The battlefield, engulfed by waves of flooding blood, transformed into chaos in the blink of an eye.
Death, scattered extensively, claimed thousands of lives in an instant. More death meant more bloodshed, and more blood led to louder screams among the allied forces.
Aria felt a twinge of embarrassment at the destructive scene she had unleashed.
Although it was possible due to the ample resources at her disposal, it was nonetheless a destruction far beyond what she had predicted.
‘Anyway, I’m quite exhausted. I need to tone it down a bit.’
With just the opening strike, it felt like all energy was being drained from her body.
Her lethality was undeniable, but given the scale, it was clear that it was a drastically poor cost-performance ratio.
‘The night is just beginning, I can’t leave first.’
Aria fully understood that her mere presence lifted the morale of her allies.
Thus, she showed no signs of panic or fatigue on the outside.
Holding herself with an air of nonchalance as if this was nothing, she casually tossed her hair over her shoulder with an arrogant gesture.
The vampires gazing at Aria’s back let out gasps filled with awe and fear.
Draped in an elegant black dress, she looked down at the hapless humans with cold eyes, and the vampires saw the shadow of a transcendent being.
“Survive. Then I promise victory.”
The beautiful and calm voice that could steal the listener’s soul snapped them back to attention.
Having finished her words, Aria waved her hand towards the direction of the surviving humans and began to move.
With every gesture, humans erupted from within, and the flowing blood danced in chaotic whirlpools.
The overwhelming spectacle made the vampires truly realize that this transcendent being was on their side.
Courage gradually rose within them. The vampires, who had braced themselves for death, began to nurture the sweet hope that perhaps they could truly win this war.
“We’ll go too. Do not show shame before the Progenitor!”
As Stella’s command rang out, the vampires leaped in unison to follow Aria.
A war that bore the future of the vampire clan had begun, and the curtain rose on a battle that would decide victory or defeat.
*
The allied forces were fully mindful that the Duchy, now with wings, might try to clinch an early victory after its massive win on the western front.
Nevertheless, the battle that commenced on the northern front devolved into a chaotic melee that exceeded everyone’s expectations.
The biggest cause was, of course, the Fourth Progenitor.
The overwhelming destructive force of Blood Magic, not even detailed in literature, caused the allied forces who had engaged without preparation to send in reinforcements beyond expectations to plug the gaps on the flanks, making the battle with the Duchy’s main forces, who arrived some ten minutes later, even tougher.
However, it wasn’t just the presence of the Fourth Progenitor that pushed the allied forces into a corner.
Whoosh! An arrow of wind soared against the night sky.
It became a fleeting star before descending in a parabolic arc, accurately landing over the heads of the support priests at the rear while passing through the ranks of knights and soldiers.
Boom!
A deafening roar swept through the area.
There were no casualties on the allied side. Although the attack was considerable, an arrow flying so clearly could easily be blocked by the sacred barrier.
However, just because there were no direct casualties from the arrow did not mean it was an attack that could be disregarded.
“Where are the priests of the Luminous Kingdom?!”
A knight from the Empire shouted in despair while maintaining the front line.
Elf Ravina Vercheria, a master of magic and archery, continued to fire arrows that accurately fell right over the heads of the support priests.
Some of the priests had to raise shields to block the arrows, and the more time and spirits they invested in protecting themselves, the less support there would be for the warriors maintaining the frontline. This was inevitable.
It goes without saying how greatly the odds shift against the vampires depending on the availability of divine magic support.
While the church’s knights could wield swords and use divine magic simultaneously without issue, the Imperial and two Kingdom forces, though equipped with silver, largely relied on the church for countermeasures against large-scale dark magic.
But clearly, the speed of support wasn’t keeping pace with the flow of battle.
Meanwhile, Stella Banteker seized the slack in divine magic support.
Like it was a chance, shadows began wriggling from all over the battlefield.
As hallucinations caught the allied soldiers off guard, claws emerging from the shadows clawed at their throats.
In the next moment, brilliant light from the priests fell nearby, dispersing the shadows.
Just as the surviving soldiers took a breath and readied themselves, a fast black figure dove among them.
Swish! A short but sharp dagger glimmered, etching red lines across the soldiers’ necks.
