Kurose Akira stared unblinkingly at the glaring 699% hovering above Luciya's head, a flash of astonishment crossing his face.
Even though Luciya was a Mythic-quality adventurer, the sheer terror of that number still exceeded his expectations.
That meant—If he could draw even a single sip of Luciya's blood, he would gain a 699% boost to all attributes?
Even if it only lasted for three short minutes, the increase was absolutely absurd.
The only regret was that the skill could be used only once per day. Still, Akira couldn't help but look forward to its future growth—if the number of uses increased, and the duration lengthened as well…
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Luciya noticed Akira's gaze—subtle, yet undeniably strange. Beneath the white veil, her golden-red eyes flickered with a trace of confusion and alertness.
Akira immediately looked away.
He knew very well that trying to "sample" the blood of a Holy Maiden of the Church of Light would not be an easy task.
Compared to her, Ivsha was far more obedient.
As long as he gave the order, that succubus nun would offer herself to him without reservation—of course, he would still need to pay a small price.
"Kurose Akira! Look over there—quick!"
Shen Siqi's shout abruptly pulled him back to reality. She was pointing upward.
Akira followed her gesture and looked up, only to see that at some point unknown to them, a crack had appeared across the ceiling of the secret chamber.
"This is—"
Before anyone could piece together what was happening—
Suddenly!
The entire ancient castle began to shake violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake. Walls split apart, the floor collapsed, and the entire space was thrown into instant chaos.
"Everyone, get over here!"
Kaelin reacted at once, casting magic at full speed and erecting a powerful magical barrier to shield those within.
The group rushed into the barrier—and only moments later, the entire castle collapsed completely, reduced to rubble.
After the collapse, anguished cries filled the surroundings.
"Ahhh—my back!"
"Help me! Get me out of here!"
"Damn it! What the hell just happened?!"
…
The scene was utter chaos. Adventurers buried under the ruins struggled to crawl out, their eyes filled with confusion and fear.
Yet some reacted differently.
"Hah… we finally got out alive!"
"What the hell was that guy? That was terrifying!"
"How could he revive infinitely?!"
"Was that some kind of vicious game bug?"
"I've been playing this damn game for three months and I've never seen a bug this bad!"
"…"
Fear lingered on their faces—but so did relief.
At least now, they no longer had to face Count Vras alone. His infinite resurrection had made many of them believe they had encountered a malignant game bug.
Thanks to Kaelin's protection, the collapse caused no harm to Akira's group. They landed steadily atop the ruins.
The moment he stabilized, Akira quickly scanned the surroundings, carefully observing the condition of the other players and adventurers.
He soon realized—not every team that had entered the six routes had encountered Count Vras.
Naturally, that was because some teams were simply too weak and hadn't yet reached the area containing the hidden door.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out nearby.
"Goddammit! What the hell was that?!"
Lu Bo struggled out from the rubble, accompanied by two other C+-rank players. All three were covered in wounds, and several of their adventurers were in even worse condition—some missing limbs entirely.
"Lu Bo! Are you guys okay?"
Shen Jun and Shen Siqi rushed over immediately, concern clear on their faces.
"We're fine. Not dead yet."
Lu Bo rubbed his lower back and continued,
"You guys are okay—that's good. Looks like I sent the warning just in time. That bastard inside the hidden door was insane!"
"That hidden door you mentioned…"
Shen Jun scratched his head.
"We'd already gone in before we got your message."
"What? You went in already?"
Lu Bo froze for a moment, but after remembering that Shen Siqi's team had Red Lotus and the others, he wasn't too surprised.
"Whatever. As long as you two are fine, that's all that matters."
"Stop wasting time."
Fu Bin, the man in the baseball cap, cut in coldly.
"We need to get out of here immediately. That vampire count is impossible to deal with—only the two adventurers President Xu sent might stand a chance!"
"That's right!"
Another C+-rank player chimed in.
"That vampire count is absurd! No matter how much damage we deal, he recovers instantly. We're no match for him at all!"
"Yeah. That's the only option for now."
Lu Bo nodded grimly.
At their current strength, the three of them were already top-tier in this instance—and yet they still couldn't defeat the vampire count.
Other teams stood even less of a chance.
Not just them—everyone present wore heavy expressions. Even the C+-rank player ranked second in contribution looked utterly bleak.
Clearly, no one had found a way to counter Count Vras's infinite regeneration.
"Despicable blood cattle!!"
Suddenly, a furious roar thundered across the battlefield.
Six figures of Count Vras appeared in midair.
But when the crowd saw them, confusion spread across their faces.
Because one of those six avatars had already lost all color, reduced to a lifeless, withered corpse.
"Someone… defeated the infinitely regenerating vampire count?"
"Who did that?!"
"Is that even possible?"
"..."
Shock rippled through the crowd. No one could believe that Count Vras—who possessed infinite self-healing—could truly be killed.
Lu Bo frowned slightly, then looked toward Shen Siqi's group.
It was obvious—he had already realized which team had done it.
Compared to the panic of the others, Shen Siqi's team was unnervingly calm, as if Vras's death was exactly what they had expected.
That made Lu Bo curious.
How had they done it?
