At this moment.
In the deepest part of the Eternal Night Hall lay a massive cylindrical chamber, plunging dozens of meters down. At the bottom stood a circular altar carved with strange runic patterns, surrounded by twelve rune-etched stone pillars.
And beneath each pillar, bound in place, was a vampire—without exception, all of them pure-blood elder vampires.
"Release us!"
"Frost, we are pure-bloods! How dare you treat us like this!"
"Frost, you mongrel! You'll regret this!"
The vampire elders cursed furiously.
One moment they had been sleeping comfortably in their coffins, and the next Frost barged in with his underlings, pried the lids open, and dragged them out.
The elders were enraged and fought back immediately.
Then they kneeled.
They had no choice. They had lived too long and grown too old-fashioned.
While they were still trying to fight with the classic vampire technique of biting and clawing, Frost's younger generation of vampires had long since started using firearms—perfectly demonstrating what it means when "within seven steps, the gun is fast and accurate."
Worse yet, these young vampires had no sense of knightly honor.
They were using silver bullets.
Frost simply scoffed: Who said vampires can't use weapons made to kill vampires?
Regardless of the elders' protests, Frost stood unmoving at the center of the altar.
He gazed up at the blood slowly coalescing on the dome above, excitement spreading across his face.
"The moment has finally arrived!"
According to ancient vampire tomes, there existed a forbidden ritual known as the Blood God Rite.
By using the blood of a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire—as the medium, one could gather the power of twelve pure-blood elders into a single vampire, granting strength far surpassing that of ordinary vampires.
Years ago, Frost had deliberately sought out a pregnant woman, infected her with vampirism, and ensured the birth of a half-human, half-vampire child.
That child—naturally—was none other than Blade, the unlucky one.
Frost had been preparing for this ritual for years, pouring in countless resources and effort.
"Once the ritual is complete, I will become the god of all vampires—and rule the entire world!"
Frost spread his arms wide, welcoming fate.
Soon, the blood gathered on the dome condensed into a single drop and fell onto his forehead.
Outside the Eternal Night Hall, the night sky suddenly shifted.
Black clouds surged over the hall, lightning writhing within like coiling serpents.
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning crashed down onto the Eternal Night Hall!
The terrifying lightning force raced along the twelve rune pillars, slamming down on the bound vampire elders.
"Aaaaaah!!"
The elders screamed in agony!
Within the raging storm of light, their flesh rapidly disintegrated into ash. From within the ashes, twelve skeletal figures—gray, winged, and grotesque—burst free. Like undead spirits rising from hell, they darted wildly through the air above the altar.
It was a sight straight from a nightmare.
Even Frost's underlings guarding the altar shrank back, horrified.
Yes, they were vampires—but even vampires feared ghosts.
After circling through the air, the twelve skeletal specters suddenly jerked as if pulled by an unseen force. They swerved sharply and surged toward the altar's center, madly plunging into Frost's body.
Frost's eyes flew open. His pupils—along with the whites—were instantly drowned in a thick, blood-colored glow, making him look terrifyingly inhuman.
"Frost!!"
A roar filled with hatred thundered across the chamber.
Blade descended from above, landing heavily on the altar's edge, his gaze burning with fury as it locked onto Frost.
Frost was already his enemy, and now—with the added sin of being his biological mother's killer—Blade's killing intent surged to its peak.
Blade had recovered his gear. Gripping his silver longsword, he charged at Frost without hesitation.
"Damn it, the Daywalker! Stop him!"
The surrounding vampires startled, rushing forward to engage Blade in close combat.
On the raised platform above the altar, several vampires aimed their guns at Blade, fingers tightening on their triggers—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Silver bullets burst forth, instantly blowing out the heads of multiple gunmen.
Immediately afterward, concentrated garlic-extract grenades arced down from an even higher point, landing across the platform.
Hiss—!
Thick yellow smoke erupted violently, spreading in all directions!
The vampires caught in the garlic fumes screamed in agony, their bodies sizzling like they were being dissolved in acid. In seconds, they crumbled into piles of blackened ash.
"He's up there!"
An observant vampire pointed upward—at Daniel, who was standing upside-down on the ceiling.
What the hell was that supposed to be!?
The vampires were stunned.
Ghostly skeletons flying around, a human hanging off the ceiling like a demon…
Compared to all this, the vampires themselves suddenly felt like the normal ones here.
Recovering from their daze, they frantically turned their guns upward and unleashed a barrage at the bizarre figure on the ceiling.
But with the gravity boots on his feet, Daniel moved like a wraith, weaving between ceiling and walls with effortless agility. He dodged while firing precision shots, eliminating every vampire within his line of sight.
In no time, the entire platform had been cleared.
Daniel glanced down and saw Blade still fighting ten-plus vampires at once.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five shots rang out, and the vampires lunging at Blade had their heads blasted apart, turning instantly to ash.
"I'm done up there. Why are you still not finished?"
Daniel landed in a perfect superhero pose in front of Blade.
Blade chopped an approaching vampire in half and grumbled, "Give me a few more seconds and I'll have it handled."
Seeing the two closing in together, the remaining vampires panicked and backed away—right up to the center of the altar.
Suddenly, a pale, bloodless hand rested on one vampire's shoulder.
The vampire turned. The hand belonged to Frost.
And Frost had completely transformed. His face was ghostly white, his eyes glowing a demonic crimson, and his entire presence radiated a chilling, predatory aura.
"Boss, you succeeded?" the vampire asked, thrilled.
Frost's lips curled into a cold, eerie smile. "Yes. But right now, I'm hungry. Very hungry."
"I'll get you fresh blood right away!" the underling offered hurriedly.
"No need."
Frost's crimson eyes locked onto him. "There's plenty right here."
Before the words finished—
Frost lunged, moving faster than the eye could track. His razor-sharp fangs sank deep into his underling's neck.
"Ugh!"
The vampire only had time for a short gasp before his body shriveled at a terrifying speed.
In less than half a second, he was reduced to a skin-wrapped skeleton.
"A vampire drinking a vampire's blood?"
Daniel's expression twisted into something complicated.
Not long ago he had asked Blade whether vampires could drink the blood of other creatures.
Blade told him that while blood was a vampire's only food, they drank only human blood—fresh or refrigerated.
As for the blood of their own kind or animals…
To a vampire, it tasted like eating literal excrement.