Chapter 277

“The fuck?” Ranko frowned at the blood mist filling the surroundings.

Kekekekekekek!

The pureblood soldier of Semita cackled from inside the mist. It was the same Blood Mist skill that Seong-Hwi had used to clear the dungeon corruption quest, but it could normally be used only by the Sigillum bloodline. On top of that, the Occult Blood Mist was exclusive to Semita Sigillum, a master of stealth.

“You’re the same as me, huh?” Ranko mumbled as he drew out causality from his star, Night Raid, and activated his star power.

[Activating Star Power: Black Ink Pattern.]

[Recording the story of the Shy Night Tiger in the Akashic Records.]

[Beware the Night Tiger. The black tiger’s attack awaits those who are not careful.]

Ranko’s appearance changed. Black patterns appeared throughout his body. His black stripes already took up more surface area than his orange fur as it was, but he became a fully black tiger after the activation of Black Ink Pattern.

“Gehehe! Alright, then! Let’s see who’s the better hider!”

Ranko vanished into the darkness. There was no sound, presence, or even a mana pulse. All that remained was a bitter blood mist and darkness, commencing a silent battle.

***

“Tsk, damn tiny fly. What I hate the most,” remarked Gargantua, the overweight man with a sharp, curved horn on his forehead, three eyes, and layers of grey skin.

He clicked his tongue as he looked around at the dozens of portals made of black blood surrounding him.

Geeeeehhh!

The pureblood soldier of Grawamen Dirae restlessly teleported all over the place using the black blood portals. Grawamen, also known as the Gravekeeper, and his bloodline kin were information gatherers because of their unique skill, Blood Cave. With it, they could easily infiltrate and retreat as they wanted, using blood as the medium.

The pureblood soldier of Grawamen was not giving Gargantua a target to focus on by using many blood caves, and his star power, Dark Blood Cave, increased the distance at which he could travel via the blood caves.

“Are you trying to buy time? I will flatten you at once!” Gargantua shouted as he moved his Titanic Force, canceling the skill he had kept activated this entire time.

[Canceling Race Skill: Miniatuarization.]

The entire area shook, and a giant shadow engulfed it.

“Enough with your buzzing around, you damn mosquito!” Gargantua shouted thunderously.

He had become as large as the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York. He looked down as his star, Bowl, shone brighter.

“I’ll flatten—Hm?” As he was about to activate a skill, he sensed a presence in thin air. “Which fly is it this time?”

“It’s me, Master Gargantua.” Seong-Hwi’s voice sounded from thin air, carrying both respect and a hint of pressure. “I have a favor to ask. I trust that you will accept it since you have received my help. Oh, even if you don’t accept my request, I guarantee your son’s safety in the name of Underground.”

Gargantua hesitated momentarily and said, “What is it?”

***

Orange explosions echoed restlessly, filling the surroundings with immense heat and burning everything. It was the Exploding Blood of the Motus bloodline—to be more exact, the pureblood soldier of Berto’s Exploding Bloodbath.

“You could barely make a single needle with such lukewarm heat,” Bafor said, walking out of a steel dome he had created.

He grunted as he raised Ustrina’s Hammer, brass-colored Mineral Force condensing around the hammer head.

“Chaaaaa!” he shouted, smashing the hammer down on the ground with all his might, and a wave of brass aura spread throughout the surroundings.

[Activating Unique Skill: Will of Steel.]

“Surge!”

An immense amount of iron sand sprouted from deep underground at the Steel King’s command. A hand made of iron sand moved to grab the pureblood soldier of Berto, who used the shockwaves from Exploding Bloodbath to escape its grasp.

“You sure know how to run away like a rat! I’ll crush you with one—”

Just as a clear sound of metal from Bafor’s star, Anvil, sounded as if he were about to forge something, a voice sounded from thin air.

“Lord Bafor.”

Bafor quickly turned his head to the source of the sound. “Is that you, Seong-Hwi?”

“Yes.”

