The transformed blood tentacle floated high above the vampire realm like an awakened nightmare.

Its gigantic body writhed endlessly among the dark clouds while countless crimson eyes opened and closed across its surface one after another. The pressure leaking from it had become so overwhelming now that even emperor-level beings struggled breathing properly.

And the worst part—

It was still growing stronger.

The surviving humanoid intruders immediately panicked after witnessing the transformed blood monstrosity erupt from the shattered curse storms.

Several distorted creatures screeched loudly while retreating instinctively toward the giant escape portals behind them.

But the portals no longer stabilized properly.

Every time the curse formations attempted anchoring spatial pathways—

The blood tentacle distorted space itself around the battlefield.

The portals twisted violently before collapsing repeatedly.

The intruders were trapped.

Completely trapped.

Meanwhile below—

The surrounding races reacted strangely.

Several vampires actually shouted loudly after seeing the intruders finally resisting earlier.

Others looked relieved when the curse creatures briefly pushed the blood tentacle backward.

Even some Moonshade family members themselves had unknowingly relaxed when the humanoid invaders managed surviving together.

And that—

Made Cain frown.

Deeply.

Near the back of the gathering, Cain narrowed his eyes slightly while staring around the arena.

"...What’s wrong with these idiots..."

He genuinely did not understand.

The invaders above clearly came hostile.

Clearly dangerous.

Clearly targeting the realm.

Yet after seeing the blood tentacle overpower them too heavily—

The surrounding races instinctively began supporting the weaker side mentally.

Especially after the blood monstrosity became more horrifying than the invaders themselves.

Cain internally clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"...Didn’t they want to suppress them?"

The entire point was eliminating the intruders quickly.

Yet now the surrounding races looked more frightened of the blood tentacle than the curse creatures invading their skies.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Still—

Cain no longer cared much about their opinions.

He just wanted this finished already so he could finally rest.

The lingering discomfort from dealing with the curse authority earlier continued irritating his mind continuously.

And honestly—

The intruders above only worsened his mood further.

So—

Cain quietly moved another finger.

High above—

The transformed blood tentacle immediately reacted.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The heavens exploded violently.

The giant appendage lunged directly toward the gathered intruders again while countless newly evolved blood tendrils erupted outward like an endless sea of crimson spears.

The surviving intruders screamed immediately afterward.

"SCREEEEEE—!"

Their giant curse formation activated instantly.

Thousands of black chains surged upward while overlapping curse circles expanded desperately around them.

This time—

The intruders no longer attacked recklessly.

They focused entirely on survival.

Defense.

Delay.

Because they already understood the terrifying truth.

The blood monster above them could not be defeated directly.

Not now.

Not in this realm.

So they fought desperately only to survive long enough for escape opportunities.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The heavens shook endlessly beneath the violent collision between curse authority and blood authority.

The surrounding races watched in horror as the transformed blood tentacle tore through gigantic curse formations repeatedly while the intruders desperately reassembled them again and again.

The pale-eyed humanoid creatures fought frantically now.

Several combined their curse authority together into massive black barriers.

Others unleashed storms of corrosive curse mist capable of erasing emperor-level beings instantly.

Others sacrificed portions of their own bodies to strengthen defensive formations.

And for a moment—

They actually managed holding on.

Barely.

The blood tendrils smashed endlessly against their curse defenses while the transformed blood maw devoured black curse energy continuously throughout the heavens.

Yet the intruders adapted desperately.

The gathered curse creatures no longer separated.

No longer fled individually.

They rotated formation layers carefully while covering each other’s weaknesses constantly.

The surrounding Ascendant leaders widened their eyes slightly.

"They’re surviving..."

Kael’s wolf eyes narrowed heavily.

"...Barely."

Even GrandLord Dreath silently observed now.

Because honestly—

The surviving intruders displayed frightening coordination.

Far beyond ordinary invaders.

Their curse formations evolved continuously midbattle while adapting specifically against the blood tentacle’s hunting patterns.

