They were both so surprised that it took a moment before their reactions kicked in. Thalion was faster than the undead elf. He immediately activated Crimson Gaze and struck the elf hard. Elias was first confused, then slowed down by the mental attack. Thalion used the opportunity and lunged forward, both claws elongating and glowing with intense red light. He dashed toward Elias at full speed. Elias was just a bit too slow to defend himself properly and only managed to turn to the side. That motion was barely enough to save his life. One of Thalion's claws slashed across his chest, slicing away some of the long blond hair that hadn't yet fallen out. The second claw tore through his side and severed his right arm. The bones were tougher than those of a normal human, but Thalion still cut clean through them. Miasma and black blood spilled from the wound, though far less than a human would have lost from a severed limb.

That's when Elias finally acted. His aura surged outward like a tidal wave. Nothing simple or subtle about it and Thalion was sure that Elias's strength came close to that of the vampiress he had fought. Still, with one arm missing, things were looking good for Thalion. Well, at least as long as Elias didn't activate an escape token.

That was when it clicked in Thalion's mind. He quickly glanced at the arm he'd severed at the elbow. A grin almost crept onto his face as he spotted a glint of silver on one of the fingers. The spatial ring, lying useless on the cold stone stairs.

Elias waved his remaining hand toward Thalion, and a wave of miasma surged forth, far stronger than what someone with Elias's aura should have been able to summon. There wasn't much room to dodge, but the Crimson Eidolon had other options. Thalion dove straight through the floor to avoid the attack. The shockwave cracked a few stones, but none of it reached him. The only problem was that he couldn't see anything underground, though he had a good idea of where Elias was likely standing. He adjusted his position slightly and then shot upward, ready to unleash a screech in case Elias had moved.

Thalion burst through the stone silently, and the moment he had a clear view, he let loose the screech he'd been charging. Elias looked briefly confused but reacted instantly this time, summoning a miasma shield around himself that completely absorbed the shockwave. All of his abilities were far stronger than they should have been, given his aura. Thalion wasn't even sure if he could create a mana barrier that strong, even with preparation.

Elias countered with a miasma blade, launching it like a dark version of Thalion's red slash. Thalion shot upward, dodging the spell, then streaked toward Elias again. But Elias had already realized this wasn't the right place for him to fight. He turned into a cloud of miasma and rushed up the stairs. The speed was insane, even faster than Thalion in Mistform. Were Elias's skills of a higher rarity? They had to be. Or was it a feature of his bloodline? No, that didn't make sense. A bloodline like that would be classified as mid-tier by multiversal standards, which was still strong, but not this strong.

Thalion quickly followed, shifting into mist form to keep up, but not before taking Elias's spatial ring. Elias burst through the first window and into the sky. He probably believed open air gave him the best chance of survival with no walls or ground for Thalion to dive into. Smart, Thalion admitted, as he gave chase.

Vampires stationed nearby immediately opened fire, launching blood spears at Thalion as they spotted him in pursuit. Perfect. Thalion hijacked the blood mid-air, partially consuming it. While dodging, he embedded the spatial ring on the tip of one of the blood spears and hurled it toward the Black Fortress. It was only five hundred meters away, and he smiled when he saw the barrier tremble on impact. Unless someone handed Elias another escape token, this was going to end badly for him.

Thalion's mana had dropped to eighty percent, which was significant given his absurd regeneration. Still, he had plenty of time to chop Elias into pieces.

Elias looked visibly annoyed when he saw his spatial ring, with all his items, soaring far beyond the wall toward the human base. Yet even now, he showed no fear. He dashed at Thalion, killing intent radiating off him. Thalion, meanwhile, was having a hard time keeping up. Not out of fear that the Crimson Eidolon would be destroyed, but because so many things were happening at once. Most of the vampires hadn't even realized they were handing him ammunition with every blood-based attack.

Thalion absorbed some of the blood to empower himself, while redirecting the rest toward Elias in explosive bursts. They were now hovering twenty meters above the palace when the lich summoned his annoying shield once again to block the assault. But thanks to the constant influx of blood, Thalion's form grew even stronger and his mana, which had started to drop earlier, surged back to full. Just like that, he was back at a hundred percent.

