Chapter 279: A werewolf...?

“What kind of m-monsters are they…?”

A man dressed in pristine white robes muttered, his lips trembling as he stared at the chaos unfolding in the distance with his two teammates.

The orange flames illuminating the night sky were visible even from where they stood. Every now and then, one explosion after another would shake the surroundings, sending faint tremors through the ground beneath his feet.

One of them swallowed nervously.

“Is that how S-Rankers fight…?”

“I don’t know, but we should stay away for now.”

The man standing beside him spoke with similar uneasiness.

“That vampire already told us she would take care of everything. We just have to ge—”

“Ah…!”

A sudden, unfamiliar voice jolted them out of their conversation.

The three of them immediately snapped their heads towards the source, only to see two people walking towards them, one a young man who was holding the other, a young woman, to stop her from falling down the steps.

“Just how clumsy are you that you cannot even walk properly?”

Lucian looked down at Selthia with a flat expression, his hand supporting her to stop her from stumbling over the uneven ground.

“It’s not my fault! The ground is cracked, and I’m… not used to walking very much.”

Lucian stared at her with a face that said, ‘How lazy can a person even be?’

Selthia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she saw that look, but before she could say anything—

“Halt!”

Both of them simultaneously turned towards the group of men.

All of them were clearly from the Church, wearing pristine white robes, while one of them held a staff in his hand, with the other two keeping their hands close to their weapons beneath their robes.

“This place is forbidden! You cannot come any—”

“Wait, he’s a vampire!”

Their partner exclaimed, and hearing his words, the others’ eyes widened too as they finally noticed Lucian’s bright crimson eyes, faintly glowing beneath the night sky like those of a predator.

“Took a long time to notice.” Selthia rolled her eyes at their reaction.

Lucian’s lips twitched slightly at her comment, but he didn’t say anything.

“Care to tell me what is happening over there?”

Lucian asked calmly, his gaze briefly shifting behind the three men, where he could see the distant orange glow of flames illuminating the ruins.

But none of them had any intention of answering him whatsoever.

“Ronan, attack them! It’s not the one from our side…!”

The moment those words left his mouth—

Two of them suddenly dashed forward, their movements unnaturally fast as they crossed the distance between them within a second.

“…!”

Lucian’s expression changed slightly as he briefly saw a blade directly in front of his face.

CLANK!

The sound of metal colliding rang loudly through the night as Lucian’s sword stopped the incoming blade just inches from his face.

However, before he could counterattack—

The man’s weapon suddenly erupted with a golden light, surging along the blade. The moment the light reached Lucian’s sword—

Lucian was forced to take a step back.

At almost the same time, the second man attacked from the side.

CLANK!

“Where did that sword come from…?!”

The man’s eyes widened as another sword suddenly appeared in Lucian’s hand, blocking his blade with another sharp metallic clang.

“Master! Good luck and don’t die!”

Lucian momentarily glanced to his side, only to find Selthia peeking out from a portal. The moment their eyes met, she smirked mischievously and gave him a thumbs-up…

Before completely vanishing into her portal.

The three men were taken aback by that, but before they could make sense of what had happened—

Lucian moved.

He twisted his wrist, changing the angle of the blade that was locked against his opponent’s weapon. Then, with a sharp and decisive motion, he redirected the man’s sword and struck back.

The man’s expression shifted, and he immediately retreated, seeing his partner backing away at almost the same time.

A long cut had appeared across his white robe, the fabric splitting from the force of Lucian’s strike.

Both of their expressions sharpened as they looked at Lucian before briefly glancing at each other.

Despite being surprised by his pinpoint reactions, they had noticed that he was weaker than them, and seeing that, confidence surged through them.

‘All three are B-Ranks,’ Lucian thought, but just as he briefly glanced towards the third man—

Boom!

Lucian’s figure blurred from his spot as he twisted his body, narrowly escaping the sudden golden light that abruptly spread beneath his feet.

