catch up. He leapt backward, putting distance between them.
He looked at Lilith in shock. Her crimson eyes were locked on him, her smile sharp and hungry.
Then, within the blink of an eye, her figure disappeared from everyone’s view.
The students gasped. One moment she was there. The next, she was gone. No blur. No trace. Just empty space where she had been standing.
Andros’s instinct pricked. Danger. Behind him.
He felt Lilith’s presence at his back. She was fast. Too fast. So fast that he couldn’t turn, couldn’t raise his sword, couldn’t defend.
He had to escape.
He used his Space talent, folding the air around him, and disappeared.
He reappeared on the other side of the arena, his feet hitting the stone. He spun around, sword raised, ready.
But the danger hadn’t gone anywhere.
His eyes widened.
𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
Lilith was already there. Right in front of him. Her face was inches from his, her crimson eyes burning into his. Her lips curled into a smile.
"Don’t think you are the only one that has space talent."
Before he could react, she landed a punch to his stomach.
The impact was brutal. It felt like a battering ram had slammed into his gut. The air left his lungs in a rush. His body folded around her fist, and then he was flying.
He shot into the air like a cannonball, spinning out of control. Everything became a blur. The ceiling, the walls, the crowd, all smeared together. For a few seconds, he lost touch with his senses. He couldn’t tell up from down. He couldn’t hear anything but the blood roaring in his ears.
But the intense danger his instinct had picked up hadn’t disappeared. It was still there, pressing down on him, cold and heavy.
It was even stronger now.
As he was in the air, free falling, a large blood rune appeared. It covered the entire arena.
The rune spread across the stone floor like a stain, dark crimson and pulsing. It throbbed like a heartbeat, each pulse sending a wave of cold, suffocating pressure through the air. The students in the stands felt it wash over them, thick and heavy, like being buried alive.
The rune glowed brighter. The pulse quickened.
Then the arena shook.
The stone floor cracked. Dust and debris shot up from the fissures. The barrier around the arena flickered, its glow dimming for a moment before flaring back to life. The students grabbed their seats, eyes wide, mouths open.
Blood tentacles burst from the rune. Not a few. Not dozens. Hundreds. They erupted from every inch of the arena floor, shooting upward like a forest of crimson spears. They filled the air, writhing and twisting, their tips sharp as needles.
The sky above the arena turned red. The tentacles kept coming, climbing higher and higher, until they blotted out the light. The entire arena was swallowed in a dome of writhing, pulsing blood.
Some of the students had their eyes bulging out from shock. Some felt goosebumps seeing such a devilish attack. Some felt pity for Andros. He had lost.
The blood tentacles swallowed him up.
The dome closed in on itself, sealing him inside. The writhing mass pulsed and throbbed, tighter and tighter, until there was nothing left to see but a giant cocoon of crimson. The tentacles squeezed, crushing inward, and the sound they made was wet and sickening, like meat being ground between stones.
The students held their breath. The arena was dead silent except for the pulsing of the blood dome.
One second passed. Then two. Then five.
Nothing.
Lilith stood at the center of the arena, her arms still raised, her crimson eyes fixed on the cocoon. Her smile hadn’t faded, but her eyes were sharp, watchful. She wasn’t celebrating yet.
Then the cocoon shuddered.
A faint light appeared at its center. Small at first, barely visible through the layers of crimson. But it grew brighter, sharper, until it was impossible to ignore. The tentacles began to sizzle and smoke, their surfaces cracking and peeling.
Then the cocoon burst open.
It wasn’t just sword qi this time.
A massive wave of fire and sword intent exploded outward from the center. The flames were brilliant orange and gold, roaring as they tore through the blood tentacles. The sword intent was woven into the fire itself, each flame sharp as a blade, each blade burning hot as a forge.
The tentacles didn’t stand a chance.
They burned and they were cut. The flames ate through them like dry grass, while the sword intent sliced them into ribbons. The blood sizzled and evaporated on contact, turning to steam and ash. The smell of burnt copper and something dark and ancient filled the air.
The cocoon collapsed in on itself, unable to hold. The blood dome shattered, its pieces raining down as harmless droplets that evaporated before they hit the ground.
Andros stood in the center, his lightsword raised. But the blade wasn’t just light anymore. It was covered in roaring flames, the fire twisting around the steel like a living thing. The sword intent pulsed from it in waves, heavy and sharp, pressing down on everything around.
But Lilith moved, appearing before him again. Andros was prepared as he raised the flaming sword.
Fire and Light are said to have suppressive strength against Vampires, which served as a weakness.
Both figures clashed, flaming sword against blood-covered fist. The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the arena, hot and cold at the same time. Their uniforms fluttered wildly from the force, and dust and debris scattered across the stone floor.
But this moment was enough for Andros.
Frost spread from him at the same time, crawling up from the ground and wrapping around Lilith’s hands and legs. The ice locked her in place, freezing her limbs solid. She was immediately stranded, unable to move.
Lilith’s eyes widened. Her smile finally vanished.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Andros attacked.
Flame tentacles stretched from his body, roaring and twisting, wrapping around Lilith’s arms and legs. They held her body in place, tightening like burning ropes. The fire hissed against her skin, and steam rose where the flames met her blood. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t dodge.
She was trapped.
He raised his sword toward the arena’s domain. The flame disappeared, snuffed out in an instant. But the blade didn’t go dark. It burned brighter, glowing with a brilliant golden light.