Chapter 309: Crimson Ascension.

Lucian kept watching the battle with strong interest. One of the Vampires attacked from above, Vespera moved away, another Vampire rushed at her from behind.

This time, Vespera did not turn, instead, a thin strand of blood formed from the wound on her forearm, wrapped around the attacker’s wrist, then, she pulled, used his momentum against him and crashed him into the first attacker.

"She’s good."

Lucian was impressed.

"She should be."

Aurelia nodded.

"She has had nearly a century and a half to practice."

"Your people’s age will never be less absurd to me."

"You’ll get used to it."

"I doubt that."

Lucian shook his head as he continued watching Vespera fight her attackers.

"You didn’t tell me how all of this is related to her Crimson Ascension."

He asked.

Aurelia looked at him for a moment, then she smiled.

"To understand that, you need to understand what a Crimson Ascension is."

Lucian nodded at those words.

He was painfully ignorant about all this, the only thing he did know was that the Crimson Ascension made Vampires strong, as for how and what happened—

He was clueless.

Of course, he couldn’t be blamed either, even if he had read about all this in more detail, most Enclave material was created from a Hunter’s perspective.

The questions it answered weren’t ’what is a Crimson Ascension or what does a Vampire actually experience during it’, they were more along the lines of ’How much stronger does a Vampire become after his Ascension.’

"A Vampire’s strength comes from his Blood.

A Crimson Ascension changes that blood."

"It... changes blood?"

"Yes."

Aurelia nodded.

"The composition becomes denser, the amount of power each portion of blood can carry increases, the marrow changes, the body becomes capable of producing and maintaining stronger blood.

It improves regeneration, physical reinforcement becomes more efficient and other Bloodline-related abilities are strengthened."

Lucian’s eyes glowed with strong curiosity.

"So it’s like... rebuilding the entire system."

"Pretty much."

Aurelia nodded and Lucian couldn’t help but find it all increasingly interesting.

As the two conversed, Vespera below took a strike to the stomach, her body bent, but before the impact could send her away, she caught the attacker’s arm, twisted and then shifted the momentum to throw him.

Just a second later, another fist struck her shoulder, she staggered and the attackers stopped again.

"So why exhaust her before it?"

Lucian asked.

"Because during an Ascension, her existing blood becomes unstable."

Aurelia answered.

"The Ascension doesn’t just make the old blood better, it breaks the blood down, replaces and refines it.

For several hours, sometimes even longer, the Vampire’s body is essentially rebuilding the foundation it has relied upon for decades.

And as all this happens, the Vampire in question is in an extremely vulnerable state, a state where he could turn feral at any moment."

"Because most of his blood, the source of his power, is being broken down."

Lucian finally started to understand it.

"Correct."

Aurelia nodded.

"During an Ascension, it is important that the Vampire remains in control, because if he does not, he may lose himself forever."

"So this is... like training."

Lucian understood.

"Training to not lose control during the Ascension."

"Exactly."

Aurelia nodded.

Lucian nodded back, in his mind, he could already guess how much Red Quiet could help these beings.

If they managed to learn it, no Vampire would ever risk turning feral during an Ascension.

Of course, it wasn’t Lucian’s place to say anything. Red Quiet was not his technique, it was his teacher’s and she would be the one to decide what was to be done with it.

"We exhaust their reserves, force them into a hungry state, then, we make them fight while every instinct demands more blood, this teaches them to remain themselves even during the most dire situations."

Aurelia explained the entire process.

Lucian nodded as he kept staring at Vespera.

The woman was breathing heavily now, her eyes were now turning hazy, she did not look like she was alright, yet...

She remained composed.

She raised her hand again, the Vampires looked at their leader, he nodded, signalling them to continue, so the six rushed at her again.

One of them got closer, surprisingly, she did not react, the Vampire thought she was finally losing her senses, still, he kept going, and the instant he got closer, Vespera suddenly took a single step forward and—

BOOM

She punched.

The Vampire flew backwards.

Lucian’s eyes widened a little.

"She still had that much?"

Aurelia smiled.

"She stopped reinforcing herself continuously and put more strength at the exact moment she needed it."

"Ah..."

Lucian nodded in understanding.

Interesting.

"During Ascension, that becomes essential."

Aurelia muttered.

Lucian turned towards her and she started explaining.

"A Vampire who panics and spends everything whenever their body feels unstable can accelerate their own collapse."

"Hmm."

Lucian nodded.

"So this training is basically her preparing herself for the Ascension."

"Yes."

Lucian nodded again.

He kept watching the battle, a few more minutes passed by, Lucian noticed Vespera’s state deteriorate further and further.

Still, she kept pushing herself, she lasted much longer than Lucian initially expected, especially considering how she was on the verge of losing it a few minutes ago.

But in the end—

She did hold on for a long while.

Lucian nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly—

Bzzzz

A buzzer was heard.

All six Vampires stopped instantly.

Vespera, who was prepared for another attack, stopped as well, for a moment, she remained silent, then, she collapsed onto her knees.

"Lady Vespera!"

One of the Vampires was about to rush towards her, but before he could, Vespera raised a hand, stopping him.

She then took a breath, then another, then another. Then she closed her eyes and only opened them after about ten seconds and when she did—

Her eyes returned to normal again.

She was still in control.

Lucian noticed Aurelia, she was nodding with a satisfied look on her face.

Just then, he noticed one of the Vampire attendants entering the arena with a black case in his hand. Lucian watched him open it and inside it were several sealed glass containers that contained...

Blood.