Bloodpolis was a dangerous spell in more ways than one.
It's a devastating spell utilized only by vampires. Upon being cast, it conjures a dense cloud of crimson blood.
This dark and ominous technique involves the vampire channeling their own essence and life force, transforming it into a swirling, ethereal mist.
Other vampires could easily traverse in this crimson mist and fight with utmost proficiency since it's a spell cast by their own kind.
And fighting in a cloud of blood is their domain for obvious reasons.
When unleashed, the cloud envelops the immediate area, obscuring vision, and disorienting opponents.
The blood within the cloud is imbued with vampiric powers, making it highly corrosive and capable of weakening or even incapacitating those who come into contact with it.
That's why, no spell could ever be cast inside the Bloodpolis at its full potential since it would immediately be corroded.
Also for the same reason, the blood mist couldn't be contained like Liz and Yelena had tried to do.
Anyone, if they're not a vampire, instantly gets poisoned if they inhale the mist. Their bodies also sustain corrosive damage so fighting inside the blood fog is akin to committing suicide.
That is, if one is not as prepared as I was.
Yeah, aside from obscuring my view, the crimson mist did not inflict much damage on me.
Since I won't need to breathe, I wouldn't be poisoned. And not to mention, since I donned Phoenix's Embrace, the corrosive property of the mist was reduced by almost ninety percent in efficiency.
Don't get me wrong, my flesh was still being continuously damaged, but not as severely as others might be having it.
In the novel, Liz managed to stop the Bloodpolis from activating so none of this happened. But in this reality, she was the closest to the activation point of the spell.
If my guess is correct, then I would only need to let this spell be activated for a few more minutes. After that, I will disrupt it.
Yes, I could dismiss this spell whenever I want. Bloodpolis needs some special runes engraved on or under the ground to be activated.
That is the sole reason why it couldn't be used on the battlefield since it's a trap spell.
Anyway, my point is, below this concrete field is the runic circle for this spell. If I damage this, the spell would collapse.
During my fight with Nero, I lay several traps of my own. The fissures and cracks that were created as a result of our duel– I filled them with explosive marbles that I created beforehand with the help of my Edit Pen.
At my command, dozens of those marbles would explode and shatter the entirety of the concrete field, destroying the runic circle below us.
So, without a care in the world, I moved forward in search of the people I was looking for.
My visibility was almost reduced to zero… almost. I kept my guard up since I could be attacked from any direction.
But it seemed like most of the vampires were either focusing on Liz and Ella's father, who were in the center of the mist.
After all, they were the most dangerous threat here.
Aside from them, the rest of the vampires were trying to assassinate their target—the reason for which they came here.
Soon, guided by the loud clamor of weapons clashing against weapons, I found them.
My visibility was still partially obscured but I could make out several figures.
Elijah and Chase were on their knees, eyes widened and their breathing ragged. The poison was slowly taking effect on them it seemed.
Kent, Aster, and William were already sprawled on the ground, their bodies convulsing in pain. The poison had already done a number on them.
Well, all of them were elves and the corrosive property of this mist was made of dark elements. It was sure to harm them the most.
Walking past Kent's agonizingly writhing body, I muttered an inaudible apology. I will get this to end soon.
As I moved closer, the figures of Amelia, Anastasia, and Nero became more and more clear.
All of them were... engaged in combat.
Huh?! While others labored to even move without losing consciousness, they were fiercely fighting!
Amelia kept firing arrow after arrow, while Nero maintained an endless, rhythmic swing of his sword.
Anastasia, on the other hand, had forsaken her bow and was now engaging in close combat, her fists enveloped in azure gauntlets forged from pure mana.
They faced a horde of vampires, and without a doubt, each of them had mortal wounds in multiple places on their bodies.
Amelia had a deep gash along her left rib, inflicted by one of the vampires' vicious claws.
Nero appeared to have lost an eye, a long scar tracing from his right eyebrow down to his cheek.
Surprisingly, Anastasia seemed to have not received any severe injuries, but the accumulation of minor wounds across her body was evident.
Main characters or not, all of them would surely die at this rate.
Gripping my spear tightly, I swiftly charged in their direction and deftly parried a series of strikes before impaling a vampire from behind, catching the monstrous creature by surprise.
Kaach—!!
Pulling back my spear, I maintained my fight, my movements surpassing those of the other cadets, to the point that even some vampires appeared taken aback.
Gradually, I fought my way through, inching closer to Nero. The protagonist noticed me with his one remaining intact eye and gave a look that looked like relief.
"Lucas!" he exclaimed, slashing down a bloodsucker inside its own domain.
"You look terrible!" I said, skewering a vampire's arm with my spear as it tried to swing its claw at me.
"You look… How the fuck do you look so good in this hell?!" Nero scanned me up and down only to give me a surprised look.
Right then, another bloodsucker tried to jump at us but before it could slash its sword at us, an arrow whipped through the air and pierced its eye.
The bloodsucker staggered back and right then Anastasia lunged forward. She bashed her fist squarely into the face of the vile vampire.
The vampire's skull exploded as if it was hit by a speeding mountain. I couldn't help but shudder as I saw that.
Just how strong is this slender-looking girl?!
"Boys, can you both please concentrate?!" Amelia's voice shot through the mayhem. She coughed a mouthful of blood and then continued shooting her arrows again.
"Yes, focus on cutting down these vampires first," Anastasia added, landing a flawless uppercut on another vampire.
"I need to find my master!" Nero spoke, his voice full of worry. "She was at the center of the most!"
"You can't," I shook my head as I noticed something stirring through the mist behind me.
Without even wasting a breath, I spun around and thrust my spear forward to attack the vampire that tried to sneak up on me.
Kach—!!
As the satisfying sound of bones being crunched resounded when my spear drilled a hole into a bloodsucker's skull, I continued.
"The mist only grows thicker the more you move toward its center. It's already enough of a miracle that you can stand, let alone move at this density of the mist," I told him.
Nero gave me a frustrated look and then opened his mouth to yell, "I know!" He coughed some blood and then continued. "But I can't leave her there!"
Of course, you can't. She is the closest thing to a family you have.
Stopping a smirk to appear on my face, I said, "Don't ask how, but I have a way to disrupt this spell. However, there are four high-vampires in the arena. After the mist settles down, none of the cadets would be in the shape to fight."
As Nero continued to listen intently, I took a short pause and resumed:
"You will have to fight at least one of them. I know you're in no condition to fight either, but you will just have to."
"What about the other three high-vampires?" Nero asked, a bit of uncertainty present in his voice.
"I will handle the rest so don't worry about them," I reassured him. "Can you summon your Gift?"
Nero lingered at my question for a few seconds and then answered in a low tone, "Yes, but only for two, or at most, three seconds so it won't be of any help."
"No, that much will be enough," I replied with a shake of my head as Amelia and Anastasia continued to cover us, knowing we were discussing something important.
"I want you to strike me with a bolt of lightning as soon as this crimson mist drops," I ordered. "Can you do that, Nero?"
The black-haired swordsman waited for a few seconds then nodded slightly. "Sure, whatever your plan is."
"Good," I replied and finally turned to look at the center of the arena. Almost instantly I commanded the explosive marbles to detonate.
A flash of light appeared through the deep cracks in the ground and a devastating localized earthquake hit the arena the next moment.
BOOOOOM—!!
