Chapter 623

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

It happened without the slightest warning.

Fragments of exploded heads and blood splattered everywhere.

Head Butler Jamel still stood nearby, maintaining his position.

Even more shocking was the fact that despite the current situation, he showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever.

Then Edersen lifted the empty glass before him.

At once, the blood scattered throughout the room floated upward in droplets before spiraling together into Edersen’s wine glass.

Edersen held it with the familiarity of someone long accustomed to such a sight.

A grotesque spectacle beyond description.

Even after all that, not a single scrap of flesh or drop of blood had touched Edersen himself.

Soon, every last trace of blood from the Immortal Crowns disappeared.

And all that remained behind—

Clink.

Were the golden crowns they had worn.

Edersen lightly raised the now-filled glass.

As though offering a toast.

Then he slowly brought it to his lips and began drinking.

Gulp. Gulp.

He emptied the entire glass with elegant refinement.

The moment he did—

An enormous wave of mana aura began pouring from his body.

Watching him, Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you deliberately absorbed your own allies?”

“Allies?”

Edersen smiled faintly at the word.

“Who exactly is whose ally?”

“Then what were they to you?”

“They were merely my children. Nothing more than aggregates of affection born from the foam of my blood and my wife’s.”

“You’re insane... So you use your own children like this?”

“What is the problem? They were born from my blood and inherited portions of my power from the beginning. As for the crowns, I only allowed them because I grew tired of hearing them whine. They held no meaning whatsoever.”

Levan had once said vampires possessed neither paternal nor maternal love.

And apparently, he had been right.

But hearing it and witnessing it personally were entirely different matters.

A chill crawled across Su-ho’s skin.

Edersen continued calmly.

“I have been observing your actions ever since you launched that irreverent thing at Lowfield. Though its power failed to penetrate the barrier erected by the priests, I could not help but acknowledge it. Even just now, you absorbed and subjugated Vanishing right before my eyes.”

Edersen had been watching everything.

Yet despite that, he never stepped forward because there had been no need to.

The leaders of Noctarion—especially those of higher status among the High Blood—never moved unless a blade was already pressed to their own necks.

“Even I alone would have been unable to handle you. You are a Player, are you not? That must be why you were able to inherit the power of House Nosferatu while simultaneously wielding such blasphemous power.”

“You know a lot. Then I guess you also know why I’m doing this.”

“Yes. Inheriting Levan’s will is merely an excuse. You simply pursue strength. And your ultimate destination likely lies above.”

Edersen pointed toward the sky.

“Unlike you, I possess no true goal. I merely fulfill the duty assigned to me. That is why I reclaimed all the power I distributed among my children. My responsibilities are only twofold: prevent intruders from reaching Middle Town, and fight against the ominous fate imposed upon us.”

Edersen slowly rose from his seat.

“I have spoken too long. Now then, show me everything you possess. Alone, I would never have been able to stop you. But now that I have reclaimed most of my power, I wonder whether you can truly do as you wish against me.”

Fwooooom—

A massive quantity of energy began gathering around his body.

Su-ho immediately drew the Blood Sword.

“Get ready, Jack.”

- Understood.

[ Extermination of Evil activates. ]

CRACKLEEEEE!!

Extermination of Evil activated.

At the same time, violent winds erupted between the two of them.

The countless windows inside the reception chamber burst open, and curtains whipped wildly through the air.

Before swinging his sword, Su-ho summoned something into the chamber that he had not used until now.

[ Eclipse activates. ]

FWAAASH!

It was Eclipse.

Inside a world illuminated only by a mana-infused moon, Su-ho summoned a sun infused with mana that should never have existed there.

[ You are receiving sunlight and moonlight. ]

[ The Rune of the Sun and Moon reacts. ]

[ The Power of the Sun and Moon activates. ]

[ You receive the Blessing of the Sun and Moon. ]

[ All stats increase by 2%. ]

[ All recovery abilities increase by 2%. ]

[ Fire attribute activated. ]

[ Light attribute activated. ]

[ Ice attribute activated. ]

[ Darkness attribute activated. ]

As Eclipse appeared, system notifications erupted while both sides experienced its influence.

Thin smoke began rising from Edersen’s body.

True, High Blood did not die from sunlight alone.

But this was no ordinary sunlight.

It had been summoned by Su-ho himself.

There was no way it could leave him completely unaffected.

Looking at his faintly burning flesh, Edersen smiled.

“The more I see, the more grotesque you become. You inherited our power, yet still embrace the sun.”

At that moment, Edersen’s eyes widened.

FWAAASH!

Simultaneously, dark crimson energy exploded outward in every direction.

Anything touched by it either melted like acid, burned like lava, or froze solid at impossible speed.

KAAANG!

Naturally, it reached Su-ho as well.

But the Protection Holy Art empowered by the Quai System flawlessly protected its master.

