"Someone!" Lucas called out, looking toward the door.
The door opened, and Raven walked in, bowing deeply. "My Lord, what is your command?"
"Have you found Gamma?"
Gamma was Kyle's personal guard; he must know something about the secrets.
Raven shook his head, looking apologetic. "My Lord, we've searched everywhere except the Church of Light, but we haven't found Gamma."
Could he be hiding in the Church of Light?
Lucas thought it was unlikely, but still ordered, "Tonight, have the Shadow Guards investigate the Church of Light. Be careful not to make too much noise. Also, check the Assassins' Guild and the three great families thoroughly. We must find Gamma."
"Yes," Raven replied and hurried out.
Lucas paced back and forth, looking at the door again. "Someone, bring the young lady and Allen here."
"Yes," a guard at the door responded and left.
Soon, Allen and Lilia arrived.
"Dad, what do you need so late?" Lilia asked, yawning. She had just fallen asleep when they called her up.
Lucas looked serious. "Lilia, your identity is still a risk. I have a way to temporarily hide it, but it requires Allen's help."
"City Lord, what do I need to do?" Allen asked curiously.
"Your blood. We need a large amount this time. It will affect both you and Lilia," Lucas explained simply.
Allen nodded. "That's fine. As long as there's no danger to life, I'm in."
"Thank you. We owe you one more debt," Lucas said gratefully.
"Again?" Allen looked confused. "City Lord, did you owe me a favor before?"
"Never mind the details. Let's get started," Lucas said, realizing he had slipped up, so he immediately changed the subject.
Dim candlelight flickered in the study.
"Hold on tight," Lucas said, taking a deep breath and swinging his Saber.
Swoosh!
Blood sprayed everywhere, and a cry of pain echoed through the room.
...
Morning arrived, and Blackspire was busier and more lively than usual.
With the Academy Tournament starting tomorrow, students and teachers from other cities had already arrived.
However, only three of the six academies participating in the tournament showed up.
News of two SSS-rank Class Awakened students from Quinn Academy had spread far and wide. The other three academies knew their highest Awakened class was only A-rank, so they realized winning a top-three spot was impossible and gave up on the competition.
Only the top three teams received extra resource rewards.
Including Quinn Academy, four academies attended: Celestine Academy from Celestria, Duskveil Academy from Zephyria, and the Astravale Academy from Astravale.
Both Quinn Academy and the City Lord's Mansion were busy hosting these guests and maintaining order in the city.
Inside Lilia's room at the City Lord's Mansion, she lay weakly in bed. Her face was pale and devoid of color.
Allen was caring for her with concern. "How are you feeling? Do you feel better?"
"It's fine," Lilia said angrily. "That bastard really had the guts to do it. I'm starting to wonder if he's even my real father."
Allen had no words. "If the City Lord hears you say that, he might give you two more cuts."
"Am I scared of him? By the time we get to the Apocalypse Academy, I'm going to tell Simon on you," Lilia said, trying to lift her weak pink fist to wave it around.
Allen smiled, but inside he was curious. He couldn't understand why Lucas wanted them to go to the Apocalypse Academy.
The Apocalypse Academy was located in the Chaos Zone, where no power held any control, and the place was a total mess.
Still, the academy was famous. It was said that anyone who graduated from the Apocalypse Academy was a monster.
"Hey Allen, I'm feeling a bit dizzy again," Lilia said, looking at him with eager eyes. She even licked her lips.
"Come on, come on. Meeting you is just bad luck," Allen grumbled, but he calmly offered his wrist.
"Hehe, you're the best," Lilia said, not being polite at all. She carefully bit into his wrist.
Allen frowned slightly.
"Does it hurt?" Lilia asked, looking sorry. She stuck out her little tongue and gently licked his wound with pity.
Allen felt a strange tingling sensation. Seeing Lilia looking so weak and obedient, a strange feeling stirred in his heart.
He quickly said, "Drink my blood if you want, but don't try to infect me with a vampiric curse."
"Hmph, ungrateful!"
Lilia snorted, then took another small bite, sucking his blood.
Soon, some color returned to her pale face, and a look of enjoyment spread across her features.
After a short while, Lilia let go and licked the corner of her mouth. "That's enough."
"Is it done this quickly?" Allen was a bit unsettled. The last few times she drank, she seemed determined to suck him dry.
"Slow and steady wins the race," Lilia said with a slightly cunning smile.
Allen immediately became alert. "I'm just taking care of you because you're injured. Besides, this was already the condition I agreed to. Once you're healed, don't even think about drinking my blood again."
"Hmph, stingy," Lilia huffed, clearly unhappy. She changed the subject. "Since I can't participate in the Academy Tournament this time, do you think you can win first place?"
Allen scoffed. "Even if you could participate, I'd still take first place."
"Is that so?" Lilia challenged. "When I'm healed, let's have a match."
"Sure," Allen agreed. He was also curious to see how strong Lilia could be in her vampire form.
...
