10

 Lilith

Thornhill Dungeon

Kingdom of Ashtarium

October 12th 6414

4: 19 pm 

The exploration of the fake Thornhill in the Dungeon took more than an hour, with them going from one weapons store to another. According to Ben, there were some stores that they could sell the Mana core of the Mana beast that they killed to make some money, which they then used to upgrade their fighting gears by getting more durable armor, battle suits, and weapons. I didn't bother to sell any of my cores for I had a plan on what to do with them. So I stored the cores within my space ring. After we were done sightseeing, and buying new equipment, we found ourselves in a medium-sized well-known diner with a large patio where we were served a late lunch. I for one was hungry though not as hungry as the wolf boy, Ben, who was served a large meat bone with some veggies and fries on the side. The diner was beautiful with a warm, cozy feel to it, with the floating crystals that provided light inside the bar. The patio was underneath a large tree that offered shade from the relentless sun. Unlike outside where the sun was an artificial light created by the spelltech dome, within the Dungeon it was believed that the Sun that existed within the Dungeon was a naturally formed sun that was created to support the ecosystem of the space within the Dungeon. As such, most Vampires were known to be weaker inside a dungeon during the day. The younger ones would wear protective armor that offered protection against the sun as it could kill them. Only Older Vampires with a strong soul foundation could resist the harm that came from a natural sun although they were still weaker than when they were during night time. But all that didn't matter when it came to Ella. Ben and Neil didn't seem to notice it as they probably thought Ella's armor provided her protection, but the truth was that as a member of the Ashtarmel House, Ella was different from the other Houses and most Vampires. Vampires of the House of Ashtarmel possessed a unique physique among the Vampire race. Their unique Physique was known as the Day Walker physique, meaning that they were immune to the effects of the sun due to how special and different their bloodline was from their physique. I took a look at Ella who had a smile on her face as she chopped down on the sauce mixed rice. I couldn't help but be filled with satisfaction from seeing her happiness. This was the first time in a while I had seen her make a genuine smile, not the fake one she had been donning for the past two years. I took a sip of the ginger wine, stretching my back on the chair. As Ben and Neil began to talk about our next step when night came, I heard a bunch of commotion on the other side, followed by a familiar presence. I turned my head around to find a pair of green eyes on me.

 "Jennifer Mcclough," Neil whispered. "What's she doing here on the first floor," I could harbor a guess as to why she was here as she began to walk over to our table. Behind her were her groupies also.

"Looks like I found you, Lith," Jennifer said with a smile. "I could have sworn you would be out there hunting rather than relaxing in here."

"Why would you think that," I said. "You don't know me."

"I just figured as a Warrior like myself, you would be in the middle of the thrill," Jennifer replied. I noticed how she blatantly ignored the others, her focus only on me. "Though I do wonder why you waste your time with these people. As an upper-tier raider, shouldn't you be exploring the floors beyond this copied boring town."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in exploring the Dungeon or its treasures," I said. It was the truth. I was only here for one person, and that person was Ella.

"Ridiculous," One of the groupies said. "Lady Jen, why are you wasting your time with this outsider..."

"Silence," Jennifer said. There was a change in the temperature, with a slight chill spreading around them, a pressure emitted from the depths of Jennifer's soul. She then turned to me, a smile on her angelic face. Though I wasn't so sure if I could trust such a face. "If you don't care for the Dungeon's treasure, then why hold on to the enchanted tool? A sacred grade at best." Her hands went to the rapier that was by her waist.

"Do you want my blade," I said with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, but you would have to take it from my corpse," The atmosphere had turned chiller, putting everyone on edge.

"Let's settle this on the battleground, then," Jennifer said with a cold smile that did not fit her angelic face yet it did not take away from her beauty.

