Chapter 624

624 Who is the one in danger now?

“Vlad. You have done enough damage and gone too far at that.” Lucas said while directing his domination aura toward Vlad to understand Lucas was giving the final warning.

*Tsk, tsk, tsk* “I have never thought of watching someone hurting their daughter to this extent. You should feel ashamed.” Lucas said while shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

“Ashamed for what? She had betrayed my trust by going with our enemy...”

“Was he really our enemy? Why do you think it is your job to be the judge, jury, and executioner?” Lucas interrupted while questioning Vlad’s behavior. “I told you I kept an eye on him, and he didn’t act like what we are taught.”

Vlad frowned, and Lucas frowned as well. Both their bodies became a blur, and a loud clang followed by a breeze of wind could be heard and felt.

At the center of their previous location appeared Vlad, with the tip of his rapier piercing a couple of millimeters into Lucas’s shield. Lucas was on the defense, while Vlad was on the offense.

Both jumped back. Lucas swung his sword, and an arc of light shot from his swing. Vlad casually moved his hand and parried the attack with his buckler as if swatting a fly.

Lucas smirked before he swung a barrage of arcs of light toward Vlad. However, nothing could hit Vlad. Some landed on Vlad, or so it seemed.

Vlad’s body vanished, revealing it was an illusion caused by sidestepping at incredible speed a few moments before the collision. The shield and rapier parried the other arcs of light.

.....

*Tsk* “No wonder you are called The Blur.” Said Lucas after his ranged attacks were quickly neutralized.

“I am tired of this farce now. ” Vlad said.

“Then leave the Lusterfall Kingdom and never return. You are not welcome here anymore.” Lucas responded.

*Sigh* “I am ending this once and for all.” Vlad said before his body became blurred and appeared in front of Vincent’s body.

“What are you going to...” Lucas said before he saw Vincent being lifted before the others could perceive Vlad’s location because of his speed.

“No! Don’t touch Vincent again!” Shouted Lilith.

“Let Vincent go, you monster!” Iris shouted with a trembling voice caused by the cold building up in her body.

“Don’t take him away from us!” Shouted Sakura while standing up, and her fists clenched.

*PHO!* Plow became infuriated after being thrown off of Vincent. Her body began to grow, and her power drastically increased the bigger she grew.

“Don’t kill his soul...” Jun Ye Rim said with a weak and distraught voice.

The residents of the Emerald Lionheart Mansion all looked at Vlad, lifting Vincent’s body with one hand. “No!” and “Don’t do it.” were the words they all said.

Anna became conflicted about how she should feel, and tears appeared welling in her eyes. To see Vlad lift Vincent’s body and think about what could happen next was too much for her eyes to see and her feelings to take in.

“Don’t do it, father...” Mimi tried to beg before she watched her father plant his rapier in the ground and shove his hand into Vincent’s chest.

Vlad swiftly ripped Vincent’s heart and threw it on the ground. He dropped Vincent and pointed at the heart.

“Can’t you realize it is not beating anymore? The monster is dead, and you all should know your places as the people branded by the monster.” Vlad warned. He spoke as if he was ready to kill Vincent’s retainer at any moment.

The garden became silent, and the vapor caused by taking a breath didn’t appear. Everyone acted as if they stopped breathing from the shocking sight.

Only the sound of Plow growing larger than four feet and Zero assimilating the five Seed Guardians could be heard in the silent time caused by shock.

*Step... Clang!* Lucas appeared in front of Vlad, and his sword was blocked.

Sakura quickly grabbed Vincent’s body and made some distance. *Step, step, rumble* Sakura took two large steps before the ground shook and vines emerged from the ground.

Vlad had his legs wrapped with poisonous vines, and his buckler was blocking Lucas’s attack. Shortly, Vlad frowned and swung his rapier.

*Clang!* A loud piercing sound echoed. Red light and green light flashed along with sparks appearing like fireworks. Nine thick and long tails were blocked, and Plow had to jump back to keep her balance on three feet.

Vlad looked at Plow with a frown. The tails moved faster than he expected, and none of the tails were cut with his Energy Flow mastery. Even though he used half his power, Vlad couldn’t believe the tails didn’t have a single chip.

*Rumble* More vines emerged from the ground while Vlad was taking a moment to ponder how much of a monster Plow had become because of the mutated blood and if he should also kill Plow before she lost control and attacked innocent people.

