Under the sky of perfect midnight velvet, under stars so brilliant they drew the eyes heaven bound, the music softly played by crickets and the ever-expanding ocean in front of Tanulia, made every second waiting for the vampire she was supposed to meet a beautiful yet heart beating experience. She gazed at those bright friends of the moon and their pattern that seemed so fixed and yet ever-changing while the waves gently brushed over her feet.

Her silver robes, adorned with golden engravings fluttered in the wind, dancing to the rhythm of the sea along with her striking golden hair.

It had been an hour since Tanulia arrived at the marked location on the parchment she received from a mysterious vampire. As far as her eyes could see, there was nothing but the ocean and an empty beach void of any life signs except a boulder twenty or so meters away from Tanulia.

Regardless of waiting for a vampire in the middle of the night with no one around her, Tanulia had no fear in her heart at all. She was trained to remain calm and collected despite the situation by her mentors ever since she was born.

The Alpha Guardian was not just a position. It was a state of mind. She was patiently waiting for the vampire and looking at the half moon in the sky until she noticed a figure flying through the puffy white clouds accompanying the moon. The figure slowly descended onto the shot several meters away from her.

The dark figure just arrived at the scene was tall, neither too skinny nor bulky, and wore ragged brown robes and a cloak to cover his face. Tanulia had seen beggars in much better condition than the man in front of her. However, she didn't show any scorn since she was not here to comment on his fashion sense but to do something that would save many lives.

"Tanulia Valren,"

Tanulia heard the man speak in an otherworldly, distorted voice that almost sounded mechanical.

"And you're the one who sent the potion and this," She slowly moved her hands to her waist and took out a parchment in her belt wrapped around her perfect slender waist.

Since Tanulia was in civilian robes instead of her usual silver armor, one could clearly see her flawless hourglass structure. Furthermore, although the robes covered her arms, they failed to hide her muscle definition, which added an extra layer of charm to her beauty.

"Your people slaughtered hundreds of innocents today in Idrisal," her eyes glimmered with rage and fury,

"That was a payback for what you humans had done, Tanulia Valren. Secrecy is the lifeblood of nightwalkers; when it's threatened, it's only natural we retaliate" the words sounded colder than the words spoken by Tanulia.

"Name your price for curing Tiriana,"

Tanulia didn't beat around the bush. Instead, she directly asked for the cure so she could save Tiriana, who was dying little by little painfully.

"We have heard you're spinning the blame on today's message on rogue cultivators,"

"By message, you meant the massacre right?"

"You can take it however you want Tanulia Valren. We wanted to send you a message and we did. Now we demand you turn us into a myth again. Otherwise, you will receive more and more messages every single week until" The vampire paused for a moment to let everything he just said sink into her skull,

"All humans are eradicated from the face of this world,"

Tanulia clenched her fist as the veins in her face bulged up. One could literally hear her grinding her teeth if they stood beside her.

"You want us to cover up your existence. A little bit late for that after your message, don't you think?"

"That's your problem, and you're getting the wrong idea here Tanulia Valren. We are not here to negotiate. I'm here to tell you what you have to do to save your species,"

The vampire sternly said, leaving no chance for her to talk back. After hearing from Noah what happened in the Aqua clan arena and what the vampires did to the people there, she did not dare to underestimate the vampires. Just a group of vampires massacred hundreds of people and prevented anyone from saving them.

In a matter of a few hours, the vampires eradicated eighty percent of the alchemists in Elon and Ozer. As a result, an alchemist's value on both continents would skyrocket in the future as the vampires created a massive void in the alchemy world.

"What about Tiriana? She can't survive until we do the impossible,"

"You're drinking this potion is the price for saving her life," The vampire opened his palms to reveal a brownish potion glimmering from within,

"Is that poison?"

"No," the vampire shook his head. Since he had a cloak and mask covering his face, Tanulia couldn't see his expressions. But judging by the tone of his voice, she could tell he didn't give a damn about her life at all.

"If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it by now. We, nightwalkers, don't use underhanded tactics like your species,"

The potion floated towards Tanulia, revealing that the vampires could use Arch energy within the void line.

Tanulia blankly stared at the potion hovering in the air in front of her before grabbing it. She looked at the potion in her hand without any idea what it would do if she took it.

