Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"But that's what makes this brat so willful. It doesn't allow any other power to exist within the seal's range, and everything has to be done its way. Moreover, as a 'child,' it's constantly growing and getting stronger every moment."

"That's great news. In ten days, when the Antichrist is born, this place will become a vampire paradise."

"It could be worse. If this seal can expand, the vampire pleasure house will get bigger and bigger. They might even open one at the church's doorstep."

"This barrier can suppress Mr. Raymond?"

"Not at the moment, but we don't know where its growth limit lies."

"The Loshutar vampires have played a brilliant move."

"Letting us in is their worst mistake, and they're doomed."

"A towering building, I've brought it down." Lyle's figure twitched with excitement, then sank back into dejection. "But we haven't even unlocked our powers yet."

"That cup, that's the key that allows vampires to be free within the seal. That aura, that smell, gave me a familiar feeling. Very familiar, extremely familiar."

"Is Delaris lying to us? Won't drinking the blood of the gods turn us into blood bags?"

"He can only know the truth as he knows it, while we are at the source of all that is unknown. Drink it, Lyle. If that blood can affect us, I must say I'm looking forward to it. Perhaps it can improve your body."

“Our concept of improvement may be different. I will drink it even without you telling me, for Beatrice.”

"Hehehe, that woman will be very touched about you taking her sister away."

Lyle suddenly trembled.

“Ariana… shouldn’t be angry, right? This is… a matter of necessity.”

"……idiot."

There were no vampires in the hall. After the banquet, they had returned to their rooms or gone out to find food. It was midnight, the vampires' active time. Perhaps somewhere in the castle, they were having a night of revelry.

It was truly their loss that they didn't even have the chance to witness the birth of their ominous sign.

The quilt was placed on the throne of Draris, where overflowing black blood had already formed a black pool around the throne. The overflowing blood seemed uncontrollable, which explained why there were bloodstains everywhere in the castle. It seemed that the vampires' concept of cleanliness had been tormented and destroyed by this constantly overflowing cup.

The original gold texture has completely disappeared, leaving behind a rough stone cup with a blurred shape made of black and red stones.

"It looks very rough."

"It's also very old."

"High emotional intelligence." Lyle smiled, holding the cup in both hands and pausing it in the air for a moment.

"what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for the special effects. Logically speaking, when someone of my status holds up a cup, there should be some unprecedented special effects, just like Mr. Lyle's baptism ceremony."

"It's simple, this lovely seal won't tolerate a jerk like you. Are you going to drink it or not!"

Lyle's hands were itching to do something, so he quickly drank the blood to prevent his hands from strangling him.

The metallic taste irritated his taste buds. Lyle could feel the black blood flowing down his digestive tract, his mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine, stinging. This damned blood felt alive, piercing his intestinal wall and entering his entire body more actively than it could be absorbed.

This stinging pain should have burned Lyle's head, but Lyle was feeling something else.

Liberation, freedom, and rebirth.

Shadows shifted, engulfing the entire hall in a massive gloom. Wriggling tentacles climbed onto Lyle's shoulders, and twisted monsters sprouted anew from his spine. Nia's roars and ominous laughter filled the hall.

Lyle looked at his body, the power of complete liberation growing within him.

A familiar yet strange feeling washed over Lyle as he stared blankly at the black blood.

"The blood in the crimson Holy Grail makes vampires the blood of the Antichrist..."

"The blood of God is my blood."

"My blood is more perfect..."

Chapter 463 Destiny

The blood contains mystical components—including the shadow deposits of blood cells, synapses of white blood cells, plasma mucus concentration, and the entanglement of death and evil god powers within the blood—that constantly yearn to penetrate and distort matter, all manifesting in this vibrant blood.

"This is exactly my blood, in its most active and perfect state." At a microscopic level, Lyle's path to becoming a Breakthrough is underway, and now, this blood is like a ladder extending from a higher level, taking this process even further.

