Chapter 208: Newfound Vampire Strength

Val’s jaw tightened.

The lingering remnants of her old mercenary pride flared up in her chest.

Being told she couldn’t even scratch someone… even her new master ignited a fierce fire behind her glowing eyes.

“Understood, Master,” Val said, her voice dropping into a low growl a she dropped into a balanced combat stance.

Her bare feet gripped the cold stone floor with her weight becoming centered.

THUMP!

Her newly evolved heart beat once and that heavy pulse flooded her veins with intoxicating mana.

KRA-KOOM!

The stone floor beneath Val’s feet violently shattered into a shower of white pebbles as she launched herself forward.

The acceleration was so absurdly violent that the air around her detonated in a sonic boom.

In less than a few seconds, Val crossed the twenty-pace gap, blurring into a phantom of black cotton and pale flesh, appearing directly inside Koya’s personal space.

‘So fast…!’ Val thought, her mind struggling to process the velocity her own legs had produced but she didn’t use her threads.

She wanted to test her raw physical power first.

Val threw a straight right punch directly at Koya’s sternum, her obsidian-tipped fist whistling with compressed pressure that tore through the air like an artillery shell.

SWISH!

Koya didn’t even widen his stance. He simply shifted his upper torso three inches to the left.

The punch missed his chest by a hair’s breadth with the concussive wind of her strike blasting past his ear and cracking the stone floor ten yards behind him.

‘Being a Vampire is so weird…’

She had so much more strength than she had realized and she needed to control it to keep her body nimble.

Before Val could recover from the overextension, Koya’s left hand shot out.

His palm struck the side of her extended wrist with a deafening clack, completely deflecting her momentum.

“Your footwork is sloppy,” Koya murmured, his voice sounding calm and unbothered. “You’re accelerating too hard at the start and failing to plant your back heel… You’re really off-balance.”

Val’s teeth clicked together in frustration. “Not yet!”

Relying on her newfound flexibility, Val twisted her hips mid-air, bringing her left leg around in a horizontal roundhouse kick aimed straight at Koya’s neck.

Her bare foot cut through the air with the sharp screaming hiss of a scythe.

BAM!

Koya raised his right forearm, blocking the kick cleanly.

The impact sounded like two massive iron girders colliding at high velocity as a violent shockwave rippled out from the point of contact, tearing up the stone floor beneath their feet and sending pulverized dust swirling around their ankles.

Val felt the impact shudder up her shinbone… it felt like kicking an immovable mountain of solid bedrock.

Koya hadn’t shifted an inch, hell his arm hadn’t even trembled.

“Better,” Koya noted, his crimson eyes locking onto hers. “Good rotation but your recovery is too slow.”

Before Val could pull her leg back, Koya’s right hand clamped down around her ankle like a vice of reinforced steel.

“Ghk—!” Val gasped.

Koya casually twisted his wrist, pivoting on his heel, and hurled her across the arena as if she weighed less than a sack of feathers.

Val went airborne, hurtling fifty feet through the air toward the reinforced tungsten wall.

Mid-flight, her Vampire reflexes took over.

She tucked her body into a tight spin, extended her hands, and slammed her bare feet flat against the vertical metal surface of the wall.

BANG!

Her impact dented the tungsten alloy three inches deep.

Without losing a second of momentum, Val bent her knees and sprang off the wall like a coiled spring, launching herself back toward Koya at double her initial speed.

“USE YOUR MAGIC!” Koya commanded, his voice booming through the room.

Val’s eyes flared with an intense light.

ZRRRRRRRR!

She splayed both of her hands wide mid-air and from all ten of her obsidian fingertips, thick shimmering crimson filaments erupted like a sudden violent spider’s web.

Tens of thousands of razor-thin threads filled the air between them, screaming with a high-pitched harmonic whine that shredded the ambient atmosphere into ribbons.