"Do I have to take your word on that? How do I believe it's not the same poison you gave to Tiriana?"

"You don't. If you value your friend's life, this is the price,"

With her eyes watering up, Tanulia opened the vial. She expected the air around her to smell different, but contrary, nothing changed as she still smelled the fresh salty air as before. The vampire stared at her, lifting the potion towards her mouth and pouring it slowly into her mouth.

As soon as she emptied the vial, blood seeped through her nostrils. She slowly lost the strength in her legs as everything around her turned blurry.

"You!" she tried to say something, but a mouth full of blood sprayed out of her mouth instead of words. Then, her skin turned paler than a white sheet in a few blinks of an eye.

Thud!

Finally, Tanulia collapsed on the sandy shore. Her body frantically twitched as blood seeped out from every pore in her skin, drenching her silvery robes with her blood. The sand beneath her slowly turned red around her.

Her gaze fused with shock and rage, still locked onto the vampire until the light of life finally left her eyes.

"Peyton," The vampire called out when Tanulia's body stopped twitching.

For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of ocean breeze and waves that haunted the arena.

Then, several seconds later, a figure walked out of the boulder's shadow out of the blue. Currently dressed in black robes from head to toe, Peyton strolled toward Tanulia's body.

"Is she dead?" Peyton removed the cloak covering her head to reveal her face.

She turned her blood-red eyes towards the vampire and saw him nodding his head. Her face twitched, showing the burning anger in her heart.

"I have to make sure," Peyton coldly snickered before retrieving a gray dagger hanging on her waist,

"Bitch!" Peyton kicked Tanulia in the gut furiously and continued to do so to vent her anger. Seeing a decorated guardian such as Tanulia's corpse getting kicked mercilessly by another guardian was sickening.

Peyton kicked and stomped Tanulia's body to the point she started to hear bones cracking in Tanulia's body. Then, she dropped to her knees,

"YOU BETRAYED ME!" Peyton raised her dagger in the air as far as she could and brought it down onto Tanulia's chest

Pulch!

The blood sprayed out from Tanulia's chest as Peyton kept stabbing her repeatedly. Her rosy face was painted red with the blood sprayed onto her face. Still, Peyton continued to skewer Tanulia until she couldn't raise her hand anymore.

After she was done stabbing Tanulia's dead body, Peyton turned around to look at the vampire. Under her murderous gaze, he removed his brown robes, revealing the dark metallic armor beneath.

"Dark Lord," Peyton mumbled, looking at his terrifying stature.

"I fulfilled my end of the bargain. Tanulia Valren is no more," he said, stepping towards her,

"The vampires will be blamed for her death," Peyton sensed his voice changing from mechanical distorted to cold demonic voice,

Peyton stared at his crimson red eyes for a few moments in silence.

A year ago, she began her journey to hunt down Lucifer so she could climb up the ladders in the guild. A year later, after spilling so much blood and sweat, she stood in front of the Dark Lord with the blood of Tanulia Valren in her hands.

"What do we do with the body?" Peyton looked at Tanulia's body. Then, she took a few steps away from the body while the Dark Lord stepped closer to Tanulia. Peyton saw the Dark Lord looking at Tanulia from top to bottom.

"What a pity. She would have made a fine subordinate," Peyton could swear that she almost sensed a bit of compassion in his voice.

Letting out a sigh, the Dark Lord turned around. At that moment, Peyton was only a hand reaching distance from him. Peyton took a deep breath looking directly into his crimson red eyes.

Afterward, she threw the dagger away and dropped to her knees. For a few seconds, she looked at the sand, and then, she finally looked up at him.

Her heart was pounding against her chest as everything around her seemed to have stopped.

Suddenly, Tanulia's body behind the Dark Lord moved out of nowhere. Within a blink of an eye, Tanulia's hand grabbed the Dark Lord's legs.

The Dark Lord shuddered, but before he could react, a golden sword engraved with hundreds of glowing runes materialized in Peyton's hand.

Pulch!

She stabbed the Dark Lord with lightning speed and twisted the sword. At the same time, a golden rope appeared around his feet,

"Teleport now bitch," Peyton grinned as she sent the sword deeper into his guts.