Chapter 253: Chapter 251: Ataraxia, the Pureblood Empress (1)

Was this what it felt like to be completely overwhelmed?

The crushing pressure was immense.

So heavy that it was a struggle even to lift one’s head.

[Unique ability ‘Blood Lord’ is activated!]

The spreading red waves seemed to simultaneously herald the beginning and the end.

Shortly after, in order to prevent the destruction of the surrounding facilities due to magical overload, a blood barrier was completed.

With this, I could wreak havoc without concern of harming the empire.

“The bracelet of a turncoat… to think it held such power.”

Amulam muttered in disbelief.

He boasted that he knew more about the tower than anyone else, having presided over it for countless years.

Of course, that was to be expected.

The information gained through years and status was what truly defined knowledge.

Players who had been in the tower barely a year could not hope to match his depth of understanding.

But then…

‘He knows something I don’t?’

How could that be?

Losing in a battle of information?

No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t ignore the sight of Ataraxia’s clansmen appearing before me.

The harsh reality was undeniable.

“You… who in the world are you? How do you know all this?”

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Stop speaking in riddles and answer my question!”

“I understand you’re curious, but aren’t there more pressing matters, like putting out the fire under your feet?”

Jinhyuk cast a glance behind him.

There stood the queen, emanating a dire aura.

The resentment that had accumulated over time was beyond words.

The red spikes that appeared one after another over Ellis’s shoulder resembled harpoons, ready to be launched at any moment towards Decarsus’s hounds.

“Do you really intend to fight me in earnest? Even you can’t possibly hope to reverse such a vast difference in strength?”

Although the clansmen of Ataraxia joined the fray, their confinement over the long years left them lacking in actual combat power.

At best, only Velrus could match one of the Black Wings.

Furthermore, Ellis, restricted by a contract with a player, could not fully unleash the power of her heyday.

“Your tongue has grown too long, Amulam. Have you forgotten already? Even when all five of you clan leaders drew your blades against me, I never succumbed.”

Being outmatched in power didn’t matter.

Nor did the existence of restrictions.

To the lord of Ataraxia, such things were not but mere excuses.

“Without such a penalty, would you dare to bare your fangs at me?”

“That Amulam from back then… do not think I am the same as I was. Time has passed, and I have grown stronger. I am not who I was in the past.”

“Stronger, you say… How amusing that such words can be spoken so lightly.”

The conversation ended there.

Amidst the tide of blood…

“To those who once fell before and now seek to challenge the Lord, crush them all without mercy!”

“We will deliver unto Decarsus’s dogs the very hell we’ve endured. Prevent them from interfering in Lord Ellis’s battle by utterly defeating them!”

The dark shadows crossed back and forth in all directions.

***

The battle escalated dramatically.

Previously, the fight was merely over the possession of an object.

Now, it was a full-scale war for the survival of a lineage.

The sounds of combat filled the air, along with severed limbs scattering in every direction.

These were elite fighters selected from each house, and the intensity and level of battle far exceeded any conventional understanding.

Various blood-made spells and techniques filled the sky, while screams and shouts of wrath enveloped the battlefield.

Just then…

“Was it you, human, who has made things so complicated!”

A vampire appeared before Jinhyuk, targeting his unhealed injuries for a surprise attack.

But…

Just as he swung his claws, the vampire froze in place.

“Argh…?”

“How dare you, attempting to harm my contractor with that filthy hand…?”

Ellis’s eyes turned icy cold as her voice filled with more anger than ever before.

In that instant…

A crunching sound, and the vampire’s arm crumbled away.

“Arrgh!”

With a series of snaps and pops, his body was crushed beyond recognition.

“Preyrad… fell in a single blow?”

“To think a member of the Black Wings would perish so easily…”

The remaining vampires hesitated and retreated.

Without need for incantations, mere thought was enough to unleash such power.

This was an entirely different league of strength.

It would take hundreds, if not thousands, of ordinary clansmen to even scratch her.

‘I’d better treat her well from now on.’

Jinhyuk couldn’t help but gulp as well.

Ellis parted her lips slightly.

“Thanks.”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

Ellis savored the words once again.

For freeing her kin.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

For the opportunity to regain their lost honor and pride.

She was truly grateful.

Despite the release from restrictions, conveying emotions was still awkward.

“Save your thanks for later. It’s not over yet.”

Ellis’s strength as a head of the house was known, but so was Amulam’s not to be underestimated.

Becoming a clan leader was not a title one got for free.

Proving that point, Amulam’s blood magic engulfed Ellis.

Explosions and eruptions!

With a series of compressions, dozens of blood droplets detonated.

The explosion was immensely more powerful than anything used before—worthy of a full-powered assault against Ellis.

However…

She remained unscathed.

From within the explosion, Ellis’s hand was seen rotating a slender three-meter spear.

“My turn, I guess.”

[Ellis activates ‘Blood Spear’!]

The spear, enhanced by seven revolutions, pierced through the air like a flash of lightning.

Amulam’s body twisted into a weird shape.

But just as that happened, his body disintegrated into dozens of bats.

Cursing underneath!

Jinhyuk and Ellis’s gaze locked onto the ceiling.

Amulam had just completed a massive magic circle, soaring high.

‘Astrexica’. An ancient magic using air and blood as conduits.

Ellis, about to escape using a blink skill, found her ankles tightly bound by six serpents.

The escape routes were perfectly predicted and blocked.

“No escape for you.”

Lightning, bloated with blood, struck down upon Ellis’s head.

With a crackling sound…

An onslaught of lightning seared her body repeatedly.

Rocks and marble evaporated, leaving nothing but embers consuming the air.

Amulam smiled triumphantly, believing in the perfect execution and timing.

But just as the final compression was about to happen, Ellis’s unique chant broke through.

“No way!”

Amulam gasped, feeling the air change.

The sparks that were raging everywhere had vanished.

Then, a sound of something shattering.

Crack!

Part of the ‘Red Blood Vessel’ broke, and Ellis reemerged.

[Ellis activates her unique chant, ‘Revelation of the Apocalypse’!]

“Seems you’ve forgotten, I’m not the only one with a unique chant.”

Black feathers covered her wings—a strange, devilish-angelic visage that instilled shudders on its own.

Behind her, a massive fiery ring appeared, ancient runic letters flaring around its edges.

It was a concoction of seduction, decadence, frightful beauty, and ominousness.

This was Ellis’s fully-armed state.

And when this unique chant manifested in the tower of the past…

…the five clan leaders and their kin had lost half their forces.