Chapter 175: Chapter 175 Epitaph
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
In the depths of a quiet valley.
Soran stood in front of a grave in deep thoughts. There was a river in the distance. In the coming spring, flowers would be in full bloom in this wilderness. He gently lifted a tombstone and took in a deep breath. Then, he took out his knife in preparation to carve something.
“In memory of Ariana.”
Soran sat down and looked at the sky, seemingly thinking about what to carve for her epitaph.
He didn’t know her that much. However, Soran knew what being a vampire meant. From a Vampire Spawn, Vampire Minion, to a Blood Descendant, etc., all the way to being a proper Vampire, the whole process was an unforgivingly cruel mandate. Whatever beautifications that the folklores had did not exist at all. The dark creatures were still dark creatures and had nothing to do with the good or justice. From the moment of transformation, the newborn vampire was fated to be enslaved until the moment they were set free.
According to their strength, vampires have various talents [Create Spawn], [Enslave], [Vampiric Domination] and more.
These dark creatures revolved themselves around their family as its core.
A vampire could not enslave someone that had a base life that exceeds twice of his own, and there may be other requirements, but Soran did not research much about it. These converted newborns were their slaves, and their will was directly controlled by their master. Unless they were forced to resist the control, they could only wait until their master exceeded the limit of control or willingly have him his freedom. A high-grade vampire often has a large number of underlings, spawns, slaves and blood descendants.
Ariana was a newborn who had successfully resisted her master’s control. This not only provoked the authority of her master but also made other slaves doubt the strength of their master.
Vampires were very pitiful creatures.
Although they have powerful abilities, they were forever cursed; always in a state of [Blood Hunger].
This Blood Hunger was a terrible curse. It was only slightly weaker than [Dark Hunger] and [Soul Hunger]. If the will needed for detox was 10, then the amount of Will needed to resist Blood Hunger would be at least 30. Not to mention Ariana, even if Soran is transformed into a vampire, he would not be able to resist this instinctual desire.
The longer you suppress, the stronger the repercussion!
Even if your will was as strong as iron, over time you would wear down, and the beautified vampires in the folklores were nothing but lies.
Soran has never seen a vampire who did not kill.
This test of Will would always be present. Even a legendary monk may not be able to resist. After a period of suppression, the outburst would blind you and you would even bite your loved ones. If Soran had been transformed into a vampire, and he does not bite others, he may become crazy enough to bite Vivian. When a newborn sucks blood for the first time, and no outsider forcibly interrupts, the newborn would completely suck dry every single drop of blood from their first prey.
Never overestimate the strength of your own will.
In the face of survival, there are times when you find your will becoming weaker through the passage of time. When you are fighting against survival instincts, and when your humanity ceases to exist, the rest is just your instinct.
If you have been starved beyond your limits, even cannibalizing human meat would be normal!
That’s why Ariana lost.
She lost to the vampire’s instinct and lost to [Blood Hunger]. Soran didn’t have any confidence to fight down that hunger. Maybe if he was in her position, he would not even resist. Just controlling your blood hunger desires and not letting it deluge you was hard enough.
But, she also didn’t lose.
When she removed Soran’s cut wrist, he already knew that Ariana was committed to death. She had taken revenge and she wanted to end her life. This was a conflict between humanity and blood hunger. She struggled for a long time with this contradiction. She lost to vampiric desires time and time again, but she defeated it at the last moment of her life. Ariana chose her fate.
That was death.
This was a cruel world.
It was so cruel that even suicide was a difficult choice. Since suicide in any religion was deemed as a heavy sin.
She chose death. She was free and was relieved.
Soran sat in front of the tomb in deep thought for a very long time.
Then he slowly pulled out the curved sword and carved a line on the tombstone – “Living in the dark, with a pure heart.”
Nobody could help her.
Now, even the gods find it hard to protect themselves. Her soul would be reborn in hell. After the reincarnation, she would lose most of her memory. If she had not lost herself, then she will go on the most difficult road of ‘soul redemption’. If she had lost her sense of self, then she will sink in into the depths of hell, perhaps becoming a member of the devils or a part of the demons.
Soran turned and walked away into the distance.
The short-lived mood swings did not affect the path in his heart. Whether he was alive or dead, he was destined to break into the abyss.
Because wherever Vivian went, he went.
He was heading in the direction of the City of Wealth, and there was no news about Vivian’s whereabouts yet, but he is sure he will find some clues soon. Because Son of Fear has become stronger and stronger through the massacres, and soon those Sons of Fear will be fully exposed. At that time, Vivian’s figure should also appear, because she must also go towards the throne of Fear through the massacres!
This was fate.
Only after defeating the will of the Dread Lord could she choose her destiny.
Bottomless abyss
570th Floor – [ Fallen Paradise ]
Here was the territory of the Queen of Succubus. Although her territory has expanded a lot in the passage of time, she still liked to stay in her original territory. The base camp of the Abyss Succubus was also here. The number of layers in the bottomless abyss was hard to estimate. Some of the planes were very narrow. Some of the planes were harsh. The demons could only survive in some parts. Some of them weren’t habitable at all. Among the many planes, the Ocean Abyss Demon still occupied a large area, so the territorial disputes of inner circles of the abyss demons were very cruel, and those more inhabitable ones were ruled by powerful Demon Lords.
“Hmm?”
