After his minor breakthrough, Kael's robes clung to him, soaked through with hours of relentless sparring. Amelia fared no better—hair disheveled, skin glistening, her damp attire accentuating her lithe curves.
A stray glance at her silhouette stirred unwelcome thoughts. Kael hastily banished them, only to meet Amelia's sharp, reproachful gaze. With a flicker of blurred motion, she donned light armor, shielding herself from his view.
He noted, however, the faint pink tingeing her earlobes—a telltale hint of fluster.
Clearing his throat, Kael steered the conversation to cultivation insights until dusk forced them to part.
Returning to his quarters, Kael exchanged nods with Magic Academy students—his victory over Korgoth had cemented his reputation. The minor breakthrough buoyed his mood, though night had fully fallen by his arrival, stars glittering under a full moon.
"A full moon night," he mused, gazing at the pearl-like orb casting its silver glow.
But scenery held no allure tonight. Retrieving Moonlit Twilight, he settled into tedious meditation.
Tomorrow's opponent, Cruy—master of wind summoning—loomed in his thoughts. Even if Carlos hadn't underestimated him, defeat was inevitable. This one demands caution.
Today's observations reshaped his strategy: summoning magic's battlefield utility outweighed its cumbersome chants. A mistake to have dismissed it before.
Properly wielded, summoning could be lethal. The tournament had become a crucible, forging Kael's adaptability as he absorbed rivals' strengths.
With renewed focus, he delved into The Book of Immortality's summoning spells. His prodigious mental reserves—a natural boon for this magic—hummed with potential.
Kael immersed himself in studying summoning magic. The incantations' complexity stemmed from intricate elemental matrices—layered, dissonant notes that defied simplification.
Night deepened, yet fatigue eluded him. Progress fueled his fervor; he'd cracked several key patterns.
Hours later, he exhaled. "Done. Tomorrow's match will be… interesting." A grin spread as he retrieved Moonlit Twilight for routine cultivation.
The orb pulsed with its usual eerie crimson, energy swirling beneath its glassy surface—restrained yet volatile.
"Odd." Kael frowned. Lately, the artifact felt like an extension of himself, as if fused to his flesh.
He lifted the crystal, scrutinizing it.
Moonlit Twilight shuddered. His mental senses prickled with unease, instinctively probing deeper—
—and locked onto a shadow coalescing within the orb. A pair of hauntingly familiar eyes materialized, freezing his blood.
"Am I hallucinating? That silhouette… Vampire Countess Scarlett?" Kael stiffened.
Was the artifact haunted? He shook his head. Scarlett's dead. Vampires aren't vengeful spirits.
Wait—no.
Memory struck: Scarlett hadn't died. Moonlit Twilight had "consumed" her, leaving no trace. She could still be alive.
He snapped his gaze back to the orb, unleashing a mental tendril. Unnoticed by him, the crystal aligned perfectly with the full moon's position in the sky.
Gradually, the Lunar Shadow Twilight blazed with radiance, its eerie crimson glow intensifying.
"On the night of the full moon, I finally emerge into the world again..." A low, magnetic female voice rang out. Kael looked up to see a woman in scarlet robes, dazzlingly beautiful yet with icy eyes locked onto him.
"Scarlett!" Kael's instincts screamed warning. The sudden appearance of a living person made every hair on his body stand on end. His hand instinctively tightened around the Lunar Shadow Twilight.
"Scarlett was vomited out by the Lunar Shadow Twilight? Wait—her wings..." Kael's initial shock quickly gave way to calm. Though Scarlett's face remained unchanged, her signature gray wings had vanished entirely.
"You're alive?" Kael retreated, putting distance between them as he spoke coldly.
"Hmph, so it's you, little one." Scarlett's gaze held equal hostility, yet she made no move to attack. Instead, she nonchalantly sat down in a nearby chair, carelessly lifting her robe until a single glance from Kael would reveal the scenery beneath her skirt.
But Kael, hypervigilant, ignored it completely.
Something felt off. By all logic, they were mortal enemies—yet Scarlett now sat motionless, neither attacking nor fleeing, her hatred seemingly forgotten.
Has the Lunar Shadow Twilight altered her somehow? Kael gripped the artifact tighter, boldly extending his spiritual senses to probe Scarlett's power. She offered no resistance.
