Chapter 112 - Blake Family (3)
Chapter 112 - Blake Family (3)
In order to completely subdue the vampire Sheryl, he would first have to show her his full strength.
It was clear that if he used tricks or shortcuts to beat her, she would not accept defeat.
He would have to use brute force to pound the truth into her skull.
‘The fact that I’m stronger than you.’
Frey’s gaze deepened.
He didn’t think it would be difficult.
Of course, he knew that Sheryl was a formidable opponent.
After all, she was the second in command of the Phisfounder Armlets, one of the Three Great Circles.
There was no one who dared to look down on her.
“What a joke…!”
Fury blazed in Sheryl’s eyes as she realised the man in front of her had indirectly said that he would make her submit to him.
She hadn’t felt this humiliated in a very long time.
She was a several century old, pureblooded vampire, one of the few on the entire continent.
Even Circle Master Altan didn’t dare to look down on her.
Sheryl could admit that the man in front of her was strong. The fact that he’d reached 8 stars was proof enough.
Even so, she didn’t believe he was strong enough to disregard her like that.
Crunch.
Sheryl bit her wrist, then swung her hand, causing her blood to splatter and soaked the bodies of her summoned Demons.
Gurgle.
This caused the Demons near death to recover in an instant.
Frey realised that it was one of the recovery techniques used by Contractors.
After looking at the bodies of the other two recovered Demons, Frey was finally able to identify them.
‘A Nightmare and a Starving Ghost?’ (Note: Or Starving Demon)
Both were top-grade Demons as well.
Frey waited silently until Sheryl had completed her preparations with his hands at his side.
Sss~
Black fog began emanating from the Nightmare’s body.
Frey frowned.
‘Blinding me again.’
This method had already become a little boring.
As he had this thought, Frey felt movement on his left and right.
He stretched out his hand and created walls of ice.
Thud!
The Hellhound and Starving Ghost collided head first with the ice walls.
Although the walls had been created with chantless magic, they were still hard enough to stop their charge completely.
Then, he felt a chill at the back of his head.
Shek.
Frey lowered his head slightly to avoid the incoming attack, and Sheryl’s well-groomed finger brushed against his hair.
When he simply glanced at her, she snorted before fading into the Nightmare’s fog once again.
A group of bats appeared from the place she disappeared, their vicious fangs clearly visible.
They were probably vampire bats, so it would be annoying to get bitten by them.
‘I’m going to have to cut them down one by one.’
After making this judgement, Frey touched the ground.
“Burning Ground.”
Fwoosh.
Flames from Frey’s hand instantly spread across the ground.
In no time at all, his surroundings were set ablaze, with dozens of flaming pillars shooting up into the sky.
Not only the annoying swarm of bats but even the black fog created by the Nightmare could not withstand the heat of Burning Ground and disappeared.
“Kuk!”
Sheryl, who was hiding in the fog, was once again revealed.
‘This isn’t the power of a 7 star spell.’
She forcefully swallowed her words and spread her wings.
Now that such terrifying fire had engulfed the ground, she could no longer hide in the shadows.
The Starving Ghost immediately climbed onto the Nightmare’s back and fled to the sky, and the Hellhound remained on the ground.
As a being born from lava, it was able to withstand flames of this level.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just flames.
“Frost Scream.”
Dozens of ice fragments were embedded in the Hellhound’s body.
The Hellhound, which was easily able to withstand the 7 star Burning Ground, was completely helpless against the 6 star Frost Scream.
The cold aura of the ice quickly began covering its body.
It didn’t take very long for the Hellhound’s body to be completely frozen.
Frey shook his hand lightly.
Crack.
A gale from his body then shattered the Hellhound’s body.
A top-grade Demon.
One that had the potential to defeat almost any circle executive under the right conditions.
Sheryl bit her lip nervously.
‘The power of his spells is so strange.’
Strange?
No, it was more than just strange!
Who the hell was this man?!
Just a Burning Ground and a Frost Scream.
