Chapter 143 – The Saintess and Her Guardian (21)

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In the demon realm, only the strong survived.

This law applied to all without exception, not even to vampires, one of the demon realm’s superior races.

Vempir had been called a genius since childhood.

She mastered her innate abilities, blood magic and bloodlust, with such ease that even some of the elders in her clan couldn’t rival her.

“Vempir, you will lead our clan one day and rule the demon realm.”

“Yes, Father!”

Having earned even her father’s acknowledgment, the head of their clan, Vempir had nothing to fear.

Some might have called her arrogance, but anyone who fought her knew it was not arrogance, it was confidence.

Her beauty was equally unmatched, drawing the attention of many powerful demons who sought her hand in marriage.

But one after another, they fell to her, destined to become her thralls instead.

And with each thrall she claimed, the vampire clan grew stronger.

The power to steal the abilities of the weak.

A privilege that, over time, turned their confidence into hubris.

They believed, without a doubt, that they would overthrow the Demon King and become the next rulers of the demon realm.

They flapped their wings toward an unreachable sun.

“Vempir, have you heard of the Black Knight?”

“The Black Knight, you say?”

Vempir listened carefully to her father’s deep voice as she recalled the name.

The Black Knight.

A man who had recently shaken the demon realm.

A warrior clad in black armor, wielding a demonic sword forged in the hellish furnace, where none dared to tread.

She had yet to meet him, but he was one of her targets. Someone she would make her thrall one day.

“When the next crimson moon rises, we hunt the Black Knight. If we make him our thrall, ruling the demon realm will be within our grasp. Prepare the entire clan and all our thralls.”

“I shall prepare.”

The fact that her father was mobilizing the entire clan for a single target spoke volumes about how highly he regarded the Black Knight.

The Black Knight would undoubtedly fall and become her thrall.

She was the heir to the clan’s leadership, after all.

Vempir licked her lips, eagerly awaiting the rise of the crimson moon.

And it didn’t take long for that anticipation to turn into despair.

“Ghk—!”

With every swing of the Black Knight’s sword, four or five clan members died at once.

The demonic energy seeping from his armor tore through the vampires’ bloodlust and magic.

Blood magic, which should have worked, became useless the moment the Black Knight accelerated.

Her father had been killed in the first strike, frozen cold before he could react.

Even Vempir herself was effortlessly bisected, her upper and lower halves rolling across the ground.

No matter how many thralls a vampire made, no matter how much power they stole—it was all taken from those weaker than themselves.

Against a man who grew stronger by defeating the strong, they couldn’t even leave a scratch.

“…Pathetic. I thought at least one of you would be strong.”

The Black Knight, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

His demonic sword was drenched in red blood.

And he simply stared at the silent battlefield.

Only one person remained standing—the Black Knight.

Only two were still alive—Vempir and the Black Knight.

The vampire clan, who had once believed they would rule the demon realm, had been annihilated—leaving only Vempir behind.

“Cough…! Black Knight, you…!”

Vempir spat out blood as she glared at him.

It felt like a nightmare.

Vampires were supposed to be strong.

She had never imagined, not even in her dreams, that they would be slaughtered so helplessly by a single man.

From within his helmet, the Black Knight’s crimson gaze bore into her, darker and more intense than any vampire’s blood.

“You’re alive.”

“Tch…! Kill me…!”

Something beyond fear ran cold through Vempir’s veins.

Her instincts screamed that she didn’t want to die, but her pride as the clan’s next leader forced out words she didn’t mean.

Clank. Clank.

The Black Knight’s armor creaked as he slowly approached her.

Death was coming.

Vempir trembled under the unfamiliar sensation, something she had never felt before.

If her lower half had still been attached, she might have wet herself.

She closed her eyes, waiting for death—

But the Black Knight’s footsteps didn’t stop.

He walked past her.

As if she wasn’t even worth swinging his sword at.

The realization sent her into a rage.

“Why… Why won’t you kill me?!”

“I have no interest in the weak.”

To the Black Knight, Vempir was nothing more than a weakling.

And no matter how much the carnage around her proved it, she couldn’t accept it.

“You dare mock me…?! I’ll have my revenge, Black Knight!”

“I don’t listen to the weak. Come back when you’re stronger.”

Vempir swallowed her fury as she watched the Black Knight’s retreating figure.

She swore she would survive, grow stronger, and take her revenge.

And then—she would make the Black Knight her thrall.

That was her vow.

She would grow stronger and stronger…

Until one day. Without fail.

Day after day, she nurtured her thirst for revenge.

She expanded her forces, created more thralls, and researched blood magic to find ways to cheat death.

It was during this time that she mastered the art of transferring her soul into her thralls.

Create thralls.

Research blood magic.

Expand her influence.

Even as she grew stronger, something always told her—

She would never defeat the Black Knight.

The memory of him slaughtering her clan made all her efforts feel meaningless.

The Black Knight existed somewhere beyond her reach.

Perhaps even beyond the Demon King himself.

Her desire for revenge never faded—but the impossibility of it warped over time.

“I want to see the Black Knight again. Find him.”

She didn’t just want to face the Black Knight—

She wanted to make him hers.

If they had a child, it would be a monster unlike any other.