‘Let’s see if this works…’ Val thought, focusing on the dark instinctual knowledge buzzing in her newly transformed blood.

She willed her mana to mutate the threads.

FZZZZZZT!

The crimson filaments suddenly ignited with dark boiling blood-mist as the threads didn’t just carry physical cutting power anymore… they were supercharged with her newly acquired Vampire bloodline catalyst, dripping with a corrosive boiling heat that hissed against the air.

‘Cage Of Thorns…!’ Val named the attack.

With a violent crossed-arm pull of her wrists, Val brought the entire colossal web crashing down around Koya from all 360 degrees.

The boiling blood-threads crisscrossed, creating a dense inescapable sphere of monomolecular wire designed to slice him into a million microscopic cubes.

Koya stood in the center of the descending cage.

A broad grin stretched across his face, his crimson eyes igniting with mana.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Koya laughed as he raised his right hand, snapping his fingers.

SNAP! KRA-KOOM!

A colossal pillar of pure, pitch-black blood erupted directly from the stone floor beneath Koya’s feet.

The geyser of liquid blood shot thirty feet into the air, expanding outward into a swirling impenetrable vortex that slammed directly into Val’s descending cage of threads.

CLANG! SHING! HISS!

The sound of the collision was deafening… like a thousand swords clashing against an anvil simultaneously.

Val’s boiling crimson threads tore into Koya’s blood vortex, slicing through the liquid wall, but the density of Koya’s blood was incomprehensible.

It was so thick and so heavy with mana, that it acted like a hydraulic wall, catching her filaments and trapping them within the swirling vortex.

“What kind of toughness is that?!” Val gasped, hovering mid-air as she desperately pulled on her threads. “It’s like trying to cut through solid diamond!”

“Blood isn’t just a weapon, Val!” Koya’s voice echoed from within the dark vortex, trying to sound like a real Vampire. “Blood is life! Blood is mass! Blood is territory!”

Inwardly he cringed.

‘I know that bitch was shouting it while we had sex… It still sounds cringe even if I say it.’

The dark vortex suddenly exploded outward in a massive shockwave of crimson mist.

BOOM!

The concussive force shattered Val’s threads into sparkling red dust as Val was thrown backward through the air, tumbling across the stone floor before planting her palms and skidding twenty feet to a halt, panting heavily.

Her oversized black shirt was rumpled with her chest heaving as she sucked in the cool air of the training room.

Before she could even raise her head, a shadow fell over her as Koya was standing right in front of her.

SWISH!

Val reacted instantly, rolling onto her back and firing three hyper-condensed blood-needles straight up toward his chin from point-blank range.

Koya casually reached up with his bare thumb and forefinger, catching the first needle out of the air with a metallic clink.

He tilted his head, letting the second needle graze past his cheek, and slapped the third needle out of existence with the back of his knuckles.

SMACK!

Before Val could scramble to her feet, Koya leaned down with his open palm stopping a fraction of an inch from the center of her forehead.

A sharp concussive wave of wind pressure erupted from his palm, blasting Val’s damp bangs back and pinning her head against the stone floor.

Silence descended over the massive arena.

The only sound remaining was the soft hum of the overhead floodlights and the heavy sounds of Val’s panting breaths.

Koya slowly closed his hand, lowering his arm, and stood up straight as he looked down at the girl lying on the floor, letting out a long satisfied sigh.

“That’s enough,” Koya said, his voice returning to its normal, calm baritone. “We’re done for the night.”

Val lay on the cold stone, staring up at him with wide disbelieving eyes.

Her arms felt like lead and her mana channels were still humming with residual heat, but there wasn’t a single fracture or tear in her body.

Her recovery speed was absurd.

Koya offered her an approving nod.

“You did well. Remarkably well, actually. From what I’ve heard, Most people who experience a forced bloodline evolution spend three days vomiting blood before they can even walk… You adapted to the velocity within five minutes, and you successfully bonded your innate thread magic to your new blood reserves on your first attempt.”