The transformed appendage destroyed one layer—

Another immediately replaced it.

It devoured one intruder’s curse authority—

The others compensated instantly.

The battle had become horrifyingly intense now.

And still—

The intruders slowly weakened.

Everyone could see it.

Their movements grew slower.

The curse formations became increasingly unstable.

Several humanoid creatures had already lost limbs while black blood poured endlessly from cracked bodies.

They were exhausting themselves.

Rapidly.

Meanwhile—

The blood tentacle showed no signs of slowing.

If anything—

It became increasingly violent.

The giant appendage twisted throughout the heavens endlessly while countless blood tendrils pierced through the clouds from every direction like predators cornering dying prey.

The surviving intruders finally understood something terrifying.

They would not last much longer.

Not against this thing.

One distorted humanoid creature suddenly screeched desperately while unleashing a gigantic black curse sphere directly into the blood maw.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The heavens exploded violently.

Black curse fire consumed the surrounding skies entirely.

For a brief moment—

Visibility vanished.

The surrounding races shielded their eyes instinctively.

Then suddenly—

SHHHHHK!!!

A gigantic blood tendril pierced directly through the curse flames.

The distorted humanoid widened its pale glowing eyes.

Too late.

The tendril wrapped around its body instantly.

Another pierced through its torso.

Then another.

Then dozens more.

The creature screeched horribly while the surrounding intruders desperately tried helping it with overlapping curse chains.

Worthless.

Completely worthless.

The blood tendrils tightened violently afterward.

CRACK!!!

The creature’s body shattered partially beneath the pressure.

Then—

The transformed blood tentacle swung violently.

The impaled humanoid intruder was ripped away from the formation completely before being hurled downward through the heavens like broken prey.

BOOOOOOM!!!

One of the intruders was sent flying down.

The humanoid intruder sent crashing downward had barely stabilized itself before the transformed blood tentacle attacked again.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The heavens split apart violently.

Countless blood tendrils erupted outward from the gigantic appendage like an endless storm of crimson serpents descending upon prey.

The surviving intruders immediately screamed.

This time—

Not with eerie confidence.

Not with cold hostility.

But with genuine panic.

Because the transformed blood monstrosity no longer resembled something they could even delay comfortably.

It had become worse.

Much worse.

The giant blood maw floating among the heavens continued expanding slowly while endless rows of spinning blood fangs ground against one another continuously.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The sound alone made weaker beings below shiver uncontrollably.

Meanwhile the blood tendrils descended everywhere.

SHHHHHK!!

One gigantic tendril pierced directly through the dark clouds toward the surviving curse formation.

The humanoid intruders reacted instantly afterward.

"DEFEND!"

The distorted creatures unleashed everything they possessed.

Absolutely everything.

Massive curse circles unfolded simultaneously throughout the heavens while black lightning erupted across the skies endlessly. Giant skeletal barriers manifested one after another around the formation while rivers of curse mist flooded outward continuously.

Another intruder raised six elongated arms upward.

Instantly—

A giant black eye manifested above the battlefield.

The surrounding races immediately trembled after seeing it.

Because the eye radiated ancient curse authority strong enough to corrode space itself.

The eye fired.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A gigantic beam of black curse light slammed directly into the incoming blood tendril.

The heavens exploded violently.

The blood tendril twisted backward slightly.

The surrounding intruders immediately screamed triumphantly afterward.

But only for a moment.

Because the blood tendril regenerated instantly.

Then split apart into dozens more.

The humanoid intruders froze briefly.

"...Impossible..."

The transformed blood tentacle descended harder afterward.

SHHHHHK!!

Another massive tendril pierced through one of the curse barriers entirely before erupting directly inside the formation.

The humanoid creatures screamed immediately while unleashing endless curse magic desperately toward it.

Black spears.

Curse storms.

Spatial collapse magic.

Soul-corrupting mist.

Everything.

The heavens became filled with nonstop explosions afterward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The surrounding races could barely even follow the battle anymore.

The surviving intruders had become completely desperate now.

