Chapter 79: Power of the Pure Blood
Before Johan’s eyes, a crimson status window flashed repeatedly.
Brrr.
The Seed of Living Spirit he had kept within his body reacted violently—
as though warning that its original master was in danger.
At the sa ti, the Seed of Living Spirit began forming a black thread connecting to Vivian Astraia.
Vivian is in danger?
Arabella couldn’t possibly have that much power.
Unless—
That calm, confident smile...
Did she bring sothing outrageous from the Grand Witches’ Assembly?
Or perhaps Samuel had pulled so trick while holding her hand.
Either way, if they had encountered a Forbidden Book, they would possess at least partial knowledge of the many secrets and hidden fortunes of this world.
Countless possibilities rushed through his mind, but none could be confird.
More than anything, he didn’t have the luxury to consider them one by one.
He had to run.
Before it was too late.
＊＊＊
Tap. Tap...
A crimson droplet slid down her pale cheek and fell to the ground.
“Haa... haa...”
Vivian slowly steadied her breath.
[The Sacred Relic ‘Thorn of the Golden Tree’ forces the fulfillnt of the oath.]
Golden thorns sprouted from her heart.
If she defied the will of the Grand Witches’ Assembly and used her power, the thorns inflicted ever-growing pain—
and eventually, would strip her of her life entirely.
In short, it was a kind of shackle created by the Assembly to control the witches under them.
The witches themselves could never have imagined such a curse existed.
Once caught by the pursuers, there was no way to escape.
“You really are persistent.”
Arabella muttered with a sigh laced in irritation.
To still resist even after being pierced by the Thorn of the Golden Tree—
even the great Witches of the Moon couldn’t have held out this long.
Though it was a single-use relic, the Thorn of the Golden Tree possessed absolute power.
“What are you holding out for? Don’t tell you actually believe in that so-called Transcendent... That’d be idiotic. You know it yourself, right? There’s no one who’d step up for a pathetic witch being beaten this miserably.”
At Arabella’s words, Vivian instinctively opened her mouth.
“No, he...”
But the words “is different” never ca out.
When one lost their usefulness, they were discarded.
That was the law of this world.
Yes—
She knew.
Even if no one said it aloud...
She, who had been abandoned countless tis, knew that truth better than anyone.
He must have seen her pitiful state and decided she was no longer worth using.
Changwol and Napwol.
For Transcendents who had reached the Eleventh and Twelfth Moons, finding a new pawn wasn’t difficult.
Throb!
A pain sharp enough to slice her soul crushed her heart.
It wasn’t from the golden thorn.
It was from the hope—now fading—that this ti might have been different.
Yet still... why?
Thump.
She didn’t want to give up.
He was the one who had noticed the scent soaked into her maple tea.
The one who had looked at her for who she truly was.
The one who had promised her “next ti,” even after she kept disappointing him.
All those fragnts of attachnt delayed the inevitable end.
Creak...
Vivian staggered to her feet, leaning heavily on her staff.
Thin streams of blood trickled from her nose and mouth.
“If you push yourself any further, you’ll really die. Do you think you’re the only witch who’s betrayed the Assembly? This isn’t sothing you can overco with willpower or determination. The Thorn of the Golden Tree doesn’t allow that.”
Arabella scoffed.
“...You’re right.”
Even resisting caused the thorn in her heart to thrash more violently.
At this rate, she wouldn’t last long.
She wasn’t afraid of dying.
Only—
She didn’t want to keep cowering in the pit of the abyss, running away.
She wanted to be soone who didn’t disappoint.
Soone who wouldn’t be abandoned.
Soone who could soar freely across the night sky, inheriting the power of the Moon.
That was all she wanted.
“Greed.”
Vivian whispered toward the air.
“Kieeeek!”
“Keeeek!”
Sothing with countless fangs answered her call and erged.
“Devour it all.”
The black wave surged straight toward Arabella.
Sparks scattered in every direction as unimaginable magic swallowed the space.
“I told you. It’s useless.”
Arabella remained still, tapping her staff against the ground.
Thud!
A golden hexagram unfolded at her feet.
And in that instant—
Puh-puh-puhk!
Golden thorns burst forth from within the Greeds.
