Vampire's Slice Of Life Chapter 1202: Call of the Wind

The Asura Ancestor's eyes flickered, his thoughts hidden from any observer. "You possess our Asura bloodline, yet it's mixed with that of..." The Ancestor scowled. "...that traitorous bitch." Lith remained impassive, his gaze steady. He felt no sting from the insult, regarding himself as neither Asura nor a member of the EGC. Such words were meaningless to him.

Seeing Lith's lack of reaction, the Asura Ancestor spat aside. "To think I'd be awakened by such filth. I’d have preferred to remain asleep." There was a kernel of truth to his words; he harbored a deep dislike for the Evure woman who had betrayed him and subsequently founded the EGC.

"You certainly speak a lot for someone just awakened," Lith commented coolly. "To slaughter your own descendants just to rouse yourself, tch, what a scumbag." Lith shook his head, a gesture of disappointment.

The Asura Ancestor showed no offense, only surprise at Lith's remark.

"You act so arrogant, knowing you're about to die," the Asura Ancestor countered, a smile revealing half-decayed teeth. Lith crossed his arms, his expression one of utter boredom. "You intend to kill me with that decaying body of yours?"

The Asura Ancestor's frown deepened. He raised a finger towards Lith and commanded, "Kill yourself."

Crimson threads descended from the void, coiling around Lith's limbs. Against his will, his own hand moved to grasp his neck, his sharp nails digging slightly into his skin.

"Is this your personal ability, or something all Asuras can do?" Lith inquired, his tone devoid of amusement. The Asura Ancestor frowned further, perplexed that his ability was proving ineffective. "How are you resisting a technique from an Upper Realm?"

Lith simply shrugged and rose, brushing off the spectral threads. "Who knows? Perhaps the Upper Realm is full of trash who only know how to scheme against their own kin and rely on melodramatic pronouncements for offense."

The Asura Ancestor trembled. "No one... no one has ever dared to show such disrespect to this ancestor, not even within the main clan..." The very ground beneath the Asura Ancestor writhed as if infested with unseen worms. In an instant, his upper body liquefied, melting and flowing onto the ground to form a grotesque mass of flesh and blood.

Lith knitted his brows and conjured spears of Destruction, piercing the hideous blob. The attacks left no mark, and the mass continued its transformation into a humanoid shape. An overwhelming sense of danger washed over Lith, akin to a death sentence being pronounced.

Taking a swift step forward, utilizing Short Jump, Lith reached the transforming entity. He placed his hand upon the blob and softly intoned, "Call of the Wind." The storm tattoo on his inner arm glowed, animating and flowing from his limb, through his palm, and into the depths of the blob. A demonic shriek erupted from the mass the moment the storm's power made contact.

Lith retreated, creating distance between himself and the entity. The demonic shrieks intensified into bone-chilling screams that made Lith's hair stand on end. "Noooooooo—! How!?!" The blob flowed backward, retracting to its source. The Asura Ancestor reappeared, half his body still emerging from the magic circle. "How are you capable of wielding Calamities!?!" The Asura Ancestor's face contorted in horror, as if witnessing the most dreadful event of his existence.

Lith offered no reply, instead tearing the sleeve from his left arm to reveal multiple black tattoos that radiated a chilling pressure. "WHAT!?!" The Asura Ancestor bellowed, as if his entire lineage had just been annihilated. His ears rang from the immense pressure of the calamity he had just endured. He couldn't fathom the devastation if more such powers were unleashed upon him.

'Even my main body would be obliterated!' The Asura Ancestor thought, resolving to flee this realm. He sank back into the magic circle, but would Lith permit such an escape? Absolutely not. Lith's eyes shifted to a deep crimson, ancient sigils flaring within them. He stepped forward, reaching the Asura Ancestor and seizing his hair. "Observe closely. This is how one wields bloodline abilities," Lith stated calmly, meeting the man's trembling gaze.

[Psych Puppetry]

The Asura Ancestor's mind was critically destabilized, allowing [Psych Puppetry] to finally breach his defenses. He lost control of his consciousness for a mere fraction of a second, a disparity due to the immense power imbalance. Yet, this sliver of an opening was sufficient. Lith unleashed another Calamity into the man's body before stepping back. The Asura Ancestor's eyes cleared, only to register an expression of pure, unadulterated terror.

