Free Web NovelChapter 117: Grandma’s Gift
The training field remained silent on that artificial morning in Valentine territory. The vast open area made of black stone was partially destroyed by Victor’s constant training, deep impact marks scattered across the ground while small cracks still released red smoke of residual blood energy. Victor himself sat on the edge of one of the broken platforms, holding a towel around his neck as he finished wiping away the sweat after consecutive hours of brutal physical training.
The atmosphere was strangely empty.
No Serafall shouting pointless comments. freewebnσvel.cѳm
No Scarlett trying to turn training into sexual provocation.
No Carmilla discussing ancient combat techniques.
For the first time in days... silence.
Then a presence appeared behind him without warning.
"Where is everyone?"
Victor didn’t even turn around immediately upon recognizing the voice.
"Sleeping or working," he replied calmly, resting his arms on his knees. "Carmilla and Scarlett passed out after tormenting me half the night. Serafall and Natasha went to headquarters to sort something out."
Chysis Valentine stood a few feet behind him, wearing that absurdly elegant black dress that made her look more like a funeral queen than a vampire. Her red gaze quickly scanned the devastated field before she let out a small nasal sound of approval.
"Good," she replied simply.
Then something strange happened.
She literally plunged her hand into her chest.
Not figuratively.
Her hand pierced her own body as if it were solid blood, and a few seconds later Chysis pulled a small black manual covered in bright red symbols directly from her own blood.
Victor watched in absolute silence.
Chysis simply threw the manual toward him.
"Take it."
Victor automatically caught the book before frowning slightly.
"...You can’t help me," he commented, looking at her. "Wasn’t it exactly forbidden?"
"Shut up and just accept it," Chysis replied immediately, without any patience.
Victor remained silent for a few seconds before simply opening the manual.
The reality was simple.
There were extremely specific rules involving the Bloodline Ascension Ritual, especially when related to participants considered relevant within House Valentine. One of the main prohibitions involved the direct teaching of techniques by superior figures of the lineage. Blood Kings, veterans of the Ritual, or ancient monsters like Serafall and Chysis were forbidden from transmitting advanced blood arts directly to official participants.
The logic behind the rule was ancient.
The Ritual was meant to measure adaptation, talent, and individual survival.
Not simply which prodigy had the best teachers.
That’s why Serafall never taught techniques directly to Victor, despite clearly possessing absurd knowledge. Chysis also avoided directly interfering in his development for political reasons and because of the lineage’s own rules. Carmilla and Scarlett, however...
They didn’t follow any rules.
Technically, neither of them even officially belonged to the hierarchical structure of House Valentine. Therefore, they could teach techniques freely without causing formal problems to the Ritual.
Victor slowly lowered his gaze to the manual.
On the cover was written:
"Concealment of the Blood Demon."
He slightly arched an eyebrow as he flipped through the first few pages.
The technique seemed absurdly simple at first glance.
Blood control.
Presence suppression.
Thermal camouflage.
Partial distortion of spiritual perception.
Nothing extremely impressive.
Victor looked up at Chysis again.
"...This seems basic."
"Because it is basic," she replied calmly as she walked slowly through the destroyed field. "But basic doesn’t mean useless."
Victor continued analyzing the content.
The technique seemed specifically designed for infiltration, survival, and concealment in hostile territories. It wasn’t a powerful offensive art like Serafall’s absurd abilities or the blood monsters used by the Blood Kings.
It was simply... efficient.
Chysis stopped a few meters ahead of him before continuing to speak.
"The location of the Ascension Ritual favors noisy monsters. Violent idiots love to draw attention, thinking that strength solves everything." Her red gaze shifted slightly to Victor. "But surviving in enemy territory without being found is usually worth more."
Victor partially closed the manual as he pondered her words.
"You’re talking as if the Ritual were a war."
Chysis let out a small, dry laugh.
"Because it is."
Silence hung briefly over the field.
The artificial wind of Valentine territory slowly swept through the destroyed structures as Victor returned his gaze to the manual in his hands. The blood energy imbued in the pages made it clear that this was no ordinary material. Chysis had probably created that technique personally many centuries ago.
"Probably no one will notice," she continued calmly. "Initially it just seems like a simple concealment technique. Few people pay attention to this kind of thing."
Victor raised his gaze slightly.
"But?"
Her eyes narrowed discreetly.
"It has real value when used correctly." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Victor stared at her for a few seconds before asking:
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Chysis turned her face partially toward him.
Then she smiled.
It wasn’t a warm smile.
Nor a kind one.
It was the kind of small smile someone gives when remembering something extremely unpleasant.
"You’ll understand when the time comes," she commented calmly as she began walking towards the exit of the field. "I’m leaving now."
Victor slightly raised his gaze from the manual.
"What are you going to do?"
"Work," Chysis replied without even turning her face. "There are some important guests arriving for the Ascension Ritual."
Victor partially closed the book.
"Guests?"
"Vampires too old with too much money and enough free time to watch young people trying not to die." Her answer came out completely casually. "The great clans love to observe the Ritual when a problematic generation appears."