"What?" Kael's eyes narrowed. Scarlett's strength had plummeted—no longer at the ninth tier where she'd rivaled peak Arcane Mages during their battle for the Millennium Frostcore, but now barely clinging to the sixth tier's apex.
"Stop gawking, boy. I'm not even seventh-tier now." Scarlett snorted at his spiritual probing, then chuckled darkly. "As the Lunar Shadow Twilight's master, shouldn't you understand our contract? It seems we need... a proper conversation."
Contract?
The word struck Kael like lightning. His eyes narrowed to slits.
He was beginning to grasp the current situation.
It seemed that due to the Moonlight Twilight's presence, Kael and Scarlett had formed some form of connection—most likely a contractual bond.
Knowing Scarlett's diminished power, Kael no longer feared the vampire woman. His icy gaze swept over her as he demanded, "What do you want to say?"
Scarlett shrugged. "You see? The Moonlight Twilight has bound us through a contract. We're on the same boat now. My strength has been drained to below Level Seven after the Twilight absorbed most of it. To recover, I need to harness the Moonlight Twilight's power..."
Kael watched coldly as the vampire Countess laid out her terms. Two facts were clear: first, Scarlett had been spat out by the Moonlight Twilight with her power regressed to Level Seven. Second, the artifact had forged a contract between them.
The crux lay in the nature of their contract.
In the world of Nanga, contracts fell into three categories. The first was an Equal Contract, where both parties shared equal status, and one could survive the other's death. The second was a Soul Contract, exceedingly rare, formed only when two souls achieved profound harmony. The third was a Master-Servant Contract—ruthlessly hierarchical. The master's death doomed the servant, but the servant's demise left the master unharmed. Moreover, the master's commands held absolute authority.
Kael and Scarlett's bond was clearly not a Soul Contract. It had to be either Equal or Master-Servant.
If it were the latter... Scarlett would become his slave.
Testing it was simple.
"Come here," Kael ordered, flippantly crooking his finger at Scarlett.
The vampire's brow furrowed, outrage flashing across her face at his mocking gesture. But before she could retort, her head throbbed with excruciating pain. Scarlett's already pale complexion turned ghostly white as the agony forced compliance.
The contract was in effect.
Unable to resist its compulsion, Scarlett rose obediently and approached Kael. The moment she moved, Kael nearly laughed aloud.
Master-Servant Contract.
There was no doubt now. When Kael issued a command, Scarlett's defiance had been crushed by the contract's enforcement, compelling her submission.
Kael stared coldly at Scarlett. This foolish woman, bound to him through a Master-Servant Contract, still dared act arrogantly. He felt no pity for the vampire who had nearly killed him – especially given her bloodline.
"You…" Scarlett shivered under his glacial gaze. Even at her peak strength, the contract's compulsion would have forced obedience. Now, weakened below Level Seven, resistance was unthinkable.
"You don't get to make demands," Kael stated icily. "But I'll grant you the privilege of addressing me as Master."
"You're asking for death!" Scarlett snarled, eyes blazing with venom. A vampire Countess bowing to a mere human? Unthinkable.
Yet the moment her insult left her lips, searing agony tore through her skull. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as the contract retaliated. "Damn it!" she hissed. "Not even allowed to curse? This cursed contract…" The stabbing pain hammered the contract's ruthless authority into her consciousness.
"Now that we've confirmed the contract type," Kael's voice cut like winter steel, "you understand the implications. Even if I ordered you to slit your own throat…" His words hung, freezing the air as Scarlett's defiance crumbled into horrified clarity.
One sentence laid bare her powerlessness. Her life – her very will – now belonged to him.
Kael almost sneered at her earlier delusion of bargaining as equals. What a windfall! The Moonlight Twilight hadn't just spared him – it had handed him a perfectly obedient enforcer. A vampire Countess, no less, now shackled as his personal weapon.
"Still refusing to call me Master properly?" Kael looked down at the vampire Countess with contempt. Given their hostile history, he felt no obligation to soften his tone.
Scarlett's expression shifted through shades of defiance before finally settling into resignation. "M-Master," she whispered, the word ash in her mouth.
"Good. For that obedience, I'll let bygones be bygones." Kael dragged a chair closer, idly toying with the Moonlight Twilight in his hands. Now that Scarlett stood bound by the contract, her knowledge of the artifact became his to exploit.
