Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Lyle's struggles were futile; he could only watch Beatrice slowly descend in his sight, her breath growing stronger on his neck.

Next came a light, fleeting kiss on the neck, followed by Beatrice's buzzing voice.

"Thank you, I'm very happy. The only blood food is Lyle."

“Beatles…”

A back throw left Lyle feeling dizzy. When he came to his senses, Beatrice was already dressed in a new dress, transformed back into the aloof vampire sister-in-law, staring at Lyle with the same look she had for a maggot.

"Change your clothes, we're going to look for your little Karen, Lyle."

If a woman's mood can change faster than turning the pages of a book, then Beatrice must be an e-book, because with just a swipe of her finger, she can leave Lyle completely disoriented.

Lyle and Beatrice stood together, both dressed in black and red gowns with a distinctly vampire style.

Beatrice fiddled with the lace trim on Lyle's body while making sarcastic comments about how Lyle's outfit looked.

“You know what, my dear Lyle. If it weren’t for the time crunch, I would have dressed you in the most suitable suit. The lapel really doesn’t suit you, but Loshutal just loves that style. Pfft, sorry, it looks like your head is in a cage. Maybe you should try that corsage.”

"No, wearing that would feel like putting my head on a white millstone. We're pressed for time. Beatrice, clothes and all that, can't we just change into anything?"

“No! You need to disguise yourself, to disguise yourself as a vampire who has been converted by chance, so that the others in Loshutal won't notice our abnormality. We need to lie low, to make them think we are one of them, fellow vampires who drink blood like them. Only then will we have a chance to get close to the Twilight Chapel. And a real vampire, a respected vampire, will have all the outward appearance of a nobleman. You also want to give Joshua a surprise at the wedding, don't you?”

"You mean we'll be staying with those vampires for the next few days? What if they start feeding?"

"I'll bite you while we eat. Vampires exchange blood to show their close bond. I'm counting on you for ten days' worth of food, Lyle."

"...Does that kind of torture have to be repeated multiple times?"

“I was starving this time, Lyle. I promise I’ll be gentler next time. Look at my teeth. I promise I’ll only put them into your normal veins from now on, and savor them like drinking red wine.”

"Let's go. The topic of vampires is causing phantom pain in my body."

Smiling Beatrice and somber Lyle walked down the corridor, needing no candlelight. The gem on Beatrice's chest emitted a crimson glow. The Blood Artifact, the Blood Power and Blood Oath, finally felt the power of blood after a long absence, returning to its original red color and radiating a crimson light. Having Beatrice as its master was indeed unfortunate for this vampire artifact; it had been used as an alcohol monitor for almost three months.

“Your blood not only broke the seal on my power, but I also used it to power the Bloodstone. I hadn’t used it in so long that I had almost forgotten its abilities.” As she spoke, Beatrice reached out her hand to the Blood Servant kneeling by the roadside.

Beatrice seemed to have become a plague; every blood servant she approached collapsed and lost consciousness.

"These blood servants are the eyes of Loshutar, which is why the vampires let us go. Although their minds are confused, they are still good containers for memories. When the sun rises again, the vampires will come to take back their memories. At that time, your drinking of the Holy Grail and your plea for help will be exposed."

"Blood rights and blood oaths suppress and control low-level vampires. I've altered the blood servants' memories of us and can even turn these brainless idiots against us. I'll also make some arrangements to give them a surprise after ten days."

Just as Beatrice and Lyle were discussing their plans, their target, Karen Pombay, awoke in the darkness.

The once carefree girl now had a dazed look in her eyes, trapped in the endless darkness, unable to even see the sun. In this dark church, Karen had no idea how many days had passed.

Deathly silence—that was Karen's primary feeling. Despite being surrounded by so many people, she could only feel coldness and regret in her heart. Karen regretted sending that letter before coming to Drogonris.

Facing the inverted cross covered in thorns, Karen closed her eyes and prayed.

"Lord Lyle, please don't come here, I beg you, don't come to Dagonris, there is... there is the nightmare of the Holy Light here. Stay away from here, please stay away from here."

Perhaps it was because Karen's movements were too exaggerated, or perhaps it was because her heart was beating too fast, but the figures kneeling around her opened their scarlet eyes.

"Little angel, are you still afraid of us?"

Karen looked at the speaker in horror, biting her lower lip. "I'm not afraid, I'm grieving."

The figure fell silent, its crimson eyes fixed on Karen's image, that resolute yet frail shadow.

"For us?"

