Cursed Bloodline: Awakened a Hidden Class in a Game World
Chapter 34: Holy empire

Chapter 34: Holy empire

Ava went for his head with her fist. Zane dodged again, but a cut appeared on his cheek. He quickly stepped back. He observed her hands as she attacked again and noticed that her marks glowed more when she was attacking.

’That has to be it. When they glow, they activate her ability to hit me without touching,’ Zane thought.

So as she attacked again, he lunged forward, blocking her arm just before the marks glowed. She was stunned. She looked at Zane coming in closer with a smile on his face.

"I saw through your technique," he said and threw a punch, landing an uppercut. She flew into the air, flipped, and landed on her feet. She rubbed her chin.

"It’s not nice to hit a lady, you know," she said.

"Sorry, but I believe in full gender equality," Zane said and attacked again, flipping into the air and striking with an overhead kick. She dodged to the side, and the kick crackled the ground.

"Women are delicate," she said, throwing a punch, which he moved fast and blocked before her ability kicked in.

"Well, if she acts lady-like, then I’ll show chivalry, and I won’t fight," Zane said.

They continued their back-and-forth fight with no real progress for a bit.

[...]

Lucy sat on a tree near the camp, and then she realized that Zane had been gone for too long. Her guts told her something was wrong, so she got up and leaped to the ground.

She stared at all the adventurers to ensure that they were asleep, but her eyes lingered on Ava. The more she stared, the more she saw mana fluctuations that weren’t normal.

She walked up to Ava, lifted her feet, and stomped her right in the guts. The body exploded into mana and floated away.

"A clone," Lucy muttered. She turned, facing the forest, and dashed in, running so fast that she disappeared into the night sky. She was connected to Zane, so she could tell where he was.

When he finally came into her view and she saw that Ava was fighting him, her eyes went blood red. She pulled out her dagger and spun it. No hesitation, no pause, she lunged forward.

Suddenly, Ava felt a cold killing intent pinned on her. She spun around immediately only to be met with the cold blade of Lucy’s dagger stabbing right through her chest.

"How dare you touch my Master," Lucy spat and twisted the blade in her chest, causing Ava more pain. Lucy’s eyes glowed red, and her fangs came out. She lost a bit of control in that moment.

Ava looked at the teeth, a look of realization forming on her face. "I know what you are," she said, smiling through the pain. "You are vampires," she added.

Immediately Lucy and Zane heard that, they were stunned. Lucy immediately grabbed her by the neck, her blade still in her chest. She lifted her off the ground and stared at her. "How do you know about vampires?" she asked.

"Lucy, wait, let her down," Zane said and walked closer. Lucy did as he said. She pulled out her dagger and allowed Ava to drop to the ground. The stab wound healed up immediately.

"I knew something wasn’t right with you. You are a demon," Lucy stated.

"I think we already established that," Ava said, getting up to her feet. She placed her finger on the blood soaked in her clothes and then sucked on the finger. She looked at Lucy. "Your strength is terrifying. I couldn’t even make a move against you," she said.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell us what you know about vampires," Lucy said in a threatening tone.

"I’ll speak, but you have to promise me that if I tell you what I know, you’ll allow me to live, and also you’ll allow me to travel with you. I still have some plans," she said, licking her lips and glancing at Zane.

Lucy pointed her dagger at her neck, her gaze went cold. "If you touch my master in any way, I’ll use your blood to paint the walls of a city," she said.

Ava raised her hands, showing that she meant no harm. "I don’t plan to hurt him, just to taste him. After all, you can’t tell me that you’ve not had any thoughts like that towards him. Look at him, he’s perfect," Ava said.

Lucy’s cheeks immediately went bright red, and it showed a lot due to her pale skin. She quickly shook her head as if trying to get an idea out of her head. "My master is not a toy for your vanity," Lucy said.

"Lucy, don’t worry, it’s fine. She is a risk, but she seems to know some things about the vampires—information that I need now. So for now, let’s hear her out, and if her information is worth it, she can come with us," Zane said.

Lucy frowned. She wasn’t happy with the thought of this viper being anywhere close to her master, but she couldn’t refuse her master’s words.

"Fine. Tell us what you know about the vampires," Lucy asked.

"In truth, not much. I wasn’t told anything about them at all. But during my travels, I found a place in the Holy Empire, deep inside the dark forest, a small hidden construct underground, and the walls were living murals with depictions of a race I had never seen before: the vampires.

It showed them at war with other races, and always dominating. And then I came to a door. It was large and made of stone I couldn’t even crack.

I didn’t know how to get in, so I left. For some months, I looked for more answers. I learned a few things about your race, and after that, I stopped looking," Ava explained.

’The Holy Empire? This isn’t looking good. They are one of the major superpowers in this game. Even up till the sixth year of the game, they were still terrifying and had control over several ascended players. This is getting serious,’ Zane thought.