“Hah, it appears you have already defeated one.”

“I had defeated him once before, so it was simple. Not only that, but... it appears my opponent was significantly weaker than your opponents.”

Seong-Hwi was correct. The pureblood soldier of Demens was considerably weaker than those of Semita, Grawamen, and Berto.

“Thanks to that, I have been given more time, and... I have devised a new plan,” Seong-Hwi whispered, his voice filled with great madness.

He took a little over ten seconds to explain his plan to Bafor, whose expression gradually hardened.

“This is for the sake of Underground,” Seong-Hwi remarked with unwavering certainty.

“You’ve... gotten scarier in the time I have not seen you,” Bafor said.

“Yes, to my enemies. Do you agree with my plan?”

Bafor remained silent for a few seconds, thinking deeply, then replied, “Huuu, this alliance seems more like a burden at this point. However, we have already made a blood pact and can no longer go back. Your decisions are no different from mine.”

“Is that a yes?” Seong-Hwi asked.

Bafor’s green eyes flashed, and he nodded.

***

“Aha! Ahaha! Yes, bark like the dog you are!” Haema shouted, charging at Pseraslav with speed that surpassed perception as a trail of purple vapor formed behind him.

“Grrr! Come at me, damn mosquito! I’ll burn you to a crisp!” Pseraslav shouted, having drawn out his Beast Force to the limit, as he drew out even more mana.

His mana did not carry the cold moon energy like that of other wolf beastfolk, but the hot sun energy.

“GRAAAHH!”

[Activating Unique Skill: Flame Fur.]

Every single strand of Pseraslav’s fur exuded such intense heat that it seemed as if it could even burn one’s soul. A coat of red-gold flames prevented anything from approaching him.

“It appears even beasts are dangerous in this world. You do not have to indulge him by approaching him,” Mulleus remarked from inside Haema’s head.

“I will take care of this myself, Mulleus! Please shut up when I am in battle!” Haema rebuked as he sped up even more. “Are you seriously suggesting we go on a battle of attrition with this almighty body, mana, Blood Force, and unique caliber?! Hahaha! I did not take the infamous Lord Mulleus for a coward!”

Haema was drunk on the endless supply of mana and Blood Force he had gained after taking over Lord Mulleus’s body. He could not even imagine himself losing; he had long since abandoned his initial battle plan of exercising caution.

“You don’t know how to use your own body! My current self can easily defeat that filthy mutt!” Haema shouted as he created a sword made of blood.

It was a shotel, a curved sword resembling a hook. Haema swung the blood shotel like a scythe to reap harvests, slashing Pseraslav’s chest deeply.

“Kurgh!” Pseraslav grimaced, his eyes widening from the pain in his chest.

He swung his fist enveloped in red-gold aura, resembling the sun, but Haema had already flown into a Dark Blood Cave he had opened behind him. Pseraslav’s punch struck nothing but air.

“Ahaha! You’re more persistent than I expected!” Haema said as he walked out of a Dark Blood Cave roughly a hundred steps away.

“Bastard!” Pseraslav cursed as he turned to Haema.

The blood shotel Haema was holding was burning due to making contact with Pseraslav’s Flame Fur, and black smoke rose from it. Haema abandoned the burning sword without hesitation and created a new blood sword.

“Hehe. At the very least, I understand the bravery you had to face me. I imagine you thought you were my natural enemy.” Haema caressed his newly-made blood epee and continued, “But unfortunately for you, the flames you were so confident in are pointless before our immense gap in caliber! Ahahaha! That monkey geezer, Modak, will be next after you!”

Several Dark Blood Caves opened around them, and Haema vanished into the bitter Occult Blood Mist that filled their surroundings.

“Grrr! This can’t... This can’t be happening!” Pseraslav mumbled in disbelief, darting his eyes around.

He had been confident he was a match for Haema. Although Haema was of a higher rank, he was eighteenth, and Pseraslav was twenty-third—only a five-rank difference. On top of that, he believed he could defeat Haema using his unique mana.

