Chapter Nine

1

"That night, the girl had plans to meet her friends at a nightclub in the south of the city. Due to the geography, everyone knows that in the summer, dusk arrives later. At that time, around seven o'clock, you could still see the tail end of dusk. The girl unconsciously slowed down while walking on the street, slowed down even more, and then stopped. She bumped into a tall man, whose appearance she couldn't quite see, but she could smell a distinct scent, which she believed to be the smell of a man. In an instant, there was a resonance from deep within their souls, what people call love at first sight. Especially those who like nightclubs are more prone to such resonance. The two of them went into a dark alley and started kissing, with no one else around. Even the occasional passing granny couldn't bear to look. As the sun's fiery red tail dipped below the horizon, the two of them were entangled intimately, indescribably so. Just at that moment... the girl seemed to see a hint of blue, seemingly on the man's forehead. Suddenly, pain and pleasure mingled together. The pleasure was self-evident, but please don't dwell on the pain. It was the sensation of arteries being pierced, followed by a numbing feeling from blood loss. Her eyes went pitch black, and a pair of bloody fangs clearly appeared at that moment, even the blood droplets from between the fangs were very distinct. The girl couldn't break free, her body was weak and powerless at that moment, her palms were sweaty with even a clenched fist being powerless. She struggled, she wanted to scream... Suddenly, the girl thought of three words... Blood... Sucking... Vampire..."

In the dark room, the ponytailed girl raised a flashlight and began telling the story in front of her classmates.

"Is this story real or fake? Urban legends about vampires are so old!" Classmate A didn't believe the story. As a big guy, he was already a bit scared in the atmosphere of ghost stories, so he needed to muster some courage.

"Fake, vampires don't exist nowadays." Classmate B chimed in.

"This happened to my friend personally. If someone hadn't helped her, she would've really crossed over to the underworld. Yet, you guys still doubt her, it's really annoying." The girl responded indignantly to her classmates' skepticism.

"Someone helped her? Don't tell me it was a vampire hunter; they're all loners now."

"Damn it, I tried so hard to recreate the situation for you, and you guys still don’t believe it. There really are vampires here!"

"Online rumors are so rich, but without pictures or videos, based on the average intelligence of our news department, we wouldn't believe it."

"The average intelligence of our news department is quite high. Why does it feel like someone has dragged it down?"

"Whoever believes is dragging it down."

A sudden unexpected door slam outside, in this pitch-black ghost story setting, instantly frightened the students.

"Even during wartime, we're still telling ghost stories. If our news department doesn't do something meaningful, how can we challenge the inter-school competition this year?" Zi Sirou returned to the room holding the Horus Golden Egg. The news department had activity rooms in the central, southeast, southwest, and northwest areas of the college. It was currently located on the fourth floor of the teaching building in the south area, with a window facing the college's wall and street. The college was now protected by the Magic array set up by Principal Guffy, and no one could enter or leave. Parents had instructed their children not to leave the college. At this moment, there was truly no place more reassuring for parents than the college.

When it came to the inter-school competition, the members had no idea what to expect. Who knew if the competition would continue this year? Without raising any questions, they sat quietly. Zi Sirou placed the golden egg on an ornate base, which she had specially designed for the egg. She had one wherever she regularly visited, exuding her love for the golden egg at all times.

"Are you talking about vampires just now?" Zi Sirou sat by the window, a slightly brighter spot where energy was scarce during wartime, and electricity was only supplied to essential areas.

"Minister! The story just now was like this..."

"No need to repeat, I heard it. As for what you said, it could be true. The mention of the scent on the man is highly likely to be the lure emitted by a vampire to attract prey. And the most credible aspect is the blue light seen on the forehead by your friend. According to the records in the imperial palace, it signifies a Viscount vampire of the second rank beneath the king, with moderate to above-average strength. While rare, these vampires at this level seldom hunt on their own."

"What? Minister, you actually believe her about vampires? We tend to believe in the extinct legends from a thousand years ago."

Zi Sirou adjusted her hair and said, "The emperor met someone from the Chen family last month."

"Chen? The vampire hunter noble family? Doesn't sound like a good sign." The students began to speculate, and when the name Chen was mentioned in connection with vampires, people in the empire couldn't help but think of the hunters from a thousand years ago.

"What is the Minister's knowledge of the truth..." the girl telling ghost stories couldn't wait to ask Zi Sirou, seeming quite curious about the truth behind the vampire rumors.

"There is no truth to know. Even my mother hasn't disclosed any information, only that the emperor spent half an hour behind closed doors with them... But there is no need to worry about it now. Vampires were no match for us humans a thousand years ago, and now we have artificial elements at our disposal."

The members of the news department all touched the rings on their hands, and students throughout the academy had already become accustomed to using artificial particles. The allure of particles was strong, with many students engrossed in developing the most suitable operating system for themselves. There were also many students working on enhancing their own abilities and improving their coordination with artificial particles. The pre-Saint level was basically the equivalent of the third-grade elementary level, and achieving the Saint level before graduation didn't seem too difficult.

