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Inside a black tower inside of the Living Forest of Crimson Blood, a blue-skinned vampire with a pair of red horns sprouting from his forehead, short white hair, and wearing a black and red noble suit glared towards the left. An enormous pressure expanded from the end of his forest, inherited to him due to his war exploits within the family and due to his noble bloodline.
Crack… crack…!
CRAAASH!
"W-Wha…?!"
His concentration was broken while he was cultivating his Blood Core. Surrounding him there were the precious high-quality materials of many Vampiric Beasts he had hunted inside of this very forest. This was a shortcut to easily breakthrough Rank 8 of his Blood Core, named the Nascent Soul Blood Core Realm.
In this Realm, both Blood Core and Soul connect together, and awaken as a Nascent Blood Soul Core, gaining a golden hue to it and the ability to expand the senses beyond the Blood Aura of the Vampire's powers.
However, to be interrumpted meant to fail such a process. His cultivation level was not affected, but his soul was slightly damaged, making the vampire cough in pain and anger.
"Who… Who dares break the barrier I purposely left behind for bastards to not enter?!" He roared furiously. "After killing three of my damned siblings and gaining enough achievements in the war against the Recessed, I finally thought I could cultivate in peace! But wait…"
The young-looking vampire, who was actually over three hundred years old, named Emiliano Von Dracul, suddenly realized something. His eyes widening in shock as he felt a foreign yet incredibly rich essence pouring into the forest.
"T-This is the energy the Blood Gods wield? Cosmic Blood essence? No… Only cosmic? What is this?!" He started salivating as if he were smelling the richest blood. "Hahhh… Whoever managed to break the barrier is still incredibly strong, at least Rank 8… But I am also Rank 8! If I prepare well… And bring forth the Forest's Kings, then there should be a chance, right?"
His mind was filled with greed, as Emiliano swiftly sprouted a pair of giant black wings from his back and flew into the skies, leaping out of the black tower where he lived with his human subjects and also his blood bags.
"Blood bags don't step out of the tower while I am outside. If you must, hide underground. Things are only going to get more aggressive outside." His sharp and merciless eyes pierced the humans, their eyes glowed bright purple, nodding in silence and walking away. "Hmph, now…"
As he flew off, he suddenly sensed the presences of other vampires flying the skies above. His eyes widened as he found out who they were.
"What? They're here already?! Did they also sense that cosmic essence?! Dammit!" Emiliano flew as fast as he could, but he was quickly caught up by his siblings.
"Dear brother Emiliano! How nice is to see you!" A gorgeous vampire with short silver hair reaching her shoulders and with emerald-colored eyes greeted Emiliano, wearing a big red and black dress, and flying with a pair of blood wings.
"Camilla, why are you here? Father allowed me to keep this territory! This is my land, leave!" Emiliano hissed back at her, but his sister only giggled playfully.
"Is this how you would treat your younger sister, Emiliano?"
"I don't think this is how we taught you to treat each other…"
He would have already torn Camilla to shreds if it wasn't because she came with two of their oldest siblings. Two blonde vampires with blue skin, a woman and a female. Twins, looking as youthful and handsome as one could imagine.
Both wearing black and red armor and holding weapons, ready to fight already. Their Auras exuded the pressure of Rank 9 Vampires, who reached the Nascent Blood Soul Core Realm.
The armor and weapons they held were special Blood Soul Treasures that a Vampire can create once they reach Rank 9, one of the major advantages they have over Rank 8, aside from having much stronger souls!
"Elder Brother Hector, Elder Sister Hecatriz, I apologize for my rudeness… But Camilla often gets in my nerves." Emiliano glared at her, who hid behind her elder siblings, always sucking up to them.
"We were patrolling the area testing our new treasures." Said Hecatriz. "But then we felt something and came. Did something happen to the barrier?"
"It broke, isn't it?" Hector asked Emiliano, his sharp eyes could easily see through any lies.
"…Yes." Emiliano spoke. "This forest has been bestowed to me, so it is my responsibility to take care of it, my siblings. You don't need to waste your precious time assisting me."
"Oh please, what's family for?" Camilla giggled. "We're here to help you!"
"That's right, we're all family." Smiled Hector.
"And family takes care of one another." Hecatriz showed her sharp fangs.
Emiliano felt their pressure, they were obviously bullshitting him. But it wasn't as if he could shoo them away, even less dare to damage his soul even more by fighting them.
"Okay, you can come, but please let me handle the problem myself, you can watch from the sidelines." He sighed.
"Alright!" Camilla smiled.
"If anything bad happens, we'll help."
"Indeed."
The twins were mostly neutral, but Emiliano knew their backstabbing tendencies, they had killed a few of their older siblings already by pretending to be harmless. Camilla was a wild card; he didn't even know why the twins were so fixated on her.
"The Blood Moon Ritual is beginning soon, brother. The Blood Moon Empress is going to descend." Said Camilla. "With how strange the sky has turned and how there's now colorful stones falling from it, I think something big will be happening…"
"We've received reports of nebulous entities emerging from the chaotic sea too." Hector said.
"What? What entities?" Emiliano asked, who had been in closed cultivation since everything started.
"Some of the Elders of the family call these monstrosities from another Plane as Outer Gods…" Hecatriz said. "They have begun by attacking the smaller families and human kingdoms, our Family won't fall so easily."
"War again…?! The Recessed War was already enough for a lifetime!" Emiliano complained.
"The corrupted Celestial Gods are still wandering around too, that war never truly ended, we simply fended them off our territory. The Nosferatu and Hecatenian Families are still dealing with them as we speak. Be careful, brother." Hecatriz laughed. "Since the Vampire Overlord's and his Family's Ascension into the Emerald Moon, this world has only become more chaotic."
"Well, isn't this chaos and bloodshed where we Vampires thrive the most?" Laughed Hector. "Father has never been so thrilled lately… Mother as well."
"…" Emiliano sly eyes squinted at the comments of his siblings, he couldn't wait to grow strong enough to slit their throats, devour their cores and become stronger than this band of fools. "Yes… I suppose." He took one last glance into the skies, the Silver Moon, the Crimson Moon, and the Emerald Moon, his hear full of ambition and greed.
"One day, I will dethrone all of you." He laughed internally. "One step at a time…"
For now, he gazed into the distance, the cosmic essence he desired was drawing closer, its smell intoxicating.
