Chapter 62 Bloodborne Vs Moonreaver (2)

Horatio Bloodborne jumped up in the sky and spread his arms out wide. Almost instantly, the sky above Lilith’s mansion turned into a butterfly garden, with thousands, if not millions, of ruby butterflies flapping their translucent wings. In his transformed mode, Horatio possessed an innate suppression ability that was powerful enough to force Capella to subconsciously fall back with bated breath.

She knew that Horatio was one of the most powerful Vampires alive, but actually feeling his magic power crawl up her skin was a whole different story. Capella gulped cautiously and spread her six clones out, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

The Lord of Flies smiled viciously at the Asterias’ caution. He knew that the woman was no pushover, but he didn’t feel a single morsel of fear. It was the contrary, in fact, as he confidently spread his arms out wide as if he was inviting a deadly attack.

Snapping his fingers, Horatio gathered his magic power and congregated all of his ruby butterflies into one singular point. At the same time, he controlled the blood flowing in his veins to burst out from his body, creating a globe of pure, red fluids that protected him from any harm.

And with his most controlled expression, he willed the butterflies to descend upon the masses only to use his most powerful ability…

“Die,” the man said apathetically.

And almost instantly…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The entire world turned into an ocean of darkness and flame. No, it was turned into a world that was dominated by the deadly Bloodfire that could incinerate an immortal Vampire without any repercussions. Pillars of the ruby fire spread free while tongues of licking flames rushed to any living being that was on the floor. The Luce Stellarum, Capella’s elite guards, had to forcibly dig themselves into the ground or rush far away from the impact crater, hoping that not a single flame could get to them.

The peaceful Moonreaver Dimension had turned into an ever-lasting inferno that burned hotter than the deepest parts of the six-hundred and sixty-six hells. Bloodfire spread faster than the driest wildfires and was threatening to destroy Lilith’s mansion and all of its inhabitants with it.

Horatio seemingly didn’t care about the mission to capture Lilith alive. All that he wanted to do was to destroy… destroy…destroy…

Alas, Capella didn’t have that luxury.

Magic power flowed to the mark at the bottom of her neck, distorting the dimension that she called home. Almost instantly, the Bloodfire that threatened to destroy the entire realm had been absorbed by a mysterious force. A vortex, one highly similar to a whirlpool in space, sucked the Bloodfire into a plain of nothingness, leaving behind a perfectly healthy Moonreaver Dimension.

Capella huffed and puffed, all while wiping the sweat off her porcelain forehead. She had averted a major crisis and protected Lilith with it. However, the tribulation was far from over.

“You absorbed all of that into your dimension? Now that’s impressive!”

Horatio clapped his hands without a hint of mockery in his eyes. He was genuinely impressed by Capella’s ability. Not many Moonreaver Vampires could transfer his attack away. The radius of his explosion was equivalent to that of a small nuclear bomb, and moving all of that Bloodfire away required a degree of finesse and depth of magic power that most Vampires couldn’t possibly hope to achieve.

And while Horatio was giving Capella his praise, the woman in question couldn’t reciprocate the love. She glared at Horatio with hateful eyes, ready to rip the Bloodborne Prince into pieces.

And well…

“DIE!!!”

Capella rushed to the skies, with her six clones following close behind. The seven women gathered together as magic power illuminated the artificial night sky. Starlight brightened the night sky, creating a constellation reminiscent of the big dipper. A gorgeous light beckoned from the heavens as a formation started to surround the Bloodborne Prince, who could not comprehend what was happening.

The silver-haired knight knew that Horatio would be stunned and took this opportunity to capitalise. She pointed the Stargazer Rapier at the Lord of Flies, and almost instantly, all of the ruby butterflies dissipated into the void of the Moonreaver Dimension. The sphere of blood that protected Horatio began to break down as well, showing the most vulnerable side of the fearsome invader.

And then, Capella yelled:

“Stargazer!!!”

Unlimited amounts of light beams shot free from the tip of her sword, and the clones soon followed. Like an endless meteor shower, Horatio was showered with eternal falling starlight, and his body was subjected to a torrential wave of suffering.

Light showers continued to rain down, ignoring whether the man was alive or not. Like a monsoon hurricane, it was relentless in its punishment. It didn’t matter if Horatio could survive this attack or not. Capella’s trump card was raining down light at speeds unheard or unseen before, even to the most seasoned Moonreaver elites.

