A monster several tens of meters high enveloped Scarlett. It had no eyes and no nose, with its black hair that glittered like the darknites unique to the northern continent falling to its heels. Its body was fully covered in light-dark armor that matched its hair, and only its claws that overlapped with Scarlett's hands could be clearly seen.
Arianne who had gone on a rampage became docile before the figure.
Only Arlo and Stefan were able to appreciate this sight as the others had their heads bowed either in fear or respect.
Scarlett drew blood from her hand before allowing it to drip into Arianne's mouth. There was no need for Arianne to receive origin blood. She was the same as Scarlett and had the potential to create a new sireline of vampires. It was just that Scarlett used her blood as a medium to suppress Arianne's. Right now she could not fully wield her bloodline and it would take some time before she could control it. But with Scarlett's assistance, she would be able to control her bloodline better and also be able to transform freely without having to be stimulated.
Arianne's body started undergoing some changes. Her body size increased, while her claws grew a bit longer and more sharper. The blood she had previously tried to absorb but had fallen to her side suddenly rose and covered her.
They covered the white suit that had accommodated her transformation and slowly turned into blood-red armor. The now-armored Arianne looked nobler and the aura around her body became more intense.
She raised her head and released another roar, but this time Scarlett didn't stop her, and instead the gigantic image that covered her body slowly disappeared.
Scarlett looked at her granddaughter who was now standing at equal height with her in her transformed state with a warm smile on her face.
After a while, Arianne slowly regressed to her human form. However, this time there were noticeable changes in her body. Firstly, she grew taller and was now almost 1.7 meters tall. No one would believe she was an eleven-year-old girl. Another noticeable change was her snow-white edges whose edges were now dyed in a blood-red colour. It was a beautiful merging of colors.
Scarlett quickly pulled the unconscious Arianne into her embrace.
She rubbed Arianne's hair lovingly before raising her head to gaze at the vampires who still had their heads bowed.
"Leave!"
None of the vampires complained or showed irritated expressions. Instead, they all wished Scarlett respectfully before orderly leaving.
Only those who were separately told to wait using a spiritual message remained behind. They included the Lords, Evangeline, and Principal Stanley.
Arlo lifted Joe who had fallen unconscious after catching a glimpse of Scarlett's true form. He followed those who were leaving the hall. However...
'Wait behind!' Evangeline's voice rang in his head. He was perplexed but in the end, he obeyed her instructions. Some of the vampires threw him questioning looks, but he ignored them all. Stefan who was beside him didn't question his sudden behavior, and instead nodded in understanding before leaving.
Before leaving some vampires threw him menacing looks but Arlo ignored them.
"Goodbye, little one!" Count Cromwell greeted with a smile on his face. However, Arlo didn't reply and instead gazed at him with a calm face.
Count Cromwell's smiling face slowly returned to normal as his eyes narrowed. He realized that he couldn't read any emotion from Arlo's eyes and that made him feel uneasy.
'He is only a little boy...How can he be so calm?' It was almost as if he wasn't looking at a child. He soon noticed that he was among the few in the hall, and after seeing Arlo's unmoving figure, he realized something was up so he reluctantly left.
The Lords looked at Arlo before looking at Scarlett. Subtle emotions flashed within their eyes. Scarlett who was still carrying Arianne in her embrace looked at Arlo with a questioning look, but instead, another voice dispelled her confusion.
"My liege! Please allow me to test my student's talent!" Evangeline knelt before her.
"Oh!" A look of interest flashed on Scarlett's face. She was inwardly happy that Evangeline was caring for Arlo but she didn't show it.
However, she hesitated about checking Arlo's talent. She knew the outcome wouldn't be anything normal.
Arlo who was feeling disappointed that he couldn't check Arianne's talent was suddenly surprised to hear Evangeline speak about testing his.
Scarlett caught the stiff expression on Arlo's face and soon decided.
"Okay!"
"Thank you!" Evangeline smiled in happiness. The lords were bewildered about her reaction. They didn't think Arlo was special and even if he was very talented by human standards, they didn't care. To them, humans were inferior versions of vampires. Only headmaster Holden who had watched Arlo for a while had a slightly expectant look on his face.
"Come here!" Evangeline beckoned toward Arlo.
Arlo gently placed Joe on the floor before walking toward the group.
Principal Stanley had been carrying the orb since the beginning of the ritual. It was unbecoming of someone of his status, however he didn't feel angry or grumpy. After all, he knew the importance of the Orb in his hand. It was one of the few replicas of the ancient orb that was created by the Divine Blacksmith who created the famous pandora. It was the only replica the vampires had, and while it could measure the talents of individuals, it couldn't give an accurate result, unlike the real ancient orb. Still, the vampires treated the replica like a treasure and it was closely guarded.
Arlo stood before Principal Stanley and took a deep breath.
He didn't know how the orb gauged a person's talent, he just hoped it didn't require mana. After all, he was yet to awaken. His eighth birthday was still in about two weeks.
After placing his hands on the orb, Arlo felt a warm current enter his body. The energy first moved toward his abdomen as if looking for something, but after searching for a while, it entered inside his bones and then his flesh.
The orb slowly lit up with a red light causing the eyes of everyone in the hall to widen, including Arlo.
The red light represented the lowest tier of talent.
A gloating look flashed on Lord Cromwell's face but that didn't last long as the orb suddenly changed to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and finally stopped at violent.
As if sensing something, the current passing through Arlo's body quickly moved toward the seals on his upper arm.
It first entered into his slime seal.
It was then that Headmaster Holden had a disappointed look while an uncertain look appeared on Evangeline's face.
'In the end, he is just a first-tier talent.' The other lords shook their heads. However, Scarlett remained unperturbed and instead gazed intently at the shining orb.
The warm current left the slime seal and was about to enter another seal when...
The orb shining with a violet color suddenly turned into white and before the others could react, it changed into a deep silver color.
The expression of all the lords and Principal Stanley suddenly changed while some of them even gasped
'A god-tier talent!' It was a talent comparable to Scarlett and Arianne.
A happy look appeared on Evangeline's face. While she was also a god-tier talent, her level of talent was far lower than Scarlett and Arianne's. As mentioned before, the replica could only measure the tier of one's talent and could not accurately gauge the level.
But she was sure from the deep color the orb shone with that Arlo wasn't any less talented than Scarlett and Arianne. However, her thoughts soon froze.
The warm current entered the next seal and soon after...
The orb shining with a bright silver color suddenly started cracking and it shattered into pieces before anyone could react.
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
Evangeline's eyes widened. A thought sprouted within the heart of all those in the hall, however they refused to believe it as they gazed dumbly at Arlo. Arlo equally gazed dumbly at them.
In the end, one of them couldn't hold it anymore and had to confirm. It was Lord Cromwell who was feeling deep fear after learning about Arlo's potential.
"Unlimited talent...no...I thought only one can exist in the universe at a time?"
No one answered for a while before Headmaster Holden spoke with an uncertain look:
"Didn't the Monarch of Time and Void Emperor exist in the same era?"
A look of realization suddenly dawned on all those in the hall.
"He really is one of them..." murmured Evangeline as she gazed at Arlo with glowing eyes, almost as if she were looking at a treasure.
It was then Scarlett who wasn't surprised at all by the outcome spoke with a quivering voice:
"My orb..."
That is right!
The eyes of the lord, Evangeline, Principal Stanley, and Arlo widened in horror.