The Blood Shadows moved through the forest like predators, their crimson eyes scanning for any sign of their target.
Twenty grandmaster+ Blood Shadows. Each of them radiated power, their forms cloaked in a thin sheen of blood armor that brimmed with intense power.
They weren't just strong.
They were elite.
And they had one mission: kill the apex of humanity.
But something was wrong. They could feel it. At this point, they should have picked up some trace of their target, some clue. They had split up into groups to cover a larger area, but they saw nothing. It was as though he didn't exist in the first place.
The leader of the group, the warrior who had reported to the Grand Elder, Kainor, suddenly froze. His eyes narrowed.
A chill ran down his spine.
"Wait," he hissed, holding up a hand.
The forest grew still.
Too still.
And then it began.
SHINK!
A streak of white cut through the air, and one of the Vampyros warriors fell, his head rolling across the ground before his body crumpled.
"What—"
SLASH!
Another fell. Then another.
The warriors barely had time to react.
Atticus moved like a phantom. One moment he was nowhere, the next he was among them, his blade flashing. Blood spurted into the air as his strikes landed without fail.
They tried to retaliate.
Tried to use their blood control to immobilize him.
But it was futile.
Atticus's blood didn't answer their call.
Kainor's eyes widened as another warrior fell not far from him, his neck sliced cleanly. He spun, trying to find their attacker, but there was nothing. Just the blur of white streaks and the sound of death.
"Alert the others!" he roared, his voice booming.
In no time, the remaining Vampyros, now only eleven, regrouped. Their movements were swift and sharp, converging in the middle of a clearing in the forest.
They formed a tight circle, their eyes scanning every shadow, every direction, every flicker of movement.
Silence. The tension was intense.
And then—
Tap.
A single footstep echoed through the forest.
Tap. Tap.
The sound grew louder, steady.
The Vampyros turned as one, their hearts trembling despite their countless experiences with life and death.
Atticus soon stepped into view.
His movements were calm, unhurried. His cold purple eyes locked onto them, unblinking. His blade hung loosely at his side, drops of crimson tracing along its edges.
The air around him seemed to drop in temperature. His presence wasn't overwhelming, it was crushing.
For the first time, the Vampyros warriors felt their heartbeats quicken. Not from excitement, but from fear.
Atticus stopped, his gaze sweeping over them like they were nothing more than insects.
They reacted instinctively.
"Blood Domain!"
The air exploded.
Blood erupted from every corner of the forest, surging like a tidal wave. The metallic stench was overpowering, the crimson flood drowning everything in its path.
Trees withered, their life force sucked dry. The ground cracked as the blood flowed, pooling around the Vampyros warriors.
Atticus stood still, the crimson tide rushing toward him.
Then—
He muttered.
"Water Domain Fusion."
The world quaked.
A brilliant blue light pierced the crimson haze, blinding for a moment before it was absorbed into Atticus's form.
The blood tide froze.
Atticus disappeared.
What followed was chaos.
THUD!
A body crumpled to the ground, blood spraying from a clean gash.
CRACK!
Another warrior's chest caved in, his lifeless body slumping forward.
The remaining warriors swung wildly, their eyes darting in every direction. But Atticus was everywhere. And nowhere.
Their blood shards hovered uselessly in the air, unable to strike.
Kainor's voice broke as he shouted, "Where is he?! Fight back!"
But his words were drowned out by the brutal sounds of death.
Atticus reappeared, his blade flashing as he drove it through the chest of another Vampyros.
The clearing was silent again.
Only Kainor remained, his knees trembling, his breath ragged. He turned, his gaze locking onto Atticus, who stood before him, his expression cold and unreadable.
Kainor's lips trembled, and he clenched his fists hard, forcing himself to stare at Atticus intensely.
"You may have killed us, but more will come. The Vampyros will never stop. The hunt will not end until their prey is obliterated."
No response came.
Atticus raised his blade.
And then it was over.
The forest fell silent once more.
Atticus tapped his foot on the ground, and a wave of fire erupted from beneath him, spreading out in every direction and engulfing the bodies of the Vampyros he had just killed.
His cold eyes scanned the forest for a brief moment before he turned toward the northeast and shot forward.
Atticus streaked through the forest for a while before he suddenly came to a stop.
'Looks like there's also a boundary here.'
He had wondered how they had divided the buffer zone between the two races. Did it mean there was another wall or stronghold?
He had been half right. There was a boundary, but it wasn't visible. As he stood, Atticus could feel that the air in front of him was different. It screamed Vampyros.
Their bloodthirsty aura was enough to discourage most from entering, and Atticus wouldn't have been surprised if there were no beasts in their part of the buffer zone.
The pause only lasted for a second, driven purely by intrigue.
Afterward, Atticus continued his movement, crossing through the invisible boundary.
His movements didn't slow, and after some time, Atticus brought out the artifact Whisker had given him.
'There.'
A holographic arrow appeared above it, pointing him in a specific direction.
Without wasting time, Atticus followed the map and soon arrived at a small clearing.
'Here?'
The holographic arrow started pointing downward toward the ground, as if telling him to enter through the earth.
Atticus was tempted to call the artifact defective, but fortunately, he knew better.
Atticus focused on the ground, and his eyes flickered.
'There's a thin layer of dust covering something hard.'
With a thought, a burst of air erupted from Atticus, clearing the earth off the surface.
In the next second, Atticus's expression turned serious as he stared at the revealed surface. It looked like an ancient circular stone, etched with faded symbols and strange words he couldn't understand.