Chapter 84: The Pinnacle Battle (Part 1)

Tears filled Su Xiao Zi’s eyes, and she choked on her sobs, unable to speak.

The moment Su Mu Zhe’s figure stood resolutely in front of her, she first froze in a daze.
Then, her tears finally broke through their dam, surging forth uncontrollably.

Su Mu Zhe silently extended his arms, pulling her trembling body into a tight embrace.

Su Xiao Zi buried her face deep in her brother’s chest and finally broke down, wailing aloud.

She had been so close…

She had truly thought that Tantan City would fall completely tonight.
Her home, her school, her family, her friends, her teachers…

Everything she cherished was about to be devoured by endless darkness.

However, at such a critical juncture, Su Mu Zhe had once again donned the uniform of an Exterminator, standing tall amidst the ruins and firelight, directly facing the most terrifying enemy of the night.

‘So I still ended up dragging my sister into this… I’m sorry.’

He gently stroked his sister’s head.
“Wait just a moment, Xiao Zi.”
“I’ll be right back.”

With that, he stood up and walked forward.
The Bloodkin girl who had appeared floated along beside him.
He spoke to her, “Evran, I have a favor to ask you.”

“Hmm? Whatever power you need, I can lend it to you.”
“However, this opponent is quite a bit stronger than expected.”
“With my current strength, the odds of winning… don’t seem very optimistic.”

Evran’s ruby-like pupils stared into the distant, dust-filled ruins.

Although that fellow named Sheffield had been knocked into the rubble… he was likely unharmed.
Just from comparing their auras, she could tell that man was terrifyingly strong.

It was truly a bit tricky; she couldn’t say for certain they would win.

“No, for this battle, I don’t need your power.”
“I only ask that you protect my sister to the best of your ability and don’t let her come to any more harm,” Su Mu Zhe said.

“Oh… What?”
“Without me, there’s no way you can defeat an SS-rank Exterminator on your own!”
“You’re a Bloodkin now; you’re already at a disadvantage in terms of attributes.”
Evran suspected she had misheard.

“Leave it to me.”
“You also said it… today is my last day as Phantom.”
“I must end all of this with my own hands.”

“You, you can’t be…”

Evran stood frozen in place, only able to stare in astonishment at the solitary figure of Su Mu Zhe walking forward.

At that moment, Sheffield struggled to his feet from within the ruins.
He swung the longsword at his waist, and with a flash of light, the rubble pressing down on him was instantly and easily sliced in two.

He stepped out of the dust-filled wreckage and looked up at the sky—a figure was slowly descending.

It was clearly the uniform of the human Exterminator army, yet it churned with an abnormally powerful Bloodkin aura.
What made him even more wary was that it wasn’t a single source of power; there was another, extremely special aura mixed in.

That thunderous strike from before… it seemed even Julius had fallen to this person… Truly unexpected.

Sheffield dusted off his shoulders.
The situation was gradually slipping from his control.
This suddenly appearing Exterminator had sent ripples across a night that was supposed to be a guaranteed victory.

“State your name.”

He spoke coldly as he strode forward, yet there was not the slightest waver in his eyes.

No matter who the opponent was, he firmly believed he would not lose.
He now wielded the power of an SS-rank Exterminator.
Even if another SS-rank Orderly Exterminator appeared in person, he had the strength to fight.

Su Mu Zhe stood his ground, not moving to meet him.
He simply raised his head, a trace of coldness flashing through his blood-red pupils.

“It’s been a long time, Sheffield.”

As if a bolt of lightning had pierced through memory, the moment Sheffield heard that voice, his steps froze abruptly.
The silver-white hair, the blood-colored eyes—his appearance was different from before.

But that voice… he had never forgotten it.

“How… This is absolutely impossible…”

His eyes widened, and he stood rooted to the spot, momentarily lost in disbelieving silence.

How could this be happening?
One bizarre event after another.
First, a Bloodkin who looked like Little Butterfly appeared, and now, it was actually the former captain of his Phantom Squad.

Had the souls of those who died in the Far Shore War all returned from hell!?

“You are… Phantom, Su Mu Zhe?”
Sheffield narrowed his eyes, unable to confirm it for a moment.

‘Is it really him…?’

Yes, no matter how much he wanted to forget, he could never forget that familiar face and voice, which he had spent at least several years with as a classmate…

He never expected that today, a full year after the Far Shore War, they would have the chance to meet again.

A moment later, however, he suddenly let out a low chuckle, his right hand silently resting on the hilt of his sword.
“How surprising… I never anticipated this.”
“You’re still alive.”
“You’re actually still alive—Phantom!!”

“Yes. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m still alive.”

“But why?”
“After you were defeated by the First Progenitor, I should have pierced your body with my sword and completed the Gift.”
“All of your power was seized by me, so how…”

Wait, a Bloodkin?

Had Su Mu Zhe accepted the Embrace and become one of the Bloodkin?

An even more astonished expression appeared on Sheffield’s face.

‘Heh, to think you survived in such a despicable way.’
‘That’s really not like you, Captain.’

“Sheffield, you have become our enemy,” Su Mu Zhe said, his gaze lowered.

“Hehe, hehehahaha!”
Sheffield laughed loudly once more.

Then, his tone slowly fell, and his gaze turned grim.
“Yes… You’re right.”
“Everything has changed.”
“Many things can no longer be undone, and I’m not the same person I used to be, Captain.”

“So, why have you appeared here again?”

“Do you want to stand before the common folk with that broken body of yours and display your awe-inspiring righteousness again?”

“Are you trying to stop me?”
“With the way you are now?”

Sheffield sneered.

But after seeing his former captain, his expression had clearly stiffened.

“Get out of my way, Su Mu Zhe…”
“Since you were lucky enough to survive, don’t come back here just to die!” he said through gritted teeth, his voice low and his eyes locked on the figure before him.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Su Mu Zhe’s voice was calm and steady, completely unmoved.
“Phantom is about to become a symbol of a bygone era.”
“Therefore, today, I must also… draw a line under everything between us.”

This battle would be anything but easy.

What he could rely on now was originally the Bloodkin power from Evran.

He was no longer the warrior of the past who fought with extermination power, but had been transformed into a Bloodkin.
Sheffield, on the other hand, had devoured the power of two SS-rank Exterminators, climbing to a level no less than that of a Bloodkin Legion Commander.

Relying on Evran’s power alone would likely be insufficient to fight the current Sheffield, who had reached SS-rank strength.
In that case, he could only use the power the Bloodkin called the “Sacred Breath.”

The golden bloodline inherited from his family—the Sacred Forbidden aura.

As a Bloodkin, he ran the risk of being exterminated by it, but even so, Su Mu Zhe had made his decision—even if it meant mutual destruction, he would utterly erase Sheffield’s existence.

He had to suppress, or reclaim, that power.

He could not allow more people to fall into disaster, nor could he allow him to create more tragedies.

He could not indulge him in continuing down this path of no return.

“Night Wind,” “Imouto,” “Butterfly,” “Sweet Cone,” “Alice,” “Sunflower,” “Xiao Mu,” “Sweetie,” “Little Bird,” “Bubble.”

Su Mu Zhe enunciated each word, reciting the name of every fallen member of the Phantom Squad.

His voice was low, yet as clear as an oath.
“These… are all the comrades who died in the line of duty on the battlefield.”
“They died fighting the Bloodkin, protecting humanity.”
“And you—you now wield your sword for the Bloodkin.”

He raised his eyes, and a cold flame ignited in his blood-red pupils:

“Sheffield… have you… already forgotten them all?”