Elias exploded with power, his aura rising to new heights as his shield burst apart, transforming into a shockwave. That was when Thalion decided to kill a few vampires first before taking on Elias directly. The lich was an intelligent fighter, and Thalion had no doubt that the moment Elias realized he would lose the fight, he'd try to escape and with that movement skill of his, he might actually succeed. Especially since Thalion's real body was still deep in the catacombs.

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No, he either needed to kill or severely injure Elias. Elias was already wounded, so the best course of action now was to eliminate as many vampires as possible and perhaps weaken him further.

Thalion dodged the shockwave by diving downward. Vampires were everywhere. On rooftops, inside buildings, along the walls, in towers… not surprising, given this was a vampire fortress. Thalion sliced two vampires apart in the street in a quick flyby, then turned toward the outer wall. He could now use the terrain. Buildings, ground, and structures to evade the barrage of weapons and powerful miasma spells Elias kept firing at him.

The first attack was a gray miasma beam fired from Elias's right hand. Thalion immediately flew through the wall of a nearby building, killed six vampires inside, and burst out the other side, continuing toward the fortress wall.

He could hear Elias shouting after him.

"Follow the red mist and kill the caster. MOVE!" the lich barked at a group of nearby vampires.

Well, that could be a problem.

Thalion quickly sent a warning to the Sanguis Impera, notifying it of what was about to happen. He didn't need to leave the Crimson Eidolon to do that.

He continued carving through vampires left and right. It felt like cutting down weeds and Thalion was starting to have fun with it. He tested out a few new skills: Fireball, styled like a flamethrower, of course. Mana Wave, and to his surprise, even Tectonic Slam worked. He also discovered he could use Telekinetic Dash, which must have looked absurd with his current ghostly form.

Another pleasant surprise: his passive skill Sanguine Ascendance worked for both his real body and his Eidolon, increasing his regeneration rate. That likely explained how he could keep the Crimson Eidolon active for so long without loosing much mana.

Thalion increased his speed and flew like a wrathful ghost toward the outer walls, tearing through the enemy. The constant influx of blood only amplified his strength, and since the vampires couldn't devour him in return, he clearly held the upper hand. A few times, blades passed through his body, but he felt no pain and could reform the damage almost instantly.

The real danger came from the one-armed Elias, who pursued him relentlessly, gray miasma swirling around him. The miasma was so potent that even nearby vampires began coughing after accidentally breathing it in. Elias had several movement skills at his disposal, but Thalion's ability to phase through solid matter made him hard to pin down.

Only once did Thalion make a mistake. He rammed head-first into the outer shield of the wall. Nearly the entire Crimson Eidolon was destroyed on impact, but he quickly reformed it and continued, diving in and out of the walls as he hunted.

From time to time, he would rise from the stone like a vengeful spirit, butcher a few vampires, then vanish back into the fortress walls.

"Defend yourselves! I'll kill this attacker myself!" Elias roared in fury, frustrated after failing to land a hit while watching Thalion slaughter his soldiers all around him.

Thalion spared the stronger vampires for now, focusing on the weaker ones. They were easier to kill and their blood empowered his next attacks. He needed experience, not for leveling, but for his evolution. What if he didn't place well in the system event? He had to be ready in case he couldn't challenge the Chosen on new earth or the system event. Besides, it would make the coming battle against Elias much easier.

He'd already noticed more and more onlookers gathering on the walls of the Black Fortress, watching the chaos unfold within the undead base. That Elias would personally come down to confront him was the best outcome Thalion could've hoped for.

On that note, he should probably check what had happened to the squad of vampires that had originally came for him.

Thalion parked the Eidolon inside a wall and opened the eyes of his real body.

It took him a moment to register where he was. Not because he didn't remember, but because the entire chamber had transformed.

He was no longer seated on the cold stone floor of the catacomb.

He was perched on a crimson-red flower, ten meters above the ground.

Around him, a jungle of blood-red flora had bloomed. Vines and flowers covered the walls and floor. Multiple blossoms glowed softly, and to the right, near the corridor leading up to the pillar chamber, ten dead vampires hung in midair. Their hearts were pierced by thick vines growing through their bodies, slowly devouring them.

Crimson flames danced through the air in certain spots, likely a manifestation of his bloodline.

Satisfied with the results, Thalion closed his eyes again.

He still had a bit of time to kill more vampires and maybe even send a signal to his allies that there were plenty of undead ripe for the taking.

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