Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1773: Maria, The Dancing Ghost Blade
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Both Vampire Family Heads screamed and hissed like the feral beasts they truly were, their bodies writhing in agony as sacred flames devoured their flesh.
"Gyaaaaaaggh!"
"Hisssss!"
Mireth watched the torment unfold, then swiftly summoned dozens of mirrors, shattering them in unison to fracture the space around her.
"{Shattered Mirror Dimension}!"
Crack, crack...!
CRASH!
In an instant, Maria and Wu Lieng found themselves imprisoned in a boundless realm of endless mirrors and reflections, where Mireth reigned as its unchallenged goddess.
"Hahahaha! Welcome to my mirror world!"
She laughed triumphantly as hundreds of her clones emerged from every surface—living reflections animated by her power. They unleashed a relentless barrage of searing light beams, blazing claws, and lethal artifacts upon the pair.
"Impressive. You would make a fine subordinate."
Maria swung all ten of her swords downward, slashing through the fabric of reality itself while Wu Lieng watched in stunned awe.
At that moment, a new form took shape.
{Spectral Ghostly Fist Art: Eleventh Form—Nightmare Soul Blade Dance}
As the name implied, Maria danced, a deadly, graceful whirl that severed everything in her path.
Unmoved. Unshackled.
She was free, freer than anyone could ever hope to be.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Waves of Sword Ki tore through the dimension’s reality. Every reflection perished in an instant, and the true Mireth screamed as her most powerful technique crumbled before her eyes.
"How...! HOW?!"
In her fury, she distorted space, attempting to rip Maria’s arm away by shattering the void around it.
Yet Maria unleashed a shockwave of pure Void, halting the spatial assault completely and hurling it back at its caster.
"Why don’t you taste your own medicine?!"
"NGH? AAAAHHH!"
Mireth shrieked as the reversed force struck her. Space within her body fractured, tearing her apart into countless glassy fragments.
Crack, crack...!
CRAAASH!
"Xarion and Orren, correct?" Maria asked calmly, Wu Lieng standing steadfast at her side. "As you just witnessed, I destroyed one of your Crimson Order’s strongest members. I can do the same to both of you."
"D-Do you propose an alliance?" Xarion stammered.
"No," Maria replied, her smile sharp and vicious. "I simply wanted to see terror on your faces. I am going to kill you both right now."
"Damn it! Orren, get up and fight!" Xarion snarled, manifesting dozens of soul chains that pierced Orren’s wounded spirit, forcing him to rise like a puppet.
"Uuuggh?! Xarion?! Release my soul!" Orren roared, his form dissolving into a vast cloud of mist and shadow before splitting into hundreds of serpents that lunged at Xarion’s aura.
"Stop it! We must fight together, you idiot!" Xarion shouted.
"Together?! When you are using me as a shield?!" Orren spat.
"Tch! You are all useless!" Xarion clicked his tongue. His Blood Soul Aura erupted, summoning thousands of screaming Blood Soul Specters. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Maria met the oncoming horde without hesitation. She swung her sword forward and danced, carving a path through everything before her.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
With Nightmare Soul Blade Dance, she wielded her very soul as a blade, defying fate and the heavens themselves.
Xarion’s spectral army fell apart in waves. The strikes reached him at last, severing both arms and carving deep slashing wounds across his body.
"GAAAAHHH!"
As he howled in pain, Orren struck from above, compressing a ferocious windstorm and thunderstorm into a single devastating kick.
"{Piercing Tempest Kick}!"
TRUUUM!
Maria blocked the blow with her bare hand, then slapped his face with the other, sending him hurtling into the wall once more.
BOOOM!
"Piercing Tempest Kick? Really? Did you just make that up?"
As Maria mocked them, Xarion gritted his teeth, glaring at her with burning hatred while glancing toward Wu Lieng and the statue.
"As long as I seize one of them and escape with my Magic Ring, victory is mine! I will take the old man!"
He charged, transforming into a legion of millions of tormented, screaming souls to overwhelm and confuse her.
Maria sliced through the mass but struck only lesser specters. Xarion grinned wickedly as he seized Wu Lieng’s arm and began dragging him away.
"At last, I have you! Now I will—"
"{Heavenly Demonic Dragon Arts}: {Heaven-Piercing Fist}!!!"
"GUH?!"
BOOOMMM!!!
Wu Lieng’s fist smashed into Xarion’s face. His eyes burst from their sockets as the vampire’s skull caved inward, brains exploding outward. The body collapsed, rolling across the ground in a trail of blood.
"You thought I was weak?" Wu Lieng spat on the twitching corpse. "You damn vampires! Always looking down on others! It is time you learned true humility!"
"That is right," Maria nodded. "Is it not, my dear Mireth?"
"Indeed, Master Maria!" Mireth laughed, rising as her body reformed flawlessly. She appeared more vibrant than ever, her power surging even greater.
Xarion and Orren stared in horror. She no longer resembled an Undead at all.
"These fools must taste death to understand the glory of your existence!" Mireth declared joyfully. "Her love and compassion are boundless! You will come to adore the Embrace of the Mother of Sorrow, Xarion, Orren!"
"M-Mireth was turned into an Undead?!" Xarion gasped. "Damn it all! Orren, no holding back—unleash everything!"
"W-What?! But...!" Orren faltered.
"If we do not, we will die like her!" Xarion urged.
"Damn it all!" Orren roared.
"What are they planning?" Maria asked.
"They are about to assume their Vampire Progenitor Forms," Mireth explained with a serene smile. "A fearsome technique that awakens our primal instincts and power. They will become gigantic, rampaging beasts. That is why we dislike it—so little elegance."
"I see," Maria replied, her smile widening. "Very well! Go all out, fools. I will allow it."
"YOU WILL REGRET THIS!"
"IT HURTS! GUAAAAHH!"
Xarion and Orren clawed at their own skin, tearing it away to reveal pulsating muscles that swelled and expanded monstrously.
Their long-still hearts suddenly thundered to life, accelerating wildly as the transformation turned them into horrific abominations.
"Maria! Why?!" Wu Lieng cried, alarmed.
"To make their defeat even more crushing, you must overcome them at their strongest," Maria answered, her eyes gleaming with fierce excitement. "Here, unseal your father."
"T-This is...!" Wu Lieng’s eyes widened as Maria handed him a small black bead.
"A Curse Absorbing Bead I crafted," she said. "It should break any curse weaker than myself."
"Thank you!" Wu Lieng nodded gratefully, rushing toward the statue of his father.
"GAHAHAHAHA!"
"IT IS OVER...!"
As Wu Lieng hurried away, the two vampires completed their transformations. Their auras now overflowed with colossal power.
Each was at least ten times stronger than before. Maria faced the towering, muscular bat-like monstrosities with an admiring smile.
They resembled the Blood Beasts they often commanded, revealing their shared ancient lineage.
"So you are just oversized bats? Impressive. Come on then, batmen. Show me your strength."
"WE WILL TEAR YOU APART!"
"GRAAAAAAARRRGGH!"
Xarion and Orren charged, their Elemental Auras erupting and cladding their bodies in shimmering magical armor.
CLAAASH!
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