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"Menorah…!"
Although he was already pale with fear, the Bishop of Noctiluca turned deathly white at the mere mention of the name.
Just as Bernardo had warned, if Menorah had really shown up, there was no point in waiting for sunrise.
If it was Menorah, they might deliberately hold back until dawn…
Just to watch humans cling to meaningless hope, only to fall into despair.
After cornering the bishop with facts that bordered on threats, Bernardo barely managed to get his approval. Now, he watched the battle situation unfold and waited anxiously for the sacred relic to be ready for activation.
The moment he was told it was ready, he dashed to the highest spire of the cathedral.
The night wind howled fiercely as he reached the open-air top, lashing against Bernardo’s cheeks.
At the center of the spire stood a large, opaque, circular object, something like milky-white glass.
It was a scale of the Holy Dragon.
The magic circle inscribed on the floor had already been activated, faintly glowing. At the intersections of the layered complex patterns, radiant lights sparkled.
It was the Star of Lamphas.
Amid this awe-inspiring scene, like the Milky Way had descended to Earth, Bernardo stepped forward and stood before the scale. On either side were handles made of gold.
Though the city had grown bustling, no building stood as tall as the cathedral's spire. The view was unobstructed. In the far distance, he could see the auction house.
Taking a deep breath, Bernardo pulled out the Dawn Compass, the sacred relic that had led him here, to Noctiluca, while tracing Vasha’s trail.
The compass needle pointed unwaveringly toward the auction house.
'As expected…'
Now certain of Vasha’s location, Bernardo grasped the handles of the scale and slowly began to adjust its orientation.
His own tense face reflected faintly on the smooth surface of the scale. He only had enough holy power left for one shot. One single chance.
He murmured under his breath.
"Please… O Holy Dragon."
Carefully, he aligned the direction of the scale with the direction the compass pointed.
The moment the scale was aimed directly at the auction house, Bernardo poured his remaining holy power into it.
"Hup—!"
At that very moment, the thread bracelet tied around Bernardo’s arm snapped. The broken bracelet scattered into the air without a trace.
As his holy power surged, the white scale began to glow red-hot.
Whooooom-
The scale trembled violently. Bernardo gritted his teeth and gripped the golden handles tightly, scraping together every last drop of his holy power and pouring it all into the scale.
Then, just as the entire scale was dyed a brilliant ruby-red...
Flaaaaaash!
A blinding beam of light burst forth from the scale, splitting the world in two as if heaven and earth were overturned.
***
Because vampires could quickly regenerate from injuries and left no trace, no blood or flesh, at the sites of their battles, humans often misunderstood vampire fights as something elegant or refined.
But once you witnessed the reality firsthand, you’d know just how absurd that idea was.
Arms. Legs…
Even if nothing remained behind, the moment those limbs were severed and began to regenerate, the horror was indescribable.
‘It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it HURTS!’
Another arm flew off. This time, it was the opposite arm.
Vasha hated pain. She knew very well that, among vampires, she had a low tolerance for it.
‘It wasn’t this bad in the past…’
In frustration, Vasha bit down on her lip. Maybe it was the overwhelming agony from losing her limbs, but even her lips felt completely numb.
If this were the old Vasha, the overwhelming urge to feed would’ve kicked in by now, clouding her reason and offering escape from the pain.
But now, her magic was holding firm, and that kind of madness didn’t take over.
‘Which is good, of course! Really, it’s a relief-’
But that didn’t make enduring this agony with a clear mind any easier.
Whether Vasha felt it was unfair or not, her mana kept surging, endlessly, without limit. Like a spring that never ran dry.
By this point, even Vasha was starting to break into a cold sweat.
‘Just… how powerful was I?’
She felt relief, yes, but also a creeping sense of unease.
If she was truly this strong… then why had she lost both her powers and her memories?
‘Back then, I thought it was ridiculous that someone like me could be connected to a Vampire Lord… But with this level of mana…’
This far surpassed the power of a high-ranking vampire.
In fact, in terms of raw mana alone, she might even be comparable to the Strigon in front of her.
And yet, Vasha continued to be overwhelmed by Strigon, not because of a lack of power, but because she didn’t have the skill to wield it.
‘So just having a ton of mana isn’t enough, huh…!’
Time and experience couldn’t be faked. Especially not when your opponent was someone like Menorah.
He had been wielding great mana far longer than Vasha had. Naturally, his control over it was precise and refined.
Just like a predator toying with its prey instead of killing it right away, Strigon had been playing with Vasha. If he hadn’t, Vasha would have long since been forced to her knees at his feet.
‘Is Strigon trying to capture me because of who I really am…?’
He’d asked for Vasha’s true name, and his demeanor had been suspiciously calculated. Something about him didn’t add up.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Strigon’s attacks came relentlessly, not allowing Vasha even a second to catch her breath.
And the enclosed, tunnel-like space gave Strigon an advantage.
Before Vasha could evade, Strigon’s red threads wrapped tightly around her ankle.
Wham!
Vasha was flung hard into the wall.
"Guh…!"
The impact was strong enough to crack the stone.
But it didn’t end there, a crimson spear shot toward her, straight and deadly.
SCREEEEECH!
At this rate, she was going to be pinned to the wall like a specimen.
Vasha quickly severed the red threads and kicked off the wall. But just as she was about to land, another spear came flying toward her.
BZZZAP-BZZZAP!!
A barrage of spears rained down on her relentlessly. Gritting her teeth, Vasha fought to stay focused. But the longer the fight dragged on, the more her concentration waned.
She’d spent so long using barely a trickle of mana. Now, trying to command such overwhelming power, it felt like her brain was frying, crackling under the strain.
And Strigon had clearly noticed that Vasha’s mental stamina was reaching its limit.
"Well, considering your origin, you do seem to have talent… but you’re clearly not skilled enough to handle that kind of power."
‘Origin…?’
Vasha frowned at the word, but Strigon showed no intention of explaining further.
Though she had incredible mana and the eyes to see through spells, unusual for a homunculus, she was still too inexperienced to fully control it.
"Still, you’re a fascinating specimen."
Strigon had pushed her as a test, and the results exceeded expectations. Compared to Lucy, Vasha’s soul and body were far more stably connected. Perhaps her vessel was closer to that of the 'Mother.'
Strigon stared at Vasha, her face twisted in pain, her breath ragged.
"To think you believed you could face me relying on mana alone. Did you really think you could win?"
With a flick of his hand, the red threads that had wrapped around Vasha yanked her up into the air.
"Kuh…!"
Unable to move, Vasha groaned. Strigon approached and brushed his hand against Vasha’s cheek.
During the fight, a thread must have grazed her, there was a thin cut across her face. Strigon murmured softly.
"That must hurt."
"…Tearing someone’s limbs off usually does."
Vasha bit back sarcastically. Strigon clicked his tongue and, still caressing her cheek, pressed his fingernail into the nearly healed wound, digging in.
"Ugh…!"
"You should have run. With your mana, you might have had a chance."
At the start of the battle, even Strigon had underestimated her. If Vasha had used that brief moment of overconfidence to flee, even Strigon would have had a hard time stopping her.
Only when Strigon finally pulled his hand away was Vasha able to gasp for breath again. Wheezing, she muttered bitterly to herself.
"…Yeah. Why did I even stay here this long? What glory was I hoping for…?"
And then she remembered.
The reason she’d come to the auction house in the first place.
First, to help Todd escape to safety.
And second…
To reveal Strigon’s location.
At that moment, a strand of mana that had been faintly connected to her snapped.
The bracelet made from her own hair, was gone.
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