Chapter 225: Blood in the Empty Hall (3)
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The radiant ring appeared again, larger this time, ancient sigils moving across its surface. The darts hit. And vanished.
Sofia’s eyes widened.
That was all the opening Seraphiel needed. She stepped through the fading red mist and struck Sofia across the face.
Then again across the ribs.
Then once to the stomach with enough precision to fold the half-god vampire over without wasting even a breath.
Sofia staggered, fury breaking through her perfect smile at last.
At the same time Natasha tried to break Elena through brute force.
Her claws lengthened, blood pressure condensing around them until each hand looked like it carried a cluster of crimson blades. She lunged with a feral snarl, aiming to tear Elena apart in one decisive exchange.
Elena planted her feet.
Natasha’s first slash met Elena’s forearm guard.
The second met Elena’s shoulder turn.
The third almost slipped through—
Elena’s elbow crashed into Natasha’s ribs.
Natasha gasped.
Elena’s next strike hit her throat.
Natasha coughed and stumbled backward, blood misting from her mouth.
Then came the end.
Lady Seraphiel’s expression did not change as she reached into the air and produced the sealing artifact, an elegant ring-like device etched with old sigils. It gleamed once in the lantern light, beautiful in the way execution tools could sometimes be beautiful.
Sofia saw it and tried to retreat. But it was too late.
Seraphiel pressed the artifact forward.
A net of runes burst outward without sound and wrapped around Sofia before she could finish her next movement. The sealing light folded over her body like law made visible.
Sofia’s aura collapsed inward. Her fangs retracted. Her claws shortened.
The predatory force around her body compressed violently until her vampire form gave way, leaving only an exhausted silver-haired woman on one knee, trembling, furious, and sealed.
Natasha saw what happened and tried to disengage from Elena at once. That mistake cost her.
Elena drove forward and struck her across the jaw.
Natasha reeled.
Elena caught her by the upper chest and forced her down just as Lady Seraphiel turned the sealing artifact her way. The second wave of runes snapped around Natasha before she could break free.
Her fangs disappeared. Her claws dulled. Her aura dropped like a severed curtain.
In seconds she too was forced back into human form, black hair disordered, pale skin damp with sweat, eyes burning with helpless hatred.
Seraphiel’s voice stayed calm. "Sealed."
Elena stepped back only enough to keep the line between the two captured women and Sekhmet.
Then both of them looked toward him.
Because Sekhmet was still feeding. Because Sekhmet was not stopping. Because Alex was dying.
"Enough!" Alex snarled, trying to tear Sekhmet off.
Sekhmet did not let go.
He moved with Alex’s arm, forcing his teeth to stay locked. His hands formed blood threads and wrapped them around Alex’s wrist and forearm, reinforcing the bite like chains.
Alex’s chaos energy surged. The hall shook. Lantern flames flickered violently. But Sekhmet’s body did not retreat.
He drank faster.
He tore away from the wrist and lunged straight for the throat like a beast finally allowed to act.
Chomp!
Alex’s eyes went wide. Warm, thick blood flooded into Sekhmet’s mouth.
The effect was immediate and terrifying.
Sekhmet’s chaos energy roared. His body felt weightless and heavy at the same time, like a weapon being heated and forged. The bloodlust became a storm.
His mind tried to pull back. His mind tried to stop. But the blood god Will wanted more blood.
And the system was guiding his body along the direction he had set.
Alex. Only Alex.
Alex’s claws raked Sekhmet’s back with a slash!
Pain flared.
Sekhmet did not care. He drank. He drank until Alex’s struggle weakened. He drank until Alex’s body began to tremble.
He drank until the half-god’s refined blood stopped tasting like lightning and started tasting like emptiness.
Alex’s hands fell against Sekhmet’s shoulders, claw tips scraping uselessly. His knees buckled. His eyes, once calm and predatory, turned confused.
Then he was afraid... Very afraid.
"Stop," Alex tried to say, but blood bubbled instead.
Sekhmet did not stop. He took every drop. He drained him with the ruthless efficiency of a hunger that had been restrained too long.
Across the hall, Elena and Seraphiel finished their own battles with brutal speed, but Sekhmet barely saw them.
He stayed on Alex. He stayed until Alex’s body finally stopped resisting.
Until the half-god’s aura flickered and died. Until the blood stopped flowing.
Sekhmet pulled back slowly, lips stained red, breath steady, eyes glowing with a violence that did not fully belong to him anymore.
Alex collapsed to the stone floor like a drained skin.
Dead!!!!!
The silence after Alex’s death did not feel like peace. It felt like the hall itself had been strangled.
Sekhmet stood over the corpse with blood on his mouth and the taste of ancient power still coating his tongue. Alex’s body lay twisted on the stone, empty now, all that proud half-god pressure gone. A moment ago he had felt like a mountain with fangs. Now he looked like a discarded skin someone had forgotten to bury.
Sekhmet’s breathing was slow. Too slow. Too even. The bloodlust still moved inside him, but it was no longer a blind storm trying to tear its way through his skull. It was changing. It was sinking. It was settling. Like a pack of wild dogs finally lying down after eating enough to stop fighting each other.
His fingers twitched once.
The blood on his lips felt warm.
Then the system spoke.
[Ding! SYSTEM Notification: Blood Proficiency has reached 100%.]
For a brief second, Sekhmet just stood there and stared at the message hanging in front of his eyes like a private moon.
Then another one came.
[Ding! SYSTEM Notification: Blood Proficiency exceeded the saturation threshold.
Additional overflow recorded: 200%.
Additional overflow recorded: 200%.
The host has acquired enough refined blood resonance to upgrade 2 blood-related skills.
Blood Awakening increased to 5%.
The host has absorbed a fraction of Blood God Blood.
Effect: Chaos Energy strengthened.
Effect: Chaos Body strengthened.
Chaos Rank advanced to Rank 2.
Overall Battle Power: 22000
Chaos Energy: 11000
Chaos Body: 11000]