In a splendid golden palace, a woman with alluring facial features leaned on her throne, and as she lazily propped her chin, she looked so beautiful! She sat so listlessly on the throne, looking down at the void in front of her. There were many Demon Lords who had existed for a very long time, and in their long lives, they would certainly have nothing to do for some part of it.
As if she found something amusing, she suddenly sat up. Looking at the void in front of her with interest, and muttering to herself: “Interesting! Interesting!”
“Seems like there’s an interesting soul that’s coming into my territory!”
Pa-da!
She stood up and pointed, “Observing Beholder!”
A portal appeared.
What followed was a huge beholder that was at a higher level than a legendary. It had a countless number of eye veins. The huge iris in the center seemed to be able to pass through time and space. Within the beholders, this was a unique and advanced profession. The Observing Beholder surveys the abyss and hell, and they may even swear allegiance to some powerful demons and devils. Sometimes they even acted as arbiters of the lower planes.
Observing Beholders were extremely dangerous creatures, and it was as difficult to challenge them than weak gods.
The huge beholder bowed. They only had a huge head, and could only see general movements.
“Queen of Succubus, your majesty!”
The Observing Beholder lowered his height slightly, lest his huge body be taller than the Queen of Succubus. Although the queen ruled for a long time and was leaning towards the evil alignment, she was famed for her unpredictable character. Someone could be punished for something very trifle.
A succubus’s punishment wasn’t tolerable.
A glimmer of divine light emerged.
The stunning woman on the throne stood up and spread her pair of huge demon wings. Her human appearance was changing rapidly. Horns appeared on her forehead, her pupils turned crimson, and the peerless face became infused with a devilish charm. Light green eye-shadow that looked like a demon tattoo appeared at the corner of her eyes, her red lips curved with a playful smile. Her long red hair flowed to her waist, and the graceful and delicate body became covered with a silk dress. Her chest full and firm, with almost half of them being exposed outside. A beautiful belt was tied around her waist. Below the slender waist was a booty like a full moon. The long slender and beautiful legs did not have human ankles, but a unique devil hoofs instead.
Her body seems to be full of endless temptations!
Just glancing once, it seemed like her body was shrouded with emotions and desires!
“Pa!”
A loud sound of a whip echoed.
A whip appeared in the hands of the Queen of Succubus, surrounded with flames and arcs of lightning. She fiercely whipped at the void and forcefully broke through space.
As the Queen of Succubus turned into her real form, the [Enchanting Beauty] aura has also dispersed. The Observing Beholder’s huge single-eye was also enchanted for a moment and had regained much of his consciousness. Ever since the Queen of Succubus took over the Evil Devine Titles of Decadent Lust, Forbidden Love, Sex, and Abusive Punishment, her temptress aura has been strengthened beyond comprehension. Regardless of males or females, or even totally genderless, as long as it was a creature with a conscious, regardless whether they were dead or alive, they seemingly would not be able to escape from the influence of her temptress aura.
She was cruel, beautiful, evil, and full of endless temptations.
The Queen of Succubus had even seduced two Demon Lords, and in the end, personally planned for their demise and eventual death! She was a Demon God of Chaotic Evil and the reincarnation of the most decadent lust in the abyss. Even gods from the heavenly realms weren’t able to resist her strength! Even when the Queen of Spiders faced this sly and evil existence, her heart was full of caution!
“Queen of Succubus – Meccanhut [High-Level Demon][Weak Demon God][High-Level Underworld Creature]
“Race: Succubus.”
“Attributes: Strength 30, Dexterity 36, Constitution 40, Intelligence 30, Wisdom 30, Charm 49.”
“Alignment: Chaotic Evil [Leaning away from Lawfuls].”
“Profession: Succubus Level 40/Demon God of Lust Level 10 [Abyss Demon God]”
“Hit Points: 800+/800+.”
“Abilities: Unknown.”
“Godhood: Lesser Demon God.”
“Devine Title: Decadent Lust, Forbidden Love, Sex, Abusive Punishment.”
“Portfolio: Temptation, Desolation, Evil, Forbiddance, Torture, Reprimand, Sadistic, Desire, Conspiracy.”
“Aura: Enchanting Beauty, Charming Gaze, Decadent Desires.”
“Unique Skills: Her Majesty’s Kiss, Summon High-level Demons, Summon Succubus Army.”
“Basic Skills: Deception 530, Taunt 270, Alchemy 360, Concentration 490, Diplomacy 650, Disguise 530, Performance 320, Escape 470, Intimidation 570, Literacy 450, Listen 460, Face Read 360, Detect/Scout 420, Evade 500, Use Magic Devices 520…”
“Other skills: ???”
A whip’s shadow tore through space.
The Queen of Succubus’s eyes glimmered with divine light, then a whip went straight through space into the Styx River, entangling a soul and dragged it out.
The soul condensed into a light ball that was as big as a fist.
The Queen of Succubus reached her hands and caught the soul light, and her lips smiled with a hint of cruelty. Her pale fingers kneaded it into something like a cobblestone. Within it, one can see a bitter soul image. She glanced with interest, and playfully said: “Seems like this one hasn’t given up hope? I like these toys the most!”
“I don’t know how long you can last with my grasps!… I hope you can give me pleasure albeit short term!…”
“Observing Beholder!”
The Queen of Succubus threw the soul stone that was imprisoned within her fingers to the Observing Beholder, the corner of her mouth curved slyly as she smiled: “Send her to reincarnate into a succubus!”
“Maybe she has the qualifications to become a glorious nun!….”