My Blood Legacy: Bloodlines-Chapter 31: Blood Armageddon.

[One week later...]

For situations like this, where a challenge is proposed, we call it a "Blood Armageddon," where anything goes, any and all kinds of personal power can be used without restrictions.

As the name suggests, it’s an Armageddon. It’s the beginning of the end, both of a silly dispute like this and of the lives of those who fight.

The duel arena was packed.

High, circular bleachers, made of dark stone stained by time... or perhaps by blood. Vampires of all levels crowded there, some sitting elegantly, others leaning against the railings like animals waiting for the slaughter to begin.

The air was heavy.

Not with silence... but with expectation.

"From what I’ve heard, he’s the worst vampire of all time," said one of those in the bleachers waiting for the duel to begin.

"Huh? Seriously? He shouldn’t even be called Valentine!" exclaimed his friend beside him, laughing scornfully. "I wonder if he’s not a bastard from outside the great clans... it could be possible, right? He doesn’t have Valentine blood in his veins!"

"He’s just a failure!!"

"There’s no way he could beat a mid-level swordsman!"

"I heard he only won that previous fight by luck..."

"Luck? That was public humiliation, someone let him escape."

"This time there’s no one to save him."

"The Cross family doesn’t lose twice."

"Especially not to trash like that."

Laughter spread.

Low.

Cruel.

Careless.

Some more attentive ones, however, just watched in silence. Older vampires, with more experienced eyes... didn’t laugh. They were trying to understand how things got to this point.

After all... the narrative was on the Cross family’s side. Mainly because they have influence and a name, so therefore, they have ’more truth’ on their side, if we can call it that. On one side, a renowned family, on the other...

Victor... the Cursed One.

"You’re quite relaxed." Carmilla said as Victor observed the arena beside his entrance. Carmilla already knew the outcome, how could she not? She had taught him so much.

Victor yawned, bringing his hand to his mouth, "I don’t care," he said calmly. "I’m going to crush him," he concluded, and it wasn’t just arrogance, it was a verdict.

Scarlett looked at him, "How’s your body? You haven’t slept in three days." she said, glancing at Carmilla, who shrugged.

"He’s fine, his energy is enormous, almost exploding." She said smiling.

Scarlett rolled her eyes, "He must be really exploding, exploding inside you. You two spent three nights having sex like rabbits." She said bitterly.

"What? Want to join in?" Carmilla teased.

"If I remember correctly, the last time I ’participated’ you exploded in libidinous fluids on the mattress." She said.

"Jealous?" Carmilla said. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Victor could only laugh at the exchange; after all, both were head over heels for him, but unlike Carmilla, Scarlett fought against her feelings simply because she was too arrogant.

Something he really wanted to understand, why Scarlett had changed so much... was it because Carmilla was her mother? Like, she seemed quite voracious when she drank his blood, but then... when it came to sex, she simply denied it completely. Not only did she deny it, but she clearly wants it, but she won’t make the first move...

’Maybe I’ll have to start provoking her until she gives in... That might take a while... but Carmilla already seems much more relaxed... so if we come up with a plan~’

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Scarlett questioned him, who, in her view, was completely lost.

"Hm? What is it?" Victor asked.

Scarlett sighed as she waved her hands, creating a small vortex of blood. From the vortex, a sword patched with thick, dark blood formed.

"Blood Weapon. We haven’t taught you yet, so just use this sword for now. They won’t give you weapons for the duel." She said and threw the sword into his hand.

"Oh," he said, holding it. It was very light, but he clearly felt some kind of power coming from it. Like a thin line leading to Scarlett.

"It’s my personal weapon... although it doesn’t have the same power anymore, its construction is good. So it’s almost impossible for that idiot to destroy it," she commented.

Carmilla looked at the sword, "You’re going to let him use this?" she questioned. More curious than truly worried.

"If I gave it to him, it’s for him to use," Scarlett said calmly.

"Oh yeah, you’d do something like that? You literally tried to kill me when I tried to hold this weapon when you learned how to make it. You’re incredibly possessive and you’re just lending it to him?" Carmilla stared with narrowed eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Victor asked, looking at Carmilla, who returned to her usual expression.

"Wrong? No, of course not," she said with a smile that reached her eyes.

’That arrogant girl...’ she thought. ’She’s plotting something...’

Victor saw that Carmilla’s feelings were somewhat on edge while Scarlett’s were hesitant... He suspected something was happening but... ’Whatever, we’ll deal with it later.’ He concluded and then stood up, holding his sword.

"I’ll return it quickly," he said smiling, "I’ll reward you later."

Scarlett trembled as she felt that strange feeling invade her chest... ’Are they... his feelings? Or me~’ She couldn’t finish her thought when Carmilla’s hand touched her shoulder.

"Let’s talk later," she said, completely serious.

"No, we won’t." Scarlett retorted, following Victor’s gaze, but he had already gone upstairs.

"What are you plotting?" Carmilla said, pulling her and throwing her against the wall. "If it’s something~"

She stopped when she saw Scarlett’s eyes... she was already almost crying.

"What~" Carmilla started to speak, but Scarlett pushed her away forcefully, and then she turned into a cloud of bats and disappeared...

...

Carmilla remained silent...

’Did I read that wrong?’ she wondered...

A woman ten thousand years old like her... misread someone?... And her own daughter?... What the hell~

"Don’t tell me that... shit... the ritual..." Carmilla murmured before running after her. "How did I not notice!!"

[...]

"I must admit that this is quite surreal." Victor said as he emerged from the stairs on the right side, he calmly climbed into the entrance, seeing the entire coliseum unfolding before him...

"Aren’t there many people?..." He questioned, seeing that it was packed. At least, there were all the recruits from all the divisions. Furthermore, there were clearly more people than usual.