Was it because Red Lotus and the other three level-50+ adventurers had dealt damage beyond the regeneration threshold?
Or was it—
Lu Bo's gaze shifted toward Kurose Akira, confusion flickering in his eyes.
He didn't believe Red Lotus and the others alone were strong enough to threaten Vras's infinite healing.
After all, their levels were only around 50–55, not vastly different from other level-50 adventurers present.
"You filthy newborn who poisoned my blood—bastard son of a bitch!"
At that moment, Count Vras's enraged roar echoed once more.
Because he had discovered—Not only had that one avatar withered, but the remaining five were beginning to decay as well.
Kurose Akira's blood was spreading through all six of Vras's avatars like a virus, sending the vampire blood within him into uncontrollable turmoil.
The once-refined Count completely lost control, hurling curses in a frenzy.
Akira's lips curved slightly upward.
An unexpected bonus—but not an unwelcome one.
After all, Vras's ability to recover by drawing power from avatars across other battlefields was something Akira had already noticed.
The others, however, had no idea what was happening. They stared at the sky in confusion.
What had just happened?
Why had Count Vras suddenly lost his composure?
Why did he seem… panicked?
"Damn it! Damn it! You should die—die!!"
Count Vras roared as he forcibly fused his remaining five avatars together.
In an instant, a 'complete' Count Vras appeared before everyone.
He was different now.
His pale skin was shrouded in a faint dark-red hue, and his once-brilliant crimson eyes had become clouded and filled with violent malice.
[Count Vras (Epic)]Level: 60 (??? / 42000)Race: Vampire / HumanStrength: 1600 | Agility: 1562 | Mana: 1803 | Constitution: 1680Growth: 10 (Gains +10 to all attributes per level)Skills: (Expand)Trait: [Bloodthirst]Status: [Blood Blessing (Incomplete)](Prompt: Defeating this unit will grant a Blue Recruitment Scroll!)
"Blood Blessing?!"
Players hurriedly checked his status panel. The information that had once been concealed by question marks was finally revealed.
[Blood Blessing (Incomplete): A bloodline power derived from a Vampire Prince!]
"Shit—he's even stronger now!"
"We should retreat immediately! Once we leave the Demon Cavern, we can escape through the teleportation array!"
"We couldn't even beat his avatars—how are we supposed to beat the main body?!"
"But didn't a team already kill one avatar? Maybe we still have a chance!"
"Don't be stupid! After merging, his mana jumped by over five hundred! He went straight from warrior to mage—we don't stand a chance!"
"We can't fight this at all—run!"
"..."
After seeing Count Vras's explosive stat increase, nearly everyone began considering a tactical retreat.
But when Akira saw the reward for defeating him, his eyes lit up instantly.
A Blue Recruitment Scroll!
Just like before—defeating a city-lord-level enemy granted a recruitment scroll.
"Foolish ants!"
Count Vras roared, spreading his arms wide. Behind him, the blood-red sun burst into dazzling crimson radiance.
A roar seemingly from hell itself engulfed the entire Demon Cavern in thick blood-energy.
[Your adventurer Luciya's status has been updated!]
?
The sudden system prompt made Akira's eyes narrow.
So that was it.
Count Vras had activated the power of the blood-red sun, nullifying the suppression placed on Luciya.
"You will all die here!"
Count Vras laughed savagely and waved his hand.
In an instant, thousands of vampire bats, each the size of a tiger or leopard, poured out of the blood-red sun and swarmed toward the crowd!
"Damn it—he didn't turn into a mage, he turned into a summoner!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Some immediately raised their weapons to fight, while others fled in panic, trying to escape the battlefield.
Akira, naturally, ordered his adventurers to prepare for combat at once.
And at that moment, Luciya's voice reached his ears.
"Haa~ I finally feel better~"
Luciya let out a soft breath, gripping the Staff of the Sun, and walked lightly toward the blood-red sun.
?
Akira was full of questions—he had no idea what she was planning.
But when he caught sight of the towering fury burning within her golden-red eyes beneath the veil, realization struck him.
This Holy Maiden intended to pour all the anger she had suppressed since entering the Demon Cavern into a single, devastating strike.
"Lowly vampire."
Luciya spoke as she lifted the white veil covering her eyes.
In that instant, her golden-red pupils erupted with radiant golden light, as if golden gears were spinning furiously within them.
At this moment, she was as majestic as the sun itself—holy and inviolable.
"This sun,"
She rebuked coldly,
"is not something filthy insects like you are worthy to defile."
The moment her words fell—
A holy gate formed of dazzling divine light opened in the sky.
From within flew two 'angels'—beings with golden wings and chains of pure gold in their hands.
They shot straight toward Count Vras, wrapping the chains tightly around him.
"Damn it! What kind of power is this?!"
Count Vras struggled violently, roaring in agony, yet he could not break free.
He couldn't comprehend what sort of force this was—one that instantly sealed all his mana and even bound his soul itself.
Powerless, he could only watch as the two angels dragged him toward the holy gate.
And then—
Luciya's cold, majestic voice rang out once more.
"Repent for your foolishness.Atone for your ignorance."
"Prison of the God of Light."
"Activate."