With his final attack, Wang Xuanming suppressed Dracula with the overwhelming divine power of his God of War manifestation, forcing the vampire to remain rooted to his spot. No matter how Dracula raged, he was still evenly matched with the God of War and could not break free. Wang Xuanming had poured in all of his Dao and primordial spirit into the strike, not to mention the will of a God of War, a manifestation he awoke with his undying fighting spirit.

The huge blood red seal came crashing upon Dracula, and no matter what he tried to do, he could not reverse his fate of being sealed again.

“This type of seal will not contain me for long, and when I break free again, I’ll exterminate all humankind by myself!” He roared angrily as he was sealed.

“Chase down the remaining humans!” Nattiavelle ordered, and the remaining vampires went off after the human survivors.

The surviving humans of the battle had remained behind to delay this wave of vampires, and they would definitely perish in the process. Only a few had survived because Clara was nearby— after all, no vampire would dare take the initiative to attack her without knowing if she still had the strength to fight back.

Even the Infantes felt likewise. They had personally witnessed how strong these top-ranked human experts were with their backs against the wall, and all of them had been seriously wounded from just one of Wang Xuanming’s punches. As such, they did not wish to take risks again, and Clara possessed so much power that the Infantes did not dare provoke her, even if she was seriously wounded and not at full strength.

That said, Field was still unafraid of Clara, and he sped off in the direction of Wang Bugui’s retreat. He had taken great interest in the Seekers of Truth from the East after witnessing Wang Xuanming’s shocking amount of power first hand, and Wang Bugui was his son. As such, Field felt that he should have more or less imported some truth-seeking skills to the young man.

He was hopeful that the power of a Seeker of Truth from the East could utterly destroy himself; it was his wish to die in the hands of a human who was not a Paladin.

Hanae Chiou was fleeing at full speed with the lost Wang Bugui in tow, while Druid and Merutia followed behind them. They did dare to stop for rest, as they knew the amount of time the Blood Hunter Clan had bought with their lives was not long. After traveling for about two kilometers away from the battlefield, they could hear the sounds of humans fighting against vampires. Surely, those that were lagging behind them were going to be slayed.

Wang Bugui looked lost as Hanae Chiou carried him, the heart-wrenching scenes of his people’s sacrifices still re-enacting in his mind. Everyone in his clan— the amiable old folks, the uncles and aunts that loved to tease the young ones, as well as the boys and girls slightly older than him had all turned into a pool of blood. Furthermore, after his father’s heroic last stance and his mother’s tragically beautiful death, he was now an orphan. Over the course of the day, his heart had been broken over and over again.

“Sister Chiou… why?” Asked Wang Bugui her in a daze. She was the only person he could trust now.

“Wang Bugui, I know you’re very hurt, but you can’t let everything go to waste now. You still need to avenge your family and take responsibility for the survival of the entire Blood Hunter Clan. Don’t show me that face! Do you want all those people to have died in vain?” Hanae Chiou chided loudly, not wanting Wang Bugui to fall into depression.

“But… I…”

“No buts! You have to know that from now on, the responsibility for the survival of the Blood Hunter Clan is on you. Don’t let the others down!”

“Everyone else is dead, but I’m still alive… why?”

“Because you’re worth their trust, and your survival will allow their will to continue living on. It’s also your promise— don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten the deal between us!”

Wang Bugui finally calmed down after hearing Hanae Chiou’s words, and he began to look more energetic as he thought about the final words of his clanspeople and parents. Finally, he remembered his promise to Hanae Chiou as well, but he was lost and did not know what to do now. “Which direction should the path of my life continue in?” He thought.

Just as they were about to step foot on the Tower Bridge of the Thames River, which would lead them out of the region, a figure swooped down and blocked their path. It was Field, who had been chasing after them all this while. He held his Rose Blood Sword before him and swept his cold, dark gaze across the four people in front of him.

“Ah… Field, why is it him?” Druid said as he took two steps backward, his legs trembling in fright.