Pseraslav had been born with sun mana, or mana that naturally carried the sun element. It had the power to burn blood, so he believed its innate quality was a nightmare for a vampire like Haema. However, not only was he being pushed back, but the sun mana wasn’t as effective as he had hoped.

What... am I lacking?! Pseraslav wondered as he gritted his sharp teeth.

There was no way it was a difference in stats. His stats were all S(99), like all the other Ten Lords and Fiends. He had also accumulated enough Karma so that he could immediately restore it to S(99) if his caliber were to be heightened.

It wasn’t a difference in skills either. Although Haema’s skills were difficult to deal with, Pseraslav’s unique skills were nothing to scoff at either. Neither was it battle sense. Haema’s skill with weapons was subpar at best. Despite all that, Pseraslav was being overpowered, which only meant one thing. His victory wasn’t written in the Akashic Records.

“His star... is brighter?” Pseraslav mumbled.

“Correct,” Haema answered.

His arm, covered in wriggling purple blood vessels, appeared from the thinning Occult Blood Mist and stabbed Pseraslav’s abdomen with the blood epee.

“Kurgh!”

“Ahaha! Blood Moon is now an alpha star, with a whole number of one! Its caliber is on a whole other level compared to that of your lowly dim star!” Haema shouted.

“Grrr! An... alpha star?!”

Pseraslav grabbed the blood epee, piercing his abdomen, and black smoke rose from it. He did not know where Haema had accumulated the necessary causality, but Haema had successfully recorded great history.

“In that case—!” Pseraslav shouted as his golden eyes flashed with Beast Force, filled with madness.

If the magnitude of Haema’s star had reached a whole number of one, it would be difficult for Pseraslav to overwrite the history Haema could write by using his own star, with a magnitude of 2.1. There was only one way to win: he also needed to make the magnitude of his star’s whole number one, even if it was temporary, and would come with immense recoil.

[Pseraslav attempts to record in the Akashic Records.]

[Commencing the history of Shining Verification.]

[Insufficient causality stored in Sun Wolf Star.]

[Supplementing the insufficient causality with a supernova impostor, the dimming of a star.]

[Temporarily enhancing the magnitude of Sun Wolf Star.]

[Magnitude: 2.1 → 1.9]

“GRAAAAAHHH!” Pseraslav roared.

A supernova impostor was a downgraded version of a supernova, which Kang-San had used. A supernova allowed a star to shine hundreds of millions of times brighter than usual at the cost of its destruction. However, a supernova impostor did not allow the star to shine as brightly, but it minimized the penalty that the star suffered.

Although it was considered a technique, it was the stage directly before a supernova. In other words, it was a gamble with one’s life on the line that could develop into a supernova at any time. One needed to stimulate their star just enough so that it wouldn’t be destroyed.

Not even ten Recorders in the Mirror World could use this technique effectively. It was such a dangerous technique that they would become crippled before they even got the hang of staying within that narrow limit. The only person who was considered a master of the supernova impostor was the Sixth Lord, Modak, who had passed down the technique to Pseraslav.

Cracks began to form on Sun Wolf Star in the sky and started to emit flames, resembling the solar corona.

“You crazy fucking wolf!” Haema shouted, realizing what Pseraslav had done after seeing Sun Wolf Star, shining as brightly as Blood Moon.

He was about to retreat through a Dark Blood Cave, but Pseraslav’s tail elongated and grabbed Haema.

“Gehehe! Where do you think you’re going?!” he shouted as he activated his star power.

[Activating Star Power: Extreme Daylight.]

The surroundings became as bright as midday. This was the Sun Wolf King’s star power, known to be able to change night to day. While Extreme Daylight was active, there would be no limit to Pseraslav’s sun mana.

“AWOOOOO—!” Pseraslav howled, activating Flame Howling at point-blank range at Haema.

A thunderous boom echoed throughout the forest.