Alex’s gaze did not change. What happened was tragic, but that didn’t justify what they were doing. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"And? Are you the only one suffering? Those you betrayed and sacrificed also lost many things. Everyone has suffered."

Lena laughed again. "There you do it again! Judging us from your high place, like this is all our fault!"

Alex never deflected the blame. Although he wasn’t a progenitor yet at that time, the whole weight of the race’s history was still on his shoulders.

But Lena could not understand this. The moment she felt Alex’s progenitor aura, it gave her the feeling of meeting a superior being.

One that was always above her. That was why she felt like this.

Normally, the reaction one would have was to surrender to that being’s will, but Lena was from a generation born into servitude.

All she had ever seen was the whole race being abandoned. She had never seen vampires at their glory.

She pulled her fingers down. Her chest split open.

Black blood spilled out, but inside her chest was not a normal heart.

There was a small dark-red core beating inside, wrapped by many tiny soul faces.

The faces opened their mouths, letting out horrific screams.

Mingyue’s eyes turned cold. "This looks similar."

The appearance looked like the Arachne core that had many souls sealed within it.

"It’s an imitation of it," Alex said, his face turning grim.

His brain started thinking in overdrive. This was related.

The awakening of the Spider Progenitor Arachne, and what he had seen from Lena’s memories.

"Since our god abandoned us, we will create our own!"

Lena’s body started changing faster. Her arms lengthened. Her claws grew longer and thicker.

Dark red veins spread across her neck and cheeks.

Her ribs pushed outward, tearing through her clothes.

The blood threads behind her twisted together and formed two half-made wings.

They were made from blood, bone, and screaming souls.

Alex watched the mutation with a flat expression. "You’ve sealed your fate."

Lena’s head tilted. Her smile froze.

Then she vanished.

This time, she was much faster. She appeared beside Mingyue and swung her claw.

Mingyue blocked with one sword.

CLANG!!

The impact pushed her half a step back.

Lena’s other claw came from below, aiming at Mingyue’s stomach.

Mingyue’s body shifted sideways.

The claw tore through her sleeve and scratched her armor.

Before Lena could follow, Alex appeared behind her.

His fist landed on her back.

BAM!!

Lena shot forward like a broken arrow.

Mingyue raised her sword.

A line of space opened in front of Lena.

Lena twisted in midair, but the space cut still took one of her wings.

SHRKK!!

Half the blood wing was severed.

The broken part fell to the ground and writhed like a living worm.

Alex stepped on it. Green flame burned it into ash.

Lena landed on all fours. Her breathing was no longer human.

Her spine bent upward.

More bones pushed through her back. Her head twitched left and right.

Then her jaw opened too wide.

"Alex..."

Her voice was mixed with many other voices now.

"Progenitor... Die!"

The blood core in her chest pulsed.

The corridor walls opened. Many pale arms reached out from both sides.

Some were human. Some were from other species.

All of them grabbed toward Alex and Mingyue.

Mingyue raised one sword. Ice spread from her feet.

The arms froze as soon as they touched the cold qi.

Then she swung.

CRACK!!

The frozen arms broke apart. But more came out.

Alex lifted his palm. Runes appeared around him, one after another.

Green fire spread along the floor.

The fire did not burn the ground. It burned the soul marks hidden inside it.

The corridor screamed, like it was alive.

"You will never come out from here!"

Alex looked at her. "All this is pointless."

Even with her mutated state, while being fueled by endless emotion and life force, she still had no chance of winning.

Deep inside, both Alex and Mingyue felt heavy. The vampire race’s situation was very bad.

They had expected this, but seeing it with their own eyes was completely different.

The amount of anguish and hatred they had made them question themselves.

This made both Alex and Mingyue decide to capture her. If possible, they didn’t want to kill her.

The fire spread faster. The endless alley began to lose its shape.

The ground rippled.

Lena roared and rushed at Alex. Her claws crossed in front of her.

Blood threads followed behind her like a storm.

Alex did not retreat. He formed a rune with two fingers and pressed it forward.

The rune turned into a green flame spear.

Lena dodged the spear and appeared above him. Her claws aimed at his head.

Mingyue appeared between them. Both swords moved at once.

One sword blocked the claws. The other cut across Lena’s chest.

SLASH!!

The dark-red core was exposed again.

Lena screamed, but instead of backing away, she bit toward Mingyue’s neck.

Mingyue’s eyes flashed. A layer of frozen space appeared between them.

Lena’s fangs struck it.

CRACK!!

Her fangs pierced halfway through.

Mingyue’s knee smashed into Lena’s stomach.

BAM!!

Lena’s body bent.

Alex’s flame spear turned around and stabbed into her back.

SHHK!!

Green fire burst through her chest. The dark-red core shook.

The soul faces around it screamed.

Lena’s eyes went wide.

For a moment, her body stopped moving.

Alex raised his hand. "Seal."

Runes appeared around Lena’s body.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

They locked around her arms, neck, waist, and legs.

Mingyue stepped back slightly, but her swords stayed raised.

Lena trembled inside the rune rings. Her body tried to kneel.

Her corrupted core fought back.

Alex’s voice was cold. "Just give up."

Lena looked at him. Her face twisted between fear, rage, and pain.

Then she smiled. "No."

The dark-red core cracked.

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

"Mingyue."

Mingyue moved at once.

But Lena was faster this time.

Not because Mingyue was slower. She did not expect Lena to suddenly gain this burst of speed.

Lena’s flesh exploded outward. Black blood filled the corridor.

The rune rings held for a breath, then snapped.

BANG!!

Alex and Mingyue both moved back.

The blood did not scatter randomly. It gathered in the air.

The pieces of Lena’s body floated inside it, then started pulling in flesh, bone, and soul matter from the corridor walls.

The endless path shrank. The walls melted.

Alex’s face darkened. "Dammit!"

Mingyue’s sword tightened in her hand.

"She is becoming like the soul golem. There’s no hope, Alex."

"No," Alex said. "Worse. The soul golem was made from dead souls. This one still has a living vampire core."

The blood mass expanded.

A head formed first. It was Lena’s face, but stretched and cracked.

Her black hair turned into blood threads.

Her eyes multiplied across her forehead and cheeks. Her mouth split down both sides until it almost reached her ears.

Then the body formed. It was three meters tall. Then four. Then five.

Its arms were too long.

Its fingers became curved claws.

Half-made wings spread from its back, made from blood membranes and pale bones.

Faces moved under its skin like trapped insects.

The dark-red core now sat in the middle of its open chest.

Around it, soul remnants spun like a nest.

Lena’s voice came from the monster’s mouth. "Now... kneel."

A heavy soul pressure burst out.

BOOM!!

The air turned thick with blood mist.