Chapter 67 Starfall (4)

“Genesis.”

A blinding light exploded from my ring of Creation, one bright enough to incapacitate my aggressive attacker. Alas, just that alone wouldn’t be enough to stop Sirius’ final blow. And so, the kaleidoscopic rainbow light congregated into a sturdy, unbreakable sphere that covered me from head to toe.

CLINK!!!

Sirius’ Stardevourer, which was said to be created with the strongest materials on the planet, bounced off my barrier, repulsing the man dozens of metres backwards. Clearly stunned by the turn of events, Sirius opened his jaw slightly and gave the Stardevourer a perplexed look. Following that, he instantly switched his gaze toward my created barrier.

What graced his eyes was the pinnacle of my Creation ability. A totally encased force field in the shape of an impregnable shell. Perfectly symmetrical hexagons were lined together, making the barrier look more like a tortoise shell rather than a perfect marble. However, its power was undeniable. Airtight, rigid and nigh impossible to break, I used my perfected Creation ability to conceive of the best barrier spell I could imagine.

“Aegis.”

I raised my right hand confidently to show my glowing rainbow ring. This was the trump card I had developed over the last month of training.

Ever since I’d awakened my Vampire Aspect, I’d noticed something missing from my spells. It was like my powers were always constrained by something, be it the restriction on my soul or some other factor. However, as I drank more of Irina’s and Lilith’s blood and studied more in the libraries provided to me, I soon realised my problem.

Every True Vampire had discovered the true name of their Vampire Aspect. For Irina, it was the ‘Winter Sovereign’; for Lilith, it was the ‘Elysian Melody’. Each one of them could innately figure out what Vampire Aspect they had just by looking into their souls.

And yet… I knew nothing of what my Vampire Aspect was.

There was no record of it in the books nor any precedent for this unique Soul Armament that I conjured. And to top it all off, I was unable to innately figure it out due to the other girls’ souls still inhibiting my body.

But there was a workaround…

Even though I didn’t know the true name of my Vampire Aspect, I knew what my two awakened powers were. I knew what they represented, what powers they potentially could unleash, and most importantly… I knew the best way to use them.

And so… I decided to name my powers myself.

After all, I was the one who took control of my dying life. Why not take control of my nascent, unnamed powers?

My power of Creation ignored the laws of physics and the law of matter conversion. I could create something out of nothing but pure magic power. I didn’t need stone to create brick. I could just conjure it up from thin air.

Therefore… Such power was aptly named…

Genesis.

But… Naming the two powers, I currently had came at a cost. A hefty magic power cost, to be exact. While the effects of using Genesis were double as compared to my regular creation spells, spells that were under the effect of Genesis sucked magic power at a rate my young body couldn’t handle. Even now, ‘Genesis: Aegis’ was draining my energy so fast that I could physically feel my arm getting thinner.

The moment I used my named spells, I had to end the battle.

“Creation: Dragonfire.”

Now that I’ve committed, I can’t hold back anymore. My magic power would last for a minute at most, and if I wished to win this duel, I had to throw everything I had. And my rainbow ring reflected my decision. An immense amount of magical power erupted from my Soul Armament as a phantom of a Dragon’s head appeared above my body.

The Dragon phantom opened its mouth like a hungry infant crying for its milk, and in an instant, a ferocious flame hotter than the magma of the Earth itself spewed out like a flowing river. The Dragonfire showed its destructive capabilities by breaking the thick rock of Starfall and instantly vaporising any form of liquid that was near it.

BANG!!! CRRRKKKTT!!! TTSSSTTT!!!

Pops like firecrackers could be heard, and the destructive nature of the Dragonfire only escalated over time. If nothing was done, the flames would engulf the entire Holy Ground and quite possibly melt the whole place to the ocean.

And that was not something that Sirius could ever allow.

The blonde man raised his ancient mythical weapon and swung the glaive around like a sword dancer. A torrent of dimensional magic was left in its wake, distorting reality in the process. And before I knew it, Sirius abruptly slashed the Stardevourer down, and a portal leading to a different place was formed.

I only had a moment to peer into the portal, but I could see nothing but blue ocean waves crashing onto an abandoned beach. By this time, my Dragonfire had already reached Sirius’ location, but due to his created portal, none of the destructive flames even graced his body.

All I could do was watch as my attack evaporated the entire beach, leaving nothing but ashy sands and melted fish in its wake.

“… Who are you?”

Sirius frowned and shot me an interesting look. I would say he was fifty percent shocked, thirty confused, and the remaining was pure disbelief.

“I’ve never heard of a young Vampire casting so many powerful spells in sequence. Pulling down meteors, creating a barrier that can reflect the Stardevourer, and now this fire that rivals the destructive powers of the Bloodborne House’s Bloodfire… What in the world are you?”

Tch, now you want to talk?! A bit too late for that, buddy.

I would love to answer the man’s question, but I must finish the duel before I hit my limit. And so, without giving him any prior warning, I created dozens of sharp shards that were laced with magic. It didn’t matter if they were metal, ice, or just pure stone. I’d even thrown in a silver one for good measure. I raised my hand and switched from my Creation ring to the azure one comfortably fitted on my middle finger.

