How the hell do I get out of here?
I just want to live. I never thought surviving without some kind of cheat would be this tough. I mean, sure, I used to curse about how cliché they were, but come on God—this is way too much just to teach me a lesson.
But seriously, why the hell is that manager so strong? He didn't even flinch when the Seven Great Families were mentioned.
I glanced at the guards around me. They were too focused on the fight, completely caught up in the scene. If I could move quickly enough, maybe, just maybe, I could slip through unnoticed.
I sighed.
No, it won't be more than a joke.
Escaping seemed possible in theory, but I didn't know how many more guards were lurking around. Besides, I had no stealth skills. My only hope was that she'd somehow turn things around.
Wait… she's from one of the Seven Great Families, right? She's gotta have some kind of artefact on her. That's probably why she's still standing her ground, there is backing to that confidence, right?
I watched the fight with sharp focus, scanning for a chance. If she gave him even a bit of a hard time, I'd kill these guards and get the hell out of here, that way manager wouldn't be alerted.
"So, which family do you belong to?" the manager asked, eyes locked on her.
She didn't answer. Just pulled out her sword and charged him without a word.
Weird. The Seven Great Families usually love bragging about their power and bloodlines.
Maybe she was trying to catch him off guard, but I could tell—it wasn't going to be that easy.
He caught her sword effortlessly, trapping the blade between two fingers. His eyes locked onto hers, and for a second, it almost looked like the beginning of some twisted romance scene. His smile, the way he looked at her—it nearly convinced me.
Then he spoke, and the whole mood snapped. "Your body is quite good... perfect for one night."
She tried to retaliate, aiming a vicious kick right at his balls.
And let's be real—enemy or not, when someone's balls are hurt in front of you, you just somehow feel the pain. Like it just happens.
But just like his smug words, the guy's body was like iron. He caught her leg easily and pulled her in close, so close they were barely half an inch away from a kiss.
"You know," he said, voice dripping with arrogance, "I don't take just anyone to bed."
Cockiness with a side of rape threats. A nostalgia hit me. I won't name it, but some Xianxia protagonists used to say stuff like this. And worse, the girls would actually fall for it. It got so common, it almost felt believable at some point.
Like, sure, why not? But the twisted part was if any other character did this to one of the female leads, the same MC would go all righteous, fighting for her honour. Back when I was a teenager, I didn't even question it.
Like it was natural.
But this wasn't some xianxia story, and this creep definitely wasn't the protagonist.
Without a word, she responded by conjuring a surge of mana into her fist—a force so heavy it felt like the air itself was trembling. It was the kind of raw power only a grandmaster could wield.
Her fist glowed gold as she struck him square in the face. For a moment, it seemed like she actually did it, but before I could focus on the scene, something caught my eye. A faint light flickered around the muscle head on the ground. His eyes were glowing again, just like when he prepared that attack earlier.
This was the chance I needed.
With both of them, even that beast of a manager will have hard time, I had an opening.
I glanced at the guards. They were so engrossed in the fight that they'd completely forgotten their job.
I moved quickly, slipping past them and snatching a knife from one of their belts. No way I was making the same mistake twice. Summoning blood from my body used way more mana than just controlling it.
Without wasting a second, I cut my finger, letting the blood drip out in a steady stream.
"Blood manipulation!"
The blood that had been dripping from my finger suddenly reversed its flow, gathering into a small sphere. It was my first time using mana, my first time feeling its raw power, yet it was like I'd always known how. It felt like an extension of my body, like an organ I never knew I had. It came so naturally.
With a flick of my fingers, the sphere shot forward, piercing straight through the guard's skull. Then, before the others even realised what happened, I controlled the blood, sending it slicing through each of their heads one by one.
I didn't stop to watch them drop. I didn't need to. My only thought was escape.
No matter who won behind me, escaping was my only goal.
I sprinted toward the gate, my heart pounding with adrenaline. Freedom was so close, that I could almost taste it.
I'm still alive.
My heartbeat quickened in excitement, pushing me forward.
And then it stopped.
My legs froze. The blood sphere I had been holding collapsed, splattering to the ground in a useless puddle.
A suffocating pressure wrapped around my chest. It wasn't just my body—it felt like my blood itself was being suppressed like it could explode inside me at any second.
Goosebumps ran up my spine as I slowly turned.
The manager was walking toward me.
His upper body, muscular and bare, was drenched in red—his face, his hair, everything soaked in blood. But there were no cuts, no injuries.
It wasn't his blood.
He'd killed them all.
The monster stopped right in front of me. This time, he wasn't smiling. His expression had shifted, cold and serious.
Was he pissed that I tried to escape?
I guess it didn't matter anymore. So this is how I die?
I closed my eyes, bracing for the end. I wanted him to finish me in a single blow. Just get it over with.
"Did you just use blood manipulation?"
His voice cut through the silence, making me open my eyes.
His gaze didn't hold any frustration —it was focused. Intent. He actually wanted to know.
No… he wasn't curious about a human using vampire magic. He recognised it. Like he knew exactly what it was.
I didn't have much choice, but to answer.
My voice barely a whisper, I answered, "Yes."