<h4>Chapter 167</h4>


    Her tone was remarkably calm. It was clear that she could indeed resurrect herself multiple times, at least within this ce. The petals and blood throughout the area were essentially her lifeblood, giving her near-infinite stamina.


    "I think I''ll only be satisfied when you really die," Ian said coldly, despite his efforts to perceive every change around him.


    While many aspects had changed from the game, the Empress remained one of the bosses of Chapter Two. Killing her repeatedly until she could no longer resurrect wasn''t a strategy yet. There had to be another, more explicit weakness, one that couldn''t be hidden even within her domain.


    <i>In fact, no matter how you look at it, there''s really only one thing that could be....</i>


    The very tant presence of the golden bathtub made him suspicious. That was why he was now closely observing the changes around him. However, no other peculiarities stood out. It might have been due to the contaminated magic permeating everywhere, hindering proper detection.


    "Well, let''s give it our all," the Empress said, her true form now restored. She flicked her hand, and the thick mist dispersed instantly, summoning numerous blood des around her.


    Ian started to run sideways. The des rained down, predicting his forward movement.


    <i>Swoosh—</i>


    The shower of des narrowly missed Ian''s back. The Empress snapped her fingers again, and pools of blood morphed into shapes of bats, bears, and wolves—her blood familiars.


    <i>Except for the near-immortality, she’s not much different from Thesa in the game.</i>


    With the de rain subsiding, Ian changed direction toward the Empress. The familiars surged forward, and Ian swung his greatsword, seemingly waiting for this moment.


    <i>St—</i>


    The familiars exploded into blood as the sword''s arc swept through them. Covered in blood, Ian''s swordy continued for only a short time.


    "How attractive a man is when he''s giving his all..."


    Blood des rained down again, apanying the Empress''s voice. Ian changed direction once more, creating a magical barrier with his greatsword instead of dodging.


    <i>ng-ng.</i>


    The red shower followed, some deflected by the sword, others hitting the barrier. Blue light shed across Ian''s body. As the barrier shattered, Ian''s eyes, infused with red magic, became visible.


    "Remarkable. Your spell remains unbroken despite such vigorous movement. I must learn your secretter."


    Dodging iing shadow des, Ian clicked his tongue. The Empress seemed to view him as a caught fish. She didn''t intend to kill him but to incapacitate him and forcibly turn him into a vampire, making him her consort.


    It was a misconception Ian didn''t need to correct. It made it easier for him toplete his spell. Raising his greatsword in front of him, Ian spread his left hand wide.


    <i>Rumble—</i>


    Waves of fire surged along his path, incinerating the blood des and the pooled blood. It was the me Tide. Unleashing the fire wave, Ian let it run wild. The area was quickly filled with mes and smoke.


    The Empress smiled as she watched the mes engulf the chamber.


    "Impressive. How did you cast such a high-level spell so quickly? Tell me."


    Ian leaped through the mes, covered in dark red smoke, and replied, "You won''t be able to do it."


    <i>It’s because I drank dragon''s blood</i>, he added silently. Gripping his greatsword with both hands, he shed down.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    A massive arc shed through the Empress''s body, bisecting her from the shoulder. She hit the ground as Iannded.


    "...!"


    Even as she searched for Ian with widened eyes, he was already running. Beyond the waves of fire, he was headed toward the golden bathtub.


    "Ian...! Stop!" Her blood-choked scream went unheeded. Her body turned into blood and began to melt. Ian raised his greatsword as he leaped.


    <i>Swoosh—</i>


    The ancient spell circuits engraved on the bathtub''s surface began to glow red. Blood overflowed and a curtain of blood rose around the bathtub, its surface rippling ominously.


    "...!" Sensing the umting magic inside, Ian twisted his body, letting the greatsword fall behind him to cover his body with its broad de fully.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    The curtain exploded, releasing a red shockwave. It didn''t break the greatsword but was powerful enough to send Ian flying.


    <i>Crash—</i>


    Ian, who had been thrown back, rolled across the floor. The shockwave instantly extinguished the scattered mes. A voice echoed through the already raging blood mist.


    "No matter who you are, there are some things I cannot allow. This is the primordial cradle of our n''s birth and a relic that holds immense power."


    Ian, regaining his stance, looked up at the madly swirling petals and chuckled.


    "You seem quite surprised."


    "I''m advising you not to waste your strength. You won''t be able to reach the bathtub with your power. Just use your strength on me. I am your opponent, after all."


    "You said you wanted to be with me, yet you’re doing the one thing you shouldn’t."


    "And what might that be?"


    "Lying. Every rtionship ends when trust is lost."


    Ian picked up his fallen greatsword as he spoke. The Empress, with eyes thatcked even eyelids, watched him and added.


    "I don''t understand what you mean."


    "That body isn’t really you, is it?"


    "...!" As the Empress froze, Ian took a deep breath and started running toward the bathtub again, this time also toward the Empress. The fully regenerated Empress couldn''t hide her surprise.


    "You really keep surprising me. How did you figure it out?"


    Feeling the magic concentrate again, Ian raised his greatsword and spoke.


    "Well."


    As blood thorns erupted, shadow des surged in like waves. Dodging to the side, Ian nced at the golden bathtub. It struck him as odd that the bathtub, so obviously a weak point, was left so exposed. But the answer, as always, was straightforward and clear.


    It simply had to be this way. The Empress''s true body was inside, immersed in true blood. The Empress floating in the air was merely a clone. And it was clear that she couldn''t maintain her form far from the bathtub. Otherwise, there would be no reason to wait for him in such an underground ce.