Lyle is growing, but why is his own blood in the Blood Artifact of Loshutar?

“Sheliwu…”

Bubbles appeared in the dim space, like eyes, and Lyle's reflection floated within them. A current or tide lifted the bubbles, causing them to sink onto the throne and transform into a white figure.

Sitting on an unsuitable throne made him appear even more frail, his gentle smile healing hearts, the edges of his white robe stained with blood.

Sheriu sat on the throne, dressed in a white robe, smiling as he looked at Lyle, who was dressed in the black robes of a plague doctor.

"The power of the evil god can distort all rules. Those who break the rules, beings who disregard the established norms, are naturally able to break free from the seal of Dagonris. Long time no see, Lyle."

Lyle frowned, looking at the indifferent Sheriu. He didn't attack him, because this was just an illusion, a projection left by the power of the evil god. The ominous sign could easily tear this illusion apart, but it was merely a form of venting.

"Long time no see, Sheriu. Have you latched onto another vampire family? Recalling the devastation in Hamletshire, I feel deep sympathy for Loshutal."

The irony left no trace on Sherius's face; he remained as indifferent as a god. Somehow, Lyle saw another version of himself in Sherius's face.

"You can't be as calm as him, don't overestimate yourself." The ominous remark made Lyle feel betrayed, and it also made Lyle, who was outwardly glaring angrily, smirk.

What's going on? Shouldn't we unite against the enemy?

"An enemy? What enemy? He is just another version of us, a better version of us."

Scherius responded to Lyle's schizophrenia.

“I do have a strong affinity for vampires, but even without me, Lyle, you would have brought about the destruction of Lorshutar, wouldn’t you?”

"You are a vile betrayal, I am a righteous punishment, how can you be the same?"

"The ending is the same. You're still playing the game of choosing sides for justice, Lyle. You're such a hypocrite."

Sheriu smiled, and his sarcastic remark made Lyle's eyes widen again.

It's not that calling someone a hypocrite is appropriate, but rather, how could Sherius, Hamlet's illegitimate son, utter such a word?

"How could you..."

“I took half of you, Lyle.” Sheriu’s eyes shone with starlight as he looked up at the ceiling, as if piercing through all obstacles to gaze at the starry sky. “Your body, your memories, and your reality. You came from beyond the stars, Lyle, you were originally a star.”

A look of longing appeared on Sheriwu's face, and a sudden fervor overwhelmed his gentleness, revealing a madness truly befitting the incarnation of an evil god.

“Lyle, you don’t belong to this world. Your family, friends, mentors, and lovers don’t understand the real you. But I do, Lyle. I know your true self. We are the closest people to you.”

It's as if the roles have been reversed; Sherius has become the impulsive Lyle, and Lyle has become the composed Sherius.

"Are you finished?"

"..."

"You spied on my memories and then went mad? I know you're very interested in becoming a star in the real sense, and I understand the feeling of wanting to take your place, but you stole my things and still want to be my brother? Do you think I'm an idiot?!"

“No, you don’t understand yet. Our destinies have long been intertwined. Our thoughts and our existence are inseparable. We will eventually merge into one, and the broken parts will eventually be healed. We will become the gods of this world, the only masters.” Sheriu smiled, facing Lyle’s disgust. “I will help you, Lyle. I will help you grow, become a god like me, become a perfect exception. In the end, we will become one individual, the most dazzling star.”

Lyle's expression was cold. "You're right, Sheriu. I will take back what you took from me. I will make you disappear from this world. I will make you suffer for the trouble you caused me in the City of Wandering. I will catch up with you. I will kill you and make you pay the price."

"You still don't understand, Lyle. Hatred and love are nothing compared to the depth of emptiness. We are separated from the world by an impenetrable membrane. We are anomalies that do not belong to this world. In your words, everything you are experiencing now is just an immersive role-playing game. The end is already decided. We will stand at the top of the world, and everything will sink. Everything you are embracing now is just real illusion, a futile struggle."