He turned his back, walking casually toward the elevator doors, shaking his head.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow night, we’re going into the viper’s den so I need you sharp.”

Val didn’t immediately stand up.

She slowly raised her right hand into the air, staring at her pale slender fingers.

She flexed her hand, watching the luminous blue mana hum beneath her porcelain skin, feeling the strength coursing through every fiber of her being.

She remembered the four hotel guards who had broken her bones hours ago… guards she had barely managed to slaughter through desperate suicide tactics.

“Huuu…”

If she fought those same guards right now?

She could tear them to pieces in three seconds without even drawing a dagger.

‘I’m strong…’ Val thought, her chest swelling with a feeling so intense, so intoxicating that tears pricked the corners of her eyes. ‘I’m really… truly strong now…’

A fanatical resolve settled deep into her chest as she looked toward the elevator where Koya was waiting.

He hadn’t just spared her life… He had shattered the chains of her mediocrity and forged her into a true predator.

Val scrambled up from the floor, smoothing down the hem of her oversized black shirt, and sprinted toward the elevator to take her place at her master’s side.

“Master, wait for me!”

…

The following evening arrived with an oppressive quiet that settled over the upper floors of The Sovereign Grand Hotel & Towers.

Down in the grand lobby, the atmosphere was thick with palpable dread.

The grand crystal chandeliers cast a brilliant sparkling light across the obsidian floor, but none of the staff were smiling.

Behind the marble front desk, seven receptionists stood with their spines ramrod straight, their faces pale and their hands neatly folded over their stomachs, barely daring to breathe.

Every five seconds, their nervous eyes darted toward the golden doors of the private express elevator.

Standing near the center of the lobby, pacing back and forth on the velvet runner, was General Manager Marcus.

He was wearing a pristine newly tailored three-piece tuxedo, but his collar was so tight against his sweating neck that he looked like a condemned man waiting for the executioner’s blade.

His fingers continuously twitched against the golden pocket watch he held in his palm.

[7:52 PM]

Eight minutes until the scheduled departure.

DING!

The soft melodic chime of the private express elevator echoed through the lobby like the tolling of a funeral bell.

Every single security guard in the lobby instantly stiffened and the receptionists held their breath.

Marcus stopped mid-step, his heart doing a violent backflip into his throat as he rapidly smoothed down his lapels and bowed his head at a stiff, forty-five-degree angle.

The heavy, polished gold doors slid open with a smooth hiss.

Stepping out into the grand lobby was Koya.

He was dressed in the pinnacle of high-society elegance as he wore a bespoke, midnight-black three-piece suit tailored from high-density mana-silk, featuring subtle silver pinstripes that caught the light like falling stars.

His crisp white dress shirt was buttoned to the collar, complemented by a deep crimson silk cravat secured with an obsidian pin.

His long, silver hair was neatly combed back, a few loose strands framing his handsome chiseled face and his glowing crimson eyes scanned the lobby with the bored, freezing indifference of an emperor inspecting a pigpen.

Walking beside him, holding his left hand, was Mable.

The little girl was wearing an adorable frilly crimson dress adorned with black lace ribbons and polished black patent-leather shoes.

Her silver hair was tied into two neat pigtails, her large crimson eyes sparkling with vibrant excitement as she swung her father’s hand back and forth.

And walking half a step behind them, carrying Koya’s executive travel coat over her arm, was their new maid.

Val was completely unrecognizable.

The hotel’s private tailoring division had worked through the entire morning to deliver a custom high-tier maid uniform that fit her slender, athletic curves with breathtaking perfection.

She wore a tailored black corset dress that fell to her knees, lined with pristine white lace along the hem and collar, complemented by black stockings and polished heels.

Her spiky dark hair was pinned back neatly with a white lace headband, leaving her delicate porcelain neck fully exposed.

