Chapter 208: You will regret touching her

"Vlad, lift your head. I want to tell you something."

A familiar voice echoed in Vlad’s mind.

He found himself atop Seraphina, looking down at her serene face, which carried a crimson hue of shyness. She slowly raised her head, moving towards him, and kissed his forehead.

Several seconds later, when she parted her lips, she whispered,

"I love you, Vlad."

---

Vlad’s heavy eyes slowly opened. He found himself lying on Shadow’s back.

"Was that... a dream?" he wondered, still half-conscious. "N-no... she said it. That night."

His eyes widened as he became fully conscious. Raphael was pouring his mana into the array, while Hugo and Alisha guarded them.

"Where is Sera?" he murmured, forcefully raising his head.

She was a few metres away from the squad, fighting Daemoth, completely transformed into her vampire form.

"Sera..." He tightened his fists in frustration. She had eventually been forced to reveal her identity.

Just from the few exchanges between Daemoth and Seraphina, Vlad could tell that she was at a complete disadvantage.

"I-I need to fight," he muttered, trying to move his hand towards the hilt of his sword at his waist. He completely failed to move his arm.

The mana deviation had strained every part of his body. His jaw tightened at his own weakness.

He took in a deep breath and activated the Art of Dragon Breathing.

A piercing pain shot through his meridians the moment he absorbed the mana.

[Warning! Impure Umbra Mana of Tempest Grade has been detected in the host’s meridians. The host’s body is incapable of purifying or absorbing Tempest Grade Mana. Immediate cessation of the Art of Dragon Breathing is recommended!]

He didn’t stop.

The impure Tempest Grade Umbra Mana began damaging his meridians, spreading an unbearable pain throughout his body.

Blood leaked from the corner of his lips as dark cracks appeared across his skin.

[Warning! Host’s meridians are suffering serious damage. Immediate cessation of the Art of Dragon Breathing is recommended.]

He kept absorbing.

[Warning! Multiple damaged meridians detected. Immediate cessation of the Art of Dragon Breathing is recommended.]

He kept absorbing.

[Warning! Host will lose the ability to wield mana. Immediate cessation of the Art of Dragon Breathing is recommended.]

"Shut up," he muttered, not stopping until his core was completely filled with impure Umbra Mana.

---

Daemoth tightened his grip around Seraphina’s throat as he whispered, "I never had a vampire in my collection. You will be the first one."

His words sent an intense rage through Vlad, awakening the same destructive emotions he had felt that day.

He opened his crimson eyes with black sclera, their oval pupils staring at Daemoth.

He moved down from Shadow, unsheathed his blade, and muttered, "Oy, bastard. Keep your fucking hands off her."

The sword in his hand instantly erupted in black mana, its flames blazing like a burning match tossed into a sea of oil.

"What has this kid done to himself?" Daemoth murmured, his grey eyes staring at his bizarre figure. "His meridians are a complete mess. Did he absorb the Tempest Grade Mana from the surroundin—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as Vlad vanished from his position like a blur.

The next moment, Seraphina was gone from his grip.

She was in Vlad’s arms, with him standing beside the rest of the group.

Splatter!

Blood sprayed from the wrist of the hand with which Daemoth had been holding Seraphina.

’S-so fast...’ Daemoth muttered inwardly. ’If I hadn’t laced my arm in Mana at the last moment, I would have lost my hand. Still, he managed to cut it halfway.’

"Commoner..." Seraphina murmured in his arms, every syllable laced with worry.

He moved her down and said, forcing a smile onto his face as he handed her wand back to her, "I will take it from here."

The Dullahan that had just destroyed the array swung its massive greatsword at him from behind.

"Look behind!" Seraphina called out.

Slash!

The Dullahan was sliced in two by a wide diagonal swing of Vlad’s sword.

Daemoth didn’t know exactly what Vlad had done. But one thing was clear. He was dangerous.

"Play time is over," he muttered, trying to sound confident, but there was a slight nervousness beneath his voice. "Now die!"

All the undead rushed towards the squad from every direction.

"ROAR!!!"

Seraphina’s Qilin, Ammy, roared, releasing a burst of golden flames from its mouth.

It struck the incoming undead, setting them ablaze.

Alisha’s fox slammed its paws into the ground, erupting several diamond crystal pillars from the earth and surrounding the squad like a barrier.

Hugo’s direwolf attacked the undead on the opposite side, where Ammy was releasing flames.

It materialised several lances of ice that stabbed straight into the undead’s bodies.

The all-out attacks of the beasts barely managed to destroy a few dozen of the thousands of undead, but it was enough for the party to regain their composure.

Raphael put his focus back on creating another array.

Alisha stabbed her wand into the ground and released all of her Lumen Mana outward like waves. The moment it struck the undead, it reduced the intensity of their purple flames, weakening them by ten percent of their strength.

However, it also began affecting Vlad, causing blood to splatter from his mouth.

Seraphina was about to call out to him, but he said, "I will deal with the caster."

Bolts of crimson lightning danced across his feet as he hurled himself into the air.

He landed in the middle of the monster horde, sending a few of them flying outward from the impact.

He rushed straight through them, cutting them down with wide swings of his blade, reducing the distance between himself and Daemoth at a terrifying pace.

With each swing of his blade and each step closer to Daemoth, the cracks in his veins spread further across his body, already reaching his chin.

After slicing through more than fifty monsters, Vlad finally reached Daemoth, taking slow, staggering steps towards him, his crimson eyes burning with nothing but hatred for the man who had touched someone he should never have laid a hand on.

"You will regret touching her," Vlad muttered, pointing his sword towards Daemoth.