He cut straight to the point: "What exactly is the Moonlight Twilight?"
"You don't know?" Scarlett blurted, astonishment briefly overriding fear. How could this human command their sacred relic while ignorant of its nature?
"I've possessed it only briefly." Kael's gaze pinned her, the contract's compulsion thickening the air between them. No lies would slip through its net.
"Curse this thrice-damned contract..." Scarlett seethed inwardly. Yet survival instincts prevailed – even a wretched life beat death. Bowing her head, she began: "The Moonlight Twilight is my kind's foremost sacred relic."
Sacred vampire artifact.
Though Kael's pulse quickened at the confirmation, his face remained impassive – a stone wall giving Scarlett no purchase.
"Continue."
"Damned human..." The vampire's mental curses burned even as her voice stayed deferential. "It's been passed down through ten thousand years of vampire history. Only Blood Emperors may wield it."
Blood Emperor – the apex of vampire hierarchy, sovereign over all their kind.
"Within its core lies the accumulated power of every Blood Emperor, sealed through generations. But humans can't sense this energy." Scarlett's lips twisted bitterly. "Only vampires perceive its true nature."
So that explained why neither Cole nor Kael had unlocked its secrets. The artifact's full might could only bloom in vampire hands – yet paradoxically, it now answered to a human master.
"Then why were you consumed by the Moonlight Twilight earlier?" Kael pressed, curiosity overriding caution.
"Because it recognized you as its master," Scarlett spat, resentment simmering beneath her forced calm. "When I attacked you, its protective mechanisms activated. Though sacred to vampires, it inherently suppresses our kind. I became like a helpless infant before its power – imprisoned, drained of strength..." Her voice tightened. "I only escaped during tonight's full moon, when its seals weakened. Had I failed, it would've devoured me completely."
Understanding dawned on Kael. The artifact's dual nature – revered yet dangerous to vampires – explained Scarlett's predicament. Previous full moons had passed without incident because he'd never wielded the relic during those peak moments, leaving her trapped.
But one mystery remained.
"Do you know of Shadowreach?" Kael's brow furrowed, recalling Cole's theft of the artifact from that sinister mage faction. If their leader had possessed it...
"Shadowreach?" Scarlett blinked, genuine confusion replacing her guarded expression. "The human cabal of dark-winged sorcerers? What could they..."
Kael cut her off with a dismissive wave. Her cluelessness confirmed the trail went cold here. Whatever connection existed between Shadowreach and vampire royalty, Scarlett clearly held no answers.
"So the Moonlight Twilight's secret lies there..." Kael finally grasped the artifact's true significance. All this time, he'd treated it merely as a cultivation aid, never probing its deeper purpose.
"What was your power level during our clash at the mountain peak?" Curiosity colored his tone – assessing his new "servant's" worth.
"I was a vampire Countess nearing Marquess ascension," Scarlett declared with pride, then faltered as reality crashed back. "Equivalent to your human Level Nine peak."
Level Nine peak!
Stronger than Kael had estimated – bordering on Sage Mage territory. No wonder he'd been utterly helpless against her. The gulf had been insurmountable.
"Why have your wings vanished with your diminished power?" Kael gestured at her back, noting other subtle changes beyond her now-human appearance.
"Damnation!" Scarlett hissed, finally registering her altered form. The contract's shock had blinded her to the physical transformation. Her scream pierced the air: "What's happened to me?!"
Gone were the fangs, the crimson eyes – every vampiric trait erased. She stood now as near-perfect human mimicry.
"Sparlavich!" She cursed in the ancient vampire tongue, venom dripping from each syllable. The Moonlight Twilight's doing, undoubtedly, yet its legendary mysteries defied even her knowledge.
Kael smirked. Her predicament only served him. A vampire servant would draw unwanted attention across the three continents. This human facade? Perfect camouflage.
"Better you're human – saves me trouble," he thought before addressing her: "Since we're bound, you mentioned needing the Moonlight Twilight to regain strength. How long if I permit its use?"
Scarlett's eyes lit with predatory hunger, momentarily forgetting her plight. "Uncertain, but swift!"
Kael's smile widened. Everything aligned perfectly. Once restored, this former Countess would become his ultimate weapon.
Praise the Moonlight Twilight. Praise the Master-Servant Contract.