Chapter 280: Partner… him…? Ha… ha…

The werewolf fighting against Lucian was a C-Ranker.

Although Lucian had no idea what he was doing alongside these vampires and Church members, he couldn’t deny that the situation had become very interesting.

After all, he had finally encountered another race aside from humans and vampires, and more importantly… his opponent was someone who seemed strong enough to put up a fight on par with him.

“Hey, don’t you speak or something?”

Lucian asked casually, tilting his head slightly as the werewolf launched another series of attacks.

Dodging the attacks with relative ease, Lucian shifted his body before suddenly sweeping his leg towards the man’s knee.

The werewolf’s leg buckled slightly, causing him to lose his balance for a brief moment. However, he quickly regained his footing and prepared to attack again.

But just then—

“…!”

Lucian’s foot struck the man’s face.

The werewolf’s head snapped to the side, and his expression twisted with anger as he stumbled backwards.

“Ouuu…!”

A strange sound escaped his throat.

Then—

Crack! Crack!

Faint cracking sounds came from the man’s body, and his frame gradually grew slightly larger, his arms extending as his muscles swelled beneath his clothes.

His fingers lengthened, and sharp, animalistic claws emerged from his hands, looking much more monstrous and larger than a vampire’s.

Even his hair seemed to grow longer, becoming increasingly wild as his entire build changed, looking more and more animalistic.

“Um… should I wait for him to transform or something—”

“OI BASTARD!”

Lucian flinched.

A shrill voice suddenly rang throughout the surroundings, carrying so much anger that even the people nearby couldn’t help but tremble.

He immediately turned his head towards the battlefield, where Vivienne had just landed on the ground, flames roaring around her body.

She was very far away from him, too far for her overwhelming presence to cause any physical effects, but even then, he could see her angered expression very clearly, her eyes burning crimson as she stared straight at him.

And even though her pressure didn’t affect him, the same couldn’t be said for his ears.

“IF YOU WANT TO HELP, THEN KILL THOSE PESTS!”

Lucian casually waved his hand.

“I was going to do that anyway—”

“THEY MIGHT BE BEHIND SEREN’S DISAPPEARANCE, YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?!!!”

Lucian’s expression stilled. His eyes slowly lost their amusement, turning utterly flat.

Pierce.

His eyes moved towards the werewolf, whose claws had struck his chest, tearing his clothes and piercing his flesh.

However, unlike before, Lucian’s body didn’t fly backwards.

Instead, his feet dragged across the ground, leaving shallow marks as he slid backwards, his posture remaining unchanged.

“Cat Ears…” Lucian slowly turned his head towards the werewolf, who looked surprised at the lack of damage to Lucian’s body.

“Looks like we’ll have to end the fight here.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, you lee—”

Slice!

The man’s words died in his throat, and before he could even react, the young vampire was already standing directly in front of him.

And his hand—

“GAKH—!!”

A bloody cough escaped the man’s throat as he saw Lucian’s monstrous claw pierce through his chest, reaching directly into his heart.

His eyes slowly began losing their colour.

Lucian yanked his hand free, briefly glancing at the heart in his hand before casually throwing it away.

“A man’s blood looks disgusting for some reason.”

He couldn’t help but mutter aloud.

What?

Just because of Vivienne’s words, he hadn’t suddenly gone into complete emo mode.

But he also understood that this wasn’t the time to show off, even though he still wanted to enjoy and learn from the battle… since this was the first time he was fighting against humans—or werewolves, whatever… intelligent races who would fight against him.

And those… who were as strong as or much stronger than him.

…

Meanwhile, Grace’s brows rose slightly in surprise as she heard Vivienne’s furious scream and saw the crazy smile on her face, as if she had accomplished something great.

Intrigued, Grace followed her gaze, turning towards the young vampire.

However, her face twitched faintly, turning into a complicated expression… though she still couldn’t understand why.

Was there something about this lad…?

And who exactly was he…?

Before she could dwell on the matter any further, a hesitant voice came from beside her.

“M-Mother…!”

She turned her head.

“What is it, son?”

Silas’s expression shifted slightly as he heard the coldness in her tone.

He swallowed, momentarily hesitating before continuing.

“That man… he’s that vampire I told you about.”

Grace raised a brow.

“The one who called himself… the Duchess’s beloved partner…”

Silas couldn’t help but feel ridiculous as he repeated those words, though it was true that Lucian had introduced himself that way… claiming to be Valentina’s partner.

Whether the claim was true or not, Silas had no idea.

But… the Duchess hadn’t even tried to deny it—even though she would’ve normally tortured someone for even thinking something close to that.

“Pft… hahahaha!”

Silas’s eyes widened as his mother suddenly burst into laughter.

Grace looked really amused, and after letting out a faint laugh, she glanced towards the boy once again.

“Partner… him…? Ha… ha…”

Her expression slowly shifted from amused to confused as she saw the seriousness in Silas’s tone, her laughter gradually fading away.

Now that she thought about it, her son never joked around with her… since he knew he wouldn’t live if he did.

‘Really…? Valentina… huh.’

She briefly glanced towards the ongoing battle between her general and Vivienne before clicking her tongue.

‘Looks like that girl grew much stronger in such a short time.’

She couldn’t help but feel annoyed by that growth, but she eventually turned away from them, deciding to observe the brat’s fight and see what he was really capable of.

‘Who knows? If that bitch Valentina cares about him too, then my plan will become even stronger.’

And after seeing enough and deciding his worth, she would eventually torture him…

Then kill him.

…

It took only a few seconds for more figures to gather around Lucian.

Some wore white robes, similar to those of the Church members he had encountered earlier. Others were men with their upper bodies exposed for no real reason, revealing their bulky physiques and muscles that seemed ready to burst out of their skin.

Clearly, werewolves.

There were also several men and women dressed in dark clothing, their expressions cold as they watched Lucian from a distance—vampires, perhaps belonging to Grace’s faction.

It looked like vampires, werewolves, and the Church were working together for some reason.

He didn’t know why these three groups would cooperate, especially considering how different their natures were. But whatever their reason, it seemed they had found a common enemy.

Him.