The City Outskirts Ruins were right before them.
The surrounding area was a stretch of desolate remains, where crumbling walls and pillars loomed in the mist like countless silent tombstones. Occasionally, the shrill, hollow cry of a crow echoed from the distance.
“Is this the place?” Kiz asked in a low voice.
“I think so…” Elia stopped and glanced around.
“But it’s far too quiet…” Kiz narrowed her eyes.
Just as the words left her mouth, a cold wind suddenly gusted, sweeping the mist away to reveal a wide, open clearing ahead. In the center of the clearing stood a black stone pillar carved with a massive wolf-head emblem. Beneath the mark, there was an inscription.
“That mark…” Kiz’s frown deepened.
Elia let go of her hand and stepped forward to examine the pillar closely. “It’s written in the script of the Blood Clan… What does it say? Come take a look.”
Kiz walked over and squinted at the characters. “It says, ‘Dedicated to the Hunter Under the Moon, may the Wolf Blood Endure’… It’s the motto of some ancient organization. But I’ve never heard of one that uses a wolf head as its mark.”
“Oh? An ancient organization? How old are we talking?”
“At least several hundred years… Many secret societies have appeared throughout the history of our Blood Clan, but most have vanished into the river of time. As for this wolf mark… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before, but… I can’t remember.”
Right then, the sound of air being sliced whistled from every direction. Countless black arrows rained down toward them like a storm.
Faced with this, Elia didn’t even turn her head. She simply raised her hand, manifesting a Golden Light that formed a translucent shield around them. The moment the arrows struck the shield, they dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
“That’s it? I thought they’d be stronger—” Elia teased, tilting her head.
As her voice trailed off, dozens of dark shadows lunged from various corners, completely surrounding them. They were members of the Blood Clan wearing wolf-head masks… Elia could tell because they all radiated the distinct aura of the Blood Clan.
Elia scanned the perimeter and did a quick count. “Thirty-seven… Alright, Kiz, you take the row on the left. The ones on the right are mine.”
Kiz nodded.
The Little Princess swiped her right hand, conjuring a massive cloud of black and red mist. The mist gradually solidified into a Scythe that was taller than she was.
Elia recognized it with a single glance. It was the Little Princess’s exclusive weapon—what was its name again? Blood Abyss. Right, that was it.
‘Hmph, it’s not like I don’t have a weapon of my own!’ As the Saint, Elia also possessed a Holy Sword; she was simply too lazy to use it. Why bother swinging a sword when she could win matches with Magic?
To be honest, this caught her off guard. She had assumed she was being brought here for a negotiation, but it seemed they were jumping straight into a fight.
Kiz’s Scythe was quite beautiful, though. The blade was shaped like a crescent moon with a black and red finish, and crimson light pulsed along its edge. Holding it, Kiz’s entire presence shifted instantly.
“Go,” she whispered.
Then, the two of them launched their attack simultaneously.
Elia’s movements were incredibly fast. With every wave of her hand, a bolt of Holy Light shot out, strike the enemies’ vital points with pinpoint accuracy. The vampires hit by the Holy Light collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.
By contrast, Kiz’s side was much bloodier. Every time the Blood Abyss swung, it kicked up a massive spray of blood. Those vampires didn’t even have time to scream before they were sliced in two by the Scythe and reduced to ash.
All thirty-seven enemies were dealt with in less than three minutes.
Elia clapped her hands and looked toward Kiz. Standing amidst a pile of ashes, Kiz had already retracted her Scythe. A look of lingering excitement remained on her small face. She licked a trace of blood from her lips, her crimson eyes flashing with a spark of thrill.
“You kill fast,” Elia noted.
“Mhm. So, did you leave any alive?” Kiz asked.
“I kept a few.” Elia pointed at several men in black groaning on the ground. “Should we ask them a few questions?”
Kiz walked up to one of the wounded men, knelt down, and ripped off his mask. It was a young male vampire.
“Speak. Who sent you?” Kiz asked coldly.
