Chapter 130: One sided fight with Vivienne(2)

The wounds on his face instantly began healing at a terrifying pace, the slightly torn flesh stitching itself back together almost visibly.

Bruised skin smoothened, and cracked flesh regenerated.

Until only his pale skin remained once more, stained by his own blood where the wounds were present before.

Crimson drops dripped down his chin and onto Vivienne’s wrist, wrapped around his throat.

For a brief moment, Lucian considered struggling, trying to pry her hand away and free himself, but the thought vanished almost instantly the moment he remembered that the woman standing before him was an S-rank vampire.

He knew he stood absolutely no chance, and the gap between them was far too absurd for him to do anything that could even harm her.

Through his blurred vision, he could even faintly see the smile on Vivienne’s face falter a bit.

Because—

His expression remained calm, neutral, almost looking unaffected despite the blows she had dealt him, as he gritted his teeth through the pain burning across his body—the pain that was already beginning to fade under his regeneration within seconds.

“Are you… done?” he muttered in a low voice, a faint smile creeping onto his bloodied lips.

Vivienne’s brows furrowed immediately.

“I won’t deny that you have a higher pain tolerance than those bugs,” she muttered indifferently.

She knew how humans cried over small cuts, minor bruises, and injuries she didn’t even consider to be real wounds.

So seeing him remain this composed after what she had just done was mildly surprising.

But it was just that.

Only mildly intriguing, but not enough for her to truly care.

“Let’s do this then…”

The smile on her face widened again. Heat waves began flickering around her body. The temperature within the corridor skyrocketed instantly.

Lucian’s skin immediately began to sweat under the unbearable heat, mixing with the blood already present from the healed injuries.

“If you can keep yourself from screaming for…” Her face turned thoughtful.

“…ten minutes…?”

Her grin immediately widened further.

“Yes… 10 minutes. Then I’ll let you go.”

Her fingers gradually tightened around his neck again.

“But if you can’t—”

“Let’s do it for 30 minutes then.”

Lucian interrupted before she could finish.

Vivienne’s expression froze before a frown formed between her brows.

Then, after a brief thought, her smile returned, even sharper than before.

Her golden eyes glowed faintly with amusement and hostility.

“…Fine”

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

Before Lucian could even respond, her grip suddenly tightened like steel around his throat.

But as if that wasn’t all, in the next second—

Vivienne’s palms turned red, and heat exploded through them.

Lucian’s skin instantly began burning beneath her hand, the flesh around his neck rapidly charred as flames erupted along Vivienne’s arm.

“Ugh—!”

A stifled groan escaped Lucian’s lips as he felt his throat tighten violently, burning as the heat became unbearable within seconds.

It felt like molten metal was being pressed against his flesh while at the same time suffocating him.

Yet, even then, he didn’t scream.

His fingers twitched violently, and his jaw clenched as his body trembled under the pressure.

After several long seconds, the flames finally disappeared into the air.

Vivienne immediately removed her hold from his neck.

Lucian staggered forward, a bloodied cough bursting from his mouth and splattering against the polished floor.

“Cough—! Kh…!”

He almost collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath.

He could even smell the nauseating stench of burning flesh filling his senses—the flesh being his own.

The lack of oxygen blurred his vision heavily as he coughed repeatedly while straining to breathe in and out.

“What kind of smell is that…” Vivienne frowned faintly, her gaze instinctively lowering toward the blood dripping along his chin.

The smell was so intoxicating.

Warm, sweet, and dangerously enticing, unlike anything she had ever smelled before in her entire life.

Even for a vampire, it was too alluring.

She lifted her hand, where a few drops of his blood had spilled.

For a moment, she almost considered tasting it, making her gulp in a weird anticipation.

For a brief moment, her irises shifted to crimson, but they instantly returned to their golden hue.

Her gaze sharpened, and with a single thought, the blood burned away before her eyes snapped back toward him, and in the next instant—

Everything around Lucian distorted violently, and the moment his eyes regained a bit of focus—

He found himself flying through the air, thrown by Vivienne as she had hurled him straight out of the castle.