Her sharp eyes were lowered in respectful subservience with her hands folded neatly over her white apron and the guards and receptionists in the lobby stared at her in stunned silence.

None of them knew who this gorgeous pale-skinned woman was but given the brutal, bloody events of the previous night and the whispered rumors that an elite female hitman had disappeared on the upper floors… Everyone in the lobby came to the same terrifying conclusion!

Lord Albano had captured one of the bounty hunters… and turned her into his personal maid.

And to make matters worse, she looked breathtakingly stunning.

As Koya reached the center of the lobby, he paused with his glowing crimson eyes shifting slowly toward Marcus.

Marcus felt the gaze hit him like a physical suffocating weight as his knees trembled, and he bowed even deeper with his nose practically touching his knees.

“L-Lord Albano!” Marcus squeaked, his voice wavering with reverence. “Good evening! I trust your rest was perfection?!”

Koya looked down at the sweating manager for a long, silent three seconds, letting the man stew in his own terror.

“I am stepping out for the evening, Marcus,” Koya said smoothly, his deep voice carrying clearly across the silent lobby. “My daughter and I have business at the Grand Casino.”

“O-Of course, My Lord!” Marcus nodded frantically, his head bobbing like a toy. “The management wishes you the greatest fortune at the tables! Your penthouse suites remain reserved, secured, and under maximum guard until your return! May the stars shine upon your path!”

Koya offered a dismissive hum, turning his back on the groveling manager and leading Mable toward the grand glass revolving doors.

Val followed silently behind them with her heels clicking rhythmically against the obsidian floor and her face an unreadable mask of cold professionalism.

‘Tch… look at them acting all scared…’

She looked at Koya’s back, well putting aside that her Master was scary, he was also good at cuddles since he had cuddled both her and Mable.

‘Master is a bit cute… just a bit…’

They stepped out into the cool evening air of the grand portico.

The rain from the previous night had cleared, leaving the neon-drenched streets of Isle Supercity glistening under the sprawling canopy of holographic advertisements and towering skyscrapers.

The head valet was already standing beside the curb, trembling as he held out Koya’s heavy silver-plated vehicle key.

“Y-Your vehicle, Lord Albano!”

Koya took the key with a brief nod, pressing the remote unlock button.

CHIRP-CHIRP!

Fifty feet away, parked in the VIP circle, the custom matte-black military-executive Supercar purred to life.

The anti-grav thrusters hummed with a low deep vibration with the sleek crimson underglow illuminating the asphalt like pooling blood.

Koya opened the rear door, lifting Mable into the plush leather interior.

“Hop in, sweetheart.”

“Yay! Road trip!” Mable cheered, immediately bouncing on the heated seats and reaching for the built-in holographic entertainment console.

Val stepped up to the vehicle, her sharp eyes scanning the surrounding street with trained vigilance and suddenly, the passenger-side door of the Supercar slid open from the inside.

“Well, well, well~ Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!”

A melodic voice purred from the front cabin as stepping out of the front passenger seat was Meoni.

For the casino mission, she was fully submerged in her undercover mafia executive persona… Irene Volkiner.

She was dressed to kill, wearing a skin-tight, backless burgundy evening gown with a slit that traveled dangerously high up her left thigh, exposing her toned flawless leg with every step.

Her chocolate-brown hair was styled into elegant cascading waves over one shoulder with her hazel eyes gleaming with playful mischief.

The moment Meoni’s eyes landed on Val standing behind Koya in a pristine maid uniform, Meoni’s jaw dropped slightly.

Val instantly stiffened.

Her newly awakened Vampire instincts screamed at her that the woman standing before her possessed a terrifying mana signature that far outclassed standard Awakened.

Val’s right hand instinctively twitched toward her apron with her razor threads coiling beneath her skin.

“Stand down, Val,” Koya commanded softly, not even looking back. “She’s with us.”

Val forced her fingers to relax, bowing her head stiffly. “Understood, Master.”