"It's likely that if there is no outbreak of war and the artificial particles are released as planned, the Magic tier of The Human Realm will have to be redefined."

Crack, there were some noises on the street, and Zi Sirou glanced at the street, where only some rubbish was rolling around randomly. At first glance, there were no people, but Zi Sirou was sure someone was nearby. However, she didn't pay too much attention, probably feeling reassured by the defensive Magic. Moreover, during wartime, there were some unscrupulous individuals who engaged in robbery.

"The records mention a little quirk of vampires; they like to deliberately or inadvertently look at your arteries, much like you are doing to me now."

The girl blushed, "Minister, I was just attracted to the necklace on your neck..."

"Haha, saying you are a vampire~" the staff members started to joke around again, seeming to have forgotten that war was already upon them, which was something Zi Sirou didn't want to see.

"Don't play around, where is the discipline of the news department? War has already..." Zi Sirou was about to say when the noises on the street grew louder.

"What's happening on the street?"

Zi Sirou leaned out, and suddenly a figure rushed out onto the street, being knocked down by a passing car. The driver, unable to brake in time, got out of the car in a panic, feeling around for the person, before calming his nerves with a cigarette and slowly walking over to the fallen figure, whose owner lay on the ground, indistinguishable in the dark night.

"Minister, someone is injured!"

"Ignore it, something's not right!" Zi Sirou sensed trouble, and the figure rose from the ground in an eerie manner, attracting the attention of the news department members who gathered by the window, witnessing the blood-soaked person standing up, opening their bloodied mouth, disheveled and crazed, lunging ferociously, causing the cigarette of the car owner to fall, ash scattering in the air.

The crowd in the room couldn't hear the sound clearly, but could imagine the splashing sound of blood. The girls felt a bit nauseous, while the boys swallowed nervously. Students were delicate flowers in the greenhouse, how could they have seen such a bloody scene? If Zi Sirou hadn't been to the pyramid, he would have panicked too.

A figure tore off the car owner's arm, bathed in the splattering blood rain. Throat moving up and down, becoming spirited like a dragon or tiger.

"Sizzle~" Darts shot from across the street, followed by a woman wielding a long sword, cutting the car behind the figure in half. The blade pierced the figure's body, then quickly pulled out, ruthlessly slicing off the head. The people in the news department didn't even blink, two gleaming fangs under the streetlight indicated that he was a vampire!

"Is that a silver sword? Only a silver sword can kill a vampire."

"Nonsense, that's just a myth. Whether it's silver or not doesn't matter. Only if the magic is strong enough can vampires be annihilated."

The woman on the street drew a magic array around the vampire's body and head, chanting a spell, causing the vampire to be destroyed by the raging flames. A moment later, the vampire would have resurrected.

"That's a vampire hunter, remarkable for completing the kill with just two swords."

"His eyes are black, the weakest among vampires, really useless." The girl telling ghost stories inexplicably called him useless, and Zi Sirou subconsciously glanced back at the girl, whose eyes were yellow.

"Ah!" The girl darted behind the first boy who doubted her, grabbed his shoulder with one hand, broke through his protective magic, and bit his artery, drinking the blood.

"Hide behind me!" The spear-wielding man, Lan Feng, stepped forward first.

"I've been saying it all along, but no one believes me." The girl released her mouth from the blood and disdainfully dropped the person in her hand.

Zi Sirou calmly said, "The person bitten by a blue-eyed vampire is not your friend, but you!"

"The feeling of bloodsucking is better than using artificial particles, hehe~" The girl swung her hand, her nails long like a demon's, and suddenly a hurricane ravaged the room, shattering all the windows.

Zi Sirou felt that the girl's magic was several times stronger than before drinking blood.

"Soon the Emperor of Othrie will no longer bear the surname Zi!" The girl broke through Lan Feng's guard, injuring everyone, and her ultimate target was clearly Zi Sirou!

"What are you trying to do?" Zi Sirou opened a magic barrier, resisting the girl's demonic claws, protected by the Dragon Spirit Covenant, Zi Sirou's safety was not a concern.

"People with the surname Zi cannot live through tonight!"

"The vampire has been approved to return to The Demon Realm by the Demon Dragon. Why do you still want to harm us in The Human Realm?"

The girl knew that the vampire had indeed been approved to return to The Demon Realm, but she didn't publicize it.

"You know a lot, but you can't know our decisions regarding vampires."

"It's just seeking revenge against humans!"

The girl transformed into darkness, confusing everyone in the dark. In the darkness, they were confused by the sudden betrayal of their companions, with a high chance of being deceived, and they were instantly defeated.

"Horus!" The golden egg cracked, and golden light shone, revealing the girl. Horus, with his hawk-like talons, grabbed the girl, broke through the wall, and the entire academy was awakened by the sounds of the battle.