Chapter 45: Battle of illusions
The Vampire World, Devdraean
Unlike what most people would imagine, the society of vampires looked a lot like humans. Their streets were bustling with people, shops were selling different things, even human slaves.
The sky was a blend of blackish-red colours, high in the sky was a red sun, emanating a cold foreboding feeling. The air of Devdraean was much purer than that of Earth, with strange plants growing all over the brownish land.
The population of Devdraean was more than 15 million, and due to their long ages, most of the vampires were extremely rich. On the road, many vampires could be seen with a chain in their hands connecting to the slave collars of their human slaves.
In vampire society, humans are seen as lower species, a source of food and a plaything. The public torture of humans was banned by the Vampire King, albeit it was perfectly normal to have slaves and do anything to them privately.
There are five pillars upholding power in Devdraean along with the royal family, the five count families. Each family handles a different aspect of society and maintains a balance of power.
In the middle of the land, a wall over thirty meters high encircled the capital. Only the noble vampires were allowed to live in the capital, which was the most secure part of land in the entire Devdraean.
Inside the capital walls, a mighty black castle could be seen, whose height was more than ten times higher than the walls. It was said that the castle has more than a thousand rooms, it was the place where the vampire king, Giure Grando, lives with his family.
Giure Grando, the progenitor of vampires, is the strongest vampire. No one knew his true appearance, it was said that he have enough strength to destroy the whole earth in less than a single minute, he have been alive for almost eight millennia.
Currently, inside one of the rooms in the castle, Giure was sitting on a throne, which has two wolf skulls on the armrests on each side. His first daughter was standing beside him, with an expression of curiosity and mischief.
Both were looking at the big portal screen opened in front of them, through which they could see Jayden fighting Shadow. They have been observing Jayden for a long time.
As Giure observed Jayden fight, he purse his lips slightly and turns his gaze towards his firstborn, his daughter, Amelia Grando. She is the most talented among all his children, whether it be politics or wars, she was always better than vampires even older than her.
Amelia was more than two thousand years old, her beauty was famous across all the vampires, which caused two count families to start a war to win her favour.
Amidst the fighting sound, a domineering voice rang as Giure spoke, his voice despite not being loud emanated an unshakable confidence and pressure of his strength.
" Amelia, now that we have observed him for so long, what are your thoughts about him? "
Instead of answering immediately, Amelia looked at Jayden for a few seconds then replied in a respected tone:
" He's getting stronger very quickly, but he didn't have that charm about him. He's still too kind-hearted, soft, and kinda stupid, to be honest. I don't think he packs any surprises. "
While replying her expression didn't have the curiosity and interest she had, when they found out about Jayden. After pausing she continued:
" Maybe, the orb made a mistake. "
" Let's observe for a bit longer, if nothing changes then we'll eliminate him. " Giure said as a slight reddish aura was released from his body, forming cracks in the nearby walls.
Seeing the cracks, Amelia just shook her head and after a few seconds, the walls returned to normal, without a single crack.
" How's the condition of Coven? " Giure Grando asked as a layer of seriousness appeared on his face.
Coven was a group of vampires, living on Earth, who performs various rituals and sacrifices, in order to turn Earth under the rule of vampires. They fight against humans and are a big cult.
" I heard they're preparing for something big, I just hope they don't start a war with the humans again. " slight worry could be seen on Amelia's face, as she replied.
While looking at her daughter, the vampire king shook his head and thought:
' If only all my children were as good as my Amelia. '
" How is the youngest, is she still playing her small pranks? " Giure asks thinking about his youngest daughter, who was just six years old.
" Her little pranks are getting bigger day by day. She recently set a noble's house on fire, after quarrelling about some anime. " With a frown, Amelia answers.
" Fufufu, let her enjoy, just make sure of her safety," Giure said thinking of his cute little daughter, she always makes him stand on edge.
After talking about a few more things they turn their gaze to the screen in front of them, as both of them feel a big difference in Jayden.
With widened eyes, Amelia asks her father:
" What's happening? Is he really Jayden? "
Without answering, Giure Grando just glared at the screen, until it became a blur and then disappeared completely under the impact of a purple light, leaving the father-daughter duo, speechless and confused.
Giure looks at his daughter and seeing the sparks of curiosity and interest rising inside her eyes again, thoughts:
' That guy is in trouble now. '
******
Jayden was standing before Shadow, holding a knife in his hand. His expression was austere, as he looked at the man standing before him, but there was no panic in his eyes.
" Then face this. "
Shadow's indifferent voice reverberates around the gloomy surroundings, while he pulls the cloth away from his face revealing two pitch-black eyes with no pupils.
Jayden was a bit surprised at first, then looked at him with interest. Shadow stared into Jayden's eyes, trying to drown him in an illusion. After a few seconds, Jayden's eyes looked unfocused and he looked absent-minded.
Shadow had a smirk on his face, as he stepped towards Jayden and slashes his knife at Jayden's neck, beheading him instantly.
*thud*
Jayden's lifeless body fells to the ground, as blood spurted out of his severed neck. But before it touched the ground, his body turns into beautiful butterflies.
Shadow was stunned for a moment and the next moment without looking back, he slashes his blade backwards diagonally.
" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh "
As Shadow splits a body into two, he saw that the person he had killed was in fact one of the assassins. His anger rose, while he searched for Jayden.
" Tch, tch, I guess the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree after all. Just like the, now dead, Mr vice leader you are killing your own men. "Jayden's voice came from all around Shadow, making it hard to find his exact location.
Then a silhouette appears, shrouded in a blackish light, walking slowly towards Shadow. When he saw Jayden appear before him, Shadow ran towards Jayden and pushed the tip of the knife at Jayden's throat.
"hmph"
Jayden harrumphed, and just when the blade was a few cm away from his neck, he flicked his finger and struck the sharp blade with it.
Shadow looked at Jayden in disdain, thinking of it as Jayden's final futile resistance. But after a second, under Shadow's stupified gaze, Jayden's finger met the blade and the knife turns into sand, slipping through his fingers.
Before Shadow could assess the situation, a palm print appears on his chest, as he was thrown back more than 500 meters. He coughed lut blood and looked at Jayden with caution.
Jayden still had his calm smile, walking casually towards Shadow. With each of his steps, black figures appeared behind him. At the first step, there were two figures behind him, then at the second step it became four, then eight and so on.
By the time Jayden appeared in front of Shadow, countless figures were standing beside him, staring at Shadow hungrily.
" Then, Adios. "
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