Rising (1)

Swoooshhh!!! Swoooshhh!!! Swoooshhh!!!

The fifteen ice shards accelerated past the speed of sound and eventually exceeded a pace that I could keep track of. The inertia of the falling ice became so intense that they resembled comets falling from the sky.

"Fuck!!!"

All of the True Vampires that attacked us were being targeted. It didn't matter if they focused on me, my parents or even Irina. All of them were facing the wrath of my power. Some of them tried to evade the falling ice, but I made sure that the icy comets were locked onto their fleeing bodies using my spatial ability. So that left them with only one viable option.

BOOMMM!!! BOOMMM!!! BOOMMM!!!

The shards landed accurately on all of their targets, creating an impact crater with every hit. Most of the True Vampires were unable to defend against my attack and had their bodies viciously pierced through. Those that were lucky managed to barely scathe through without any serious injury, but they were likely shell shocked by the impact.

"Hoh… None of them died? I guess my power is still lacking…"

I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. I'd thought that using the ice from the Winter Graveyard, I would be able to kill the bastards that attempted to attack me. Alas, True Vampires had extraordinary recovery abilities and had tenacious bodies. It would take more than just pure ice shards to kill them for good.

"Should I try again?"

I was tempted to call forth another barrage, this time to truly end their miserable lives. However, I felt my world spin as I attempted to call forth more magic power. Catching myself before I lost all motor functions, I held my palm up on my face and purged the headache through sheer will.

'F-Fuck… I used too much magic…'

This was a rarity for me. I usually trained for hours upon hours every day, and most of my sessions involved limit-testing, where I exhausted all of my magic. Still, the amount of magic power I'd used throughout the day did seem excessive.

I crushed Trent in the morning. Killed an Oghythe on Irina's behalf. Fought a plethora of Outer Demons, including the Kouthus, which exhausted a considerable amount of my magic power. I learned and probably overused my spatial magic. And finally, I fought against fifteen True Vampires where I used everything I had left in the tank to break the Ice Dome to create falling comets and defeat said Vampires.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that I was spent.

"Brother! Are you alright?!"

"Y-yeah…"

I said that, but truth to be told, I was feeling extremely sleepy. All it took was one slight push, and my consciousness would have slipped into darkness. Still, I couldn't just leave Irina to fend against her foes alone. Through sheer willpower, I kept standing as I stared at the fifteen True Vampires who were still attempting to recover from their injuries.

"Irina, let me finish them."

"No! You're too fatigued right now! Let me deal with them!" The gorgeous young lady snapped her head back at the fifteen individuals, her Vampiric fangs sharpening by the second. "They dared to attack you! In front of me, no less! I shall make sure they pay the price!"

"No, Young Miss. Let's stop here."

"Variel! Are you on their side?!"

"No," the elderly butler shook his head before pointing a finger to the sky. "You should know that I will always be on your side. However, even if we joined forces, I don't think we will be able to kill fifteen Everwinters when there are three Elders here."

"Huh?"

Using what little strength I had left, I followed Variel's finger up and sure enough, the three Elders that began the Winter Hunt were staring at our group with wary eyes. No, to be more precise, all of their gazes were locked onto me.

Curiosity, apprehension, shock, anger…

A myriad of emotions was plastered all over their faces. Most likely, they were called because a hole had been created in the Ice Dome, and they needed to find the culprit. However, rather than a powerful Outer Demon or an elite Everwinter, they discovered that the person responsible for desecrating their impregnable Ice Dome was just a mere boy toy that they'd overlooked.

Haha, it did feel a little liberating to see their flabbergasted faces.

"Brother… Just leave the rest to me. You take a nice nap, alright?"

"No, I can still…"

"Sleep."

Suddenly, the drowsiness that I had been keeping at bay overwhelmed me all at once. Darkness enveloped my consciousness as I felt strength leaving my already fatigued body. Although I had attempted to fight back the sleepiness, I was no match for the accumulated fatigue I'd built up. The last thing I saw was my sister's proud face, smiling down at me like a shining ray from the warm Sun.

❖❖❖

Due to the extraordinary circumstances this year, the annual Winter Hunt came to an abrupt halt. It was a scandal that sent shockwaves through the Everwinter House, one that gathered every single High Elder, Administrator and even the Matriarch herself into one room.

Irina Everwinter, one of the heirs-in-training as well as the Matriarch's favourite granddaughter, had been attacked on Everwinter soil. The perpetrators claimed that they were acting alone in response to her taking their kill, but everyone with a brain could tell that the factional war for dominance had something to do with the attempt.

Needless to say, everyone involved in the attack had been thrown into jail and was awaiting further investigation. Based on the Everwinter's own laws, they would be sentenced to harsh labour or even exiled for attempting to start an internal battle during the sacred Winter Hunt.

But honestly, none of the elites was worried about their sentencing right now. The more pressing issue was…

"Unbelievable… To think that a mere human could have destroyed the Ice Dome." One of the Elders couldn't help but remark. "Wasn't he just turned into a True Vampire a month ago? How did he obtain that power?"

"You need to be precise," another Elder frowned in response. "He didn't destroy the Ice Dome; he broke a hole through it. The Ice Dome itself recovered after a few seconds and regenerated the hole that he'd created."

"My question still stands. How does a mere one-month-old True Vampire damage the Ice Dome, designed to contain the Cthulhu? Must we reconsider how it's designed?"

The hall broke into a flurry of discussions, with each high-ranking member of the Everwinter House raising their own opinions. One thing led to another, and eventually, everyone started to talk over each other. Some wanted to hold Jin accountable for the damage that had been done, while others wanted to figure out what his origins were.

