Royal Saint Crown University, King's Campus.
At night, beneath the King's Campus of Royal Saint Crown University, deep within the Secret Knowledge Society, before the spiderweb-covered corridor, four or five men armed with firearms stood ready, intently guarding the front.
These men were henchmen of the Eight Point Nest. At this critical moment of the ritual, they were ordered to guard this place, following Claudius's instructions, they would not let even a fly pass.
At this time, the ritual had already begun in the ruins below. These guards were also fully focused on maintaining vigilance to prevent any unexpected situations. They were confident that with the series of extraordinary security measures around them, they could be foolproof.
Just as the guards were concentrating on their watch, something unexpected happened. Behind them, from the direction that should lead to the ruins, gunshots suddenly erupted, and piercing screams also came from there.
Hearing the sounds coming from behind, the guards who were originally focused on guarding the front couldn't help but be startled. Then they all looked towards the back, everyone displaying an expression of disbelief.
"What happened inside?"
"Gunshots? Is it an enemy attack?"
"There's no reason! We're clearly guarding properly here, nobody passed through at all?"
"Never mind! Let's go check it out quickly!"
After a brief exchange, the surprised guards immediately turned around and walked inside. And just as they had turned around, at a corner in the corridor ahead of them, two male figures turned the corner. They held handguns aimed at the guards' backs.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The two men pulled the triggers. After a series of gunshots, the guards who were preparing to go back and support fell to the ground, shot in the back. Some reacted and wanted to turn around and fight back, but it was already too late.
Soon, after eliminating all the enemies before them, the two Corpse Puppet gunmen walked towards the spiderweb corridor, while somewhere on the campus grounds in the distance, Naifnis sat on a chair, controlling everything that had just happened.
"Is this... Miss Dorothy's power?"
Looking at the Corpse Puppet Ring on her hand, which Dorothy had lent her, Naifnis murmured like this. The emotions of using extraordinary abilities for the first time, of killing an enemy for the first time, surged in her heart.
To slightly reduce her mental burden and focus on dealing with Claudius, Dorothy chose to temporarily lend the Corpse Puppet Ring to Naifnis, allowing her to also control two Corpse Puppets to attack the guards stationed at the front, preventing them from being able to support the battle at the ritual site.
"Phew... In any case, I managed to be of a little help."
Murmuring, Naifnis controlled the two Corpse Puppets deeper into the spiderweb corridor. She could already hear footsteps coming from ahead. The guards located at the other end of the spiderweb corridor were rushing over. Naifnis would continue to use Dorothy's Corpse Puppets to fight, sharing Dorothy's mental burden and putting direct pressure on the Eight Point Nest.
...
Ruins second level, in the ritual site.
Violent explosions erupted from the fallen corpses. The countless gas canisters hidden in the greatcoats were detonated in a chain reaction triggered by pre-set mechanisms. High-temperature flames surged out at this moment, engulfing the six Corpse Puppet gunmen while also completely consuming the bats surrounding them, gnawing on flesh and blood.
In just this instant, all the attacking bats were wiped out in one go, and Dorothy in the shadows couldn't help but whisper after seeing this scene.
"Nice..."
As early as the first time Dorothy ventured deep into the ruins, she had already witnessed Claudius's ability to turn into bats. To counter this move, Dorothy went to the City to purchase a large number of kerosene bottles and gas canisters. These were used to refill gas lamps and could be bought in many places, making procurement very convenient.
Against small, agile flying units, a large-area explosive flame attack was perfect. To deal with this swarm of black bats, Dorothy prepared a bunch of explosive Corpse Puppets.
Witnessing numerous bats being consumed by flames amidst their strange screeches, Dorothy felt a surge of pleasure in her heart. However, she did not relax her vigilance at this moment. She knew that merely killing a Chalk like this was far from enough. Claudius would never commit all his bats to a single action.
As expected, after the main bat swarm was burned, a small portion of bats that had not participated in the attack reassembled. Shortly after, Claudius's body appeared within the shadow formed by the coalescing bats. However, after reappearing, he was hunched over, large areas of his skin were burned, and faint wisps of smoke rose from his charred skin. It was clear that the damage the bats had suffered was reflected onto his main body.
"Another... flesh puppet..."
Gritting his teeth and wide-eyed, Claudius trembled as he took out another syringe filled with blood from his clothes, preparing to give himself another injection.
Seeing this scene, Dorothy immediately controlled the second batch of six Corpse Puppets to walk into the ritual site. They pulled out their guns and fired a barrage at Claudius who was injecting himself.
Having only injected a little blood and with his injuries not having recovered much, Claudius was interrupted by the gunfire. He immediately tore off the syringe, his entire body transforming into a swift black shadow that directly dodged the incoming bullets, and then charged straight towards the new six Corpse Puppets.
In the blink of an eye, Claudius had already rushed in front of the Corpse Puppets. He swung his claws, which had become long and sharp, and first tore one Corpse Puppet in half at the waist. Then, the black shadow he had transformed into swiftly swept past each Corpse Puppet. These Corpse Puppets were also instantly torn into several large pieces, without even time to react.
