Chapter 132: One sided Fight with Vivienne(4)

“Oi, wake up…”

A soft, annoyed voice rang faintly through Lucian’s hazy consciousness.

Slap… Slap…

Something repeatedly tapped against his cheek.

Vivienne kept lightly slapping his cheeks while crouching beside him, trying to wake him after several minutes had passed.

Lucian’s pale cheeks gradually turned red from her repeated hits, making her smile as she began slapping him even harder.

She had knocked him unconscious after noticing his Bloodlust, as she had no interest in dealing with a mindless vampire.

Though she was slightly impressed that he hadn’t taken advantage of her during her blank, dazed state.

Of course, if he had bitten her and drunk her blood, then…

She didn’t want to think about it right now, but most likely, she would have killed him despite the consequences.

“Wake up…!”

Lucian’s eyes snapped open, and without thinking, he abruptly lurched forward.

“Agh—!”

“Ugh—!”

Two groans echoed simultaneously as their foreheads slammed directly into each other with a dull sound.

Vivienne immediately covered her forehead, rubbing it with her fingers.

“This fucker…!”

Her eyes glowed dangerously as she raised her hand, intending to hit again.

But midway, she hesitated, subtly lowering it.

“What kind of rock head do you even have…?”

But the moment she heard the faint comment escaping his lips, she instantly changed her mind.

“Okay, you are done.”

Lucian’s already blurry vision spun violently again as he was sent flying sideways, his body rolling across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

With a pained groan, he forcefully lifted himself, grabbing his throbbing head while blinking repeatedly.

Or at least tried to.

The moment he raised himself upright, his legs suddenly gave out, and he instantly fell onto his knees.

“Huh…?” A confused mumble escaped his lips.

He slowly lifted his head toward Vivienne, who was casually walking toward him beneath the moonlight, still wearing the same nightgown that swayed with the cold night air.

“Haven’t you ever heard the word ‘rest’ in your life?” Vivienne muttered while looking down at him, and seeing his slightly disoriented expression, she couldn’t help but loudly exhale.

“Honestly, you should thank me for helping you.”

She stopped directly before him, making Lucian lift his head at her from the ground.

“What for? For almost killing me… or for waking me up so rudely?” Lucian spoke with a neutral expression despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on his body.

Vivienne’s lips twitched violently.

Heat immediately began gathering around her again, and flames ignited around her hands.

“What now…? Going to thank me or not?”

Lucian’s expression barely changed.

His eyes shifted toward the burning flames—dancing in her fingers without harming her even once—then back toward her.

“Resorting to violence again… as expected of you.”

Lucian shook his head, as if finding himself disappointed.

But then, he instantly rolled to the side with a sharp movement.

A small explosion set off in the place he had just been lying moments earlier.

His eyes shifted to the scorched ground, then toward Vivienne. Another fireball had already formed within her palm, aimed directly toward him.

Lucian’s lips twitched as a faint smile unexpectedly crept onto his lips.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright despite his legs trembling beneath him.

But little by little, his posture stabilised itself, and the pain gradually lessened.

“Fine, let’s do it again.”

Vivienne stared at him silently.

Seeing him smile like she was about to hand him some reward instead of another round of beating—

A long exhale escaped her lips.

“…Now I understand why she liked you,” she muttered quietly under her breath.

The flames surrounding her hands slowly disappeared afterward.

Now she clearly understood why her mother had taken an interest in Lucian, why she had chosen him as her disciple after so many years.

Because there wasn’t much of a difference between them.

As they say, birds of a feather flock together.

“Nope, the game’s over.” She said, casually waving her hand dismissively.

Lucian frowned, mostly because she wasn’t attacking him without warning again.

Vivienne’s face twisted awkwardly, her lips parting slightly and closing as if she was struggling to say something.

“Ugh… fine. I guess you won.”

She finally admitted, clicking her tongue.

Even though he had fainted—which should have technically ended the challenge completely—she didn’t feel like holding that against him, though she truly wanted to.

Lucian’s frown deepened further. Then he gradually remembered the challenge she had given him, and the one where he had arrogantly increased the duration himself.

After a brief pause, he finally gave a small nod.

Vivienne’s brows furrowed deeply.

“What…?”

