Tyler immediately rushed in, channeling his blood magic through his hands. They crackled with power, crimson beams shooting out towards Kael. Kael quickly moved aside, dodging the attack, but the next moment, the crimson beam altered its trajectory and continued pursuing him. Kael raised one of his arms in the air, creating a blood shield that protected him from the encroaching blast.A blood sword materialized in his other hand as he charged towards his opponent. They clashed in the centre, blood aura surging around, shaking the structure of the arena.Tyler's crimson blade collided with Kael's in a series of heated clashes, neither one backing down.They zapped around the arena, leaving a blazing trail of blood aura in their wake. They added more power behind their attacks, the intensity of their blood attacks amplifying by the second.Several hours past as they battled, the crowd watching in anticipation for the fight to conclude. The malum within Tyler's blood cells lessened as

"For someone of noble blood, you have quite the barbaric way of coordinating yourself. If I didn't know better, I'd have assumed you to be one of the beasts wandering this moonlit world," Roman retorted, his expression cold."Trying to appear dignified on the battlefield? Or are you simply trying to conceal your fear?" Kael asked, stretching his hand forward. The luminescent blade returned, its pointed edge facing the composed legacy. "I can smell it—that feeling of being utterly outmatched—oozing from your frightened self."A few moments past, the atmosphere void of vocal disturbance."Enough with these pointless exchanges. Let's do this," Roman said, shifting forward. His movements were rapid and timed, covering the distance to his opponent. A massive wave of crimson lightning sprouted from the limbs of the calm legacy, spreading all across within moments. Kael used blood hardening, protecting his arms with the condensed effect of blood magic. Blood coat shrouded the rest of his b

His clothes were jet black, weaved from thick leather and strong fabric that covered him from head to toe.He stood right before the group of dead, gazing down at them. His eyes shifted past the corpses, falling upon that which seemed to belong to a female.His vision swayed as he clenched his jaw, hands balling into fists as his brows furrowed."Who's responsible for this," his voice was low, even—yet exuded a force that brought them all to their knees, begging for mercy."Darion, please, we know not how such a thing could happen! We beg of you, spare our li-" his sentence was cut short, a sharp wave of crimson light slashing through his neck, decapitating him.Blood gushed out from the open wound, his body convulsing as it fell against the ground, into a pool of his own blood.The crowd remained kneeling on the floor, barely moving. Some threw nervous glances at the beheaded vampire, their breaths withheld."I won't tolerate any excuses. Now tell me, who is responsible for this?" N

"Darion! Please, spare my husband! I understand that you are angry because we are unable to meet with this month's tribute, but please, spare us!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.While all of this transpired, the others simply went about their business, as though an altercation wasn't taking place right before their very eyes.Well, it wasn't like they had the power to change anything. They would simply be throwing their lives away by choosing to interfere."If that doesn't satisfy you, then you are free to take whatever you want from the stall. If fact, you can have it all. My family and I will simply live on the streets. Please just spare us!"Darion remained motionless as he took it all in, his lips curling into a malevolent grin as he swung his hand out.A line of bloor aura shot out, heading straight for the pleading woman.What followed was to be expected—a disturbingly massive splashing of blood that stained the fabrics all around, her head swinging away from her shoulders,

Ezeikel's eyes, as distant as they were, scanned their distasteful surroundings. He spotted a pile of dirty clothes sprawled across the floor in one section, a faint pile of rotting flesh and a single narrow jug of bioluminescent liquid placed in another. He saw the engravings he usually drew on the walls as a kid, as well as some of the items he used to enjoy playing with in the past. Though they were not exactly toys, back then, they might as well have been, filling him with mirthful bliss, sheltering him from the horrors that plagued the world they lived in.Then, his gaze moved back to the man seated in front of him, his eyes not straying from his meal, as they usually would.'Hard to believe all of that really happened... It's insane,' he thought, recounting the events that took place after the Rumbling begun—the owner of the tailor shop rushing in, drenched in sweat, ordering them to flee for their lives, him and his father running away from Darion, and the part when Raphael ap