Chapter 32: The Bitter Fruit of Love and Rebellion

Afra’s gaze did not linger on Acting City Lord Ulysses; from start to finish, she was fixated on the display screen, and the flesh-colored embryo floating in the petri dish at the center of the laboratory.

Without a doubt, this was the “Corrupted Seed” she referred to.

From this thing, Miss Vilyric sensed a somewhat familiar aura.

Wait, isn’t this the huge flesh cocoon from the mirror world earlier?

The Corrupted Seed… an immature form?

From this suggestive name, along with the inverse law power exhibited by the opponent during battle, the Priestess subtly began to understand something.

“Ahem… Afra, listen to me, we don’t have the time or luxury to analyze the seed’s power bit by bit.”

Acting City Lord Ulysses struggled to get up from the ground. He was not angry at the girl’s rough actions, but earnestly rushed to explain to her.

“You know, they’ve already found you. Even with Glorious City as a backing, it’s not something humans can easily resist. I must… obtain the power to protect you before it spirals out of control!”

“You’re playing with fire! If the corrupted power gets out of hand, it will cause disasters far beyond your imagination! This is not a realm that humans can fully control, not even our Blood Clan, do you understand?!”

Afra roared angrily, her clear, melodious voice like a young beast driven to the edge.

But she still suppressed her rationality and didn’t punch the man’s face — shattering his protective suit might lead to an infection, Vilyric unromantically speculated.

“It’s precisely because of this that I stole the Reflection Mirror containing it and the Temple from that group of madmen. Looking back, collaborating with you humans was a mistake; you’re all just as greedy!”

“Ulysses, remember this: never attempt to meddle with the power of the divine; it will only bring destruction to everyone.”

Saying this, Afra reached to operate the nearby equipment, but this time Ulysses appeared in front of her at an unimaginable speed, blocking the Blood Clan girl.

There’s no doubt this man is a legendary powerhouse.

“What are you doing, Afra!?”

“Move aside, I must take it away from here, you’ve gone insane!”

“You can’t do this! Without Glorious City and the power of the Corrupted Seed, you cannot withstand the pursuit of the Blood Clan, you’ll die!!”

Ulysses earnestly and urgently tried to persuade her, but the girl seemed unable to hear his words.

“Stop making grand excuses! You disgust me, human!!”

Afra raised her hand, crimson magic surged and swirled around her palm, but she seemed to have her reservations, refraining from directly throwing punches in front of the Corrupted Seed.

At that moment of stalemate, the entire laboratory suddenly shook violently, and both Afra and Ulysses changed their expressions drastically, turning to look towards the entry of the mirror world.

“That feeling… it’s them! How could they be here so quickly?”

“Do you see, Afra? There’s no room for choice anymore; we must use the power of the Corrupted Seed to counter the Six Princes…”

As the shaking intensified, Ulysses’ urgent expression gradually calmed down.

“Exceeding levels aren’t something humans and ordinary Blood Clan can compare to. Though you’re a Duchess, you’re still far too weak compared to a true second-generation. No matter what, I won’t let you die here.”

Just as his words fell, the last acting lord of Glorious City suddenly pressed a hidden safety button nearby, and by the time Afra, attracted by the attack, reacted, it was already too late.

The earth shook and strange power spread.

“You…!”

Zzz, zzz.

The scenery before them blurred, like a tape with damaged parts suddenly skipping whole segments; when the surroundings became clear again, the scene had transformed into a different sight.

It seemed that a fierce battle, or some other reason, had caused the memories stored in this brooch to become damaged.

Here was the lord’s mansion, which had already turned into ruins.

No, there were no human corpses; this was… the mirror world!

From the things seen earlier, this Mirror Door standing in the center of the Forgotten Land should have originally been meant to store that laboratory and the Corrupted Seed, limited in size, it couldn’t possibly reflect the immense Glorious City.

It seems the reason is connected with the lost battle records and that so-called corrupted power.

The memories continued to play, but this time they were shown from a god-like overhead perspective. In other words, at this moment, the brooch storing the memories had appeared.

Vilyric could finally see the appearance of this Duchess-level Blood Clan girl.

Indeed, she was the entity sealed within the flesh cocoon in the mirror world, a beautiful girl of fifteen or sixteen with lovely silver hair.

Of course, as a Blood Clan, her real age was certainly not just that, since vampires do not age or grow older and cannot reproduce; they remain in the form they had at the time of their initial embrace until death.

However, now, this eternally beautiful girl had turned into a lifeless shell.

She was dead.

Acting City Lord Ulysses knelt on the ground, holding her, his expression wooden, as if he had been shattered by intense sorrow. His clothes were tattered, the protective suit had long since disappeared, and a broken sword lay nearby, clearly evident of a brutal battle.

Afra bore no wounds, but Vilyric could sense that her cause of death should be related to the so-called inverse law — that corrupted power.

Just like the countless undead in the Forgotten Land, turned from living to dead, but the power Afra bore must be stronger than the law that enveloped the entire mirror world three hundred years later, so even a legendary Duchess of the Blood Clan could not avoid being reversed.

Blood Clan do not transform into undead, and thus directly fall into eternal slumber.

Nearby, three young men and women with various appearances and bat wings also lay lifeless, clearly having perished together for some reason.

“Afra…”

Ulysses, lost and dazed, moved his cracked lips. His voice was no longer the gentle and magnetic tone from earlier; it sounded like an iron saw scraping a dry, cracked tree trunk — hoarse.

“Why are you so foolish, when you… could have just let me handle it? The corrupted power I invoked should have had me bear the consequences. And without you, what meaning is there in everything I’ve done…”

However, the girl who had previously argued with him, even jumping up to hit him, was no longer able to respond.

“I won’t let you die, even if it means betraying my family’s duty, betraying Glorious City, betraying humanity! Even if I am reviled by millions, sacrificing countless lives… I will certainly bring you back to life!!!”

“Afra, I love you.”

Softly delivering a heartfelt confession that was fated to go unheard, the last acting lord made the craziest decision of his life.

From his chest, he pulled out the embryo known as the Corrupted Seed, which was sealed in a crystal vial, and Ulysses smashed the vial, swallowing the flesh cocoon whole.

“Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”

The flesh grew, and the man’s body swelled and transformed; lightning roared, clouds churned, and a twisted Pseudo-God was birthed, governed by an obsession.

Zzz, zzz.

The surrounding scenery gradually blurred, and Vilyric returned from the memories of three hundred years ago to reality.

   

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