It was complete mayhem. Until…

"Have you forgotten that I'm here?"

That simple voice… That familiar tone… That was all it took for all of the Vampires in the room to close their mouths. Their faces turned pale as a shiver ran down their spine. Slowly pivoting their heads to the side, they fearfully laid eyes upon the one being that sat upon the throne.

"Matriarch, please forgive our unruly behaviour."

"Please punish us, Matriarch."

It didn't matter which faction they served; all of the Elders bowed in reverence as they waited on their Sovereign to speak. Matriarch Innocence sat back on her regal throne while lazily shaking her hands.

"I have left the administration for a thousand years, and all of you have forgotten how to act. Magnus, have you lost control over the House?"

"Of course not, honoured mother."

A muscular man donned in the most luxurious suit humanity had ever seen stood up and bowed to the white-haired Vampire. Like the Matriarch, he possessed an impeccable face with luscious long hair. In fact, if he stood side-by-side with the Matriarch, one might even mistake them as twins.

"I know that the Everwinter House runs on factional politics, but always remember… Strength can only come in unity. We will eventually eat each other apart if you keep fighting over small deadlocks. Remember the lesson from the Bloodbourne House."

Although the Matriarch seemed to be talking to the Steward of the House, her words resonated within the hearts of her subjects. Peace had made them forget where their true power lay. Other than the threat of the Outer Demons, the factions had lost many of their external enemies. And so, they had begun fighting with each other until even the threat of a talented young Vampire such as Irina was significant enough for them to launch an unprecedented attack.

It truly was a shame on the Everwinter House.

"Damien, although the culprits won't incriminate you, I know that they are from your faction."

"... My apologies, Matriarch."

A man who looked like he was in his twenties stood up and immediately bowed down. He was similarly donned in a suit, but it was much more ostentatious this time. From gold chains to earrings and tattoos. He seemed like a young scion who wanted to show off all of his assets.

"It was my fault for not controlling my subordinates. For that, I'll take full responsibility."

Matriarch Innocence smiled in satisfaction as she eyed down the rising supernova of her House.

"From the video evidence we have, the culprits didn't intend to hurt Irina. However, that doesn't mean I can easily forgive someone who went against my order. Damien… You know that punishment is due, right?"

"... I will accept whatever punishment you mete out, Matriarch."

At Damien's words, the Matriarch's eyes lit up red and magic power soon filled the room. Every True Vampire, whether they were a three-thousand-year-old Elder or a fifty-year-old heir-in-training, felt a mounting pressure weigh on their shoulders. To them, it felt like the Earth and sky had been inverted, pushing the weaker few down on their knees.

However, Damien remained standing. He held his chest up high and looked at the Matriarch with an unwavering will. The Matriarch's lips rose ever so slightly, somewhat impressed by the man's mindset. But, no matter how impressed she was, the punishment had to be meted out.

Almost by magic, Damien's left arm had been cleanly sliced off and instantly disintegrated into nothingness. At the same time, a pale white flame covered the man's wound, preventing blood from spilling all over the floor. Usually, the arm would regrow back in seconds with a Vampire's regenerative factor. But unfortunately, the flame seemed to be preventing any form of regeneration.

"For disobeying my order, you shall live fifty years without your left arm. My seal will dissipate once your sentence is up, and you can regrow your arm back."

Everything happened in a blink of an eye, from the sentence to the punishment. Damien barely had a chance to react to the Matriarch's invisible power.

"... Thank you for your mercy."

Even if he was unwilling, the faction master had to bow his head down in servitude. Besides, fifty years without an arm was nothing to the True Vampire. If anything, he got off easy as his subordinates had directly attacked the Matriarch's favoured granddaughter.

With Damien's matter put to rest, the Matriarch finally addressed the elephant in the room.

"The matter regarding the Ice Dome shall be closed. I've personally checked the tapes and examined the seals, and there's no permanent harm done to the Winter Graveyard. The Ice Dome is working as expected, and the seals have not degraded in the slightest."

"B-But, Matriarch! What about the human that broke a hole through the Ice Dome?"

"He's not a threat," Matriarch Innocence answered the anxious Elder with a bored voice. "His Aspect is unique and a bad match-up for the Ice Dome; that's why he destroyed it that easily. He was just lucky."

There were truths in the Matriarch's answer. Jin's control over space just happened to be the only weakness that the Ice Dome had. In fact, other barriers were protecting the Winter Graveyard just in case an Outer Demon possessing spatial abilities just like Jin appeared. So, there was no need to panic over some broken ice.

"S-So, what is your sentence?"

"Sentence? What sentence? The boy isn't even part of the Everwinter House." Matriarch Innocence couldn't help but break into laughter. "Besides, he didn't break any law, did he?"

"T-That…"

Yes, the Ice Dome was a bastion of pride for the Everwinter House, but there wasn't any law saying that it shouldn't be damaged. In fact, the members of the Everwinter House would always run tests by attacking the Ice Dome with their powers, just to see how much damage it could sustain.

One could even argue that Jin did the Everwinter House a service by showing what vulnerabilities the Ice Dome had.

"No harm shall befall upon the boy. That's my verdict."

"... Yes, Matriarch."

Although many had differing opinions, they could only bury their grievances. The Matriarch had the final say in the Everwinter House, and anyone who went against her word would suffer the same fate as Damien.

And with that final note, the meeting of the Everwinter House came to a successful close. Many left while dragging their feet, while others couldn't wait to get out of the room. Irina was one of those individuals, but alas…

"Irina, come with me."

"Yes, honoured grandmother…"

Irina's long day only seemed to get even longer.