My Vampire Little Sister

Chapter 60 They Really Came! (3)

Talon Bloodborne. One of the few True Vampires ever selected to lead a Shadowfiend squad, one of the most prestigious and renowned elite forces within the mighty Bloodborne House. Unlike most Bloodbornes, he wasn’t someone from the direct lineage or a descendant from a High Elder. Talon’s parents were low-ranking True Vampires who simply lived to serve the Royal Bloodline.

However, Talon wasn’t one to leave his life to fate. He worked harder than everyone else, breaking through the barriers of Blood and ultimately climbing to the very top of the Bloodborne House.

And his results showed.

Since he’d taken the Shadowfiend squad leader position, Talon had never failed a mission. Even when the entire Bloodborne House was declining, his personal power continued to rise. It didn’t take long for the Elders to realise his success and propel his meteoric rise to the top. Eventually, Talon was even given the most crucial mission the Bloodborne House had decreed over a thousand years. He was to infiltrate the Moonreaver Dimension.

In the beginning, his mission went swimmingly well. Over nine-tenths of the Dimension had been mapped, and not a single Moonreaver had even thought that something was amiss. Talon was on track to maintain his perfect record, and should he succeed, a promotion was practically written in the books.

Alas, at the most critical juncture, he failed.

No, he didn’t fail. His mission was foiled by an unknown actor. Some random Vampire who wasn’t even part of the Moonreaver House managed to locate his presence and alerted the ignorant Moonreavers of his infiltration. The worst part was that the man was capable of holding his entire squad down, albeit for a few minutes.

Talon hadn’t faced such humiliation in over a hundred years!

Because of that one man, the Bloodborne House’s meticulous thousand-year plan had to be rushed during the final stages, increasing the chance of failure by a few percentage points.

Naturally, the elders of the Bloodborne House were livid! But they couldn’t just imprison Talon or punish him too severely, especially since they needed all the manpower they could get. In the end, he was given one chance to redeem himself.

While the main force of the Bloodborne House would be congregated at the Moonreaver Palace, Talon would lead his team to kidnap Lilith Moonreaver to use as a bargaining chip should their plans go wrong. The elders had even placed Horatio Bloodborne, a true member of the Royal Lineage, to supervise the operation.

It was Talon’s final chance to climb up the ranks. However, the man had another objective as well. Talon had a personal vendetta against the man who foiled his plans, the man who ruined the Bloodborne House’s thousand years of planning and the man whom he lost to.

And as Talon watched the meteorites fall upon his body while Space around him contracted, he couldn’t stop his Blood Katana from trembling._-.

Was it fear?

Of course not!

Talon was ecstatic. He was thrilled that the one person he sought to meet just happened to be right next to his objective. With an agonising roar, Talon slashed his Blood Katana and destroyed all of the meteorites that fell his way. His pale white complexion flushed red, and his bloodthirst rose through the roof. And with the happiest face he’d ever put on, Talon smiled at the mansion with yearning eyes.

???

“What a monster…”

I sighed heavily while watching the Blood Katana effortlessly dispatch my attacks. Although I’d expected him to be strong, I didn’t think he could brush off my meteors as if they were mere flies. As expected, if I wished to stop him in his tracks, something drastic was needed.

I raised my thumb, sending a wave of magic power flowing towards the Ring of Creation. Luminescent rainbow light beamed out from the ring as I struggled to compose the idea in my mind into reality. The image of a young man started to form right before my eyes. I started from the top of his head and loosely replicated his facial features. At the same time, I ensured that all of the biological components were in place. Well… Excluding the vulnerable area at the crotch. After all, it didn’t need to have that thing in the battle to come. Before long, a fully moulded clone, one that looked ninety-percent similar to me, stood before our eyes.

“Hey… Did you just copy Capella’s Mirror Clone?”

Lilith cautiously asked, her eyes betraying the shock that lay within her mind.

“No, it’s far from perfect.”

I sighed in response. Even with my Creation Magic, it would take more than a few minutes to completely replicate one of the Asterias’ core magic. At the moment, I could only create a clone that was ninety percent similar to me and at the same time, it couldn’t move independently. If I wished to control this clone, I had to transfer my consciousness into it and even then, I might suffer some backlash.

Still, it was better than risking my actual body in battle.

“I’ll go and hold him off. You protect my real body, alright?”

“Why don’t you let me fight him?” Lilith protested, her voice going as dark as the deepest dungeons. If she was given the opportunity, the girl would have rushed out into danger, ignoring the fact that the Shadowfiends were actually after her.

“How can I let you face danger?” I smiled in response.

In a playful manner, I pulled Lilith’s waist close to mine and leaned in for a kiss. My tongue invaded the blonde beauty’s soft lips, and I jokingly bit her lower lip. Evidently, Lilith wasn’t ready for my attack, and she pushed herself away. After enjoying our kiss for ten seconds, of course.

“W-What are you doing?!”

Haha, she left out the ‘in front of all these people.’ Lilith wasn’t shy about our kiss at all. What she was apprehensive about were the reactions of her guards and personal attendant.

I smiled and said nothing. It was one of the holy excerpts from ‘How to train your harem.’ Whenever in doubt, kiss your lady. It may not resolve the issue, but it would at least improve her mood.

“The Shadowfiends are after you, silly. If you go out, we will just be playing into their hands.”

“B-But…”

“Stay here, okay?” I lovingly caressed her head and led her to the sofa. After forcing her to sit down, I laid my head on her soft, plump thighs and indulged in the sweet feeling of Lilith’s lap pillow. “Protect my real body. That way, I can fight with no restraints.”

