The woman had jet black hair, pasty white skin and a black robe long enough to scrape the floor just like any other Vampire. However, the golden undertone in her inner wear as well as the subtle pressure from her presence alone made it obvious she was different from the rest.
"Royablood...," Guillermo muttered under his breath.
Michael stared at the woman. This was the first time he was seeing a Royalblood in person.
"Is there something wrong with my face?" she asked him.
"No," he replied. "You just look like someone I know."
This Royalblood vampire bore a close resemblance to Kuno, with the same sharp jaws, thin cat-like eyes, and a pointy nose. If anyone saw the two of them together, they would think that they were fraternal sisters.
Guillermo did say that Royalbloods are the ones most closely related to the Original Vampire. Is that why they look alike?
Meanwhile, the robed figure heaved a massive sigh of relief as he saw her arrive.
"Royalblood Lilith!" he reached out. "You've arrived just in time.
There's a heretic trying to kill me. Dispose of him and you will please the Goddess Gaia!"
Lilith spared a glance at the robed figure before scoffing. "You do not order me, human."
Then, she turned towards Michael. "But I am curious as to how a boy like you could sense my arrival."
Of course, even the best stealth skills in the world needed Aubility Powers to work. And thanks to his Drone, he could see those from a mile away.
"Kill him now!" the robed figure urged as he clung on the walls.
Guillermo immediately intervened. "Royalblood Lilith. Do not believe the words of that human. He speaks nothing but lies. He does not know the relic of Gaia!"
The robed figure scoffed at his words. "And you think that your Iron Maiden is the true religion? It is nothing but hokum, Royalblood Lilith!"
Lilith hid her hands underneath her robe. "I heard of this Iron Maiden religion when we entered Metropolis. And you think that this is the true one we've been searching for? Does it worship Gaia?"
Guillermo nodded. "Yes!"
"Do you have any proof of that?" she asked him. "Why should I believe you and not him, when he has the proof to back it up?"
"What?" Guillermo asked, stunned. Proof? They were just lying!
Just then, the robed figure laughed. "That's right. This is our proof!"
He reached down his robe and revealed a red crystal in his hands, which glowed bright under the moonshine.
Michael's eyes narrowed. He recognized that material.
"Royalblood Lilith. You know what this is, right?" the robed figure asked.
Lilith nodded. "That is a remnant left behind by the Original Vampire. It is forged from her very own blood, which once solidified, can be as strong as the Mithril that Dwarves were so proud of."
The red crystal was the same as the shackles that imprisoned Kuno in the gothic castle!
So that's the reason why these Vampires were so loyal. They somehow got ahold of Kuno's blood.
"Those were left behind as clues for us to find," Lilith added. "According to the scripture left behind, it was foretold that those
remnants will allow us to find the Goddess Gaia in the midst of her disappearance."
"That's right!" the robed figure exclaimed. "This is proof that only we can lead you Vampires to the Goddess! We have been chosen! Kill this boy and you will bring Gaia closer to her arrival!"
Guillermo was at a loss for words. He would have never thought that they had that kind of relic in their possession.
Now, it would be extremely hard to convince Lilith of the truth.
"Our main purpose in life is to bring back the glory of the Goddess," said Lilith. "We are obliged to follow even a single smudge of evidence
that will bring us closer to that goal."
Then, she suddenly turned into a puff of smoke, disappearing completely.
Michael immediately looked at his Drone Vision, seeing an invisible figure light up with an orange glow just mere moments away from grabbing at him.
He quickly threw a switch forwards, landing on Lilith's chest.
She stopped in place for a millisecond before his control over her
broke.
Lilith reappeared, her face filled with surprise and confusion.
"... it seems I underestimated you."
Her Dao Heart glowed with an intense orange light, brighter than anything Michael had ever seen in beastfolks.
According to the [Beastfolk Vision] upgrade he got from his Drone, Lilith was at the 9th Dao, which was the equivalent of a 9th stage
Body Formation Maugnetic.
But despite the difference between them, he was still able to stop her -even for a brief moment. This was astonishing to her.
She's the strongest Beastfolk I've ever faced... but I'm not that
worried.
[Kukukuku... that's right,] Harbinger laughed. [We've improved
tremendously.]
There was a stark difference when he was at the 4th stage compared
to now when he was at the 5th stage.
He felt incomparably stronger.
If it was before, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat the
robed figures and the vampires just by himself.
But now, he dealt with them with extreme ease. The 3x requirement
for his God Forge pieces was finally showing its worth.
So, he wasn't that at all worried about fighting Lilith.
And besides, he wasn't thinking of truly fighting her. He just needed
to fight her long enough to convince her.
"You don't have the luxury to daydream!" Lilith said as she summoned
blood drops in the air, each one packed with Aubility Power. [Caution. Her blood powers will cause an explosive reaction upon contact,] warned ChatJK5.
Lilith swung her hand, and tens of blood drops shot towards Michael, whizzing faster than a bullet.
Michael swung his Unity Saber in a circle, destroying as many blood drops as he could make contact with.
But Lilith kept appearing and disappearing in completely different spots, randomizing her blood drop shots.
Some were able to pass through his stance, coming towards his body
before his [Absolute Unity Defense] kicked in and nullified its effects.
The prismatic shield shattered as it took on the full brunt force of a 9th Dao blood power.
It would take a few more seconds before it completely regenerated.
But the shield did its job.
As the blood drops sizzled out, Michael immediately used his battery
and siphoned off the remaining Aubility Power from the blood drops.
[...5%.... 10%... 15%...]
The battery charge went up incredibly fast before finally reaching
25%.
He was just 5% short of activating his 'Quantum Step!
[Kukuku... did you forget? You're in the 5th stage now. Your Aubility Power has gotten stronger.]
Michael's eyes widened. Harbinger was right.
Back then, he needed to siphon the full 30% battery charge outside of
his own or else he'd be completely depleted.
But now, he could spare a little bit without exhausting his GodForge
pieces.
He now only needed 25% battery charge!
Meanwhile, as Michael and Lilith were embroiled in battle, the robed
figure took this chance to slip away from their grasps.
He crawled on all fours, struggling to escape. But just then, he felt a hand cling onto his feet.
He turned around, only to see two Vampires grabbing onto his legs.
"What are you two doing?!"
Unbeknownst to him, these two Vampires had a strange shadow that looked like a smiling, devilish figure.