Chapter 218: Origin Devouring Art

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Origin Devouring Art

Lucian sat on Seth’s throne.

It was an imposing seat, elevated on a stone platform at the far end of the throne room. The backrest was shaped like a coiled serpent, its fangs meeting above the seat.

Clara sat on his lap, her legs draped over the armrest, her silver hair falling against his chest. She kissed his jawline. Mwah. Then whispered against his ear with a mischievous smile. "I knew you had something evil in mind."

Behind them, the Dark Wyvern lay coiled on the stone floor — its massive body taking up half the throne room. Its crimson eyes watched the room with vigilance.

Ven had been returned to the Beast Domain to recover from its wounds.

Before the throne, four figures knelt on the cracked stone floor. Their hands were bound behind their backs with mana-suppressing chains. Clink. Clink. Their auras were sealed. Their cultivation suppressed.

Amunet al-Apep — Seth’s wife. Early Grand Core Realm. She knelt with her chin raised. Her crimson eyes burned with hatred.

Heket al-Apep — Seth’s eldest daughter. Peak Core Realm.

Apophis al-Apep — Seth’s only son. Vice Patriarch.

Renenet al-Apep — Seth’s second daughter. Late Core Realm. She was the youngest. She shook uncontrollably.

Lucian’s crimson eyes swept across them. His voice was cold.

"Where is Seth?"

Silence.

Amunet raised her chin higher. Her lips curled. She spat. Ptoo.

The glob of saliva flew toward Lucian and Clara. Clara raised one finger. CRACK. The spit froze mid-air — a tiny icicle suspended between them. It dropped to the floor. Tink.

"Well, that was rude," Clara said flatly.

Suddenly, the gravity around the four prisoners multiplied. THRUUM. Clara’s Gravity Manipulation crashed down on them. The stone floor beneath them cracked. CRACK. CRACK. Their knees dug into the ground. Amunet’s defiant expression faltered — her body pressing against the floor. Apophis gritted his teeth. Heket cried out. Aaagh! Renenet screamed.

Lucian leaned forward and kissed Clara’s cheek. Mwah. "Take care of it."

Clara blinked. Confusion flickered across her silver eyes. Lucian was normally the one who handled interrogations. But she didn’t question him.

Lucian stood, lifting Clara off his lap and setting her down on the throne. The Dark Wyvern raised its head. Thrum. Its crimson eyes locked onto the prisoners.

Lucian walked toward the exit. Mickey fell into step behind him. Tap. Tap.

[System Quest Completed: Destroy the Apep family.]

[Reward: 50,000 SC, Bloodline Seal -2%, Blood Art Spell: Blood Domain]

[Bloodline Seal: 58% → 56% locked]

[Remaining System Credits: 60,000 SC]

A new quest notification materialized.

[New System Quest Generated: Kill the Apep Patriarch — Seth al-Apep]

[Reward: 80,000 SC, Bloodline Seal -3%, Blood Art Spell: Crimson Annihilation, Title: Vampire Slayer (+25% damage against all vampires), Mystery Reward]

Lucian dismissed the notifications as he stepped outside.

The battlefield was quiet now. The dead lay scattered across the courtyard — vampires and humans alike.

Mickey followed Lucian into the courtyard. He looked around at the carnage.

"What are you going to do now?" Mickey asked.

Lucian didn’t answer immediately. He walked among the dead. He found a clearing in the center of the courtyard.

He sat down cross-legged among the dead.

His hands came together. His fingers moved — forming hand seals. Seal after seal. Swoosh. Fwooooosh. Each seal sent a pulse of dark mana outward. His crimson eyes darkened — the red deepening to near-black. His Ancient Vampire bloodline responded. Thrum. The Devouring Void stirred in his core.

A massive dark formation spread from beneath his body. Fwooooosh. The formation was enormous — fifty meters in diameter, covering the entire courtyard. Intricate geometric patterns of absolute darkness crawled across the ground like living shadows.

Then the Devouring Void activated.

