First Clash

Luke saw the flame hair girl the moment he blocked her path. He also saw the way her purple-gold pupils flickered with surprise and astonishment when she saw him.

And he saw how her complex pupils turned calm and peaceful like the deepest well before she straightened to her full snake height and rained flames on him and his pack.

"Step back! Step back! Back away from the flames!" He snarled at the motionless vampires.

Luke hurriedly dodged the raging flame, something in his gut telling him that it was no ordinary flame.

In the next instant, he saw the vampires that were still standing in front of her, not giving the red-gold flames any importance, burn brighter than any fire he had ever seen, turning into ashes before they could even cry out in pain.

Looking dazedly at the flame hair serpentine, Luke realized for the first time since their first meeting that he had never taken the girl seriously. Somewhere in his subconscious mind, he deemed her as zero threat. However, the sight before him subverted that belief in an instant.

Versailles did not want to engage in a life or death battle with the vampires. Her first priority was ensuring the safety of the little snakes. Coiling the fledglings protectively in her tail, she took out her long-forgotten bow and arrow, lunged into the sky, and aimed straight for the center of the vampires' foreheads.

"Spread out! Spread out and encircle her! The arrows are aiming for the center of your foreheads. Do not allow them to hit you!" Luke alarmedly shouted towards his fellow vampires, surprised by the decisiveness and reaction speed of the girl.

She was like a whirlwind, rapidly firing fired infused arrow after arrow, dashing left and right as she swung her arrow-like a sword slashing at the throats of the enemies in her path, gliding through the encirclement as she broke her way out. All the while her tail was wrapped like a shield around the wide-eyed snakes.

"Encircle her!" Luke chased after the serpentine as he hollered at the dazed vampires.

The ferocity and power she displayed caught the vampires completely off guard, surprising them to the point where they could not even react to save their own lives.

No wonder the snake clan could snatch a spot among the six supreme clans even though the leaders of the clan were all females.

They were just as ferocious and deadly as any Nar realm creature and underestimating them would be equivalent to inviting one's death.

Collecting their thoughts, the vampires attempted to follow Luke's order to encircle the serpentine. However, some things were easier said than done.

"Ahhh!"

A vampire shrieked at the top of his lungs as a fire arrow plunged itself into his arm, turning his whole hand into ashes.

"Move out of the way! Move out of the way! Ahhh!"

Another shriek pierced the sky as a second vampire hopped back bumping into another behind him.

Jumping over the shrieking and hopping vampires, Versailles was just about to breathe in relief when the shadow of the dark-haired man blocked her path.

"This is as far as you go." He declared in a gloomy voice, his pale-blue eyes as cold as the snowy plains, pricking her flesh as if they were shooting out icicles into her skin.

"Is that so? We will have to see." Versailles replied calmly.

Luke was disturbed by her unperturbed attitude. The serpentine was powerful, true, but she was still only one person, alone. She might have been able to stand her ground with 11 against 1 before, but that was only because she caught them by surprise.

Now that they knew her strength and how powerful she was, they would not make the same mistake again.

So, did she seem so indifferent? As if she did not find them a threat?

What Luke did not know was that Versailles was not indifferent, but tensed. Because she knew that her greatest advantage, the element of surprise was gone now. From here on out, it would be an all-out battle. But such a battle was not one she could afford as she still needed to ensure the safety of the fledglings.

As such, she had to think of something and to do that, she needed to stay calm. In order to find a way out, she forced herself to calm down which appeared as indifferent and unperturbed to the surrounding vampires, alerting them.

Twirling her fire-infused arrow in her right hand, Versailles beckoned to Luke in a 'show me what you got' gesture with her left, her eyes provocative, her stance challenging.

Luke watched the serpentine with suspicious eyes and charged.

Versailles took in a deep breath and retreated a bit, groaning inwardly about how many vampire beasts were in this place. If she was by herself, she could have attempted to use her 'glowing soul' ability to teleport herself a brief distance away before proceeding to the Floating Flame Island.

However, she had not mastered the 'glowing soul' ability enough to teleport herself with a baggage.

Raising the fire arrow, she poured the purest of her flame energy into it and threw. The charging vampire stopped upon sensing the attack and dodged. The arrow sunk into the ground and began to quiver, then suddenly, it exploded with a bang.

Half of the land and sky was covered in red-gold flames as the nearby flaming cracks and heated rocks blew and flew out, hot shrapnel's sinking brutally into the flesh of the free targets standing around. Horrified shrieks and cries resounded as the vampires stepped back.

Versailles, looking a bit pale faced, scanned her surroundings, tucked her tail into her body, and slid through the red-gold flames.

Because the flames were her creation, they did not have the slightest bit of effect on her, allowing her to not only hinder her enemies, but also use the moment their attention was diverted to make her escape through them. Once getting to the side of the vampires, she flashed past them before they could react.

Luke, enraged with shame at being deceived, charged after the serpentine.

Versailles took out another arrow, infused it with more of her flame and threw it behind her. Another boom sounded out. The ground exploded, flames and rocks flying into the sky, dying the heaven a red-gold glow.

"That red-gold light, could she have been the one to produce the reaction at the valley of raining flames?" Luke wondered as the flames fanned out, blocking his way forward.

Finally making out of the encirclement and throwing off the chasing vampire, Versailles felt relieved. But she did not dare to relax her guard before reaching the snake abode. After a long trek through valleys of flames and raging rivers, she finally spotted the floating flame island hovering above the erupting volcanos.

Versailles's' face was absolutely pale now. Her purple eyes feverish and her lips bloodless. But she still did not stop. Nearing the island, she lunged into the sky and fell to the ground, skidding to a halt some distance away from the netherworld flowers of the snake abode.

Rising back up, she tiredly slithered to the three-headed snake statue, pressed on the eyes. Once the portal opened, she dragged her snake body onto the center of the crack, fighting to keep her eyes open even as the bright glow of the portal covered her body.

As the cool temperature hit her skin and the verdant foliage and vegetations entered her sight, Versailles could no longer fight off the exhaustion dragging her consciousness deep into its embrace.

Giving one final struggle, she instinctively uncoiled her tail from her body and fell to the ground limply, sinking into oblivion.