“Ugh… what is that…?” His expression flickered, and for a brief moment, genuine pain crossed his face.

His feet felt unbearably hot, almost as if they had been placed on lava.

But despite the burning sensation, there was no fire or anything on his shoes, yet he could feel the skin beneath his soles slowly peeling away.

He turned back towards the three men, who froze in their spots, looking surprised—almost disbelieving.

Lucian tilted his head, his gaze moving towards the staff-holding man, the one who had launched that golden attack.

“How did he…?”

The staff-holding man muttered under his breath.

But his pupils shrank as Lucian’s figure blurred, and before he could understand what had happened—

The vampire was already standing directly in front of him.

“Akgh—!”

A sword pierced straight into the man’s stomach.

“What did you do? What was that attack?” Lucian asked, sounding more curious than cautious.

Blood trickled from the corner of the man’s mouth, yet despite his condition, he forced a twisted smile onto his face.

“Kagh—! Disgusting demon… die!”

For a brief moment, Lucian didn’t understand, but then—

The ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled violently.

“…!”

Before he could even react, a massive spike of stone shot upwards, striking him from behind.

At almost the same moment, a violent gust of wind slammed into his body from the opposite direction.

The two attacks collided with him simultaneously.

Lucian’s body was sent flying, his figure hurtling through the air as the force of the attacks carried him away from the three men.

The moment his body slammed directly onto the ground, dust scattered as he rolled across the broken surface.

But before he could tumble any further, Lucian twisted his body and planted a hand against the ground, forcing himself to stop.

“I should’ve noticed that… Ugh.”

Lucian muttered under his breath as he looked at the stone spike piercing through his back and protruding from his stomach.

He had been so interested in learning about that attack that he had momentarily almost forgotten about the existence of the other two men.

Grabbing the spike with one hand, he forcefully pushed it away, revealing a gaping hole that leaked enormous amounts of blood, staining the ground beneath his feet.

Yet Lucian’s expression barely changed.

He merely looked at the damage with mild annoyance, watching as the muscles around the wound began to twitch and move.

Within moments, the hole began to close, flesh regenerating at astonishing speed as the damaged muscles reconnected and the spinal cord was recreated and reattached.

Skin gradually covered the wound, and before long, the enormous hole had disappeared completely, leaving his chiselled abdomen as though nothing had happened.

Lucian let out a faint exhale.

‘Thank goodness I’m not a human anymore.’

[You would’ve been roaming around with a massive hole if you were.]

Lucian’s lips twitched at Akasha’s words, but just as he was about to retort—

“Who are you…?”

A sudden voice came from behind him.

Despite being surprised that he hadn’t noticed the person behind him, Lucian showed no surprise on his face and instead turned around calmly.

Standing a short distance behind him was a brownish-red-haired woman, her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked at him with an expression that seemed to mix confusion with curiosity.

“Boy… just how did you drop from the air?”

Lucian blinked.

The woman’s nose twitched slightly, and her gaze instinctively shifted towards the blood scattered across the ground.

Her expression changed almost imperceptibly, but before she could understand or examine it any further—

Fwoosh!

Flames erupted from Lucian’s hand, engulfing the blood on the ground in an instant and burning it away until not a single drop remained.

Grace’s eyes narrowed slightly, not understanding the meaning of his actions.

Lucian knew how precious his blood was, and his master had repeatedly warned him not to waste or leave even a single drop of it anywhere… since vampires might sense the difference if they tasted it and might chase him without end.

Valentina herself knew how precious Lucian’s blood was due to him having a very high chance of being a Progenitor—though, in her eyes, Lucian still had no idea about his bloodline.

“Brat… you should give an answer when someone asks you a question.”

Lucian looked at the brownish-red-haired woman for a few seconds, but instead of answering, he turned his head towards the battlefield.

BOOM!

CLANK! WHAM!

KRA-BOOM!

A series of deafening explosions shook the ruined surroundings.

