Chapter 50 Training For The Fight (1)

“C-C-Creation?!”

Lilith’s facial expression was something to behold. First, it went from pure astonishment, then it moved to innate doubt, and it switched to uncertainty before finally landing on complete befuddlement. It was like looking at a child not knowing how best to show her emotions, and it was extremely adorable through my rose-tinted glasses.

“There’s no way! Creation magic doesn’t exist! Do you know how many magic researchers have been studying this subject?! It must be some kind of lesser magic, isn’t it?!”

“Hah… Yeah, I guess that’s the natural reaction.”

Logically speaking, I should feel the same way that Lilith did. Creation magic is, by its very essence, one of the most sought-after magic. Essentially, a user that had mastered that overpowered magic system could affect change in the world far better than any magician could ever. For instance, if one wanted to crash the gold market, they could effectively double the world’s stockpile instantly, saturating the market and making them a billionaire overnight.

Not only that, Creation magic went against the known conventions of the system that balanced the world. The law of conversion states that you can’t create something out of nothing. But Creation magic literally breaks that rule.

One could create antimatter, dark energy, or even the rarest materials ever created in the known universe. It was the dream discovery of all magic researchers, and yet…

I felt nothing.

No, it wasn’t that I felt nothing. I’d just felt like this new magic that had been awakened in my body was nothing more than an extension of myself. A power that was as natural as breathing.

“J-Jin… Y-You’re not joking, are you?”

“Lilith… You should know I would never lie to you about something like this.”

“Y-You’re right…”

Lilith dropped her face and began to scratch her chin. She knew my personality well, probably far better than I knew her. So, she knew for a fact that I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Still, the logical mind was sound. If I were to tell someone that the world was flat, they would laugh at me, no questions asked. However, since Lilith knew that I wasn’t a liar and neither was I delusional, her logical mind was fighting against her understanding of me.

“Are there limitations to your Creation magic?”

“Yes,” since there was no need to lie to her, I replied honestly. “I’ve yet to test it, but I believe my Creation magic only applies to non-organic materials. For instance…”

I raised my right arm, and magic power flowed out from my rainbow-coloured ring. Almost immediately, a fifteen-centimetre long, dark brown tree branch materialised out of thin air. It was dried up with flakes of bark falling from all around. There wasn’t a hint of any leaves, fruits or flowers. It was nothing more than a dead branch that could only wait to be decomposed.

“I tried to make this branch a verdant one that had been plucked from a tree. However, all I could create are the components of the dead branch.”

“Hoh… So you are unable to replicate life?”

“Just so.”

Creation magic was powerful, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its limitations. Life itself was an enigma that no scientist had ever solved. It didn’t matter if they were Vampires, Humans, Elves, or even the Outer Demons. There’s no entity that could figure out the puzzle that was called life. And brings me to my next point.

“My Creation magic only works if I FULLY understand the object that I’m creating. For instance, I know that water is two hydrogen atoms bound together with an oxygen atom. That’s why I can create water just like that.”

A stream of water flowed out from my hand and swirled around into a water dragon. It was the easiest form of Creation magic that I could make as all I needed to know was the compounds that made water, water. If need be, I could even change the vibrations of the molecules to turn them into ice or steam.

“Anything that’s too complicated, or if it’s something that our intelligence can’t comprehend, I wouldn’t be able to create it. Plus, I’m limited by the amount of magic power that I have. So, I won’t be creating a Sun anytime soon.”

I winked as a joke to tease the beautiful young researcher. However, Lilith’s mind had taken that joke quite literally and went off into a tangent.

“Wait, so doesn’t that mean you can create an artificial Sun in the future?! Won’t that solve our energy crisis by using nuclear fusion energy rather than the traditional fission reactors?!”

“Ah, now that you mention it…”

Nuclear fusion energy has been eluding humanity’s best and brightest minds for centuries now. And while fission reactors were still very popular and were one of the most widespread methods of generating power, they had several limitations. Namely nuclear waste and the danger of a nuclear meltdown. Fusion reactors, on the other hand, didn’t have all those downsides.

By creating an artificial star, one could harness infinite amounts of energy, quite possibly to power the entire planet for the rest of time. It was a technology that all energy enthusiasts had been waiting for all their life as it was far more sustainable than natural gas or oil and was just as clean as renewable energy.

However, no one has cracked the code of nuclear fusion. Be it technological hurdles or the science doesn’t add up. Even with the use of magic, no one could create an artificial Sun to create the world’s greatest power generation.

And yet, I held that dream in the palm of my hand.

“Hmmm, creating a nuclear fusion reactor, huh? That actually sounds fun.”

“Right?! And if you’re successful, you can sell it to every Vampire Nightmare realm that requires a tonne of energy to maintain! I’d bet the Moonreaver House would invest in your technology in a heartbeat.”

“Haha, let’s talk about that another time.”

Lilith was right. If I could create a nuclear fusion reactor, I could quite possibly shoot up to be the wealthiest man on the planet. However, there was no need to rush. As a True Vampire, I had an eternity to develop that technology. Not to mention, I wasn’t even sure if I could create a miniature Sun with my paltry amount of magic power.