The vines quickly wrapped around Vlad’s body, and he became trapped in a cradle of poisonous vines in a matter of seconds.

“I can’t hear Kazumi anymore...” Jun Ye Rim said while tears couldn’t stop sliding down her cheeks.

*T... Thud...

*Thu-thud... Thu-thud...

*Th-th-thud... Th-th-th-th-thud...

Sakura thought she heard wrong. Sakura didn’t know what to think right now. A memory flashed through her mind, and she remembered Iris checking for a pulse.

Sakura touched the veins on Vincent’s neck and wrist. A smile appeared on her face after her fingers could feel a pulse, even when the heart was missing.

Sakura quickly placed her ears on Vincent’s chest and heard the sound of a heart beating. It confirmed Vincent’s second chance.

“Vin... Vincent is alive!” Sakura happily announced with tears of joy sliding down her cheeks.

Everyone turned their gaze at Vincent. They could see his body spasm for a few seconds until it suddenly stopped.

Vincent’s hands raised themselves, and *Bam!* they violently smacked the ground. The force was enough to lift his tilted body upwards and leave Sakura’s arms.

*Tssss* Before the hole in Vincent’s chest closed rapidly, the sound of mutated blood boiling could be heard, and a trail of green steam rising could be seen.

Dozens upon dozens of veins bulged out of his body, and they shone green. From the tips of his fingers, emerge a green substance. It climbed Vincent’s arms like a liquid parasite with tentacles.

The snow began to melt, and the temperature became warm. Iris felt better with the warmth Vincent’s body was emitting.

The residents of the Emerald Lionheart Mansion couldn’t believe their eyes.

Anna, Bilka, and Lucas couldn’t believe how a person without a heart would stand on his own. Not to mention witnessing the hole in his chest closing in a matter of seconds.

Vincent stood in front of everyone with his eyes closed. As if Vincent’s body housed no soul to drive the body, he didn’t move a muscle and acted like a flesh-and-bone statue.

The cradle of vines shook for a brief moment before exploding. Red light faded, and the force of wind scattered the finely chopped vines everywhere.

Vlad moved his head, and his gaze soon locked on Vincent. “What is this monster? The previous monster stayed dead. Why is this monster still alive?”

Vlad became bewildered with a deep puzzled frown contorted on his face. However, he knew what he had to do. Kill Vincent again once and for all this time.

Vlad rushed to chop Vincent’s head. He believed if Vincent could survive without a heart, then severing all his limbs would be a great start to keep someone stay dead.

However, the unexpected happened to Vlad. Vincent opened his eyes back eyes with brightly piercing green eyes.

‘His current true look and expression made the decision I took the correct one. He is indeed a monster that needs to be exterminated at all costs.’

While Vlad was thinking these thoughts and swinging his rapier at unfathomable speed, he felt strange. The rapier gradually became slower before stopping a few inches away from Vincent’s neck.

Vlad noticed his surroundings were becoming darker, as if it was becoming a night without light all of a sudden.

Vlad found himself unable to move. Only his eyes could move. He also found it strange how he could remain alive while not being able to breathe.

Vlad’s eyes moved, and they looked at Vincent’s face.

‘So it was you who did something, you monster. How can you bend the laws of time?’

‘How can you freeze the whole world to still? What monstrosity are you?’

‘Were you powerful enough to invade this world faster than one hundred years because you are far stronger and different than the previous six?’

Vlad had a lot of time to think because of his perception stat. Vlad could experience a longer body-to-soul conscience swap.

Vlad saw his surroundings become engulfed by the darkness that let no light escape after a few seconds more than Vincent usually experiences.

Vlad found himself able to blink. When his eyes opened, a large patch of faintly glowing emerald-cracking crystals appeared in front of him.

Vlad found himself able to move now. He swiftly moved his head from left to right to observe his surroundings. The place was like a void. Only in front of him was something.

Vlad noticed a badly worn, green-looking throne. Vincent was resting on it. On his lap were a dimming ball of green light, a worn sculpture of a small wolf, and sixteen worn sculptures of butterflies.

[Vincent, can you hear me?... Please wake up...]

“What is this voice in my head? It sounds like a woman’s voice, but it is weak. Is there a woman about to die locked in here?” Vlad questioned after he didn’t know what was happening anymore.