Chapter 370: Then perhaps I should thank you for confirming my speculation.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The explosion swallowed Neroth. Hundreds of black spheres crashed into him from every direction, one after another, each one carrying the same ridiculous amount of Energy of Suffering he had gathered to kill Lucian.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but destruction.

The very air around him turned black, the ground beneath the explosion collapsed multiple times, the already ruined buildings nearby were torn apart again, stones and debris were thrown hundreds of meters away.

And Lucian—

He remained hovering in the air, watching everything from a distance while his hair fluttered with the strong winds that were generated from the explosions.

His enhanced senses remained focused on the very center of the explosion, on Neroth and the Energy of Suffering around him.

He was prepared to move the moment he sensed even the smallest movement but...

There was nothing.

Lucian kept watching, then, after an entire minute of constant explosions, it finally stopped. Smoke, debris and dust covered the entire area, Lucian waited patiently, still as prepared as before.

Then, when the smoke finally dispersed...

Lucian finally saw what his senses had been telling him with his own eyes.

Nothing.

Varek’s body, whatever remained of Neroth or his Energy, every single bit had disappeared, as if it was erased from the world.

Some part of Lucian still couldn’t believe it.

And it wasn’t surprising, his opponent was an Archdemon with thousands, if not tens of thousands of years of experience, even if he was weakened, thinking Lucian still won was... difficult.

So Lucian kept staring at the spot where Neroth was standing, still waiting for something to happen.

It didn’t.

The battle truly was over.

The overwhelming presence that had covered the Estate, that suffocating, absurd amount of energy covering everything, the Archdemon’s constant angry screams—

All of it was... gone.

For the first time in what felt like hours, the Arcelis Estate became quiet.

Well, not actually quiet, there were still collapsing structures, fires, people shouting in the distance, sounds of debris falling, injured people breathing heavily but compared to before, it definitely felt quiet.

"Well...

...is that it?

I thought you were stronger than that."

Lucian chuckled, trying to provoke the Archdemon again, only this time, he didn’t hear an angry ’YOU BASTARD!!’ back.

Lucian hovered there for a few more seconds, the silence almost felt suspicious. Then, as if to erase all his doubts, something changed.

Flicker

Far above him, the massive crimson barrier covering the entire Arcelis Estate flickered.

Lucian narrowed his eyes.

Then, the crimson colour that had covered the sky began fading away, the Crimson Hearth’s Barrier was becoming transparent, returning to being like it always was, an invisible wall surrounding the Estate.

Within seconds, the crimson dome that had trapped everyone inside faded from sight, the bright, blue sky appeared.

Lucian looked up in silence, then, his senses picked up something else.

The Vampires around him...

They were recovering.

He could hear their breathing becoming steady, bodies that were lying helplessly started moving, blood that felt unnaturally heavy inside their bodies began flowing freely again and the presences that were suppressed to almost nothing started expanding.

Tens of thousands of Vampires, slowly recovering their strength as the Hearth’s suppression over them was released.

Neroth’s control over the entire Arcelis Estate was... now gone.

The barrier had returned to normal.

Lucian looked back at the empty space where the Archdemon was standing before he disappeared, then, finally, a smile appeared on his face.

It really was over.

He really won against an Archdemon.

Lucian let out a slow breath as his shoulders relaxed.

Then suddenly, he thought of Neroth’s final words.

’I WILL RETURN!!’

He gave it some thought as he stared back at the clear blue sky.

Could he actually return?

He thought inwardly.

The Archdemon’s Heart was gone, Lucian ate it. Then he destroyed whatever fragment of him was remaining inside Varek.

There was no more of Neroth left.

Lucian thought about it for a few more seconds, then,

"Yeah..."

He let out a hollow laugh.

"I think this one’s final, buddy."

"It is final, indeed."

That was when he heard a voice.

Lucian froze.

He recognised the voice.

He slowly turned around and his eyes fell on an extremely beautiful woman.

Aurelia.

The Vampire looked much better than she did before, her usual powerful, controlled posture had returned, her complexion had turned back to normal, that overwhelming, difficult-to-read presence of hers had returned as well.

But—

She wasn’t alone.

There was a man standing beside her.

Lucian’s eyes immediately moved towards him.

A Vampire.

He looked like he was in his early thirties, of course, Lucian didn’t trust that when it came to Vampires.

He kept staring at the Vampire.

Dark hair, calm face, simple black clothes without any obvious House insignia, nothing about him stood out immediately and for a moment, a short moment, that made Lucian sigh in relief.

At the very least, he wasn’t a threat to his plans.

Then, he looked back at the man and started thinking.

He had never seen him before, which, obviously, wasn’t strange in itself, there were many Vampires here he had never seen before, but this one...

This one seemed... a little odd.

Lucian kept staring at him for a few more seconds, then, his eyes changed.

"...he wasn’t recognised by the Hearth, was he?"

He asked as he turned towards Aurelia and Aurelia...

She looked surprised.

"What gave it away?"

She asked with a faint smile on her face. Lucian smiled as well, it felt good to be able to see through her plans.

"I thought it was strange when you specifically told me where to take you. The entire Estate was falling apart, you could barely stand, and despite all that, you somehow had one very specific ruined building you wanted me to leave you at.

So obviously, you had something there."

He spoke as his eyes shifted towards the unknown Vampire.

"...or someone."

For a moment, his violet eyes glowed dangerously, but he controlled that and his gaze returned to Aurelia.

"Then when it’s all over, suddenly you’re standing with someone I’ve never seen before.

It couldn’t have been more obvious."

He shrugged.

Aurelia stared at him with a flat look on her face.

"That’s nothing more than speculation."

She spoke and the instant she did, Lucian’s grin widened.

"Then perhaps I should thank you for confirming my speculation."