They were torn apart, impaled—
black blood and bodily fluid spraying like fountains.
“Kieeeek!”
“Keeeek!”
The prohibition placed on their master applied to her familiars as well.
The rciless punishnt swept away the Greeds in an instant.
“Next is our fearless Exile’s turn. Don’t worry too much. I won’t kill you—there are things I need to torture out of you first.”
[Arabella activates the Thorn of the Golden Tree – ‘Punishnt of Fla’!]
Thorns made of fire slashed Vivian’s body from all directions.
It didn’t threaten her life, but it allowed her to experience pain pushed to its utmost limit.
Crack! Crash!
After more than a minute, the Punishnt of Fla finally ended.
“Cough…”
Vivian’s body collapsed to the ground—
like a puppet with its strings cut.
She simply fell toward the earth.
And then—
Thud.
Soone caught Vivian by the shoulder.
A warmth spread through her.
Her half-closed eyes widened.
“Johan… sir?”
There was no mistake.
The one she had believed had abandoned her—
and yet, the one she still trusted would be different—
that very person stood before her now.
She hadn’t been abandoned.
Not this ti.
“Vivian Astraia.”
Johan slowly opened his mouth.
“Yes?”
“You endured well.”
He told her—
that she had done well,
that she had fulfilled her role admirably.
“…Yes.”
Vivian bit her trembling lips.
“Now, rest for a while. From here on, I’ll take over.”
Johan gently laid Vivian on the ground and began walking toward Arabella.
＊
“Huh?”
Arabella tilted her head as she watched Johan approach.
His eyes still burned with life—
but his steps staggered,
his breathing ragged with exhaustion.
His magical power felt barely like a flicker, nothing more than an empty shell.
“There’s no way you’re that Transcendent Vivian was babbling about, right?”
At best, his Celestial Rank was that of the Third Moon.
And in his current exhausted state, he was no different from so lowly orc.
Yet this insect dared to approach her without fear?
It was almost laughable.
Johan ignored her scorn and looked back.
He saw Vivian—
breathing faintly, struggling for air.
—Vivian Astraia.
—You’ve done well.
Had those words he said earlier been out of pity for a wounded girl?
Or were they simply part of the play he shared with her?
He didn’t know himself.
But one thing was certain—
seeing her collapsed and covered in blood made him feel...
“Disgusted.”
Yes.
That was the only way to describe it.
It wasn’t reason or benefit that moved him now.
Click.
Johan downed the Advanced Mana Potion he had obtained from Gluttony in one gulp.
Vwooom!
A hot surge coursed through his veins, flooding his body with new vitality.
Next—
a new item appeared in Johan’s hand.
A crystallized essence of Gluttony, capable of refining blood and pushing potential to its extre.
He might regret using it later.
There were countless possible uses for it—
and items that could raise potential or recreate one’s pri were few across the entire Episode.
However—
the World of Forbidden Books had always been that way.
A choice that seed reckless did not always lead to the worst future.
Follow your heart.
Follow your emotions and bonds.
Just keep moving forward.
[All ‘Pure Blood’ is consud.]
[‘Crystal of the Green Fla’ is used.]
[‘Ring of Crimson Lotus’ is now charged with the hottest Karma Fla.]
The gathered mana was transmuted into fire through the ring.
In that instant—
BOOM!
A force beyond comprehension slamd into his entire body.
It was not power he could possibly endure at his current level.
Therefore—
[‘Blood Vessel’ constructs the Temple of Blood.]
He manifested it.
A vessel capable of recreating the power and experience of his thousandth cycle.
The sa body that had once fought countless Transcendents across infinite skies.
Kwak kwak kwak kwak!
Blood droplets gathered, distorting and remaking the surrounding scenery.
“N-no way… my domain—my world of the Thorn of the Golden Tree—is collapsing?”
Arabella stamred.
Her tone and expression, once full of mockery, had changed completely.
And for good reason.
The aura emanating from his opponent was on a level she could not even begin to fathom.
“Vivian Astraia.”
Johan looked toward Vivian.
Vivian, too, t his gaze with trembling eyes.
“Rember this with your own two eyes. Who it is that you follow.”
This was—
a story from a distant, yet-to-co future.