****

Everyone had gathered at an arena that was located in the entertainment district of the town. It was a large circle-like structure, with the edges curved up, made up of some kind of black material. There were different podiums in the arena, each podium a site for combatants to battle to their heart's desire. The seats in the arena were empty as no official events were going on, which was why the arena could also be used by those who wanted to face each other in a challenged duel. I didn't know a place like this existed in the real Thornhill, as I hadn't explored the town fully yet, but I was glad to know a place like this existed as I planned to come here to release some stress from time to time. I was on one of the podiums with the beautiful Jennifer Mcclough. Behind me were Ella, Ben, and Neil, both outside the yellow barrier that had been conjured to protect the outsider from any of the aftereffects of the duel. Behind Jennifer was her groupies. I could hear the panic in Neil's breath, a sign of his nervousness against me challenging the strongest human in the city. To be honest, a part of me wanted to take that title away from her which was why I had gladly accepted the challenge as I could have rejected her. I had nothing to prove against a bunch of strangers. But even I could feel the strength of the girl in front of me. Though I had no cultivation, my base strength was on the level of a Master rank cultivator. And there was the combat skill that I had developed over the years from being in actual fights and battles. Combine them and I was sure that I would have no problem against Master rank of Body cultivators. And let's not forget, I do have some tricks up my sleeves in case she pulls a fast one. Jennifer pulled her rapier sword, a straight slender sharp pointed blade that was long with a double edge. As she pulled the blade out, I felt the temperature drop, a veil of chilled mist emitted out of her body. I raised my eyes at it, not surprised to see that she probably possessed an Ability Factor. As a human cultivator grew in power in the first stage of their body cultivation, there were some cases of them awakening a special kind of ability contained within their genetic data. These abilities varied, in some cases the nature of the ability could be a result of belonging to a special family, or due to how talented the person was. I suspect the girl was the latter, as I doubt there was any family that was famous with the last name Mcclough.

"Are you not going to use your Battle art," I snickered, thinking of that idiot human who refused to use his battle art against me.

"Are you crazy," Jennifer said. "Of course, I'm going to use it against you. I take my challenges very seriously, you know." And then she got into a fencing stance, her front foot forward with her back foot behind the front. Her legs were slightly bent, meant to generate the explosive speed at which she would come at me. Her sword arm was in front of her while the other one was behind her. I couldn't help but admire the simple stance she held, unable to see any opening in front of me. I got into my fighting stance, waiting for the chance for us to attack.

"Ready! Set! Go!" the Referee shouted. And then we began to circle each other, none of us making an attempt at each other yet. The tension was high, I could feel my heart beating fast at the excitement. I wonder who would make the first move?  And just like that, we both lunged at each other. Jennifer's attack reached out to me quickly, thanks to the long reach the blade offered. I quickly dodged the first lunge, but then as swiftly as possible, a second one came at me. I dodged it again, and then a third came. And so the dance between Jen and I began as we moved from one spot to another, Jen's blade thrusting against me while I was forced to play the defensive role. I tried to change the tune of the dance, attempting to go on the offense but Jen was quicker, always ending up somehow back on the attack again. I couldn't find a way to get around her to attack due to how she left no opening. To be honest, I couldn't help but admire her skills. She was skilled with the sword, leaving no room for me. But I was not about to be on the defense for long. As we were dancing and leaping through the air, I pushed my right arm backward, contracting my muscles and then I let my fist pump through the air, the explosive power within my muscle was unleashed thanks to its expansion.

[Breaking Dawn] A shockwave blasted through the space between us, the force of it pushing Jen as far away from me as possible. Behind Jen a wall of ice appeared, the ice wall supporting the girl and reducing the force at which she was thrown backward. I groaned seeing how she diffused my attack. For me to win this duel, I needed to incapacitate, make her give up, or throw her out of the podium stand. Jen was having none of it. She smiled at me as she moved forward.

"What was that attack," Jen said. "I felt no Mana within it, just pure physical force."

"That's because there was none," I said. "I'm sorry but I'm not a cultivator," The look of disbelief on her groupie's face made me want to laugh. I never get tired of seeing it. I expected to see it on Jen's face but I was caught off guard by the look of admiration on her.

I figured as much," Jen said. "I sensed no spirit energy within your soul, and your soul core is blank which means your rankless."

"If you knew that, why did you challenge a non-cultivator," I said.

"That's because I knew you were a monster," Jen said as a hue of whitish blue light began to emanate from her. The light was dim, not much but a subtle thin layer of aura covered her body. "So tell me, if you're not using spells or Battle techniques, why name your attack," I blinked upon hearing her question. Breaking Dawn was one of the special moves I used when I wanted to finish a fight quickly, and it was one of my favorite ways to win. So forgive me if I wanted to give it a name like most Cultivators did with their fighting techniques. Yeah, a part of me had been jealous of them.

