Chapter 376: Combining Bloodlines
Barely had the words left Zyren’s mouth when everyone began to flee.
Zyren was the most serious person they knew. If he was willing to go so far as to burn a monster that was already wrecking havoc across the city, then they needed to go even farther.
Aira understood immediately. She began backing away, her movements unsteady, helped by Lord Drehk who grabbed her arm and pulled her to move faster. It was obvious that Zyren was waiting for them to clear out before setting the monster ablaze. The damage would be severe—worse than what had already been done—but it was something he had clearly decided was necessary.
They had barely covered a short distance when a voice thundered across the courtyard.
It was as loud as Zyren’s—but vastly different.
Inhuman.
It made their stomachs ripple with unease.
"Use fire... and I’ll burn your precious city!" the beast warned.
Its black eyes glowed with malicious intelligence as it looked down at the guards retreating through the castle gates. It tried to swing its tentacles toward them, but Zyren did not stop moving—not even for a second—cutting off every attempt, forcing its attention back to him.
That only angered it further.
It screamed and growled with hatred, the sound splitting through the night as tentacles flailed wildly, smashing walls, tearing through towers, ripping apart stone as though it were paper.
Zyren moved like a shadow among destruction, launching punch after punch into its core, targeting the thick black mass at its center while avoiding the heavy limbs it swung around like battering rams.
The guards had their orders.
They acted immediately.
Without hesitation, they ran into the depths of the castle and began rolling out barrel after barrel of oil, pushing them into the courtyard one after another. None of them dared to approach too closely. They knew Zyren would handle the rest.
They placed torches separately, ensuring he wouldn’t need their presence any longer—
—and then they turned and bolted.
The monster saw.
It raised its massive head and roared at the sky, fury vibrating through its entire form. If things continued like this, Zyren would gain the upper hand.
It could not allow that.
With a violent contraction, its body shrank slightly. Flesh twisted and reformed. From its back, two enormous wings tore outward, slick and black. In one powerful beat, it lifted itself off the ground.
Zyren had just landed when it ascended.
The beast gathered power at its core, its chest glowing faintly red before it opened its massive mouth, revealing a wolffish grin.
King? More like ashes.
Fire exploded downward.
Raw, violent flames poured toward Zyren, red and blinding, but the devastation was more than just heat. The fire consumed everything it touched—stone blackened, wood disintegrated, air itself seemed to scream.
And then—
It turned its head.
Aiming directly at where Aira and the others were fleeing.
From the sky, fire rained down on them.
How were they supposed to defend against that?
They tried.
They truly did.
But it was like trying to stop droplets of rain with a sword.
The vampires surrounded Aira instantly, covering her as best as they could, using their bodies as shields. Lord Drehk pulled her down. Lord Noctare raised what little barrier he could without destroying his own mind. Even Savira stepped forward despite her age.
Still—
It wasn’t enough.
When the flood of fire finally stopped, the air was thick with the scent of burnt flesh and the metallic tinge of blood.
"It burns..." Aira muttered under her breath.
Her body would heal—but unlike vampires who could take blood and regenerate almost instantly, she was still human. The bond had strengthened her, yes, but it did not change her nature entirely.
Her neck.
Her face.
Her arms.
Blistered and charred in places.
She forced herself upright.
Looking around, she realized she had no right to complain.
The vampires looked worse.
Their skin had blackened in several areas. Clothing had burned away. Savira herself looked as though she had been dragged through flames—yet the old healer simply straightened her back and fixed her sharp gaze on Aira the moment she stood.
"We’ll head toward the residential district," Savira said calmly. "Find a noble’s home and stay there for the time being."
They began moving again.
But far slower than before.
It was almost cruelly ironic that Aira—despite her injuries—was one of the few who could still walk properly. The others had taken the brunt of the flames shielding her.
She couldn’t imagine the level of pain they were enduring.
Yet not one of them showed it on their faces.
Back in the courtyard—
Zyren’s expression was blank.
But his eyes blazed.
The monster was still in the air, spewing fire across rooftops, clearly trying to create chaos large enough to force Zyren into retreat.
Zyren no longer hesitated.
He grabbed one of the oil barrels with ease and launched himself upward, using the sides of buildings as footholds. Stone cracked beneath each leap as he propelled himself toward the sky.
The beast saw him coming and swerved to avoid a direct collision.
It expected him to throw the barrel.
Instead, Zyren did something far more deliberate.
He burst the barrel mid-air, pouring oil outward in a wide arc without caring that more than half of it scattered uselessly across the rooftops.
With the creature’s massive size—
More than enough drenched its back and wings.
The smell of oil hit instantly.
Fear flickered across the monster’s face.
This time—
Zyren grinned.
He tossed the torch.
The beast reacted quickly, diving sharply to evade the falling flame. The torch missed its core, igniting only a section of oil that splattered across broken stone.
But that single moment of hesitation was enough.
The monster calculated.
It had underestimated him.
They were evenly matched.
Continuing this fight would lead to serious injury—possibly death.
It chose survival.
With a violent beat of its wings, it turned sharply, attempting to flee into the darkness beyond the city walls. It would retreat. Hide. Regenerate.
Return with a new army.
But there was no chance Zyren would allow that.
His body suddenly doubled in size.
Muscles expanded violently beneath torn fabric. Fluffy ears pushed through his hair. Claws lengthened. His aura shifted—wild and feral.
Savira had warned him against doing this.
Suppressing his vampire genes—even partially—to allow his werewolf blood to dominate was dangerous. The balance within him existed for a reason.
But Zyren made the decision without hesitation.
He forced his vampire side down.
Just enough.
Power exploded through him like a second heartbeat.
The result was exactly as he had expected.
Speed.
Raw, monstrous speed.
He vanished from the rooftop—
—and reappeared mid-air behind the fleeing beast.
