Chapter 40: Even a lion uses all its strength to fight a rabbit

Cynthia’s sickle, Yulandel, swept toward Barov’s neck with lethal intent.

But Barov, pausing only briefly, flicked his wrist, conjuring a blood-mist barrier that blocked the strike.
The barrier shattered, giving him just enough time to step back.
A red shadow loomed behind him, fueling his power.
His hands morphed into bloody claws.

“Impatient guest… let’s test this divine power…”

Barov’s smug grin stretched wide.
A mere vampire couldn’t possibly defeat him—not with God’s might suppressing her kind.
Lose? Not a chance.

His figure blurred, claws slashing at Cynthia.

Even she nearly missed it, but her instincts kicked in.
She dodged, gripped Yulandel, and countered with a heavy slash.

Barov, caught mid-charge, couldn’t evade.
He met her sickle with his claws, unaware of the dark red magic coating Yulandel’s blade.

Boom!

The collision roared, blasting Barov back.
He tumbled, barely stabilizing.

“…You blocked it?”

Cynthia frowned.
Yulandel had never failed to kill in one strike.

Barov’s white robe hung in tatters, wounds crisscrossing his body.
His “divine” power didn’t come with a durable frame.
Beneath the rags, his skin was blood-red.

“Damn… a mere vampire… how, in God’s realm…?”

Barov staggered up, face twisting.
“I have this power… and you injure me?!”

His roar echoed as he raised a hand, summoning countless blood swords to rain on Cynthia.

They dissolved before reaching her, like mist in a breeze.

“Power from outside yourself? Pathetic.”

With the Blood Demon’s aid, Cynthia moved freely in this “divine realm,” but her strength was her own, honed under Alicia’s brutal training.

She advanced, speed surging until she vanished from Barov’s sight.

Instinct drove him to lunge aside.
Cynthia reappeared, Yulandel slicing upward, severing his arm.

“Tch…”

She’d aimed to bisect him, but he dodged.

Blood sprayed from the stump, pain jolting Barov’s mind.
This vampire was no ordinary foe.

As Cynthia raised Yulandel again, Barov unleashed a massive magical surge, forcing her back.
His body warped visibly.

“I underestimated you… Now, witness God’s true power, damn vampire!”

While Cynthia clashed with Barov, Ina and Lorena faced the frenzied Paladins.

Lorena was no match.
The Paladins, mindless and brutish, overwhelmed her with raw force.
She could only parry and dodge.

Oddly, they ignored Ina, passing her without a glance.
The shopkeeper’s cloak?
It must’ve masked her presence.

“Damn it, Miss Ina! Do something!”

Lorena, barely holding on, couldn’t protect her.

“Hang in there!”

Unseen, Ina could risk stronger magic—[Eternal Night], the vast dark domain she’d once used against Damus.
With time and mana, it could swallow the world.

Black mist swirled around her, blending with the red mist.
Undisturbed, her casting was smooth, forming a dark circle.

Light couldn’t escape it.

Ina’s eyes glowed black-purple.
She slammed her staff down, and [Eternal Night] expanded, engulfing the Paladins and Lorena.

“Lorena, don’t move! I might hit you!”

Ina’s control wasn’t perfect, so she shouted the warning.

“I understand!”

Ina focused, draining the Paladins’ strength.
Mindless, they flailed like trapped insects.

To spare their lives, she held back.
Once they collapsed, powerless, she lifted [Eternal Night].

Not too tough.

How’s Cynthia-chan doing?

As the darkness cleared, a monstrous figure loomed.
It held something—no, someone.

“Cynthia-chan?!”

Ina’s soul nearly fled her body.
“How’d you get caught?!”

The Blood Crown’s pressure grew crushing, but Cynthia pressed on, bolstered by the Blood Demon.
Barov’s inept control of the Crown spared her full strength, but time was her enemy.

Ina and Lorena, human and vulnerable, felt the evil aura’s weight.
The blood mist at the Center’s entrance confirmed the adventurers’ blood fueled it—along with the orc children’s.

Cynthia’s transformation into the Blood Princess shocked Lorena, but their shared goal kept tensions at bay.
Ina, wrestling with her own secret, held back her confession.

Barov’s taunts and “divine” power met Cynthia’s honed skill.
His blood swords were nothing; his body, frail despite enhancements, couldn’t withstand her.

Meanwhile, Ina’s [Eternal Night] subdued the Paladins, preserving their lives.
But now, a new horror emerged—a monster clutching Cynthia.

The Blood Demon’s warning echoed: Quick victory, or feed the Crown.