Violent winds swept across his body.

Far below him stretched an enormous garden illuminated by moonlight and a few lanterns.

Just as the ground rushed closer before his eyes, Lucian instinctively twisted his body midair.

He landed roughly on the ground below with a heavy thud, his palm dragging across the solid path.

But strangely, the fall didn’t feel nearly as painful as he had expected.

Instinctively raising his head, he froze as he saw a massive blazing sphere of fire plummeting directly toward him from above.

The flames roared wildly through the night sky like a miniature sun descending upon him, illuminating the surrounding garden in a blazing glow.

‘Shit…’

His eyes widened, his leg muscles instantly tensing as he forcefully launched himself backward with a leap.

BOOM—!

The blazing sphere of fire crashed into the ground. A violent explosion erupted across the garden.

Flames burst outward in every direction, so bright that they forced Lucian to squint his eyes.

The heat was overwhelming, as if the air itself was burning.

The stone path cracked beneath the explosion, continuing to burn for a few moments before the flames finally dissipated into the air.

After stabilizing himself, Lucian turned his head to the side, only to see Vivienne leisurely walking toward him, as though everything happening was nothing more than entertainment.

Her crimson hair was partially veiled in flickering flames that danced beautifully around her like living fire.

The same flames wrapped around her hands, yet despite the intense heat they radiated, they didn’t burn her skin in the slightest.

She didn’t really want to admit it, but she was genuinely enjoying beating him to a pulp and feeling the tearing of his flesh.

Though at the same time, it was slightly annoying—yet strangely intriguing—to see him refuse to give up despite the utterly overwhelming difference in their strength.

And as she expected, Lucian pushed himself upright once again.

He quickly patted at the flames to stop them from burning through his shirt any further.

Burn marks remained across his skin beneath the fabric, only for the wounds to regenerate moments later.

“This was my second pair…” he muttered as he looked down at his shirt, now half-burnt and slightly dirtied, no longer the pristine white it had been before.

He genuinely wondered if he had truly gone mad as Akasha kept saying, because he was still more irritated about ruining his clothes than the pain itself.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you another pair if you survive.”

Vivienne’s voice suddenly whispered directly into his ear.

Lucian’s blood ran instantly cold.

But again, before he could do anything—

A horrifying pain exploded through his ribs, as something shattered inside him as Vivienne’s kick slammed into his side hard enough to launch him through the air.

“Kgh—!”

But before his body could even begin falling, Vivienne’s figure blurred before him.

Her hands twisted unnaturally, her fingers elongating into sharp, monstrous claws aimed directly at his chest.

For a split second, it felt like time had slowed down—or maybe it was his brain trying to find a solution to escape from the incoming death.

Just then, something inside him reacted instinctively.

Lucian’s eyes sharpened.

And right before the claw could pierce him, the small part of his chest she’d aimed at flickered faintly, dissolving into white mist for a brief moment.

Vivienne’s claws passed straight through him.

Her eyes widened.𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Surprise flashed across her face for the first time, but immediately afterward, she raised her leg midair and kicked him downward.

Lucian’s body crashed brutally against the ground again.

A moment later, Vivienne landed gracefully with a dull thud as flames flickered beneath her feet, softening her descent.

Her crimson hair drifted softly before settling over her shoulders once more, with a few loose strands resting across her forehead. She didn’t bother moving them aside.

Instead—

Her golden eyes remained fixed on Lucian, watching him carefully now—as, like a relentless insect, he let out a loud groan before slowly and shakily forcing himself upright once again.

And right before her stunned eyes—

The burns rapidly healed once more, the torn flesh restoring itself. His bones cracked internally as they realigned and connected again.

Until only his pale body remained beneath the tattered remnants of what could barely even be called a shirt anymore.

His chest rose and fell unevenly as he raised a hand, brushed his hair aside, and stared at her once again, silently waiting for her to attack again.

Silently waiting for himself to endure the same pain again.