“Who am I? I believe your sister told you that.”

I laughed and glanced over my shoulder. Even though I’m on a time limit, I couldn’t help but look back on the woman who got me in this situation in the first place. She had her hands covering her mouth as her face betrayed the same look of concern since day one.

She was the one who preserved my soul the moment it shattered and the girl responsible for giving me a new lease in life. Even now, she was praying for my safety and not for me to win the battle. She was content with me returning to her arms without any injury and couldn’t care less about the result of this duel.

And most importantly…

“I am the man who will marry your sister.”

“Imperium: Attract!”

Magical power flowed away from my Creation ring, instantly dispersing the Aegis Shield that protected my body. At my current level of expertise, I couldn’t cast two named spells simultaneously. And so, I switched to my Spacetime ring and poured most of my magic power into it.

Sirius, who had been cautiously watching all this time, suddenly found it impossible to move his own body. No, to be exact, he had fallen under control to my telekinetic ability. Usually, most True Vampires with a large pool of magic power could break free of my telekinetic control just by channelling their magic power.

However, just like Genesis, Imperium was the name I gave my middle ring. Spells cast under the Imperium name were ten times stronger than usual and could even force ancient monsters such as Sirius or Matriarch Innocence to fall under my control.

Alas, because of the significant toll on my body, I could either attract or repel them one time, but that was all I needed for this battle.

I pulled Sirius towards me and sent the sharp shards that were coated with magic flying toward the man. This was my final, all-out attack. All I needed was for one hit to land… Just one hit! And I will win the duel.

But…

Woooo! Woooo! Woooo!

All of the shards, which should have pierced his flesh or at least scratched his body, passed through the man like he wasn’t even there. Like a projection or a ghost, he stood menacingly in mid-air as my Imperium spell wore out and the last of my projectiles planted themselves firmly on the ground behind him.

With a head full of sweat and my face completely red, I looked at the unbothered blonde man with indignation. It was now that I realised… This was never a winnable duel for me.

“You can phase through objects?”

“Just so.”

“Hah… You really played me for a fool, didn’t you?”

I looked up at the starry night sky and couldn’t help but laugh. No wonder he was confident that I wouldn’t land a single hit on his body. If he had the ability to phase through objects, I never stood a chance, to begin with.

“No, I’d never thought I would use this ability against you. After all, it isn’t my power but the Stardevourer’s. I wanted to beat you with my own personal strength, and yet… You forced me to draw out the power of Sirius.”

Sirius raised his mythical weapon up and cracked a wry smile. Ah, how could I forget? I wasn’t fighting Lilith’s sister; I was up against entire generations of the Moonreaver House’s top fighters. My Genesis and Imperium spells were far from enough to beat five thousand years of collective power.

… It really was frustrating.

“You’ve really impressed me,” Sirius said with a dry cough. “Although you’ve lost this battle, you’ve won some of my respect. But you’re too dangerous to leave with my sister. And so, I shall send you on your way.”

The man raised his Stardevourer and coated it in a thick layer of lightning. He pointed the tip of his glaive right at my heart and held it in a position where a single thrust was enough to impale my body.

Even with my superior healing ability, I won’t be able to fight back if my heart was pierced.

And if he manages to do just that… The duel was over.

I would lose.

I would be forced to separate from Lilith and never see her again. I would be known as nothing more than a loser who couldn’t get the girl, even though she did everything in her power for me. And most importantly…

I would break Lilith’s heart.

No! Wasn’t this why I trained so hard in the first place? To never feel this helpless again?! How could I lose now? How could I betray the woman who trusted me?

“ARGHHH!!!”

With what little strength I had left, I let out a primal roar. Magic power that I never knew I had flowed towards my middle finger, channelling everything that I had into my Space ring. My magic power, my soul, my consciousness… Everything was concentrated in that one ring.

Why?

Because I had only one card left to play.

“Imperium: Time Stop!!!”

Stopping time was my final trump card. I didn’t know what I could accomplish, given that I couldn’t even land a hit on Sirius, but I had to give it a try. Alas, the thousand-year-old True Vampire was moving faster than my time stop could prevent. The sparse magic power I had left was only capable of stopping Sirius for a fraction of a millisecond, making it impossible for me to launch a counterattack.

And so, in my frenzied state, I could only do one thing.

“Bleurgh…”

My mouth turned red, and my consciousness became hazy. Unknowingly, I looked up at Sirius’ face, which was now only a few centimetres away from mine. His face was calm as if it were just another day at the office. Funnily enough, with his face so close now, I found some solace by admiring the features that highly resembled my beloved Lilith.

However, I was just distracting myself from the gruesome truth.

I glanced down and saw the Stardevourer firmly attached to my chest. Its blade had found its way through my body as blood from my mouth stained its handle.

There wasn’t any pain, and neither was there any suffering. The world was muted to me as I was sure Lilith was shouting. And yet, I heard nothing. All I could feel were the rapid beats of my heartbeat and the sombre silence of the world.

I had lost.

I had clearly, clearly lost.

And yet…

What is this ecstasy that I’m feeling?