Maybe… surviving that day had been fate.

A fate that tied her to the Black Knight.

Vempir decided—this feeling was love.

The only vampire in the world, and the only one worthy of being her mate.

It had to be the Black Knight.

Having established herself as a regional empress, Vempir sought him out again.

“Lady Vempir, the Black Knight has been defeated by the Demon King and made one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“The Four Heavenly Kings?”

She couldn’t hide her shock.

The Black Knight, who she thought could never lose, had been defeated.

And yet, part of her was relieved.

He was still a denizen of the demon realm, just like her.

The unreachable moon had become a mountain she could climb.

“Lady Vempir, may I ask where you are going?”

As she rose from her throne, one of her thralls cautiously inquired.

“What else? I’ve taken an interest in the Four Heavenly Kings.”

She marched into the Demon King’s castle and demanded a position as a Heavenly King.

The Demon King studied her carefully—then granted her request without hesitation.

“The last one couldn’t control his strength and killed his predecessor. You’ll do.”

The reason was absurd, but it didn’t matter.

Her goal was only the Black Knight.

Meeting him was easy.

News of a new Heavenly King had already reached him.

“Oh? The new Heavenly King. How strong are you? Fight me.”

He treated her like another weakling, not even remembering her.

But seeing how much stronger he had become sent a thrill through her.

Her body burned, drenched in desire.

She wanted to be consumed by the demonic energy radiating from him—to become one with him.

But before she could indulge in that fantasy—

“Pathetic.”

“I lose.”

The short battle ended in the Black Knight’s victory.

Once again, he spared her life.

“Black Knight, won’t you be my mate?”

Winning or losing no longer mattered to Vempir.

Only confessing her love.

Only binding herself to him.

Only bearing his child.

“Mate? What’s that?”

“Becoming my husband and fathering my children.”

“I don’t get it. I don’t listen to the weak. Only the strong have the right to demand anything from me.”

He hadn’t changed at all.

And that only made her heart race faster.

“Then… if I defeat you one day… I’ll make you mine.”

She swore she would defeat him and claim him.

Vempir burned with passion.

Her love ran deeper than blood.

Years later, after descending to the human realm, Vempir finally obtained the power to reach him.

 

---

 

A delighted laugh escaped Vempir—who now wore Cecilia’s stolen body.

She had deliberately relinquished control to her thrall, gone through the trouble of shaking off the witch, and laid out an elaborate plan—

And now, the Saintess had delivered herself right to her.

“Magnificent. Truly magnificent.”

The divine power the Guardian possessed had been useful, but compared to Cecilia’s, it was nothing.

The sheer purity of this power was intoxicating.

This is the power of the human realm’s gods.

Her blood magic and demonic energy were formidable, but against this, nothing could compare.

With this, even the witch and the Black Knight would be no match for her.

[Warning. Warning. Warning. Unauthorized interference detected. Host is not Cecilia.]

“An angel, you say?”

The halo above her head vibrated violently as the angel’s voice rang in her ears.

Annoyed, Vempir loosened her grip on Cecilia’s soul—just enough to silence the disturbance.

[Cecilia confirmed. No abnormalities detected.]

“How pitiful, not even recognizing your own master.”

With demonic energy, bloodlust, and now an angel’s power—

There was nothing left to fear.

The same arrogance that had once let vampires dominate the demon realm curled on Vempir’s lips.

She wanted to test this power immediately.

And her test subject arrived right on time.

“Huh? It’s not over already, is it?”

The witch descended from her broom, pink hair fluttering as she approached.

[Alert. Danger detected. Recommend retreat.]

“Retreat? Don’t insult me.”

Vempir knew exactly what this witch had done.

From Gray’s memories and Cecilia’s fragments, she had pieced together the witch’s little game.

The so-called Witch of Love.

To think she had dared to play with a Heavenly King like a toy.

Though, admittedly, it had led Vempir to this power, but that was beside the point.

Now, it was her turn to repay the witch.

“It’s over. I heard everything from the Guardian.”

“I told him not to say anything!”

The witch puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

“Did you perform the miracle? I sensed holy energy from miles away. I wasn’t trying to trick you. You just wouldn’t listen!”

“I performed the miracle. The Guardian is safe. Now, stay out of my love. Out of my pure love.”

“Oh my…”

Vempir deliberately scratched the witch’s itch—emphasizing pure love.

The witch’s cheeks flushed, her expression melting instantly.

‘Pathetic.’

“So…”

The witch was nothing more than an obstacle.

And according to her thrall’s memories, this witch had been getting too close to the Black Knight.

Like a stray dog marking what belonged to Vempir.

“There’s no place for you in my pure love with the Black Knight, you filthy witch.”

“You— Wait—”

But it was too late for her to realize.

Vempir’s wings unfurled, divine power and demonic energy merging into a single, devastating strike.

She didn’t even give the witch time to finish speaking.

The slash cleaved her in half.

Thud.

The witch’s body hit the ground, blood gushing like a fountain.

For a moment, Vempir considered turning her into a thrall—

But that wouldn’t satisfy her.

She couldn’t let a woman who coveted the Black Knight live.

Only one thing remained.

Vempir turned her steps toward where the Black Knight waited.

She could reclaim her original body later.