Victor was silent for a few seconds.
The way she talked about the Ritual sometimes seemed strange. Not as someone commenting on an important traditional event, but as someone describing an inevitable disaster that everyone pretended was aristocratic entertainment.
Which was probably exactly the case.
Chysis then paused briefly before glancing over her shoulder in his direction.
"Read that properly," she commented, pointing slightly to the manual. "Learn at least the basics before the Ritual begins."
Victor nodded slowly.
"I’ll try."
"Don’t try. Learn."
She replied in her usual dry tone before narrowing her red eyes slightly.
"And in the future you’ll thank me."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"...For the manual?"
A small smile appeared on her face.
It was discreet.
But definitely problematic.
"In a very sexual way, if you know what I mean."
Silence.
Victor stared at her without any immediate reaction.
"...My whole family is mentally ill." "Correct."
Chysis replied without even trying to deny it.
Then her body slowly began to disintegrate.
Not like beautiful magic.
Nor elegant.
Her entire body simply exploded into an absurd mass of black bats that spread across the field in a living wave of shadows and bright red eyes.
The bats circled the area for a few seconds before disappearing completely into the artificial sky of Valentine territory.
Silence returned to the field.
Victor remained seated alone for a few moments, looking at the spot where she had been before.
Then he slowly lowered his eyes to the manual in his hands.
"...Concealment of the Blood Demon..."
He opened the first page again.
And began to read for real this time.
—
The artificial sky of Rakshasa’s territory remained bathed in a constant dark red hue, like an eternal twilight trapped in time. The castle’s enormous windows were open on that silent night, allowing the cold wind to slowly drift through the gigantic corridors decorated with black stone and vibrant crimson details pulsing on the walls like veins.
Rakshasa stood on the castle’s main balcony, observing the distant horizon without saying a word.
She wore a long, black dress, partially open at the back, while a goblet filled with blood rested forgotten on the low wall beside her. Her red eyes were fixed on the distant void, but clearly she wasn’t really looking at the landscape.
She was thinking.
The Ascension Ritual was approaching.
Victor Valentine too.
A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered that irritatingly interesting boy. The way he spoke to her fearlessly, the completely strange way his blood reacted, and especially...
That bet.
Rakshasa hadn’t yet decided whether she wanted to kill him in the future or simply keep him close.
Perhaps both.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
The butler appeared silently in the doorway of the veranda, wearing the same impeccable suit as always. The man had a neutral expression like a funerary wall, but at that moment there was something different in his gaze.
Hesitation.
Rakshasa noticed immediately. "Speak."
The butler remained silent for two seconds before carefully replying: "Your father is coming."
The world seemed to stop for an instant.
Rakshasa turned her face so quickly that the air around her distorted violently. "...What?"
Even the butler looked away for a brief moment before slowly walking towards her, holding a black letter marked with an ancient seal.
"We received this a few minutes ago."
Rakshasa snatched the letter from his hand immediately.
Her red eyes began to scan the contents.
The silence lasted exactly five seconds.
Then—
CRACK.
The entire letter was crushed in her hand before she even finished reading it.
Her nails pierced the paper as black veins slowly began to emerge from her neck.
"...That old son of a bitch..."
Her voice came out low.
Dangerous.
The butler remained motionless.
Rakshasa trembled.
Not from fear.
From pure rage.
She slowly lowered her hand, completely destroying the rest of the letter as an absolutely demonic smile began to spread across her face.
"He’s coming to see the Ascension Ritual..." she murmured in a completely unsteady tone.
The air around her began to grow heavy.
Very heavy.
"Right now..." she continued, her eyes gleaming with monstrous intensity. "Just when I finally found someone interesting..."
The ground beneath her feet cracked.
Instantly.
The aura exploded.
It wasn’t gradual.
It wasn’t controlled.
Rakshasa’s monstrous blood energy simply spread throughout the entire castle in an absurd wave of supernatural pressure.
BOOOOM.
The walls trembled violently.
Chandeliers shattered in the lower corridors.
Hundreds of black bats instantly emerged from the castle ceiling like a living plague while servants and subordinate vampires fell to their knees in utter despair throughout the property.
The castle itself seemed to groan.
Stones cracked.
Windows shattered.
And the artificial sky above the property partially distorted as if being crushed by her presence.
The butler remained still only because he was already used to it.
Even so... sweat slowly trickled down his forehead.
Rakshasa brought her hand to her face as she breathed slowly, trying to control her own aura.
It didn’t work very well.
Her eyes were completely dilated now. "I hate that man..." she murmured, smiling disturbingly. "I hate him so much..."
She slowly turned her face toward the butler.
"Prepare everything."
"Yes, ma’am."
"And go to that blacksmith to get my sword."
"Understood."
Rakshasa turned her eyes to the horizon.
But this time... her smile vanished completely.
Because unlike the other Blood Kings...
Her father wasn’t just powerful.
He was the kind of monster that could even make Rakshasa lose her temper.
