Blood God Reborn as the Mudblood Heir

Chapter 56: 56: Blood Before Fire (3)

She had been trying to stop Dorian by using house politics. She had been trying to force him to back down without turning this into a death incident. But Lucard had not waited. He had taken the moment and stabbed straight into the heart of the problem.

Literally.

Dorian’s body trembled.

"No," he whispered.

Lucard looked into his eyes.

Dorian’s pride broke.

"Wait," Dorian said, his voice shaking. "Wait. Do not. I am from House Velkhur. If you kill me, you will die. Your family will die. Everyone you know will die."

Lucard’s face showed annoyance.

"You were begging for mercy half a breath ago. Now you are threatening me. Choose one."

Dorian’s eyes filled with fear. "I can give you money. I can give you fire spells. I can talk to my family. I can make this go away."

Lucard’s fingers closed around the heart inside his chest.

Dorian screamed.

"Please."

Lucard’s eyes became colder.

"I dislike people who beg after insulting others."

Then he pulled.

Dorian’s heart came out of his body.

Blood burst from the hole in his chest like a fountain. It sprayed forward, then surged backward from the pulling force of the heart. Some of it splashed across Lucard’s face and clothes. A wide arc of blood flew behind him and struck Celia, who stood a few steps away. Her face, neck, and chest were splashed with warm blood. Red drops ran down her pale skin and over the silver embroidery of her dress.

The entire square fell into a deathly silence.

Dorian’s body stood for one second without understanding that it was dead.

Then it collapsed.

Lucard held the still beating heart in his bloody hand.

For a moment, the heart pulsed.

Once.

Then...

Twice.

Then Lucard used Blood Absorption.

The blood and mana inside Dorian’s heart rushed into his palm. Dorian was a Rank Four fire mage with the Ember Core bloodline. His blood was far stronger than the hired killers, the beast, or the weak guards Lucard had absorbed before. Fire mana, bloodline heat, battle experience, and thick life force flowed into Lucard’s body.

Pain moved through him, but this time it was the pain of growth.

Inside his mind, the blood path rang again and again.

[Blood Absorption Successful.]

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

[ Status window-

Name: Lucard Vardros

Level: 15

Current Rank: First Blood Circle, Mortal Vessel

Skill: Blood Absorption

Note: Bloodline Trace Detected: Ember Core.

Note: Fire Resistance Increased.]

Lucard breathed out slowly.

His burned chest began to repair a little faster. The wounds did not vanish completely, but the most dangerous damage eased. His blood became hotter for a moment, then returned under his control. The heart in his hand dried rapidly. The red flesh became gray, then black, then turned into dust. A small wind passed through the square and carried the dust away.

Only blood remained on his hand.

For several breaths, no one in the merchant square moved.

The sound of the heart turning into dust seemed to stay in the air even after the wind carried it away. People had seen fights before. Gravehold was not a soft city. Merchants had seen robbers hanged, guards had seen bodies dragged from alleys, and nobles had seen duels end with blood on clean stones.

But this was different.

A young man from House Velkhur had just died in front of everyone. It was not from poison. It was not from an arrow hidden on a rooftop. It was not from a clean sword through the chest. Lucard Vardros had reached into him, pulled out his heart, drank the power from it, and let the remains become dust in his hand.

A woman near a flower stall covered her mouth and dropped to her knees. Her basket fell beside her, and white flowers scattered across the road. The flowers landed close to Dorian’s blood splash on the ground, and their petals slowly turned red at the edges.

One merchant who sold leather belts stood frozen with his mouth open. His apprentice pulled at his sleeve and whispered, "Master, should we close the shop?"

The merchant did not blink. "The shop is already closed."

The apprentice said, "No, master. The door is open."

The merchant looked at the open door, then at Dorian’s body, then back at the door. "Then the door is braver than me."

A fruit seller slowly pushed his cart backward. One wheel struck a stone and made a small sound. He froze as if the sound itself would make Lucard turn around and take his heart too. When Lucard did not look at him, the man pushed again, this time even slower, as if moving a cart quietly could save his family line.

Two rich ladies who had come to buy cloth stood behind a pillar with pale faces. One of them whispered, "That was Dorian Velkhur."

The other whispered back, "Do not say his name."

"Why?"

"Because names invite trouble."

A guard from another shop lowered his spear without realizing it. His hands were shaking. He had wanted to rush forward when the fight started because it was his duty to keep the merchant square safe. Now he thanked every god he had not moved. Duty was noble, but dying because of another noble family’s quarrel was just stupidity wearing armor.

Near the edge of the square, an old spice merchant stared at Lucard with narrowed eyes.

"That boy is not a normal fallen noble," he muttered.

His wife grabbed his arm. "Do not look too long."

"I am not looking. I am remembering how the heart was pulled out from his chest."

"Remember later. Breathe now."

The apprentices on the second floor balconies were the worst. Half of them were terrified. The other half were too young and foolish to understand fear properly. One whispered, "Did you see that? He pulled it out."

Another slapped his arm. "Shut up. Do you want House Velkhur guards to hear you?"

"House Velkhur already heard. Their man is on the road."

That made both of them go silent.