'So fast.'
Seeing this scene before her, Dorothy thought with some surprise in her heart. Claudius's speed was so exaggerated that he could easily dodge bullets and tear apart six Corpse Puppets in a few seconds, tearing them to a degree that completely incapacitated them. Dorothy didn't even have time to control the Corpse Puppets to activate the explosive devices on their bodies before they were already uncontrollable.
Having dealt with the six gunman Corpse Puppets in one go, Claudius, standing in a pool of blood with large areas of burns on his body, once again took out a syringe, wanting to recover from his injuries. And Dorothy naturally wouldn't let him succeed. She said to Vanya beside her.
"Don't let him recover, go stop him!"
"I understand..."
Murmuring, Vanya placed a Symbol she had already held in her hand onto her forehead. Along with the burning of the Symbol, a crimson "Cup" mark appeared on Vanya's forehead. This mark was somewhat similar to the mark that appeared when using the Raw Consumption Symbol, but it was much larger and more complex.
"Lord, please protect me..."
Praying, Vanya's expression became focused. Then she drew a steel sword from her waist. With a push of her foot, she stepped out of the shadows at high speed, charging rapidly towards Claudius in the ritual site. Due to his reaction ability that could easily dodge bullets, Vanya didn't use a gun this time, but instead directly charged with her sword.
In just an instant, the masked Vanya had already rushed in front of Claudius, who had just stuck the needle into his body. She swung her steel sword towards him, the sword speed extremely fast.
"Sister?"
Seeing Vanya's attacking sword blade, Claudius immediately dodged, and then counter-attacked with a claw strike towards Vanya. Vanya immediately held her sword and successfully blocked. The moment the sharp claw collided with the steel sword, a crisp loud sound echoed in the space. At the same time, cracks appeared on the blade of the steel sword.
Vanya directly blocked Claudius's extremely fast attack! Moreover, she did not lose ground at all in the clash of strength, and even held a slight advantage, which greatly surprised Claudius, causing him to take this mysterious Sister before him seriously.
Unlike other miscellaneous flesh puppets, this is a formidable character! Perhaps a being of Black Rank or higher on the "Cup" or "Shadow" pathway!
Making such a judgment in his heart, Claudius immediately became even more cautious of the place before him. He immediately swung his sharp claws and attacked Vanya like a furious wind, his attacking arms already invisible afterimages.
Facing Claudius's offensive, Vanya also held her sword and blocked at high speed, successfully defending against Claudius's high-speed claw strikes coming from various directions. The dense sound of steel clashing immediately resounded throughout the entire underground space.
As an Apprentice, Vanya successfully resisted the frontal assault of the Chalk, a large part of this success stemming from the Symbol Vanya used before the battle began.
This Symbol was not the Raw Consumption Symbol she frequently used before, but the Mad Banquet Symbol! It was one of the only two Mad Banquet Symbols Dorothy had collected at Buck's residence and Field's villa!
The Mad Banquet Symbol is a superior version of the Raw Consumption Symbol, with the same effect of greatly strengthening physical ability by consuming "Cup", the difference being the degree of consumption and enhancement.
The Raw Consumption Symbol consumes 1 point of "Cup" to strengthen an ordinary person's body to the level of a Thirster, while the Mad Banquet Symbol consumes 5 points of "Cup" to temporarily strengthen an ordinary person's body to a level exceeding the Black Rank "Cup".
By reading the "Voodoo Forest Expedition Log" and "Wolf Sacrifice Ritual", Vanya had accumulated nearly 10 points of "Cup" on her. She used 1 point when fighting Ci Rong before, and now, to confront Claudius, she used another 5 points in one go, causing her physical ability to instantly surpass that of an ordinary Black Rank "Cup", overpowering Claudius who only had auxiliary "Cup".
That wasn't all. Dorothy had already imprinted a Puppet Mark on Vanya before this, connecting one of her Spirituality threads to Vanya. However, Dorothy didn't use this Spiritual thread to control Vanya, but rather used it as a tool to transfer buffs.
Behind the scenes, Dorothy herself used the Lightweight Symbol seized from Mosans, consuming 1 point of "Shadow" to increase her speed, and then transferred this buff effect to Vanya through the Spiritual thread.
For a time, in addition to possessing "Cup" power surpassing the Black Rank, Vanya also possessed the "Shadow" speed of an Apprentice Rank. These, combined with Vanya's own superb swordsmanship and Mind's Eye, allowed her to fight on par with the severely injured Chalk Rank for a short period.
However, Claudius, being a Vampire, had another characteristic: the "Shadow" enchantment that could corrode armor and break blades!
Claudius's sharp claws, used as weapons, continuously corroded the steel sword in Vanya's hand due to the "Shadow" attached to them. Finally, after continuous clashes, the blade of the originally sturdy steel sword shattered into pieces.