"Lord Polvent, do I not even have the right to grieve? Seeing the guides of the Holy Light turn into man-eating monsters, I pray to the Holy Light to forgive your sins."

“We are innocent; all we do is seek self-improvement and revenge.”

Karen's roar echoed throughout the tomb, but her voice could not penetrate the thick layers of rock, nor could it warn anyone.

"Is this what you call purification?! The entire Purifier Legion has turned into vampires! Have you gone mad, Commander?!"

Chapter 467 The Disruptor

Polvent looked at the girl before him. She stood on the church altar, the very spot where bishops used to preach to the lost sheep. That spot was sacred, noble; even though they had become vampires, some of their old habits remained. The little angel sealed by Drogonris stood tall and proud. No holy light emanated from her, but her stubbornness shone brightly in Polvent's eyes.

Polvent's Adam's apple twitched like a maggot crawling beneath his skin as he suppressed his bloodlust. His crimson eyes saw a more real world. The little angel seemed to have learned a great deal from the earth angel Raphael, such as the infectious power to inspire awe and longing. Polvent heard her rapid heartbeat and saw Karen's trembling hand at her side.

This is wrong. How can someone in a high position be more confused than us? Her abilities are not enough.

Karen had miscalculated. Under the silent gaze of those bloodshot eyes, Karen knew her plan to turn these vampires against her had failed once again. The Purifiers, once priests of the Holy Light, masters of the Holy Light. Unlike the Guardians who protected the people as soldiers, and the Judges who punished evil as hunters, the Purifiers resided in the Holy See, seeking the future of the Holy Light and the ascension of life. They were scholars and mentors within the Holy Light. Compared to the other two legions, their wisdom was profound and deep; self-awareness and repentance were daily practices for the Purifiers. Now, it seemed these Holy Light scholars, researching the ascension of life, had gone astray, or perhaps things had reached their extreme; they had strayed onto another path of the Holy Light, heading towards corruption. Even so, these fallen ones still scoffed at the righteous rhetoric of the Holy Light's messengers, which they had already exhausted.

They were the most rational spellcasters of the Holy Light Era, and they were closest to the essence of this world.

However, in the essence of this world, an evil god slumbers.

“The Holy Light has abandoned us! The Holy Light, led by Merlok Raymond, has abandoned his brothers, abandoned us!!!” Polvent stood up, his twisted face glaring at Karen, his bloodshot eyes filled with hatred and madness. “We were once the most devout followers of the Holy Light, we trusted our fellow citizens, we remained humble, we adhered to the doctrines! But what have we received! Judgment!”

"The executioner of the Holy Light has killed our leader, the water angel Galaron Loshutar, who died at the hands of his own brother!"

Polvent stood in front of Karen, looking down at her.

"You know nothing, little angel! The surprise in your eyes when I revealed the atrocities of the Darkness of the Holy Light to you was foolishly adorable. These things don't appear in the Crusader tales, do they? Because the one who wrote those damned tales of light was none other than the leader of the Inquisitors, George Edmont. Let me guess how the later chroniclers described the tragedy of the Holy Light?"

"A terrible natural disaster dealt a fatal blow to the noble Crusader leader, with three of the four archangels falling, and the glory of the Holy Light thus falling short? Have you never considered what kind of natural disaster might have killed Raymond, who slew the dragon?"

"The fall of the Holy Light stemmed from a betrayal!"

"The traitor is the fallen angel of fire, George Edmont!"

"We had to hide in the darkness and live a life without sunshine. It was during this period that the entire Loshutar completed their transformation into vampires."

"Without their leader, the Purifier Legion nearly collapsed, and what happened to the Inquisitor Legion? Nothing! They continued hunting evil as if nothing had happened! Isn't that strange? The Crusader leader is our pillar, yet the Inquisitors show no sign of losing their leader."

"Little angel, Holy Light, has become a terminally ill old man; it is festering from the inside out."

"The Holy Light needs to be healed. You can do it, little angel. As long as you become the leader of our Purifier Legion, we can purify the Holy Light. It's a surgery from the outside in. We need your leadership, little angel."

Karen pushed away Polvent's outstretched hand.

"To have a bunch of vampires purify the Holy Light? Nonsense, Polvent! Stop your slander against His Majesty Saint George! The Crusader Leader is supreme!"

“And what about our leader! Galaron, also a leader of the Legion, is his death holy? The path of the Holy Light has failed, little angel, we must find another way. For revenge, for ascension, we have become Blood Knights.” Polvent returned to his position, and the silent prayer began again.

"We need you, little angel. In a few days, when you become a Blood Knight like us, you'll probably... you'll see this world as clearly as we do."

