A shadow the size of at least three meters looms over me, its dark hand ready to strike.
I spring back to evade it. But just as expected, the shadow’s blades start falling from above. I smoothly bend my body backward, placing my hands on the ground and rolling backward twice more.
I’m nearly backed against the wall now. I feel the firmness of an invisible barrier at my toes.
After bending my knees to absorb the shock, I kick off hard, shifting the direction of my power forward.
I dash like I’m threading through falling blades of shadow, narrowing the distance to Stella.
The pink-haired maid, who has been both my master and training partner for the past three years, charges forward with a satisfied smile, as if daring me to catch her.
But despite her seemingly warm demeanor, every time Stella swings her arms, sharp shadow blades shoot up, targeting my heart from all angles—hands and feet, ceiling and floor.
I’ve long stopped believing she wouldn’t really attack to the point of killing me.
“I won’t confirm the kill after you fall. Please do your best not to die.”
Those were Stella’s words as she accepted my harsh training proposal that demands more than actual combat.
In other words, she won’t intentionally try to kill me once the situation ends, but if I happen to get hit wrong during training and die, there’s nothing she can do about it.
I almost died when one grazed me, tearing half my heart apart. That was two years ago, but once you’ve experienced it, you can’t afford to let your guard down.
But even that isn’t the whole story. I learned that for Stella, a straightforward barrage wasn’t her main tactic but a basic setup for a more complex bombardment.
The real danger comes from the unusual attacks that mix in between.
With my countermeasures limited, it’s highly likely I won’t be able to respond in time if I wait to see them coming. While I chase after Stella with my feet, my mind is constantly searching for the signs of change.
In that next moment, as soon as I felt the activation of a different pattern of shadow magic, I threw myself to the ground without hesitation.
As I lowered my posture, a violent gust of wind swept through.
The shadow’s hand, which had just been above my head and shoulder, swept through in a surge from the ceiling.
With no time to catch my breath, I sprang back up and started running again.
Honestly, I could easily deflect something like this with magic, but trying to deal with it bare-handed would probably leave me with a severed arm, so there’s no choice but to evade for now.
Having already emptied my reserves to the bottom, losing even one limb would mean curtains for me.
I might have the strength for one good strike up front, but I had to save that one for victory.
If there’s no meaningful exchange, I can’t afford to lose even a finger. Ignoring the cries of my exhausted body urging me to collapse, I kept moving my feet.
But the distance to Stella shows no sign of closing.
The leisurely speed at which Stella gracefully escapes and my own speed dodging the countless shadows simply cannot match.
As time drags on, the invisible shackles attached to my body grow heavier.
My heart, drained to the point of no return, beats loudly, desperately pleading for a fresh flow of blood.
At this point, if I give up and run out, fresh prey is waiting outside, and the vampire instincts within me are making a fuss, teasing me to devour everything out there.
“Shut up.”
I silence the cry of my instincts, pulling on the leash of my inner self with practiced ease.
Despite the maddening thirst and the overwhelming urge to gulp down fresh blood right away, I grit my teeth and endure, determined to tame the overwhelming vampire impulse.
In a situation where a misstep could bore a hole in my heart, enduring the thirst becomes quite useful.
Amidst the rain of shadow blades, my struggle to survive takes precedence over any instinct.
However, if I let this drag on, it won’t come to an end anytime soon.
Unless Stella decides to engage in close combat again, there’s no way I can catch up by simply following behind.
“I need to wrap this up soon.”
Today, I intend to aim for true victory.
There’s only so much endurance one can muster. If this drags on longer, it will only end up looking like I ‘lost but fought well.’
I slowly and carefully started to push Stella towards the corner of the cave.
Normally, I would have been the first to run out of breath in a leisurely chase like this, but today isn’t so bad with the pacing.
I seized the center and, while dodging the shadow blades, gradually pushed Stella until she finally found herself cornered.
At the moment it became unavoidable to face off directly, a combative smile formed on Stella’s lips.
Without hesitation, she leaped toward me. The moment her feet left the ground, every shadow in the cave was sucked into her right hand like a vacuum.
The moment she decided there was no more place to run. Her decisiveness is indeed remarkable.
Now’s the time to take a gamble.
I squeezed out every last ounce of my energy and focused it into a single punch like drawing the last drop of water from a dry well.
BAM!!!
The swelling tide of shadows clashed against my right hand.
The fierce storm forced me back, grounding my feet as I slid backward.
I’ve got no way out here. As I was pushed back, I quickly reached out my left hand instead of my damaged right and snatched the staggering figure from beyond the storm, throwing it down.