Meoni leaned against the roof of the Supercar, crossing her arms beneath her voluptuous chest, pushing her cleavage up dramatically as she looked Val up and down with an exaggerated assessing squint.

“My, my, my…” Meoni purred, her lips curving into a wide amused smirk. “A stray hitman from the Night-Hound unit? With pale porcelain skin, sharpened fangs, and a Blue Crest core? Hubby… you’ve been a busy boy while I was away at headquarters, haven’t you?”

Koya ignored the comment, walking around to the driver’s side and opening the door.

“Get in the car. We’re on a schedule.”

Meoni immediately pouted, putting her hands on her hips and sticking her lower lip out in a dramatic whine.

“Hey! Why does she get to be your maid?!” Meoni complained, stomping her high heel against the pavement. “I’m here! I have ten times more experience serving you! Why didn’t you put me in a cute, frilly maid outfit with a short skirt, Hubby?! I would have looked way hotter than her!”

Val’s pale cheeks flared bright red at the sudden comparison, while Koya simply rolled his crimson eyes into the back of his head with a long exhausted groan.

“Because you’re supposed to be my executive escort, you idiot,” Koya deadpanned, sliding into the driver’s seat and gripping the leather-wrapped steering wheel. “And if Hakai saw you in a maid outfit serving me, she would turn you into a puddle of shadow grease… Get inside before I leave you on the curb.”

“Hmph! Always so mean to your loyal operatives!” Meoni grumbled, slipping back into the passenger seat and pulling the door shut with a soft thud.

Val opened the rear door, sliding into the spacious back cabin beside Mable.

She sat rigidly against the leather with her hands folded neatly in her lap, still trying to process the insanity of the people she was now bound to serve.

Koya pushed the ignition rune on the center console.

VROOOOOOOM!

The high-output engine roared to life with a deep growl that vibrated through the chassis.

The Supercar lifted four inches off the asphalt on its anti-grav repulsors, smooth and weightless, before shooting forward into the bustling traffic of Isle Supercity’s elevated highways.

“Alright, Navigator,” Koya said, glancing at Meoni as he smoothly wove the heavy vehicle between two high-speed corporate limousines. “Where are we heading?”

“Take the Upper Skyway toward the Neon District, Hubby,” Meoni instructed, leaning over the center console toward him.

Suddenly, she reached down into the footwell of her seat, pulling up three brightly colored paper shopping bags adorned with gold ribbon.

“Taa-daa!” Meoni announced cheerfully, turning around in her seat to face the back cabin. “I knew we had a thirty-minute drive, so I made a little pitstop at the confectionery district before coming to get you guys!”

Mable’s eyes lit up like twin stars. “TREATS!”

“Yes, Princess! Only the finest for Boss’s daughter!” Meoni giggled, pulling out a colossal three-tiered box tied with silk string.

She opened the lid to reveal an assortment of imported, high-grade mana pastries… crystal-dusted sugar donuts filled with whipped starlight cream, delicate lavender macarons, chocolate-covered dragon-fruit skewers, and a massive thermos filled with warm spiced caramel milk.

“Yay! Meoni is the best secret spy ever!” Mable cheered, immediately grabbing a chocolate skewer and taking a massive bite with chocolate instantly smearing across her cheek.

“Here, Miss Maid,” Meoni added, tossing a smaller elegant velvet pouch into Val’s lap. “Since you’re a fresh bloodsucker now, regular sugar won’t do much for you so that pouch contains candied blood-cherries infused with pure Outer Beast mana… It’ll keep your fangs from itching during the mission.”

Val caught the velvet pouch in surprise.

She opened it, the rich sweet scent of concentrated mana and clean iron drifting out as she looked at Meoni with wide eyes.

“I… thank you, Uh…”

“Call me Meoni when we’re in private, cutie,” Meoni winked, turning back to the front. “And don’t look so stiff! You’re working for the winning team now!”