The immense pressure generated by the battle swept across the area, sending Lucian’s hair fluttering behind him. His suit, or what remained of it after the massive hole, flapped violently in the turbulent air.

Lucian narrowed his eyes, trying to follow the movements of the two figures fighting in the distance.

Unfortunately, their speed was simply too great.

Even with his heightened senses, he could barely distinguish their movements, only managing to see brief flashes of their figures, followed by explosions and the destruction left in their wake.

“Fucker! Didn’t your father give you blood to drink when you were a kid?!”

A familiar, foul-mouthed voice rang across the battlefield.

“Cough!”

The brownish-red-haired man fighting Vivienne coughed up a mouthful of blood as her burning claws pierced his chest.

The flames spreading from her fingers threatened to burrow deeper, but before she could reach his heart, the man swung his sword towards her.

Vivienne immediately twisted her body, avoiding the blade before pulling her claws free.

The moment she landed, she blurred forward again, her figure turning into a streak of flames as she pursued him without giving him any chance to recover.

“Even the gardener of our house is better than you! Hahaha!”

‘This foul-mouthed brat…!!!’

A vein bulged on the man’s forehead, but he quickly forced himself to calm down and sliced through another incoming fireball, the impact sending him flying backwards.

“That is Vivienne, right?” Lucian muttered, briefly turning towards the woman as if he were genuinely asking her.

“…”

Grace remained silent.

Her eyes twitched slightly as she stared at the young man’s lack of fear despite two S-Rankers fighting within his vicinity, releasing enough power to tear apart the surrounding area.

Did he even have any idea that if even one of their attacks accidentally struck him, he would die?

The communication artifact tucked inside her pocket suddenly began to vibrate.

“Miss. We just found out that some intruders have come in here.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Grace muttered, her gaze fixed on Lucian.

A faint trace of amusement appeared on her face, though she couldn’t help but feel something strange as she looked at the boy.

She couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but there was something about him that made her feel increasingly annoyed by his presence.

“Get lost, brat.”

Grace casually waved her hand through the air.

In the next instant—

A massive pressure slammed into Lucian.

“…!”

His eyes widened slightly as he felt an enormous pressure, something he had experienced from Vivienne before.

His body was lifted off the ground and sent flying backwards once again.

But this time, rather than crashing violently onto the ground again, he twisted midair and landed gracefully on his feet, the ground beneath him remaining undisturbed.

Lucian straightened his back and brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead.

Meanwhile, Grace turned her attention elsewhere, not even sparing him a glance.

“Kill that brat.”

Just as those words escaped her lips, a figure suddenly blurred behind Lucian.

The attack came without warning, and Lucian barely managed to twist his body aside.

Whoosh!

A powerful fist cut through the air where his head had been only a moment earlier, creating a faint vibration that rippled through the air.

Lucian immediately pivoted to face his attacker before throwing a punch of his own.

BAM!

“Ak—!”

His fist struck the man’s chest directly, forcing the figure to skid a step backwards.

“Wait… a cat—no, a werewolf…?”

Lucian’s expression changed completely as he looked at the person he had attacked, who had a pair of animalistic ears protruding from his head… something he had never seen in his life.

‘Holy shit. I’m really seeing a werewolf! A person with ears like that…!’

Lucian exclaimed inside his mind, encountering another race aside from vampires.

The man on the other side seemed confused for a moment, but wasting no time, he drew back his fist before throwing another punch towards Lucian.

Rather than using his sword, Lucian moved forward as well, directly towards the incoming fist.

The werewolf’s eyes widened slightly as Lucian stepped into the attack’s path.

But before his punch could connect, Lucian tilted his head to the side, letting the fist pass beside his face before driving a hard punch into the werewolf’s side.

“Agh—!”

The man grunted, his body twisting from the impact.

Seeing that, Lucian couldn’t help but mutter.

“It would’ve been better if you were a female werewolf.”

The werewolf’s expression twisted immediately, and his fingers clenched as he heard those words.