The caw of a murder of crows filled the crimson sky as the moon bled light across the clouds.

Their cries echoed like cruel laughter, mocking the foolishness of mortals who dared to challenge what they did not understand.

Sweat trickled down Seamus's temple. His breath came unevenly as he felt his power draining, absorbed bit by bit into the cursed bracelet shackled around his wrist.

He flicked his gaze to the system confirmation, hoping for an explanation, some loophole.

[The bracelet works by absorbing the power you hold. The more you attempt to use your skill or bloodstyle, the more it will drain and waste your Sanguine Veins.]

[However, there is one power within you that cannot be absorbed.]

His eyes widened as a faint glow stirred on his skin. The serpent tattoo coiled and shifted on his wrist, its inked scales rippling like it was alive.

Only he could see it, its presence invisible to everyone else, even to Isolde.

His attention snapped back to the battlefield. Diane struck down what she thought was the real Elle, but the figure burst into shimmering confetti that fluttered mockingly in the air, vanishing like laughter itself.

"See? You'll never defeat me. You can't even find the real me!"

Elle's giggle twisted into a shriek, her voice melting into the chorus of cawing crows above.

Her gaze slid to Maria, trembling on her knees yet glaring back with defiant, human fury.

The crow's expression soured. She grabbed Maria by the hair and yanked her head back.

"Stop looking at me like that, you little bitch! I'll gouge out your eyes and let's see if you still look at me like I'm a monster then!"

"Let her go!" Diane roared.

"Fight me instead, coward!" She rushed forward, her scythe ready only for Elle to vanish and reappear before her in a blink.

The air sliced open with a gust of cutting wind that threw Diane across the yard.

"DIANE!" Seamus's shout tore from his throat.

His vision tinted red as rage pulsed through his veins. He turned sharply and saw Lucien sitting calmly on a stone bench, a smug grin curling his lips, a book resting lazily in his hand as though he were watching a play.

"What? I can't have my sister getting hurt," Lucien said with a mocking shrug.

Seamus clenched his jaw, teeth grinding. He reached for the only person who could possibly turn this around.

'Madeline, help me,' he called out mentally, his voice shaking.

Her sigh came through the link, exasperated but alert. 'You're in a spectacularly fucked-up situation, Seamus.' The faint rustle of turning pages followed her voice.

'Try using your Imperial Adjudicator, what they have done is enough to be punished and open the seal!'

"I can't. It's not in my scope to do that unless Diane is killed," Madeline said, her voice tight enough to make him rub his temple in frustration.

"Just hold on. I'll try to nullify that device. You'll have about four minutes of bloodstyle access before it reboots," she added.

"I will destroy that device when my power is back," Seamus promised.

Silence filled the line for a breath, then Madeline replied, "…Good luck."

Elle raised her hand and a jagged nail extended from her fingertip. Maria thrashed in her grip and screamed, "You detestable monster, let go of me!" Her eyes searched for Seamus, pleading for a miracle.

He remembered the nullify skill, the one that could disrupt an active bloodstyle or an initiated spell. He had never used it against Lucien because the man wasn't worth it, but now he had no choice.

A warning blinked in his mind. "Careful when using it. You only have three uses a day, and each use nullifies only one skill or one initiated bloodstyle. You have three chances to stop her madness. Be precise."

His stomach twisted with dread, the taste of iron burning on his tongue. This was his only chance. If he chose wrong, Maria and Diane would die screaming.

The countdown began as Elle's finger neared Maria's left eye. In a flash of blue light, Seamus used Aether Walk, space folded, and he was already in front of Elle.

She didn't notice cause she was busy wanting to torture her prey until he had yanked Maria behind him.

The Lady Crow's iris slit wide as realization hit. A surge of heat warped the air beside her.

From that distortion crawled a humanoid creature of fire, its faceless head dripping molten light, its arms fused into massive swordlike appendages.

The creature lunged, cutting the air with a roar that sounded like tearing metal.

Seamus sidestepped, his boots skidding on scorched grass. The creature's blade arm struck the ground, leaving a deep, smoking gash.