After a day of rest, Lilia could move freely again, though her body was still weak. She definitely wouldn't be participating in the Academy Tournament this time.
"Allen, hurry up! If we dilly-dally, we won't find a good spot," Lilia urged him as he finished getting dressed and washing up.
Today was the day of the Academy Tournament. Although she couldn't compete, she could watch.
The tournament was being held at Blackspire Square.
When the two of them finally arrived, the square was already packed with people. Besides the competing students, there were many spectators, including quite a few adventurers from other cities.
"This is all your fault for making us so late," Lilia complained, looking at the sea of people.
"Don't worry. Since I'm a competitor, I can take you to the front row," Allen explained.
Each of the four major Academies had ten slots. With Lilia injured and withdrawing, Allen was the one taking her place.
"Good, lead the way to the front," Lilia said excitedly, pulling him through the crowd.
Allen couldn't help but wonder if her injury wasn't actually that serious. She seemed fit enough to compete.
A temporary arena had been set up in the square. Several old men were chatting and smiling nearby. Among them were City Lord Lucas and a Priest from the Church of Light.
"Flynn," an old man said, looking at Flynn with a teasing smile. "I heard your Academy's Lilia is injured. Yet, you still offered the Quinn's Manuscript as a prize? That's very generous of you."
The speaker was the Headmaster of the Astravale Academy.
Among the four Academies competing, aside from Quinn Academy, only the Astravale Academy had a Class Awakened SSS-rank Berserker. They were very likely to take first place.
"Let your student beat 'The Heaven-Cursed' first before you talk," Flynn replied coldly.
"Hehe, one 'The Heaven-Cursed' isn't much. Unless that kid tries to die by using a Forbidden Spell, he has no chance against a Berserker," the Astravale Headmaster said confidently. He was determined to get the Quinn's Manuscript.
"Hmph!" Flynn snorted and decided to ignore him.
The first-place prize for this tournament was originally 100,000 gold coins. However, Lucas had come to him and changed the prize to the Quinn's Manuscript.
The Quinn's Manuscript was a place where Quinn had secluded himself in his later years. It contained notes on his cultivation methods and was a treasure for any Academy.
Flynn couldn't understand. Lilia was a Bloodshadow Warrior, while Quinn specialized in the Wind Element. The Quinn's Manuscript wouldn't suit her at all.
Plus, Lilia had withdrawn due to injury.
Flynn didn't get why Lucas would do this. Was it just to recruit Allen?
Flynn had wanted to refuse, but he felt guilty, so he had no choice but to agree.
"Headmaster, you're up for your speech," a teacher said, noticing Flynn was lost in thought and hesitating. "Time to go."
"Oh, right," Flynn snapped out of it. He took the microphone, walked up to the podium, and began his formal opening.
"Welcome, distinguished Old Deans, to Blackspire for this exchange with the Quinn Academy students..." He briefly introduced the headmasters of the other Academies and the competitors, gave a few polite words, and finally announced, "The Academy Tournament, with the defending challenge, officially begins."
The crowd erupted in cheers. As Flynn turned to step down, an out-of-place voice cut through the noise.
"Wait!"A man in a hooded cloak, hiding his face, stepped out of the crowd. He looked up at the podium and said coldly, "Before the match starts, I have a major announcement to make!"
The noisy crowd fell silent. Everyone looked at the man in confusion.
On the podium, Lucas stared at the intruder with a frown.
"Lord, this isn't the Gamma from last night. We already killed him," his subordinate whispered into his ear.
Lucas nodded slightly.
The hooded man continued, "You probably don't know this, but City Lord Lucas's daughter is a vampire. We have been ruled and oppressed by vampires all this time!"
"Impossible, Miss Lilia cannot be a vampire!" someone shouted.
"Ridiculous! Miss Lilia is right here. If she were a vampire, how dare she be out in the daylight?" others countered.
...
Chaos broke out in the crowd. Most didn't believe it, but some voices were already joining in.
Lucas turned to the Priest beside him, his eyes cold. "Is this your doing?"
"No," the Priest shook his head. He was also confused but didn't stop the man. If Lilia's vampire identity was exposed in public, it wouldn't hurt him anyway.
"Quiet!" the hooded man roared. With a light leap, he landed on the arena stage. "Since you won't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"
He reached into his robes and pulled out a porcelain vial. A surge of powerful Light Energy began to radiate from it. It was Holy Water.
"Let the Holy Light shine, exposing all evil!" he shouted. With a single swing, he shattered the vial.
Vrrrm...
A massive wave of Holy Light flooded the square, enveloping the entire area.
The crowd fell silent again, their eyes all fixed on Lilia in the front.
Her face was pale. She clutched Allen's arm tightly, her slender body trembling, a look of pure pain on her face.
"It's okay," Allen whispered gently, trying to comfort her.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a pained scream echoed through the air. Then, a figure was lifted into the air. Behind her, two huge black wings spread wide, and two fangs bared from her lips.