The power of the two spells this man used far surpassed her expectations.
They had the same names, but she wondered if they were really the same spells.
‘Get it together!’
Sheryl shook her head.
There was no time for her to think about things like that.
Frey then turned his eyes to the Nightmare and Starving Ghost.
“Roar!”
The Starving Ghost expressed its frustration.
This cannibal Demon, who was always hungry, grew stronger and more violent the angrier it became.
It angrily pulled on the Nightmare’s reins.
The Nightmare also responded to the Starving Ghost’s anger and rushed forward while spewing black fog from its mouth.
Overwhelming victory.
As he recalled his plan, Frey had a thought.
First. he would have to break Sheryl’s fighting spirit.
Chuk.
A spear of ice began forming in front of Frey.
Sheryl’s eyes widened.
‘It can’t be… an Ice Spear.’
The mana fluctuations from this spear did not feel like a threat.
She quickly pondered what she should do.
Avoid it, prevent it or face it head on.
And during that momentary pause, Frey completed his spell.
The spear was extremely large and sharp.
Despite appearing in the middle of the Burning Ground, its coldness did not seem to be diminished at all.
Shuk!
The spear shot forward, and Sheryl realised that it was too late to do any of her three thoughts.
She couldn’t avoid it, prevent it or confront it.
She snapped her finger, and the charging Nightmare changed its course.
No, it was almost as though it had been dragged by an invisible force.
Puk!
The Ice Spear pierced the bodies of the Nightmare and the Starving Ghost at the same time.
Even when two top-grade Demons were used as Shields, the Ice Spear did not stop.
However, it slowed down a little.
Thanks to that, Sheryl was able to escape.
After all, her agility was by no means lacking. Thanks to the bat wings on her back, she was able to fly very quickly in the air.
Sheryl was no longer shocked.
Even the Starving Ghost and the Nightmare had been recalled, but to an extent, she had expected this to happen.
‘Ever since the Hellhound died.’
She felt like this man’s power was brushing against her skin.
Sheryl wondered what to do now.
Even three top-grade Demons were useless.
And her vampire abilities were of no use either.
Even if she used some kind of trick, it would only be useful to stall for time.
In addition, she had already used too much mental power.
This was because her power was also being drawn out due to Lilith’s battle with Asura.
‘…should I summon Lucifer?’
No.
Summoning another Archduke was a burden that her body would not be able to handle.
Moreover, unlike Lilith, she had no control over Lucifer.
The moment he found an opening, he would devour her soul.
Sheryl sighed.
Frey kept looking at her.
It seemed he had no intention of making the first move.
His attitude seemed to say ‘if you are going to struggle further, then go ahead.’
This made her angry, but she was also convinced.
“You… want to make me submit, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll admit it. You are qualified to say that.”
Frey couldn’t help but make a strange expression at Sheryl’s words.
“I’ll stop fighting. It’s my loss.”
She had admitted defeat?
But it didn’t seem like she had lowered her guard at all.
Although she said it was her loss, Sheryl’s expression did not seem to show that.
“You are strong. Stronger than anyone I’ve ever fought. Other than the Demigods, of course.”
Divine power, magic power and the ability to summon Demons.
And none of them were at a low level.
In particular, his magical prowess was unbelievable.
He was at least as strong as Altan, the Circle Master of the Phisfounder Armlets.
“So will you submit?”
“No. Instead… I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“I also want you to submit to me.”
It was the last thing Sheryl could think of.
In any case, Frey didn’t seem to have any intention of killing her, so while it was unsightly, she had no choice but to make use of that fact to make a deal.
Frey tilted his head slightly.
“Psychic domination doesn’t work on me. Haven’t you learned that already?”
“I know. I meant something else. I am a part of the Vampire Royal Family.”
Vampires also had specific rankings or social standing.
In particular, Vampires with the blood of the ‘Royal Family’ could suppress other vampires with their blood alone.
He’d thought she was a formidable woman, but he had still assumed that she was a high-ranking noble at best.