"Are we going to keep talking or fight," I said not wanting to answer her. Jen smiled as she covered her sword with the whitish-blue aura. As soon as she got into her stance again, she pointed her sword at me. Then she pierced the floor with the rapier's tip, creating a circle of white light around her. She did it three more times, creating white particles of light that flowed from the punctured floor. Then she pointed her sword at me.

[Frost calamity: First wave: Gale ripple] Building up at the tip of her sword were ice particles which were then released as an avalanche of cold air, flash-freezing whatever space it touched, creating a large case of ice that came at me with it's sharpen point. The attack was awfully fast, catching me by surprise as it came at me. I moved backward quickly, increasing my speed to dodge the attack. Jen released another ice particle of cold air, creating more spikes of ice that tried to pierce me. I leaped through the air evading all the ice spikes. I knew I couldn't afford to keep dodging them before the entire podium would become encased in ice. So I readied my fist and released another Breaking Dawn. The shockwaves broke through the next spikes that were coming for me, but Jen just kept sending more, the rate at which the ice was being made faster than even the shockwaves I was producing. As soon as some of the spikes broke into tiny flakes of snow, more came for me so I smacked my fist against it, using more than fifty percent power to break the entire thing. Jen's groupie's eyes widened at the sight of my physical strength which obliterated the entire wave of ice spikes. The air was awfully cold, cold vapor came out of both Jen and my mouth as we breathed in the cold air. I wondered what her next move would be...I grimaced in pain as I looked at my right hand. The fist that I used to destroy the waves, was freezing up, thin sheets of ice were manifesting around it.

"You didn't think my ice was ordinary ice, did you," Jen said. [Frost Calamity: Second wave: Fang gale slash] She released a white slash of light that flew at me, which I narrowly dodged, feeling the cold air that felt like a blade of ice. Then another beam of white cold air came at me again, but I leaped out of the way. Damn it. My right hand was busted as I couldn't feel it anymore. I tried to move it, but it was like a phantom limb, my lower arm disconnected from my brain. I could feel her will within the ice as it consumed my lower arm. Were all her attacks infused with her willpower? I wondered.

"What's the matter, giving up already," Jen said as she released the largest waves yet at me. I watched as the avalanche of ice came for me. I got into a battle stance, my right arm limping down, while my left fist was pulled backwards.

[Booming Dawn] I yelled as I unleashed a blast of pressurized air that created a beam of shockwave that blasted the avalanches away. The shockwave sent cold air throughout the podium making even the watchers break out in cold gasps. Jen had covered herself in a wall of ice to protect herself. As she was hidden, I decided to do something about both my arms which were consumed by the ice. I felt my Vitality activate my hidden trick as trails of black mist came out of it, the black mist devouring the ice that covered my lower right arm, and then the energy within the ice was gone, devoured by the mist, as it then targeted my left fist too. As the ice was gone from my arm, I used my right arm to grab the ball of Black mist that had devoured the attack. Then I dismissed it, taking the energy back into my body. Then I looked up at the wall of ice that protected Jen. With my left arm, I released a beam of white light that shot right at the wall. There was an explosion of ice and white flames that flew up, crashing against the yellow barrier that covered the podium.

"Nice one," Jen said from behind me. I turned around as she sent a diagonal slash at me. Luckily I was quick enough to avoid it, but narrowly as my speed had gone down, my body felt heavier than it did before. Damn it. This was why I didn't like using that. Yes, I also had an Ability Factor, which was something that was supposed to be impossible as I wasn't a Cultivator. But my body was not ordinary like any simple human body though using such an ability came at a cost. It put my body under a heavy strain just using it once. But it seems Jen had noticed the disadvantage I was in because she didn't let up her attack, coming at me harder as her multiple afterimages of blade rained down on me. I tried my best to avoid them, knowing full well I couldn't let the blade scratch me as it could pass her aura on me along with her ice. I had to admit that she was good. She was giving me a hard time, something I hadn't felt in a long time. I was not as fast as I was before, exhaustion both physically and mentally, which was slowing me down. And then there was the headaches. They had appeared, making it hard for me to concentrate. All of that plus Jen's skill made me react to the new attack that Jen sent at me. Her sword tip cut through the floor, a trail of white light following after it as she made another diagonal slash.