FWOOOOOM.

A tsunami of energy erupted from every dead body in the courtyard. Mana, life force and blood energy. The dead bodies shimmered with faint light as their residual energy was ripped from their corpses. Hsssss. The mana streamed toward Lucian in rivers of light — golden, crimson, dark. Fwooooosh. Fwooooosh. It poured into his body from every direction.

Lucian’s face strained. Grrr. The influx of energy was massive. His meridians screamed. Crack. His core trembled under the pressure. Pain shot through every nerve.

This was the Origin Devouring Art — his past life’s cultivation technique. Created by Lucian Noctis Vael to synergize with his SSS-Rank Devouring Void ability. The technique allowed him to consume the residual mana, life force, and blood energy from dead organisms within a defined radius, converting them into his own power. It was brutally efficient.

But the technique was incomplete. His memories of his past life were still fragmented — shattered pieces of a broken mirror. He could recall the foundation of the Origin Devouring Art, the core principles, the basic formation. But the advanced stages — the refinement processes, the energy compression methods, the safety mechanisms that prevented mana overflow — were locked behind memories he hadn’t yet recovered.

The incomplete version was dangerous. Without the advanced refinement stages, the absorbed energy flooded his system raw and unprocessed.

Grrrr. Lucian’s fangs extended. His claws dug into his own palms. Pierce. Blood dripped from his fists. Drip. Drip. The pain was immense. But the power flowing into him was undeniable.

His cultivation crept upward. Early Grand Core — the barrier to Mid Grand Core pressed against his consciousness. If he could absorb Seth’s mana — a Peak Grand Core patriarch — he could shatter it.

An hour passed.

Fwooooosh. The formation dimmed. The last traces of energy drained from the final corpses. The bodies around the courtyard had withered — dried husks, empty of everything that had once sustained them. Crumble. Some collapsed into dust.

Lucian opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy. Pant. Pant. Sweat poured down his face. But his crimson eyes blazed with renewed intensity.

All of his physical stats had increased by ten points across the board.

Mickey stared at him. "Your aura... it’s grown stronger. In just one hour."

Lucian stood. Tap. He wiped the blood from his nose.

He walked toward Zafira’s corpse. The Beast Tamer’s body lay where it had fallen — on the tower rooftop. Lucian crouched beside it. He placed his hand on Zafira’s chest. Devouring Void reached into the corpse, searching for the ability core.

Multiple system notifications flashed.

[ERROR: Target ability core has dissipated.]

[Absorption failed.]

[Explanation: Ability cores are metaphysical structures anchored to a host’s soul. Upon death, the soul begins to dissociate from the body. The ability core — being an extension of the soul — dissipates shortly after death, typically within 5 to 10 minutes. After dissipation, the ability cannot be absorbed, copied, or reproduced by any means.]

[Time since target death: 4 hours, 12 minutes.]

[Recommendation: For successful ability absorption, Devouring Void must be activated within 5 minutes of target death.]

Lucian frowned. He hadn’t known the time limitation. The system had never explained it before — likely because his Devouring Void had only recently been unsealed. He filed the information away.

Lucian walked back inside the fortress. Tap. Tap. He entered the throne room.

Clara sat on the throne.

She looked at Lucian. "They refuse to talk."

Lucian’s crimson eyes swept across the prisoners.

He moved.

FLICK.

He appeared before Amunet. His hand moved. SHHHK.

His hand quickly drove into her chest.

Amunet’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened as blood bubbled on her lips. Her crimson eyes — defiant to the last — dimmed. She crumpled. Thud. Dead.

Clara’s eyes widened. "Lucian—!"

The daughters screamed. Aaaagh! Renenet collapsed, sobbing. Heket’s face drained of color. Apophis lunged against his chains. CLANG! His eyes burned with fury. "YOU BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL—"

Lucian looked at them. His crimson eyes were cold. An evil smile crept across his face.

"I won’t ask again." His voice was soft.

"Tell me. Where the fuck is Seth?"