A realm one could only reach after countless feats and experiences.
But even if that future seed impossibly far away, that did not make it false.
He would reach it.
Step by step, each stride would one day lead to that peak once more.
Thus, this was rely the recreation of that future in the present.
Johan unleashed every drop of mana he had accumulated to his very limits.
[Special Ability ‘Age of Ataraxia’ activates!]
Fssshhh—
Johan’s hair began turning into radiant silver.
Where once only the front strands were silver and the rest black—
now only the front remained black, while the rest transford into shining silver.
His right eye, too, turned crimson.
The blood of the most noble vampire—
and the blood of the great hero who had once saved humanity—blood within him.
A hybrid, yet purer than any pureblood.
Thus—
now, it was possible.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Apocalypse of Genesis’ activates.]
Behind Johan, a crimson halo manifested.
Black wings spread open as countless bloodstorms raged through the red-stained space.
If each individual’s distinct power was called a Unique Ability...
then a Unique Holy Spear was the final destination one could reach.
A blessing of the world granted only to the chosen.
This ti, it was not the Magus of the Void,
but the True Ancestor’s own Unique Holy Spear that blood.
“Ah… Aah…”
Vivian’s expression overflowed with indescribable emotion.
The surge of exhilaration and awe that dominated her entire being had long since erased the pain.
anwhile—
“Wh-what is this…? What’s happening right now?”
Arabella was utterly disoriented by the unfolding events.
This was a power and ability she had never seen before.
She had t nobles belonging to the Redmoon Corporation,
but none—absolutely none—had ever reached such a level.
A complete monster.
Now she understood, painfully so,
why that exiled witch had placed such faith in him.
But—
it was far too late for regrets.
“Wait—!”
BOOOOM!
A storm of spears shattered Arabella’s barrier completely.
“Gaaahhhh!”
Arabella was sent flying through the air.
The Thorns of the Golden Tree targeted Johan,
but when the crimson halo behind him released rays of fla, they were all consud.
Fwoooosh!
It was like facing the sun itself.
Everything that approached him was reduced to ashes— a sight far removed from the realm of reason.
[‘Blood Bind’ activates!]
Crackle!
Chains of blood manifested and bound Arabella in place.
“Urgh!”
She hastily swung her staff, transforming her body into a small butterfly, escaping in a flicker.
In an instant, she reverted to her original form, firing a flurry of spells while drawing her broom.
Vwooom!
Trying to buy ti in midair?
A pointless effort.
[Bloodline Connection ‘Dracula’s Demon Spear’ activates!]
The air around Johan split apart, revealing five Demon Spears.
They analyzed her movent patterns—predicting her next actions.
Paaang!
Without a hint of trajectory, the spears vanished— then reappeared, piercing Arabella’s limbs in flight.
As if that wasn’t enough, they drove her all the way into the cliff opposite.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Guaaaahhh!”
Arabella scread until her throat tore.
Spears had pierced both her arms and legs— and even her neck— pinning her firmly to the cliffside.
“Y-you don’t understand… you’re making a mistake. I’m an agent sent by the Grand Witches’ Assembly... If you kill , the entire Assembly will co after you…!”
Her last desperate threat before death.
At that futile defiance—
“It seems you’re the one misunderstanding sothing.”
Johan’s lips parted slowly.
“Do you truly believe I’d fear the likes of the Grand Witches’ Assembly?”
“……!!”
It wasn’t bluster.
His eyes spoke nothing but truth—calm, unshaken.
Arabella clenched her teeth, realizing it at last.
“Then at least… I’ll take her down with !”
A mutual destruction.
She intended to detonate this entire inner world.
“No. Unfortunately for you, it’s already over.”
The five Demon Spears had struck precisely at the points where the core of this mindscape was anchored.
They were aid at the hidden Golden Tree itself within the cliff.
Vwooom!
Lines connected the spears, and brilliant runes began to glow between them.
Crimson droplets scattered outward, shining beautifully.
[‘Crimson Night’ activates!]
The night turned red.
The drifting flas, the burning ash, the great tree with golden roots and thorns—
Krrr-rumble!
BOOOOOOM!!!
Arabella’s mindscape shattered into thousands of pieces.
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