Right now, it was more important to consolidate my findings and train for the imminent fight against Sirius Moonreaver. Fortunately, Lilith noticed my misgivings and changed the subject. Dear me, what a good wife.

“Are there any other limitations of your Creation magic?”

“It seems I can only create things that exist in this universe. If I attempted to create something that doesn’t exist, it would turn into pure magic energy.”

“I see… But it’s still amazing! Your Creation magic is something that would change the world!”

“Hehe, now do you think I have a chance against your brother?”

“…”

As if a bucket of cold water had been doused on her, Lilith’s flame of passion was quickly extinguished. She once again thought about her brother’s martial and magical abilities, only to show a distinct frown.

“I’ll be honest… You are still too young. Maybe if you had a couple of centuries to train, you could match my brother. But a month is…”

“… Is he really that out of my reach?”

Creation and Spacetime magic. Although I wasn’t able to awaken the other two that had been sealed, these two, when mastered, should be more than enough to take down any opponent. And yet, Lilith was still sceptical about my chances.

“… Alright, I would be violating my House’s laws here, but I would rather you know about it than get eviscerated during the match.”

“Huh?”

Lilith shook her head and brought out her phone. She tapped on the screen a few times before showing a picture of a reaping glaive. It had a long metal handle, one that seemed heavy enough already. However, at the tip of the polearm, there was a curved, single-edged blade carved with detailed images of flowers, thunder, mythical beasts and an array of more designs that I couldn’t identify.

But one thing is for sure, that weapon looked like something out of a legendary story.

“What’s this?”

“Do you know what the speciality of the Moonreaver House is?”

Lilith ignored my question and raised her own. Although I was confused, I still answered accordingly.

“Dimensional magic, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lilith raised her right hand and showed the back of her palm. At that moment, a gorgeous tattoo appeared with a torrent of magical energy. A slight illusion of a moonlit night filled with stars and empyrean darkness emerged, mystifying any who dared admire its grandeur.

“This is my Vampire Aspect, the Elysian Melody,” Lilith explained succinctly. “Just like how Irina’s Winter Sovereign helps her control the power of Winter, my Elysian Melody helps me utilise the power of dimensions, which all starts from the night sky.”

At this point, the simulator we were in turned from day to night, revealing the starry night sky all Vampires loved and basked in.

“If the Everwinter House’s power comes from Winter, the Moonreaver House is the power of the stars. We derive everything that we have from the night sky. The Blood Moon. The Nightmare realms. The power over lightning. And the mystical traits of the dimensions. All of our power stems from the night sky.”

I guess the clue was in the name.

“And because of that, our actual combat ability is minimal. Most of our abilities relate to dimensional magic, which allows us to have a monopoly over who controls which Nightmare realms. And while that is good for business, our lack of combat ability is painfully obvious whenever we participate in wars.”

Yeah, I think I’d heard Lilith explain this once to me. Most True Vampires in the Moonreaver House hated combat. From what I understood, they were like Lilith, who preferred to research in her lab or experiment on new subjects.

Think of the Moonreaver House as a pharmaceutical company. Most of their residents are science nerds who don’t like to exercise or go out anyway. They loved to stay indoors and innovate like no one else.

While that was good for creating new magic and Nightmare realms, it was terrible for their own defence force.

Which was precisely the reason why…

“So, to counter that, the Moonreaver House created a special force unit. An elite force that specialises in combat and could rival any Ancient Vampire from the other great Guardian Houses.”

“… And you’re telling me that your brother was part of that force?”

“No,” Lilith shook her head decisively. “My brother is their leader. The undisputed strongest elite of the Asterias.”

The Asterias? So there was such a secret force within the mighty Moonreaver House.

“Canopus, Rigil Kentaurus, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Rigel. Each of these elites was the best fighting talent in their generation, and they had been groomed for a lifetime of bloodshed and power. And the most frightening part of the Asterias was the fact that their abilities could be passed down from generation to generation.”

Lilith showed the beautifully ornate glaive once more and solemnly continued her explanation.

“The first generation of Asterias knew that training a new elite to match and surpass them was almost impossible. And so, they created relics that could ‘record’ the memory of their abilities, so that they could effectively pass down their skills down the generations.”

“And you’re saying that this is one of those weapons?”

“Yes…” Lilith nodded in silence. “This weapon is called Stardevourer. Wielded by the strongest of the Asterias, the one who bears the name of Sirius!”

I see… So Sirius wasn’t Lilith’s brother’s real name. Rather, it was a title given to the strongest fighter of his generation.

“My brother is the first Moonreaver in history to simultaneously hold the name of Sirius and lead the House. And while I doubt he would use Stardevourer in your battle, the knowledge he’d gained from all of the previous Sirius’ still remains.”

Now I finally understood why Lilith didn’t believe I could win as much as she wanted to.

“Jin… What you’re fighting isn’t my brother. It is the collective knowledge of all the past Sirius’ blended into the Moonreaver House’s best fighter!”