Edersen’s energy slid harmlessly across the sacred barrier like raindrops against glass.

Seeing that, Edersen’s eyes curved like crescents.

“You possess many amusing tricks.”

Then he snapped his fingers.

PSSSSSHHH—

Beside him appeared the form of a dragon blazing with dark crimson flames.

“Did you call it Extermination of Evil? [N O V E L I G H T] Then let us name this one Harm of Evil.”

Harm of Evil against Extermination of Evil.

As befitted the ruler of Noctarion, Edersen adjusted himself perfectly to Su-ho’s battle style.

The sight was absurdly ridiculous.

Soon, Harm of Evil surged toward Su-ho.

At the same moment, Su-ho swung Extermination of Evil.

KWAAAAANG!! CRACKLEEEEE!!

Extermination of Evil and Harm of Evil collided at the center of the table, unleashing a violent explosion.

The dining table shattered apart, and every opened window exploded as well.

Yet neither Extermination of Evil nor Harm of Evil dispersed or vanished.

Edersen smiled.

“So now you cannot use Extermination of Evil anymore?”

Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.

He had never imagined Edersen would counter it this way.

Just to be certain, Su-ho attempted to activate Extermination of Evil again.

But the system notified him it was already in use and blocked the activation.

‘He’s not ordinary.’

He had only seen Extermination of Evil a few times, yet he had already grasped properties Su-ho himself did not fully understand and locked the skill down.

It did not matter.

Extermination of Evil was not the only thing he possessed.

Su-ho immediately activated another skill.

[ Weaken activates. ]

The skill he used was Weaken.

Officially, it was the first time he had used the Holy Art.

Holy light erupted from Su-ho and shot toward Edersen.

But Weaken never reached him.

Something emerged before Edersen like a defensive holy art and intercepted Weaken, tangling against it.

Edersen smiled.

“Maintaining defensive attendants is merely the basics.”

“Must be nice living with so many servants. Never had that luxury myself.”

Rather than replying, Edersen simply smiled and drew his sword.

It possessed a crimson blade utterly unsuited to the pure white figure of its owner.

“It has been quite a long time since I last drew my sword. Since you seem fond of swordsmanship, I decided to match the occasion.”

“How considerate of you. So, are you finally done preparing?”

At the question, Edersen lightly tilted his head and nodded.

A signal telling him to come if he dared.

It was ridiculous.

But Su-ho had no intention of refusing.

BOOM!

Using explosive footwork, Su-ho dashed toward Edersen at tremendous speed.

At the same time, he thrust his sword like lightning toward Edersen’s neck.

Edersen’s gaze remained fixed precisely upon Su-ho.

And because of that, his sword also moved in perfect trajectory toward the Blood Sword.

Su-ho shouted,

“Now!”

At that moment—

Just before the Blood Sword collided against Edersen’s blade, black shadows erupted from beneath Edersen’s feet and wrapped around him.

Jack.

Jack surged upward first, clinging to Edersen’s ankles, thighs, waist, chest, elbows, hands, and even his sword like an encroaching nightmare, disrupting his movements.

A single instant.

That brief interference distorted Edersen’s trajectory, and his sword failed to block Su-ho’s Blood Sword.

SLASH!

Su-ho’s blade cleanly cut across Edersen’s neck.

It was not a shallow graze from the tip.

The center of the blade sliced completely through his throat.

The heavy sensation clearly told Su-ho he had decapitated him.

But at that exact moment, Su-ho’s eyes widened.

He saw it.

The grotesque regeneration of Edersen’s flesh immediately restoring itself the instant his neck was severed.

Smile.

Edersen smiled.

At the same time, invisible energy exploded from his body and blasted both Jack and Su-ho far away.

KWAAAAANG!!

“You insane bastard...!”

Thanks to the effects of Consecration enhanced by Endurance, the pain had been reduced considerably.

Yet even so, this one still hurt badly.

Truly fitting power for the ruler of Noctarion.

After blasting Su-ho and Jack away, Edersen laughed clearly.

“I see now. I momentarily forgot that you use shadow servants. Thanks to that oversight, I granted your blade the honor of touching my neck for a brief moment.”

Tilting his head, he smiled pleasantly.

“Is that everything you have to show me? If so, I must say I’m rather disappointed.”

“As if.”

Su-ho rose back to his feet.

At this point, it seemed there was no choice left except to break through head-on.

Raising the Blood Sword once more, he spoke.

“You’ve clearly modified your body quite a bit. Then why don’t you try blocking this too?”

Su-ho focused his mind.

Then he charged toward Edersen once more, and at the perfect moment, Jack restrained Edersen’s body again.

Edersen’s face still overflowed with composure.

But this time was different.

Right before Su-ho swung his sword, every color inside the White Blood Palace changed in an instant.

[ Soul Severing activates. ]