The one leading the group had a pale, almost sickly complexion. His features were androgynous, his entire presence radiating a dense, suffocating dark energy that seemed to cling to the air around him. He let out two short, eerie laughs before sweeping his cold eyes across Andrew and the others."The Lloyd family's Dragon Prince and the Greene family's Saintess… If you know what's good for you, step aside right now. Everything here belongs to me!" The two Guardians flanking him did not even try to hide their excitement, their eyes wild and frenzied as they took in the mountains of gold and silver all around them and broke into loud, triumphant laughter.Nyx scoffed coldly. "They must be from the Crimson Flame Cult. Let's just wipe them out and be done with it."Andrew said suddenly, "Stand down! Nyx, Shiloh, Joe… Let them through."Everyone froze for a moment, thrown off by the instruction. However, the quiet, unreadable smirk on his face made it clear he already had a plan. He

The Crimson Flame Lord let out a loud, mocking laugh. "You ignorant fools! Did you actually think that pedestal could hold unlimited names? The slots are finite. And since none of you want yours on there, I'll gladly take what you're leaving behind."Once every last one of my Crimson Flame Cult members gets their name carved onto that stone, there won't be a single force left in this world that can stand above us!"A flicker of dry amusement crossed Andrew's eyes. Then, he unleashed Godslayer in a relentless chain of strikes.The Crimson Flame Lord ground his teeth and met every blow with his bare hands. His raw combat ability was genuinely staggering, and with the boost he had absorbed from the vault, he had jumped to an entirely different level of power.Suddenly, Andrew pivoted sharply and brought his greatsword crashing down onto the pedestal a second time.The Crimson Flame Lord looked like he was about to snap. "You absolute lunatic! That is the single most important relic i

The idea that Shiloh's oldest enemy was the Blood Queen herself was almost too much to wrap one's head around. But then again, Shiloh came from the Greene family, one of the most ancient bloodlines in existence. Moreover, no one truly knew how many lifetimes she had lived, how many centuries she had walked, or what she had witnessed and survived throughout it all.Even when fragments of her memory had returned before, they were scattered and incomplete, confusing even to her. But now, with the remnant spirit's help, everything has come back in full. Her ageless syndrome and her amnesia were both completely gone, and with that, the entire weight of her long, extraordinary life had returned to her all at once.Andrew said quickly, "Shiloh, the last time the Vampire Queen fell into slumber was because…"Shiloh cut him off, "You already figured it out. Yes. Lilith Bathory went into slumber because of the battle between the two of us. She went into a deep sleep, while I lost my memorie

Shiloh's entire personality had shifted. After returning to the Cavendish royal family's headquarters, she kept almost entirely to herself. Nyx was the only one she would occasionally exchange a few words with.Whenever Andrew got too close, she went cold and distant, like a wall had come down between them. He was self-aware enough to read the room and kept his distance without being told twice. However, something else was quietly unsettling him. Nyx had pulled him aside the moment she got back and whispered that Shiloh had already broken through to the Beyond Mortal level, and that was not even where it stopped.From what Nyx had carefully managed to piece together through indirect questions, Shiloh's power was not plateauing. It was still climbing, steadily and continuously, and it was not going to stop until it reached the peak she had once stood at in a previous life. What that peak actually looked like, Shiloh had not said outright. However, she had let one thing slip: tha

Azrael's voice carried through the walls of Cliffside Gate loud and clear. Every member of the Cavendish royal family heard it, and so did Andrew.Cormac let out a cold scoff. "Ignore him, Andrew. Don't even bother."Asher nodded in agreement. "Azrael's play is obvious. He wants to wound you or kill you and create an opening for the Three Empires' allied forces. But we don't have to take that bait. As long as we hold Cliffside Gate, the ones who can't afford the delay will be the allied armies."Andrew chuckled and said, "I know exactly what he's after... But here's the thing: what Azrael wants out of this might be the same thing we want. If I can take him out, the Cavendish royal family pushes out immediately and sweeps through the coalition in one move. The entire northern situation gets settled right there and then, doesn't it?"Asher's expression shifted with visible unease. "That's… Well, Azrael isn't your average martial god. Please don't take that risk." Cormac looked at A