During her stay in the Underground City, Plona spent most of her time on two tasks: first, teaching Eleonora, and second, training in dark magic.
Plona lost all her previous magical affinities during the process of accepting Aria’s blood and becoming a follower.
Although she had primarily used holy magic before, she was quite proficient in various elemental affinities, far exceeding the average. To compensate for the loss in combat strength caused by her lost magical abilities, she needed to hone the dark magic that only vampires could use.
The taller the tower built with great effort, the greater the sense of loss when it collapses, but Plona didn’t feel particularly discouraged.
Even if the tower she had built with such dedication had fallen, the experience of constructing it wouldn’t disappear.
Even though the magical fields were different, dark magic, being magic, would surely be easier to grasp with prior experience than starting from a blank slate.
Unless her talent for dark magic was inferior to her previous magical affinities, there was no way that her affinity for elemental magic endowed by her massive intake of True Blood from Aria could be lacking.
The outcome came in an unexpected way and form.
While analyzing the structure of the magic used by Stella and Aria, Plona discovered that the usage of dark magic was astonishingly similar to the rules governing holy magic.
To put it accurately, it resembled a rough decalcomania with some level of symmetry. While the skeleton of the control method was nearly identical, it seemed that only the contents were filled with opposing properties.
It was genuinely a surprising and unforeseen result.
Even if they were fundamentally oppositional types of magic, there wasn’t any inherent regularity between them.
For instance, while fire and water magic are classified as opposing elements, there is no discernible pattern in terms of actually using the magic between the two elements.
If one learned one type, learning another would require starting almost from scratch.
Of course, it’s undeniable that the familiarity gained from experience can significantly affect the learning pace, but finding theoretical commonalities between different types is incredibly rare.
But for some reason, dark magic and holy magic, which seemed the least compatible, exhibited considerable similarity beyond general understanding.
Though unexpected, this reality was beneficial to Plona. Using this as a foundation, she began experimenting with “translating” simple holy magic into dark magic.
The result was a success.
Even if the core of the control method was similar, the properties of the light spirits and dark spirits were 180 degrees apart, requiring some practice. Still, Plona could reproduce the basic holy magic she knew by merely changing its attribute to darkness.
Plona was convinced.
“This is it. I can do this.”
From that day onward, Plona began to “translate” the combat style of knights who used holy magic alongside dark magic. For years, she didn’t take a single day off.
And right now, the fruits of that extensive effort were finally shining.
Plona, wrapped in flickering black lightning, erased the distance to Slein in the blink of an eye.
Boom!!!
The sword wrapped in black flames clashed with the fist shrouded in black lightning.
Crack! The atmosphere creaked under the immense energy of the clash. As she withdrew her right hand, Plona’s heel, moving at such speed it was hard to track with the eyes, slammed into Slein’s temple.
The tables had turned.
Slein finally realized that Plona was a far more formidable opponent than he had initially assumed, and he began to fight with all his might without holding back.
But he soon faced a shocking reality.
‘Me… a noble of the Duke rank, being overpowered in strength?!’
This was something that absolutely should not happen.
Fair enough if he lost due to differences in swordsmanship; he could understand that. Similarly, if he were caught off guard by unexpected magic and lost, he could accept it.
However, being beaten in raw strength was out of the question.
Losing due to mere speed was also something he could not accept.
Only a Grand Duke could overwhelm a Duke vampire in pure physical prowess.
While he could rationalize losing to a vampire like Vanteker, the Duke of Sahelrn, who was essentially equivalent to a Grand Duke in strength, he simply could not acknowledge losing physically to some unknown vampire.
‘Wait a minute, that lightning…’
Slein felt a sense of déjà vu.
Even as he found himself on the defensive, wounds rapidly multiplied on Slein’s body. Each time he brushed against the black lightning, his flesh would burn and his skin would melt away.
Slein’s sword also managed to leave marks on Plona, but the exchange rate was overwhelmingly unfavorable.
Yet, he didn’t care about his immediate injuries. His instincts, honed through countless battles, warned him that he couldn’t allow this feeling of unease to slip away.
‘…It resembles the secret techniques of knights.’
Slein finally realized the nature of his déjà vu.
It resembled it. The woman before him, who had let go of her sword and now moved with wild ferocity like a vampire, radiated an overwhelming presence thanks to the massive amount of spirits entwined around her, similar to the hidden techniques drawn out by knights.
The reason why the Knight Order of the Luminous Kingdom is regarded as the most powerful group among humans.
