Chapter 288: Elias Von Sangre, The Crazed Youngest Heir Of The Bloodmoon Conglomerate

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"HAAAH!"

Riven roared with all his might, swinging Fenrir’s Fang and unleashing Divine Axe Art at the same time as Abyssal Assault and Guillotine Cascade. A single attack became dozens of blows that came afterward in rapid succession.

The huge fist, the size of a truck, was crushed down and gained countless cracks. Several of its mechanical fingers exploded and shattered to pieces under the layered strikes, sending metal fragments flying.

BOOOOM!

"Hahahaha... Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! What the hell?! Don’t you know how expensive that thing is?!" the Vampire Noble screamed after he saw his expensive machine, or at least a large part of it, exploding right in front of him. His face twisted with anger as sparks and smoke poured from the damaged arm.

"Who are you?" Riven asked, eyes narrowing as he watched the massive mechanical figure hovering above the factory floor.

"Hah?! You don’t even know who you’re attacking, you stupid dumbass?" the Vampire laughed from inside the cockpit. His voice echoed through the speakers, arrogant and loud. "Who else than the prestigious fifth son of the Bloodmoon Conglomerate! Elias Von Sangre!"

"Another fucking nepobaby huh?" Riven sighed under his breath. He shifted his stance, already calculating distances. "Well, it’s my fate to kill you all... to atone for being one myself."

The Bloodmoon Conglomerate was not a single family. It was a junction of several smaller bloodlines that all possessed supernatural abilities. Over the years they had secretly tied themselves to the Authority of Vlad the Impaler, better known as Dracula. Each lineage carried one specific curse inherited from that ancient power, and when those families finally joined forces they created the Conglomerate to grab as much influence as they could.

Elias Von Sangre had been assigned to this factory for a reason. This place processed their most valuable resource: Blood Crystals. Vampires used those crystals to cultivate their strength and push their powers further. The "Vampires" themselves were simply superhumans born with traits passed down from parents who had awakened similar abilities through Vlad’s blessing. Generation after generation, those families had refined their curses until they formed a network of allies strong enough to stand beside Claymore Enterprises.

This entire Gate turned out to be co-owned by both Claymore and Bloodmoon. One of their youngest heirs had been put in charge of the day-to-day operations. When Elias saw Riven and Vladimir breaking through the perimeter and blowing things apart, he decided it was the perfect chance to test the new "toy" his father had bought him.

"Bold words for a motherfucker that’s about to die horribly!" Elias roared. He slammed a control panel and fired another massive mechanical fist. The metal hand shot forward with enough force to crush concrete.

At the same time the mech’s shoulders shifted and opened, revealing two enormous cannons. They charged with a mix of mana and thick blood energy before firing beams that cut through the air from multiple angles. Elias handled the machine with surprising skill, keeping distance while dodging most of Riven’s spells and long-range attacks.

"Hahahaha! I don’t know who you are, but you have to be really fucking stupid if you think you can take us down! Oh I’m going to have fun torturing you once this is done!"

Riven weaved between three beams aimed at his head, feeling the heat of one pass close enough to scorch the air beside his ear. The rocket fist continued chasing him. He waited until the last second, leaped onto the side of Elias’s mech, then pushed off hard and jumped clear.

"Huh...?" Elias muttered, suddenly realizing the AI controlling the fist had locked onto the wrong target.

CRAAAASH!

BOOOOMMM!!!

The flying fist slammed straight into the mech’s own main body. Armor plates cracked and energy barriers shattered under the impact. The entire machine lurched, lost balance, and crashed down onto the factory floor in a cloud of sparks and twisted metal.

"G-Gwaaack!" Elias screamed as the cockpit shook violently around him. Riven landed a short distance away, already watching for the next move.

Elias screamed in agony as the massive impact tore through his machine. Riven had deliberately lured the AI controlling the mech into striking its own main body. The heavy blow shattered layers of armor and energy barriers at once, sending the entire frame crashing down in a shower of sparks and twisted metal.

"Woah!" Daniela watched from the shadows, eyes wide. "T-That was well done! Amazing!"

"I realized it was too tough for me to handle inside a small bubble of time," Riven said, already moving. "So why not let him hurt himself instead? Nonetheless, we’ve got no time to waste."

He sprinted straight toward the Mana Reactor. Behind him Elias scrambled back into the damaged cockpit. The machine’s systems flared back to life with a harsh mechanical roar. Thirty more soldiers in smaller mechs fell in behind their commander and gave chase.

"Where do you think you’re going, you damn thief?! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT MEEEEEEE!"

Elias had completely lost control. He poured his Blood Energy into the machine through a special Blood Core Battery built specifically for pilots of Vampiric Lineage. The core drank the energy greedily and pushed the mech far past its normal limits. This was the new Spirit Bond technology the organization had been developing in secret. It let a strong Awakened feed their own power directly into a machine and force it to perform at levels no ordinary mech could reach.

"Tsk!"

Elias clicked his tongue when he realized chasing on pure fists would only get him damaged again. He linked up with the remaining functional arm and pulled a long black steel rod from the mech’s back. The rod instantly unfolded into a massive crimson laser saber that pulsed with his overflowing blood energy.

"I’ll cut you down!"

He charged after Riven and swung the gigantic blade in wide, reckless arcs. Riven slipped aside at the last moment, melting into the shadows and vanishing from the saber’s reach. The laser cut clean through the floor, sliced open the sides of nearby buildings, and carved straight through any of Elias’s own men who were unlucky enough to be standing in the way.

SLASH!

"Gaaaaahh!"

SLASH!

"Lord Elias, wait—"

SLASH!

"The terrorist, attack— Gaaaahhh!"

SLASH!

"Huh?! Run!"

SLASH!

"Lord Elias has gone insane!"

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"TSK! GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU DAMN USELESS TRASH! AM I PAYING YOU TO DIE OR SOMETHING?!"

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