“This is the end, we’re all going to die here.” Said Merutia as she crumpled onto the ground weakly, her moist and bright eyes filled with hopelessness.

“What do you want? Could the First Infante be taking an interest in harming weak people like us?” Asked Hanae Chiou as her nicely shaped eyebrows furrowed. She summoned her giant scythe and stood in front of the others who had long lost their will to resist.

“I’m interested in that human. Let me draw a little blood so that I can access his memories, then you can all leave safely.” Field said calmly as he pointed at Wang Bugui.

“This will cause him too much harm. I won’t allow you to do that.” Hanae Chiou refused Field’s request outright.

“He won’t die from it, and all of you will live. Isn’t that a good deal?”

“He’s from the Blood Hunter Clan. I won’t allow you to insult him.”

“That’s right. The Blood Hunter Clan will not allow vampires to insult any of its people. I won’t spare a single drop of blood for you. I’ll fight you if you plan to kill us!”

By this time, Wang Bugui had stood up slowly, the rage within him having helped overcome his instinctive fear long ago.

“I won’t kill you, but if you don’t cooperate, everyone else will die because of you.” Said Field as he raised his sword to threaten Wang Bugui.

“Scum!”

A roar was emitted from Wang Bugui as he charged toward Field, striking at his opponent with his Blood Sea Surge Fist. He had thrown all caution to the wind and used the Blood Igniting Forbidden Art. Field used only one hand to absorb the impact of the punch— the blow was too weak to bother a truly strong being like him. With a light shake, Wang Bugui was sent flying backward.

“Ergh!”

Wang Bugui landed back at his original spot; Field had defeated him in one blow and caused him to revert back to his original state. The Infante then walked slowly toward him, saying, “You’re not him. If that man is here, I’ll definitely give him my best effort. You, however, are not worthy.”

“That’s enough, I’ll be your opponent.” Hanae Chiou said as she rushed forward to block Field’s advance.

“You are also not worthy of becoming my opponent.” Said Field as he shook his head.

“How about we make a bet?” Asked Hanae Chiou.

“What sort of bet?” Asked Field, who was a little curious.

“I’ll fight you after sending them safely away. If I can stop you from stepping foot on the Tower Bridge for two minutes, you’ll have to promise that you won’t chase after them. Do you dare take on this bet?”

“Haha, that’s interesting. I’ll make a blood vow and keep the promise. You can begin anytime you like.”

Field immediately conjured a magic circle and used his own blood to make a blood pact.

“Sister Chiou, don’t do this! You can’t remain behind!” Screamed Wang Bugui in panic. He was afraid that he would lose even the last person that he could trust and rely on within the same day.

No matter how hard he begged, however, Hanae Chiou rendered him unconscious, and Wang Bugui was still mumbling her name incoherently as Druid carried him on his back and fled along with Merutia. Hanae Chiou sent all three of them across the bridge before turning back with a faint smile on her lips.

“Sister Chiou! Sob…” Merutia cried, no longer able to control her sorrow.

“Sorry, Sister Chiou…” Druid muttered. He did not feel that it was fair to Hanae Chiou, and did not know how to face Wang Bugui when he regained consciousness.

“Hurry, escape! Flee as far as you can, and return only after you link up with Clara. Don’t put my efforts to waste!” Said Hanae Chiou as she waved goodbye, her back still turned toward them. Druid and Merutia then fled with Wang Bugui at great speed, their tears trailing behind on the ground.

Under the Tower Bridge, by the Thames.

“I can give you 20 seconds to attack.” Field said.

“I never rely on the goodwill of my enemies.” Said Hanae Chiou. She despised the idea that she would have to rely on the mercy of her opponent.

“Let’s begin then!” Laughed Field coldly.

Hanae Chiou rushed up and gave a powerful slash with her Scythe of Soul Degeneration. The speed of her attack was considerably quick for her standard but it was extremely ordinary to Field. He dodged the scythe easily and broke Hanae Chiou’s ribs with a punch. He did not hold back, as he knew that his opponent had great pride, and it would be an insult to her if he did that.

