The Fallen Vampire

With the massive greatsword in her hand, Ayame hurled it like a boomerang at the human lingering dangerously close to her daughter.

But of course, someone of this enemy's level wasn't frightened by a simple sword being thrown, and he easily caught the weapon with only two fingers and stopped it.

However, he grimaced internally when he realized that his arm was ringing like a church bell.

'No wonder that worm had such an inferiority complex. Even with arcane to strengthen the body he was way too weak!'

Annoyed, he let the sword drop to the ground as he looked for the woman responsible for throwing it.

Much to his dismay, he found that she was already long gone.

That is, until she appeared directly in front of him with movement that was too fast for him to properly anticipate.

BANG!

A gauntlet covered fist sailed directly into his nose and sent him sailing through the air as he bled profusely from the nose.

Ayame wasted no time in destroying the ice that was keeping her daughter frozen in place and securing Enyo and Taira's bodies in the meantime.

"Mother… I-"

"Hush for now, Keran. Your mother has a bit of business to attend to first."

Ayame pushed a small dark brown pill into the lips of her daughter and placed two entirely different ones into her palms.

"These are boiling blood pills. They're usually used for refinement of blood and tissue but they should do well in reheating the bodies of your friends."

"…They are my family." Keran corrected.

Ayame smiled wryly before dashing it away before her daughter could see it. "Yes, well… all the same."

BOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

A pillar of cold white energy pierced the cavern ceiling above and prompted a hail of debris to rain down on the bridge below.

Velreth was now fully alert and back on his feet and wiping away blood from his ruined nose.

How long had it been since he'd been hurt?

Who in the upper realm had actually dared to strike him in his exhalted face?

It was as morbidly funny as it was inexcusable.

But this woman… she was different from the old hag from earlier.

Though they were both in the same realm, their demeanor and attitudes towards the field of cultivation were entirely opposite.

Abbess Setsuka Takashi was a scholar, and a woman who cultivated for its profundity.

But Queen Ayame Garou was a warrior, and one who viewed cultivation as a means to forcibly suppress those beneath you and establish hierarchy.

While neither were particularly wrong; it was glaringly obvious which one would be the worst matchup for him.

He could already tell that things were going to be tighter than before since he didn't have all of his power, but there were methods to ensure his victory all the same.

"True Arcane Ice : Wings of Winter!"

A fierce blizzard suddenly whipped up and engulfed the entire domain in a white snowstorm.

The storm was so thick and powerful one would be lucky to even be able to see fifteen feet in front of them.

Ayame smirked from the foreboding sense of danger as she treaded deeper into the ensuing storm.

'Don't let me down now… My charming son-in-law has gotten me rather motivated..!'

Ayame's wish appeared to have been granted, as she soon sensed a multitude of incoming prescences approaching her from up ahead.

Only when they finally came close enough could she see them.

Winged women made from ice covered in dense armor and wielding spears sharp enough to cut through bone even in simple passing.

Four of them lunged at the queen first, and caused a predatory smile to form on her face.

Instead of waiting to be slaughtered, she also ran to meet them.

Reaching for the first Valkyrie, she grabbed the spear aimed at her chest and snapped it into two; keeping the spearhead and broken shaft in her grasp.

With her free hand, she grabbed the charming icy construct by the face and slammed it's head into the ground; splintering it's skull instantly.

Keeping low to the ground, Ayame used her thick and muscular legs to sweep another's legs out from underneath it.

Once it's back hit the ground, Ayame rolled on the ground to get beside it and stabbed the warrior directly in the chest with the spearhead she'd collected; and both shattered like glass.

Clang!

A Valkyrie appeared above and thrusted it's spear downward; aiming directly between her eyes.

Ayame avoided the attack with ease, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that her precious long hair had been cut.

"Fucking bitch… Have you any idea just how much werewolves value their hair?!" Ayame yelled menacingly.

"…?" The construct was in no way capable of speaking, but if it could have, it would have undoubtedly cursed it's creator for making it.

Growling, Ayame used her bare feet and kicked the winged snow woman directly into the chest, sending it crashing back into another of it's ilk.

