Inside the exclusive Mirage Realm.
"By the way, Moka."
Arthur smiled faintly at Akashiya Moka. "I plan to turn the Mirage Realm into our future home."
"Our… home?!"
At his words, Moka's eyes lit up.
She glanced around, then turned back to meet his gaze. A radiant smile blossomed on her face like a flower.
Within the Cross's inner consciousness—
After sharing the memory, Inner Moka's lips also curved slightly.
Her heart quivered.
The thirst for blood surged once more.
For a vampire, the desire to drink blood usually arose in only two situations:
One, out of hunger.
Two, at a moment of passion.
Right now, Akashiya Moka is clearly the second.
"Arthur… I want it."
Her pretty face flushed pink, her eyes hazy yet burning hot. Her charming voice whispered in his ear.
Sensing her change—
"Alright."
Arthur understood immediately. She wanted to drink his blood. He gave a soft reply.
Moka parted her rosy lips.
She gently bit into his neck.
This time, Inner Moka did not appear.
After ten or so seconds—
Having finished drinking, Moka raised a curious question.
Why were there no animals in the Mirage Realm?
Arthur conjured a barrier beneath them, laying Moka's robe down so she wouldn't lie on bare ground.
The two of them began discussing biology.
Here, in this newborn world.
As the two of them explored the mysteries of life's reproduction within the Mirage Realm—
Meanwhile, in the main world.
A black shadow flickered past, leaping easily over a two-meter-high wall and into Arthur's courtyard.
It was the black-haired woman holding the stone.
"Nothing…"
She activated her youkai sense for a moment, then frowned.
Looking down at her hand—
The stone glowed faintly red, but none of its four arrows lit up.
That meant she had reached the vicinity of where her target had been not long ago, yet the target was gone.
So where had they gone?
She put the stone away and approached the large living room window. Extending her hand, she summoned a trace of youkai energy.
Click. The lock on the sliding window was released.
She slid it open and stepped into the living room.
Then casually shut it again.
The black-haired woman searched every room of the house.
She picked up Arthur's and Moka's phones, but both required fingerprint unlocks. With a faint frown, she set them back in place.
At last, she returned to the first-floor living room.
She sat on the sofa, closed her eyes, and began to lie in wait.
Her spiritual sense spread to cover the entire house.
Night deepened quietly.
Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, a Mist Gate silently appeared in the upstairs master bedroom.
Arthur stepped out, carrying an utterly exhausted Moka in his arms.
She nestled against his chest, already fast asleep, lips curved faintly upward in a sweet dream.
"Hmm?"
The moment he returned to the bedroom, Arthur felt something was off.
Someone had been in his house.
His brows furrowed slightly as his psychic sense instantly swept across the home.
He "saw" the uninvited guest sitting in the first-floor living room.
"A vampire…"
He sensed an aura faintly similar to Akashiya Moka's.
It was unmistakably the aura of a vampire.
Could it be someone from Moka's family?
Carefully, he laid the sleeping Moka onto the bed, draping a clean blanket over her pale, delicate figure.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the living room.
"What is this?!"
The black-haired woman suddenly sensed a familiar aura and snapped her eyes open toward the upstairs bedroom.
It felt vaguely familiar.
But she couldn't quite recall why.
She pulled out the stone again. It was glowing red-hot now.
The target had appeared.
Yet she sensed two auras.
One familiar. One seemingly ordinary.
She tucked the stone away. Just as she was about to head upstairs, she sensed that the "ordinary" aura was moving downstairs.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Suppressing the urge to go up, she waited.
Soon, Arthur descended to the living room.
He saw her—the black-haired woman.
Dressed in a military-style black uniform dress, with refined features and striking beauty, her gaze sharp.
Her face betrayed no expression.
As Arthur observed her, she too was sizing him up.
A normal human?
No… not quite.
Though his aura seemed utterly ordinary, just like any other human, her instincts told her otherwise.
The man before her was anything but simple.
She debated whether or not to strike.
As she hesitated, Arthur asked in a calm voice:
"Who are you?"
"..."
The woman's eyes flickered. She gave no reply.
She was still deciding whether to act against him.
Seeing her silence, Arthur narrowed his eyes faintly.
He felt a trace of hostile youkai power.
Not exactly friendly, then.
Fine. Since she didn't want to talk, there was no need for words.
The best defense was offense.
A faint light flickered in Arthur's eyes.
"Domain Expansion—Sovereign Realm!"
He immediately activated his Sovereign Domain.
Not because he feared losing a fight.
But because he didn't want his home destroyed.
With a flash of power—
In less than a nanosecond, the square-and-circle shaped domain "Sovereign Realm" took form.
It drew both of them inside.
The scene was exactly the same as when he fought Inner Moka.
Arthur sat upon the golden throne.
The Swords of Damocles stood like a sentinel beside and behind him.
"State your purpose."
Looking down at the black-haired woman from above, Arthur leaned slightly to the right, propping his face on his hand. His tone was calm, his gaze sharp and deep.
Gentleness was reserved for his wives.
Though she was beautiful, this woman was a stranger—
And an intruder who had broken into his home without permission, ignoring his questions.
Rude, to say the least.
"A domain?!"
Within the Sovereign Realm, the black-haired woman's expression changed at once, her body tensing.
Shock. Caution.
She hadn't expected someone of her level to be dragged helplessly into another's domain.
Meeting Arthur's gaze—
For an instant, she felt as if he were a supreme god-king, her soul trembling with the urge to submit.
She frowned slightly.
Forcing youkai energy to circulate, she suppressed that mental pressure.
She did not panic.
She was confident in her strength.
After witnessing Arthur's hidden power, her eyes flickered. She made her decision.
Crimson youkai aura burst forth.
A violent shockwave swept the domain.
Her figure blurred into blood-red light, moving faster than human eyes could follow, launching herself straight at Arthur.
"Oh…"
Arthur's eyes narrowed faintly.
So instead of bowing to the situation, she chose to strike him head-on.
Courageous. Interesting.
Mid-air, she suddenly seemed to sense something. Her fist shot forward.
The Blood Moon Domain unfurled.
Blood-red and fiery-red powers collided in the air.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The air ruptured like bombs detonating.
Invisible shockwaves blasted outward with thunderous force.
Hiss—
Noticing the sizzling resonance, like water droplets on red-hot iron, the black-haired woman's eyes sharpened. She quickly pulled her fist back and retreated.
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