[This Chapter Is Sponsored by Shin! Everyone, please thank him in the comment!] (2/14)
Blade frantically absorbed the blood from two bags of frozen donated blood to compensate for the blood he had lost.
Soon, revitalized by the fresh blood, Blade's punctured wounds healed themselves.
Blade stood up.
Whistler handed him the katana that belonged to Blade, which he found behind him: "Kid, it's not a good habit to scatter your belongings."
Besides the katana, there were also two guns and several vials of serum specially made for vampires.
However, without any clothes, Blade had to fight in his skin, but Whistler didn't care about that. This old man, having sought out Blade amidst an aura of blood-fueled vigor despite his injuries, had exhausted all his strength.
He leaned against a grinding tool, breathing heavily.
Pain was etched across his aged face.
"Do what you must, Blade. This is all I can do."
Blade nodded, wrapping the serum vials around his waist, holding the katana in one hand and a shotgun in the other. He turned his neck, feeling a surge of vitality within him, and then, with a look that Whistler thought was insane, he accelerated madly.
Like a tank, he smashed through the thick stone wall with his shoulder, and with a loud crash, his robust figure, along with a cloud of debris and dust, plummeted heroically towards the altar below.
"Is jumping really supposed to be this brutal? Damn it," Whistler muttered under his breath, far from envious of Blade's superhuman body.
There, Blade roared, "Deacon Frost."
With the shotgun in his left hand, he aimed at Deacon below and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A burst of sparks erupted from the shotgun, and a dense spray of specially-made silver pellets scattered like petals. However, to Blade's astonishment, Deacon, looking up with blood-red eyes, disdainfully watched, unmoving.
A blood-red barrier enveloped Deacon's body. The silver pellets struck this barrier, creating ripples before being dissolved by the surging blood energy into molten droplets.
Blade landed on the altar, staring at Deacon, who looked at him as if he were a clown, gripping his katana tightly.
The overwhelming presence, the pure, terrifying pressure, triggered the vampiric fear inherent in Blade's blood—a traditional vampiric lineage suppression, the unconditional dominance of the higher over the lower.
At that moment, Deacon, having become the progenitor blood god through the ritual, represented the origin of all vampires.
Blade, being half-human, half-vampire, was naturally suppressed.
While not as completely dispirited as other vampires, both his fighting capability and strength were greatly diminished.
Yet Blade, fearless, stared at Deacon, his eyes revealing a chilling murderous intent.
He was the bravest warrior, the Blade warrior.
Deacon, faced with Blade's fierce momentum, did not immediately respond; instead, he slightly tilted his head towards another direction, towards the only person in the hall who had not knelt, a stranger.
"From the beginning, you were there, waiting for my arrival. Should I call you foolish or clever?"
"I can offer you a chance, human. Kneel before me, and I can grant you eternal life."
Deacon, or rather the blood god, had taken over this body, inheriting Deacon's memories and the formidable power and will of the blood god, shattering the latent mental power of a human who had quietly infiltrated the Temple of Eternal Night.
And he had been watching all along as the blood god descended.
The unusual aura from the human signaled danger, yet the blood god was supremely confident in his power, believing no mere human could be a threat.
Thus, he maintained the blood god's pride.
Blade heard all of "Deacon's" words and realized that Deacon had been possessed by the blood god. He turned following the blood god's gaze, only to see all the vampires on the upper passageway shivering and prostrating, while he, dressed in a black coat and hat, a sharp silver cross sword planted in the ground, his dark eyes quietly overseeing the scene below, locked eyes with the blood god.
A very young Asian man, extremely handsome even from his perspective.
Facing the powerful aura of the blood god, he showed not a trace of fear, but a unique confidence. The look in his eyes conveyed a message that Blade recognized, reminiscent of his own when he hunted vampires.
The look of a hunter eyeing his prey.
A thought involuntarily crossed Blade's mind, shocking him as he looked at the Asian man, stirring a tumult of emotions within him.
He was the one who had suddenly appeared in New York, relentlessly hunting vampires, forcing all vampires living there to flee.
Blade and Whistler had speculated that Deacon and the other vampires were planning to summon the blood god, and this man would surely be watching. They guessed he would intervene at the critical moment.
Their guess was correct, but the process and outcome were wrong.
He had infiltrated the Temple of Eternal Night early on, simply watching the blood god's descent. Was the one he intended to hunt from the start the blood god himself?
"Damn it, the kid has such confidence?" Blade cursed inwardly, knowing his own nature would never allow such risky actions, but now the blood god had descended, and nothing could change that.
He just hoped the boy was not a mere arrogant fool with power.
The boy, of course, was Bi Xiao. He looked down at the blood god, who spoke as if bestowing a favor, a smile curving his lips.
"Eternal life? What does a prey say about eternal life?"
As his words fell, he extended his hand, a dazzling golden light blossoming in his palm, then forcefully slammed it towards the ground.
Boom!!
A torrent of golden energy instantly swept through the entire Temple of Eternal Night, engulfing the three circular passageways and all the vampires cowering there, instantly turning them to ash.
The Temple of Eternal Night shook violently, with ceiling and wall debris continuously falling amidst clouds of dust.