Leaping to her feet without using her hands, Ayame ran towards the Valkyries who were currently still flying from her kick.

Jumping into the air, she caught them before they could even hit the ground of their own volition.

Grabbing each of them by one of their legs, she pulled them apart before slamming them against each other with enough force to crush a car.

The Valkyries exploded on impact, and created a beautiful menagerie of icy dust that sparkled underneath the light streaming from the ceiling.

Ayame performed a somersault as her body carried her back onto the ground; landing with the epitome of grace and balance.

Though this woman was feared all across Tayar, there were absolutely none who could deny her one of a kind beauty and power.

It was worth mentioning that the constructs she had just defeated weren't mere small fries.

In terms of physical strength, they were comparable to cultivators at the peak of the overlord realm.

And yet she was able to dispatch them as easily as breathing.

However, she didn't seem to be happy in the slightest.

Ayame clicked her teeth as she patted her stomach in dissapoint ment.

"I was more rusty than I thought… in the past I would have been able to eliminate those bitches in only a couple seconds… I guess that's what happened when I sit around doing nothing but eating and napping for over two hundred years…"

She continued to pat her rippled stomach and her mood seemed to get even worse by the second as she looked at herself.

"This is embarrassing… I've gotten so fat."

*This is not by any means a true statement.*

As Ayame lamented over her depression induced sedentary lifestyle, the sound of flesh ripping could be heard as a icy hand pierced her back from behind.

She felt the hand intrude deeper until it methodically wrapped around her spine.

"Quite a showing, hound. You are almost as talented as a human."

Looking over her shoulder, Ayame found her opponent wearing a small smirk as if he had won.

"You may die knowing that you have been granted a meaningful death by myself; Velreth."

Ayame could feel a very oppressive cold energy trying to seep into her body and literally freeze her from the inside out.

But it was truly too bad… things like that were the wrong way to deal with someone as unfortunate as her.

Velreth's brows suddenly furrowed as he realized that Ayame's insides didn't feel quite right.

They were hot… significantly hotter than they should have been.

"What a shame. A self proclaimed great god of ice amounts to only this much..?" She muttered.

"W-What did you say?!"

"When I compare you to that other ape who took my eye, I find you significantly lacking. I guess that's because I'm used to dealing with monsters."

Velreth felt a small headache in his brain, and he once again saw the silhouette of a tall burly man in great red armor and carrying a katana that seemed long enough to cut the whole world in half.

"So… you've crossed paths with him."

"I have indeed. He took my husband, my eye, and almost my virtue. He was considerate enough to leave me something behind though."

A line of red blood spilled from between Ayame's lips and she wiped it away casually before examining it.

As always, it was boiling hot and causing a parade of steam to billow up into the cold air.

"That sword art of his… Just being cut by it imbued by body with it's terrible heat. I haven't known a day without pain in over two hundred years. So much so that I barely feel anything else at all."

There was a sharp sound like a blade cutting through wind, and Velreth lost all feeling in his left hand.

Looking down, he realized that it had been cut off so fine and precise that his body hadn't even processed the need to start bleeding yet.

"T-This..! You fucking dog!"

Velreth hurriedly leapt away to recover as Ayame reached behind her and plucked his hand out of her back.

Parting her full lips and tossing a pill inside, she sighed as she felt her back healing with ease.

'A pity indeed… another scar.'

Ayame turned around and looked towards the trembling god who was currently clutching his stump of an arm.

"Though I guess there was some merit in running into a being like that. After surviving against him, I fear little else. I suppose monsters rub off on you like that. But do you know something..?"

Holding out her hands, she smiled crazily as she made some odd symbols with her fingers.

"You hurt my daughter, my last precious thing in this entire world. So that means I get to show you how monstrous I can be..!"

Recognizing the gestures Ayame was making with her fingers, Velreth nearly felt his jaw fall open from shock.

"It's not possible… WE TOOK ALL OF THOSE BACK TO THE UPPER REALM!!"

"Oh? The fact that you know what this is means you may very well be who you say you are. But in an isolated place like this… what good is an identity?"

"You sow! How dare you use-"

"Primeval Technique : Malevolent Dharma."

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