    <i>Swoosh—</i>


    Behind the iing rain of des, familiars rose up. They too provided Ian with clues.


    Of course, the most decisive factor was the fact that the spell circuit engraved on the bathtub continued to function even after the Empress''s body was sliced away. Unless it was a type of spell that remained active once triggered, such spell circuits did not operate without the control of their user.


    <i>St—</i>


    Blood familiars exploded into droplets as Ian''s greatsword carved through them. He smashed the remaining ones with his fists or shoulders, unconcerned about being covered in blood.


    <i>Swoosh. Thud-thud-thud—</i>


    Dodging shadow des and leaping over shadow waves with his greatsword, Ian cast Frost Shield to block iing blood spikes and shattered them with his sword. Every move was swift and seamless, without hesitation.


    It made sense. The Empress could wield almost all the abilities of vampires, but Ian was the one who had killed all those vampires. Of course, the Empress''s power was far superior, but the fundamental characteristics remained the same.


    It was inevitable that scratches and puncture wounds would ur in the process. However, Ian trusted in his own regenerative abilities. And so, he continued his relentless advance until that moment.


    "Really, you leave me no choice."


    A voice suddenly burst above, apanied by sharp magic cutting through the air. The flying Empress shed down with long shadow ws.


    "Exactly what I wanted." Ian leaped up, his upper body shielded by a magical barrier.


    “...!” The Empress''s projection widened its eyes at his quick reaction.


    "That’s what I was aiming for."


    <i>Crack—</i>


    A shadow w shattered the force field, raking Ian''s shoulder, while a greatsword imbued with Wind des shed across the Empress''s chest almost simultaneously. Ian let go of the hilt with his left hand and clenched his fist. As the face of the copsing clone twisted, a fist imbued with holy power mmed into it.


    <i>Boom.</i>


    Ian''s punch crushed the clone''s face like tofu, sending fragments flying. As he spun in mid-air andnded, he immediately resumed running. Blood flowed from the scratches on his shoulder and arm, but he paid it no mind.


    Crashing through the disintegrating blood familiars, Ian pulled an essence bead from his subspace. Simultaneously, he channeled magic into his greatsword.


    <i>Swoosh—</i>


    Magic began to spread across the circuits on the surface of the bathtub.


    Ian was already pulling back his arm and waist. In a burst of red divine power, the ancient runes on the greatsword gleamed with blue light.


    "Ugh...!" Gritting his teeth, Ian hurled the greatsword with all his might.


    <i>Crash—</i>


    The spinning greatsword traced a brilliant arc through the air, heading straight for the bathtub. A curtain of blood rose around the bathtub just as the sword struck.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    The greatsword created a massive ripple in the curtain, releasing its remaining magic in a powerful st.


    <i>Crack—</i>


    A surge of intense cold engulfed the curtain''s surface, followed by a storm of icy des. The curtain absorbed the shock, trembling, but it bought Ian enough time toplete his spell.


    He looked up at the nearby bathtub, thrusting the glowing essence bead forward.


    <i>Roar—</i>


    A pir of fire shot up, blindingly bright.


    The Pinpoint Explosion, amplified by chaos power and the core, sent Ian staggering backward as the mes soared to the ceiling, spreading in all directions. The petals in the ceiling burned away, and the entire chamber shook as if in an earthquake.


    The blood curtain at the center of the explosion couldn''t remain unscathed. It burned as if it boiled and billowed smoke endlessly. From within the bathtub, blood was gushing like a fountain. It was likely thanks to this that the curtain hadn''tpletely shattered or melted away. The spell circuit on the surface of the bathtub flickered erratically, endlessly spewing out magic.


    <i>Ssshh—</i>


    Ian, having regained his stance, surged forward. His gaze remained unwaveringly fixed on the bathtub amidst the dying mes.


    <i>By now, it should be hardened from the heat, if not evaporated. But magic, seriously.</i>


    In any case, it was clear that there was no longer any energy left to unleash another shockwave like before. With that confirmed, Ian channeled his essence bead into the Broken Sword of Judgment and forcefully drew it from its scabbard. Jagged blue holy energy surged, quickly bing a brilliant blue trajectory that extended toward the bubbling curtain.


    Crack—


    The sword''s blue energy surged forth, slicing through the trembling curtain. As the mes licked the severed edges,


    "Stop! Ian—"


    The Empress''s clone screamed, beginning to regenerate. Ian didn''t look back. Instead, he raised the divine-powered sword high and used the Strike of Judgment.


    <i>Crack—</i>


    The fierce blue arc cleaved through the surface of the blood-soaked bathtub.


    Despite the resistance he hadn''t felt since the sword broke, Ian gritted his teeth and drove the de down. Hended on one knee just as the clone''s voice faded like a deting balloon.


    "No..."


    The jewels on the bathtub''s surface exploded in quick session, followed by awork of cracks spreading across it. The circuits emitted a final burst of red light before shattering, and blood gushed out like a fountain. As Ian sheathed the still-empowered Sword of Judgment, the entire cave began to shake.


    It was right after that Ian''s head snapped up.


    <i>Crack, crack-crack—</i>


    "...!"


    <i>Holy fuck.</i>


    Cracks spread like a web across the cave ceiling. The fountain of blood from the shattered bathtub showed no signs of stopping. Ian tossed the Sword of Judgment into his pocket dimension, grabbed his fallen greatsword, and leaped away.


    The ceiling copsed behind him.