However, Vanya, who had fought Ci Rong before, seemed to have anticipated this phenomenon. As the sword blade shattered, she had already taken a step back to distance herself from Claudius. At the same time, she pulled back the black cloth covering the fan-shaped object on her back, revealing a series of new steel swords arranged in a fan shape behind her. These were the sturdiest ones Dorothy could buy in the City.
These high-quality steel swords were bought along with a large number of kerosene bottles and gas cylinders for the Corpse Puppets. Even though they were mundane items, they still cost a considerable amount of money, around 70 pounds, making Dorothy spend another sum.
Drawing a new steel sword from her back, Vanya turned and continued to engage in battle with Claudius. Claudius had originally been pleased to see her sword break, ready to pursue and finish off Vanya in one go, but he didn't expect Vanya to have prepared so many new swords. He immediately felt annoyed and decided to use other methods to eliminate Vanya.
Finally, after a brief exchange, the blade of the sword in Vanya's hand shattered again. Seizing the moment while Vanya was changing her sword, he also pulled out a Symbol, stuck it on himself, took a deep breath, and then exhaled a thick plume of purplish-red poisonous gas towards Vanya, who had just replaced her sword and was rushing towards him. Instantly, Vanya was completely engulfed by the dense poison gas.
'It's done.'
Watching Vanya being swallowed by the poison gas, a faint smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of Claudius's mouth. This kind of poison gas, triggered by a Symbol and created using his Spirituality, could cause loss of mobility with just one breath and was extremely fast-acting. If Vanya was completely swallowed by the poison mist, she was definitely finished.
However, Claudius hadn't been happy for long before Vanya's figure rushed out of the poison mist, charging towards Claudius at high speed. Her movements were agile, without any trace of being affected by the poison. While passing through the poison gas corridor, she had already taken the corresponding antidote, so she could completely ignore Claudius's poison mist attack.
"What..."
Seeing this scene before him, Claudius's expression was one of shock, but his movements were without the slightest hesitation. He quickly avoided Vanya's fierce stab, paying the price of having his right arm scratched.
'These Sisters... why can they ignore my poison mist?'
Looking at the almost completely unharmed Claudius, Vanya thought with surprise, but she didn't give him time to think further. Switching from defense to offense, she continued to pursue and slash at Claudius with her steel sword, and Claudius could only focus on dealing with her.
'Since the poison gas is ineffective against you, how about this...'
Thinking this, Claudius's expression hardened. Then, he flicked his hand, and a round pendant slipped from his sleeve into his hand.
Seizing the moment when the sword in Vanya's hand shattered again and she stepped back to change swords, Claudius extended his hand forward, letting the round white pendant he held dangle down, and then gently swung it. When Vanya had changed her sword and charged towards Claudius again, she noticed a faint glint in Claudius's eyes.
"You are very sleepy now..."
Gazing into Vanya's eyes, Claudius murmured in a low voice. Instantly, Vanya, who had looked into Claudius's eyes, suddenly stopped her attack. She stood still, sword in hand, staring blankly ahead at Claudius, who held the swinging pendant. Her figure swayed precariously, her eyes full of drowsiness, as if she could fall at any moment.
At this moment, seizing the opportunity, Claudius directly performed battlefield hypnosis on Vanya. Although her physical body and speed had been greatly enhanced, her mental level was still that of an Apprentice, completely unable to resist the mental influence from a Chalk Rank.
"Drop all defenses, drop your sword, do not attack me."
Facing Vanya, Claudius continued his hypnosis. Under his hypnosis, Vanya released her grip, and the steel sword in her hand clattered to the ground. Seeing this scene, Claudius smiled slightly.
'It was solved so easily, I should have used this earlier...'
Thinking this, Claudius quickly rushed towards Vanya. Now he needed to first disable the intruder's limbs, capturing her alive by making her lose the ability to move.
Just as Claudius reached Vanya, her originally blank and drowsy expression suddenly shifted sharply, becoming cold and serious. She watched Claudius's sharp claws stabbing towards her, sidestepped, and dodged them. Before Claudius could react, she drew another new steel sword from behind her and stabbed directly at Claudius.
Vanya's series of actions completely exceeded Claudius's expectations. While dodging in a panic, he was stabbed in the chest and abdomen. His gaze towards Vanya was filled with astonishment.
Wasn't she hypnotized by me?
This was Claudius's biggest question in his heart, and the truth was indeed so. Vanya had indeed been hypnotized by Claudius, but Dorothy had not.
When Vanya was hypnotized by Claudius, Dorothy immediately activated the Spiritual thread that was already connected to Vanya. Bypassing Vanya's already confused and drowsy consciousness, she directly controlled her body, allowing Vanya to counterattack Claudius in the form of a Living Puppet.
"My apologies, Puppets don't need rest or sleep, Mr. Vampire." Watching the scene before her from multiple perspectives, Dorothy, still hidden in the shadows, murmured.