I Level Up Dragons with My Evolution System-Chapter 102: There is a traitor

Chaos reigned in the hall.

Several people died in the fight—some trampled by others trying to flee, others killed by the vampires’ frenzied attacks.

After being overwhelmed by Edward and his group, eight more vampires burst in through the windows.

The fight dragged on, and amid the chaos and death, Edward clenched his teeth.

He made a decision immediately.

Without thinking, he stomped on a chair and leaped toward the oldest, strongest vampire. His strength shattered the chair behind him, and instantly, his body shot forward with even greater force, drawn from his wind attribute.

He caught up to the vampire in an instant, and just then, the Winged Serpent of Fire appeared above them both.

His small but deadly eyes glowed with a terrifying fire, sending a chill down the vampire’s spine as he was forced to look up...

BOOM!

Suddenly, a barrage of fire erupted from all directions like an explosion. The fire engulfed every corner in an instant, creating a searing moment for everyone present.

Screams soon followed, but the vampires... felt no impact.

On the contrary, though they were disoriented, aside from a slight warmth, they were unharmed.

The elder vampire frowned and clenched his fists in fury. He immediately struck out fiercely in front and behind him, to confirm what his mind was telling him...

He hit nothing.

He heard his subordinates trying to fight, but when he concentrated, he realized they weren’t fighting anyone.

"Stop," he declared suddenly. "They’ve escaped."

Although he couldn’t see anything, he was certain of it.

The "fire" didn’t burn, though it was extremely hot. That told him this was just a very well-crafted smokescreen.

By the time the smoke cleared, the vampires finally realized they were fighting alone.

Several people lay dead nearby, but that meant nothing to them. The Beast Masters, however, were nowhere to be found.

’What a strange beast that was. A winged serpent with such piercing eyes and such an interesting fire?’ The vampire laughed.

"Sir..." One of his subordinates called out to him.

"Don’t worry, they’ll die soon," the leader replied. "Where are the contacts?" he asked.

"They left through the emergency exit. They should already be safe."

"Very well." The leader began walking toward the emergency exit. "Turn them into vampires; it’s time to start building our army in this city."

Soon, the screams of agony and distress in the hall shook the night.

When they entered the emergency exit hallway, they all froze.

One of them ran over to check who they were... "It’s the contacts."

The leader walked toward them and frowned. "What a strange way to die. Did that Lux kill them?"

"It seems so, sir. It was fire. Though I can’t explain how he did it from such a distance."

"Well, he’s a Lux—don’t overthink it. They’re really good at their tricks and the way they use magic. That surname isn’t just for show." The leader sighed.

"What shall we do, sir?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" The leader chuckled softly and looked through the walls. "We’re going to kill them. Do they think they can escape me? They’re dreaming!"

--

Somewhere in the city, Edward, Arnold, Aurora, and the two temporary members gathered.

Standing before them was a young man, Harry Smith.

"You did well." Edward patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Your performance was wonderful."

Harry Smith trembled, but smiled. "Thank you, Lord Edward." He then looked at Aurora and thanked her as well.

"Not only did you give us valuable information, but you also killed those guys with 100% effectiveness. I’m sure I’ll reward you for this." Aurora approached him. "I’ll speak highly of you to my father and also give you a better seat at the Viscounts’ Table; starting today, you’ll take the Presleys’ place."

Harry Smith trembled with excitement and bowed. "Thank you, miss. I’ll let my father know."

"Remember to let him know that if you’re not the one leading the family, he won’t get what I’ve promised," Aurora reminded him.

Harry nodded, even more excited.

Edward spoke up. "You have a sharp mind; I hope to stay in touch with you longer. But for now, you should head back quickly. Things are going to get dangerous soon," he said.

Aurora looked at Edward suspiciously, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Harry nodded. "I hope to see you again," he said, before leaving... Inside, however, he was thinking something else.