Just a second ago, the space had been dancing with the dynamic threat of death, now an unexpected silence fell.
It felt as if time froze. I stared down at the surreal scene, blinking in disbelief.
“…I concede.”
Stella, who had been tossed to the ground, declared her defeat.
She looked up at my left hand, which had stopped right over her heart, with a relieved expression and smiled faintly.
“I never thought a day like this would come in just three years.”
Stella, a vampire of the ducal lineage, declared her defeat.
Hearing that made my legs give out, and I collapsed onto the ground.
Heh, a laugh forced its way out.
I did it. I won. Somehow I made it here alive without dying.
It feels surreal. I’ve defeated one of the top three vampires on the Terra continent; could I have even imagined this three years ago?
“Exhausting, huh?”
“Though I’m not affected by the sun down here, fighting for fifteen hours straight is still quite tiring.”
“Does someone tired just shoot off magic like that? I can’t even do that now.”
“I’ve lived off this for centuries. I’d expect nothing less. It’s quite complicated to hear someone say this after they’ve beaten me without casting a single spell.”
Ah, she added that, technically, she did use magic once at the end.
Despite that tone of disbelief, Stella wore an unexpectedly proud look on her face.
She usually doesn’t smile much, so what could she be thinking now after losing like that?
Was the insight of Martini spot on? She’s probably thinking something like that.
“Thank you.”
I spoke my gratitude honestly.
Regardless of the reason, without Stella’s help, I wouldn’t have made it this far.
The reason I could grow so much in three years is intertwined with Eleonora’s blood, Stella’s knowledge, and the life-risking training.
It wouldn’t have been possible without at least one of those three.
Especially in the use of shadow magic, Stella provided meticulous tutoring, far beyond what I learned during my stay in the duchy.
While blood magic was something I had to learn for myself, going through countless trials during training, I can’t deny that I made a definite shortcut in shadow magic thanks to Stella.
“Don’t mention it.”
Stella stood up, brushing the dust off her maid outfit.
“To be honest, there’s also a part of me that wants to experience a genuine battle, but it’s a shame we can’t do that with just a magic barrier in this underground space.”
“…Is there more to your repertoire than what you’ve already shown?”
I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
As someone who experienced it firsthand, I couldn’t help but express my opinion: the attack methods I’ve confirmed from Stella so far could easily fill a book titled ‘Ten Thousand Ways to Ensure Your Enemy Dies.’
But there are still expansion packs left?
“Even then, if the Progenitor were to go all out, a conclusion would come even more easily than now. You can be confident now. Anyway, it’s been about an hour, and they must be waiting over there. You should hurry.”
Having straightened herself up, Stella urged me with a glance.
Even if we both went all out, I’d still win… huh.
Even saying that, I honestly don’t feel like I can believe it. I’ve never been in a position to give it my all due to the circumstances.
It’s impossible to compare to something you don’t know.
Well, for now, let me just enjoy this victory honestly.
Oh, but just as that warm feeling settled in, I suddenly realized something important and hesitated, glancing at Stella before mumbling.
“…Sorry. I can’t walk. Could you please bring me a bottle of blood before we go?”
I pointed to my leg with my relatively intact left hand. My legs, which had been nearly mangled, clearly didn’t look like they could fulfill the complex task of walking upright.
Additionally, my completely wrecked right hand didn’t even resemble a hand at this point.
Normally, losing a limb like this would take no time at all.
However, as I’ve become accustomed to this sentiment, injuries gained from excessive strain now felt both awkward and worrying.
Of course, I can’t deny that the sense of danger has helped my training.
Moreover, even if my legs were fine, if I just wandered over like this, Eleonora and Plona would surely cause a commotion.
If I don’t want to witness the Underground City being flooded into a sea of tears in Season 68462, I have to take some human blood in the bottle to quench my thirst just enough to recover to a minimal state of being before I move.
“Just a moment, please.”
Shaking her head as if she had just woken up, Stella disappeared to fetch the blood.
She returned safely with a wine bottle filled with blood from the bag she had set outside the training area.
Ignoring her cold, indifferent gaze, I lifted the bottle to my mouth and gulped it down like a weary office worker finishing his day.
“Ahh.”
The taste of blood after training is the best, I swear. While I need to be careful not to lose my sanity over blood, I can’t deny that sweetness.
It might not compare to fresh, warm blood, but in a situation where I could have fainted from blood loss after lying down for another thirty minutes, it truly was like ambrosia.
“Well, shall we go?”
Though the wounds persisted, I tested my fingers on my somewhat healed legs and stood up.
I then immediately headed with Stella toward the place where Eleonora and Plona were waiting.
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