He retaliated by summoning a shard of ice from his palm and slamming it into the creature's chest. Steam exploded outward, but it barely staggered.

"How's your power back?!"

Ell screamed but he didn't have time to answer as it swung again, faster, forcing him to duck under its strike.

The heat singed his cheek. He gritted his teeth and pivoted behind it, driving a kick into its back.

The blow cracked against the creature's surface but only made it angrier. It spun, its fiery edge slicing across his shoulder, burning through fabric and skin.

Pain flared white. Seamus clenched his jaw and forced his focus inward. The light rain stopped as the droplets floating in the air turned into ice and fell to the ground.

The temperature dropped instantly. Frost raced over the grass, creeping toward the creature's legs and locking them in ice.

Seamus raised his hand and conjured a crimson sphere that split into dozens of blood-forged needles.

"Freeze and shatter."

The needles shot forward, piercing the frozen shell and the creature's molten core. Fire met ice, and the fusion imploded in a deafening blast.

The creature screamed before bursting apart into a rain of embers that scattered across the ground.

Steam hissed around him as he straightened, his breath visible in the cold air.

"What the hell is the meaning of this, brother? You said he had the bracelet on!"

Elle's voice came from above, her bone-and-muscle wings spread against the white sky together with her brother who was levitating.

"It is on him! Look at him trying to destroy it!"

Lucien pointed toward Seamus, who was crouched over his wrist, prying at the bracelet with a small bone dagger.

The metal refused to break. Even Diane's scythe, when it struck, was only able to crack it a little.

"Tch. I will not let this happen."

The sky darkened as Elle raised her hand and the air filled with crows until the world went black.

"I will fry your brain, you annoying pests!"

The birds answered with a roar so violent the ice began to crack and shatter. Maria fell to her knees first, clamping her hands over her ears as blood streamed from them.

Diane screamed too, pain ripping through her, but she kept fighting.

"Seamus, teleport with me!" she shouted.

Seamus pressed his palms to his own ears, as if he could block out the sensation. It felt like worms burrowing into his skull, a crawling, gnawing pressure that threatened to eat his mind.

He nodded and grabbed Diane's hand while using his other arm to drag Maria up.

They moved to the ready, but Elle anticipated them. As they activated their escape, something tore through the air and struck them mid-teleport.

.

.

.

They landed on a swamp's wet surface with a sickening thud. Seamus tasted copper on his tongue and looked down to find his hand slick with blood.

The crows' cries still echoed in his head until the sound snapped away and left only a cold panic.

Diane crouched beside Maria, shaking her gently. Maria lay motionless, eyes closed, the dark red of blood pooling around her.

Seamus's chest dropped. The wound was not in her ears; the bone sword had pierced her abdomen. The sight turned his panic into a hard, hot freeze of fear.

"Maria! Maria, wake up! Say something!"

He demanded, his voice cracking as he fumbled for a pulse. He did not move the sword.

It was lodged deep, and he did not dare twist her. He pressed fingers to her wrist and listened for a beat that felt like an hour.

"How is she? Is she okay?"

"She's alive," Seamus said, though his voice came out thin.

"Barely. Weak, but breathing. We have to get her to a hospital, now."

Madeline's voice cut through his head, cold and clipped.

'You wasted time, her brain is almost melted. She will die even if you teleport her to a hospital.'

Anger flared so suddenly that Seamus shouted, "What do you mean by that?"

His scream startled Diane, who frowned. "Why are you shouting? I'll teleport us again—"

'Listen,' Madeline said, and the sarcasm had gone from her tone.

'The scream didn't literally melt her brain. It destroyed her Sagacitas. Nothing, not even a vampire, can heal a ruined mind. Her consciousness is barely holding on.'

Silence fell in the swamp as those words landed. Seamus felt cold all the way to his stomach. He had been trying to save a body, but Madeline's meaning cut the vein of hope.

"Then what do we do?"

Seamus whispered. His hands were shaking so badly that he could not help Maria sit up more than a few inches.

Madeline's reply came slow and steady.

'Turn her into a vampire.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.