Chapter 480: The Seed Disappeared XIX

Stephen’s body reacted instantly. The divine blood refused him.

Sekhmet felt a wall of power inside Stephen’s flesh. He should have stopped. Instead, Bloodlust made him push harder.

Stephen suddenly froze. His injured shoulder twitched. Only once.

But Elena noticed.

So did Sofia.

Stephen looked toward Sekhmet. His expression changed completely.

"You entered my blood? How?"

Sekhmet felt the connection break almost immediately. He had not controlled it. He had barely touched it. But for one moment, his Blood Control had reached the blood inside a Mid-Rank God.

Sekhmet looked at his own hand.

Blood Control Lv3.

Blood God Will.

Bloodlust above ninety percent.

The combination was doing something his normal rank should never have allowed.

The System responded before he asked.

[Blood God Will is amplifying Blood Control beyond normal Rank limitations.

The host is temporarily able to influence exposed or damaged blood pathways belonging to substantially stronger targets of god levels.

Warning: Continued use will further increase Bloodlust.]

Sekhmet almost ignored the warning. He looked toward Stephen’s wounded shoulder again.

"How much?"

[Unable to calculate accurately.]

That was not useful. Then Sekhmet felt another heartbeat nearby.

It was closer than Stephen. A wounded battle maid had fallen several steps behind him.

His head turned.

She held one hand against a deep cut across her stomach. Blood covered her fingers.

Sekhmet stared.

The System reacted instantly.

[Warning.

Host Bloodlust: 92%.

Friendly blood source selected.

Correcting focus.]

Sekhmet shut his eyes for one second.

When he opened them, he looked at Stephen again.

"Keep doing that."

[System will continue correction while possible.]

Sekhmet knew what those last two words meant.

While possible.

Not forever.

Across the estate, Mihos’s people were beginning to understand that their advantage had disappeared. They had arrived believing Stephen would end everything.

Instead, the God they relied upon was bleeding. The Dawn House battle maids were not retreating. Raka’s lesser vampires had closed the exits behind them.

Mira, Lily, Vera, and Vela were still standing.

Several of Mihos’s fighters began looking toward the broken gate.

Raka saw it. He raised his blood-covered claws.

"Anyone who runs gets caught first!"

That stopped two men. A third tried anyway. He jumped toward the outer wall.

A lesser vampire tackled him before he reached the top. They fell together into the street outside.

The man tried to stand. Three more vampires were waiting below.

Mihos watched all of it with growing anger.

"You useless trash! Fight!"

His voice carried across the courtyard. Some obeyed because they were afraid of him. Others obeyed because there was nowhere left to go.

Mihos turned toward Stephen.

"Stop playing with them!"

Stephen did not look at him. That irritated Mihos even more. He yelled, "Stephen!"

The old butler finally answered. "They are not the same opponents anymore, young master. I can’t guarantee my win. You should prepare for the worst outcome."

Mihos became silent. That was the first time Stephen had admitted the situation directly.

Elena heard it too. She smiled faintly. She said, "You finally noticed."

Stephen looked at her. He replied, "I noticed when you stopped being weak."

Elena’s smile disappeared.

"That almost sounded like praise."

"It was not."

Stephen raised his hands. The strange divine force around him changed. This time, he did not concentrate it on one person. He spread it across the entire central battlefield.

Sekhmet felt the air become heavy.

Elena’s feet sank slightly.

Sofia’s hair stopped moving.

Natasha, who had been preparing another attack, suddenly slowed.

Even Sekhmet felt pressure settle across his shoulders.

Stephen was trying to control the space around all of them at once.

That had a cost.

Sekhmet saw blood begin flowing from Stephen’s nose.

A thin stream. Then another. Stephen ignored it.

Sekhmet did not. His Blood Control immediately caught the blood before it reached Stephen’s mouth.

Stephen’s eyes snapped toward him.

Sekhmet pulled the blood towards him. The blood left Stephen’s face. That tiny distraction weakened his control.

Elena moved.

The space around her resisted, but she forced through it. Each step broke a stone tile.

Sofia and Natasha pushed from different directions at the same time.

Stephen could not hold all three without dividing his focus further.

Elena reached him. Her fist struck his chest.

Something cracked. It was not a stone. It was his rib.

Stephen flew backward.

Sofia released a blood chain that caught his leg before he could recover. She pulled him downward.

Stephen hit the ground.

Natasha appeared above him. This time her claws entered his stomach.

It was deep. Very deep...

Stephen’s divine force exploded again, but Elena was already there.

She grabbed Natasha and pulled her away before the blast reached them fully.

Sofia released her chain and retreated.

Stephen stood slowly. Blood ran from his stomach. More from his nose. More from his shoulder. His ribs were damaged. His clothes were torn almost beyond recognition. He looked toward Sekhmet.

Sekhmet was already looking at him.

The System rang again.

[Host Bloodlust: 94%.

Warning: Critical Bloodlust level approaching.

Hostile focus remains active.

The system recommends immediate withdrawal from active blood exposure.]

Sekhmet ignored the recommendation.

Stephen was finally losing. Leaving now would mean giving him time to recover or escape.

Sekhmet would not do that.

Mihos seemed to understand the same thing. He looked toward Stephen’s wounds. Then toward the Dawn House forces.

Then at the roads surrounding Iron House. His face changed. For the first time since entering the estate, Mihos looked toward an exit.

Sekhmet saw it.

So did Vera.

She stepped sideways and blocked the most direct path toward the main gate.

Mihos looked at her.

Vera smiled.

"Going somewhere?"

Mihos’s eyes hardened.

"I do not need permission from you."

Vela appeared beside her.

"You may need permission from everyone outside."

Mihos looked beyond the gate.

Lesser vampires were everywhere. He understood. The Iron House estate had become a cage for him. His own people were inside it with him.

Stephen saw Mihos looking toward the exit.

"Young master, stay behind me. I will buy you some time."