Chapter 9: Standard Ending

The sharp voice grated on Cynthia’s ears, deepening her frown.

In the flickering torchlight, a figure in a white robe stepped slowly from behind the massive blood-red crystal.
A blond young man with a warm smile emerged, standing before Cynthia.

The style of his robe marked him as a member of the Holy Church.
The gold embroidery on his attire suggested he held at least the rank of priest.

“I am Father Damus of the Holy Church, tasked with purifying vile creatures like you.”

His half-lidded eyes glinted with disdain in their blue depths.

His words dripped with hostility, laid bare from the moment he spoke.

Cynthia recalled a time when she might’ve shared his zeal, but looking back, her current life felt far more liberating.

“What are you planning?”

Cynthia’s gaze fixed on Damus beside the crystal, though her attention lingered more on the blood-red stone and the magic circle beneath it.

“For our grand cause of purification.”
Damus raised a hand, gently caressing the crystal, a dangerous spark in his eyes.
“This Scarlet Blood Stone will be your tombstone!”

“Then there’s nothing left to say!”

Cynthia’s hand shot up, summoning her familiar blood-red spear.
Without another word, she hurled it at the stone.

Whatever the Holy Church was scheming, destroying this thing would end it.

But to her surprise, the spear didn’t shatter the stone as expected.
Instead, it evaporated like a droplet under the sun’s glare before even touching it.

The dissipated magic was absorbed by the Blood Stone, its crimson hue growing even more vivid.

“Hahahahaha!”

Damus, standing nearby, seemed to have anticipated this.
He laughed wildly, clutching his face to contain his glee.
“See, Blood Clan? This is the power of the [Blood Crown]!”

“Your vaunted blood magic is useless before it!”

Damus had never felt such exhilaration.
This was his first glimpse of a power that could subdue vampires.

“This is but a fraction of the Blood Crown’s might—”

His eyes gleamed with fanaticism.
He could scarcely imagine the heights their branch’s archbishop could reach by fully harnessing this power.

But for now, they’d use this sliver of the Blood Crown’s strength to purge these wretched vampires!

“Once this magic circle activates, the Blood Crown’s power will envelop everything, turning every vampire within hundreds of miles into helpless prey!”

“Then the armies of the Holy Church and Barria will march in and wipe you out right here!”

Damus spread his arms, white light pouring from him into the circle below.
“But first, I’ll let you taste true agony!”

He licked his lips, sarcasm twisting his face.
“What happens when this power focuses on a single vampire? Oh, I’m eager to find out!”

As the circle began to glow, a crushing pressure bore down on Cynthia, weighing her body like lead, forcing another frown.

“Heh, feeling the pain yet? Kneel and beg, and I might spare you—”

Damus, channeling the Blood Stone, caught Cynthia’s furrowed brow and intensified the magic, taunting her further.

“I see… it’s like a demon-sealing effect.”

Cynthia clenched her fists, sensing the flow of magic within her.

Part of her magic was indeed suppressed, impacting her slightly.

The unnatural magical flow she’d sensed earlier must’ve come from this stone.

But… was that it?

Cynthia glanced at Damus, who was engrossed in channeling the circle, oblivious to her.

Time to teach this young priest a lesson.

[Tiptoe]—activate.

Under Damus’s gaze, Cynthia shifted her feet subtly, vanishing and reappearing before him in an instant, her fist swinging.

Damus hadn’t anticipated this.
He’d been tracking the Blood Princess’s movements, yet under the Blood Stone’s suppression, she’d closed the gap without warning.

But he wasn’t entirely unprepared.
As Cynthia’s fist flew, a light shield flared between them.
As a spellcaster, he’d never leave himself defenseless.

“I knew you’d try something, but it’s futile! Give up—”

Cynthia’s punch, imbued with scarlet light, struck the shield, shaking the entire underground chamber.

If that hit me directly…

Damus swallowed hard, staring into the blazing red of Cynthia’s eyes.

Thankfully, the shield held, unscathed.

“Oh?”

Cynthia wasn’t fazed.
With a slight increase in force, her fist pressed harder.

It was the final straw.
Cracks spiderwebbed across Damus’s shield.

“What—”

Before he could finish, the cracks spread, shattering the shield into countless tiny magical fragments that drifted through the cavern.

Cynthia’s fist loomed larger in his vision, slamming into his face.

Crack!

A sound like breaking bone echoed as Damus hurtled backward, crashing into the wall with a tremor that shook the space again.

Perhaps due to his lingering magic reserves, Damus, reeling from the blow, staggered to his feet, trembling.

With his channeling disrupted, the circle’s glow faded, and the pressure on Cynthia lifted.

“You… how could you break my shield with your bare hands?”

The arrogance in Damus’s eyes was gone, replaced by fear and disbelief.

Cynthia dusted her hands, raising an eyebrow with a casual tone.
“It’s just flimsy plastic wrap. Is it so strange I broke it with my fist?”