Her expression twisted into disbelief as she saw the lack of happiness or a sense of accomplishment in his face.

“Be happy, you survived, you fucker!” she shouted loudly.

Lucian’s expression barely changed.

“That wasn’t your real strength, right?” he asked quietly.

Vivienne’s expression twisted.

“Of course not!” she snapped.

“You would’ve been burnt to a crisp if I actually used too much power.”

Lucian let out a small, disappointed sigh, and that baffled her even more.

This fucker had just survived getting beaten by her, an S-ranked vampire.

And not only that—

By the Daughter of the Strongest Vampire herself.

She had spent the entire fight trying her best to control her strength, not wanting to accidentally kill her mother’s so-called new disciple.

Yet even when she accidentally increased her strength slightly, this lunatic would just heal again and force himself back up.

Despite his arm being twisted completely.

Despite his ribs shattering and piercing through his organs.

So right now, he absolutely had no right to feel sad about any of that!

Meanwhile, Lucian silently thought back to the fight—

[What fight? She was just playing with you like a child playing with her doll, that’s what that was.]

Ignoring his system’s dry compliment, as he was thinking—

After the one-sided fight, he internally went through all the attacks she had used, replaying them in his mind.

Not her overwhelming physical strength, not her speed, but—

“Flames…” Lucian muttered softly.

Hearing his words, Vivienne shifted her attention toward him, seeing him staring at his dusty palm.

She opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.

Crossing her arms slightly beneath her breasts, she simply stood there quietly watching him.

Waiting, curious about what exactly he was trying to do now.

For a moment, Lucian thought about the process of how fire was formed.

‘Oxygen… fuel… combustion…’

But almost immediately, he shook the thoughts away internally.

That only applied to real-world science.

And honestly, he doubted it would help him here. There was no way for him to create fire through something like that.

So instead, he stopped overthinking and simply let the feeling flow naturally.

Vivienne’s eyes narrowed slightly as she wondered what he was doing…

Then, as she felt the temperature around him begin to rise, she lifted a brow in mild surprise.

‘I guess he’s a bit talented.’

The thought crossed her mind, but immediately afterward, her expression darkened as she remembered him using Mist Form and Charm.

Learning to turn your body into mist just after becoming a vampire was exceptionally rare, but it was still somewhat believable if someone had been born with an extraordinarily high bloodline.

Though that brought another question, because Lucian wasn’t someone who had been born as a vampire, but turned into one.

However, even if she let that slide…

He used his Charm.

On her!

That… was just impossible.

Several more seconds passed, then tiny sparks began crackling over Lucian’s palm.

Then flames began flickering into existence above his hand, burning unsteadily over his palms.

Lucian’s crimson eyes lit up in genuine surprise, brightening faintly as the dancing flames reflected within them.

But then—

The flames suddenly intensified violently, expanding erratically, growing larger and hotter, and in the next instant—

Boom—!

The flames exploded from his palms outward, erupting directly in the direction of her.

Vivienne’s eyes widened abruptly.

Her body instantly dissolved into white mist.

The flames passed harmlessly through the spot where she stood, and the mist reformed beside Lucian.

Vivienne materialised again with an annoyed expression.

“Motherfucker… I was distracted for one second and you were already trying to kill me?!”

Her furious scream echoed loudly directly into his ears.

But Lucian’s gaze remained fixed on his trembling arm, vibrating almost like a recoil from firing a powerful weapon.

“Hey, answer me!”

Feeling irritated, Lucian’s gaze abruptly snapped toward her.

“Shut up…!”

Without realising it, his eyes glowed intensely once more, brighter than before.

The moment Vivienne looked directly into them, her pupils trembled faintly.

Her golden eyes slowly began shifting toward crimson again, the light within them dimming slightly.

Her mouth snapped shut completely.

Lucian noticed it this time, and his eyes immediately narrowed.

He took a cautious step forward, and when she still didn’t move, he stepped even closer, waving a hand before her face.

Vivienne simply stood there blankly, almost like a lifeless puppet.

Then, her eyes regained focus again.

The crimson tint faded away, and after blinking repeatedly in confusion, her irises returned to their original golden hue.

Her eyes lifted toward him, and a deep frown formed between her brows.