Heck, even Capella’s own soldiers couldn’t help but look away as their leader meted out judgement like the Heavenly Emperor that presides over the stars.

It was only after five full minutes that Capella finally stopped her assault. She almost felt the need to drop her sword after expanding so much magic power and energy, but as the veteran she was, the Asterias gripped the Stargazer Rapier even more tightly. Capella stared at the smoke that she’d created, hoping to even catch a trace of her opponent’s dead body.

Unfortunately…

“Motherfucker!!!”

With a resonating roar, Horatio burst free from the cloud of smoke, his body riddled with holes and broken pieces. As if it were on a timer, his transformed state started to wane as his regular humanoid form took centre stage. The horse hooves and goat horns had been retracted, and his magic power was still fluctuating.

However, the man was anything but dead. Far from it, in fact. With his eyes bloodshot and his mouth filled to the brim with his own blood, Horatio seemed to be ready to mount his next attack.

But there was no way that Capella would give him that freedom.

Raising her arms, the Asterias called forth a mysterious power that started from the Stargazer Rapier and spread far into the Moonreaver Dimension. Dense magic power covered the sky and suppressed the ground, forcing the Bloodborne Prince to unknowingly take a knee. He supported himself with his right arm, and that moment of weakness gave Capella the opportunity to strike.

Clapping her hands together, the silver-haired Moonreaver distorted the space around Horatio. A whirlpool of space attempted to suck Horatio into Capella’s created dimension and hopefully seal him away for the rest of time.

It was the final trump card that Capella had to play. If she couldn’t beat the man into submission, the next best option was to seal him away forever. And now that he was weakened, it was the perfect opportunity for Capella.

At least, that was her idea…

Zzzzzzzztttttttt!!!

Coiled with a gorgeous, ethereal, ruby lightning tendril, Horatio’s right arm smashed into the vortex with vicious fury, breaking apart the dimensional magic that Capella had attempted to cast. Without giving the woman a chance to move, the Bloodborne Prince had secured his protection.

All with just a wave of his hand.

“Blood Lightning… You’ve inherited it, huh?”

“…”

Horatio didn’t answer Capella’s question, but his haughty expression did all the talking. Blood Lightning was just like Bloodfire. It was an exclusive ability for the Bloodborne House, but unlike Bloodfire, Blood Lightning was exceedingly rare.

It was, after all, the signature ability of the Vampire Ancestor.

And if Horatio had inherited it, that meant that the battle was far from over. Capella raised her Stargazer Rapier once more, ready to fight to the death if need be. But fortunately or not, something unexpected occurred.

Numerous flares were shot up in the sky, forcing Horatio to split his attention away. He looked up at the sky for a few seconds before finally clicking his tongue.

“Tch, just when things were getting good… Shadowfiends! We’re retreating!”

The Bloodborne Prince ordered his subordinates with a helpless frown. Evidently, he wished to continue to battle, but ultimately, he was participating in a war. If the order was to retreat, he must retreat.

“…”

Capella did nothing to stop the man. If the circumstances were different, perhaps the Asterias would have fought to the death, but Capella’s primary mission was to protect Lilith. If Horatio were to retreat, it was a great development in her mission; thus, she did nothing to stop the man.

The Shadowfiends instantly leapt back, one of them collecting the motionless body of Talon Bloodborne by slinging him across his back. They all exchanged a few looks, some even taking the time to glare at Jin, before finally disappearing into a bloody mist. And before Horatio retreated as well…

“Capella of this generation… You did well to fend me off. I hope we meet again in different circumstances.”

“Fuck off,” Capella spat with disgust. After this encounter, it would be hard-pressed for Capella, or any Moonreaver for that matter, to view the Bloodbornes with any form of goodwill.

“How friendly.”

Horatio chuckled as he didn’t mind Capella’s acrimony. He did, however, take one final second to look around the area. No, to be more precise, he spared one final glance at Jin’s clone, which was quickly dissipating away. The man didn’t know why, but he felt like he couldn’t take his eyes off the fading clone.

Jin was still far weaker than him. His magic power was inferior, and his age seemed young. Logically speaking, the man shouldn’t be much of a threat to the Prince of Flies. And yet… Horatio had an innate feeling that Jin would one day grow into something that could possibly threaten him.

‘What a pity…’

Shaking his head, Horatio left that thought behind as he joined the retreating Shadowfiends. Perhaps in the future, he would live to regret this day. But today was just not his day.