[Frost Calamity: Fourth wave: White haze] Huge wall of white light slammed against me, the cold air encasing my body in an Ice wall as it lifted me in the air. My entire body was frozen, only my head was left alone. Damn it. I won't let it end here. I tried to release my purplish-black mist again, but then a pang of pain tore through my body. My strength was gone....No, it was being siphoned from my body to the ice. Yes, my body heat was being stolen to strengthen the ice wall. I could feel Jen's strong will within the Ice, making it impossible to resist the absorption of my strength.

"My bloodline ability isn't simply freezing as most people tend to believe," Jen said as she put her sword away. "I can absorb heat itself, bringing the temperature down to below subzero, making it possible for me to freeze anything." 

"By heat, you mean life force," I said. feeling my own life force being drained.

"Any kind of energy would do," Jen replied. "Thanks to my enchanted tool, I can extend my reach. it seems our ability was a lot similar. Do you give up," I clenched my teeth, feeling a sick feeling in my stomach. Then I nodded my head. She put her hand on the ice, releasing a wave of heat that began to melt the ice. I raised an eyebrow at it. I couldn't believe how similar our bloodline ability was. She both could absorb heat and release it like I could devour energy with my purplish black mist and then release it as a blast of energy. As the ice melted, I was let go and landed on the floor. I almost stumbled on the floor, but I maintained my balance, keeping my head high as I pulled out the Enchanted blade.

"Here you go," I said.

"What's that for," Jen said. According to the rules of the challenge, the winner could request anything of the loser, so I assumed the reason why she had challenged me was for the damn weapon. It wasn't like I could even use it.

"Isn't this what you want," I said as the barrier that surrounded us was gone. Ella and the others ran towards me, Ella desperate to see if I was alright.

"What I want isn't the sword. What I want is you, Lith." Jen said. She gave me a smile, and the next word that came from her mouth threw me and the others off. "Go on a date with me."

_

Royal Palace

Pandemonium city,

Yorkside Region,

Kingdom of Ashtarium

September 29th 6407

3:46 PM

Another day of training, and again, Lilith didn't want to be involved in it. She stood by the bleachers watching Ariella as she was trained by Sanders. The red-haired vampire was grilling the Princess on a set of Swordsmanship movement techniques. An advanced technique that was too much for a nine-year-old to do. Several months had passed since Ariella showed her the book about the one with her namesake and Lilith hadn't gotten over the conversation. She would often find herself thinking about it when thinking of her family. She still couldn't get over the fact that there was a chance that she might be related to a Vampire. Lilith didn't know much about her family, or more like she couldn't remember anything about them. Which was why she had no idea why she was capable of some of the things she had done. She was human, that she knew deep inside of herself. But for her to be descended from a vampire. That actually made some sense but it was still hard for her to swallow. Then what was all the training that father had put her through? The training was the only memory she still had of her father. The rest were damaged by her headaches. Sometimes she couldn't understand her feelings towards him. Was she angry at him for leaving her behind? For dying against whatever had killed him. Was it hatred or sadness...it was hard for her to understand. It felt forever since the King revealed to her that her father was dead. Months of Lilith denying the truth. She had refused to leave the room she had been given. Refused to eat, talk or socialize. The only presence she seemed to like...or tolerate was the Princess. And now she had forced herself to watch over the girl's training. There was a thump and Sanders hurried to Ariella's side. Lilith got up from the bleachers, a little bit of concern for the girl pushing her forward. But Ariella got up from the floor, blowing strands of her blonde hair from her mouth. Her face was set in a line of determination like she was determined to get the technique right. Lilith walked down the bleachers to where they were and Sanders was requesting that the Princess take a break.

"You don't have to master it this instant," Sanders said. Ariella glared at him, her furious face was a little bit scary for a little girl.

"No. I can do it," she said. She wielded her wooden sword and tried to do it again, but then she faltered wincing. Sanders hurried to catch her before she fell.