With flowing blood, Eleanor darted low to the ground, using her tail to balance herself, weaving through the crumpling humans.
Eleanor’s golden eyes moved incessantly.
What mattered was identifying priorities and acting as efficiently as possible. At times, she attacked with her dagger while at times she took hits with her body, disrupting the enemy’s formation.
‘…A knight.’
Perhaps too engaged in the fray, Eleanor spotted a knight approaching her, faintly glowing with white light.
To fight or not to fight? Eleanor thought briefly.
‘Not my concern.’
Even if it was a knight, there were various ranks, and if it was a lower-tier knight, she might have a chance.
However, Eleanor had no intention to waste time taking a gamble in this crucial battle.
It would be far more helpful for her to stir up numerous soldiers for the benefit of the Duchy’s vampires.
Once that thought crossed her mind, she quickly made her decision.
Swinging her head forward as if diving into the frontline, Eleanor jumped just before a soldier’s sword could hit her skull.
Clang! The soldier’s blade became ensnared between her two horns, and looking confused, he was caught off guard as Eleanor’s tail swung toward his abdomen.
Snap! With the sound of armor crumpling, the allied soldier spat blood and was flung away.
Using the recoil of the impact to kill inertia, Eleanor swiftly changed direction to flee before encountering the knight.
“Good job. I’ve got your back.”
Eleanor, retreating, was greeted by Aria’s encouragement, causing her lips to twitch upward.
Long, flowing white hair and a black dress unsuitable for battle. The knight that had finally caught up realized immediately who was blocking her path.
“Here in front of the Progenitor—”
“Quiet.”
The knight’s trembling gaze dropped. He witnessed blood gushing from the round hole in his chest.
“W-when… did this happen?”
Fingers cloaked in black gloves pressed gently to stem the bleeding from the hole.
Snap! Aria sank her fangs into the knight’s neck with mechanical precision, producing a withered corpse.
“Indeed, reliable to the very end, knights.”
Aria’s cheeks flushed slightly. She wiped her lips with her thumb and tossed away the corpse.
Seeing her seemingly vulnerable back, two soldiers nodded silently to each other before courageously adjusting their grips on their spears.
The moment they took a step to approach Aria, they clutched their chests and collapsed, never to rise again.
Was it the price of their lives? Only the blood that had unnaturally burst through the veins of the two corpses surged upwards like a small fountain, blooming into two flowers.
With a light flick of her hand, Aria easily dealt with her enemies ahead. However, as she advanced with confidence, she suddenly felt a strange déjà vu and halted her hands.
‘This is…’
A presence busily moving nearby, cutting down vampires, caught Aria’s attention.
It was another knight. However, there was something oddly familiar about that presence and scent.
How strange it was. Aria had encountered surprisingly few knights directly.
In fact, excluding Plona, the last time had been that morning on the western front.
‘It hasn’t been a full day; there’s no way I could forget.’
Recalling the presence of the strong ones she had carefully noted that morning, Aria shook her head.
The paradox of feeling unfamiliar yet familiar tugged at Aria’s feet. She rationally concluded she’d better address whatever troubling variable was there.
Killing, drinking, and clearing the path.
Finally, Aria came face to face with the source of her déjà vu.
“Ah-ha.”
A short sigh tinged with complex emotions escaped Aria’s lips.
Flame-red hair, a serious face etched in her memory, and the armor and sword of a knight.
Aria knew who she was.
It was natural that she wouldn’t properly remember just from the scent of blood and presence. After all, her encounter with this knight had been before her awakening, when she couldn’t accurately distinguish blood smells.
“Selin Soleis.”
The knight with the flame-red hair reflexively turned her head at the sound of her name, her eyes widening as she spotted Aria.
Her dilapidated eyes filled with fear, and she momentarily shut them tight, as if confronting an unwanted reality. When she opened them again, her lips desperately moved.
“…Ari, ah.”
Selin Soleis.
A knight of the Luminous Kingdom’s west, stationed at the Randell Branch, and formerly a superior to Plona Moonlight.
One of the first humans Aria encountered after gaining her second life and who had taken on a protective role for her.
However, the reason Aria could never forget Selin was different.
Back when Aria still considered herself human, it was Selin who made her realize she could never truly be one.
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