"You think you can just copy the Cthulhu mythos to fool me? Let me tell you, I've never lost a philosophical debate."

“I know, I know everything about you, we are the same, Lyle.”

“We’re not the same, you self-deceiving, lost fool.” Lyle pointed at Sheriu. “The biggest difference between us is that I didn’t originally belong to myself, but I have family, friends, my lover, and the mystery I love in this world. I’m actively integrating myself into it with all my passion. But you, you originally belonged to this world, yet you gave it up.”

"This ultimately made us different; perhaps we are no longer distinguished in terms of mysticism."

"But I have everything I love and everything that loves me, while you're a love-starved, stupid orphan. Don't even think about turning me into an orphan like you."

Sheliu stopped arguing and gave a sad, bitter smile.

"I will help you grow, no matter how you see everything, I will nurture you to be as perfect as I am, and eventually, we will become one." Sheriwu's last words came from the bubble, and then the illusion collapsed with a crash.

Lyle watched all this in silence, while Nia curiously used her tentacles to puncture each of the escaped bubbles.

"A bad omen, the ending Sheriu spoke of."

“We will eventually become one, a destiny you cannot stop, nor can he. Your rejection of the evil god's power gave birth to me, who was meant to replace you. The ending is already predetermined; the broken parts will reassemble, it is the instinct of the world. Your choices, your struggles, are all in vain.” A black shadow crouched in the room, occasionally leaking the room's terrifying power, eliciting terrified screams from the blood servants. “You will eventually become one, but that doesn't mean Sheriu won't deceive you in certain matters.”

"In other words, my enemies will also go to great lengths to train me. Should I just become a useless person? If I become useless, the training of Sheliwu will become more difficult."

"...Our power will drive this process forward, and Sheriu will certainly urge you on, making you unable to resist seeking power, for example, by exploiting your hatred for him." Sheriu is indifferent to everything except becoming an evil god, while Lyle is too concerned with too many things, which is a fatal weakness. "So, you'd better go on your own and not let Sheriu urge you on."

"It's really frustrating to be destined by the thieves."

A sinister laugh, a sign of impending doom, rang out.

"Anyone who tries to meddle with the power of the evil god will come to a bad end, except for the evil god itself. Neither you nor Sheriwu will know the tragic fate of the blasphemers. Sheriwu's fate has already been sealed."

"Integration is inevitable, and the will of the unique individual has already been determined."

"That is [Lyr]. No matter how much Sheriu struggles, it is we who will become gods. This is destiny."

“Sheliu has gone mad. He imagines himself as another version of us and will only sink deeper into it.”

"Before long, the being called Sheriu will only become a pathetic vessel bearing our power."

"Evil gods are the ultimate beings who harm others for their own benefit."

Chapter 464 Pivot

The splashing sound continued in the empty hall. Lyle sat on the throne that originally belonged to Delaris, while Nia climbed onto the stained glass window, stretching her tentacles in the air like a cluster of mangroves, extending her numerous tentacles deep into the water.

What used to be a restaurant was now flooded with water up to the heels of shoes. Lyle stared in astonishment at the liquid, even though it all came from his own severed wrist.

“Unbelievable.” Lyle raised his left hand, looking at his wrist, which was still gushing blood. “How much blood did I lose?”

"The total blood volume of sixteen adults. The path of the exceptional has begun; welcome to the abnormal."

"There was no discomfort caused by insufficient blood supply, and my body was perfectly normal. It was as if the blood wasn't mine, and my wrist was connected to another dimension. Is this what they mean by an inexhaustible bloodline?"

In the instant of thought, the wound on his wrist scabbed over at his own will, the dark red fragments quickly falling off to reveal smooth, new skin. Lyle moved his palm, watching all the liquid in the pool of blood move with his gestures, like a school of fish being guided.

"I can even make them dance a blood ballet, it's an amazing power."