’I wish I had nothing to do with these dangerous, troublesome people anymore...’ He shook his head as he walked away; he knew he was asking for too much.

.

"What do we do now?" Arnold asked from a corner of the room. "Those vampires are pretty powerful; I don’t think we managed to kill any of them."

"I managed to plant a bomb on one of them," he said, holding up the watch he’d just been given back. "He should be dying right now."

As expected... the reward came seconds later.

[You have killed a Level 35 Vampire.]

[You have earned 3,500 Experience Points.]

’And I took out one of the weakest ones...’ He clenched his teeth. He realized the situation was more dangerous than he had imagined.

If the weakest one was already Level 35, how strong was that boss? He was surely above Level 50.

"We should move. We don’t know if those guys have the ability to track us in some way, so we can’t stay in one place for too long." He prepared to lead the team out of there.

"Wait." Albey and Andre spoke up suddenly.

"What’s wrong?" Edward stopped and turned to look at them. "Anything to add?"

"Yes. I mean... Why should we leave a safe place? Since a normal human like our contact managed to get here safely... I don’t think they’ll track it down." Albey said, his voice trembling.

He was clearly afraid.

"Your hesitation is understandable. But it’s precisely because Harry was able to make it this far that we must leave. Ordinary humans are easy to track, so it’s dangerous. Besides, if we get out of here and manage to reach the central zone, we could ask the Ashfords for help and warn them," Edward replied.

Aurora added, "Although my family has grown weaker, we still have Royal Forces in our ranks and many generals with command authority in the armed forces. If they find out the situation is this dangerous, no matter how busy they are, they’ll take it seriously."

"But..." Andre was still hesitating.

"Let’s just put it to a vote," Edward said suddenly. "Since we’re a team, we have to settle our differences with a group vote so we don’t waste time. Anyone who supports going somewhere else, raise your hand."

As expected, Aurora and Arnold raised their hands. The other two did not.

Edward laughed strangely. "Shit. I wanted to raise my hand, but it seems I’m destined not to." He complained and drew his sword.

While everyone was stunned, he warned them, "We’re surrounded. Whoever betrayed me this time, I swear I’ll behead you with my own hands. My fire erases existence, but I’ll never let your existence be erased without suffering the consequences!" he roared, intense hatred rising in his heart.

He knew it.

Those vampires weren’t going to just magically show up here... and it wasn’t because of Harry—it’s because of a damn traitor!

Gripping his sword, he nodded to Aurora and began running toward the door. "Get ready to fight!" he roared with all his might.

Then, the door shattered under the attack of one of the vampires. That same attack struck Edward’s sword, but it didn’t create any ripples in his spirit.

"Do you think you are the only one with information?" Edward swung his sword fiercely. His title activated once more.

CLANK!

CLANK! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

CLANK!

The sound of battle echoed everywhere, and the small house began to shake.

But the moment the vampire leader entered the fray, the group of five students was crushed.

’I can’t keep hiding anymore.’ He sighed with intense rage.

This feeling of being at the mercy of the enemy... it’s stressful!

He needed to kill them all!

Right now, his only need was to destroy his enemies, regardless of whether they were humans or vampires.

Suddenly, the snake that had appeared in the previous room flew over them again. But this time, it didn’t create smoke screens.

He activated his new ability.

[Heart of Fire has been activated.]

[Magic chosen to share: Terminal Spark.]

[Take cover, friendly fire magic is about to rain down!]

At that very moment, more than 30 Terminal Sparks fell, one after another, upon the vampires, all of them emerging from the serpent’s wings.

It was the Terminal Spark, upgraded to its maximum potential. Although it was a Rank E spell and posed almost no threat to these vampires, it was still a difficult spell to withstand. Especially when cast by a winged serpent.

But just then...

"AGHHHH!" A howl of pain echoed from behind the team. Everyone turned to see what was happening... Albey and Andre were on fire.

A Terminal Spark had struck each of them...