Chapter 290: The Young Vampire Noble’s Last Resort!

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The metal parts of Elias’s machine suddenly gained life of their own. Screws, plates, and jagged fragments tore free and flew toward him in a chaotic swarm. They assembled around his fists with loud clanging sounds, forming giant mechanical gauntlets that fused directly with the liquid metal circulating in his blood. The weapons locked into place with a heavy final click. He brought both fists down on Riven’s face at once, the impact releasing a massive explosion of red fire that lit up the area.

BOOOMMM!!!

"Ugh?!"

Riven was driven straight into the ground. The force of the blow cratered the floor beneath him and sent cracks racing outward. Dust and debris shot into the air. Elias floated above him, laughing so hard his shoulders shook, and immediately launched a continuous barrage of punches from overhead. Each strike landed with bone-jarring force.

At the same time long tentacles of red flesh and blood extended from Elias’s body, whipping downward. They pierced Riven’s skin in several places and began draining his blood, feeding it back into Elias to revitalize him while sapping Riven’s energy and lifeforce.

"HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! I AM INVINCIBLE! DIE YOU FREAK! DIEEEEEE!"

Elias laughed without restraint, already celebrating what he believed was his victory. The celebrations came far too early. Riven’s fingers closed around the hilt of his sword. He swung it with every ounce of strength he could still muster.

At the same moment he channeled energy into his free hand and unleashed a Blooming Lotus directly into Elias’s other side. The explosive force of the technique tore one of Elias’s arms into shredded pieces of metal and flesh.

BOOOM!!!

"GAHAAA?!"

Riven followed through without pause. His sword carved the remaining arm into dozens of tiny fragments that scattered across the floor. He then kicked Elias hard in the stomach with both of his draconic, raptorial legs. The double strike launched Elias backward through the air. He crashed into the side of the reactor with enough force to buckle the reinforced metal.

CRAAAASH!

"V-Vladimir, where are you?!" Riven called out while scanning the battlefield. He spotted Vladimir tearing through a line of soldiers and machines, roaring with every kill.

"I’m fine!" Vladimir shouted back. He climbed onto a walking machine, ripped the cockpit open with his bare hands, dragged the soldier inside out by the collar, and tore the man’s head clean off in one motion. Blood sprayed across the metal. "You take down the reactor and that fucker. I’m going to have fun over here!"

"Fine, as long as they don’t follow me inside," Riven answered. He reduced his size and slipped through the damaged opening in the reactor wall. Inside, dozens of people were already screaming and running in every direction, their faces pale with panic as alarms blared and red lights flashed across the control panels.

He let the scientist inside go past him while he walked forward. His smaller form compressed his power even more effectively than before. Riven realized that getting bigger might not always be the best approach in every fight. This compressed state optimized his energy fluctuation and control far better than any of the larger transformations he had used up to now. The power stayed tight and ready under his skin instead of spreading out and wasting itself.

"Elias! Where are you?! ELIAS!"

Riven rushed deeper into the damaged facility. The lights flickered overhead and sparks fell from broken cables along the walls. A giant mechanical claw came rushing at him from above without warning. He twisted his body and narrowly avoided the full force of the strike. The claw still pierced the metal floor right beside him and tore a long gash through the plating. The impact lifted Riven off his feet for a second as the whole section of floor rose upward. Through the rising dust he finally saw Elias standing in the middle of the wreckage, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"What the...?!"

"What did you do to meeeeeee?!"

Elias looked completely different from the last time Riven had seen him. Where he had lost his two arms, long tentacles now sprouted in their place. The tentacles ended in bony, sharp tips. Mouths opened and closed along their length, and eyes blinked open at random points across the flesh. The rest of his body had started to swell and twist in the same direction.

"Genesis Cells, as I suspected," Riven sighed, already understanding what had happened. "You’ve injected yourself with alien cells, dumbass. You’re going to become an abomination now. Well done!"

"HAH?! NO... NO WAY DAD...! DADDY WOULDN’T GIVE ME SOMETHING LIKE THAAAAAT!!!"

Elias went completely crazy. His Vampire Bloodline reacted with the Genesis Serum he had taken and created an ugly synergy. His entire body bulged outward with extra arms and thick muscle. More tentacles tore free from his back and sides, thrashing in every direction as if they had minds of their own.

"RAAAAHHHH!"

He attacked Riven from every angle at once. Enormous fists slammed down. Mechanical pieces of his broken mech tore free and flew through the air like missiles. The new tentacles chased Riven across the floor and walls, trying to wrap around his legs and arms.

Riven stepped through the falling rubble without slowing down. He swung Fenrir’s Fang in one hand and the long katana he had taken from Elias in the other.

The katana still carried its laser edge, and Riven fed it with his own internal blood energy so the blade stayed bright and sharp.

Guillotine Cascade came first, a series of heavy downward cuts that forced the tentacles back. Abyssal Assault followed right after, covering the ground in short-range shadow steps so he could stay ahead of the larger strikes.

At the same time he channeled the full power of Divine Axe Arts through both weapons. Jaws of Gluttony rose around his body on their own, biting down on anything that got too close. Tens of thousands of ghostly swords then fired outward in every direction.

They impaled and sliced through Elias’s mutated arms and tentacles before exploding one after another, tearing fresh holes in the transformed flesh and forcing the screaming man to stagger backward under the constant barrage.

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