"Ahhhhhhhhh—!"

A blinding radiance erupted from the seven orifices of the Asura Ancestor as his scream echoed. Soon, he was unable to even form a thought, his mind going blank as the light consumed his entire being.

.....

In the Upper Realm, within a somber chamber, lay myriad jade tablets. These ancient artifacts exuded a formidable pressure, each one representing an individual.

A man was seated on a chair atop an elevated platform, his eyes half-closed in a state of languid repose. His duty was that of a servant, tasked with the vigilance of these stone tablets.

A few moments elapsed.

Among the stone tablets bearing pressures that surpassed most others, one began to exhibit cracks. This anomaly alerted the dozing servant.

His eyes snapped open, and he fixed his gaze upon the cracking stone tablet.

"What..."

Before he could fully comprehend the situation, the stone tablet detonated with a deafening boom, reverberating throughout the entire chamber.

"Good heavens... how am I going to explain this..."

The servant broke out in a cold sweat.

Before he could even consider informing his superiors, light flickered beside him, one after another, as multiple powerful figures materialized from the shimmering portals.

"Elder Lian Jingxi..."

They all uttered the same name in unison, commencing their divinations to ascertain the cause of the incident.

Shortly thereafter, a dripping sound was heard within the room.

Everyone's ears pricked up, and they turned towards the source, only to witness a tall man's blood falling onto the ground. He was bleeding from his nose, yet he continued his divination with his eyes shut.

"Elder Lian Meng, cease this at once!" one of the figures in the room shouted.

"A Calamity... there was a Calamity involved..." the tall man murmured, his eyes still closed. The more he spoke, the more profusely his nose bled, and the paler his complexion became.

A collective gasp escaped everyone present.

The room fell into a profound silence.

It was only when the tall man, identified as Lian Meng, collapsed with a thud that everyone snapped back to their senses.

A burly figure, whose daoist robes were hanging loosely around his waist, snapped his fingers, summoning several servants.

"Attend to Elder Lian Meng's wounds and initiate an investigation into Elder Lian Jingxi's demise."

The individuals in the room offered a curt bow to the burly man and vanished, leaving only him and the servant who guarded the tablets in the dim chamber.

The man clasped his hands together and voiced his musings.

"Who could possibly possess the ability to wield Calamities at their whim..."

.....

"Cough... cough..."

Lith erupted into violent fits of coughing, expelling a large amount of blood as he stumbled through the Asura Palace, making his way outward.

"The backlash was far too severe!" Lith cursed, keeping his eyes shut as he moved beyond the confines of the palace.

Tears of blood had dried on his face, and his eyes stung so intensely that he was unable to even open them. He was certain that his vision had been partially impaired due to employing his skill [Psych Puppetry] against an opponent vastly superior to himself.

The Asura Ancestor had already ascended to the Upper Realm. Through his descendants, he had the opportunity to dispatch a clone to the Lower Realm and reclaim dominion, but Lith had thwarted these plans.

What emerged from the magic circle was not the Ancestor himself, but a fractured soul in a cloned vessel. Despite being a clone, its realm far surpassed this Star System's Legendary Rank.

Had Lith not met all the requisite conditions, he would have been incapable of defeating the Asura Ancestor.

If he hadn't discovered the cryptic code embedded within the curse afflicting his descendants and subsequently modified it, the complete clone of the Asura Ancestor would have descended and wreaked utter havoc. Even Fei, Sylvia, and every other Legendary Rank expert combined might have been powerless to stop him.

In essence, Lith had safeguarded the entirety of Shen Ze through his actions, a feat bound to accrue him substantial good karma.

As Lith emerged from the Asura Palace, the imposed restrictions vanished. He could now establish contact with Fei and Sylvia.

Moments later, space itself tore open, and a Witch and a Seer materialized from the rift.

"Master!" the two exclaimed in unison upon witnessing Lith's battered state.

They immediately began attending to his injuries. While being led away from the Asura Palace, Lith sensed the tattoos adorning his body and attempted to feel their presence.

'Just... what exactly are you Calamities? How did a mere mortal like me end up wielding you? You, who could demise even a god from the Upper Realm through a simple clone...'

Numerous questions swirled within Lith's mind.

For the moment, however, he was utterly exhausted and succumbed to a deep slumber.

.....

(The End of the Seventh Volume — Fall of the Asuras)