“You sweet talker…”

With Lilith now calm and collected, I closed my eyes and entered into a dreamlike trance as my consciousness faded from one place to another.

???

“You’ve finally appeared…”

Talon bared his teeth at the young man who walked out of the mansion. Dressed in a black button-down shirt and denim jeans, the man didn’t seem like he was ready for battle. Rather, it seemed like he was merely out for a date with his girlfriend. However, Talon didn’t dare underestimate this man for one second.

That young man was the reason why Talon failed his mission and tarnished his perfect record. Using his weird ability to lock down Space and his array of other magic spells, that man was quite possibly the most dangerous person within the Moonreaver Dimension. Talon didn’t know how deep the man’s arsenal was, but his unpredictability was what made him dangerous.

Which was why…

Before the man could gather himself, Talon launched a full-speed attack. There was no need for excessive words. As long as he beheaded his enemy, he would win.

Jin, or to be precise, Jin’s clone, instantly moved his body to the side, all while locking down the Space around him. An immense pressure fell on Talon, forcing his Blood Katana to move waywardly. In the end, the crimson blade was unable to meet its target and was deflected to the ground next to Jin.

“…”

Jin frowned and instantly leapt a dozen metres away. He’d faced the man once and knew the extreme speed that he could get to. If he let his mind wander for just one millisecond, his clone would be sliced in half without a chance to retaliate.

Therefore, Jin knew that he had to play it smart.

Raising his arm, the middle ring started to glow with an azure hue. At that moment, the world seemed to lock in on the Shadowfiend’s body. An invisible pressure once again mounted on Talon, slowing him down by a few percentage points. However, being the seasoned veteran that he was, Talon expected to be hindered.

Dashing faster than the speed of sound, he swung his Blood Katana at Jin’s neck, hoping to decapitate him in one shot. However, the moment his blade was about to ignite with Bloodfire, Jin smirked, giving Talon an awkward sense of dread. His instincts were screaming at him to abort the attack, and so, at the last moment, the Shadowfiend leapt back while leaving a deep imprint on the floor.

‘… What was that?’

Talon gulped while wiping the sweat that fell from his forehead. It had been a long time since he’d ever retracted an attack. Jin smiled sweetly in front of him as if nothing had ever happened. There was no sign of magic being invoked, and neither were there any visible traps. But, deep down, Talon’s instincts were screaming that if he extended his attack, something terrible was bound to happen.

However, that feeling dissipated just as quickly as it arrived, like an ephemeral flame that only flickered once in a thousand moons.

Seeing that Talon was distracted, Capella’s subordinates once again pounced on this opportunity. Jin knew his place, and he wasn’t going to fight one-on-one with the thousand-year-old monster just yet. And so, he watched intently as the knights attacked Talon, ready to render his assistance at any moment.

Agitated, the Shadowfiend leader swung his Blood Katana in a circular arc, creating an oval of Bloodfire which expanded like a doughnut rising. That dispatched the two Luce Stellarum with ease. Once again, he glared Jin down and contemplated his next move.

‘Something’s off… If I approached just now, I was certain my life would be in danger… But I can’t tell what…’

This was a first for Talon. Usually, his danger sense would tick whenever something that could threaten his life presented itself. For instance, if he faced Sirius Stardevourer or if there was an attack filled with the power of the Sun. However, Jin presented to him an unseen danger, one that he couldn’t quite comprehend.

Jin took advantage of the time when Talon was confused and raised his right arm. Once again, the Ring of Creation shone ever so brightly, and three lightning lion beasts appeared beside the young black-haired Vampire. Like the Chinese Guardian Lions of mythology, the three yellow beasts roared and struck forward at blinding speeds in an attempt to protect their master.

Talon was still wary about the feeling he’d got, and so he maintained his distance while slashing at the lightning beasts. Each time he struck, the lightning beasts would dissipate momentarily before coming back again to attack.

‘Whatever, I’ll attack from a distance.’

Talon raised his Blood Katana up high and swung with all his might. Blood splattered out from his ruby blade and ignited instantly, creating a wall of Bloodfire that couldn’t be extinguished. The lightning beasts, being inferior creatures, could only yelp in agony as they were burnt down by the superior magic.

Then, an awkward dance of the minds occurred between Jin and the Shadowfiend leader.

Jin continually shot magic at Talon, be it in the form of lightning beasts or water dragons. At the same time, Talon shot out wave after wave of Bloodfire, attempting to take out the mysterious youth from afar.

This dance continued on for a full minute, where neither side showed their trump card and was just sizing each other up. However, in battle, one person had to cave.

And this time…

Jin won the trade.

“Bleurgh!!!”

All of a sudden, Talon went on one knee as a mouthful of coagulated red blood was ejected from his stomach. His mind started to go hazy, and his world had turned crimson red. With a mind full of shock, he thought:

‘What happened? None of his attacks hit me!’

Talon was instantly confused. The battle of attrition resulted in a stalemate. No, if anything, Talon was winning the exchanges by shooting down all of Jin’s magic. So why was he the one kneeling on the floor?

The Shadowfiend leader instantly looked inward, hoping to find some traces of what occurred. And almost immediately, he discovered that a foreign substance had entered his bloodstream. And judging from the effects…

‘Poison?! Since when?!’

Talon turned his gaze upwards and saw Jin’s handsome face looking down at him. The eyes that seemed somewhat human quickly turned far redder than the blood that flowed through his veins. And more terrifyingly…

That damned fucking smile.

Even if he didn’t have poison breaking down his body, Talon would have vomited blood anyway as he saw Jin’s triumphant smile that was plastered all over his uncharacteristically handsome face.