“Spurt!”

Hanae Chiou kneeled down on the floor and coughed out big mouthfuls of blood, but yet she still forcibly kept her pain at bay and stood up before charging forward again. She discarded her scythe after Field dodged her attack again and lashed out with a kick instead, managing to halt Field’s offensive temporarily. She then back-flipped onto his head and unleashed another powerful kick, but Field grabbed her thigh and flung her back on the ground. A huge crater was formed by the impact of the crash, and Hanae Chiou tried hard to withstand the sharp pain, before summoning the Scythe of Soul Degeneration back into her hands and slashing at Field again.

Field blocked the blow with his sword and gave Hanae Chiou a kick, completely shattering her ribs and spine. Knowing that she could not stand up again, he walked slowly over to her with sword in hand. “It’s a pity— only 20 seconds have passed. I don’t wish to waste any more time, let’s end this now.”

He thrust his sword cleanly through her heart, and Hanae Chiou gripped onto the sword that was about to take her life tightly, wanting to buy some more time. Field did not dally, however, and pulled out his blood stained sword swiftly before turning away.

“I willingly sacrifice my soul to the pits of the netherworld, and offer my body as sacrifice, my blood as the lock and soul as the chains that bind us. Soul Sacrifice— Imprisonment of the Wandering Soul!” Hanae Chiou, who should not have been able to get up, began chanting the verse of a forbidden curse, and the the Soul Locking Chain in her hands began to pulse with the life force drained from her soul and blood.

The chain flew toward Field, who was far away by now. He wanted to cut it down with a blow of his sword, but he realized that it was infused with immense power, and his sword was knocked away. The chain then began to wrap him up so tightly that he could not move, even with his immense power.

“You would sacrifice your own soul to stop me? How long can you maintain this state? One minute? A minute and a half? Even if you are able to do that, I’ll still be able to catch up with them. Is that worth it?” Field could not help but ask her.

“Haha… of course… it’s worth it. If he hadn’t appeared in my life, it wouldn’t have been so colorful.” Hanae Chiou replied. Her eyes had already turned glassy, and her body was covered with blood, while the Soul Locking Chain was still continually draining her life force away, causing her face to be visibly turning pale gradually.

“You’ll soon be unable to keep this up. Give up, otherwise your soul will really break.” Advised Field, who could not bear to see her be destroyed.

“You should already know… how much a woman can give up for the most important person in her heart…” Hanae Chiou said with difficulty, as cracks began to appear over her body.

Field’s emotions, which he had kept hidden all this while, seemed to have been stirred up by her words, and he did not speak further but looked silently at her. There were still 40 seconds left.

With 35 seconds left— Hanae Chiou’s arms began to break off. 30 seconds— her body was already covered with horrible looking scars. 25 seconds— her legs began to break too, and by the time 20 seconds were left, her broken husk of a body crumbled onto the ground, only her will left behind.

“There’s still… 15 seconds…” Her face, while peppered with wounds, still managing to appear extremely poignant. Her eyes had completely lost all of its light and looked glassy, but still she kept counting down in her heart— 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3…

Unfortunately, she was utterly destroyed with still two seconds left, and even her soul had been completely shattered. Hot tears fell as she died, as she recollected how she first met that boy who did not despise her, even when she was cursed, and she passed on to the next world with a smile on her face.

Field was only one step away from the Tower Bridge, and he could have stepped onto it after the chains loosened, but he did not. The sad but beautiful smile that she wore on her face, before she turned into a pool of blood, had made him stop.

He thought of his fiancee— the woman had looked the same when she passed on, just to save him.

“Sigh…”

He let out a long sigh as he looked at the pool of blood and finally decided to leave instead of chasing after Wang Bugui and the others. Hanae Chiou’s actions stirred up emotions that he had kept locked up for so long, and he left a rose beside her remains, before walking into the woods to wait for Wang Bugui’s return.