Chapter 81: 80. A Duel under the Starlight

Everyone stopped and held their breaths as a blade of moonlight swung in a dazzling arc.

Imyrll's detached head fell to the floor with a sickening thump, and her now headless corpses slumped to the side in a clump of robes and blood.

As Damien met Emilia's calm eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, Damien realised something. 

'I'm a fraud. I could never execute one of my own without hesitation. That is the decisiveness only a natural-born ruler could possess.'

Emilia looked between her bloodstained blade and the headless corpse before looking back at Damien. A thin smile appeared on her rosy lips, "Damien, it's been so long." Then, with surprising power, she kicked the corpse to the side, "You never came to the Capital for our lessons as promised." She tilted her head to the side, silver hair falling, "I hope you don't mind if we exchange some friendly pointers? Since your enlightenment, I have gained a new understanding, but I have few partners willing to participate in a dance of death."

Damien understood her true motives as a fellow ruler: 'She wishes to establish the hierarchy. I have gotten far too comfortable being the top dog around here; someone with equal status to mine rarely appears. With the disrespect I caused her by enslaving one of her own, she feels the need to put me in my place, to prove she is not a complete pushover.' 

"The student wishes to challenge the teacher? How laughable." Damien removed one of his pristine white gloves and tossed it to the floor, "In compliance with the Noble Pledge, I, Damien Nightshade, propose a friendly duel."

The Princess removed her own glove and threw it as well, "Emilia Silvermoon accepts the challenge. May no accidents occur..."

Marquess Cunningdal led Fay and the others away from the area, and many of the knights also backed off, but the more senior ones decided to form a large ring around the two rulers. This would be a fight they would never forget.

Emilia stared down her opponent with hidden fury as the moon climbed into the darkened sky. She felt empowered with her goddess watching over her. Luna affinity was no simple school of magic; it was at the apex of purity. Nothing stood above it, not even time nor blood. Only the wrathful eye of the sun god, the solar affinity, had a chance to stand up to the moon's might.

She cast her clothes aside as moonlight wrapped her form like holy armour. 

A feral snarl escaped Damien's throat. This was no mere duel between two Nobles nor two Royals. Instead, it is a duel of pride, something sacred to both the Elves and Vampires.

Spatial magic manifested, and Damien's signature red wine suit vanished, leaving his lean muscular form on full display under the starlight. With his pride called into question, the instincts Damien had caged away broke free. 

Vampires love a good hunt, and the monster within wanted OUT.

Levitation rose Damien into the dark sky, yet a powerful force smashed down upon him as if Zeus himself wished to swat him like a bug. His mana circuit buzzed against Emilia's Gravity Manipulation, but the expenditure became too great.

Damien fell to the stone path with a grunt, hairline cracks forming in his wake as the immense force descended upon him. A moonlight blade silently went for his neck; he ducked just in time, his superhuman vampire instincts carrying him through the action. He retaliated, sharped fangs curving upwards and meeting Emilia's chest.

She barely reacted as the nails dug deep into her left breast, drawing blood and flesh. Instead, she used the momentum and brought the blade down again. It connected, and Damien's left arm fell to the ground. 

Damien's scarlet eyes burned with rage. His other arm moved faster than humanly possible. His claw grabbed at Emilia's neck, yet it passed right through.

"Illusion." Damien snarled as he jumped to his feet. The woman was gone, the illusion fading away. Blood surged towards his left arm; tendrils of flesh and muscle constructed a brand new arm within a few breaths.

But now he was hungry.

Magic didn't come for free, everything had a price.

'So she reached B grade... it's unlikely my species' superior qualities can triumph over the value of Luna affinity.' Damien grinned as he licked the blood off his claw, 'I want it for myself even more now.'

His body bent in half to avoid a blade from behind, "Two can play at that game." he smiled as Emilia vanished and reappeared as ten versions of herself.

A small rift in space opened, and a hundred metal cards flew out. Damien closed his eyes, vertigo accompanying his expanded worldview. "There you are~." 

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Illusions were useless within the outlined world, as they didn't possed a soul, making the real from the fake as clear as day. As the cards flew towards their target like a hurricane of steel, the pressure of gravity pinning Damien to the ground disappeared.

"Checkmate." Damien declared as he stood to his full height. Darkness wrapped his form as Shadow Walk carried him towards his prey. 

The full extent of the moon's wrath pinned the cards to the ground, giving Emilia a chance to breathe- or so she thought. A claw appeared from her shadow; she swiped at it with a silver dagger, yet it passed right through as if the hand was merely a spectre. 

In a panic, she cast her newest spell, Dreamscape. The hand paused as its owner entered the land of Dreams.

Emilia stood frozen, luna ice manifesting across the skin, the consequence of using spells above her ability. Then, finally, she sighed; the battle was over.

As Damien fell into the land of dreams, a place he hadn't visited for weeks, his mind became clear. His passive skill [Sleep Casting] activated, allowing Damien to use Psychokinesis once more.

As Emilia looked at the moon with cold eyes, metal cards whistled through the air, knocking her out cold. She fell to the stone floor as a statue of ice. Her illusions vanished, the moonlight veil gone, her naked and bloody form revealed.

Damien emerged from the Shadows as the land of Dreams left him once more. He stood over the Princess's body, her bloody and cracked skin healed at a visible rate in the moon's glow.

"Luna healing and regeneration sure is handy," Damien commented as Emilia's body returned to its pristine form; except for the fresh blood, there was no evidence of a fight. 

A moment later, her eyes fluttered open, confusion evident for a brief moment before she met Damien's scarlet eyes ablaze with hunger. Then, finally, she gulped, "Haha... it appears teacher still has a few tricks up his sleeve."

Damien snarled, "As do you, Princess, to harness a powerful spell-like Dreamscape is a feat of its own."

Damien could barely hold back his urge to devour the meal before him. Only his noble pride and high mental capabilities held back his instincts. SHE IS PREY

No. Stop.

DIVINE BLOOD OF THE MOON DEVOUR CONSUME EMPOWER

Like a war drum, the hunger was relentless; Damien's mind was a mess. Finally, through gritted teeth, he spoke, "Run, little lamb."

She is weaker. Devour her blood. Obtain the blessing of the moon. 

The instincts were right... it was only the proper course that one who lost to a vampire should yield before it. Offer its everything to the victor, for it is the victor's right to decide the fate of the lost. Luna affinity was the final piece of the puzzle, the higher power he required to conquer this new world.

Damien lunged forward. 

Fangs sunk into female flesh.

Yet the taste seemed familiar?

Damien opened his eyes and met Fay's. They were scarlet, like his own.