Dukes exist within the Empire and Kingdom if one were to simply consider strength. However, the reason that knights haven’t fallen from the ranks of the strongest humans lies in the exclusively held holy magic by the Church.
The applications of holy magic are limitless. From healing to combat, as long as one has the skill, there is ample room for adaptation.
Among these, there is a distinct application of holy magic that is impossible with other types: the direct body enhancement through the blessing of light spirits that knights utilize.
Magic originally involves a transformation of thought.
It’s the act of bending the natural laws using the will of humans through the power of spirits, creating results that would typically be impossible – that is magic.
In that sense, the physical enhancement of knights might not strictly be considered magic.
Rather than pulling concepts classified under the light attribute into reality, it’s the direct embodiment of the blessing of light spirits into the flesh.
Through this, knights can convert energy capable of twisting the world’s laws into physical strength.
The higher the conversion rate, the greater the strain on the body, but the power increases exponentially.
In fact, the hierarchy among knights is determined by how well they can manipulate this physical enhancement, making it one of the major factors.
And Plona was now reproducing that using the power of dark spirits instead of light spirits.
A technique so profound, it could not be utilized even if the principles were explained to other vampires; it was only achievable through Plona’s talent and experience.
It was still significantly unstable compared to when she used the light spirits and put much more strain on her body.
Had she been human, she wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds before her veins burst, leading to her demise.
However, the regenerative ability derived from the massive True Blood transfusion she received from Aria enabled her now not entirely human body to contain explosive energy.
“The follower of the fourth progenitor….”
Slein felt a surge of danger. It wasn’t merely the direct pressure he sensed from the unknown vampire with blue hair overpowering him.
‘If the follower is this strong…’
The reason why progenitors hold significant meaning to their followers isn’t solely due to lineage.
True Blood remains a part of the progenitor even after leaving their body. Followers cannot refuse the commands of a progenitor because the True Blood flowing through their veins responds to the will of its original owner.
What they share isn’t just will. When the main body grows stronger, the power stored in the True Blood is also partially shared.
In other words, as the progenitor drinks blood and becomes stronger, those already recognized as followers also grow, albeit slightly, along with them.
Most of the vampires currently existing trace their lineage back to the first progenitor.
The first progenitor has long since died; therefore, the commands that bind their followers no longer exist, nor do they grow.
The strength contained within the True Blood flowing through their veins hasn’t changed a whit since the moment the first progenitor drew their last breath.
‘But the followers of the fourth progenitor are different.’
It was unthinkable that a Duke-ranking vampire like him, who had inherited the blood of the first progenitor to some extent, would be overwhelmed by the follower of the fourth progenitor.
While the skill of the follower mattered, the fact that they could wield such energy-intensive dark magic must stem purely from the strength inherited from the progenitor.
‘If the follower is this strong… what must the progenitor be like?’
Memories resurfaced of the progenitor, who strolled toward the throne room without flinching, even when threatened.
Perhaps it was not an act of ignorance or arrogance, but rather a display of confidence. Slein realized that the plan set in motion by the duchy might have gone severely awry.
“Damn.”
The regeneration of his left arm, which had already fallen off who-knows-how-many-times, was noticeably sluggish.
Slein’s right hand remained firmly gripping his sword, blood still oozing from it, but Plona was far from easy to dismiss, even with his reduced reaction speed.
Plona’s kick pierced through Slein’s guard and struck directly into his solar plexus.
However, Slein wasn’t so easily defeated either. Minimizing the shock as much as possible, he flew backward, coughed up blood, and gasped for breath, yet he managed to stand firm on both feet, glaring at Plona.
But in the next moment—
Kaboom!!!
Slein and Plona, amidst their fierce battle, looked up at the ceiling at the deafening sound that echoed from above, erasing any distinction between friend and foe.
It was as if an earthquake had occurred, with an intense rumble and noise. Yet, if this commotion wasn’t coming from the ground, there could only be one reason.
“The ceiling…?”
Who muttered this almost dreamlike question, lost in thought?
This was something everyone present felt without needing to speak.
It was coming closer.
From above, specifically from the spire where the throne room was located, something with terrifying power was plummeting down.
Crash! Bang! Boom!!!
The earlier thunderous noise erupted multiple times. Cracks appeared in the ceiling, and the sounds and vibrations drew ever nearer.
“This is bad.”
A faint sigh escaped Slein’s lips. His expression, tinged with resignation, made him appear, at least for this moment, like an ordinary old man in disbelief.
Finally, cracks occurred in the ceiling of the first floor as well. And—
Kaboom!!!
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