The man gritted his teeth, refusing to say a word.
Kiz’s eyes narrowed. She reached out and grabbed his throat, her nails slowly digging into his skin. “Are you going to talk or not?”
The man trembled violently from the pain, but he still didn’t utter a single syllable. Seeing this, Kiz drove her nails deeper.
“Wait, let me do it.” Elia walked over and placed a hand on Kiz’s.
Kiz obediently let go.
Elia then knelt down to look at the vampire, saying softly, “Hey, you know what? I love interrogating stubborn people the most—”
She reached out, condensing a strand of Holy Light into a thin needle.
“This is a needle made of Holy Light,” she said, slowly piercing the man’s arm with it. “It doesn’t hurt when it goes in, but the Holy Light will slowly spread through your body… burning your veins, your organs, and your bones…”
As he heard this, the man’s expression changed.
“Guess how long you can last?” Elia’s smile grew even more radiant.
The man opened his mouth as if to say something.
However, Elia withdrew the needle and laughed. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let’s let you feel it for a bit first…”
As soon as she spoke, a Golden Light ignited inside the man’s body, spreading from his arm to his entire frame. This caused his body to go into violent convulsions.
“Aaah… ah…”
The man’s eyes rolled back, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth. Elia watched him, her eyes filled with pure delight.
“This is just the beginning… Come on, let’s continue—” Elia produced a knife from nowhere and began to perform a process similar to death by a thousand cuts.
Kiz stood by, silently watching the cruel smile on Elia’s cute face. She was clearly enjoying the pleasure of the torture.
Yet, the Little Princess’s face flushed red. She felt that Elia was so beautiful in this moment that it was impossible to look away… It was a beauty that blended innocence and evil, making one want to draw close and flee at the same time.
After the torture continued for a while, the vampire finally broke. He screamed in a raspy voice, “I… I’ll talk… I’ll talk!!”
Only then did Elia withdraw the knife. “Speak.”
“It’s… it’s ‘The Wolf’… We… we are members of ‘The Wolf’… We were ordered to test the Princess’s strength…”
“To test me? What does that mean?” Kiz asked with a frown.
“We… we’re just the vanguard… sent to scout you both… The main force… is still behind us…”
Elia and Kiz exchanged a look. Elia continued her questioning. “Then where is your headquarters? And who is your leader? Answer truthfully.”
“I… I don’t know… We are just low-level soldiers… We’ve never seen our leader…”
“Then, what was your mission this time?”
“Just… just to ambush you here… to test the strength of the Princess and the Saint… If we could kill you, that would be best, but if not…”
However, as the man was speaking, his body suddenly stiffened. His eyes bulged, and black blood began to pour from his mouth.
Elia’s expression shifted, and she quickly tried to cast Healing Magic on him, but it was too late. The man’s body rapidly crumbled into a pile of ash.
“They silenced him… Damn it.” Kiz punched a nearby wall in frustration.
But Elia, looking at the pile of ash, began to laugh. The laughter made Kiz feel a chill run down her spine. “Elia?” she asked quickly.
“Hmm? What is it?” Elia turned to look at her.
“Are… are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m doing great—” Elia blinked, then walked up to Kiz and reached out to wipe the blood off her face. “Besides, you looked really cool just now. I’m impressed.”
Kiz’s face turned slightly red. “Y-you too…”
“Me? What did I look like? Was I cool too?”
Seeing Kiz lower her head in embarrassment again, Elia pinched her cheek and said, “Let’s go. We should head back first.”
“Yeah… You were really cool… I… I really like…” Elia had just taken her hand when the Little Princess whispered something. Her voice was so quiet that an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to hear it.
“Hmm? What did you say?” Elia asked, squeezing Kiz’s hand.
“It’s nothing!” Kiz yanked her hand away, ran ahead, then turned back to stick her tongue out and make a face at Elia.
She then ran toward the Vampire Castle, silhouetted against the slowly rising sun.