"You've sprained your ankle," Sanders said. Lilith scoffed, making Sanders frown at her.

"You think her pain is funny, human," He said. Lilith glared at him. She still hadn't forgiven the vampire for the way he had treated her at the orphanage.

"I think it's ridiculous teaching her a move that requires superhuman movement," Lilith said. "She may be a vampire but she's still mortal. She hasn't awakened." Lilith picked up the wooden sword Ariella had dropped. She paced herself, staring at the dummy that Ariella had been practicing on. She focused her senses, and without so much as thinking, summoned a bit of power deep within herself and directed the flow around her legs. In the blink of an eye, Lilith moved from her spot, then appeared behind the dummy as the head fell off, a result of her slashing the head in an instant. Lilith turned around with a grin as Ariella's eyes widened at her. Sander's smirk turned into a frown as he grabbed the sword from her. There was a look of resentment on his face as he began to criticize her.

"Martial cultivation requires intense training not just of the soul, but of the body itself," Sanders said. "It is something that you will not understand."

"Understand what," Lilith said. It was true that Lily didn't understand anything about cultivation. She was different. She looked at her fist. Her physical strength had been her weapon within the Dread forest among the Demonic beasts that had made the place their home. Lilith had spent most of her life using her strength to survive, and she had become a master at it.

"You speak like you're so experienced, but you've seen nothing yet, girl," Sanders said.

"Seen what exactly?," Lilith said.

"Brute force can only take you so far" Sanders said. Lilith broke out in laughter, with a bit of a sarcastic tone to her voice.

"You forget how many of your men I killed in the Dread Forest with my brute force," Lilith said starting to feel a tinge of anger towards the vampire.

"I have not forgotten any of it," Sanders said. He gave Lilith a look of appraisal, then shook his head. "I suppose we can take a beast out of it's territory, but a beast will always be a beast." Lilith opened her mouth to counter against the vampire but Ariella interrupted her.

"Ow! Guys, I think it's worse than it looks," She muttered. She was resting her body on Sanders, who turned his attention away from Lilith and back to the Princess. He carried her and walked away, leaving Lilith alone in the training room. She grunted, the room's temperature cooling down as her rage bubbled over. Lilith had no idea why she was still here. If Father was truly gone, then she had no reason to go back to the Dread Forest. But why was she hanging around here? In a building full of vampires. She breathed heavily, trying to rein back her murderous rage. She rested her hands on her knees as vapor came out of her mouth due to the murderous cold air that she was emitting. If she was not careful, she could release all the power that was building within her because of her emotions. She had to get out of here, no matter what. If she stayed here any longer she was gonna murder all of them. But instead of leaving, Lilith found herself outside the room of the little princess. Lilith had no idea why she was there, why she felt this strange connection to the Vampire princess, but it was there. The door to the room was open, a healer was inside attending to the Princess's leg while Sanders stood beside her watching the healer go about helping the princess. The pull towards the girl made her rooted, unable to go forward or even backward.

"You've stayed longer than I thought you would," King Rafael said beside her. Lilith didn't even blink at his sudden appearance. Nor was she surprised. She had accepted the fact that the man beside her was leagues above her.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lilith asked. "If what you said is true, then my whole reason is gone"

"How old are you," King Rafael asked. Lilith blinked in confusion. Her age? Weird question from someone who was ageless. 

"I don't know," Lilith answered truthfully. She had woken up in the forest, for how long had she been there, she was not aware. Under the Icy coldness of the forest, time had seemed frozen and nothing about her seemed to change. But now that she had been taken from the forest, her hair had begun to grow, and she could feel some changes within her body.

"You look about Eleven." King Rafael said. "Do you know what kids your age do,"

"No" She replied back.

"They live a normal life," The King said. "You feel that your reason to go on is gone. That there's no point in being here. Well, I don't blame you for feeling that way. Nothing I can say or do can help with that emptiness that's crawling in your gut. That is something you have to do yourself," He walked away, leaving the girl to contemplate what he had said.

"How?" Lilith asked. " What do I have to do," The King turned his head around to stare at Lilith, his Indigo eyes holding a bright light within it.

"Find a new purpose," He said.