Chapter 233: The Fall of the Khamsin

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: The Fall of the Khamsin

The Absolute Isolation Monument had barely finished activating when the assault began. A translucent, dark-red dome expanded outward for five kilometers, sealing the ruins of Sighi?oara in a massive barrier.

Inside the barrier, the Khamsin mansion stood like a fortress of ancient stone and dark magic. But it was about to become a tomb.

Clara and Mickey stepped forward, their eyes blazing with an eerie, toxic green light. They both raised their hands in unison, their mana surging so violently that the air around them visibly warped.

"Gravity Storm," they commanded in perfect sync.

WHOOOOSH!

An overwhelming, crushing pressure descended from the sky. The sheer force of the gravitational anomaly crashed down directly onto the massive mansion.

CRACK! CRACK! BOOOOOOOM!

The mansion was flattened. Roofs caved in, stone walls were pulverized into dust, and the ground itself cratered inward under the sheer, unrelenting weight. A massive shockwave of displaced air and debris erupted outward, shaking the very foundations of the earth.

When the dust finally cleared, the once-grand mansion was nothing but a smoking, flattened ruin. Dozens of lesser vampires—Neophytes and Core Realms who had been caught in the initial blast—were scattered across the rubble, their bodies broken, their blood pooling into the cracks of the shattered earth.

Outside the perimeter, the red dome of the Absolute Isolation Monument hummed steadily, absorbing the shockwave and keeping the destruction contained.

"Tch, that was a bit much," Mickey muttered, shaking his pale hands as the green glow in his eyes faded as he landed planted firmly on the rubble.

Before they could celebrate, a guttural roar echoed from the eastern wing of the ruins. Apophis was locked in a vicious clash with the old man—Mr. Cain.

Hiss! Screech!

Apophis’s shadow serpents lashed out, colliding with Cain’s roaring fireballs. The heat melted the stone around them, while the shadows devoured the light.

Suddenly, multiple crimson projectiles shot through the smoke, tearing through the air directly toward Mickey and Clara.

SWISH!

Clara didn’t even flinch. She raised her hand, and a massive Ice Blizzard surged from her palm. CRACKLE! The freezing winds met the blood projectiles, instantly freezing them solid before they shattered into harmless ice crystals.

"Tch. Survivors," Clara muttered.

From the wreckage, the remaining Khamsin vampires rushed out, their auras blazing. There were dozens of them, their fangs bared, their eyes glowing crimson with bloodlust.

But Lucian’s team was already in position.

Clank! Hiss!

Ryan and Iris dropped from the sky, landing heavily on the rubble. They were clad in their latest combat suits. Ryan’s Vanguard Series-8 armor whirred to life, the ice-cold mana circuits glowing blue, while Iris’s sleek, black Techno Forge exoskeleton locked into place.

FWOOSH! BOOM!

Ryan unleashed a devastating ice blast that froze a charging vampire mid-sprint, while Iris fired a barrage of concentrated mana blasts from her suit’s gauntlets, blowing apart a cluster of Neophytes.

Meanwhile, Lucian was a ghost of death.

He held the Blood Reaver in his right hand. The ancient weapon shifted, its dark, blood-red metal elongating and widening into a massive greatsword. A dark, violent light—his Sword Intent—blazed along the edge of the blade, distorting the very air around it.

Shing! Slash! Squelch!

Lucian blurred forward.

Each swing fired a massive, crescent-shaped slash of pure Sword Intent. The dark light tore through the air, slicing through multiple Core Realm and Early Grand Core vampires simultaneously. Blood sprayed into the air like crimson rain as bodies were cleaved in two, their regeneration useless against the spatial tearing of his Sword Intent.

"He’s a monster!" a vampire screamed before Lucian’s sword intent decapitated him in a single, fluid motion.

Suddenly, a powerful, concentrated Blood Mist Slash tore through the battlefield, aiming directly for Ryan’s back.

"Ryan!" Iris screamed.

BZZZT! CRACK!

A powerful, green Aegis barrier surged around Ryan. The Blood Mist Slash slammed into it, cracks spiderwebbing instantly across the surface. But before it could shatter, two more layered barriers appeared, wrapping around the first and absorbing the impact entirely.

