The Vampyros were a race with dominion over blood.
This racial trait had turned them into beings that were hunters by nature, bloodthirsty creatures who were cruel to the very depths of their beings.
Out of all the races in Eldoralth, no race could match the Vampyros in cruelty. They left no survivors, they had no mercy. Once they set their sights on their prey, they would hunt.
The Blood Shadows.
This was an elite force within the Vampyros race, trained directly from birth with one purpose: to serve the Blood Council.
They were the most elite force within the Vampyros race, and it was said that any one of them could assassinate anyone below the Paragon rank on Eldoralth.
They were that revered.
And their members backed up their reputation with pure skill. They were well aware of their power, which was why the current situation was hard to comprehend.
Kaelith was the type who hardly ever spoke, except when necessary. His expressions rarely ever changed, especially during missions.
He had a 99% one-hit kill rate for every target he had ever been given. On the first attack, he more often than not killed his targets.
If he had to be completely truthful, Kaelith had assumed the same would play out here. Atticus was powerful, but at the end of the day, he was still a kid, inexperienced and naive. Or so Kaelith thought.
However, what occurred had been a possibility Kaelith had never seen happening. Even without using a technique, the Vampyros could subtly influence the movements of a person through their control of blood.
Kaelith had tried to use it to immobilize Atticus for a brief moment, but it had been as though he was committing a divine sin. Atticus's blood did not answer his call.
Atticus had received his attacks head-on as though they were nothing.
Atticus had moved, and Kaelith had ended up with a completely shattered chin and face, his body hurtling headfirst into the sky as though he were a rocket being shot into space.
Of the three Vampyros, Kaelith hadn't been the only shocked one. In fact, Serila had been even more shocked.
Kaelith hadn't used a technique, but Serila had. And yet, Atticus had broken through her control easily and appeared high in the sky.
"W-what—"
Serila's gaze widened, her mouth frozen in shock. But she wasn't allowed to finish.
Atticus's foot connected with her left cheek, her cheekbone and face deforming under the weight of the blow.
Her figure plummeted from the sky, streaking through the air and colliding with the forest floor with a force that sent a shockwave through the forest.
The world seemed to pause as Atticus floated high in the air, his body untouched, his expression calm.
His gaze swept the entire area. 'There are three of them.'
At that moment, the last of the Vampyros appeared hundreds of meters away from Atticus, his figure emitting a lethal aura that made the air shudder.
Draeven's intense crimson gaze landed on Atticus's calm purple gaze, and it was as though the world froze.
His heart slammed against his chest like a war drum as a single thought echoed in his mind: 'What the hell is this human?'
His entire existence felt bare under the calm gaze of Atticus, as though Atticus could see things even he didn't know were there.
It was then that Draeven knew, they had miscalculated. They had to go all out.
His crimson gaze burned as his blood aura thickened, spreading outward like a suffocating wave.
"Blood Domain."
The words echoed like thunder, tearing through the stillness.
Serila, still embedded in the earth, struggled to raise herself. Blood dripped from her broken face as she muttered through gritted teeth,
"Blood Domain."
Kaelith, tumbling through the air, snarled, his broken jaw cracking as his blood aura surged. "Blood Domain."
The world froze.
The air turned icy, a bone chilling cold spreading across the forest. The oppressive weight of their combined power was undeniable.
Atticus didn't move.
His calm, piercing gaze swept over the battlefield. His will expanded outward in a flash, encompassing Jena and the trembling scouts. He knew what was coming.
During their run in the forest, Atticus hadn't come across any magical beasts because of the excellent navigation of the scouts. However, that didn't mean there weren't any. Atticus had felt them, and they were staggering.
As the Vampyros spoke, every magical beast for kilometers around froze.
Then—
Blood surged from the beasts' bodies in torrents, painting the forest floor crimson. Their muscles shriveled, their life force ripped away as if by an unseen hand. In moments, flesh turned to husks, and husks to dust.
From kilometers away, blood erupted. Birds fell from the sky, their lifeless bodies dissolving mid-air into torrents of crimson. Creatures hidden in dens and burrows were drained, their blood ripped from their bodies in an instant.
Even the trees weren't spared. Their life force was sucked out, their once imposing forms withering into brittle husks.
The earth cracked as a crimson tsunami surged across the land, converging into a monstrous cyclone of blood. The metallic smell was overwhelming, the thick red mist blotting out the sun.
The Vampyros stood at the heart of it all, their forms now encased in a thin, glistening layer of blood that hardened like armor. It gleamed unnaturally, its surface emanating a deadly energy.
Their bloodlust was suffocating.
The temperature plummeted, the air filled with killing intent.
At this point, Jena and the scouts couldn't move. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably as three predatory eyes shone through the crimson fog.
This was the Vampyros' domain.
Unlike other domains that erupted with light and force, theirs was silent. Lethal. Subtle.
For kilometers, everything living was drained dry. Blood came under their control, bending to their will. Even the shards of crimson floating around them in the air were shaped from the blood of the land. Thousands of razor-sharp shards hovered, blotting out the sky like a sea of red.
For any other opponent, just the activation of their domain would have been the end. They wouldn't have been able to stop the Vampyros from taking control over their blood.
But Atticus was different. His will was strong. Nothing could pierce it.