Frey had never expected that Sheryl would actually be royalty.
“I see. Do you want to try to make me your blood relative?”
“Right.”
Her fangs sparkled a little.
Frey shook his hand, and the Burning Ground spell disappeared.
Standing on the charred ground, he nodded to her.
“I accept.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“…”
Her gamble had succeeded, but now, she was feeling a bit worried since Frey had accepted it so easily.
Sheryl couldn’t feel pleased because his attitude made her feel like she’d made a mistake.
‘It’s just baseless anxiety.’
She didn’t have any other choice anyway.
“Before that, should we recall them? If we leave them like that, then we’ll have to make a new map of the area by the time they’re done.”
As she said this, Sheryl turned to look at Lilith and Asura.
She could see that a nearby mountain had already been leveled by them.
Frey agreed with her.
[That’s enough, Asura.]
[I haven’t been able to tear this damn bitch’s crotch yet.]
[Today won’t be your only opportunity. I’ll give you another chance sooner or later, so just wait.]
[…I guess it can’t be helped.]
Asura responded with dissatisfaction clear on his face.
Likewise, Sheryl also recalled Lilith.
Then, she slowly landed on the ground and started walking towards Frey.
Once she finally reached Frey, he rolled up his sleeve and held his hand out to her.
“You don’t have to bite my neck, do you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
It was true that biting the neck was more effective, but at Sheryl’s level, such a thing didn’t matter.
Sheryl bit his wrist.
It didn’t hurt much, but it felt a little like a shock.
Kuk.
Sheryl’s eyes began to glow red.
This was proof that she was using her mental power to the max.
After all, her opponent was a Wizard. An 8 star Archmage.
Moreover, his mental power was much stronger than other Wizards of the same level.
She believed this was probably the reason Frey stuck his wrist out so easily. His confidence was understandable.
But Sheryl had her own reason for her confidence.
Huk.
Frey suddenly felt his vision go black.
He blinked his eyes.
Once, twice.
When he blinked a third time, he found that he was standing alone in a dark space.
Suddenly, he turned his head and saw Sheryl standing there.
Surprisingly, she was naked.
Her golden hair barely covering her.
But Sheryl, who was standing there naked, felt little to no humiliation, and Frey, who was looking at her, didn’t seem fazed.
Instead, Frey was thinking about something else.
When he first saw this dark space, an unpleasant memory came to his mind.
“This is a mental world that I created. There is absolutely nothing in this space. Even you, an Archmage with great attainments, will soon go crazy in this empty place.” (Note: pfft)
“…”
“In addition, this place does not follow the same time as reality.”
Frey’s mental power was strong.
Sheryl knew that.
So the first thing she intended to do was wear away at his mental power.
“If you stay here for a year, no matter how resilient you are, your mind will-”
“You’re wrong.”
Frey interrupted Sheryl.
“What?”
“It’s not that there’s nothing here.”
Frey looked down at his body.
He clenched his fist.
The sensation of his nails digging into his palm could be clearly felt.
His senses.
His body.
There was even another person with him.
A cold smile blossomed on his lips.
Compared to the hell-like Abyss, this place was practically heaven.
Paat.
Frey’s mana spread out and began dominating this space.
Sheryl anxiously took a step back when she saw this.
“Wh-, what are you doing…”
“Thanks to you, I’m now in a bad mood. It’s only fair that I show my gratitude.”
Pat.
Frey appeared before her in a flash, and at that moment, Sheryl showed fear for the first time.
It was an emotion that she’d only shown to beings who far surpassed her ability or understanding.
But that was a good thing for Frey.
After all, there was no better emotion for forcing someone into submission than fear.
Frey put his hand on Sheryl’s head.
Sheryl shivered.
This couldn’t be considered a gentle act like petting.
In the end, Sheryl’s decision had been the worst she could make.
“I’ll show you some of my memories.”
His 4,000 years of solitude.
With those words, Frey took control of Sheryl’s mind. (YH: Turn the tables :D)