Every attack they used carried overwhelming power capable of destroying cities and slaughtering emperor-level beings instantly.

Yet all of it—

All of it—

Only barely held the blood monstrosity back temporarily.

The transformed tentacle simply continued attacking endlessly without pause.

Like an ancient predator slowly wearing down exhausted prey.

The humanoid creatures understood the situation clearly now.

If this continued—

They would die.

All of them.

One by one.

Devoured completely.

And because of that—

Their thoughts slowly changed.

If they could not overpower the blood monstrosity directly—

Then they needed another answer.

The culprit.

The controller.

The hidden existence manipulating the blood creature from the shadows.

Because something about the battle felt strange.

The blood tentacle itself never spoke.

Never revealed intelligence directly.

It only hunted.

Relentlessly.

Meanwhile the true controller never appeared once.

Never showed themselves.

Never released visible aura fluctuations.

Nothing.

And that fact slowly made the surviving intruders think differently.

One of the pale-eyed humanoid creatures screeched toward the others using distorted curse language.

The surrounding races could not understand the words.

But the meaning became obvious quickly afterward.

The surviving intruders began searching.

Not just defending anymore.

Searching.

Their glowing pale eyes scanned the vampire realm desperately while continuously resisting the blood tentacle’s attacks.

Another massive tendril descended.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The intruders unleashed combined curse barriers together.

This time giant skeletal walls erupted throughout the heavens while overlapping curse formations reinforced them endlessly.

The blood tendril smashed directly against the defenses.

CRACK!!!

The barriers shattered partially.

But held.

Barely.

The surviving intruders immediately used the opportunity afterward.

Their pale eyes scanned the battlefield below intensely.

The gathered vampires.

The race leaders.

The formations.

The three cocoons.

Everything.

One distorted humanoid suddenly shrieked loudly afterward.

Another immediately turned toward the arena center.

Then another.

And another.

The surrounding races noticed quickly.

"...Why are they looking downward?"

Kael frowned heavily.

The ancient elf Sylvera’s expression darkened.

"They’re searching for the summoner..."

Meanwhile above—

The blood tentacle attacked again.

SHHHHHK!!

Thousands of smaller blood tendrils rained downward like crimson meteors while the humanoid intruders desperately unleashed curse magic after curse magic in response.

One summoned a giant black moon overhead.

Another manifested endless curse chains.

Another sacrificed part of its own body to strengthen spatial barriers.

They were throwing away everything now.

Every reserve.

Every technique.

Every hidden art.

Not to win.

Only to survive long enough to identify the controller.

Because the surviving intruders had reached the same conclusion together.

The hidden attacker must be weak.

Otherwise—

Why hide?

Why never reveal themselves?

Why rely only on summoned blood creatures instead of appearing personally?

To them—

The answer seemed obvious.

The summoner feared exposure.

The surrounding races themselves gradually realized the same possibility afterward.

Even GrandLord Dreath narrowed his eyes slightly.

Because honestly—

The thought made sense.

A terrifying summoned creature.

Yet an invisible controller.

Perhaps the summoner truly lacked strength personally.

Perhaps the blood monstrosity consumed enormous energy continuously.

Perhaps the controller hid somewhere vulnerable.

And if found—

The battle could end instantly.

The surviving humanoid intruders became increasingly frantic afterward.

Their pale glowing eyes scanned the vampire realm below relentlessly while continuing defending against the endless blood tendrils.

Then suddenly—

One of them froze.

Its pale eyes locked toward the center of the arena.

Toward the three floating cocoons.

Faith.

Ivira.

Cornelia.

The transformed blood tentacle attacked violently again at that exact moment.

Yet instead of panicking—

The humanoid creature suddenly screeched loudly toward the others.

Immediately—

The remaining intruders all turned toward the three cocoons too.

The surrounding races stiffened instantly.

Then slowly—

A realization appeared across the intruders’ distorted faces.

And together—

They began thinking the same thing.

The three cocoons on the side were the ones attacking them.