"You actually came." Ethan said, seeing Victor approaching. "If you bow down now and apologize... I’ll pretend nothing happened between us." he continued. "No need to risk your life~"

"You talk too much for someone who’s dead." Victor interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over Ethan’s body. "Please, shut your dirty mouth and attack me already. I have things to do."

"Y-your tongue is still quite sharp." Ethan stammered, his eyes glowing neon red.

As the stands seethed with murmurs and taunts, the sound of firm footsteps began to echo across the field, firm enough to cut through the surrounding noise effortlessly. It wasn’t a dramatic impact or a flashy entrance, but there was something about the presence that naturally drew attention—as if the environment itself recognized who was arriving.

Victor was the first to notice, not because of heightened sensitivity, but simply because she was approaching from the perfect angle: behind Ethan Cross, walking calmly, as if crossing that execution field were just another trivial task of the day.

She showed no hurry. No tension. Nothing but absolute control.

Victor’s jaw clenched instantly.

"What do you want... Sable," he said, his voice lower than usual, but firm enough to carry real unease. There was no more casual teasing. No interest. Not even that superficial recognition of beauty that existed before. Now that he understood better the kind of person she was... that simply had no value anymore.

Sable stopped in the center of the arena, positioning herself exactly between the two sides as if she were the axis separating life and death. Her gaze quickly passed over Ethan, then over Victor, and then stabilized, following that same slight, almost amused smile, which seemed completely out of place for the moment.

"I came to be the judge." She answered naturally, as if announcing something obvious.

The atmosphere reacted with a brief, confused silence. Some voices in the stands ceased, others diminished, and for a moment collective attention turned to that decision.

Victor didn’t hesitate.

"A corrupt woman became a judge?"

The sentence came out clean, direct, without raising her voice—but strong enough to pierce the entire arena.

This time the silence was different.

Heavy.

Some people in the stands exchanged immediate glances, others simply remained quiet, and even members of the Cross family showed slight tension, not because of the accusation itself, but because someone had said that aloud... in that context.

Ethan shifted his gaze from Sable to Victor, clearly irritated, but said nothing.

Sable, on the other hand, didn’t lose her smile.

But it changed.

Very slightly.

Almost imperceptibly.

The kind of change wasn’t in her face... but in her intention.

"You speak with considerable confidence for someone in your position," she said, keeping her tone controlled. It wasn’t a direct threat, but it wasn’t mild either.

Victor didn’t back down.

"And you act quite calmly for someone under investigation," she retorted in kind.

Now, the atmosphere truly changed. "Get out of here, nobody needs a judge when all that’s going to be left is torn flesh at the end of this ridiculous ’duel’," Victor said.

Silence fell but quickly broke.

"Hahaha!!!" A laugh escaped from the stands.

Then another, and then several. They weren’t boisterous laughs... they were those low, sharp laughs, from people who knew exactly the weight of what had been said and were simply enjoying the moment.

"Corrupt..." someone repeated, almost amused.

The atmosphere shifted.

Sable didn’t lose her composure, but the pressure around her became visible. It wasn’t fear... it was irritation being forced down.

And then—

BOOM.

A dry thud echoed beside Victor.

The air seemed to shift for a moment, as if something had simply... appeared there by force.

Victor turned his face automatically.

And saw her.

A woman.

Tall.

Elegant.

With an absurd presence, one that didn’t need to make any effort to dominate the environment. Her long hair fell in a deep violet tone, slightly wavy, following the smooth movement of her body. Her eyes... red, but softer than those of a predator—there was intelligence there, and something dangerously refined.

The black dress molded to her body like a second skin, marking each curve with almost artistic precision. It wasn’t vulgar... it was calculated. The loose, translucent sleeves swayed slightly with the movement, giving the impression of something ethereal—almost as if she were detached from common reality.

In one hand, she held a cup.

As if she had just come from tea.

In the middle of an arena of death.

She took a small sip before speaking.

"Honest," she said with a slight smile. "I like that."

Her voice was calm. Controlled. Natural.

As if it were all just entertainment.

Victor narrowed his eyes slightly, analyzing.

Sable... didn’t react well.

It was subtle.

But she reacted.

The new woman then tilted her head slightly, looking directly at Victor.

"Eleonora Thorne," she said, introducing herself without haste. "Associate Leader of the Lavender Palace."

A soft murmur ran through the stands.

A familiar name.

Political weight.

She then slowly turned her gaze... past Ethan... past Sable... and back to Victor.

Her smile widened slightly.

"Since you’ve expressed... doubts about the impartiality of the current judge..." she said, taking another small sip from her cup.

Pause. "...I can take on that role, if you prefer."

The silence that followed was immediate.

Now it wasn’t just tension anymore.

It was a power struggle.

Sable finally spoke, her tone still controlled, but colder:

"That’s not necessary, Eleonora."

Eleonora didn’t even look at her.

"Shut up, you useless thing." Eleonora said, smiling at Victor.

Sable’s body prepared to move, but... A gravity so powerful fell upon her back, and her body slammed into the ground, hitting her face and crushing completely.

The pressure was so powerful that she began to crack the ground in a spiderweb pattern, cracking and being further pressed down.

"Sweetie..." She said calmly, looking at Sable who was trying to overcome the gravity. "I’m already fed up with your nonsense, so just bow down and admit you’re useless. I’m giving you a chance to recover what little honor you have left."

...Victor looked at that woman... He remembered her name from his past life... The Gravitational Omen... the only vampire in the world capable of manipulating gravity.

And also... in ten years she will be...

One of the Twelve Super Vampires, the Bloody Gravitational Queen.

Eleonora Thorne.