Chapter 289: Lucian x Silas

“They’re causing too much destruction, aren’t they?”

Lucian muttered in an annoyed tone, his gaze briefly settling on the battle taking place between Grace and Vivienne.

The spot where the two women had first clashed had been reduced to an enormous crater, and the surrounding area was barely recognisable anymore.

The ground was cracked, the nearby structures had been torn apart, and right now… the entire battlefield looked brighter despite it being midnight, the intense flames produced by the two women illuminating the surroundings while making them considerably warmer.

“Just… fucking die…!”

A voice filled with anger came from beside him.

Lucian turned his head slightly towards Silas.

Towards the brownish-red-haired vampire who was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, his expression twisted by an overwhelming mixture of hatred and frustration.

Before Lucian could even respond, a massive fireball came hurtling towards him.

His figure immediately flickered, his body dissolving into mist and allowing the attack to pass through the space where he had been standing.

“You’re too impatient while fighting…”

Silas’s ears twitched as he heard the voice from behind him, and without wasting a second, he abruptly turned and raised his hand to intercept the incoming attack.

But then—

SLASH!

“Kh—!”

A blade came from the opposite direction, cutting through his defence and severing his hand. Silas immediately backed away, clutching the stump as blood sprayed across the ground.

His gaze shifted towards Lucian.

The young vampire had already vanished from his spot, appearing a short distance away, and on his face… there was an unmistakable mocking smile—as if he were laughing at him for being so careless.

Apparently, the Charm effect had been broken after Silas was struck by Vivienne’s attacks and sent flying away like a ragdoll.

And Lucian, too, couldn’t keep someone like Silas frozen indefinitely, especially while fighting much stronger opponents.

Maintaining the effect continuously placed considerable strain on his mind, and if he wasn’t careful, he could eventually lose consciousness from the burden.

And the moment Silas regained control of his body, he immediately charged towards Lucian with killing intent.

“…You know what, your mother is so much better than you—”

“You fucking bastard!”

Silas appeared directly before him, his claws tearing through Lucian’s side.

Blood splattered, and a sharp pain spread through Lucian’s body.

And yet… instead of retreating, Lucian burst into laughter.

“Pft—hahahahaha…!!! I meant for combat, you fool!!!”

Lucian looked at the furious vampire before him, his grin widening as he watched the man’s expression twist even further.

As expected of a vampire, he was way too easy to provoke, perhaps even more so because he was much more hot-blooded than his mother—though not as much as Lucian himself.

Twisting his body, Lucian drove his foot into Silas’s side.

The impact sent the vampire skidding backwards, his boots scraping against the ground as he struggled to regain his balance.

“Did you get angry?” Lucian tilted his head, looking almost genuinely curious.

“But I wasn’t kidding earlier, your mother really is a slu—”

“Shut the fuck up!!” Silas’s roar interrupted him.

“I fucking tear you apart!”

“Hahaha! Try all you want!”

The battle continued.

Minutes passed, and unlike what Silas had expected… despite having superior physical attributes that should’ve easily overwhelmed Lucian, especially given that Silas was of a higher rank… he was the one getting gradually slower.

Or rather… his attacks were becoming more rash and less precise.

Repeatedly reconstructing damaged flesh and restoring lost blood placed a burden on their bodies, especially when the injuries accumulated faster than they could recover.

And as they grew increasingly exhausted, the hunger for blood could become even more difficult to suppress.

But despite feeling the bloodlust slowly creeping into his mind, Silas had no way to relieve it, since the only way to do so was to drink his partner’s blood—his mother’s blood, who wasn’t even here.

Though even if she were…

‘She might just sever my head after everything.’

His body trembled slightly, and that thought alone made his movements much more reckless. His eyes, now turned crimson, remained fixed on Lucian, the bastard he held responsible for every bit of humiliation and suffering he had endured today.

Everything had gone wrong because of him!

Everything!

“It’s all because of you!” Silas roared in anger, his claws slashing towards Lucian’s throat.

“She might’ve awarded me! We could’ve really ruled over the Scarlett Duchy if it weren’t for you!!!”

Lucian’s lips twitched.

His crimson hair continued floating behind him, stirred by the pressure generated by his movements.

His blade flickered again, moving so fast that Silas barely managed to block the strike, his mind already too full of anger.

“Big dreams after failing so miserably.”

“FUCKING DIE!!!”

Silas’s eyes widened in fury. He gathered mana and launched another fireball at Lucian, who leapt back, effortlessly dodging the imprecise attack.

And in the next instant—

Fwoosh!

“AAAAHAAHH—!!!”

A bloodcurdling scream escaped Silas’s mouth as flames suddenly erupted around him.

The fire wrapped around his body, spreading across his clothes and burning through his flesh. His skin blackened almost immediately, and the vampire’s weakness to fire—something their family had due to being only partially Scarlett—made his entire body convulse violently.

It was hot… far too hot… and even though he desperately tried to suppress the flames, they continued burning through him as though his body were nothing more than fuel.

For a brief moment, he could hardly think.

Not even his mother’s flames were this powerful, and now, perhaps, he had finally understood why she had become so obsessed with the Scarlett bloodline.

The man standing before him wasn’t even close to his rank, and despite being a baby vampire… he wielded such powerful flames and had such control over them.

After several agonising seconds, the flames finally disappeared, revealing Silas collapsed on his knees.

His body was charred almost beyond recognition, and smoke rose from his ruined flesh… though his regeneration was slowly taking effect.

“Are you going to die just like that? That’s too boring—”

“KILL HIM!!!”

Before Lucian could even finish, Silas’s guttural, rage-filled voice echoed loudly throughout the surroundings, and in the next instant—

A figure emerged from the surrounding darkness.

All the vampires who had remained hidden until now suddenly charged towards Lucian, their weapons gleaming beneath the dim light.

There were at least ten to fifteen of them.

“Now this is more like it.”

[Are you sure…?]

Akasha’s voice suddenly sounded inside his mind, making him pause.

“Hm? What—”

Before he could even finish the thought, his body moved on its own.

His figure blurred from its original position, reappearing several metres away.

And in the very next instant, a golden spear came crashing onto the ground where he had been standing.

“You dodged it…”

Lucian’s gaze shifted towards the white-robed man standing among several others dressed similarly.