"You will become the leader of us fallen ones, the Crimson Angel, and together we will tear apart the darkness beneath the light."

In the darkness, Karen's panting echoed in the tomb, not only from lack of oxygen, but also from the impact of the past described by Polvent.

“No, you can’t trust dark creatures. My teacher and the bishop taught me that.” Karen squatted down on the rock again, looking at the possessed blood knights kneeling before her.

"But the instructor who said those words, Schuderman, also became a vampire..."

Degonris hides deep in the mountains, where the night is dominated by the cold wind. Creatures of the night roar with abandon, making the world under the blood moon even more terrifying.

Kevin crouched behind a broken tree, staring at the blurry castle in his line of sight.

After the Wanderer left, he and Grape remained in the forest, carrying out their external support operation. To put it bluntly, they did nothing but stand there.

But in that awful place called Drogonris, the wind would suddenly rise up for no reason as soon as the sun went down, chilling people to the bone.

Not long after, a pine tree next to Kevin snapped in half in the wind. The thick stump and the fallen leafy branches formed a triangular area that could shelter him from the wind. Kevin squatted in it, listening to the piercing whistling sound flying overhead.

Not long ago, Kevin suddenly felt his time was up and threw Grape, who had been clamoring to find Lyle, out of the room. Because Kevin had previously obstructed Grape's search in every way possible, when Kevin finally let go, the Lightbat forgot to spread its wings and fell to the ground. Grape and Kevin lay on the ground staring at each other, seemingly wondering if the other was crazy.

"You let me go?"

"You don't want to go anymore?"

Two hours had passed since Grape went to Drogonris alone. During this time, various sounds of wailing and howling could be heard around Kevin, but Kevin's position was well concealed, and nothing unexpected happened.

A cold gust of wind suddenly blew something down. Kevin thought it was another pine cone escape, but the dark little thing quickly spread its wings. The trembling light bat grape lay in front of Kevin, her rapid breathing making her look terrible.

Kevin held her in his arms.

"Are you alright, Grape?"

There was no response. About five minutes later, Grape's pupils finally brightened and focused on Kevin.

"It's a terrible feeling, Kevin. Even now, it feels like Lyle is constantly whispering in my head, and he's... he's right behind you!!!"

Kevin turned his head; behind him were only thick pine needles, no Lyle. But Grape seemed to have been startled, continuing to howl "Lyle, Lyle!" Kevin gently pinched her back, using the same method he used to play with a cat, to help her relax. It seemed to have some effect; Grape stopped being so startled.

"So, you found Lyle?"

Grape placed its claws under its mouth, a look of confusion in its eyes.

"It seems so, but it also seems so. I do have memories of meeting Lyle, but I have a feeling that it wasn't something I experienced myself. Anyway, I'll pass on Lyle's plea for help to you now, Kevin."

Kevin then noticed that something shiny was being held in place by black thread on the grape's belly fur.

It was a ring, the one on Lyle's hand, the Ring of Andrea.

The black lines wriggled and fell off, coalescing on the ring and entering the dark blue emblem. Finally, the emblem transformed into a blinking black eyeball.

"We've run into trouble and need outside help."

“I trust your abilities, Kevin.”

"Please act freely according to your intuition."

Chapter 468 A Fateful Encounter

The grape sat atop Kevin's palm, continuing to recount Lyle's message and the current predicament. Kevin listened intently, while his other hand picked up the ring, examining it closely. The eye on it stared intently at him, its tiny, writhing tendrils making it resemble an eerie little sun.

"After Lyle became a necromancer, his art style changed completely."

“Lord Lyle, as far as I know, this has always been the case at the academy.”

“Oh, really? I knew Lyle was a hidden talent. No wonder he’s my brother.” Kevin dusted off his clothes and emerged from his hiding place. “Come on, let’s take this opportunity to see another side of Lyle, Lyle’s magic academy, Andre.”

“Andre… may not be what you imagine, Mr. Kevin.”

"Of course, I know that if the layout of the magic academy is within my imagination, then it won't be magic. I know it's a necromancer's academy, but don't worry, I'm prepared."

"...Hopefully your mental preparation will be helpful." Grape climbed onto Kevin's shoulder, ready to be teleported.

"To summarize, we need to seek external assistance from Andrei. One is to break the seal on Degonris, and the other is to acquire the fighting force needed to contend with the Loshutar vampires. Lyle has recommended Mr. Scholar and Mr. Raymond, but he allows me to change the choice at will. Grape, do you know who these two are?"

The grape's body trembled.