Rose stood a few meters away, her hands extended, sweat beading on her forehead. She let out a sigh of relief, but her eyes quickly darted to the distant, looming figure standing atop a ruined pillar.

It was an ancient vampire clad in dark robes, his aura so dense and foul it made the air around him rot.

The Khamsin Vice Patriarch. A Peak Grand Core.

Before he could launch another attack, Clara landed gracefully in front of him, the ground cracking beneath her boots. She leveled her S-Rank spear, Lunar Fang, at his chest.

"Why don’t you take on someone your own size?" Clara said, her voice cold as a winter graveyard.

The elder frowned, his eyes narrowing at the sight of her silver hair and the sheer pressure radiating from her. "Who the fuck are you guys? And why are you hunting us?"

Clara didn’t answer with words. Her bloodline surged, the Sovereign Grade Moon Goddess Bloodline radiating an awe-inspiring, terrifying pressure.

"LUNAR SOVEREIGN FORM," she commanded.

BOOM!

A silver halo of condensed moonlight formed behind her head. Her eyes shifted to silver slits, and her hair ignited with ethereal, moonlit energy. She looked like a goddess of war descending upon the battlefield.

She drew her spear back, the moonlight condensing at the tip into a blinding point of absolute zero.

"Lunar Spear Art: Silver Moon Piercer."

SWISH!

She thrust the spear forward. A colossal beam of concentrated lunar energy and frost tore through the air, leaving a trail of frozen space in its wake.

The Vice Patriarch immediately dissolved into a thick cloud of blood mist, dodging the attack. The spear art struck the building behind him and the area entirely leveled. BOOOOOOM! A massive explosion of silver light and ice obliterated everything in a fifty-meter radius.

The elder reformed, his eyes wide in absolute shock as he looked at the devastation. This harmless-looking female vampire had the power to erase a city block with a single attack.

Suddenly, Lucian appeared right behind him, stepping out of thin air using Light Steps. He swung his Blood Reaver Greatsword down, aiming directly for the elder’s neck.

But before the blade could connect, a piercing Blood Mist attack shot out, slamming into Lucian’s side and sending him crashing through three ruined buildings.

BAM! CRASH! CRASH!

Lucian quickly climbed out of the rubble, coughing up a bit of blood. His Eternal Regeneration kicked in, the dark bruising and deep gash on his side closing within seconds. He looked at the attacker and smirked.

Standing opposite him, radiating a terrifying Peak Grand Core aura, was the Khamsin Clan Patriarch himself. Tariq al-Khamsin.

Tariq dissolved into blood mist, appearing right beside Lucian, dual daggers slashing toward his neck.

Clang! Clang!

Lucian sensed him instantly with Blood Sense. He ducked under the first slash and parried the second with his greatsword. Then, he clapped his hands together.

"Light Blades."

Zing! Zing! Zing!

Dozens of pure light blades materialized in a circle around Lucian, firing outward in a 360-degree barrage. Tariq jumped back, the blades missing him by millimeters.

Tariq frowned, his eyes locking onto Lucian’s face. His eyes widened in absolute disbelief, his jaw dropping.

Lucian smiled, seeing the shock on his enemy’s face. "Yes. It’s me. I survived."

Tariq’s eyes widened further, his composure cracking. "HOW?!"

Lucian smiled, waving his greatsword casually as he said a cold, chilling line: "Because the abyss refused to swallow me. And now, I’m here to swallow you."

He took a step forward, his own Late Grand Core aura flaring in defiance against the Peak Grand Core pressure.

"But you know," Lucian continued, his tone conversational, "I did kill and destroy the Apeps. I went for them first only because I always keep my word. I told him I would come for him first. Otherwise, I would have loved to have your head first."

Tariq’s dense, Peak Grand Core aura blazed violently, the sheer force of it shattering the ground beneath his feet and creating a crater. His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Don’t get so arrogant, boy," Tariq snarled, his voice echoing with ancient, vampiric power. "I will personally serve your body to the Dark King."

Lucian simply gestured with his free hand, a dark, mocking smirk plastered on his face.

"Then do it."